Christmas!

Yes - Christmas and it's not even a month ago! 

Munchie came - and immediately got on his phone - how soon they grow up!

Mommy was busy chatting with me and a bear or two!

And, as soon as Mommy set her phone down Curtie was playing on it!  Notice that both our little grandsons keep the bears close to them.  Blackie is beside Munchie offering advice on how to win the game, and here Pooh is keeping an eye on what Curtie is doing!

We all went out to Swiss Chalet for their Christmas special.

Curtis didn't want the bacon in his burger and passed it over to Daddy.

Munchie sat right between Mommy and me!

Curtie sat right beside Poppa, and after I took this picture....

Munchie wanted everyone to see how much he was enjoying his dinner!

Time flew by - soon Poppa was checking the road conditions on his computer....

.... and Munchie was packing his stuff into his duffel bag in preparation for going home.  Notice the new bear in his bag?  Did anyone see the Wal-Mart commercial with that particular bear?  It was so cute,  the bear was walking around Wal-Mart, reading books, playing with toys and eating ice cream.  At the first sign of morning he climbed back on the shelve - the only teddy bear there - so sad.  Then someone's Daddy picked him up, wrapped him up...and pan to Christmas morning - a little girl so excited and happy to get that bear - closing shot - the bear's arm goes around the little girl.  Of course, for a bear-lover like me, that commercial was especially great.  I decided each of the little boys should have one.  It took me forever - but I finally found them on Amazon!  As you can see, each little boy got one and....

... so did we!  Here is the gang: LtoR: Taffy, Squeegie, Happy and Charlie in the foreground.  Merry Christmas!

Knitting, Bears, Etc.

I have a bunch of random pictures to show you....

... this one goes way back to the time when Auntie Colleen used to post "the pic of the day".  Uncle Shaun would snap pics of empty coffee cups in unlikely places .. and recently I couldn't resist this one of the coffee cup among the cleaning supplies!

I think I showed you this one before - but it is one of my favourites!  Taffy is teaching Maggie about life at our house.

Here is the finished outfit from the end of my last blog - it will be heading to the hospital soon.

I'm not sure where this one is going yet.  Aunt Jeannie's friend would like to buy two outfits, so I made four - to give her a choice.  This is the first one.

I got this nice fruit bowl for Christmas.  Usually it is full of nice apples and pears with bananas hanging on the hook.  But Squeegie decided it was just the right size for him to sit in while he watched Poppa doing jigsaw puzzles.

I also got this handy little chicken who holds my spoon so it isn't making a drippy mess someplace - the picture isn't very clear, but it really works!

This is another outfit for the hospital gift shop.  This pattern is called "leaf and lace".  It is one of my favourites because it looks so fancy, but is so easy to knit!  I had lost track of it over the years, but found it in an older book that Granny Maureen sent me - thank you Granny!

This is a rather blurry shot of the workers at the garden apartments.  They are replacing those outdoor stairs that lead to the second and third floor.  They look so much nicer than the old ones!  I took the picture through the screen door at the front - hence the lack of clarity!

This little coat and hat were for a staff member at Aunt Jeannie's place - lots of fancy stitches and cables - took quite a while to make, but I was quite pleased with the end result (except for the shadow of the camera!).

This sweater and beret were made for the same little girl.  Her Mom showed me a photo of her little sweetie wearing it - and it looks a lot cuter on the baby than it does in this picture!

Exciting and Not

We had the most wonderful surprise in October.  I was sitting knitting and watching CNN when the doorbell rang....to my amazement.....

 Aunt Muffy came for a visit!!!  It was so nice to see her and have a chance to sit and chat.  She came on a Saturday and left on Sunday - a long drive for a short visit

.........but we were both sooo glad to see her!  As you can see behind her - the leaves were turning nicely at that time, so we went for our usual tour.  Here are some of the nicest shots....

A particularly vibrant orange tree...

 A lovevly view across a pond in the country..

 A pretty view down a village street...

And a lovely mix of fall colours in a more rural area.

When I had finished some baby clothing for the hospital, I had to stop making baby stuff and work on a special project.  Aunt Lynda came over to see if I could make a "Fisherman Knit Sweater" for Uncle Ernie.  Of course, I readily agreed and got busy knitting.  It had been a looooong time since I had done Aran knitting, and I had forgotten how much fun the challenge could be.  It took me quite a long while, but I finally got it finished.  At that point I asked Poppa to try it on since he is about the same size as his brother Ernie, just a little taller.  The picture I took of the front view just didn't show off the pattern at all, but..........

......... this picture of the back turned out rather well.  I'm going to ask Aunt Lynda if she can send me a picture of Uncle Ernie wearing it!  When it was finished....

.... I made a little cell phone carrier for Munchie's new phone and....

......... got to work on a baby outfit for another staff member at Aunt Jeannie's residence.