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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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Good to the Last Lick

Good morning,

In the image Catherine is holding the wrapper from cream cheese.
Erik and Wendy are making sure there is no cream cheese left on the wrapper before it goes into the trash.
They are so cute.  Yes, we really do feed them, this is a treat.

:),

 Lois

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

It's Skyline Time

Good morning,

If you're from Cincinnati know exactly what the title of this post means. 

Skyline Chili is a Cincinnati tradition with a very distinctive taste.  My Honey and I haven't been there for 20 years so it was time to go back.  That happened because we invited our grandson to dinner and gave him the choice of venue.  ;) 

My order is pictured above.  That's a small Five Way (spaghetti, chili, beans, onions, cheese) and small Greek salad.  This food comes with a side of oyster crackers.  That's unsweetened iced tea in that cup.
My Honey ordered the large Five Way.  Wow!  It's really LARGE!  He managed to eat it all, too.
Here are our son, Don, and grandson, Alex.  Obviously, Alex was happy to be here.
Grandpa was busy recording the event of his eating all that Five Way with his phone camera.
 Here's a shot of the restaurant.  What I like here is that orders are taken by a server at our table and we have real china plates and metal flatware.  I guess you'd have to say this is a classy fast food restaurant. 

Such fun!

Lois

Monday, August 29, 2016

Wendy's Weekend

Good morning,

A little brag from me again today.  When not on guard duty here at home (see current header), our Wendy is a Canine Athlete.

Wendy brought these blue ribbons home from a recent Saturday of AKC Dock Diving competition.
Wendy participated in four "Splashes" in this American Kennel Club competition.  Her longest "jump" into the water from a dock was 19 feet, 8 inches on Saturday.
 On Sunday Wendy participated in three "Splashes."
 She outdid herself this time!  She jumped 20' 4" which puts her into another category.  Many more "Splashes" to come!

Wendy's trainer is our daughter, Catherine.  Way to Go. Wendy and Catherine!

Click to see an earlier post about Wendy at dock diving class.

:),
Lois
Very Proud Mom

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Design Mode

Good morning,

I'm in design mode again creating and knitting custom order sweaters for two brothers for Christmas.

The matching dark green hand knit sweaters will have crochet red truck applique pockets on the front.

I get such a kick out of making things for children.  These will be so cute on two little boys!  I hope I get to see a picture of the boys wearing these!


Lois

More info:

There's another one of my truck sweaters available in child size 4 here in the shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/399789921/aqua-original-hand-knit-sweater-with-toy?ref=shop_home_active_22

Saturday, August 27, 2016

My Loyal Body Guard

Good morning,

This is the first thing I see most mornings.

That fellow is my loyal body guard and my buddy.


What a sweet heart!

Lois

Friday, August 26, 2016

Canal Winchester, Ohio

Good morning,

These images are of our arrival in Canal Winchester, Ohio, where my brother has lived with his family since he left The Ohio State University.  His job took him all over the world, but he always returned to Canal Winchester where he and his wife raised their two children.
Driving into this little town has the feel of a step back in time.  There are flags everywhere, the railroad crossings resemble those of our childhood, and...
...even the little train station is as it was so many years ago.
The downtown streets haven't changed much, either...
...and there are plenty of small, local businesses in operation.

 Just outside of town there are new, modern stores, but this section of town is just so warm and comfortable. 

I love this place where my big brother lives.

Lois

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Ohio Rest Stop

Good morning,

I remember when highway rest stops consisted of a couple of parking spots and an out house.  Yep, that was a long time ago.
Now rest stops are equipped with all the modern facilities and resemble parks.
Rest stops are now a destination for a picnic lunch rather than just a place for a quick potty stop.

Beautiful!

Lois

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Mini Road Trip

Good morning,

We're off on a mini road trip to Central Ohio to celebrate my brother's birthday with him.
We could not have had a more beautiful day for our trip.  Even the traffic was great.
Ohio has wonderful farm land and Ohio Farmers know how to make it prosper.  We are very fortunate here in Ohio that we had one of the first agricultural schools at The Ohio State University.  Farming is serious business here.

More of our mini road trip to come!

Lois

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Norwegian Comfort Food

Good morning,

Sometimes you just have to have some comfort food.

My Honey made the sauce for this comfort food, Norwegian Fish Balls.  The white sauce included bacon and green onion so it had to be good!

In traditional fashion it is served with boiled potatoes and, of course, at our house with my home made fresh bread. 

Can you say "carbs?"

;),
Lois

Monday, August 22, 2016

Final Touches

Good morning,

My Honey snapped this picture as I was putting the final touches on the border of a full size Pink Lovers afghan blanket. 

So soft and comfy!

:),
Lois

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Brio Tuscan Grille

Good morning,

We had lunch with friends at Tuscan Brio Grille at Newport on the Levee.  This is the second time we've been here and will surely go again.
The lunch menu has plenty of choices and we had no problem finding what we wanted.
It was shrimp for me and...
...grilled chicken for My Honey.

Yum!

Lois

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Sushi Night

Good morning,

If you are a sushi lover, this image will make you hungry!

My Honey and I enjoyed this sushi with our daughter, Catherine, and a friend.  It didn't take us long to clear that tray. 

Yum!

Lois

Friday, August 19, 2016

What's for Dinner?

Good morning,

This sweet face appeared beside my desk.
She asked, "What's for dinner?"
"Will it be soon?"
"Oh, good!  Let's go eat now!"

;),
Lois

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Another Hibiscus

Good morning,

We have hibiscus in white and many different shades of pink. 

Each morning I wake to a new group of blossoms.  I just love this color.

We are enjoying the warm weather while we still have it, but sure are looking forward to cool Fall days.

Lois







Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Needlework and Wood Update - August, 2016

Good morning,

It's so hot outside that it's a good time to stay inside and create.  This month was another busy one for the knitting needles and crochet hooks!  Many of these items are available in the shop.

Be sure to scroll all the way down and see the wood items new this month, too.

Above is a button-side poncho with turtle neck that will be wonderful to have when the weather turns cold.  This one was a special order and is already with it's new owner. 
These are the colors of a customer's organization and items in these colors so I've made several including the sweater above...
...hat...
...headband...
 ...and boot cuffs.  There are so many different pretty ways to wear the organization's colors!
 Last month I showed you hats with intarsia crochet names.  This month, these were ordered by the same family for Henry's Dad...
 ...and Henry's Mom.  How very cool!
 And, it was restocking time for more caps for the shop.


 I made several similar hats in different sizes.

 It's never too early for Christmas!  Our shop had a Christmas in July promotion and we sold out of the Santa hat ornaments, so I made these to restock.
 Luggage Identifiers are also a hot item.  :)  Don't leave home without them!


 My Honey was very busy in his wood workshop this month, too!
 These are hand crafted turned wood security whistles that you can keep on your key chain.
 Each turned wood item is unique.






These last two are very special.
They are turned of Olive Tree Wood from Bethlehem.
My Honey has made more hand crafted turned wood bird house ornaments, too.
Each one of these is more beautiful than the last.  

There will be many more wood items coming next month.

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:   BLOGFRIENDSFALL16
$5 off a $50 minimum order
Good through September 30, 2016


We sincerely appreciate everyone who visits and shops at our little on line store.   

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

All the best,
Lois