Down to the wire

Wil's Momma's birthday is tomorrow and I'm not quite done with the candleflame shawl I was intending to give to her. I could make excuses, like the fact that I've worked a lot of extra shifts lately which cut into my knitting time, but the honest truth is, I'm just SLOW. It's ok though. We're going on a family trip to Sea World next weekend as a gift to her, and I have until then to finish. So it's technically not going to be a birthday gift, just a gift, but I'm ok with that.

We've had a good weekend and I feel completely recharged. Yesterday we decided to drive up to Cocoa Beach for a little recreation. I'm not sure what made us think to do that when we have beach just a few short miles from our home. I guess there's just something about getting away from the usual. Well, we got there and it was so jam-packed with tourists and spring-breakers that we couldn't find a square inch of beach to park our butts. We walked the boardwalk a little, Jonas oohed and aaahhed at the pelicans and the airplanes, and then we turned around and headed south again. We ended up at one of our favorite little parks right about the time that everyone was coming back from their boating adventures and Jonas delighted in watching them come in and get loaded onto their trailers. He also got to take his new tricycle on it's maiden voyage. So fresh, it still had the tags and instruction manuals hanging from the handlebars. He loved it, though. My son is fascinated by anything with wheels. So, thank you Granny and Daddy Dave for the really cool toy. It even folds up to fit in the trunk of my car. Bonus!

Today we just sort of puttered around the house most of the morning, and then spent the afternoon at Granny and Daddy Dave's. It was warm enough to go swimming, so we took J-man in for a dip. He's still a little hesitant about the whole thing. I mean, he loves the water, but he's not into the swimming thing yet, and is scared to get his face wet, so he pretty much stuck to the stairs. We did a little "swimming" with me holding him and encouraging him to kick his legs. I even got him to blow a couple of bubbles. (Not those kinds of bubbles, Doug!)

The usual Sunday dinner was replaced with a bucket of KFC, which was fine by all of us. We just sort of hung out on the porch, shot a few games of pool, watched Jonas drive his little car around and chase the dog.

I got a little sunburn on my cheeks, and it was just a perfect weekend all around. I really needed it. My batteries were running pretty low. This is a good time of year to be in Florida, I suppose. Mildly warm temperatures, low-ish humidity, blue skies. Nice.

And on the more somber side of the weekend: They're calling hospice in for my grandfather this week. We all knew the end was coming, but I don't think any of us realized that it was going to be this quickly. I realize that he may still have quite a bit of time left before he actually passes away, but the quality time is gone. My step-mom is talking about going up and spending some time with them- help out where she can, give my grandmother a break. I wish there was more that I could do, too. I'd love to be able to go up and help, but with Jonas in tow, I doubt I'd be much help at all.

They're leaving Tuesday for Tennessee so I guess I'll know more by the middle of the week.

For now, I suppose I should go work some more on my shawl and try to get some sleep. This damn time change thing has me all messed up. There's no way it's after 9:30 already! Ugh!