A Little Post.....

..... with just a few matters of interest.  We were at Munchie's on his birthday for a brief visit...just long enough to watch him blow out his candles....

... but in the excitement I missed the moment.  When they were all blown out (which he did an excellent job on), Little Smiley supervised the removal of the candles from the cake (and he may have sampled the icing on the tip of his finger).  Munchie got more presents - mostly clothes from his grandparents - and something called a DS from Mommy and Daddy.  It is one of those hand-held game devices so popular with the little folk these days.  Once he had opened his DS he was occupied with it for the rest of our visit.  Needless to say - Poppa was with him and they were both learning how to play.  It is amazing how quickly little people learn how to use those electronic game devices - including Munchie!  Meanwhile....

... we had a birthday party for Taz at work.  It started with pizza and wings and ended with this cake.  A couple of weeks later, just before his Mom returned to Japan, we had a little gathering to honour her visit to Canada....

... in the Training Center since the group was larger.  Then there was the day when the power was out due to a change of an electrical transformer to supply power to the new building being constructed ...

.... during those hours our computers weren't working, and the lights were off - and here is Kev-Inn demonstrating how stressful that was for all of us!  Outside....

... while there is still a fair amount of green, most of our trees are wearing their autumn colours.  I wonder if Auntie Colleen recognizes this scene??  More recently we had another birthday at work...

... this time it was Lucy wearing the birthday hat!  And of course...

... I have been working on those scarves for the annual church bazaar.  This is the first one I finished, then....

... I thought I would try something different.  More to follow....

Munchie is Four!!!

This is what..........

.... a happy, little, blue-eyed boy looks like on the morning of his fourth birthday.  Yes.  On October 10th, 2012 Munchie turned 4!  In honour of that birthday (and fulfilling a wish of his), Mommy and Daddy took him to ......

... yes - you guessed it - Marineland!  The weather was....

... a little chilly, so he had to bundle up a little to watch the program. But as the bleachers slowly filled up....

.. Smiley joined him and they cheered for the pre-show dolphins, who were warming up with a few tricks.  Munchie quite enjoyed the happy playing of the dolphins and ...

.... the funny tricks done by this big walrus.  He watched closely....

... every jump and twist and entertained the idea of becoming a dolphin-trainer someday.  Once the show was over, the fun began.  They stood....

... in a line (can you spot Daddy and Munchie?)...

... for some crazy rides... they went ....

... shopping for souvenirs, and....

... they checked out some other animals (Squeegie likes these fuzzy guys!).  Finally, when Munchie realized that....

... Mommy and Smiley were starting to lag behind a little....

... he sat down with Daddy for a few minutes to let them catch up.  When it was time to get going again, he noticed that he was feeling a little tired....

... so Daddy gave him a lift back to the car.  It was a busy, fun-filled day for the little boys and....

... this is what a happy, little, blue-eyed boy looks like at the end of his birthday trip to Marineland!  (Notice little brother joined in this endeavour!)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHIE!

Quickly.....

.... a couple of pics for you.....

........ our little men were visiting two weekends ago..... Munchie and Poppa had a great time playing together with all the little cars and the big truck, while Daddy chilled and ......

.... watched some football on the TV.  Mommy and Curtis were upstairs and not on this camera.  I'm hoping I got some pictures of them on the other camera, but I haven't download it yet.  On another front, I have finally finished Munchie's blanket.....

.... here it is spread out on my 3/4 (48") bed.  The detail looks like this....

.... and I added a border because I didn't like the knitted edges.  The yarn is a slubbed acrylic/cotton mix and it produced an uneven edge.....

.... so I made this simple border which pleased me much more.  Every time Munchie has been up since I started it, he asks "Is this for me?".  Happily he can now have it.  I was working on frogging the sleeves on an old sweater of Aunt Peggy's - so I could make the sleeves shorter for her.  It is a tedious job because the sweater is machine-knit and therefore is not un-ravelling like a hand-knit sweater would.  This means each stitch has to be picked out - I'll probably still be working on it when we head for Florida!  Anyway, in the meantime, it is time for the annual church bazaar and I have nothing to send this year....so I am making a few scarves - they knit up quickly.  I haven't got pictures yet....next blog!

Another Career Idea

Recently Munchie had an unfortunate mishap while having his bath.  He was happily playing with his little brother and they were goofing around a little.  He spun this way, and hopped that way and inadvertently crashed into the spout in the tub.  He quickly noticed that something was hurting.  When Mommy and Daddy checked they were somewhat dismayed to discover that one of his front teeth appeared to be bleeding around the top and looked a tad lop-sided!  Oh Dear!  They waited a couple of days to see what would happen and it looked as though that tooth was discolouring a little.... so .......

.... with some trepidation Mommy and Munchie headed off to the dentist's office.  Munchie had no idea what exactly a dentist was, but he was impressed with all the shiny equipment and fun-looking instruments.  Not quite knowing what to expect he did as he was told, and prepared himself for whatever might happen.  The dentist did an examination of all Munchie's teeth and declared that all was well.  He checked that front tooth and agreed that it was slightly discoloured, but that it was fine where it was and could stay until it came out on its own, in a couple of years.

 He poked all the other teeth and said they were all fine and there were no cavities.  Hurray!  So, all in all it was a good experience for Munchie and he left the office with visions of wonderful shiny equipment and interesting looking tools.  After a few questions regarding the possible income from such a profession, he carefully added it to his list of possibilities.  Sometimes, the events of the day just ......

.... wear a little fellow out before he is even finished his supper!

Last Weekend....

We were invited out for dinner at..........

... Auntie Denise's new house.  When we arrived....

... she met us at the door with a smile, and hustled us inside.  I couldn't help but notice...

.... the lovely table setting, just awaiting hungry people.  And while I was doing that....

... Auntie Denise was in the kitchen with Aunt Karen - where they were busily getting things ready.  We had a wonderful supper - but I was too busy eating and chatting to get any pictures.  Then later we gathered in the living room for more chat.....

.... Uncle Leonard and Poppa had a great time catching up on all their latest projects, while they enjoyed a beer and....

.... snacked on peanuts!  Meanwhile......

... Aunt Karen was showing Auntie Denise and Uncle Brian photos from her recent trip to the east coast to visit Kevin, Ginger, Taylor and Trent.  The scenery was lovely and the family looked well!  It sounded like a good time was had by all.  Not only had they visited with Kevin, Ginger and the grandsons, but they had gone sight-seeing as well.  Uncle Ernie and Aunt Lynda were with them - Uncle Ernie was doing the driving... he had been there before and knew all the good places to visit.  Eventually we were all caught up and it was time to end our dinner evening with Aunt Denise and Uncle Brian......... many thanks to them for a yummy meal and a very enjoyable evening!

Poppa's Latest Project

Things have been pretty quiet around here... but as you can imagine, that doesn't mean Poppa hasn't been keeping busy doing interesting things.  We have a space under our front steps which makes a wonderful cold room since it is underground.  The space is only about 8-1/2' by 3-1/2' but it can hold a lot of stuff!  We noticed recently that there was mould growing in one corner - encouraged, I think, by the recent warmer than usual winters.  With intermittent cold snaps - there was more condensation than usual on the cold walls and ceiling of that space.  Of course, it spurred Poppa into action.  While I was at work one day - he cleared the space right out.  This entailed moving a lot of stuff that was on a lot of shelves - and then removing the shelves!  By the time I got my camera out and ready it looked like this.....

He had it all scrubbed with a special solution to eliminate the mould and the spores.  Then washed down with regular solutions.  You can see up in the top corner where he scrubbed the paint right off the blocks.  This whole process lasted several days - and took a week to complete!  Following this came the installation of mould-resistant and water-proof insulation on the walls and ceiling....

..... followed by a thin plywood wall covering....

... in this picture you can see the plywood on the ceiling, while Poppa is putting strapping on the walls for the pressure fitting of insulation in the walls.  The whole thing was quite a job!  Following the insulation and plywood was painting.....

.... the ceiling is white to reflect the light in that small, windowless space.  The walls are a pale beige colour to blend with the rest of the finished basement area.  Then the crowning glory....

.... ceramic tiles were installed on the floor.....

..... then grouted, sponged off and later scrubbed to a nice finish.  There was a waiting period required for the grout to cure....and the space was declared a success.  Of course....

... Squeegie claimed some of the credit for his excellent supervisory skills . he kept an eye on the procedures from beginning to end.  Once Poppa had re-installed the shelves my portion of the job started....

..... all that stuff that came out, had to go back in.  It took me two days....

.... to wash everything and sort through it to eliminate some of it that we hadn't looked at in the last twenty years -  but eventually I got it done.....

.... to my satisfaction.  It is quite nice for a cold room....  thank you Poppa!

Large Day in a Small LIfe

Yes. Yesterday was the first day of school - albeit Junior Kindergarten - for our little Munchie.  Early in the morning he got dressed up .......

... in some new clothes and put on his back pack (how incredibly cute!), and looking very grown-up, headed off to school.  Once there he had a good time....

... much to his surprise, they had a sandbox there - one he could stand up and play in!  When asked by the teacher, he put up his hand and said his favourite thing at school was the sandbox.  They did lots of other stuff too.....

.... here is another angle where you can see more of his school room.  He is away up there - still at that sandbox.  Reports say that he enjoyed his first day of school and did very well at blending into that environment.  Congratulations little Munchie - we're so proud of you today and always!