Elsa's Weekend Haul

 Good morning,

Elsa and Catherine (Elsa's trainer/our daughter) had a great weekend at the dog club.  They brought home more ribbons and Elsa is accumulating more and more points toward her next title.

Good job Team Elsa!

Love from a very proud Mom!

Memorial Day - United States of America - Freedom Is Not Free

 

Hippo Beer?

 Good morning,

On my way to the Hyde Park Post Office here in Cincinnati I found myself behind a beer truck I'd never seen before.  Of course, the Hippo Beer stuck out to me!

 There are a number of restaurants and taverns in the area that serve specialty food and drink so this wasn't too much of a surprise.  

BUT!  The reason I took note is because Hippos are very special here in Cincinnati.  We have Fiona, the smallest Hippo ever born in captivity to survive.  Fiona has become quite a star and is known world wide:

  https://cincinnatizoo.org/the-fiona-show/

 And here is her Facebook page with 202.6 K members:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/169270496980517

We absolutely LOVE our Fiona and she surely loves humans.  She loves to perform for and pose with her keepers and visitors. 

If you're ever near Cincinnati, stop by and see our Fiona!

:),

Lois

Fifty Pounds of Chicken Necks - Yum!

 Good morning

Under all that ice in that box you'll find 50 pounds of chicken necks.

These are part of the raw diet our three pups enjoy.  Our friend, Bill, picked up the box of chicken necks for us and Kjell is "packing them down" in smaller plastic containers so I can put them in the basement freezer to be thawed and fed to the pups as needed.

Of course, Kjell had lots of help and advice while packing down those necks.  ;)

Happy Weekend!

Lois

Work in Process - Deck One - Living Room

 Good morning,

This is the other large afghan blanket that is currently in process that I mentioned two days ago.  This one is on Deck One in the Living Room.  I always have a project going wherever I sit down.

The connecting round and border on this one will be a blue that is in the circle in the center.  The colors are all just gorgeous together and the effect of all of the pieces together will be lovely.  As I said with the Deck Two project two days ago, all I have to do now is finish this blanket, photo, and list it in the shop.

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,

Lois

Mourning the Loss

Ohio's governor ordered flags in Ohio be flown at half staff in memory of the lives lost in Texas.  What a horrific loss of life.  We grieve as a country for those families.

Work in Process - Deck Two Sitting Room

 Good morning,

I have two large afghan blankets in process right now:  the one pictured is on "deck two" in our sitting room; the other is on "deck one" in our living room.  

The blanket pictured will have another/joining round of the medium blue you see in the textured yarn in the center.  This is my very highly textured circles and squares design and is made of washable acrylic yarn.  I've made sweaters for our daughter with the super soft multi-colored yarn and love how it looks and feels.  This one will make a beautiful Father's Day gift.  I just have to get it finished, photographed, and listed in the shop!

Aside:  We lived on ships for so many years that our home doesn't have "floors."  It has "decks."

;),

Lois

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Baked Fish

 Good morning,

This is such an easy summer meal!  

Frozen cod (thawed) in a corning ware dish, sprinkle with lemon juice (I use concentrated), paprika, onion powder, seasoned salt (very little), dill, add a tomato slice, top with shredded cheese (your favorite), cover, then bake for 35 minutes at 375 F.

We each ate two of these and felt we had eaten a full meal.

Enjoy!

Lois

Today's Blossom

 Good morning,

Our blossom of the morning is another beautiful pink rose.  

I just love Spring!

:),

Lois

As Promised! Peonies in Bloom!

 Good morning,

As promised a few days ago, the peonies have now bloomed to the delight of all humans (and ants!) who see them.

The blooms are quite heavy on their stems so we are lucky to be able to enjoy them before a rain that will surely push them to the ground.

These particular plants are descendants of the peonies I found in the back yard when we moved in here 43 years ago.  I divided and transplanted these white flowers to the front garden where they are thriving all these years later.  

 So pretty!

Lois

Bronze Iris

 Good morning,

Our various types of flowers continue to bloom randomly which makes each morning trip out into the garden a delightful adventure.

This bronze iris has continued to come back to thrill us for many years.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Survivor Rose

 Good morning,

More than 30 years ago I had more than 60 rose bushes in our garden.

Then I went to sea to be with my hubby who is a Maritime Marine Engineer.  Being away from home to be with him was an excellent decision, but it took a heavy toll on our garden.

I'm down to three rose bushes now.  I call this pretty red rose my "survivor rose."

Gorgeous!

:),

Lois

Here Come the Peonies

 Good morning,

The next big show in our garden will be the blooming of the peonies.

 The buds are plentiful and...

 ...the ants are eagerly anticipating the sweetness.

Stay tuned!

Lois

That Moon Event

 Good morning,

A few days ago we had a highly publicized "moon event," but since the sky was overcast/hazy, this is what we saw.

It's pretty, though, and the weather has been lovely here.  We're sure the moon did exactly as it was supposed to do behind those clouds.  

;),

Lois

Iris in Bloom

 Good morning,

The purple iris are in bloom this week.

These are so very pretty and have a lovely soft fragrance. 

My Mother had many of these so these are always a wonderful memory of her.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Smoked Salmon

 Good morning,

My Honey fired up the smoker a few days ago and smoked salmon.  This was the very best he's ever made!  

This time he smoked it on foil so the juices didn't drain away from the fish during smoking.

Yum!

:),

Lois

Elsa's New Ribbon

 Good morning,

Last weekend our Elsa and her trainer/our daughter Catherine participated in a dog show and agility trials at our local dog club.  Team Elsa completed another title on her way to her Master Agility Champion title.

Needless to say, we are so very proud of both Catherine and Elsa.

:),

Lois   <-- proud Mommy

Lovely Flowers

 Good morning,

I love flowers.  :)  The lovelies above arrived from #2 son, Don for Mother's Day.

 And, these gorgeous red roses are from My Honey with the help of daughter, Catherine, as his secret shopper.

Catherine gave me a lovely Mother's Day, too.  She cleaned out our goldfish pond and purchased a dozen fish for it.  I used to clean out the pond every spring, but my back doesn't allow me to do such things any more.  Catherine also prepared a lovely salmon dinner for us.  Sweet!

Family is so very special, isn't it. 

All the best,

Lois

Honeysuckle in Bloom

 Good morning,

The Honeysuckle is in Bloom in our area.

 And, we had LOTS of it.  This is just part of our back yard.  The aroma of the blossoms is fabulous.  The bees are extremely happy this week!

All the best,

Lois

Catherine's Lizard

 Good morning

Today's image is courtesy of daughter Catherine.  She took it here in our area.

This lizard appears slightly different from the lizards closer to our home.

That hide certainly is an interesting pattern that would make an interesting knitting pattern stitch....  Yes, I am constantly thinking about such things.  :)

Happy Spring!

Lois

Elsa and Her Sea Horse

 Good morning,

I didn't pose this picture.  Elsa often carries a soft toy with her and has some favorites that she keeps nearby most of the time.

Above you see her sun bathing with her blue sea horse.

What a cutie.

:),

Lois

The Pool is Open

 Good morning,

The pups are delighted that "the pool is open."  Yes, this is a tiny wading pool, but they certainly do enjoy it!

The pups go to a friend's home for some serious swimming in her "real pool."  

;),

Lois

Patio Crochet

 Good morning,

We have had some absolutely gorgeous Spring weather most days here in the Midwest.  Unfortunately, the alternate days are often stormy and wet.

I have smaller projects to take outside on the patio when we are enjoying the pretty days.  

Above you see the beginning of a cloche hat that will soon be available in the shop.

I also have a Flower Garden Afghan Blanket started in the living room, but I haven't seen spending as much time there recently.  Working on different projects is good, though, because it provides a break from the same repetitive movements for my fingers.

All the best,

Lois

Happy Mother's Day and Dandy Lions

 Good morning,

Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers today!

When my children were small they called these Dandy Lions.  I remember my daughter bringing me bouquets of them one Spring when she was about four years old.  Ah, yes, fond memories....

 The bees absolutely love these.  We don't use chemicals on our garden for a variety of reasons so we have a few of these in bloom every Spring.  

How does your garden brow?

:),

Lois

White Iris

 Good morning,

Here are the lovely white iris once again this year.  These were a gift from a dear friend probably thirty years ago.  They return to delight us year after year.

If I could still bend over and work in the yard, I'd separate these and put a few on the other side of the front porch.  I'm just so pleased that they are still returning every year.  It's fun to think of the people connected to the various plants and flowers in my garden.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Work in Process - Sitting Room Project

 Good morning,

I have needlework projects beside every chair where I land during the day and evening.

This is my upstairs sitting room project, a Shades of Turquoise Large Afghan Blanket.  It's almost finished at this writing and should be in the shop soon.  There will be one more round of turquoise around the colors you see here.  These colors are favorites of mine.  

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,

Lois

 Update:  This blanket is finished and is now in the shop here.  :)  

Needlework Update - May, 2022

 Good morning,

Welcome to this month's Needlework Update documenting what has been completed during the past month.

Above is a large Afghan Blanket that sold within 48 hours after I listed it in the shop.  I'll be making another in similar colors for the shop, but have two other large blankets in process now:  flower garden design and shades of turquoise design.  Those are schedule to be finished and listed in the shop soon. In the meantime, there are more afghan blankets ready to ship here.

This Toilet Tissue Topper is new n the shop this month. $8.  These are available in a variety of colors here.

 This has also been a very busy month for cloche hat sales so I've been busy making more.

We have a large selection...

from $8.

 

 

 Click here to see them all.

Thank you for your encouragement, comments, likes, favorites, and purchases, too.  You are so very appreciated and I love seeing what our other blogger friends are making, baking, and growing.

All the very best,

Lois

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Elsa's Selfie

 Elsa:  I'm sleeping on Mom's chest where I love to hear her heartbeat and feel her breathe.  Mom says I snore, but she doesn't seem to mind. 

More Daffodils

 Good morning,

We have many different types of daffodils growing in our yard so they bloom at slightly different times.  I love the parade of blooms every Spring.

You can see the little slug critters on these blooms.  Those and other similar critters are what our snake critter eats which is one of the reasons we are so happy to have the garter snakes in the yard.

Sorry, Sherry.  I know you don't like snakes.  I should have put a warning on that post a few days ago.  

Happy Spring!

Lois

Lovely Lilacs

 Good morning,

I love our lilacs because they remind me of those my Mom had planted at the side of the house when I was growing up.  These are the old fashioned type with the classic lilac color.  Mom also had some white lilacs.  The aroma is unmistakable and the bees have no problem finding the blossoms.

 

 

 My lilac bush is next to my front steps out near the street.  There is a hill that can be pretty slippery when wet.  In the background in this image you can see the Sir Winston Churchill Daffodils featured in an earlier post.  

I love the aromas of Spring!

:),

Lois