Toys Going for a Spin

 

Good morning,

A couple of days ago I published images of our pups having a play date with three other pups.

There were LOTS of toys on the patio and all over the yard.

Before the toys can come back into the living room, they have to take a trip through the washer and dryer.

Above, they are going for a spin in the washer....

Ah, yes, being a dog parent is such fun....

:),

Lois

Cicada

 Good morning,

At the beginning of the Summer we were warned that this would be a huge season for cicadas.

Well, not so much here.  We saw and heard very few of them.

Perhaps they are all saving up for a surprise attack next year.

Stay tuned!

;),

Lois

Play Date!

 Good morning,

A little bit of chaos can be fun sometimes.  Today's images were taken when we had SEVEN dogs here. 

 Four of these dogs are ours:  All the Labradors, Erik, Wendy, Elsa, and Lily.  Erik, our elder statesman, was smart;  he stayed in the house during this romping session.

 The two Border Collies, Teddy and Tillie, and the baby Brittany Vogue (I would rather call her Sally, but she's not my dog) are our friend Erica's pups.

Socialization and fun are the names of the game. 

There are more than enough toys to go around, but...

...just like human children, they always want the same toy.

This was fun - for awhile!  I know the pups had fun and they sure were tired after this.

All the best,

Lois

Death of a Stuffy Toy

 Good morning,

That's Elsa in the picture.  She did NOT kill the stuffy toy that is dismembered in our entrance hall.

The culprit is her little sister, Lily.

 Lily found herself incarcerated for a time out while poor stuffy was removed to the toy morgue.  Elsa is explaining the rules to Lily.

Ah, yes, puppies....

Lois

Kjell's Veggie Garden

 Good morning,

A few years ago Kjell built a lovely ladder-style plant holder.  

The first year we had flowers on each of those shelves and they were quite pretty.

 This year, though, he has added a watering system and has planted veggies in the pots and shelves.  The watering system is quite efficient.  Well, I am married to an engineer....

That blue tub captures rain water.  When it doesn't rain enough, Kjell adds water to it.  That's a mosquito net top that allows water to enter the tub, but no mosquitos to find a happy home there. 

 The plants certainly seem to like this system!

That little blue thingie and more like it are inserted near each cluster of plants.  It is the water delivery system from the tub of water at the bottom of the planter.

The system is powered by the sun to keep the water flowing at specific times of the day as determined by Kjell. 

The stick on the right side of the tub is a dip stick gauge to check the water level.

Here's the handsome engineer himself!

Kjell also made tags for the plants.

Since the top of the planter is difficult to reach for both of us, I tossed some marigold seeds up there.  They like the watering system, too!

I harvested some of the herbs and that red pepper to bake salmon.  It was all delicious, but that pepper was hotter than I could eat "straight!"  

How does your garden grow this year?

All the best,

Lois

Firey Sunset

 Good morning,

I was sitting on our patio when I captured this image of the sunset sky in our neighborhood.  Those are homes on the other side of the block from us.  

We are looking forward to some cooler Fall days.  In fact, we are looking forward to some chilly evenings in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace.

All the best,

Lois

Summer Dessert

 Good morning,

This is one of our favorite summer desserts.

Ah, yes, fresh strawberries and whipped cream.  Hiding beneath it all is a little ice cream.

Oh, yum!

:),

Lois

A Clash in Styles

 Good morning,

This is an image of contrasts.  It is the window in the waiting room of our dentist's office.

This office is in a beautiful old home with lovely woodwork and leaded glass windows.  I found the contrast of the stark furniture and the home itself to be quite sharp.

Another interesting note:  if you get old enough, you see styles go around again, sometimes more than once or twice.  The furniture was popular in the 1950's. and into the 1960's.  My brother had it in his dorm room at The Ohio State University.  

Fascinating....

All the best,

Lois

Guard Duty

 Good morning,

Here are Elsa and Lily lying down on the job while on guard duty.  It appears they brought a few toys to work, too.

They are making sure no squirrels invade the bird feeder space.  

They are very good at their job.

;),

Lois

House Calls for Pets

 Good morning,

Catherine snapped this image and sent it to me. 

What an excellent service, especially if it is difficult for your pet to move.  Or, perhaps your pet is too big for you to move him or her.

Hopefully, we won't need this....

All the best,

Lois

Swimming With Friends

 Good morning,

Our pups have two Border Collie friends, Teddy and Tillie, with whom they spend a great deal of time.  

Sometimes they are all at our home, sometimes they are at Teddy and Tillie's home.  Here Elsa and Lily are playing in the pool at Teddy and Tillie's home.

 They love to swim and come home completely exhausted!

Thanks, Catherine, for sending this image and video.

Love,

Mom

School Girl Lily

 Good morning,

It's Back to School Time!  

Here's our little Lily at the dog club preparing for her Agility II Class.  

Look at that big smile!

Photo credit to our daughter/Lily's trainer, Catherine.

Sweet!

Love you,

Mom

Good Morning, Sunshine!

 Good morning,

This is the view from one of our bathroom windows.  When we had our bathroom remodeled many years ago, this window replaced a classic double hung window.  What a pretty change!  It was Catherine's idea to use the oval window.  Brilliant!

 ...and this is the morning view from the other window in our bathroom.

So pretty!

All the best,

Lois

View From My Window

 Good morning,

This is the view from my recliner in the living room where I do most of my knitting and crocheting.

That's the Xavier University Police on their rounds.  Catherine and I are both XU grads and I taught there.  

The Xavier Police are fantastic, caring people.  While Catherine was working on her graduate degree, she was the Graduate Assistant and also worked in the Computer Lab.  When she had to come home late at night from the other side of the campus, the XU Police were always available to escort her.  

Another favorite story about the XU Police:  One evening just a few years ago I was struggling to roll our trash can out to the street for pickup the next morning.  A young XU Police officer stopped his car and asked if he could help.  By then, I had the can in place, but how very kind of him.

Of course, that's our bird feeder on the left of the image.  Today their menu is my home made bread.  It has no preservatives so OK for the birds.  If I don't get out there often enough to keep that bird feeder filled, the birds yell at me.  We also have a pond nearby so they have plenty of water.  We have so many different types of birds visiting that I often have to check the Internet to identify them.

It is good to be home.

All the best,

Lois

Welcome Home Dinner

 Good morning,

It is good to be home.  Catherine prepared a Welcome Home Dinner of steak, salmon, and salad after our road trip to Florida and cruise aboard Mariner of the Seas.

My goodness, this dinner was delicious!

Yes, it is good to be home.

Thanks, Catherine.  Love you!

Mom

Northern Kentucky

 Good morning,

When driving North into Cincinnati on I71-I75 (the two routes run together here), traffic always gets very heavy.

 The sky was threatening rain, too.

 Finally, through the hazy sky, there is our familiar skyline.

 This part of the highway has always been called "the cut in the hill."  When the highway was first built, the "cut" was much more dangerous because it was not as straight.

Many years after the highway was opened and countless accidents, even deadly ones, the highway was "straightened" by removing even more of the hillside.

Almost home!

Lois

Yes! A Cincinnati Sign!

 Good morning,

We always enjoy seeing this sign when we are incoming to home!

It's right about here that I send a text to Catherine with our ETA.

Soon!

:),

Lois

 

 

 

Mountains

 Good morning,

We are in the beautiful mountains in Tennessee.

 I'm glad we are going North, not South.  We definitely won the traffic lottery this time.

 Look at all the green!  We've had quite a lot of rain this year.

 There is a picture post card view in every direction.

 Clouds in the mountains.

Beautiful!

All the best,

Lois

Welcome Signs - Closer to Home

 Good morning,

When returning from any road trip, it's always good to see signs of cities close to home.

 This is always a welcome sign in front of us.  Lexington is a little more than an hour away from our home.

Here we come!

Lois

Huge Toys

 Good morning,

Whenever I see large construction equipment on the highway, I think of the toys our sons had as kids.

 These make me think of huge toys and bring back great memories of the kids playing with them.

;),

Lois

Needlework and Wood Working Update - August, 2024

 Good morning,

Welcome to this month's Needlework and Wood Working Update.  This is where we gather images of all of the items we have completed in our Needlework Studio and Wood Working Workshop since the previous update.  

Christmas already?  Well, it takes quite a bit of time to hand make items so we are always working in the future.  Kjell's hand painted snowman is one of my very favorite items in the shop. $61.  Only one available.  More information and images are here. 

 Kjell's Viking wood art is spectacular!  Of course, he is celebrating his Viking heritage.  This is Norse God Odin carved in Hard Maple Wood.  $65.  Only one available.  More about Kjell's Odin wall art here.

 And, here is Norse God Thor with his famous hammer in hand.  $73.  Only one available.  More images and information about Thor are here.

 The Lord's Prayer wall art will make a lovely wedding, anniversary, birthday gift for those who treasure its meaning.  It's an excellent gift for clergy, also.  Only one available.  $58.  More info and images here.

 Here is a brand new color combination from my Needlework Studio.  The black/white tweed border sets off the yellow flowers brilliantly.  Just gorgeous!  Only one available.  $185.  See more about it here.

 This color combination and design blanket has been popular in the shop.  It was time to make another one to restock those that were sold.  This is Lap Blanket size, 42" x 38", $75.  Only one available here.

And, I'm always restocking Tissue Toppers.  This one and many others are available here from $8.
 

 Cloche Hats/ Chemo Caps are ready for Fall or any time.  These comfy hats keep your head warm indoors and outside.  This one and many more are here from $8.

Come see these items and so much more in the shop here:  Evensens Productions, LLC.  Both Kjell and I have quite a number of other items in the works, too, so check back often.

We sincerely appreciate your encouragement, likes, shares, pins, favorites, and purchases, too!  We are thoroughly enjoying our retirement "job" creating for our shop.  Thank you for supporting our USA small business since 2011.

All the very best until next time.

Lois