Checking in

and a quick update . Thank you for your kind words and thoughts and prayers for Marie . She's still in the hospital in a regular room now and scheduled to go home sometime this week. She's definitely feeling better, but still frail . Her family doctor is on duty at the hospital this week and has taken over her file. We're trying to arrange homecare for her but the wheels of the bureaucracy move ever so slowly. I've been spending most of my days either at the hospital or trying to arrange things at home. I'm not sure this is the best thing for Marie, but it's what she wants . She feels that she can cope just a little longer, and is hoping to be able to spend the summer at home.





I'm trying to keep the smile , but some days it's difficult . Today I'm counting my blessings and focusing on the positive . We've had the most gorgeous weather in the last two weeks , more like summer than spring.





We had to buy a new BBQ as our old one just gave up the ghost . I love the new one , it has a teflon grill on the sideburner that is super for bacon and eggs , even pancakes . Witness the sunnyside-up eggs he whipped up yesterday morning - the bacon was done earlier . It feels like we're camping again . Gotta love a man who gets up and makes breakdast on a Sunday morning .



Mike and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago . We had a super dinner with the family at Casey and Chantal's house , followed by watching the hockey playoffs . Go Habs Go !



Needless to say there's not much knitting going on around here , but I couldn't resist knitting up this little guy . My first ever knitted toy ! The pattern is by Barbara Prime , her etsy store is called Fuzzy Mitten . She sells the most adorable patterns for knitted toys , the bonus for me is that she's Montreal designer . It's great to support some local talent. The enabler for this was Monika and her March bunnies . It might be my first knitted toy , but surely won't be the last . I've purchased Barbara's book , so many cute patterns .... where to start ?

A tough week

This week has been a tough one. I had to call 911 and rush Marie to the hospital . She called me early Tuesday morning saying that she felt very weak and had a lot of pain . She thought that maybe it was time for her to be hospitalized. I know that she expects this to be her last hospitalization . Her lung specialist said as much . There's nothing more that he can do for her as far as treatment goes. ; it's really only a matter of time . After a few rough days , she's feeling so much better today . When I left this afternoon, she'd got her smile back and was joking with the nurses . I don't know if she'll be able to go home for another little while . I know that's what she desperately wants , not to die in the hospital . Well as she always tell me "one day at a time". We'll just take it one day at a time and hope for the best . She's surprised everyone with her strength and tenacity . With all her health issues she managed to celebrate her eighty-first birthday last week. She jokingly says that she's outlived more than one lung specialist , so anything is possible . Keeping her in my thoughts and prayers with a smile on my face no matter what ...

Surprise ...

Imagine , two posts in a week ! I've been plagued by insomnia lately so I feel like the proverbial dogs dinner , but the resulting finished knitting makes me happy . This is the my version of the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann . I'm not sure which of her books this was originally published in , but I'd ordered this leaflet from Schoolhouse Press sometime last year . Thank God for helpful hints from the Zimmermaniacs on Ravelry ,without them this might have been a UFO . I can't, for the life of me , get a decent picture to truly represent the gorgeousness of this yarn (Colinette Cadenza in the "Dusk " colourway ) . The colours are just so much deeper and richer than these photos show . I love it ! It will probably fit for all of two minutes because babies grow so fast .

Knitting baby socks is just like eating chips you can't just knit one pair , before you know it you've started another, and then another. I've finally found a way to knit up all my bits of sock yarn remnants . I keep petting them , they're so tiny and cute . Can't wait to put them on little baby feet !

Monkey socks , you're wondering - not done yet , somehow baby things keep jumping onto my needles . Well the playoffs start tonight so maybe soon .....

Signs of Spring !

Yay ! My Irises are peeking up through the earth . Okay they're near the house in the little bit of our yard that is snow free , but it's a start . It's considerably warmer and sunnier , even allowing me to hang up the laundry on the clothesline yesterday . I'll take it !

Living in a household of men (even the pets are males ) you kind of get the hockey bug by osmosis . Our Habs finally made it to the post season after quite a dry spell . They finished first in the eastern Conference , another YAY ! If they continue to do well in the Playoffs , it augurs well for a lot of knitting getting done .

Not so much a Yay , but a sure sign of spring ... Income Tax time . This year there'll be a little refund coming our way , for a change . Wonder what I should spend it on ....

Dogs R Us

Chantal's back to teaching after being off for @ 6 weeks awaiting the test results to determine whether she has the antibodies for the Fifth Disease . This is a viral infection that can be fatal for the fetus in pregnant women . Fortunately she's been given the all clear. That means I'll be dog sitting Maggie and Gizmo when Chantal has longer days or can't get back home to let them out at lunch . God help me ! I love them all , but 3 dogs are quite a challenge. Maggie is 4 months old now and has lots of energy to spare. She's tripled in size since they got her and Bingo and Gizmo are learning to cope with this great BIG baby. They do both hold their own with her and Maggie knows her place in the pecking order .

During Saturday's Earth Hour I worked on the baby cardigan . I finished it on Sunday evening , but still have to give it a soak and blocking . I'll try and find some cute buttons to finish it off some time this week. Taking a break from baby sweater knitting , I've moved on to baby socks . As for the Monkey socks they're still in the rotation , hopefully I'll get them off the needles this week.

Well, I'd better get going . The pooches are getting restless , so a walk is in order . Who runs who in this house I wonder? Knitting continues .... sometime .