About this Blog: Bread making recipes, knit and crochet projects, wood working, gardening, digital imaging, travel, cruise ships, Labrador Retrievers, and more....

About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Catherine Grills Salmon

Good morning,

Today it's daughter Catherine's turn to use the new smoker/grill.

She had been at her office all day so this was a quick meal.  Above you see the salmon marinating in commercial teriyaki sauce for about 20 minutes while she is starting the grill.
She also wrapped some potatoes for baking and put some veggies on skewers.
We couldn't quickly locate the fish rack so she used the old standby, aluminum foil.
As soon as the veggies and potatoes were almost ready, she put on the salmon;  she loosely folded over the aluminum so it would cook through without turning...
...and soon a beautifully grilled side of salmon was ready to serve.
 Add a few 'shrooms and onions...
 ...to those other veggies, and we had a salmon dinner feast in a hurry.


It is so much fun for all three of us to take turns cooking.  None of us skips a turn eating, though.  ;)

All the best for fun and yummy summer meals.

Lois

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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Kayaking on the Little Miami River - The Rest of the Story

Good morning,

We are back at water level again on the Little Miami River. 
The weather in our area is horribly hot as it is in most of the United States right now so a trip on the water is a great way to spend the day.

 There are many groups on the river...
 ...and some beautiful homes overlooking the river.

 
 One of our blog friends, Wanda, of Moments of Mine lives nearby.  Wanda has a wonderful blog of the beautiful flowers and animals she finds in the wooded area around her gorgeous home.  I highly recommend a visit to her blog.
 After ten miles of floating down the river, the trip finally came to an end.
 Catherine and her friend have taken this trip several times before. 

Thank you, Catherine, for sharing your images so we could all go with you this time.  :)

Very best,
Lois

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Friday, July 29, 2011

Jeremiah Morrow Bridge

Good morning,

Once again, these images are courtesy of our daughter, Catherine, who was shooting these images from a kayak on the Little Miami River in Southern Ohio. 
This is the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge, the tallest in the State of Ohio. 
There is a great deal of information about the bridge.  This link is from Wikipedia.
Thank you, Catherine, for sharing your images.

 Tomorrow Catherine's images will take us back to the Little Miami River level for a continuation of her kayak trip.  

Enjoy!

Lois

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

Paddling on the Little Miami River

Good morning,

These images are courtesy of our daughter, Catherine.  Catherine her friend went paddling on ten miles of the Little Miami River in South Western Ohio. 
Catherine took along the Canon Powershot underwater camera that we had purchased a year ago for her to use while snorkeling in Coco Cay, Bahamas. Those images are here.  The camera was perfect to have in the kayak and took very good pictures above the water, too. 
Catherine and her friend brought their own kayak so didn't have to rent one of those canoes above.
This heron was among so many creatures she saw and photographed along the way.
 Even other humans are so friendly, especially when you meet them on the water.  :)
 Turtles were sunning on every available spot.
 Catherine was able to use the camera while her friend did all of the paddling so she got quite a few pictures.

Tune in tomorrow for images of the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge from the bottom. 

Enjoy!

Best,
Lois

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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Busy at Home - An Update

 
Good morning,

Recently I published a picture of the pink hardy hibiscus in our front yard.  The white one above is one of many we have in the back yard.  These all came with the house more than 30 years ago. 
I'm also drying lavender again.  This bunch is hanging in my garden shed. More lavender sachets are coming soon.  :)
 Here is one more image from outside.  Do you remember when we got home from Florida a couple of weeks ago and immediately had to have a trench dug for a new electric line to the garage?  That trench went through the beautiful unexpected July green lawn I found in the back yard.  That same day I spread grass seed where the soil had been dug, then watched the birds arrive to work on what they could find.  I didn't mind sharing.  :)  Anyway, between my watering and a tiny bit of rain, we actually have some grass growing!
 This is preparation for a job that is coming soon inside the house.  Regular readers know we have just had our living room, dining room, and hallways all the way to the third floor painted.  The drapes have been cleaned and rehung.  Next the new carpet will be installed.  As soon as we get the call from the carpet people to schedule that installation, I'll box up everything from the curio and get it out of the dining room so the curio can be moved.  I'll carefully clean everything before putting it all back together.  This isn't a fun job, but was due to be done soon anyway.

And, then there is Sr. Mary Frances.  There she is in the image to the right. 

At the beginning of July a very nice lady in Iowa purchased one-of-a-kind Sr. Mary Frances from my Etsy shop.  I have quite a few original design doll outfits for Barbie and American Girl size dolls in my shop.

Sr. made such a hit out there in Iowa that the lady asked if I could make three more habits for her dolls and design a friar's robe for her Ken doll.  I said yes, she ordered the outfits, and I have been hard at work every second I can find.  It has been a challenge to make four outfits quickly.

The lady sent me images of a beautiful display of a convent that appears to be overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.  I am very pleased my designs will be part of her display.

 So, I have been hard at work! And, the outfits are finally finished.  The three nun's habits are below.   All of the pieces for three outfits are there, too, but only the center doll has the entire outfit on.
 Every spare and sometimes stolen moment was spent crocheting three identical habits and the friar's robe.  Some of the crocheting went late into the night after other chores were finished.  It's amazing how tiny that #10 crochet cotton becomes when you are trying to make so many outfits at the same time!  The doll on the left is seated so her dress looks a little different here, but they are all the same.  I should have arranged her dress differently for the picture....

    Fr. Ken is finished now, too.  My, what a handsome Friar Ken is!
 Since taking these pictures, three Sr. Barbie costumes and one Fr. Ken costume have left for Iowa.  :)  My customer has her own dolls who will wear them.

I did learn something when I so ambitiously said I could make these four outfits in three weeks.  I learned just how extremely time consuming it was to make these.  Being on a self imposed deadline showed me just how long these take to make.  When designing and creating at my own pace, I am sure I lose track of time!  Time flies when you're having fun....

So, that's the update.  When we got home from Florida I said I probably wouldn't be doing so much needlework, but it didn't work out that way, did it?  I truly enjoy making things for our shop and sincerely appreciate those who order from it.

What are you doing in all this heat?  If you are a needlework person, are you staying inside where it is cool to work on needlework projects?

All the best,
Lois

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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Lunch for Nine at Bob Evans

Good morning,

We had a grand time with the grand kids at lunch at Bob Evans.  My son and wife have six children, but only five are pictured because the eldest daughter was at a friend's home. 
Still, with five kids, two parents, and two grand parents we were able to clear Bob Evans.  No, not really.  We arrived at 1:30 PM for a late lunch.  There was a family with lots of kids just finishing at the next table so we were in good company.  ;)
Mom and Dad had everything under control and all the kids were happy with crayons and drinks when I got up to take pictures.  The kids were extremely well behaved and having fun with each other.  That's me behind the camera. 
Everyone posed nicely for Grandma until Grandpa began to help with some action shots.
That's when it all broke loose and everyone...
 ...got into the action.  Guess who was the instigator!  ;)
 And, Isaac demonstrated his spoon trick.  He can't seem to smile and keep that spoon there at the same time, but trust me, he has a beautiful smile! 

 We all had so much fun.  Even the wait staff was part of the action.

 Grand kids are so much fun!

;),
Lois

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Monday, July 25, 2011

Bread in the Oven and Ribs on the Grill - Recipes

Hi Everyone,

It was finally my turn to use My Honey's Father's Day present - the new smoker/grill - and make dinner.  We have been having so much fun watching him use it, but today he sat back on the patio and watched me make dinner.

First I made that bread above and put it in the oven.  What you see is after the first rise when I put it in the oven for the second rise before baking.  My recipe for Rich Egg Bread is here.
And, here are the ribs.  Oh, these are good! 

Recipe:

Buy as many slabs of ribs as your grill will hold.  Wash, lightly salt, and wrap potatoes in aluminum foil to bake along side.


Mix olive oil and minced garlic, then generously brush onto both side of ribs.

Place ribs on grill slow and low for about three hours.  In the image above I had already moved the rack holding the coals up, but in our grill, the rack can be about 24" below the grilling rack for very slow even grilling.  The lower rack was in that low position for most of the grilling.

While grilling, I brushed the ribs every 15 minutes or so with my sauce.  Quick and easy recipe below is for at least 2 slabs, increase as necessary depending on how many you are grilling.

1 cup catsup
1/4 cup steak sauce (your choice of flavor)
2 T minced garlic
1 t black pepper
1/4 cup water (thins the grilling sauce so you can brush on regularly to create a glaze)

You'll note there is no salt. You can add a teaspoon of salt if you wish, but I feel we get enough in the steak sauce.

Another wonderful alternative is to use Montgomery Inn Barbeque Sauce, a Cincinnati native favorite.  I would have used that for grilling, but only had one bottle (hey, who used all the BBQ sauce?) so reserved that for serving at the table.  I'm sure I would be in trouble for that from Montgomery Inn Barbeque Sauce purists, but you do what you have to do.  ;)

The bread filled the house with good aromas...
...while the grill took care of the rest of the neighborhood.

Shortly before serving, I grilled mushrooms that had been generously brushed with olive oil and minced garlic.  Note how the glaze has built up on the ribs.  Oooooooh, yum!

I think My Honey is going to let me use his grill again!  *chuckles*

Enjoy,
Lois

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