This is the saddest part of any cruise: when suitcases are packed and placed outside the door to be taken ashore early the next morning.
It was a fabulous cruise in all aspects: The Crew, The Ship, The Food.... It was all fabulous!
I hope you enjoyed it with us through our images.
All the best,
Lois
Cruising is not only wonderfully relaxing for us, we enjoy capturing images that we can enjoy long after we have left the ship.
We love sea days, the movement of the ship, and the gorgeous views.
We hope you enjoy this view with us.
All the best,
Lois
This cute little fellow was waiting for us in our suite when we were aboard Mariner of the Seas.
So clever!
I love cruising.
;),
Lois
This is an image taken from our balcony aboard Mariner of the Seas in May.
My goodness, that was a lovely trip. What great memories.
Enjoy,
Lois
Good morning,
Each year we have a Summer Solstice Picnic and Swim Party with our Sons of Norway friends. This is the first year we've had to have the picnic inside because or rain.
Yes, that's a Christmas tree. Our hosts, Susie and Glenn have kept the tree up for the past three years as a sign of hope. I'll not explain what that means here, but I understand them completely. Perhaps that hope will be realized soon.
There were about thirty people at the "picnic." From the looks of my snapshot, we would be more aptly called the "Grandparents of Norway."
;),
Lois
Do you see the orange flowers in the image above? Those are Trumpet Vine blossoms.
I planted what looked like a dead (at least totally dehydrated) piece of trumpet vine about thirty years ago to attract humming birds and it worked and kept working. The humming birds visit and once in a great while I manage to get a picture of them, but not today.
Also, those Trumpet Vines are now everywhere. They will grow on tree trunks, fences, and just on open ground. We have them everywhere. But, that's ok. The lawn mower keeps them under control on the lawn. ;)
All the best,
Lois
I took this image of the evening sky while I was seated at my patio table.
So very pretty!
Happy Summer,
Lois
I was lucky to get an image between the steel of the I-75 Bridge as we traveled North from Kentucky after lunch with friends recently.
To the left you can see a portion of the Cincinnati skyline.
What a gorgeous day!
All the best,
Lois
I snapped this series of images as we crossed the Ohio River, then moved across Fort Washington Way in Cincinnati.
So, there is change through my lifetime and there will be surely more change after I am gone.
Cincinnati is a beautiful city and a wonderful place to raise children. In addition to this expanse of "temples of sport" on the river, we have a world class Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, are leaders in Medical Research and Treatment, have outstanding colleges and universities, and have one of the oldest and best Zoos in the country, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Of course, there is other history here where we have produced US Presidents and leaders in industry.
The very best attribute Cincinnati has is its people who are known to be kind and generous.
We have traveled the world, but I am always glad to come home to Cincinnati.
All the best,
Lois
This is why we made the trip across the Ohio River to Northern Kentucky: Lunch with good friends. We manage to get together at least a couple of times a year and it is very special when we do. The common thread of our many years of friendship is the three guys who have worked or do work for Royal Caribbean. Also, Tor was the Best Man in our wedding sooooo many years ago. ;)
From the back: Tor and Teresa, Gary and Lynne, Kjell and me.
Sadly, the seating arrangement and noise in this restaurant weren't optimal for conversation. We'll look for another one next time.
But, it sure was fun to see everyone!
If you have good friends, don't wait to see them. See them often.
All the best,
Lois
Some folks will look at this image and think they are seeing the Brooklyn Bridge repainted, however that is not the case at all.
This is the Roebling Suspension Bridge across the Ohio River between Ohio and Kentucky at Cincinnati. John Roebling built this one before he built the famous Brooklyn Bridge.
When I was a child, we called this one the "singing bridge" because of the sound the tires made as we drove across it.
More to come of our trip to Kentucky....
Lois
I shot this image through the windshield of our car as we were on our way out to lunch with friends.
Here we are approaching downtown Cincinnati on I-71. Those twin towers are the International Headquarters of Procter and Gamble.
More images to come from this outing....
Stay tuned,
Lois
This single tiny pink rose was struggling to bloom out in front of our home. I used to have 60 rose bushes along the front walk up to the house, but those days are long gone. This sweet rose bush is one of only a couple of survivors.
Such a pretty shade of pink....
Memories....
Lois
Recently, I made a favorite from my childhood.
That's a Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich. It's Jif Peanut Butter and my home made bread.
Oh, this was good....
What simple treats do you remember from your childhood?
Lois
We have little lizards here in Cincinnati now. They weren't here when I was growing up, or even 45 years ago when we moved to our current home. This one was spotted at the side of our gold fish pond.
We don't think there are any natural predators to keep the lizard population under control, except for our one year old Labrador Retriever, Lily. So far, though, the lizards are faster than Lily, but she keeps trying.
Ah, yes, more summer fun!
;),
Lois
Here's another summer dinner that hit the spot.
Kjell marinated, then smoked and orange-glazed cod. I added the rice with locally grown (on our patio) chives and a crispy salad.
So good!
:),
Lois
This was the first test candle I made to see if coffee beans and cloves really keep mosquitos away. It seems it does work. I've ordered bulk wax on line and add my own spices. I researched both coffee and cloves for safety for dogs to breathe. Coffee is fine for dogs, but cloves are not safe for them so I don't add them to candles that we use inside.
I made this candle in an old pickle jar. Now that I know it works, I've made many more so always have one burning whenever we are outside on the patio.
Our 15 year old Labrador Retriever, Erik, takes extra time getting in and out of the patio door so mosquitos take the opportunity to come inside. Kjell has set up his electric bug zapper in the "library" just inside the door. Throughout the evening, when we hear the crispy zappy sound, we all cheer. One more mosquito that won't be inside to bite us!
Ah, yes, Summer....
;),
Lois
Lily is such a funny little dog. She collects things on her "deck chair" on the patio. Of course, I don't let her bring these things into the house so this is her collection spot.
Her largest collection is of sticks. All sizes of sticks. Sometimes she drags huge sticks (logs) from the fireplace logs. That's a tiny one you see in the image above. She also has her peanut butter bone out there. She carries stuffy toys (bottom right) outside constantly, too. I collect those and send them through the washer and dryer before they are allowed back into the living room.
Lily is a little over a year old now. Generally (ha!), Labs settle down a bit after their second birthday. We'll see....
:),
Lois
We love easy summer dinners and this is a favorite. It's shrimp served on my home made bread with a little mayonnaise. The crunchy salad makes it all perfect.
What is your favorite summer meal?
Happy Summer!
Lois
Good morning,
Our baby Lily spends a great deal of time watching the birds at the bird feeder outside our living room French doors.
Here they are! This is a short video from the camera inside the bird feeder. We just love watching the visitors. Kjell designed and built the bird feeder that features a solar panel that powers the camera that sends images to our phones
Such fun!
Lois
Good morning,
Welcome to our July Needlework and Wood Working Update. This is where we pull together images of all of the items we have completed since the last update.
Above is a very touching image of a Dog at the Pearly Gates. Quote from Pope Francis, December 13, 2014: "One day, we will see our
animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of
God's creatures." $58. More information and images are here.
That's another month of completed items from our Wood Working and Needlework Studios. As the saying goes, "Do what you enjoy and you'll never work a day in your life." We are tremendously enjoying our retirement "jobs" creating and making items for the shop and sincerely appreciate your encouragement, likes, shares, comments, favorites, pins, tweets, and purchases, too! Thank you for supporting our USA small business since 2011!
All the very best,
Lois
Kjell has been having fun working with the camera on his Samsung phone. As you know, our phone cameras are getting so good these days that it's no longer necessary to always carry around large digital cameras.
In fact, we're able to take images in RAW format on our phones now. That, to those of us who work with digital images daily, is absolutely fabulous!
That bug looks pretty good in her close up! Very nice image, Sweetie!
:),
Lois
This image looks like it is from a classy restaurant menu, but it is an image of Kjell's Garlic Shrimp.
This was fabulous!
Thanks, Sweetie. Let's do this again.
Lois
Here are a few more images of the tea rack that Kjell built with Anna last month.
Anna drew a tea rack that she asked Grandpa to make for her to use in her first apartment.
All the best,
Lois
Catherine took this image as she was leaving home recently.
Sadly, we don't see so many bunnies around here these days since the hawks and coyotes have shown up. It was nice to see this one. I think the critters like our property because we don't use chemicals on the lawn.
Happy Summer!
Lois
Catherine sent me this image from the airport in Las Vegas.
I'm really glad "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...."
;),
Lois
I love my indoor garden as much as my outdoor garden. There are always lovely surprises.
While moving the leaves so that I could water a plant in the dining room, I discovered this pretty blossom hiding among the beautiful leaves.
So pretty!
Enjoy,
Lois
Lily takes her job as Back Yard Monitor very seriously.
For long periods of time she sits on the patio and carefully surveys her domain, making sure no bird, butterfly, or other scary creature invades our space.
Should that occur, she is quick to chase off the threat.
She is very good at her job.
;),
Lois
