Home!

Yes - we're home.  Our first day on the road (Friday, April 10th) was verrrrrrrrrrry slow.  The traffic was stop-and-go from Florida to West Virginia and we lost about 3 hours of travelling time.  Why?  Well, simply volume of traffic.  It was the weekend after Easter and all the Easter holidayer's as well as a lot of the snowbirds apparently chose that weekend to travel back north - the same as us.  Most of the license plates came from Canada or the northern States.  Finally just after entering West Virginia we took a toll road and from then onward it was clear sailing!  Poppa made "good time" and we still arrived at Munchie's house in time for lunch on Sunday.  As usual the drive through the mountains was wonderful - I love the scenery and the houses perched on the hillsides.  Unfortunately we left the 95F temps in Florida and the greenery slowly waned until we reached West Virginia where the trees were still bare of any leaves or even little buds.  But the weather stayed sunny and the temps were mild for April - so the trip was good!  It took us a couple of days to unpack the car and get things organized and I've been working on tax returns since.  I have them all finished now and I will post another blog soon.

Our little Munchie....

 ......... is seen here receiving an award at school.  Mommy sent me the picture with this caption "The award was a 'Character' Award for Kindness and always having nice words to others."  

There he is on the left in the gray shirt - proudly showing off his certificate!  What a guy!

Last Post........

......... before we leave for Canada - so there'll be no news for a few days.  I'll keep in touch with Kev-Inn and Mommy via text - so check with them if you have any information or inquiries.  Today.....

....... the fuzzy gang waited patiently while.....

........... I snapped pictures of the magnolia trees - they are loaded with flowers this year - click on the picture to make it larger and you should be almost able to catch of whiff of their beautiful scent, not to mention, see the flowers better!  Poppa started.......

......... taking all the small stuff from the front bedroom and.....

......... stashing it into the car.  The front room is empty now!  All that is left is....

....... our duffle bags and the bears' suitcases.  The kitchen..........

....... is spotless!  The yarn room..........

........ is now the Pooh room again - no yarn!  We went..........

........ somewhat sadly, for our last dip in the pool..........

...... it was heavenly and neither of us wanted to get out!  But..........

............ eventually we climbed out and covered it up for the last time this year!  Hopefully, we'll be back in 2016 for another visit!  Now, we'll be heading north............

........ to see our bouncy little Curtie and inspect his scar, and..........

........ get a hug from our beloved little Muncie - both of them seen here showing off the Disney shirts we sent them.  And finally......

.......... these are Auntie Colleen's second pair of socks.  There will be a newsie e-mail going out to the people on my Sox List - so check your e-mail in a few days.

Tomorrow...........

......... is our last day here at the villa in Florida.  Friday morning we will be heading north.  Sigh!  Poppa spent today............

.... cleaning under the supervision of his usual sidekick.  He............

...... cleaned all the bathrooms, scrubbed .....

... all the tile floors, wiped.....

............all the flat surfaces,

..... changed both of the filters............

........... in the refrigerator..........

............ took the oven door right off and cleaned it.........

... even though I didn't get it one bit dirty...........

......... and put the door back on again.  Then he wiped all the furniture and cleaned the kitchen all up nicely...........

........... so everything would be nice when Allison comes in early May!  Yes he made that pretty fan from a paper towel!  After I finish packing all the last minute stuff, he will just have to vacuum our feet prints off the carpets, pack the car and we will be on our way.  Right now??? Well,

....... he's gone with Squeegie to get us some snacks.

Winding Up....

Poppa's spring cleaning chores are almost done.

He went over to Denis and Liz's place and did some gardening and fertilizing (after adding some red mulch).

It looks really nice!  Then he came back to "our" villa and...

.... climbed up to clean all the light fixtures and........

... the tops of the cupboards and the architectural ledges.  I'm always tempted to store things up there or fill those empty spaces with teddy bears!  The chores remaining will be done just before we leave - probably Wednesday, so Thursday we can check for things we have forgotten, put everything back in its place and pack the car.  I have just about everything packed....

...... the small stuff that won't fit in our suitcases is all bagged and ready to go.  The....

..... yarn storage room is almost depleted - just a little bit left in case I have time to knit some more!  And....

....... the fridge is almost empty!  Sigh!  The weather is gorgeous - not conducive to heading north at all.  Poppa is making the most of it..........

............ reading his book............oops ................... having a nap out by the pool.  Finally, here is....

............ a picture of Grandma's socks.

Catching up a Bit!

Granny was very kind and sent me some pictures from Aunt Peggy's 100th birthday party!

Here she is - accepting a congratulatory letter from Queen Elizabeth - being presented by our local federal representative, Mr. Bruce Stanton.  I have been talking to Aunt Peggy and she was thrilled to receive this along with letters from the Prime Minister, our local provincial representative and the mayor of our city!  I was a busy, fun and important day for her!  Here is one more....

 ........ pair of socks.  These were Lucy's choice.  I guessed she would pick these as her favourite colour is green - and she's not Irish, she's French Canadian!

As Promised.........

.........here is an update on what Poppa has been doing!

Yep!  You guessed it!  He took the vacuum cleaner apart and cleaned all the little components - then set them outside to dry.  After a couple of hours.....

......... he busily vacuumed the villa carpets to make sure it was working well - it was!  Then....

............ he washed the bucket that he had used!  Yes - he's a bit of a clean freak!  What else???

He paused for a few minutes to read his book, while I was working on supper.  You'd think he would just sit down for that!  

It was quite hot this day - as you can tell by the lack of a shirt - but he cleaned and replaced the furnace/air conditioner filter.

Squeegie stayed inside, out of the hot (gorgeous, wonderful) Florida sun, while Poppa.....

.......... vacuumed the pool.  It is spring here and all the trees were dropping little seed pods (or something) that kept landing in the pool - they're so small they come right through the screen - and there was a lot of pollen floating around too.  The pool guys come once a week, but there was so much stuff that they couldn't keep up with it.  Poppa did a great job (he's done it a few times now), and the pool is clear and inviting!  

This week he has gotten into his spring cleaning mode.  He started in the front bedroom - where you can catch a glimpse of the new beds and spreads and desk installed in this bedroom!  Very nice!  He wiped the dust off the window sill...........

....... all the door mouldings and trims.........

.......and even the chair provided for the desk.  Then...............

..... he got the ladder out to do the "high" stuff.  He worked his way from front to back.  In this picture he is in the living room.  This fan is a life saver on a hot day - it makes a lovely breeze while we watch Dr. Phil after we get out of the pool every day.  He went from there.....

........ to another - where is Squeegie??  Oh..........

........ can you see him???  Poppa moved on to another fan - the one in the lanai next to the pool.  It is quite high!  Did you spot Squeegie??

No?  Well here is a closer look!  He looked even cuter...........

.......... when I took a picture from inside!  Poppa moved the ladder, and Squeegie had to get down....

........ while Poppa cleaned all the windows adjacent to the pool.  Whew!  I'm tired just from running around taking pictures!  But, I have finally gotten my sock pictures organized......... so here is one more pic..........

............. these are Aunt Grumpy's socks.