A Stroll to the Donut Shop

Here is a chronicle of a typical morning walk to the donut shop for coffee.  We try to do this each morning so that we get in a bit of exercise every day.  Of course, Poppa gets lots of exercise as he works around the yard, but I'm usually inside. 

On the way out, I stopped to snap a shot of the bleeding heart in the corner of the flower bed...it is flourishing and the whole corner is full of it.  Somewhere buried in the centre of that mass of bleeding heart is a peony - I guess we'll see more of it later.

The lily of the valley is also in bloom in this flower bed, and as we walk up the path, the aroma is heavenly...I really love the lily of the valley...they are tiny, but they smell wonderful!  While I stopped to take pictures, Poppa was heading out the driveway without me, so I had to get moving.  I'll get a picture of the lilies another day.

We went and had our coffee, then headed home again.  I guess we were still sleepy on the walk up, because on the walk back home we noticed all kinds of things we had missed before.  For instance, here was another picture for the abandoned series, floating in the little creek.

Then, as we got closer to home, while passing the stream (a larger one that the little creek flows into), we noticed that the wood ducks were there.  We hadn't seen them for quite a while - we thought due to the lowering of the water level - but after quite a bit of rain - they were back.  We haven't seen them since though.

If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you can see them away up there.  When we were almost home, it occurred to us that the trees were mostly leafed out and looking green and summer-ey.  What a treat to see our house between all the trees.

Of course, as soon as we got home, Poppa found something he had to do.  This time it was cleaning the filter in the hot tub.

Of course, while he did this, Squeegie wanted to watch.  It was very sunny out there, and bright sun is not good for teddy bear fur, so Poppa came up with a solution that allowed Squeegie to watch without getting fur deterioration.

This just made me laugh!

Abandoned and Knitted Lace

I've fallen somewhat behind with the abandoned pictures............and I really love them, so I thought I should try to get up to date..........Mommee took this one!  She has joined the ranks of the abandoned series lookouts and discovered this one sitting on the counter at the office where she works.  Apparently it sat there all day........until someone finally gave up on finding the owner and disposed of it.

And then there is this one..........I'm not sure where Uncle Shaun found this one, but I'm sure it must have been the Coliseum in Rome........or someplace like that..........looks like an old stone building.

Off topic, here is a wonderful picture of Murfee the Wonder Dog..........Auntie Colleen titled it Wild Thing..........

isn't he cute?  Doesn't look too wild to me...but apparently he was spying on photographers in the area!

Now, finally, here is a picture of the pink knitted lace.  I pinned it out the best I coule on Poppa's chair and took one picture - this is it.

Great Gramma's 84th Birthday!

That same day - the day Munchie went home with Gramma - Great Gramma had a birthday party.  Poppa and I were a little late getting there, but we did make it in time to see everyone and wish Great Gramma a happy day.  Here are a few photos....

She got a lot of cards...and they were all different and all lovely.

Everyone had a cup of tea (or the drink of their choice) and a nice visit.

Auntie Denise was doling out large pieces of scrumptious, decadent birthday cake - and apparently sampling it as she did. 

Aunt Bonnie rushed around so quickly she got blurred, while Poppa ate cake, and Uncle Brian looked on - wishing for a second piece I think.

Aunt Smiley (the Aunt formerly known as Aunt Grumpy) and Uncle Ernie smiled for the camera.

And so did Uncle Brian - this is such a good picture of him!

And I'm still knitting - here is a preliminary picture of the blanket-in-progress for Munchie's little baby brother - I should have it finished well before his due date of August 22nd.

I'm still working on some pink lace, but I haven't got a picture yet.  I'll do that soon!

Gramma and Munchie

After that busy week, we were looking forward to Gramma's visit, along with little Munchie of course!  They arrived safely on Friday morning - both safe and sound.  Gramma looked like she was happy to get out of the car and turn the little guy over to Poppa for a while.

While Gramma was having a cup of coffee to revive her from the drive, Munchie had coerced Poppa into letting him wash his hands to refresh himself after the long drive.  (Munchie looooves to play in the water.)

After some time spent visiting, and playing with Munchie to wear him out and get him tired enough for a nap, Gramma and I decided to go for a little tour around the area to acquaint Gramma with Mommee's old stomping grounds.  Of course, we took a stroll around the park to get the mandatory photo of the visitor at the Champlain Monument.  Here's Gramma!

We toured around the area for a couple of hours - showed Gramma the houses Mommee had lived in and the local schools and some other highlights.  Meanwhile, back at the house, Munchie had gotten up from his nap - quite refreshed and ready to get into action again.  Poppa took him outside to check out the new sandbox.

He enjoyed it immensely and played there for a long time.  But, eventually he got hungry and climbed out to come inside for a bite to eat.  After some more play time...he decided he was worn out and we got him ready for bed.  He paused to say good night to all his favourite toys....

....he headed off to  bed and a while later the rest of us followed him upstairs.

Early the next morning he was wide awake and eager to start another day!  He urged Poppa to help him with a little project he had in mind.  C'mon Poppa!

So, Poppa lent a helping hand and pretty soon the mission was accomplished!

Look!  I did it!  The light is on!

When Poppa and Gramma stopped for their morning coffee, Munchie decided he needed some too - and did the Dip 'n Sip with his sucker........it was very cute!

As soon as Kev-Inn got up, we all headed to McDonald's for breakfast - we chose McDonald's because we thought they had a tent full of plastic balls, but apparently they had taken the balls out........but Munchie did find a nice little girl and some buttons to twist and turn.....and he had a good time as well as some good breakfast.

By the time we arrived back home and Munchie played some more with Poppa, Squeegie, Taffy, Pooh and the toys...he was starting to get a little tired.

He found Nanna's jacket and put it on - it seemed a tad chilly in the house.....then he also put on Squeegie's hat and trudged around looking adorable.

I thought he would get rid of that big jacket in a short time, but he went trekking around for quite a while - looking like a poor, little hobo....but smiling all the while.

We knew he was getting tired, and he laid down on the floor and covered himself with Nanna's jacket..........we all glanced at each other - worrying that he was going to fall asleep right there in the middle of the parlour floor - and we were trying to tire him out so he would sleep for Gramma in the car while she drove back to his house.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera ready when, a few seconds later, out popped a little blond-haired, blue-eyed boy saying "Pee-Boo!" and laughing with glee.  We all got a good laugh.

Eventually though, he grew impatient with us, for not noticing how tired he was getting, and he went and got his jacket - hoping, I guess, that we would get the hint.

Then he went and got Nanna's shoes and handed them to her.

After a brief snuggle with Taffy he went to ask Poppa for some assistance.   He had decided he would like to keep a souvenir of his visit - and chose one of Taffy's ear ribbons.

We convinced him that Taffy and her ribbons would still be here when he came to visit us again.........and since he looked ready to fall asleep, we finished getting his gear packed and helped Gramma stow it in her car.  All too soon, they were heading up the road in the rain to take our baby back home.  We had such a good time with Gramma and Munchie, we're hoping they will both come back to see us again soon.

The Next Week

The week after Munchie's visit with us, we caught up on some stuff we needed to do!  For instance - on the weekend, we walked up to Tim Horton's for coffee (with Kev-Inn).

We usually walk up each morning, during the week.....but this trip was special.....because I found an abandoned bonanza.  Of course, they aren't stacked up neatly like Uncle Shaun's, but if quantity is good then I got it!

On the very same day - I found some trilliums growing on the side of the path.  I couldn't get too close, but here they are!

We did manage to get some other tasks accomplished also.  Poppa got that huge flower bed at Great Gramma Grace's house all cleaned up.

Another day he worked on Phillip's Park and got it looking beautiful.

About 13 years ago we planted a little tamarack that was growing in the then-vacant lot behind us in the back portion of Phillip's Park.  At the time it was about the same height as Poppa.  Here it is today....

The day this picture was taken, we had just arrived back at the house, after a chilly walk up to Tim Horton's.  On the way back, it was chilly enough that Poppa decided that the "hoodie" look made great sense.

And, another day, we decided it was time to put the furniture out again at the front of the house.  After some consultation with Squeegie and Taffy, Poppa declared that everything looked perfect.

When that was all finished, Poppa declared it was time to cut the grass.  I went in the house to do some chores in there.  Poppa went down to the shed to get the lawn tractor up and running.  He promised Squeegie that he would get him before he started the actual cutting...so Squeegie waited patiently.

Taffy and I started doing some dusting and polishing while Squeegie waited. 

She did an amazing job!  We re-arranged some of Poppa's angels to show them off better...and we both really liked the way they looked when we were done.

And, eventually Poppa did come and fetch Squeegie and the two of them got the lawn all mowed.

So, we got everything all tidied and groomed.  And then we got some exciting news.  Gramma was coming for a visit.  I had been trying to convince her to visit us for a long time...and it was great news!  Quickly following this news, was another phone call from Mommee asking if Munchie could come for another day, since she was having babysitter problems again.  It was decided that Gramma would bring Munchie with her when she came!  More on that later.

So Much

A lot has happened since my last blog.  Munchie came to stay with us for a day.  Then a week later Gramma brought him for another visit.....and we had a nice time with her too!  Great Gramma had another birthday gathering.  Such fun!

When Mommie brought Munchie for his first stay with us, she had to hurry back to the city the same day, so we didn't have much time to visit with her.  And it was soon time for our little visitor to go to bed.  The next morning Poppa left early to go and do some more work on Great Grandma Grace's flower bed, so Munchie & I were here together.  I couldn't take as many pictures as I normally do, since I was in charge of the little guy.  But I did manage to get a few...........after breakfast - while I cleaned up the kitchen and tidied the house, Munchie sat with Pooh and browsed through my Herschnerr's catalog to see if there was anything suitable for Nanna to knit for his little brother (who is due in August).

We went outside for a walk and played in the side yard and checked out the little flowers growing in the flower beds.   He was incredibly gentle with the little plants - he felt them and left them all intact.  After lunch and a nap, Munchie led me to the high chair and asked for help to get in - so I guessed he wanted a snack.  He had a variety of things and seemed to enjoy them all.

Later, we went into town for a visit with Aunt Peggy.  Munchie had a good time there - he got lots of nice treats - and sat like a very good boy while he ate them.   When Munchie and I got home, Poppa was already there - and he took Munchie outside to play while I made supper.  They appeared to have a very good time and Munchie got some exercise walking down to check out Poppa's shed.

Then they checked out the squirrel feeder........Munchie suspected it was empty and on closer inspection, discovered that he was absolutely correct.

When he had made sure that the food was gone, he climbed back out again to tell Poppa about the plight of the poor squirrels.

After all this fun, the boys came in for supper.  After we had eaten we put our little grandson into his pyjamas so he would be all ready for bed when he got home.  Then we strapped him into his car seat and headed back to see Mommie and Daddie.

Mommie and Daddie were glad to see their little fellow again and he was sure happy to see them.