Car Service - Pups Waiting

 Good morning,

Catherine sent me today's images.

What do you do when you need car service and you have two pups in the car?

You take them out and sit by the front door of the dealership with them while you wait.

Fortunately, Teddy, left, and Elsa, right, are very well behaved babies.  Teddy belongs to our friend Erica and you know our Elsa from posts here.  Teddy was having a play date with Elsa when all of this occurred.

The pups were quite popular with people coming and going at the dealership.

 Catherine had a large crate in the car that accommodated both of the pups for the short time they waited.  In fact, the pups preferred to be in their "house" than out of it.  She only took one crate out of the car while they waited;  in the car they have their own space.

Our pups travel in their "houses" in the car for a number of safety reasons.  In case of an accident, we certainly don't want our precious babies running free on the highway.  In crates, they can move around, stretch, see out, and stay comfy either sitting or lying down.  They are also not able to get excited and jump into the driver's lap while the car is moving or going through a drive-through. 

 So that was the excitement for the pups that day.  I think they are just precious - so well behaved!

All the best,

Lois

Allie Rae and Me

 Good morning,

This is our friend Allie Rae (right, of course) who met us for dinner in Columbia, SC, on our way home from Florida recently.  We've known Allie all her life and her parents are dear friends of ours.

We were exhausted after our trip aboard Mariner of the Seas and it sure shows!

Yes, Allie is tall and I'm getting shorter.

 :),

Lois

Sunrise Reflections

 Good morning,

I'm a member of a Facebook group called The View From My Window.  It's a fun group of people from around the world who share images taken from their windows.

I posted this one of the view of the sunrise ON my window recently.  It was just so pretty.  I saw it when I stepped out on our patio with the pups early one morning.  Had they not awakened me, I would have missed this.  

How lucky I am!

;),

Lois

Red Porch Lilies

 Good morning,

Our porch lilies were incredibly beautiful this year!  I planted them in these pots several years ago and they continue to return and delight us.  There is one pot on each side of the steps to the front porch.

 We can enjoy them from our dining room, too.

 I took this image and the following images while the flowers were just beginning to blossom.  There are so many blossoms this year!

I believe I bought these at Lowes.  I used to do a great deal of gardening, but my back and knees aren't cooperating any more, so I am gardening in flower pots.  :)

Gorgeous!  I hope they return another year.

All the best,

Lois

Pond Cleaners

 Good morning,

Each Spring for Mother's Day, one of my gifts from Catherine is the cleaning out of our gold fish pond.

 The cleaning doesn't generally happen ON Mother's Day.  This time, I didn't realize Catherine had started the project until the pond was nearly empty and she was getting way too much help from Elsa and Lily.

They managed to get the fish out to safety (OK, Cath got them to safety without any help from the pups), then drained the rest of the pond before refilling it.

The pond is self sustaining except for the annual cleaning to remove excess debris and leaves that have accumulated in the bottom throughout the year.  It's good to leave a little of it in there because the decomposition of the dead leaves provides warmth.  In winter months we have a tank deicer in the pond that prevents it from freezing.  In the summer we have a floating solar fountain that isn't very big, but is pretty.  This year Lily managed to "catch" the fountain so we'll probably have to start all over again with that....

So much help and so much fun....

Lois

Engineer Shirt

 Good morning,

We have fun getting each other T-shirts and this is one I gave to Kjell.

He's famous saying, "I am smiling," when I take his picture.  Usually, it is a straight face.  In this picture, though, I got him really smiling!

Love you, Sweetheart!

:),

Lois

Edit to add:  image was taken in Kjell's wood workshop. 😀

Bread Face

 Good morning,

This is just so funny I had to share.  

This is a batch of bread I took out of the oven (no heat, just the light on to help the dough rise) after the first rise.  I started to "punch it down" and realized I had made a "bread face."

Poor Bread Face doesn't look very happy, but he sure did make great bread!

Ah, yes, it's doesn't take much to entertain me....

Lois

Deer Visit

 Good morning,

We had a visitor to our property recently.

 This lady stopped by for some snacks, or perhaps a good meal, after we had had a great deal of rain.  We hadn't gotten any clean-up in the garden done because of all of the rain, but perhaps our visitor was happy about that.

Many of the properties around us use chemicals on their property.  We do not for a variety of reasons:  our dogs, the bees, and, of course, the lovely lady pictured above.

It was tricky taking pictures of our friend through a clear piece of the leaded glass in our front door.

I was quite surprised she stayed as long as she did.  

We love seeing the wild life.  Fortunately, the dogs didn't notice she was there.  Our dogs are restricted to the fenced area on the back of our property, but they could have seen this lady through the French doors in the living room or dining room.  

Enjoy!

Lois

Strawberries and Chocolate

 Good morning,

Our son Don knows how to make Mom so very happy!

Not only are there strawberries and chocolate on the gift he sent, those are three little cheesecakes.

Ah, yes, snackie heaven!

Thank you, Don.

Love you,

Mom

Please Don't Eat the Daisies

 Good morning,

We're delighted the daisies on the patio have returned again this year. I planted them in a patio pot a year or two ago.  When I saw them sprouting again this year, I didn't renew the pot with any other flowers.

You can see a little yellow (flower eating) pup on the right side of the image above.

 I have had to remind Lily repeatedly!

Please don't eat the daisies!

;),

Lois

Hibachi Dinner Aboard Mariner of the Seas

 Good morning,

Royal Caribbean ships have a wide variety of specialty restaurants on board.  

We especially enjoyed our dinner at Mariner of the Seas' Izumi restaurant.

 The food is not only fabulous, but watching it being prepared is great fun.

 

As is the way this type of restaurant works, we were given parts of the meal as it was being prepared so there never was a full plate of food to photograph to show you here.

We were enthralled as we watched each and every move of the chef with the knives!

All I can say is that the food and the performance was terrific!

The dessert was fantastic, too.  

When you cruise, don't miss the specialty restaurants!

Lois

Glass Boat Tour - Cozumel, Mexico

 Good morning,

Most of us have heard of and/or have even taken a tour on a glass bottom boat.

This vessel goes a step further!  The entire boat is see-through.

 I took these images from the bridge of Mariner of the Seas while we were docked in Cozumel Mexico.

I have to wonder what the fishies think of this!

Enjoy,

Lois

Sweet Elsa Sleeping

 Good morning,

We are home from our travel, but I'll have a few more images from the trip to share with you in coming days and weeks.

In the meantime, the pups were delighted to have us home.  

This is sweet Elsa asleep on my arm.  I came out of the shower and hugged Elsa, then suddenly realized she was asleep and snoring next to me.

So cute.

 It is good to be home.

All the best,

Lois

Needlework and Wood Working Update - June, 2024

 Good morning,

Welcome to the June Needlework and Wood Working Update where we bring together images of all of the things we have made since the last update.  Generally, these Updates are monthly, but we have been traveling so this Update covers the past two months.

 Above is a Large 70" x 56" Afghan Blanket featuring red and pink roses and a burgundy border.  Display this beauty on a bed, couch, or recliner.  This one will brighten any room.  $185. Only one available.  More images and information are here.

This is a 38" x 36" Lap Blanket or Baby Blanket size that I made while we were driving to and from Florida. $60.  More information here.  It's perfect for all ages.
 

This 55" x 55" Bavarian Stitch Blanket is striking in shades of Blues, Purples, and White.  The highly textured stitch produces a very warm blanket.  It can be folded corner to corner for a comfy shawl, too. $170.  Only one available.  More images and information here.

I loved working with shades of blue and purple so here's another 37" x 37" design in similar colors.  This $75 lap blanket is highly textured and features raised "flowers."  More here.
 

 And, finally from my needlework studio, here's a Cloche Hat that can also be used as a Chemo Cap.  This one is made of a special soft washable acrylic yarn.  $10.  More information here.

There are more than four dozen more similar hats available from $8 here.

 And, finally for this time, here is a tea rack that Kjell made for our granddaughter, Anna.  Anna drew what she wanted, Grandpa designed it, then Anna came over and they built it together.  Perfect!  :)

That's all for the time.  We're home now and working hard on more items for the shop.  

We sincerely appreciate your encouragement, likes, pins, shares, favorites, and purchases, too!  We appreciate your support of our small business, Evensens Productions, since 2011.  

We hope you'll come take a look at other items in the shop, too.  If your school, church, or other organization asks for donations of items to be sold or raffled and you aren't a crafter yourself, these would be beautiful items to purchase and donate.  Be sure to ask your organization for a receipt if it is a tax deductible contribution. Come visit us here:  Evensens Productions.  Thank you so much!

All the very best until next time,

Lois

Happy Father's Day

 Good morning,

Happy Father's Day to all Fathers!

Today's image is of My Honey enjoying total relaxation aboard Mariner of the Seas.  Ah, yes, what a lovely way to relax.

Also, today, Happy Birthday to our friend, Tor.

All the very best,

Lois

Sail Away from Costa Maya, Mexico

 Good morning,

These are views from the Bridge of Mariner of the Seas as we were pulling away from Costa Maya, Mexico.

 The weather was, again, just spectacular!

 What a lovely view of the sea as the sun prepares to dip down into the sea for the night.

Lois

Flag Day - United States of America

 Good morning,

Today is Flag Day in the USA.  

At home we display Old Glory 24/7/365 in front of our home.  Today's image, though, shows our beautiful flag flying in Florida, just South of St. Petersburg, on I-95.

Need I say, this flag is HUGE!

Beautiful!

:),

Lois

Windjammer Desserts

 Good morning,

Ah, yes, I am glad to have this image to keep the memory of Windjammer desserts alive.  

These are only two of the choices in the Windjammer Cafe on board Mariner of the Seas.  '

We certainly didn't go hungry while we were aboard!

:),

Lois

Going Ashore in Costa Maya, Mexico

 Good morning,

This is the view of the dockside of Costa Maya, Mexico, from our Deck 9 balcony on board Mariner of the Seas.

We didn't go ashore - we've been here many, many times before, but the view is just gorgeous, isn't it.

We're here to relax and being aboard on a port day is a good way to do it.  The ship is somewhat quiet, if you swim the pools are not at all crowded, and there are still plenty of food and people to watch on the Royal Promenade.

Enjoy!

Lois

Artwork Aboard Mariner of the Seas

 Good morning,

As on every Royal Caribbean ship, there is original artwork everywhere.

The eye-catcher above of the man ascending with a bunch of balloons is in the Royal Promenade.  It does catch your eye when you pass!

Enjoy!

Lois

Royal Promenade from Deck Nine

 Good morning,

This is another image of the interior of Mariner of the Seas.  

I was standing on a walkway/balcony area on deck nine overlooking the Royal Promenade.

Beautiful!

Lois

Liberty of the Seas

 Good morning,

While approaching Costa Maya, Mexico, aboard Mariner of the Seas, we could see a Royal Caribbean sister ship was also there.

As we got closer, we realized it was Liberty of the Seas.  She is the same class ship as Freedom of the Seas where Kjell and I were for the last six years before his retirement. 

In 2018, after retirement from Freedom, we took a cruise aboard Liberty of the Seas with good friends from Texas.  We always feel right at home aboard any Royal Caribbean ship.

I turned around from taking the first pictures of Liberty and took this image of the wing bridge on our ship.

And, another view:  This is looking straight down from our balcony on deck nine to the dock below as the captain was gently bringing our ship into port.

We have been to these ports so many times that we didn't go ashore.  We came to relax, see an old friend, and enjoy the ship.

Ah, yes, the memories!  It's fun to be back on board!

Enjoy!

Lois