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, 2016

Honey, I'm Home! Bread's Ready!

Good morning,

I've been asked so, yes, I've made bread since we got home.  In fact, I made it in the first few days and every day or so since. 

The loaves pictured are egg bread with brown sugar.  Yum!

I have quite a few of my bread recipes here on this blog

Ah, yes, the house smells wonderful!

:),
Lois

Saturday, July 30, 2016

The Pond

Good morning,

I've shown you pictures of our gold fish pond before.  The pond is self sustaining which makes it so naturally beautiful.  I added these water lilies many years ago.  In the winter the leaves die back and the roots drop to the bottom of the pond.  In the spring, they rise to the top, produce beautiful new shiny leaves, and gorgeous blossoms.
Our gold fish have been in the pond for years and are fat and sassy.  There are eight or ten of them and once in awhile, there are babies, too.  They stay in the pond year round and are obviously eating very well.  In the winter we put a tank deicer into the pond to keep it from freezing solid when it's very, very cold for long periods of time.  Generally, the pond never freezes solid, but the deicer is good insurance to be sure it doesn't.

These are very easy "pets!"

Lois

Friday, July 29, 2016

Trumpet Vine

Good morning,

Those red/orange flowers on the tree are a trumpet vine, a favorite of humming birds.
I planted the vine more than 30 years ago. I bought it via mail order as part of another order.  When it arrived, it was a skinny, dry stick about four inches long.  I figured I had been fooled into ordering a piece of compost. 
Then, I soaked it for a couple of days and it softened up.  There was still no sign of life.  I looked carefully to try to determine the top and bottom of the little stick. 

I must have guessed right!  I planted it (more like stuck it in the ground) with a little compost around it near the base of this tree.  I put a small rock against it to keep it leaning against the tree trunk. 

Well, here it is.  Beautiful!  It attracts humming birds, but I haven't been able to catch any with my camera yet this year.  If/when I do, I'll share images here.

Do you have garden stories?

:),
Lois

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Bill the Builder

Good morning,

There's a man on the roof!
Yes, we know this man.  This is Bill who is not only a friend, but is the home builder who helps us keep everything ship shape here at home.  It's pretty cool to have the boss doing the job.
Bill is repairing the roof over one of the rear entrances of our home.  We had a family of birds inside the roof who raised some very noisy babies.  The noise they made drew our attention to the opening that needed repair.  We waited for this repair until the family was grown and gone.

After repair of the roof and gutters, he repainted.  It's beautiful now!

Ah, Summer....

Lois

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Summer Color

Good morning,

It's good to be home to enjoy summer color here.  :)

This day lily is a descendant of day lilies growing here when we moved here in 1979.  It's good to let the wild flowers grow where they want to grow.

Still beautiful as ever!

Lois

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Vacation Toast

Good morning,

Ah, it's good to be home.  We enjoyed a vacation toast thanks to our friends Libby and Bob. 

:),
Lois

Monday, July 25, 2016

Needlework Update - July, 2016

Good morning,

The days go by so very quickly and suddenly a month has passed and it's time for another Needlework Update. 

I have finished two sweaters this time, both for children and both with special designs.  Above is a Toy Shelf sweater that is just loaded with decorative toy buttons.  How fun!
This aqua sweater features a truck that is also a pocket. Both of these sweaters are in child size 4 to 5 and are available in our shop.
 This lavender pink lap or baby blanket is also in the shop.
 I made two of these aqua and cream baby blankets...
 with matching turtle toys.  One was a custom order, the other is in the shop.
  These two ladies and...
 ...this fellow were also custom orders.
 Of course, a turtle hatched this month and...
 ...this happy little star also appeared.
 These are brightly colored luggage identifiers that are so very handy to find your luggage in an airport or cruise terminal.  They make a great bon voyage gift or door prize.
 I developed this newsboy cap design this month, too.  It's a ribbed crochet that you can form to wear however you wish for comfort and style.  It also can be used as a chemo cap.
 It was time to restock the shop for more cloche/chemo caps, too.
 This is a special order hat for, yep, Henry!
  Charlie is Henry's brother and wanted a hat, too!
  I had so much fun making those that I made this one and...
 ...this one for the shop.  If you're not Bob or Cathy, you can order a hat with your name or initials (up to eight letters) in any color you wish by writing to me to place your order.
 I made a number of hats in a variety of sizes for the shop.

 

 This "big hair" hat is in the shop, too.
 Pin cushions!  I made a few more to restock the shop.
 This one should be easy to find in your sewing room!
 I also made a few more toilet tissue toppers to restock the shop for those that were recently sold.



 And, finally, another set of mug rugs/snack mats.

Wow, it was a busy month again!

Thanks for getting this far in this long post.  If you'd like to go take a look, I've got a coupon for you to use in our shop: 



  Coupon Code:   BLOGFRIENDS831
$5 off a $50 minimum order
Good through August 31, 2016

 Thanks, and we now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.  ;)

All the best,
Lois

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Daddy's Helper

Good morning,

Wendy likes to help Daddy when he works at his computer.

Yes, Wendy is a whole lot of help!

So sweet!

;),
Lois

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Water Lily in our Fish Pond

Good morning,

This pretty lily was waiting for me in our pond when we got home. 

How pretty!

Enjoy,
Lois

Friday, July 22, 2016

Puppy Kisses!


Good morning,

What a greeting!
Daddy had to sit down on the back porch so the puppies could smother him with welcome-home kisses!

Awwww, how sweet!

Lois

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Coming Around the Bend

Good morning,

There is a spectacular view of the Cincinnati skyline when you approach the city from the South on I-75.
So, here we are!  Almost home!  Puppies are waiting!

Yea!!!!!

Lois

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Low Flying Clouds

Good morning,

This road trip produced some beautiful views to catch on camera.
The weather changed so rapidly that we had clouds down along the road (fog) at the same time there were sunny skies overhead.

It's good to be back on (not so dry) land!

Lois

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Flowers in North Carolina

Good morning,

Today's images were taken at a North Carolina rest stop. 
This place is incredibly beautiful!

We have stopped here at various times of the year.
The gardens are always beautiful.
 Just lovely!

 Lois