Happy Birthday, Penny! Fifteen Years Old!

Good morning,

We are so happy to wish our (Millstone) Penelope T. Labrador "Penny" a very happy birthday today!

I took both of today's pictures just a couple of days ago.  Penny still enjoys walking outside and sniffing what's new in the neighborhood.

Our Penny is an AKC agility champion, but, more importantly, a champion to us and has a special place in our hearts.

Since the day we brought her home this sweet, gentle soul has made our lives richer.

Happy Birthday, Dear Penny!  We are so very happy you are in our lives.

Love you!
Mom, Dad, Catherine, Erik, Wendy, and Elsa

Benefits of Going to Work in Your Fluffy Slippers

Good morning,

There are great benefits to being able to go to work without leaving home and while wearing your fuzzy slippers. 

One of those great benefits is the ability to have a friend nearby at all times.  That image above is of Elsa with her chin on my knee as I sit at my computer.

After a few cuddles, kisses, and kind words, she settles on the chair mat under my desk. 

What a sweetheart.

I hope your day is as wonderful as mine will be today.

Lois

This Week's Work in Process

Good morning,

I took the sweater back pictured above with me yesterday to work on in a waiting room while My Honey had a routine appointment.  I also worked on it all evening and have finished about twice as much of the back as you see here.  This piece certainly drew attention in the waiting room!  The yarn is just gorgeous and people just had to ask me about it.  When finished, it will be a cables and lace sweater and is a custom order so it is my primary project.

I am playing around with a corner to corner crochet shawl for an alternative project when my knitting fingers just can't knit another stitch.  The yarn I am using will produce wide blended stripes.  This, too, is a very soft yarn and has a lovely feel to it.

My upstairs crochet project is now a striped baby or lap blanket.  I love these bright, happy colors. 

The neck warmer I showed you last week is still in the project bag.  I'll pull it out and add a few rows from time to time.  I still haven't taken the time to research available buttons in my craft room.  I will get back to it...eventually....

My Honey has completed several wood projects this week so I've spent a great deal of time photographing and listing them in the shop.   He is designing wood wall art currently and it is fabulous!   I'll be writing the monthly Needlework and Wood Working Update of everything we've finished in the last month by next week where you'll see all of his recent projects, too.

That's what we've been up to this week.  What are you making, baking, growing?

All the very best,
Lois

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Complete Attention

Good morning,

Daddy has Elsa's complete attention as he eats caviar on crackers while watching the news. 

Yes, he shares. 

Sweet.

:),
Lois

Success

Good morning,

Today's image is courtesy of daughter, Catherine.

She saw this at our local Harley dealer while she was there with a friend who bought a new Harley yesterday.  It was a fun day.

;),
Lois

Bacon and Eggs Dinner Style

Good morning,

Last night we enjoyed bacon and eggs for dinner.  To pretend it was healthy to eat that bacon, we ate it on a salad.

Yum!

;),
Lois

Early Signs of Spring

Good morning,

So far, this has been a mild winter here, but we'll still be happy when Spring arrives.

Our Tulip Magnolia tree in front of our home develops fuzzy buds very early for the next Spring.

What a welcome sight!

But for now, I'm on my way back to the fireplace and my knitting needles.  :)

All the best,
Lois

Always Kiss Your Puppy

Good morning,

Be sure to give your puppy a kiss before  you have to leave the house without her.

Miss Elsa always looks so sad when she knows we are getting ready to go out.  We weren't gone long. 

:),
Lois

Sleeping Over the Edge

Good morning,

We have a "doggie dormitory" in our living room right now.  Penny can't climb the steps any more so we've moved the dog beds down here where we can all be together and Penny can be with us.

I get a kick out of some of the strange positions these pups manage to get into.  Penny just kept sliding until her head was off the side of her bed.  She was sound asleep.

Retirement is good.  It is wonderful to be home with the people and the dog family.

:),
Lois

This Week's Work In Process

Good morning,

There are four items in process this week.  Above is the beginning of a Lady Bug Baby Sweater set for the shop.                

I described this last time, and finally here's a picture.  This is a neck warmer I'm designing as I go.  I'm planning a cross over and three buttons as well as a scalloped or ruffle finish.  We'll see what really happens. ;)

This lap blanket continues to grow a few rows at a time when I am upstairs.  I really like color changes in the lacy stripes.

And, here are the first few rows of the back of a cables and filigree lace sweater.  This yarn is so soft!  It will be wonderful to wear.  This is a custom order so won't be in the shop, but there are similar sweaters finished in the shop that are ready to ship.

Each of these items get progress depending on where I am in the house, where I am going in the car or at appointments, and how much time I have to concentrate when working on necklines, etc.  Of course, custom orders get priority. 

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,
Lois

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Daddy in the Kitchen

Good morning,

Daddy has loaded up the crock pot with "Fårikål."  That's a Norwegian treat of cabbage and lamb cooked slowly until the lamb is tender and the cabbage is brown.  Oh, so good!

On the side is a bowl of lamb leg trimmings for the pups.  They have been watching Daddy's every move in the kitchen.  Photo credit goes to Daddy Kjell.

Good things coming!

Lois

Baby It's Cold Outside

Good morning,

Before writing today's post I cleaned out the first floor fireplace and built another fire for today.  The pups appreciate that, too! 

It was colder here yesterday, but nothing like the ice/cold/snow the people North of us experienced this week.  We had rain a couple of days ago, cold/sunny yesterday, and a little warmer/sunny today. 

It is winter.  We are prepared with firewood.  We are not complaining!

We don't have to drive anywhere until tomorrow.  Retirement is good.

Stay warm, wherever you are....

Lois

Cod Fish Cakes ala Kjell

Good morning,

Kjell was in the kitchen again yesterday and made delicious Cod Fish Cakes served with onions,

shredded raw carrots with lime, beets, and mashed potatoes. 

It was delicious!

I just love it when Kjell cooks.  :)

Yum!

Lois

Fond Memories From the Past

Good morning,

Remember these candies?  My Dad loved them.  He said when he was a boy, horehound drops were used as cough drops.

Whenever I'm at Hobby Lobby I buy a bag of these at the checkout. 

Ah, fond memories....

Lois

Our Alarm Clock

Good morning,

What a sweet way to wake up in the morning.

This is our sweet Elsa who brings us cuddles and kisses in the morning.

It is good to be retired.

:),
Lois

Log Splitting and Stacking

Good morning,

We had temps in the mid 50's F this week so spent a couple of hours splitting and stacking logs.

My Honey carries the big logs over to the splitter and splits them.

I get the split logs to the stacks and stack them.  Teamwork.  We did quite a lot in only a couple of hours!

There are more to split on another day.

We have four other full racks so have plenty of split wood to get through the winter, but it will be nice to get all of these logs split and stacked, too.

Happy Winter!  It's quite nice here.

Lois

Flashback to Christmas Aboard Enchantment of the Seas

Good morning,

My friends, Martha and Russell, enjoyed Christmas at sea aboard Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas.

Martha was kind enough to share some of her pictures with us.

Christmas at sea is beautiful and is a wonderful way for families to enjoy the holidays with each other where no one has to cook and clean up.

I got a real kick out of Santa on the John Deere.

Thank you, Martha, for sending the pictures!

All the best,
Lois

Mr. Red

Good morning,

As we were leaving the casino yesterday I snapped this picture of Mr. Red, the Cincinnati Reds Mascot, who was seated on a bench waiting for someone to take a selfie with him.

No, he's not real, but he's kinda cute, isn't he.  ;)

Lois

Annual Labrador Retriever Club Luncheon

Good morning,

Yesterday we enjoyed the annual Labrador Retriever Club luncheon at Belterra Casino. 

We drove through downtown Cincinnati and...

...passed one casino on the way to another.

Getting to Belterra from home we cross the Ohio River from Ohio to Kentucky, then...

...after a few miles on the circle freeway, cross the Ohio River from Kentucky to...

...Ohio.  Confusing, but it is the shortest, fastest way to get there.

Just across the bridge and a right turn...

 ...here we are at Belterra.

 We parked next to Catherine's car.

 After a great buffet dinner with the other Lab Club members, we played the slots for awhile.  I won a little, My Honey lost a little so we came out just fine.  We never put much in the machines and when we can take more out than we put in, we leave!

It was a fun day. 

:),
Lois

Work in Process This Week

Good morning,

It has been a busy week with the knitting needles and crochet hooks.  The front, back, and first sleeve of the current sweater are finished and...

...I've got the second sleeve started. 

This is the beginning of a cloche hat for the shop.   These have been flying out the door lately so I'm trying to keep up.

There is progress on the crochet lap blanket since my last WIP post.  I work on this when I am upstairs and to give my hands a rest from so much knitting.  All of these colors remind me of chocolate, caramel, vanilla cream. Yum!

I bought a pair of these gloves at JoAnn's quite some time ago.  They don't offer a whole lot of support, but they do bring warmth to my right thumb which has become quite sore from all of the abuse I give it with knitting needles.

I have another cloche hat started to replace one that just sold as well as a neck warmer I'm designing.  I have to spend some time going through my buttons to find just the right ones. Pictures coming next time....

If only I had more sets of hands and more hours in the day to keep up with all of the ideas....

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,
Lois

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Come see what else we've made!

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Original and Traditional

Hand Crafted Designs

Made in the USA

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Cake Decorating

Good morning,

Catherine shared these images with us.  She and her friend, Erica, attended a cake decorating class...

...that turned out to be fantastic fun.

The cake itself was delicious.  Catherine brought some home that I enjoyed sampling.

How fun!

The entire demo included...

 ...your cake to bring home.

 And, when the cake got home, I was delighted to enjoy the first piece.

Thanks, Catherine, this is fun and tasty, too!

If you're in the Greater Cincinnati area and would like to try this, you can find information about the classes at Cincinnati Cake and Candy Supply.

Lois