Thanksgiving This Year

Our daughter and her family flew home for Thanksgiving again this year. Travel is more challenging with three children. 

 

Normally we would meet them at Detroit airport with a borrowed van, help collect their luggage then all pile into the van for the drive to London. This time they had to manage on their own renting a vehicle big enough for a family of five with three little ones in car seats. It is a logistical nightmare. We were impressed with how well they managed.

They arrived on Thanksgiving Saturday around 10 p.m. a little later than planned as the border crossing was busier than expected. We didn't take pictures. It was late and the kids were tired. After a quick bath and story, they were happy to snuggle down to sleep in their lovely new tent.

This year we delayed closing our pool hoping our grandchildren would be able to use it when they visited. Thankfully we awoke to warm sunny weather perfect for swimming on both Sunday and Monday. It was fun unwinding in the pool before everybody arrived for Thanksgiving dinner. 

We loved swimming so late in the season with our grandchildren. 

Instead of swimming, our newest grandson enjoyed cozy cuddles.

This year we hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. My husband cooked both a turkey and spiral cut ham outside on his new Kamado ceramic smoker and grill. I prepared mashed potatoes, baked vegetables, cream corn and stuffing inside. My Mom brought pies (pumpkin and lemon meringue) and butter buns. My mother-in-law made salad. It was a fantastic feast with enough leftovers to last all week.

Our newest grandson slept through most of the festivities ... so sweet.

We managed to squeeze everybody around two tables in the dining room.

I love how our grandson was mesmerized by the flickering lights.

Our grandson was also entertained by ceiling fans and smiling faces too.

Thanksgiving Monday, we spent the morning swimming before heading to my brother-in-law's cottage near Bayfield. They call it "Lasting Memories Cottage" aptly named as so many happy memories are being made there.

 

 

It was a perfect day for a walk on the beach ... collecting stones.

Stones gathered from the beach were used to construct an Inuksuk back at the cottage. I think our son did a good job with a little help.

With tired kids, we left for home before the sun had set. Our sister-in-law sent us this photo ... a perfect end to a special Thanksgiving This Year.

This year, my husband and I both worked while our grandchildren were here. He was too busy to take time off and I have used all but three days of my vacation. I am saving those days for when they visit at Christmas and New Years. It wasn't a problem as they had planned activities with our parents every day.

In the mornings before work, our grandson would play and chat with me while I relaxed with a green tea latte in the living room. I learned to step carefully as Lego "disappeared" on that carpet. Our granddaughter woke up early enough only once to join in on the fun.

I managed to get a few snapshots showing how they spent their week while we were at work. They kept busy with lunches out, parks, visits to great grandparents' houses plus a trip to Stratford ... so many things.

My Mom (aka GG) joined the kids for story time one night ... so much fun.

In Stratford, they visited an "old" family friend Zibby and Gus where they posed for a group shot. I heard they enjoyed fresh baked treats.

Thursday night, they visited our niece and her husband to meet Pippin their kitten and play Wii.

Cuddles with the baby ... never get enough.

On Friday, we got off work a little early. My husband made good use of his Kamado smoker and grill making pizza for dinner ... very tasty treat.

Our grandchildren enjoyed another swim before dinner.

Our niece and her husband joined us for 'games' night Friday. Actually I sat and chatted while the 'kids' played Pictionary ... lots of laughs.

Saturday was a warm day, but rainy. Instead of going to Kustermans Berry Farm as planned, we went to Adventures on Wonderland - an indoor play area. Although it was crazy busy and noisy, our grandchildren loved it.

Our grandson loved these shakers. I could keep him entertained for ages.

On Sunday, my husband put his Kamado smoker and grill to work one more time preparing beef brisket for dinner. It was a relatively warm day so I went for one last swim with our grandchildren before finally closing the pool for the winter. 

As he often did, our littlest grandson slept through our 'good-bye" dinner. Our son had to drive home later that night while our daughter and her family started packing and preparing to fly home the next day. 

We enjoyed our week with the little ones and look forward to seeing them again at Christmas. They have not been home for Christmas since forever. I can't even remember when. This year they will be joining us for two weeks. I am super excited and already feeling more interested in decorating for the holidays. Only 60 more days ... yes I'm counting.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

Special Surprise

Our grandchildren arrive Saturday from Boulder. They will be staying for a week. As a Special Surprise, we set up a tent in our gym where they will be sleeping. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they see it.

It is a large family size tent with a double mattress for our grandson plus a single size foam pad for our granddaughter. There are two cozy sleeping bags and colourful warm blankets in case it gets chilly at night. 

The front door is currently tied open, but can be zipped shut for privacy.

The back window can be zipped open to form another door.

A basket of books, a bear and their favourite stuffies (little brown puppy and green chameleon) sit ready and waiting for story time and cuddles.

All the doll things sit in one corner nice and tidy for now.

The dolls have been dressed and their extra outfits washed and folded ready for play time. Our granddaughter loves all things "Doll".

The Lego and toy cars sit in bins in the opposite corner patiently awaiting release. Our grandson loves all things "Lego". They both like all the toys.

I even have enough space left to exercise if I feel like it.

Usually my daughter and her family stay in our basement suite. There is a bedroom, a bathroom and an open area with a sofa bed plus enough floor space for a sleeping pad. 

Now that they have a third baby, they asked to stay upstairs where there is a queen size bed (big enough to fit the baby if necessary) plus a separate room for the older two so they won't be disturbed if when the baby cries. I hope my daughter and her husband are comfortable enough on our son's old queen size mattress.

The last time they visited we bought a new more comfortable mattress for the bed in the basement and moved the old mattress up to our gym as a spare. It fits perfectly in the tent alongside a smaller padded exercise mat. Our grandchildren should be quite comfy and cozy.  

I expect our son and his dog will be quite comfy too on the nice new mattress in the basement. 

Setting up the tent was a genius idea. I am as excited as I imagine our grandchildren will be. Hush ... don't say a word. It's a Special Surprise for our grandchildren.

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below

Back To Crochet

Over the summer, my crochet efforts have been focused on crochet dishcloths and flower scrubbies as described in this post. Although useful for using up Bernat Handicrafter Cotton yarn stash and accumulating a pile of hostess gifts, this sort of crochet is not particularly exciting or engaging. 

 

I took a mini break from dishcloths to crochet a bobble baby blanket in July. I must admit it was a welcome relief. You can read all about the creamsicle banana pop baby blanket here. I was happy to use up more of my stash and loved the finished look. 

Happily this blanket found a new home with my cousin's daughter who had a baby boy in August. It was so nice visiting this week, cuddling her adorable little boy and presenting them with this hand-made gift. Hand-made gifts are always appreciated as fewer people have the time or interest to learn to crochet. 

Once I finished the blanket I thought I might make a monkey in white and dark grey. I love making toys so I crocheted an ear and there it sat for almost 8 weeks while I carried on making dishcloths in between writing blog posts and generally enjoying my summer. 

I love writing and really enjoyed covering Motivation as a theme for August and starting September with a party reuniting friends from my Grade 8 Graduating Class of '77. 

Life at home over the past couple months has been wonderful overall yet I have not been able to settle on any interesting crochet projects. I wonder if it might have something to do with our son moving away to University? I wrote about that here. It was a change I was looking forward to and dreading all at once. I do miss him and would love to hear how he is doing but he is not good at keeping in touch. 

Yes, I know he is a teenage boy. Yes, I know it's not considered cool to keep Mom in the loop. And yes, I know it's totally normal and necessary to grow up and seek independence. It's hard but I am doing my best to be respectful and let him be. I hope he appreciates how difficult that is for me. And yes, that is a little dig as he mentioned he might read my posts while he is away from home.  

Anyway, now that he is settled at University and I've gotten used to the quiet and things are somewhat in order at home, I'm ready to get Back To Crochet. This week I made good progress on the monkey started 8 long weeks ago. I've completed both ears, the head, body, legs and one arm. I have to make an arm and a tail plus add the face before putting it all together. You can find the free pattern here if you would like to make one too.

I haven't decided if I might add shorts and a vest. I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished monkey along with instructions for clothes if I do.

I think I have a good selection of crochet toys for our grandchildren to choose from when they visit for Thanksgiving which is only three weeks away. I can hardly wait to see them all again. So far I have Bunny, Paddington Bear, Sweetie Bear (pink dress), Betty Bear (blue dress), Monica Mouse and Grey Monkey (to be done soon). It will be interesting to see which ones our grandchildren pick.

In anticipation of their visit, we are also painting the basement to make the guest suite super special. Once the painting is done, the carpets will be cleaned so it's suitable for crawling babies. We plan to move in a comfy couch and set up a play area outside their bedroom. 

Last year, we pitched a tent and decorated it with festive lights for our grandson. He had fun sleeping in a tent but I think the new decor will be even better and much safer for our little granddaughter. I'll be sure to share photos once we're done.

I'm so very happy to be Back To Crochet. Once the monkey is finished, I have plans to make a crib-size stripey ripple blanket incorporating this assortment of fine (#3) yarns. I love this mix of colours. 

When I read this post by Lucy at Attic24 covering her "Coast Ripple blanket :: ta-dah", I couldn't help but get excited about making one myself. Lucy has a talent for joyfully describing her life and projects. I love reading her posts and always feel happier after visiting her site. Lucy's work and colour choices are bright, beautiful and full of fun. You're in for a treat when you check out what's happening at Attic24.

Who knows, you just might be tempted to get Back To Crochet too. 

Be the first to comment - click on No comments: below.