Life LackaDaisiCal

While out on the deck this morning - trying to get some outside knitting time before it got too hot - I had some supervisors.

We are trying to teach Lackie to stay in the back seat (like Daisy who is so good at this) - but it's hard to reprimand him when he looks this cute!

2010 was mostly a good year for us -  We went on a vacation down south -  we hadn't done this for years - we really enjoyed it!  DH got an offer he couldn't refuse, and retired one year earlier than we had planned - a delightful surprise! DH went to the UK to visit his family and do a real "train" oriented trip.  He had arranged for a line pass (this meant he could get right down on the track to take video)  and as he'd been wanting to do this for years, this was a very satisfying trip for him. I went to the UK to do a knitting weekend in London.  I tried to resist, but resistance was futile - a very spontaneous thing for me! With the Hubby Retired - we really got to enjoy the summer.   Barbecues on the deck, afternoons reading out there, enjoying our yard.  With the DH home, we go walkies with Lackie and Daisy about 3 times a week - hikes more than walking.......at the Conservation areas that are close to us. We still did our "annual" t...

Daisy and Lackie are enjoying the snow.........I've started my Rambler in Polar Cocoon

This is how we set up Daisy and Lackie for their Christmas photos.  They are on the corner section of our couch, with a furry blanket behind them......I was behind the couch, positioning them.......the photographer, Renee , was shaking a box of smarties and taking photos with her digital SLR.  This was one of those oops photos - Lackie's poinsettie has twisted and my arms are still in the photo....oh well......we got some great ones which I'll share during December.

and Daisy doesn't like it!

As soon as the halters come out we know that it's time for a walk on the trail! We love to do everything together.......it's really good when we find a great sniff........... Sometimes we get all tangled up - that's why we have different coloured leads and halters. Honestly, it's hard to tell them apart with a glance -- you have to really look now that they have been trimmed.  DH in particular finds it difficult -- it's a man thing LOL -- so Lackie is in Blue and Daisy is in Red.......Daisy needs to lose a couple of pounds (as do we) so we're hitting the trail almost every day.

Lackie and Daisy - with their new hair cuts! They are so adorable - of course they can sit on the furniture! Lackie's manners didn't improve with the hair cut!

Daisy and Lackie went for a hair cut today....... Here's what they looked like last night...... Daisy (L) and Lackie (R) before.... . I wanted to post an "after" photo -- but they both politely declined....they want to wait a couple of weeks so that they don't have that "just cut" ( ie baldy ) look! edited because I just noticed that I'd identified the incorrectly -- Daisy on the left and Lackie on the right LOL!!!

Daisy says....."Oh dear, are you going to be in big trouble Lackie." What do you mean Daisy? Anne isn't playing with this ball, so I'm playing with it - she won't mind.....will she? This WAS a ball of Rowan Cocoon that I wanted to swatch with. Actually, the only damage was to the label - the yarn itself is fine. Wish I'd have seen the antics he did to get it all over the livingroom like this. Happy Knitting!

walk on the Bruce Trail! Daisy showed him all of her favourite spots! Rowan Shetland Sweater update - the body is complete - photo tomorrow - promise!

Just who is who....... My Rowan Shetland sweater is coming along - I'm getting some knitting done each night when "the kids" settle down with their chewies after dinner. I didn't realize how much I was missing my knitting, until I got back to it! Shetland update photo tomorrow! Happy Knitting!

Lackie has really started to come into his own -- 3 toilet rolls in the last 2 days -- it's my fault as because he has been so good, I've been less vigilant. BUT, I did realize that a full-sized Christmas tree with all of those sparkly ornaments might be a bit much for his self control. His track record is dubious -- he's already had an operation because two days before he was to come home with me, he ate a whole lot of stones, had an emergency operation, it was touch and go....but he lived to tell the tale. Needless to say I'm a little paranoid about him and stones (or anything else small and swallowable ), so the first thing I did was teach him to "leave it" in return for a treat....but I still worry....... So, instead of our large floor tree and my collection of ornaments, and tiny stuffed bears, this year I opted for a 4 ft. tree (purchased on a whim at Loblaws as I'd decided not to have a tree this year)....and thank goodness I got this tree as it ...

Lackie for short........is growing....... and he's just so adorable....... he's making friends.....with Caelee ! and look! It's only been a little over a week and here they are, all cuddled up on the couch together! Caelee , Lackie and Daisy! Caelee loves the new blankets I bought to snuggle up with this winter.......so do Lackie and Daisy...........I never thought I'd see this! Not much knitting happening around here, but things are settling down fast so hopefully soon........ I'm starting a new blog label.....Lackadaisical.......for Lackie , Daisy and Caelee reports.

New addition to the family........Lachlan......Lackie to his buddies! What a little cutie! Daisy wasn't too sure about him at first! (This is a photo I took in Sepia mode -- now that I'm really "retired" I intend to actually read my camera manual and try out a few things!) It was obvious that Lachlan is a typical Westie -- doesn't want to play with just one toy at a time - just like Daisy! So I decided that a new "two can play with it" toy was required........Daisy claimed it first. It didn't take long for Lachlan to figure out the game! Soon they were nose to nose -- 15 minutes of that and everyone is tired and having naps - yeah! I think my knitting time is going to be limited for a little while........... Happy Knitting!

Knit in Opal hand-dyed yarn, these socks were a fun knit -- unusual (to me) arch and heel. I wish now that I'd knit one size smaller, so I bought another skein of yarn to do just that! Daisy wondes when it's going to be Spring.....she's still sleeping on the heat registers. Happy Knitting!

Daisy is enjoying the snow that is still on the deck -- hopefully soon it will be gone -- but this was a fabulous winter!

SNOW! It won't be long til we're up there in snow......snow..... during the holidays we went to see Irving Berlin's White Christmas -- a favourite movie of mine so I had to see it live at the Sony Theatre in Toronto. While Christmas itself was white, but not fresh white......we started the new year off with a new fresh blanket of snow.... Enough to be snowed in until reinforcements came to dig us out! "You sure I won't get lost out here?" (Sorry for the camera angle, ahem, but I just couldn't resist LOL!)

Beth asked about the Autumn Rose chart: "I was wondering how you figured out what color to use and how many rows we knit with each color? The chart in the book is gray and white and only lists the two yarn colors to use." Yes the chart is in black and white -- grey boxes for pattern shades and white boxes for the background shades. See the table on the right -- two columns where it tells you what shades to use on which row -- what to use for the grey squares and what to use for the white squares? Look at how the table lines are and you'll see how the shades are designate for the motifs. This isn't done for the whole chart -- when I copied the chart and enlarged it, I made a couple of copies, and cut out an additional shade legend table.....and pasted it to the part of the chart that didn't have the legend on it. This will all be quite confusing for those of you who haven't seen the chart -- but trust me, once you have a good look at it, you'll figure it ou...

It's been one day at a time around here lately. Murphy has been visiting with Daisy. After about 6 days of constant wrestling, Daisy and Murphy settled down and became buddies. Finally, some peace and quiet. We got to watch a movie or two, and I got to do some knitting, always with a companion or two. Murphy goes home tonight -- I think Daisy will miss him! While Murphy was visiting, we were dealing with passing of a dear friend -- she was 87 and the last few years of her life were very restricted. After the funeral, I started to clean out her apartment. Her Cousins came over to pick up mementos to remember her by. This was just another reminder that the material things in life are there to enjoy, not to be tucked away in a cupboard for that perfect "occasion". Get out your good china, use it every Sunday - use it whenever you want to! Don't save those "for best" sheets for when company stays over...use them for yourself......enjoy every day, one day at a ti...