And so on.....

Here is ......

...Squeegie making sure he doesn't get covered in dust while Poppa works on the floor in his bedroom - as you can see it is almost done!  

Soon the plastic came off the bed (and off Squeegie) and you can see how nicely the floor turned out!

Soon he was working in the hall....and shortly after that....

.... my room was finished too!  We are quite pleased with the finished product and don't miss the carpet at all!  (You wouldn't believe how much dust and stuff came out of that carpet as Poppa dragged it out - and it was vacuumed regularly!)

While my room was getting done, Charlee came downstairs and posed with Taffy for this picture.  He doesn't come down very often and it seemed like an adventure to him!  Of course...

.... then Squeegie wanted his picture taken with Charlee too!  And, while all that was going on....

....... I was busy with another project.

Okay

I know it has been a loooong time since my last post.  We just seem to have been very busy.

I can't remember if I showed you this baby set I made for the tuck shop at the hospital or not.  I have sent a few more things over, and I still have some stuff here........I'll see if I can get you caught up by the end of this post.

Here is a white outfit.... I kinda like this one with the green trim - seems to dress it up nicely.

Auntie Denise has been having a problem with her memory caused by Primary Progressive Aphasia, caused by a bump on the head - we're not sure when.  At any rate, it is troubling - she cannot comprehend numbers at all (doesn't know how much things cost and other related issues connected to numbers), she isn't able to keep track of her prescriptions, and she has trouble finding the words she needs to express herself.  She decided that she should move to a retirement home where those issues will be attended to for her.  Poppa is her PofA, so he has been very actively involved in selling her condo and getting her moved and settled comfortably in her new residence.  She is quite content there and doesn't seem to mind at all.  The meals are good and since they are prepared for her, she is getting three good meals a day and therefore seems happier and healthier.  It was big decision, a big move, and she has handled it very well.  I'll get pictures later for you.

Aunt Jeannie is also having more mobility issues due to her problematic knees and Poppa is working with her son Travis, to see if we can have her relocated to a residence where more help is available.  Again Poppa is one of her PoA's, so he is actively involved in that as well.

One day while Poppa and I were out shopping at Costco, we found these cute little Mickey Mouse outfits and bought one for Squeegie.  I turns out he has gained a bit of weight and needed a bigger size - so we gave the little one to Happy and got Squeegie another one.  They do look quite cute!

And - what else has Poppa been doing?  Well, he took on a very large project during the cold months.  he decided to take the carpet off the floors on the second level of the condo and replace them with laminate flooring.  This required moving all the furniture back and forth from here to there.  In the picture above, he has the floor underneath the queen size bed done and is getting ready for the rest of the room.  It was a large project and took him several weeks to complete.  I'll add more pics as it progresses.

Here is his room all finished, but you can't see much of the floor.  I can assure you that it looks lovely and is much easier to clean properly than the old carpet that was there!

I had some red fingering weight yarn in my stash, so I made this little outfit for the hospital with that.  Aunt Cecile (who does volunteer work in the office at the hospital) said it disappeared rather quickly from the tuck shop - so I guess it was okay!  I've finished a few other things since then - and we've had visits with the little boys (Munchie and Curtie) - and Poppa has finished the flooring upstairs - but I'm worn out typing now, so more later - hopefully sooner than last time!

Christmas!

Yes - Christmas and it's not even a month ago! 

Munchie came - and immediately got on his phone - how soon they grow up!

Mommy was busy chatting with me and a bear or two!

And, as soon as Mommy set her phone down Curtie was playing on it!  Notice that both our little grandsons keep the bears close to them.  Blackie is beside Munchie offering advice on how to win the game, and here Pooh is keeping an eye on what Curtie is doing!

We all went out to Swiss Chalet for their Christmas special.

Curtis didn't want the bacon in his burger and passed it over to Daddy.

Munchie sat right between Mommy and me!

Curtie sat right beside Poppa, and after I took this picture....

Munchie wanted everyone to see how much he was enjoying his dinner!

Time flew by - soon Poppa was checking the road conditions on his computer....

.... and Munchie was packing his stuff into his duffel bag in preparation for going home.  Notice the new bear in his bag?  Did anyone see the Wal-Mart commercial with that particular bear?  It was so cute,  the bear was walking around Wal-Mart, reading books, playing with toys and eating ice cream.  At the first sign of morning he climbed back on the shelve - the only teddy bear there - so sad.  Then someone's Daddy picked him up, wrapped him up...and pan to Christmas morning - a little girl so excited and happy to get that bear - closing shot - the bear's arm goes around the little girl.  Of course, for a bear-lover like me, that commercial was especially great.  I decided each of the little boys should have one.  It took me forever - but I finally found them on Amazon!  As you can see, each little boy got one and....

... so did we!  Here is the gang: LtoR: Taffy, Squeegie, Happy and Charlie in the foreground.  Merry Christmas!

Knitting, Bears, Etc.

I have a bunch of random pictures to show you....

... this one goes way back to the time when Auntie Colleen used to post "the pic of the day".  Uncle Shaun would snap pics of empty coffee cups in unlikely places .. and recently I couldn't resist this one of the coffee cup among the cleaning supplies!

I think I showed you this one before - but it is one of my favourites!  Taffy is teaching Maggie about life at our house.

Here is the finished outfit from the end of my last blog - it will be heading to the hospital soon.

I'm not sure where this one is going yet.  Aunt Jeannie's friend would like to buy two outfits, so I made four - to give her a choice.  This is the first one.

I got this nice fruit bowl for Christmas.  Usually it is full of nice apples and pears with bananas hanging on the hook.  But Squeegie decided it was just the right size for him to sit in while he watched Poppa doing jigsaw puzzles.

I also got this handy little chicken who holds my spoon so it isn't making a drippy mess someplace - the picture isn't very clear, but it really works!

This is another outfit for the hospital gift shop.  This pattern is called "leaf and lace".  It is one of my favourites because it looks so fancy, but is so easy to knit!  I had lost track of it over the years, but found it in an older book that Granny Maureen sent me - thank you Granny!

This is a rather blurry shot of the workers at the garden apartments.  They are replacing those outdoor stairs that lead to the second and third floor.  They look so much nicer than the old ones!  I took the picture through the screen door at the front - hence the lack of clarity!

This little coat and hat were for a staff member at Aunt Jeannie's place - lots of fancy stitches and cables - took quite a while to make, but I was quite pleased with the end result (except for the shadow of the camera!).

This sweater and beret were made for the same little girl.  Her Mom showed me a photo of her little sweetie wearing it - and it looks a lot cuter on the baby than it does in this picture!

Exciting and Not

We had the most wonderful surprise in October.  I was sitting knitting and watching CNN when the doorbell rang....to my amazement.....

 Aunt Muffy came for a visit!!!  It was so nice to see her and have a chance to sit and chat.  She came on a Saturday and left on Sunday - a long drive for a short visit

.........but we were both sooo glad to see her!  As you can see behind her - the leaves were turning nicely at that time, so we went for our usual tour.  Here are some of the nicest shots....

A particularly vibrant orange tree...

 A lovevly view across a pond in the country..

 A pretty view down a village street...

And a lovely mix of fall colours in a more rural area.

When I had finished some baby clothing for the hospital, I had to stop making baby stuff and work on a special project.  Aunt Lynda came over to see if I could make a "Fisherman Knit Sweater" for Uncle Ernie.  Of course, I readily agreed and got busy knitting.  It had been a looooong time since I had done Aran knitting, and I had forgotten how much fun the challenge could be.  It took me quite a long while, but I finally got it finished.  At that point I asked Poppa to try it on since he is about the same size as his brother Ernie, just a little taller.  The picture I took of the front view just didn't show off the pattern at all, but..........

......... this picture of the back turned out rather well.  I'm going to ask Aunt Lynda if she can send me a picture of Uncle Ernie wearing it!  When it was finished....

.... I made a little cell phone carrier for Munchie's new phone and....

......... got to work on a baby outfit for another staff member at Aunt Jeannie's residence.

Some Knitting Projects

To give you a bit of background ... Poppa had cataract surgery this year.  His first eye was done in May and the second eye in October... so he doesn't wear glasses - except for when he is reading fine print!  I am so envious!!

So, back to the knitting.  While we were sitting in the hospital reception area, waiting for Uncle David to come and give us a ride home (Poppa wasn't allowed to drive, and I haven't driven for a few years now, due to vision issues) directly across from the Tuck Shop, it occured to me that a long, long time ago I did some knitting for the NICU.  I don't remember why I quit doing that - probably just a time issue.  Anyway, I left Poppa sitting there and scooted over to see if they wanted someone to do some knitting for them.  I left my name and number.  A couple of months later, when I had forgotten all about it - I got a phone call.  They would be happy to take whatever I could donate!  Hurray!  Now I had a really good, legimitate cause to buy yarn and sit knitting!  So, I got started.  Following are the first few outfits I made.

This is a classic popcorn stitch outfit from a book for knitting with Beehive Astra.  I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn which I had left over from a previous project.

I just couldn't get good lighting for this outfit.  I've had this yarn around for a while and don't even remember what I used it for or what kind of yarn it is!  I know it was "3" on the weight scale used for categorizing yarn - so about the same as Bernat Softee Baby.   I kept the pattern simple due to the speckled yarn.

Since the first two outfits looked a little girlie, I thought I should knit something for little boys too!  So I chose this hoodie (youngsters seem to like hoodies these days) and added a little hat just in case - and because I had the yarn.

Then I made this little outfit in brown and beige - totally winged this one because I needed to make it with stripes due to the amount of these colors in my stash.  

It was a great way to use up some of my stash - which created a good excuse to purchase some more yarn!  Then I had to switch to another project - more on that later!

A New Toy!

Before we get to the new toy -- about eight years ago (or so!)  I posted a picture of the two little boys - then about two and four - enjoying ice cream on their front verandah.  At the end of August of this year, I received this picture..........

...... showing both the original shot and this year's version.  In the first picture Curtie is on the left and Munchie on the right.  In the second picture they have switched sides.  Oh my!  How they have changed and grown over those eight years!  Very different - very adorable!

Now about my new toy!  I had several of these lovely skeins..........

...... of sock yarn in various colours.  I was relying on Poppa to sit with his hands out holding the skein while I wound it into a ball of yarn for knitting.  By the time we did two or three skeins, his arms were quite tired.  He had always been quite patient, but I knew it had gotten to the point when he didn't really want to do it any more...and he had a sore shoulder which made it worse for him.  So, I took the plunge and bought something I had looked at for years, but never splurged on.  I had no idea how it worked, but of course, Poppa figured it out.  Picture?  Ok..........

......... do you see?  You place the skein carefully onto the yarn swift - that is it in the back ground - it stretches out to hold the skein at just the right tension.  The end of the yarn is fed into a slot on the ball winder - the gizmo Poppa is turning the handle on.  You continue to run the handle until all the yarn is on the ball winder.  Then you remove the yarn and.......

..... the end result is this lovely "cake" of yarn.  I also bought a "yarn bowl" which has a slot for the yarn to feed out when you place one of these "cakes" into the bowl.  Perfect!!!

I will take a picture of the yarn bowl when I am using it....right now I have been working on a couple of other projects.