Mostly Knitting.....

.....is what's been happening - aside from the normal stuff like cleaning, cooking and laundry.  As you know, I have been working on Munchie's new blanket.............

........ which is partially assembled, but still needs some work.  But - when the weekend comes and Poppa is busily trudging in and out and asking me questions and inquiring if I want to go into town with him, Aunt Peggy is coming out for supper, we are having breakfast after church and doing our grocery shopping - it is more difficult to spread out a blanket which is approximately 48" x 42" in order to make nice flat seams - well - I look for something smaller to work on.

I had started these socks for Mildred (Kev-Inn's Mom) ages ago and was using them as a mobile project for instances when my "on-the-needles" project was to large to tote around.  So I took advantage of the weekend to....

........ finish them off.  The colours are much better in this picture.... the other one is taken under one of those curly light bulbs, which emit terrific light for knitting, but rather nasty light for photography!  They are made with Paton's Kroy FX - but I don't have the label and I'm not sure of the name for the colorway.  I used a bit of leftover sock yarn to add some accent stripes just for the effect.  I'm quite pleased with them.  I hope she likes them too!

And, since I got the socks done on Saturday.............I dragged this out.  Many, many years ago I made this bulky-knit sweater for Uncle David - from a Mary Maxim kit.  Several years ago he gave it back to me.  The collar was white and over the years had become discolored - as collars tend to do!  We were in the middle of a move from our old house to this one, and the sweater got packed away safely - very safely.  I had forgotten all about it!  However, while cleaning out my yarn closet recently, I re-discovered it and decided (since we've been in this house more than 20 years!!!) that it was past time to fix that collar.  So I removed the original white collar and decided to ...............

........... make the new one from one of the colours in the fish - since (believe it or not!) I still had some of that yarn in my bulky bin.

Is Fall Coming?

Squeegie and Taffy.............

............ were discovered sitting ...........

............ by the washing machine............Taffy had decided that it was time for a bath...........Squeegie objected, but to no avail, since I agreed with Taffy!  So....

............ into the machine they went............

......... when the cycle was finished, I took the soggy little things and put them into the dryer.  I should mention that we've had some chilly weather here in Canada lately.  When they got out...........

......... Squeegie was shivering and wanted to snuggle under his blanket with Snout, while Taffy.........

........... crawled under her blanket with Minnie and Mikey.  They were both all fuzzy and smelled good!  But, speaking of cool weather and blankets,  I decided it was time to take Auntie Colleen's blanket to her and.......

...... so I attached a border all the way around.........

........ and then put it on my bed - so you could get an idea of the size and the pattern and the border.  The bed is a 3/4 or 48" bed.  I have delivered the blanket now and she seems to like it.  So.........

...... I'm now working on a blanket for Munchie.

Happy Birthday Curtie!

Guess who turned four today!

Our little Curtie!  Imagine - it hardly seems that it was four years ago when we kept Munchie at our place while Mommy and Daddy went to the hospital to welcome a little brother into the family!  Just look at him now - no hands!  His favourite things these days seem to be hockey and Taffy!  He phoned today and talked to Taffy for about 20 minutes - he wanted her to go to his house to celebrate his birthday!  She told him it would take too long to drive there, so he said Nanna should drive really fast and it wouldn't take so long!  Those little boys just make me smile!

This morning - before they were even out of their jammies, Munchie took a few seconds to give his brother a great, big birthday hug!  Happy Birthday Little Curtie - we love you - a lot!

What Did Poppa Do???

I bet you are all wondering exactly what Poppa did while he was at Munchie's house - right?  Well, he fixed the counter over the dishwasher - the dishwasher hadn't been anchored properly so when it ran the counter-top vibrated dramatically.  It's all fixed now.  In addition..........

........ he installed a shelf and a bar for hanging clothes in Munchie's room..........

......... he put new lights in the main floor bathroom (Mommy tried turning them on, but got a terrible glare from them - so she just took a picture of them "off")..........

....... he cleaned the light fixture at the side door and put a new bulb in it........

........... he put all the drywall on the wall in the little bathroom in the basement, taped, sanded and put on a coat of primer........

........... he explained that Munchie was helping Daddy weed the garden............

.............. he listened closely while Munchie explained how to play a game on his 3DS, and ate some donuts from Tim Horton's........... and that finished off his chores at Munchie's house.  Mommy was very pleased, and crossed all those items off her to-do list!  And then, Poppa climbed into his truck and came back home.  But.......

........... what is he doing now???

Family Gatherings

As we were leaving Gramma Grace's house....

........ we noticed that the new owners had put a little flower bed across the front - similar to the way it looked years ago.  All in all, we were quite pleased, and the new owners seemed so proud - it was a good feeling.  The following weekend....

......... it was time to celebrate Aunt Jeannie's birthday....

......... so a bunch of us gathered at Auntie Denise's house (thanks Auntie Denise!) to celebrate.  Left to right....Tracy, Aunt Jeannie, Aunt Grumpy, Uncle Brian, Auntie Denise, Uncle Dave, Aunt Bonnie and last, but not least, Poppa.  We had a good time and some excellent birthday cake!  Happy Birthday Aunt Jeannie!  On Monday morning we went for a walk...

........ up the road and around the corner to....

..... Poppa's favourite morning place - Tim Horton's.  He bought me an Oreo donut - if you haven't had one, you really should!  For once, it was not busy there - Poppa was first in line!  Later that same day we got company....

........there's Poppa colouring with the little boys.  They really do love Poppa!  Since Poppa was keeping the boys busy.........

........... Mommy has time to play on her electronic devise, and...........

.......... Daddy did too!  Apparently they were both farming?????  Daddy recently had a birthday too!  Happy Birthday Daddy!  While they farmed....

........... Poppa and the boys switched to stickers.  They spent some time in the park.  We took the boys to McDonalds for breakfast in the morning - while Mommy and Daddy had a chance to sleep late for a change.  Then we went shopping for watches - only to discover when we got home - the Batman watch that Munchie chose wasn't working.  Poppa is going to take it back.  They had lots of fun....

.............. Squeegie got in on it..........

.......... and Taffy too!  Munchie wanted to pick some yarn colours for some of his future requests....

........ and in the process got himself so tangled up - he ended up with a ball of yarn for a hat, and so tangled that we had to cut him out!  I mentioned to him that he did that as a little baby and I think he was trying to re-create it for me!  They were here for about 2-1/2 days that went by very quickly.  After they left....

.......... I finished the Friend bear - attached his brown eyes and added a nose - kinda cute hey??  Of course, Munchie wanted clothes so....

............ I made him some little jeans and..........

........ a little striped pullover and then set him beside the new watch that Poppa had got.  Poppa went down to Munchie's house on Saturday to do some chores down there.  He took Friend and Batman with him.  I understand he's been quite busy............

........... during the day.  I got this picture this evening.  The note said they were watching Frozen!  Poppa should be heading home tomorrow.  I sure have missed him!

Life Goes On....

While it seems like we have been on the go a lot lately - there really isn't a lot of news.  On Tuesdays......

.... Poppa & I pick up Auntie Colleen.  First we have lunch and then we head for a visit with Gramma Grace and Aunt Peggy.  On this particular Tuesday, Auntie Cecile joined us for lunch.  I had to ask Auntie Colleen to lean in - but I got this good picture with great smiles!  On Sundays.....

........... after church, we usually meet Uncle David and Auntie Denise for breakfast.  A couple of Sundays ago, we were delighted to find that Terry and his boys were here from Alberta for a visit.   From left to right, Nanna, Uncle David, Auntie Denise, Blake, Braydon, Uncle Mike, Terry and Poppa.  They joined us for breakfast and Poppa's favourite watiress.....

...... that's her on the left, was kind enough to take the picture for us - thanks Sheila!  On the 26th of July we were invited to an Open House at Gramma Grace's house.

We had to park on the edge of the road - there were a lot of people there before us! The young couple who bought it asked us to join them in celebrating this event.  They have done....

...... the kitchen over entirely..... including..........

......... the removal of a window at the back.............

............ the removal of the wall at the front door..........

....... and the removal of the wall between the small center bedroom to make room for a dining space.  This also involved making the bathroom into a powder room.....

........... resulting in a more open concept and the impression that the main living/dining/kitchen area was much larger.  It looked lovely.  We were pleased with their enthusiasm and to be invited to join them!