Another Chore..........

.......for Poppa.  Most pools down here use a solar blanket during their winter, when temperatures fall into the thirties for a short while.  These blankets are like a layer of insulation and help maintain the water temperature in the pool so the pool heater doesn't have to work so hard.  Unfortunately, due to the intense sun and the water below, the blankets don't last very long and are subject to wear and tear.  This year....

...... our pool cover had quite a tear!  Usually we would leave this for David (the owner), but since the tear was quite extensive, and since this caused us to have to be very careful when we were taking it off and putting in on - so that it wouldn't get any worse - with David's permission, we went and got a new solar blanket.  The blanket arrives as a rectangle folded into a box and when it comes out of the box it has many fold lines.  Then it has to be cut to the shape of our pool before it can replace the old one.  Poppa, with his usual brilliance, decided to lay it out on the paving bricks in the driveway while the sun was out so the folds would lay flatter.  So he put it out as soon as the sun came up.  Then we pulled the old blanket off the pool and left it flat on the floor of the screen room (where the pool is) to dry.  Later that day, when the old blanket was fairly dry we carried it around to the front and .....

.......... carefully placed it on top of the new one, so Poppa could use it as a pattern to cut the new one.  You can see the old one - it is a lighter blue from the sunlight.  Once it was spread to Poppa's satisfaction.....

.......... he started carefully cutting his way around and.....

.......... and around, until he had the perfect shape.  He inspected all the edges carefully, and finally.....

.............. we put the new blanket on the pool, where it floated nicely and looks like a great fit!  Shortly afterward, I found............

............ a rather adorable pool creature in the pool enjoying the beautiful, hot, sunny Florida weather.  Then, since I had recently got..............

...... a brand new, easy-to-care-for hair cut, I joined him!  And, we continue to wait for Aunt Grumpy to choose her socks.  Since it is the weekend it may not be until tomorrow when we hear from her.  Meanwhile, I will start working on socks for the men.  It seems I need five pairs for men: Taz ( a co-worker from Japan who is super nice), Ali (another Japanese guy who always makes me think of pictures of little Japanese boys - too cute), Mr. Yamamoto ( the Vice-President of Finance - important man!), Frank (our new cost accountant - comes from Hungary, smart guy), and finally (of course) Kev-Inn!  I think Taffy is working on one of those right now - I'd better go help her!

Auntie Colleen.....

.......... has chosen these............

............. which I called Quartz Stripe.  This is Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Yarn.  It is a fairly fine yarn which is machine washable and dryable.  I hope she likes them as much as she usually does.  Thanks Auntie Colleen.  I have now forwarded the file of photos on to Aunt Grumpy for her choice!  I'll keep you informed as soon as I hear from her.

What is Poppa doing now???

We're off!

The Sock Giveaway for 2014 is under way!  I have sent the file containing all the photos to Auntie Colleen so she can choose.  Just to keep you interested.....

......... this is the pair I gave to Liz.  I was working on them when she left for Canada and really liked the colours.  And..........

.............Daddy, Mommy, Munchie and Curtie sent this little wooden box, chock full several types of nuts to Poppa for his birthday.  As you can see - I was a little bit late getting the picture - he has already taken one variety out for snacking!  Thank you to our little family!  And....

.... I found Squeegie poring over a magazine full of classic cars!  There was an auction recently in Kissimme - but Squeegie & Poppa missed it!  I think they would have liked to go as spectators only as some of the cars sold for amounts in excess of $500,000!  Wow!

Sock Giveaway 2014

Remember this???

Yep...... that's my sock stash, taken on January 3rd of this year.  Here is the latest shot.....

......... taken on February 11th.  As you can see - there are quite a few skeins of yarn that have disappeared.  And since that date, there are a few more missing!  After sending out the "giveaway" e-mail to anyone I thought might be interested.... I got an amazing response.  Here (in the order that sox will be chosen) is the list of ladies requesting socks this year:  Auntie Collen, Aunt Grumpy, Auntie Denise, Lucy (my friend at work), Sue (another pal from work), Aunt Lynda, Mommy, Gramma, Shannon (the "new" payroll administrator at work), Laura (the young lady who is doing the work I usually do when I am there), Saori ( a lovely young lady - here from Japan to solve some system problems), Keiko (the girl with the beautiful smile at work), Dorothy (my boss when I am at work) and last but not least Mildred (Kev-Inn's Mom).  In all fairness I must tell you - Mildred picked out the yarn she liked best before I left home - she came to our house with Kev-Inn when he visited for his list of chores to do while we were away.  So..........as you can guess, I have been extremely busy making socks since I arrived!

  While I was working on this pair (which is finished now), Squeegie was very kind and.....

.... helped me carry the first 11 pairs outside so I could get some good pictures in the beautiful Florida sunshine (translated - natural light which best displays the colours).  I sent those off to Auntie Colleen, so she could start considering.  As soon as I have sent her the final 4 pictures and she has chosen I will send the pictures to the next participant and post the picture of those chosen by Auntie Colleen and so on......... I have one sock to knit for the last pair and then the choosing can begin!  While all this choosing is going on, I'll start another six pairs for the men who are wanting new socks!

Here's a photo of my two favourite boys getting ready to do some cleaning............

A Few Other...........

.......... chores that Poppa has gotten done.  He did a few little things for Denis & Liz that I would like to show you.....

....... he planted a few impatience plants in the front flowerbed..........

............ he cleaned the grout in the master suite bathroom.........

........ he installed some baseboard in a couple of places where it was missing....

,,,,, he put a new curtain on the door leading to the pool area.....

............ this is the outside picture - you can see the nice new paint colour - Denis & Poppa did that before Denis and Liz went back to Canada.

He trimmed up all the plants surrounding the pool area....

.......... so that they will thicken up and grow new foliage....and he planted a couple of new plants in there to add some colour.........

..........as well as replacing the hibiscus bush which didn't survive the cold temperatures last year, with a little baby hydrangea tree which should grow to about 5 feet and is a little hardier for that particular spot.  Now all we have to do is wait for it to grow!

A New Nose...........

............. looks like this!  Here is Squeegie with his new nose!  He also has new eyes.  He looks so handsome and his sense of smell has returned!  I'm not sure if this is good or bad, since the smell of food makes him hungry even quicker!  Taffy...........

.......... looks just the same - except her head no longer falls forward all the time!  She sits up nice and straight - and she got a new outfit before she came home!  She is happy to be home and wore this outfit to church on Saturday evening!  Poppa and I missed them a lot while they were gone and were more than happy to bring them home again!  While they were gone, Poppa was doing things to fill in the time.  He....

........... fixed the kitchen tap .......... I have no idea what he did, but it works like a charm now.  He also....

...... cleaned the brand new vacuum cleaner and did all the carpets.  He was quite impressed with the new vacuum and seemed to take a long time to do everything thoroughly!  Then....

......... he cleaned the garbage bucket - but I was a little late getting the camera ready and just caught him after he put it back in its space - oops!  Following that....

........ he took a look at this folding door (which hides the laundry equipment) and decided he just couldn't leave it like that!  So...

...... he took the doors off, then carefully removed the track they fold on and.......

.......... took it outside to do some work on it.  Once he had it straightened to his satisfaction, he......

.......... re-hung it, did some adjustments to make it hang perfectly and ...........

......... ta-da!  It's perfect now!  He did a few other chores as well, and then.............

........... once we had retrieved the bears...............

.......... he took a day off to relax and enjoy his birthday!

Happy Birthday............

............ to Poppa!  Yes - today is his birthday - and I don't even have a nice picture of him to post!   Due to an amazing response to my e-mail regarding this year's sock giveaway, I have no time for anything but knitting socks.  I have 15 pairs to knit for ladies, and 6 pairs for men!  I currently have 10 and 2/3 pairs of ladies done, so fairly soon the ladies will be able to pick.  The men will probably have to wait until I get home to pick theirs.

The bears are back home.  They are happy to be here.  Taffy no longer had a droopy head and Squeegie has his nose back and brand new eyes as well as some re-inforcement behind his fur to keep him in good shape!  I'll try to post pictures "soon".

From the back Squeegie looks just like this.