Welcome to San Juan, Puerto Rico

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica are in San Juan, Puerto Rico on a gorgeous day!

 The ship backed into the dock so the ladies have a lovely view of the dockside from their aft cabin aboard Adventure of the Seas.

Nice!

Lois

Elephant Towel Art

 Good morning,

Erica and Catherine found this towel elephant in their stateroom.  Towel art is a fun little treat left by the cabin steward.

Darling!

;),

Lois

Adventure of the Seas God Parents

Good morning,

Most ships, including Adventure of the Seas, have God Parents.

This ship has chosen God Parents from the First Responder community. How wonderful!

Here is information about each one of them.

Thank you, Erica, for the images.

More to come!

Lois

Chops Lunch Menu

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica are enjoying meals in all of the specialty restaurants aboard Adventure of the Seas.

Although a little hard to read here, this gives us all an idea of the elegant offerings available for lunch.

Ah, yes, cruising....

Thank you for the image, Erica!

More to come,

Lois

Junior Suite - Adventure of the Seas

 Good morning,

Erica is relaxing in the Junior Suite she and Catherine are sharing this week aboard Adventure of the Seas.

It looks quite comfortable.

Thank you for sharing your images!

Lois

Obstructed Balcony View

 Good morning,

Thanks to Erica and Catherine for sending us images of their cruise aboard Adventure of the Seas.

They have an Aft Balcony with an obstructed view, but it turned out pretty nice!  The balcony itself is a bit larger than most because of the placement and shape of the ship.  I still see plenty of ocean out there.  

More images to come!

Lois

To the Ship!

Good morning,

Yay!  They are here!

This will be a great eight days of relaxation for Catherine before tax season begins.

Oh, cruising.  Those were the days....

All the best,

Lois

Famous People

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica are staying at the hotel where the original seven astronauts lived.

 What an interesting piece of history.

More to come!

Lois

Orlando Hotel

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica are on their way to a cruise aboard Adventure of the Seas sailing out of Port Canaveral.

This fellow was in the lobby of their hotel.  

More images to come!

Lois

Dessert and Breakfast, too!

 Good morning,

I made rice pudding in the crock pot again this week.  It was great for dessert, then the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

With all of the holiday activities happening every day now, easy cooking is very important.

Yum!

:),

Lois

Gift Basket Time of the Year

 Good morning,

It's that time of the year again.  Our dining room, entrance hall, and part of the living room are all covered with items to make gift baskets and finished baskets ready for delivery.  

Catherine prepares baskets for her business clients each year.  My part is making those bows and getting them attached.  

This year's theme is "Going to the Movies at Home."  There's a little pop corn maker, pop corn, and all the other things you need to watch movies in that basket.

Let the Christmas Movies begin!

Enjoy,

Lois

Shrooms

 Good morning,

Here is more pretty fungus on our old tree stump.  I went around the back of it to pick up a toy Lily had left there and saw this.  

More of nature's beauty.

Lois

Oh Deer!

 Good morning,

My phone buzzes during the night when our security cameras pick up visitors.  This is one of two ladies who were in our yard this week.

Perhaps they are scouting for Santa's reindeer?

;),

Lois

I'll Just Stare

 Wendy:  I'll just sit here looking cute in front of Mom's chair.  I'll stare at her until she gives me a cookie.  

Me:  Oh, hi Wendy.  You're so cute.  Would you like a cookie?

Wendy:  See.  It works!

Birthday Goodies!

 Good morning,

It's a good thing I took a picture of this as soon as I opened it because there is nothing left now!

My son, Don, knows me well.  This was an absolutely perfect birthday treat!  

Thanks, Sweetie!

Love you,

Mom

Birthday Roses

 Good morning,

I recently had a special birthday and received such beautiful roses!  My Honey, all three kids, and so many friends made my day so very special.

Thank you.  I am so blessed.

Lois

Needlework and Wood Working Update - December, 2024

 Good morning,

This has been the month for making afghan blankets!  They are certainly welcome on these cold days.

Above is a black, white, and gray Bavarian stitch afghan blanket that will be beautiful on your bed, couch, or recliner.  There are many more pictures and information here.  $170.  Only one available and it's ready to ship..

 This is the fifth Northern Lights afghan blanket ordered by a lovely lady who enjoyed watching the Northern Lights with her family recently.  For Christmas she is giving several of them these blankets as a beautiful memory.  The one pictured is a large size for her son.

 What a beautiful blend of browns!  This large Beautiful Browns Afghan Blanket will be welcomed by a man or a woman.  $185.  More information and images are here.

 This blanket is a lovely gift for all ages.  It can be used as a lap, baby blanket, or can be folded corner to corner for form a warm shawl.  For my mother, I made similar blankets that she used when in her wheelchair and recliner.  $75.  Only one available here.

 

Kjell has been working with his new Flash Forge.  This is a test picture stand that he designed and made on his new machine.  He'll keep this one, but plans to make more for the shop. He's working on that now.

 Kjell also made a bust of his friend, Albert.  Albert will have a permanent home overlooking Kjell's work area.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!  As you shop for gifts and for yourself, we hope you'll browse the nearly 300 items in our shop, Evensens Productions.  We sincerely appreciate your comments, likes, shares favorites, and purchases, too!  For our social media friends, here's a coupon for 10% off your order of $50 or more through December 31, 2024.  Use coupon code:  1224TY10 at checkout.

All the very best,

Lois

Kjell's Comfort Food

Good morning,

This was a great dinner on a cold day.  

Kjell made sour kraut and sausage.  I made some potatoes and we had a warm, yummy dinner.

After all the turkey last week, it was fun to have something easy to make and yummy to eat.

What's your favorite comfort food?

All the best,

Lois

Snow Sky

 Good morning,

I snapped this picture on our way to an appointment yesterday at about 10:15 AM.  

That is a classic "snow sky" and it did not disappoint!  Fortunately, there wasn't much accumulation today.

Stay warm!

All the best,

Lois

Lily's Ice Collection

 Good morning,

We had quite a bit of rain, then freezing temperatures and snow recently.  The pup's wading pool collected rain water and falling leaves.  We have left it out because the pups like to drink the rain water.

So when the water in the pool started to freeze, Lily stepped into it and the ice broke.  Oh, something new to collect.  She began dragging pieces out of the pool (see lower part of the picture) and...

 collecting them on her deck chair on the patio.  Her current collection includes a kitchen towel, a deer antler, a treasured stick, and ice with leaves frozen inside.  :)

As long as she doesn't try to bring any of this in the house, I'm happy.

She's so cute.

:),

Lois

Cyber Monday

 Good morning,

We like to shop on line.  The snow on the car says it all.  That was just the beginning of the snow.

And, today is cyber Monday!  If you care to take a look at our shop, Evensens Productions, here's a coupon code to use at checkout for 10% off orders over $50:  1224TY10   It applies to the entire shop.  ;)

Stay warm!  It's not even winter yet!

All the best,

Lois

Chef Catherine's Dinner

 Good morning,

I've downloaded the images of Catherine's dinner preparation and the great meal she prepared.

Above the turkey is ready for the grill.

She used charcoal and wood...

...then placed the entire pan on the grill. 

The outside may look dark, but this was the most tender, delicious turkey I think we have ever had.

There were only four of us at dinner so we sliced part of the turkey.

This is Catherine's corn casserole

and, my green bean casserole.

Catherine's stuffing

and mashed potatoes.

Of course, we had to have sweet potatoes, too.

My cranberry sauce, served in the bowl my Mom always used.

And, finally, of course, we had to have home made gravy ala Catherine.

Thank you, Catherine!  It was delicious!

Love you,

Mom

Chef Catherine

 Good morning,

This is Chef Catherine, aka our daughter Catherine, who prepared a fantastic Thanksgiving meal.

More image to come.  Right now I have to go lie down....

:),

Lois

Home Made Cranberry Sauce

 Good morning,

I just love the aromas of holiday cooking.  

There is no such thing as canned cranberry sauce in this house.  In the image are two pounds of cranberries as they are just coming to a boil in a cup of water.  I let them simmer until they break open, then add a cup of sugar and a splash of lemon juice.  I turn off the heat so the sugar doesn't burn and stir until it is dissolved.  

As soon as it's cool enough, I pour into smaller containers and refrigerate.  I use several smaller containers so I can pull out just a few servings at a time.  

Home made cranberry sauce is so easy and so delicious!

I hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend.  

Oh, yes, it's Black Friday!  Stop by our Etsy shop, Evensens Productions, for truly unique gifts. For 10% off on orders of $50 or more, use code 1224TY10 at checkout. 

All the very best,

Lois

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

  Happy Thanksgiving
from Elsa and her "siblings" Erik, Wendy, and Lily
as well as the rest of us here in the Evensen household
Kjell, Catherine, and Lois (that's me!)

My Assistant Wendy

 Good morning,

My pups don't let us out of their sight if they can help it.

This is one of my main assistants, Wendy, beside my computer chair.  She's always ready to help with any doggie cookies that might fall out of my pocket.

:),

Lois

A Quiet Evening at Home

 Good morning,

A quiet, peaceful, comfortable evening at home is so wonderful.

Here's our Wendy, enjoying a dog's life here in the Evensen Household.

Being at home with the dogs is so much nicer than going out.  I guess that's a sign of age, isn't it....

All the best,

Lois

Work in Process - Beautiful Browns Afghan Blanket

 Good morning,

I'm working on another Beautiful Browns Afghan Blanket for the shop. 

Afghan Blanket season is in full swing and I can't make them fast enough.  That is a wonderful problem to have.

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the very best,

Lois

Heated Weighted Blanket

 Good morning,

This is Elsa, my heated, weighted blanket who is also very cuddly and loves to give sloppy kisses.

Elsa makes cold winter nights very comfy.

:),

Lois