Dog Days of Summer

 Good morning,

It's definitely hot here.  Elsa is relaxing in the driveway, but doesn't stay there long.  In fact, I don't let the pups stay outside long.  The girls like to do a little nude sunbathing, but Erik prefers the comfort of air conditioning inside.

It won't be long and there will be snow on the ground....

Lois

Catherine's Car is Back

Good morning,

Catherine picked her car up from the body shop and it is good as new after it was the landing pad for a very large tree (see earlier posts this month)!  We are so glad that we didn't allow the insurance company to total it!

Life goes on!

;),

Lois

Chef Kjell's Dinner

 Good morning,

Kjell was in the kitchen again yesterday and his Norwegian Pork Meat Cakes certainly didn't disappoint.  He served them with "smashed peas," sour kraut, and applesauce.  Generally, we would have mashed potatoes with this meal, too, but we were all out of potatoes.  

Not to worry!  We had plenty to eat!

Thanks, Sweetie, it was yummy!

Lois

OK, I'm Smiling

 Good morning,

That's Wendy ready to have her picture taken.  Our pups are so funny when we get out our phones and hold them up.  They come close, pose, and smile.  

I just love this!  

So cute!

Lois

Couldn't Stop Laughing!

 

Good morning,

I rarely use images that are from other sites, but this one had me laughing so hard I had to share it here with my dog-loving friends. This one came to me from Facebook via My Honey.

Enjoy!

:),

Lois

Work in Process This Week - Lots of Yellow Flowers

Good morning,

 My Deck One project next to my recliner in the living room is this afghan of yellow flowers.  The flowers are quite striking bordered in shades of green and white. 

On Deck Two near my computer in the sitting room I am working on a similar afghan blanket with red flowers.  I have several more projects, including afghans already in project boxes and bags.  When I get an idea for a project, I go to my craft room and collect all the necessary materials and supplies and put them in a project bag or box with my notes so it's ready to go as soon as it moves up in the production line. 

There have been quite a few afghan blankets flowing off of the crochet hooks recently here.  These items have been popular in the shop and some have sold out so I am restocking.  I am also stocking the shop for Fall and the Holiday Season.  I am always coming up with new ideas for a variety of different items, too.

I love seeing your blogs and hearing from you about your projects.  What are you making, baking, growing this week?   

All the best,

Lois 

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Deck Chair Visitor

 Good morning,

Catherine sent me this image of a grasshopper lounging on the pup's deck chair on our patio.  We haven't seen one quite this big for a long time.

Since the big tree came down in a storm recently (see previous posts), the ecology of the back yard has changed.  The biggest change is the increase of sunlight where there hasn't been any sunlight for decades.  

There has been great change to the property next door to us, also.  The newest owners have completely cleared the land (I'm so sorry to see this!) of all trees and shrubs.  They have plowed and put down sod that they maintain chemically.  Many of the critters that lived there have moved over to our yard where they are very welcome.  We use no chemicals on our property for a number of reasons including our dogs' safety. 

Ah, yes, Summer....

Lois

Stacking It Up

 Good morning,

We are fortunate to have our friend, Bill, helping us with the tree that came down in our back yard (see earlier posts.)  Bill is sawing and stacking the wood.  The smaller branches can be used this Fall.  The larger pieces will need a year before they can be split.

We can see part of the tree was rotting, but it still took a huge wind storm to bring it down.  Just north of us, the same storm system caused tornadoes.

Look carefully at the image and you'll see a little dove atop the logs.

 Kjell has turned the log on the left on end so that he can lure birds with bird seed.  He is enjoying the pictures of beautiful birds that he is able to capture while he sitting on the patio enjoying a cup of coffee. 

Ah, yes, it's summer!

:),

Lois

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream

 Good morning,

The title says it all....   :)

Happy Summer!

Lois

Chilling After a Busy Week

 Good morning,

Our canine athlete Elsa knows how to relax when she gets home from a fun weekend out "clubbing" at our dog club!

;),

Lois

A Great Weekend for Elsa

 Good morning,

 It was a good weekend at the dog club!

Elsa and her trainer/our daughter Catherine are collecting ribbons and points for her next titles!

 We are so proud!

Lois

Shrimp and Spaghetti

 Good morning,

Do you ever open the refrigerator door for inspiration about 4 PM with no idea of what you'll make for dinner?

The night before we had a classic Norwegian Shrimp Party:  cold shrimp, mayo, bread....

I had just a few shrimp left over and needed to use them before they weren't good anymore.  I made spaghetti for two, and tossed the shrimp in the skillet with butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and dill.

I couldn't have pre-planned this dinner any better.  It was fabulous!

What's your favorite quick dinner?

:),

Lois 

Work in Process This Week - Afghan Blanket

 Good morning,

I have almost finished this large afghan blanket so it will be in the shop soon.  This one is Shades of Turquoise and Creamy White.  These are favorite colors so was fun to make. 

There are quite a few other afghan blankets finished and in the shop and ready to ship.

 What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,

Lois

 

 

 

Bye Bye Catherine's Car

 Good morning,

A few days ago Catherine had her car towed to the body shop for repairs of the damage from our back yard falling tree recently.  See previous posts for the video and images. 

The good part is that the tow truck driver drove the car down our driveway and onto the flatbed truck.

 At least we know the mechanics of the car seem to be working.  The windshield, rear view mirror, and hood of the car need serious repair/replacement, but otherwise, the car seems it should be OK.  The insurance company wanted to total the car, but that doesn't make sense when the car can be repaired.  

We bought this car, then passed it down to Catherine when we bought our next Edge.  Since it has been in the family all of its life, we know it has been well cared-for.  

I'm sure the insurance company would love for Catherine to have purchase a new car that would have been more expensive to insure....  Hmm....

I hope your 2022 is much more calm and relaxed than ours has been!

Lois

Deer in the Neighborhood

 Good morning,

Catherine snapped these images as she was driving down our driveway recently.

The deer are wandering around on the campus of Xavier University where there is renovating happening this summer.  I think the wildlife are just as affected as the rest of us with all of the construction noises. 

We've been here for 43 years, but didn't start seeing deer here until eight or ten years ago.  We are sure it is because of all of the land development just North of us.

Happy Summer!

Lois

I hate it when this happens....

 Good morning,

We didn't realize this would happen until after 8 AM.  I checked the security cameras to find that the notice was put on our front door at the 2 AM hour.  I'm guessing this is an emergency repair, but I wish we had seen the notice earlier. Oh, well....

It was a day of no laundry, cooking, dish washing....  At least we had a case of bottled water.  

Life goes on.

I hope life is more normal where you are....

Lois

We Need a Bigger Baby Car

Good morning,

While waiting for the insurance company to come through with the estimate for repair of Catherine's car that was hit by the falling tree last week, Catherine has been driving our little Fiesta.  We've always called this our "baby car."  

Obviously, we need a bigger baby car!

Aside:  the license tag frame along the bottom:  "My other car is a cruise ship."  Ah, yes, those were the days!

:),

Lois

Day Lilies

Good morning,

The fire-orange day lilies beside our driveway are in bloom.  These beauties came with the house forty three years ago.  I've moved some of them to different parts of the yard and am delighted to see them every year.  

What's blooming in your garden this week?

:),

Lois

Hibiscus in Bloom

 Good morning,

Mother Nature keeps the beauty flowing even in the pile of downed tree limbs and bushes.  This sweet bloom greeted me from the mess in our back yard this week.  (See earlier posts this week.)

Happy Summer!

Lois

 

The Cleanup Has Begun

 Good morning,

This is the progress of cleaning up the mess after a huge, old tree came down during a recent storm.  See earlier posts last week.

Above you see the smaller logs that have been stacked in the wood racks.

 The larger logs are still being cut and stacked along the stone wall in our yard.  They'll wait there until next year when they are ready to be split.

 Our friend, Bill, has only just begun on the big parts of the tree.  Somewhere under that mess is our goldfish pond.  Fortunately, it is a self-sustaining pond, but it would be good to get some sunlight on it to hit the solar panels that run the water system.

 So, a great deal has been done, but there is so much more to do.

At least it will be a warm winter with all of this firewood.  :)

Lois

Birds in the Branches

 Good morning,

Kjell set up his camera near the tree that came down in the storm a few days ago and put a little bird seed on a branch.  He has a remote control on the camera so he can sit on the patio and click to take the picture.  Above you see Mrs. Cardinal stopping by for a snack.

And here is Mr. Cardinal.

Since I took these images, this part of the downed tree has been sawed into fireplace length pieces.  Some has to be split, some is ready to burn as is.

More to come on this....

Lois

Indoor Picnic

 Good morning,

On the Fourth of July we had an indoor picnic prepared by daughter Catherine.  That's all great food on the plate, but there was more that just didn't fit on the plate.

It was all delicious!  Thank you, Catherine.

We hope you enjoyed the holiday, too!

Lois

Stormy Day!

 Good morning,

First let me say no one was hurt.  We are all safe.  Catherine's car on the other hand....

 The video above was captured by one of our security cameras.  That's the top of a large tree from back in the corner of our property falling onto Catherine's car.  The insurance company wants to total her car, but we hope that won't be necessary.

The tree took out Catherine's windshield and the driver's side mirror.  The hood is extensively damaged.

From what we can tell so far, though, is that mechanics of the car are OK. 

Our car is parked just beyond Catherine's and had no damage at all.

Here you see the clean up has begun.

Our friend, Bill, came over with his chair saw and with Catherine removed most of the tree around the car and enough of the yard so that we can walk across it.  

We will have plenty of firewood this winter.

The rest of the tree, however, is still across most of the back yard property.  We aren't quite sure if this was caused by high wind or lightning.  We believe it to be high wind.

And, so, the cleanup begins....

Lois

Shop Dogs

 Good morning,

Kjell took these images of his "shop dogs."  Of course, that's Elsa above and Wendy below.

When Kjell has machinery running, he doesn't allow the pups to be in the basement with him, but they do come down to visit when he is working on his computer designing new items.

Of course, in addition to enjoying a visit with Daddy and keeping him company, the pups know Daddy keeps a supply of cookies at his desk.

They are so smart.

;),

Lois

Needlework and Wood Working Update - July, 2022

 Good morning,

Welcome to this month's Needlework and Wood Working Update where we feature the items we have completed during the past month since the last Update.

This was the month of Afghan Blankets and Hats in my Needlework Studio.  

Above is a lovely blanket in relaxing colors.  This one sold soon after it was listed in the shop.

 This Large Afghan Blanket in Black and White is a beauty for a man or a woman.  $165.  Only one available here.

 This Blue Lovers Large Afghan Blanket is another that is suitable for a man or a woman.  It's Bed, Couch, Recliner size. $165.   More images and information here.

 I needed some variety so designed and crocheted this Bavarian Stitch 58" x 58" blanket.  $145.  To see more images of it unfolded, click here. 

This Brilliant Rainbow and Cream blanket is the first time I've made this in such a large size.  This one is 70" x 54".  $155  More information and images are here.

Cloche hats have also been selling out fast so I've added more to the shop this month.

The afghan blankets above get too big to carry around so these hats are my "on the go" projects that I can take anywhere. 
 

 These are so comfy to wear as reading hats, chemo caps, night caps....

 I made several bright colors this time.

 These are great for wheelchair and night time safety.

 There are more than four dozen Cloche Hats and Chemo Caps in stock now starting at $8.  Click here to see them all.

 Kjell has been back in his wood workshop long enough to make a Bird Feeder Cam for us!  Yes, that's a camera in the middle and we can watch the visitors to the feeder on our cell phones.  The feeder is set up in view from our living room and gives us hours of entertainment.  

Kjell is working on drawings of other items for the shop, too.  Watch this space for next month's update!

Thank you, as always, for your encouragement, comments, likes, shares, favorites, and purchases, too!  We are so enjoying our on line shop that has become a very important part of our retirement. 

 All the very best,

Lois

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