Blankets , babies and dogs

The baby blanket blues are over ! The blanket is done , finito , fini , fertig . With the help of the Australian Open Tennis Tournament and a very nice movie on the movie network (In the Land of Women ) it was finally done yesterday afternoon . It only took me about 4 months , but at least it's done . The spiral rib pattern makes it reversible , so there's never a wrong or a right side . The finished measurement are 30" W x 40"L , perfect baby size . No wet lashes with a wet noodle are necessary.

We had the family over for Sunday dinner yesterday . Jessey is changing so much . He's very vocal , he loves to interact , and talks right back at you .The new thing is blowing raspberries , something he's learned courtesy of his dad and which drives Chantal crazy . I was carrying him for a bit and got a complimentary lense cleaning .

Max stopped by this morning with the pooches . He's been working on a project in Trois Rivieres and is away from home for 4 days a week . He had to leave a little later today so he came by for a coffee before leaving . Alaska sometimes thinks he's a lap dog , it's hilarious to see him , Mr Tough Guy .

Thank you all for the words of encouragement on my last post . My biggest concerns about Mike's retirement are as much for the adjustment for him from working to being home as for the financial repercussions . The package makes it easier for sure and really helps us to make the decision . If you wait , it could be layoffs with no monetary incentive , just unemployment . It's pretty much a no brainer . Anyway , it's all good ...

Life Changes

I've been taking a break from the blog and the computer in general this last week . Browsing and and ravelry have become such a time suck. I read more about knitting and adding to my ravelry queue , than actually knitting . I thought that during the break I would be more productive , that's so not the case . Even with the break , the orange baby blanket is still on the needles and I've added two more WIP . The problem with the baby blanket is that I'm sure that stitches are disappearing into some kind of black hole . Every time I measure it I'm still few inches short , I just don't get it . I knit and knit and I'm stuck at the same spot . I know , I'll blame it on the tape measure , it's the only logical explanation ! I swear on a stack of bibles that it WILL be done next week , no matter what the tape measure says or you all can give me twenty lashes with a wet noodle .

This week did bring some news of a life change . Mike came home on Tuesday with an offer of a retirement package . He'll be 60 next year on Feb. 1st , just writing that number throws me for a loop , and eligible for his Quebec pension . He'd planned on working for at least one more year after that . With these economic times the company is looking to cut some costs and is starting with those employees close to retirement . I really don't think that there's a question of staying on and the package seems to be a fair one . He'll get all the numbers at the end of next week and then we'll see exactly when and if this will all happen . So I it looks like he'll be retired sometime this year . I'm thrilled , happy and terrified all at the same time . Financially it might be a tight squeeze until his pension kicks in next year .There's Max's wedding in September and some more renovations on the house that need doing . But hey , that's happened before and we survived and really as everyone keeps telling us you only live once so you might as well enjoy it . I guess that I'll be knitting from stash for a bit ; I knew there was a reason for having one ....

Baby it's cold outside

Weather wise , we're in the deep freeze . Yesterday was really brutal with the winds just making it intolerable to be outside for very long. So what's a girl to do ? Stay in and knit , of course ! My socks for Mallory were finished yesterday while watching episodes of season one of CSI . I'm late to the dance as far as that show is concerned, but am having a blast catching up .

The pattern is my fall back , plain vanilla garter rib socks . The yarn is from Regia Kaffe Fasset design line . I just love this colourway . It will be a test of my fortitude to give these socks away , but a promise is a promise . The baby blanket is progressing , shouldn't be much longer till it's off the needles .

We were busy over the last week with a birthday celebration for friend and then the family came over on Sunday for a turkey dinner . I usually do this in January because it's hard to get them together during the holidays , besides Mike was just dying to get some turkey with all the trimmings . The great thing is leftovers,which means that I have a respite from cooking meals for day or two.

On Tuesday I had the opportunity to babysit Jessey . It will be a regular thing for the next little while as Chantal will be taking dance classes on Tuesday mornings . It gives her a break and I get to spend some time with Jessey . Happy , happy Omi ! I love those cheeks !

Old & New

Wow , we're 5 days into the New Year already ! We had a beautiful , relaxing long week-end and a great slide into 2009 . It's hard to believe that already a year has gone by since we were sailing the Caribbean on our way back to Miami after Casey and Chantal's wedding . Weather conditions are certainly different this year , no beautiful blue skies and warm ocean breezes .This year it's blue skies with frigid arctic winds . Though I am thanking my lucky stars that we don't live in Saskatoon where the temperatures dipped to -41 degrees . I can't imagine a cold like that , brr !

Oh well , cold outside means a good time to get knitting inside . My hopes for this year knitting wise are to get some WIP off the needles . I don't have too many languishing in the basket , but really it's time to do a bit of housecleaning . On that score I did finish something this week-end that though technically wasn't really on MY needles , rather Marie's needles . I finished a scarf that she had started and couldn't complete before she died . It was intended for the doctor who had been taking care of her for the last few years . Today I wrapped it up and gifted it on to Dr. Maalouf .

I'm also back to working on this orange baby blanket . Jessey will be going into his crib soon , so it has to get done . So , those are the old ; the new is a pair of socks , of course . These will be a gift for Mallory. I just love this colourway and will have to see if I can get more for a pair of socks for me.

Happy New Year !