Half Barrel Herb Garden

Good morning,

We've had a barrel herb garden on our patio for several years now.  This year the mint, rosemary, and oregano all made it through the winter.  Catherine picked up some purple sage and lavender that I've added to make it a full garden again this year. 

It is marvelous to be able to go out to our little herb garden for fresh herbs while we are cooking.

And, look at all of that mint!  Mint juleps or mojitos?  ;)  Or, perhaps mint jelly?

 All the best,
Lois

Covid-19 Hair Do

Good morning,

We documented My Honey's "Covid Do" while he wasn't able to visit his barber during Ohio's Stay-at-Home orders.  This is quite a change form his tidy military cut during all the time while we were at sea.

I like the pony tail.  I had some beads I could have put into his hair, too, but that didn't happen.  ;) 

And, finally, he was able to visit his barber this week and his hair is dapper and tidy once again. 

We are very happy Ohio is "open" again, but we are still limiting our trips to the most necessary things.

Life does go on....

All the best,
Lois

Very Simple Comfort Food

Good morning,

Kjell made a very simple comfort food dinner again.  This time it was cod in white sauce served over boiled potato (crushed), carrots, and celery. 

No muss, no fuss.  Just simple comfort food.  And, very tasty, too.

:),
Lois

Todays Blossom

Good morning,

This lovely rose greeted me this morning.  I'm not so sure it's still the same tea rose I planted many years ago.  I think this blossom is from the root stock of the tea rose. 

Regardless, it is beautiful.  I love the delicate shade of pink.

Enjoy,
Lois

U.S. Grant Miniseries on The History Channel

Good morning,

Above is an image I took way back in 2005 while Kjell and I were visiting the Southern Ohio birthplace of Civil War General and President U.S. Grant.  We have been there a second time, too.  It has been fun watching the miniseries about Grant on The History Channel this week.

Both parts one and two were shown last night so I'm guessing they'll repeat at least part two when they show part three tonight.

Information about this excellent History Channel program and the trailer is here if you're interested.

Both Kjell and I enjoy learning about American History and have visited many Civil War and other historical sites.  It is interesting to see so many of them on the miniseries.

Enjoy,
Lois

Are You Wearing One?

Good morning,

I know the recommendations are different in different parts of the world, but here in Ohio we are encouraged to wear non-medical face masks when we go out in public.  Necessity is the Mother of Invention so here's what we are using.

I've made these masks for our household and our daughter's office.  They are not intended to be medical masks, but they are quite comfortable and seem to be efficient for their purpose.  We use a coffee filter inside the mask which is also very efficient.  It's a food grade item, is easy to obtain, and is disposable.  Win-win-win.

If you are using masks, did you make your own masks? 

Be well,
Lois

Memorial Day - United States of America

Memorial Day

United States of America

Land of the Free Because of the Brave

Today The Iris

Good morning,

This lovely iris is the newest bloom to greet me in our garden this year.

I'll have to move this pretty flower at the end of the season.

Until last Fall, this flower was part of the flowers that lined our front walk.  Since I'm not able to tend the garden every day as I did 41 years ago, I've removed and moved many of the flowers to other spots. 

I love Spring!

:),
Lois

Remember This?

Good morning,

Remember this?  My kids ate this cereal (and many others depending on which cereal came with a "free inside") nearly half a century ago.

Our oldest called it "Lucky A Charms."  I call it Leprechaun Cereal.

Of course, there is a Leprechaun on the box.  :)  This box of cereal appeared in our bread room recently, surely on sale so purchased by daughter, Catherine. 

I had to eat some.  My taste buds were amazed at the amount of sugar not because there is any more than before, I'm just not used to it.

It was a fun thing to eat for old times sake, but will never become a regular part of my diet.

This is one item that never came to the end of its product cycle.  Well, at least not yet.

:),
Lois

Work In Process This Week

Good morning,

This is the current project, a teal Cables and Lace sweater.  This is the back and I've just gotten back to working on it after finishing...

...this sweater and matching accessories since my last WIP post.  As I worked on the sweater above I loved watching the color changes as I worked.  Both of these sweaters are custom orders so won't be available in the shop, but we have many other sweaters ready to ship in the shop now.

I'm also still working on my creamy white crochet flowers for the next large afghan blanket.  I need to switch between knit and crochet to keep my fingers from being too abused by the same repetitive movements.

So, that's what is keeping me busy these days.  What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,
Lois

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All Tuckered Out

Good morning,

It has been a busy few days of parties and good food for Wendy as we celebrated her sixth birthday.

Here she is all tuckered out in our sitting room in the wee small hours this morning.  Such a sweetie.

:),
Lois

It's Party Time for the Sour Dough Yeastie Beasties!

Good morning,

Start the music!  It's party time for the Sour Dough Yeastie Beasties!

This is my current jar of sour dough that I just fed and am watching the yeastie beastie party in the jar.  When fed they get all excited, bubble, and dance around.  It smells wonderful.

If you're interested, my full recipe and directions for making sourdough is here:

I have more than 80 posts about bread making and recipes on this blog.  They are sorted for you here if you would like to see them.  Be sure to click "next posts" at the bottom of each page to see them all.

Here a couple of tease pictures from my many bread recipes:  ;)





























Enjoy!

Lois

Ta Da! Here they are!

Good morning,

A few days ago I showed you the Peony flower buds.  This morning I was greeted by many of them in bloom.  They are so beautiful and so fragrant!

When we moved in 41 years ago I transplanted several clumps of peony roots from the back garden to the front yard.  I'm so glad I did because the large clump in the back yard grew only for a few more years before the many pups we have had during the years landed in them one last time while catching a frisbee or ball.  In the front garden there is a much better chance of survival.  ;)

It rained a little last night - just enough to make this flower heavy enough to fall over.  So sad, but it's a race every year to enjoy the pretty flowers before the next rain.

Happy Spring!

Lois

May 17 Celebration Brunch

Good morning,

As promised yesterday, here are images of the fabulous brunch prepared by our daughter, Catherine, in celebration of Norway's Constitution Day.  The most important traditional part of the meal, of course, is waffle cakes.  

The table was appropriately set and we were ready to dig in.

Of course, Dad is the master of building the perfect plate of food.  His started with a bed of waffle cakes and all the other goodies were stacked on top.

This is Goetta, a local treat that has been made in the Greater Cincinnati area for generations.  It is a sausage filled with grain and spices.  It is absolutely delicious.

 Ooooh, fresh strawberries!

 Banana Bread!

 After I had finished my eggs and goetta, I built my dessert:  waffle cake, strawberries, and whipped cream.

Oh, my this was terrific!

Happy Constitution Day, Norway, and Thank You, Catherine, for a wonderful celebration of foods!  Dad and I so appreciate the fabulous meal you prepared for all of us.

Love you,
Mom

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Posted to:

Through My Lens

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May 17 - Constitution Day - Kingdom of Norway

Good morning,

Today is Constitution Day in the Kingdom of Norway.  Norwegians celebrate it with parades, national costumes, and food usually, but this year, Covid-19 has put a damper on the big celebrations.

Above are the two flags on top of one of My Honey's CNC machines.  He was born in Norway and is now a US citizen by choice.  Of course, we always celebrate all things Norwegian as well as USA holidays and customs.

This morning we will have Norwegian Waffle Cakes made by Catherine to celebrate this special day.  I'll have to get some pictures to show you tomorrow.

Here is a larger shot of one of My Honey's two CNC machines in the corner of the basement wood workshop with the flags at the top.  He named this hard worker "The Patriot" as you can see.  He spends most of every day creating designs on his computer and working with his many tools and machines making the gorgeous items in the shop. 

Happy Constitution Day, Honey!

Love you,
Lois

Salmon Patties and Spinach

Good morning,

Here's another comfort food meal from my childhood.  That's a salmon patty made the way Mom used to make them.  She would have served this with mashed potatoes, green peas, and a tossed salad.

I served it with wilted spinach with white wine, bacon, and mushrooms, cocktail sauce, applesauce, and fresh home made bread.

Yum!

Are you still cooking at home or getting carry out during these strange times?  We prefer to cook at home.  Ohio is beginning to open up now, but we'll probably stay close to home for awhile longer.

Lois

French Toast and Raspberries

Good morning,

That may look like breakfast in that image, but it's dinner. 

The lovely part about the dinner is that it is made with home made bread, real Canadian Maple Syrup, fresh raspberries, and real whipped cream. 

Yes, it was very, very good.

;),
Lois

Star of Bethlehem Flowers

Good morning,

These Star of Bethlehem Flowers are so pretty.  They are listed as an invasive species, but I love them showing up in the Spring. 

We have had very strange Spring weather this year.  It has been quite warm for a few days, then several nights of temperatures below freezing.  Perhaps that will help reduce the number of pesky bugs this year.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Antler for the Pups

Good morning,

Catherine brought this antler home from the office this week.  A client of hers owns property in the country where he regularly finds deer antlers that have been shed naturally.  It appears this one may have been cracked when it was run over by a tractor.

We can saw these into chew sticks of an appropriate length and round the edges for the pups.  They will have hours of chewing fun with them.

If you purchase these already cut and prepared at the pet stores, they are quite expensive. 

Nice!

Lois

Full Moon

Good morning,

It's amazing how good the cameras on our phones are these days.  I took this image when I had the pups out a few nights ago.  It was about 10 PM.

That's Elsa, looking down the driveway toward Xavier University.  The only light is from the moon and our security cameras. 

It was warm that night, but since then, we have had another overnight freeze.  Welcome to May on the South Coast of Ohio.

Happy Spring,
Lois

Fly Over Thank You

Good morning,

We live in what is called "fly over" country here in Ohio. 

The reporting on the Medical Worker Fly Overs in other parts of the country by the US Navy Thunderbirds and US Air Force Blue Angels happened last week and were beautiful to watch on TV.

Not to be out done, the Ohio National Guard flew over Southern Ohio a few days ago as a thank you to our local medical workers.  We live very close to the historical hospital area here in Cincinnati so we were close to the flight path. 

I took the video above while standing in our driveway and was amazed I got much of anything because it all went so fast.  I wasn't able to zoom so if you can make the video larger to view, that will be helpful.  The F-16's flew beyond the tree and our flag  which was a beautiful sight.  They are hard to see in the video (I could see them very well full screen), but there is no trouble at all hearing them.

The handsome man who photo-bombed my video is My Honey, of course.

It was all very emotional to think of all the love and service our medical community has and still is providing while fighting the invisible enemy.

Thank you to all.

Lois

Happy Mother's Day

Good morning,

Happy Mothers Day to all Mothers!  All mothers includes mothers to human and pet children as well as those wonderful women who have been mothers to those who are not related to them at all.

We hope you have a fantastic day and hope all the special Mothers and children are able to communicate with each other in these times of separation.

My Honey has a secret shopper (thank you, Catherine) who picked up these roses for me.   My Honey and I are still not venturing out since we are in the high risk group for Covid-19.  This, too, shall pass.  We look forward to getting out, doing some of our own shopping, taking a road trip.... 

All the very best,
Lois

More Bread

Good morning,

I'm on a bread "kick" again.  It just smells so good baking and tastes so good eating.  ;)

This batch was made with sour cream and onion dip.  Oh, goodness, it is GOOD!

I make these up as I go after looking into the fridge to see what is available that day.  If you look in the right column of my blog, you'll see quite a few posts tagged "bread making."  Scroll through those if you are interested in some of my recipes. 

All the best,
Lois

Salmon and Caesar

Good morning,

This was lunch recently. 

It's fun that we take turns cooking around here.  Kjell had smoked salmon and Catherine had made a Caesar Salad the night before.  It all came together for a fabulous lunch the next day.

Yum!

Lois

Work in Process This Week

Good morning,

We are still sheltering-in-place here in Ohio so there is plenty of knitting and crocheting happening all around my home.  I have a different project everywhere I am able to sit down for a few minutes during the day. 

I took the picture of the cowl above a few days ago.  I have been working through various re-writes to the classic feather and fan pattern to produce a "ripple" pattern that will work well for sweaters and other garments.  The cowl above is finished now and in the shop here.  I've also made and listed a coordinating Stylish Seaman's Hat here.  I was tempted to keep this set for myself.   

When I became comfortable with my new design, I started a sweater....

I kept the ribbed bottom for this one and it works well with the adapted pattern stitch. 

I love how this yarn changes colors and blends as I go. 

The sweater is moving along well.  I shared some pictures of it and it now has become a reserved custom order item for a regular customer.  I am designing as I go and plan to repeat the ripples on the sleeves.  This wonderful customer gives me freedom to design and create items for her.

 Also, this week I'm working on the beginning of a custom order teal Cables and Lace sweater.  This is lovely yarn, too, and flows smoothly through my fingers and over the needles.  This is also my own pattern that I have made and adapted in several different sizes quite a few times now.  There are two similar sweaters available in the shop here:  Pink, size 34-38 and Turquoise, size 44-48.

 My upstairs project is (still) making 80 flowers for another large afghan blanket.  Usually, when I am upstairs I am working on my computer so this project is moving along slowly, but surely.  These pretty cream colored flowers will be surrounded by shades of green.  Afghan Blankets are available in the shop here.

That's what is on the needles and hooks here this week as we continue to shelter-in-place and follow all CDC guidelines.  We are so very fortunate that our daughter, Catherine, is doing our grocery and other shopping for us.  We are blessed.

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the very best,
Lois

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Come See What Else We've Made!

EvensensProductions.com

Original and Traditional

Hand Crafted Designs

Made in the USA

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