Crazy........

.....isn't it?  It's been such a long time since I wrote a new blog for you!  I have been working full-time for the past three weeks.  And, between that (it's been really busy at work!), taking care of Aunt Peggy, preparing for the trip to Florida and squeezing in a Christmas/Birthday dinner with Mommy and her family - it has all been rather hectic.  So, I'm going to try to catch you up on all the latest developments - besides me being busy!  I don't even remember what I've told you and what I've missed - so I'll just do my best.  We.........

..... sold Grandma Grace's house to a young couple who have since done a lot of work on it and it is nice to know that someone is excited and happy to be making it their home.   I made........

.... this little key-fob cover for one of the girls at work - the little loop broke off her fob and she couldn't put the key on her key ring - yep - I can fix that!  Poppa.....

.... has been even busier than me!  He stripped all the wallpaper off the kitchen walls and.....

...is changing the look of the whole kitchen!  He even.....

.......... built the bottom cupboards and installed them - which makes a huge difference to the appearance of the kitchen.  He hasn't got the top units done - that will have to wait until next spring after we return from Florida because...........

......... it has turned cold - too cold for Poppa to work in his workshop where he makes kitchen cabinets - as well as a lot of other stuff!  It is so cold..........

.... that Squeegie got his snowsuit out of the closet and put it on so he could go with Poppa to get a lottery ticket and some chocolate bars!  Taffy and Mikey chose.....

.... to put on some warmer clothes and stay at home!  It was really pretty though.

I snapped this picture as we drove over the bridge in the morning, as Poppa drove me to work.

This little Japanese maple tree is in the parking lot at work.  I prefer its summer outfit, but I had to grudgingly admit that it looked very nice in its snow coat.  Even at the back of the plant...

..... where I go in every morning, things looked prettier than normal.  One night after Poppa went over to make Aunt Peggy's supper (while I worked late), we made a quick trip over to the grocery store for a couple of things (we're not buying many groceries since we'll be leaving home on Friday).  On our way back from the store....

...... I noticed this big piece of equipment clearing rubble away from this site, and suddenly realized just how long it had been since I had driven past.....

.... the former location of the high school where Granny and I received a good portion of our education.  It is gone and there is a large, flat piece of land awaiting the construction of a new high school.  In the meantime, all the students from this school and the school Poppa attended are packed into Poppa's school.  There are a lot of portable school rooms there and the pupils are not impressed!  Thankfully it is only temporary.  Out little boys.....

.... came for a weekend.  We had a turkey dinner with birthday cake for dessert (to celebrate Mommy's birthday which was at the end of November).  We had a present for each of them....and it didn't take long.....

.... for the clothes to come off and the new jammies to go on!  They kept me so busy, I'm embarassed to say, I didn't get many pictures!  I thought I had a picture of Mommy blowing out the candles on her cake, but apparently I don't!  When they had left for home, Poppa.....

..... got right back to work!

A new project.........

.......... for Auntie Colleen and Uncle Shaun!

This is Augustus (fondly referred to as Gus).  He recently came to stay with Auntie Colleen and Uncle Shaun.  They have agreed to be foster parents to dogs who have no place to go and need a friendly and loving environment temporarily.  Gus is their first client.  Any of you who know Auntie Colleen and Uncle Shaun can probably guess that they are currently deciding if they should just keep Gus who has already crept into their hearts.

Knitting?  Yep!  Auntie Denise would like one of those neckwarmers like the one I previously made for a friend of ours - so I have temporarily stopped............

............. working on that blanket, so I can get her a couple of neck warmers finished before we leave for Florida (!!!!) on December 12th.  Of course, that opens another whole can of worms, since I also have to do our Christmas shopping, write the Christmas cards and (of course) have our little boys - along with Mommy and Daddy - over to our house for Christmas dinner.  They are coming next weekend - so I've got to get busy!!!  So - I'll sign off for now and get to work............but............

.........not before showing you this much more relaxed Gus!  Awwwww!

On The Needles..........

.......... there has been quite a bit of stuff.  After I finished the red vest..........

... and gave it to Liz at the family reunion, I got busy on a project that I had promised to make for Munchie - quite a while ago.  You've already had a glimpse..............

.......... of the new Buster.  Munchie wanted him to be blue with a red tail.  I complimented the red tail by adding a red nose and red ears.  Squeegie took good care of the new Buster while he was waiting to be delivered to Munchie.........

.... and carefully tucked him into a blanket each night so he would stay warm.  Once the new Buster had been delivered, I moved on to my next project...........

.... which was to make each of the little boys a nice Aran sweater..........here are the finished products.  The colours don't show up to their best advantage.  I finished Curtie's chocolate brown sweater in the hotel room before we went to their place for Thanksgiving - and I only had my little camera - so this was as good as I could get.  Munchie's sweater is actually the same colour as the new Buster.  Mommy has promised to get a picture of the little boys wearing them............needless to say - I'm still waiting!  When we returned home after that weekend I go busy working on another request I had received from a friend of ours...............

.......... years ago she acquired one of these neckwarmers and periodically asks for more.  I was happy to make them up for her - they are quick and fun to make!  Then, on to the next thing.  When the new Buster arrived at Munchie's house - he gave Poppa the old Buster to come and stay at our house.  When I checked him out, I decided he just needed to have a total makeover.  I should have taken a before picture, but didn't think of it until it was too late.  Poppa was kind enough to remove the big blue eyes so they could be re-used and then I started.  I still had some of the same yarn so I decided to re-make the whole bear.  I shortened his body a little and made his arms a little shorter so that.........

.... he would fit perfectly into his Hallowe'en costume!  He looks a little bit scary doesn't he!  Here he is without the suit..........

..... and here is a shot ............

........from another angle to show off his new tail!  Now that old Buster has been rejuvenated, I have embarked on a project designed to use up some of my stash yarn.  A couple of friend have donated some yarn to my stash, and more recently Granny was kind enough to give me a bag of yarn as well.  When we were visiting Mommy she mentioned that she was using an old blanket of Munchie's to keep her warm in the evening, so I thought I would make her a bigger blanket to use.  Once I started...........

..... Poppa thought it would make a nice addition to his bed on chilly winter nights..........so we'll have to see who gets this one.......I would love to make another one anyway ..... this is a fun pattern!  I'm already working on ideas for another one - you know - similar, yet different!  I'm going to be quite busy for the next couple of weeks as Kev-Inn is on vacation for two weeks - he is out hunting for deer.  He sent me a couple of interesting pictures and I will try to post them for you soon.  Squeegie is sitting.........

........... in Poppa's chair tonight.  He is missing Poppa who has gone to Munchie's house to help Daddy with a couple of chores.

Better...........

.........late than never - right?  I know I am terribly remiss in getting my Thanksgiving post done, but........

... recently we found ourselves in a hotel room, on a practice run for our trip to Florida for the winter..... only we were only a short distance from Munchie's house, and the plan was to visit them for Thanksgiving dinner at their house.  As you can see, Poppa and Taffy were watching TV, while Squeegie had a nap.  The next day...........

........ we were admiring the fine work of the Master - Munchie!  Take a close look at the turkey's body and you will recognize a small footprint, then the tail is composed of bi-colour hand-prints!  Isn't it just a precious piece of art?  Poppa gave Munchie his birthday bag............

........... where he discovered something I had been promising for quite a while.... a new Buster!  His old Buster was getting quite bedraggled and we decided it was time for a new one.  The first thing Munchie did.........

...... was check to make sure the new Buster had blue eyes - like his old Buster, himself and Poppa.  Of course I had made sure of that!  Once the new Buster was approved.............

....... with Daddy looking on solemnly and............

...... Mommy keeping an eye on things, with a big smile!  When Munchie was finished checking out the "new" Buster, he .................

........... let Curtie have a look, while he went to see what else was in his birthday bag........... there was a bunch of clothes, which weren't so exciting, but he likes clothes and was fairly enthusiastic.  I seemed to be so busy after - I didn't get many more pictures - but we had a great time.  Mommy had a wonderful roast in the slow cooker, along with vegetables and some creamed corn - it was yummy beyond description - it had been a looooong time since we'd had roast beef!  Poppa had a great time playing with his little boys and did that until they finally were convinced to head off to bed.  He tucked them in and then joined the rest of us to watch the hockey game.  When it was over we headed back to the hotel and after a good sleep, returned home.  It was a nice break from routine, and gave us time to visit..............

............ with our future famous artist and his family!  If you click on the picture to see it larger, you can see Curtie, Daddy & Mommy, plus a self-protrait of Munchie!  I should add that the turkey in the first picture is proudly displayed in my fridge now!  Thank you to Munchie and his family for a great weekend and a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner!

A Few Favourites..........

........... I have a post to do about Thanksgiving with the little boys, and one to do about some knitting I've done.........but time is of the essence so today I'm just doing a short post to share a couple of photos.  First of all..........

..........three sets of "old blue eyes".  I love this shot of Uncle Mark, Poppa and Gramps!  Then, just to be fair.....

.... here are their better halves!  I would have called this "brown eyed girls", but Auntie Cecile has blue.....so that won't work.  So - I'll just call it "the girls" - Nanna, Granny & Auntie Cecile.  Next up.....

.......... one evening we had this beautiful pink sunset - and at that time a jet flying overhead left a pink jetstream.........click on the photo to make it bigger and you will see it!  Next.......

........ Mikey (the new bear!) got some clothes - but he still doesn't have a coat, so Taffy wore her purple one, and loaned her other coat to Mikey when the weather got too cold for shirt-sleeves.  One more.....

......... this one is for Granny...........this is our old alma mater, which is scheduled for demolition.  As you can see, the work has begun.  So far, the only evidence is this pile of debris outside the school - so I guess they have started tearing out the interior.  I'll try to keep an eye on it!  Another picture worth sharing.....

..... the evening before we headed home from our visit with Granny, Trinity came to visit us and drew this wonderful picture for me!  It is now hanging proudly on the fridge in my kitchen.  Finally....

.......... here is an awesome picture of our two little boys, Curtie and Munchie, taken just a couple of weeks ago!  Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Presenting................

the 2013......

..... Captain of the Belleville Bulls............

.......... our very own .............. Trent Duncan!  Yes!  Recently we went to visit Granny and Gramps, and got the opportunity to go and watch Trent play.  Poppa missed most of the game........

...... (love this action shot!) because he was busy golfing - but I got to watch it with...........

....... Trinity (isn't she beautiful!) and Granny (who has always been beautiful too!).  I had such a good time - it was a wonderful weekend.  We also spent some time with .....

.... Gramps and Granny - who were dog-sitting Kylie for the week.  Uncle Kevin and Aunt Christine were in Las Vegas celebrating Aunt Christine's birthday.  Kylie doesn't sit still very often and I didn't get a really good picture of her, but I thought this one was kinda cute.  But I digress - back to the hockey arena!!  As luck would have it Poppa and Gramps finished golfing and arrived at the arena just in time for the end of the hockey game.  Then...

........after a few minutes, No. 17 showed up in person........much to the pleasure.........

........... of several of his most avid fans!  From left to right, Granny, Tristin (back to camera unfortunately),  The Captain, Uncle Sean and Poppa.  Gramps is just out of range on the left side.  Trent gathered up his gear and just before they left...........

........... he turned and smiled in my direction!  Our hero!  Talented, terrific and totally Trent!

Another Pest.......

........I'd like to tell you about.  Skunks and raccoons and who knows what other kinds of wildlife, like to eat grubs and insects.  Grubs like to eat the roots of healthy grass.  Poppa likes to keep his grass healthy.  Do you see all the connections?  So, one day recently.........

........ when it was pouring rain outside.......I heard noises at the front of the house and went out to investigate.  Peeking carefully out the garage door............

...........I see this strange creature coming towards the driveway!  Who is that and what are they doing?

Oh!  It's Poppa in his rain gear, spraying for grubs.  Apparently this stuff works best if it is raining when applied to the lawn!  But..........

..... that rain brought in some chilly weather and.....

.... the critters were out scavenging for food to fatten up before the winter.  And...there's Poppa putting another passenger into the truck for removal to another - more wild and remote - location!  He.....

.... climbed into the truck and drove out to a remote country location.......

......... carefully placed the trap and opened the door.  Before long.....

......... this critter came running out - too quickly for a good picture, but a good enough picture to identify it ....... a raccoon!

And - just look at the size of this raccoon - it was the biggest raccoon I had ever seen.  Since that day, Poppa has caught another raccoon and also taken it for a drive in the country.   He has had about three critter-free days now....we'll keep our fingers crossed!