Another Outing

Do you remember this picture...........

......... taken by Auntie Cecile on an excursion we made to see the Famous Peoples' Players?  We had such a good time.  Well... recently we went on another outing.  This time to.....

........ an English Afternoon Tea (I had green tea mint - it was very good!) held at....

........ St. Columbkille's Catholic Church.  This is the church I was baptized in and attended until I was 9 when we moved into town from the farm.  The tea was served in the rectory which was delightful - I should have gotten more photos!  Auntie Cecile knew almost everyone, since she was a little older when we moved into town and already knew most of the parishioners at St. Columbkille's.  But....

...... I did know this young lady!  Her name is Norma and she is now a mother and an active member of the CWL at St. Columbkille's.  I worked with her Dad for years.  Better yet, she came and worked with me as a summer student when she was still in high school.  Good memories of both of them!  By the way, her Mom was also in attendance, keeping an eye on things to make sure they were going smoothly.  And.....

...... this is Margaret.  She was a childhood friend of Granny's when we lived at the farm and was kind enough to pose for a picture with us as she was busy serving tea to other guests.

Auntie Cecile and I were having a great time, enjoying our tea and cucumber with cream cheese sandwiches (which I love!).  I think Auntie Cecile had salmon.  And then........

...... we were presented with this delightful tray of desserts and we had a difficult time choosing which to have.  They were quite tasty!  After we had finished our tea, we were invited to take a tour of the rectory and accepted eagerly.  Auntie Cecile had seen it before, but I hadn't ever been inside at all.  It was off-limits to little children when we attended church there.  I didn't take nearly as many photos as I should have, but..........

... I did snap one of Auntie Cecile on the stairs in front of a beautiful leaded glass window.  It doesn't show up too well because at that time of day, the sun is shining through - and I only had my little camera with me, which doesn't have all the nice settings for those circumstances.  The rectory is kept very clean and tidy and is mostly in its original condition.  We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and afterwards decided to take a stroll in the graveyard to visit some of our ancestors buried there.  Again, I didn't take enough pictures, but........

....... I did get one of this little spot where you can stop to pray or meditate - so pretty and so peaceful!  Of course..........

...... we had to take pictures beside this flowering shrub which was growing there, because..... well........it was very pretty too and Auntie Cecile looked pretty posing beside it!  So, while there were no lions with rounded tummies, there was lots of good tea and treats, old friends to chat with, and an opportunity to get together for some leisure time.  All in all, a great day!  So, to finish off this post I want to share something Auntie Cecile sent me the other day..........

......... LOL!

Still Going Strong!

So, we left Poppa working on the patio at the back of the house, and with some flowers sitting on the front landing, so.....

............ when Poppa wasn't helping me with the dishwashing, he was.....

........... working at finishing off the patio, to make it a pleasant place for me to sit and read or knit on a nice day.  As you can see, it is usually shady out there and it is a very nice, quiet spot for those activities.  He did a wonderful job, didn't he???  The weather has been almost perfect..........

..... enough so that Poppa could open both the front doors to let in the fresh air and some light, while also making it easier for him to carry all those planters, and plants through to the patio.  Of course, he had some flowers left over............

....... so he dressed up the front of the condo too.  Of course, since then, the flowers and plants have all grown tremendously, so I'll get you a newer picture soon.  When he as all finished, he cleaned up all his tools and came back into the house with..............

.............. a bucket of bears!  They had all been outside watching him!  Finally, after supper...........

............ he took a break and did some puzzles.  Speaking of eating..........

........ Mommy recently sent me this adorable picture of  Curtie and Munchie.  They appear to have inherited her taste for Oreos - always one of her favorite things, even after she moved away from home!  And, speaking of Mommy............

............ I received this large, beautiful bouquet of flowers from Daddy, Mommy and the boys, for my birthday (which is long over now!).  Thank you to all of you!

Finally - A New Post

I recently found....

.... Squeegie looking out the sliding door at the back of the condo.  Of course, I went to see what was going on.

There was Poppa down on his knees (the same knees he has been visiting medical professionals about, in hopes of decreasing the pain he experiences when walking and climbing stairs!).  He had created.....

.... a special gizmo, so that he could ensure that his project would be perfectly level.  He started....

.......... by removing the sod from an area along the edge of the existing patio.  Then.........

....... he put some sand on top of the soil and carefully used his magnificent invention to level it to the same depth as the existing patio slabs, then afterwards, precisely laid new half-slabs to extend the patio a few inches.

Once all the half-slabs were laid, he got out the power-washer and used it on the patio - can  you see the huge difference it made?  I couldn't believe they were so dirty!

Alas!  Remember the pretty tulips at the front??  Taffy was lamenting that they were losing their petals and wishing they would last forever - and feeling rather sad about them dying.  Next thing you know..........

........ I catch the two of them sliding down the bannister and staring out the front door at......

....... some pretty flowers that had appeared on the front walkway!

What Is Everyone Doing?

Well - you remember that we moved to this condo so that Poppa wouldn't have so much maintainence and upkeep to do as he had to at our big house - right?  So we haven't long been back from Florida and.....

.... Taffy and I get out the little cart and head off to the grocery store - leaving Poppa safely in the house doing jigsaw puzzles on the computer.  Sounds good - right?  But, as we turn into the road leading to our unit............

......... we spot Poppa doing something in a bent-over position in front of our place.  What can he be doing?

Oh good grief!  Our front lawn is about the size of a pocket handkerchief and the condo corporation employs a landscape company to maintain the property - but there's Poppa out digging up dandelions.  Yes - I know that the weed killers available in Canada now don't work very well and they are very expensive - but I didn't realize he would dig them out by hand - one at a time!  And then....

. ... when Taffy & I had finished putting the groceries away, I looked out again and found him down on his knees - which were already on his list of things for the doctor to check out!  I decided to stop looking and ............

....... check on the bears.  I found Taffy reading a section of the Toronto Star and......

.......... typically, Squeegie reading the comics.  On another note.....

 .... Auntie Colleen also chose this pair of socks from the sock file........ she really loves handknit socks!  And....

.......... Mommy chose these brightly coloured socks - maybe she's already thinking about next Christmas - after all it's only 6-1/2 months away!

Time to Catch Up Again!

Okay - I know it has been a long time since my last post.  We have been very busy.  Poppa has had several doctor's appointments resulting in some laser treatments on his right foot and cortisone shots in his knees.  All of this entailed about two appointments a week.  On top of that there were dentist appointments.  On top of that we had appointments with CCAC regarding both Grandma Grace and Aunt Peggy.  Both had a few bad falls.  Grandma Grace ended up in the hospital for about a week, while Aunt Peggy ended up with a cast on her left hand resulting from a broken finger from one of her falls.  This made it difficult for her to use her walker and the staff at her residence used a wheelchair to transport her to the dining room and back.  Follow-up was required for all of the above and while Poppa was helping me with the Aunt Peggy issues, I was trying to help Auntie Cecile and Auntie Colleen with the Grandma Grace issues and it kept all of us busy.  It appears that things are finally settling back into a more normal routine now - so here I am.  First off - let me say - Poppa is now feeling much better and is already working on several projects around the house.  Grandma Grace also seems to be doing better and is now usually going down to the dining room for some of her meals instead of having them brought to her room.  Aunt Peggy - well - I just had a call from her residence saying she had fallen this morning, but seems all right.  I'll go over later to check her out - she is resting right now.  Whew!

Spring is springing in our area (finally), in fact....

.......... since the neighbourhood stray cat seemed to have stepped on Daffy and knocked her over - Taffy decided to bring her into the house and put her in a vase so she would live longer.  Since that time, Daffy has moved to the big flowerbed in the sky, so.....

......... Taffy took her big brother out to get their photo taken with the tulips - we didn't know we had any tuplips in our little flowerbed - so it was a nice surprise to see how pretty they are.  I have sent out the e-mail for this year's socks and I have already had people choosing.

Auntie Colleen chose this pair - which are obviously silly socks - and happen to be a pair that I thought turned out rather nicely.

These were her second choice.  They are made from Regia yarn I purchased at my local yarn shop.  The self-patterning yarn made an interesting design in an interesting mix of colours.  I especially find the heels interesting since the colours look quite different when worked over just a few stitches as opposed to the whole circumference of the sock.  I hope you are happy with your selection Auntie Colleen!

Aunt Jeannie is all moved into her new apartment.  This is Poppa hanging up some pictures on the wall above her sofa which put the finishing touch to the room.  There were some difficulties (read screw-ups at the cable company) with her television and telephone and internet services.  After a week of using Poppa's cell phone, watching television with Auntie Denise and going without reading the blog.....

......... this pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful young man arrived to fix things up and about an hour later.....

......... she was scrolling through the menu to set it up the way she likes it.

So - the pictures were hung....

.......... things were put in place in the kitchen so she would feel at home..........

............ she took a rest to admire her new digs........

.............. we put "Ears" back in his favourite spot in front of the TV.  Everything was working - she had phone, TV and internet - the stuff in the fridge was cold - her bedroom was all fixed up and an extension phone installed..........

.......... we all went out for supper to the fish and chip store near out place.  This personable young lady was our server - she was a sweetie.  Then we took Auntie Jean back to her new apartment.....

.......... she posed for a photo with Poppa and we called the move complete!  So.....

........... what is Poppa doing now????

Visitors and a Move

Recently we had visitors ............

.......... from left to right: Poppa, Denis, Uncle Ernie, Liz, myself, Aunt Lynda (Our server offered to take this picture - kind of her!).  Denis and Liz were up to our neck of the woods for their grandson\s first communion.  We called Ernie and Lynda and we all went out for brunch before they headed off to the celebration.  I think everyone had a good time.  It was nice to see them in Canada since we usually only see them in Florida... and... it was the first time we had seen Ernie and Lynda since arriving home.  A good, fun visit.  And, in other big news.........

... Aunt Jeannie is moving from her second floor apartment (where there are only stairs) to a first floor unit in the same building.  Lots of excitement for her!  Here she is in her old apartment.  Things are kinda all over the place because she is in the middle of the move.  When we arrived Aunt Denise had already been over to help and....

......... the pantry was almost bare!  She is now settled into the new apartment - more about that later!

Spring

When we left Florida, we thought it would be spring at home......

............ and it was.... for about a week.  The temperatures were cool, but okay.  Then one morning when I looked out the doors at the back of the house - I saw this this!  I looked out the front door.....

.... and saw this!!!  Oh my gosh!

It was cold too!  We were not impressed at all!  It was cold enough, that...........

.......... Taffy got out her "Frozen" outfit and put it on to keep warm!  It was so cold that.........

Poppa and I had our heated seats on in the car when we were on our way..........

......... to the pharmacy to pick up some prescriptions for Poppa.  But...........

........... it is milder now, the snow is gone.  Taffy still needs a jacket, but she had to go get a closer look at some daffofils growing in the flower bed across the road!  Now, if the sun stays out and the jacket can get packed away - we will be happy!