Chef Catherine's Ham Dinner

 Good morning,

This week has been a busy one with appointments, travel, dog shows, and, of course, Santa's arrival.

Catherine made a simple dinner for us that was just fabulous!  Of course, Christmas ham... 

 ...real mashed potatoes...

 ...and a spinach salad.

 And, here's the chef herself!  

Thank you, Catherine!

Love you,

Mom & Dad

Man in His Man Cave

 Good morning,

Santa brought Kjell a spiffy hat for Christmas! 

 I think he looks so cool wearing it in his man cave!

:),

Lois

Banyan Tree in Honolulu

 Good morning,

This is a lovely Banyan Tree in Honolulu.  Catherine sent us the image (thank you) and I'm not sure if it is near hear hotel or if she saw it while she was out shopping.

The only other place I've seen these is in Florida.  

Enjoy!

Lois

Honolulu Shopping Center Entertainment

 Good morning,

Catherine sent us images of live entertainment at a shopping center in Honolulu.

It certainly doesn't look like Christmas in the Midwest, does it! 

 How pretty!

Thanks for sharing, Catherine.

All the best,

Lois

Kjell's Fish Cakes

 Good morning,

Kjell made fish cakes that are absolutely marvelous!  They're made with cod, potato starch, and his secret spices.

They're fried in butter (yes, I know, not healthy) and are so very good!

Thanks, Sweetie, it's good to have something a little different.

Love you,

Lois

Lily's Present from Santa

 Good morning,

Lily had a wonderful time opening her present from Santa!   

 She didn't need to be told how to do it! 

So sweet!

I hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Lois

Merry Christmas!

 

 Merry Christmas!

 

 

Elsa is Looking for Santa!

 

 

Good morning,

Elsa is looking for Santa!

Soon, Elsa, soon....

Love,

Mom 

 

Christmas Display at Hilton Hawiian Village

 Good morning,

I love this Christmas display with the tropics of Hawaii in the background!

So pretty!

Enjoy,

Lois

Christmas at Hilton Hawiian Village

 Good morning,

I just love seeing all of the beautiful trees at the hotel where Catherine and Erica are staying in Honolulu this week!  So pretty!

All the best,

Lois

Christmas in Hawaii

 Good morning,

This is an image sent to us by our friend Erica, who is in Hawaii to attend meetings this week. 

How pretty!

Thank you!

Lois

Goofy's Decor

 Good morning,

Here's an image sent to us by Catherine who is in Honolulu this week.  

This is part of the decor of Goofy's Restaurant.  I love that it is the Hawaiian version of Cracker Barrel decor on the mainland.  

Very cool!

Thanks, Catherine.

Love,

Mom

Catherine's New Ride

 Good morning,

Here's Catherine in her new ride at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.  Love it!

Have fun!

Love,

Mom

Daddy and Teddy

 Good morning,

Daddy and Teddy are all cuddled up watching TV on a cold winter's night.

So sweet!

:),

Lois

They Are Traveling Again

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica are in Honolulu this week.  With all the snow here at home, it's fun to get this picture Catherine took from their hotel balcony.

Have fun, Ladies!  We'll hold down the fort here at home.

Love  you,

Mom

House Guest Teddy

 Good morning,

Our friend Teddy is visiting us again while his Mommy, our friend Erica, is traveling.  Our three Labs enjoy having their friend Teddy here.

Teddy is a real sweetheart, but it seems some other doggie wanted to pick a fight.  No, our dogs weren't involved.  Anyway, Teddy had to visit the vet for some repairs and maintenance so is wearing the doggie donut. 

This will be a fun week.

:),

Lois

The Snow Keeps Coming

 Good morning,

It's still Fall and we have had more snow than we have had for entire winters here in the Midwest USA.

It just keeps coming!  At least the Labradors love it.  They have been outside doing zoomies in the snow, but it's too cold for me to go out and take pictures of them.  

Stay warm!

All the best,

Lois 

Shrimp Dinner

 Good morning,

We ate a light dinner last night.  That's Kjell's boiled in saltwater shrimp, on my home made bread that has been spread with real mayonnaise.  

Yum!

It's not really winter yet, but it sure feels like it here!  It is COLD!

All the best,

Lois

Winter Window

 Good morning,

This is the view through the window in our front door as of yesterday morning.  

We've had another snow fall, but nothing very serious.  It was just enough to make the morning light and bright as we came down the stairs. 

 Happy Winter!

Lois

First Bread from Alaskan Sourdough Starter

 Good morning,

Here are the first two loaves of bread made with the sourdough starter that our granddaughter, Anna, brought to me from Alaska.  

This is not pure sourdough bread because I wanted sandwich loaves.  I added some sour cream to produce the smooth texture and a rich taste.  

 I sliced off the heel of the bread to take a picture and didn't do a very good job of making a smooth cut.  Anyway, it tastes even better than it looks!

I'm still feeding the sourdough for many more batches of bread.

Thank you, Anna, from bringing the sourdough starter!

Love,

Granny E.  (aka Lois)

2025 Gift Baskets

 Good morning,

Each year Catherine makes gift baskets for business clients of her CPA firm.  She buys all the ingredients, puts them all together and my job is to make and add the bow.  This is the first test basket containing fruit, nuts, and chocolate.  She has another winner this year! 

Catherine set up a table in the middle of our entrance hall so we have more space to work.  Before we are finished, we will have baskets covering the dining room table and every other flat area on the first floor of the house.

Ah, yes, it's Christmas time again!  I hope your preparations are going well.

All the best,

Lois

Sourdough Culture

 Good morning,

A few days ago I told you about the sourdough culture that our granddaughter, Anna, brought me from Alaska.

Well, for the past few days I've been growing that good stuff and am almost ready to make bread out of it.  This is how it looked last night.  It's getting all foamy and smells great.

I think today just may be a bread day!

:),

Lois

Birthday Dinner!

 Good morning,

Last Friday we celebrated two birthdays at J. Alexander's Restaurant:  our friend Bill's and mine.  There were five of us:  Bill, Catherine, Les (who happened to be in town), Kjell, and me.

The company and conversation were wonderful as was the food!  I look at these pictures and can still imagine the wonderful taste. Kjell and I had our favorites, steak and a fully loaded potato.

 Catherine's favorite is tuna with salad.

And, Bill and I were treated to the famous J. Alexander's Carrot Cake.

Such fun!  And, it is a pleasure to still be having birthdays.  It sure beats the alternative!

All the best,

Lois

It's That Time of the Year

 Good morning,

It's that time of the year that we enjoy our fireplace.  We seem to have enough firewood each year from trees that come down in our yard and wood that our friend Bill brings to us.

My only problem these days is carrying it inside because of my bad back.  Fortunately, I have a lovely family who will bring me buckets of wood so that I can keep the living room toasty warm.

Happy December!

All the best,

Lois

Lily's First Qualifying Agility Run!

 Good morning,

We are SO proud of our baby Lily and her trainer, our daughter Catherine!  Lily has just achieved her first Qualifying Agility Run at our AKC Queen City Dog Training Club.  

Lily is now on her way to achieving Agility titles.  We are sure her great, great, great Aunt Penny is looking down from doggie heaven and proudly wagging her tail!

Here's the video of the run:

We're so happy for Team Lily!

 All the very best,

Lois

Roses and Chocolate

 Good morning,

Yesterday morning I woke up to this on the dining room table.  My Honey knows EXACTLY how to wow me on my birthday.

 Thanks also go to Kjell's secret shopper, Catherine.

The day yesterday was wonderful.  Relaxing all day, then a lovely dinner out with family and friends.  The best part is I didn't have to do the dishes.  More images to come. 

 All the best,

Lois

Work in Process - Sweater Update

 Good morning,

Awhile back I showed you the back of a sweater I had started for our daughter Catherine.

Well, the front and the back are finished, so it's time to design and make the sleeves.

I'm writing this new pattern as I go so it takes longer than my designs I've made many times over and over.

So far, so good!

Stay tuned!

Lois

Wrapping Station

 Good morning,

I have set up a wrapping station in my second floor hallway.  The two gifts in the image are birthday presents that I wrapped yesterday and will be giving in a couple of days, but I'll soon be wrapping Christmas gifts.  I like doing this with the light coming through the large hallway window.

So, here we go for another season of gift wrapping and giving.  

Happy December!

Lois

Let It Snow!

 Good morning,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here!

I took this image yesterday morning through a window and screen from my bedroom window.  

Appointments were cancelled for the day giving us a little extra time to do other things.

Enjoy!

Lois

Alaskan Sourdough Starter

 Good morning,

Our granddaughter, Anna, stopped by with something very special for me!  

Anna and a friend had visited Alaska and when she saw this, she knew it was for me!  As my regular readers know, I make bread often and, until recently, made sourdough bread.   The sourdough I used was started here in Cincinnati so had a very good, local flavor.

It will be fun to revive this Alaskan sourdough and make bread with it!  

Thank you, Anna!  

More to come.  :)

Lois

Slumber Party and Happy December

 Good morning,

We stayed up late last night watching The Accountant movies back-to-back while the girls had a slumber party in the middle of the living room.

The Accountant movies aren't what one might expect from the titles.  They are actually action flicks about an accountant who launders money.  The movies get pretty loud at times which caught the interest of baby Lily, but the other girls slept through most of it.  

If you haven't seen them and you enjoy action movies, check out the original and newest versions of The Accountant.

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Details of the discount for our blog readers: 

 20% off, orders of $50 or more, offer good December 1 through December 6, 2025.

Use this coupon code at checkout:  1225SANTABLOG20

 All the very best,

Lois

Stuff

 Good morning,

Kjell has his tools and supplies all labeled in cabinets in his basement workshop.

I got a big kick out of this one!

;),

Lois

University of Cincinnati Hospital Helicopter Incoming!

Good morning,

I took this image through my car window (I wasn't driving) while we were on our way to an appointment at UC Health.

If you look carefully at the center of the image, you can see a helicopter landing on the roof of University Hospital.  

We are so glad we live within minutes of one of the premier health facilities in the country.  

We pray the patient recovers quickly.

All the best,

Lois

Thanksgiving Dinner!

 Good morning,

To accommodate all the family schedules, we celebrated Thanksgiving Dinner on Wednesday this year.  Catherine grilled the turkey outside and our friend Bill carved the turkey. 

 Of course, the Lab Testers were doing their jobs!  That pup in the center is Penny, Bill's dog.  She fits right in, doesn't she!

 Catherine made so many wonderful dishes that I didn't get images of all of them.  Above are twice baked sweet potatoes. Ohhh, so good!

Dressing!  Ah, yes, dressing!

I made the dinner rolls.  This year I used heavy cream (since we had it available for other recipes) in place of the sour cream I generally use to make smooth, rich bread.  Yum!

This is my plate.  Not very neat, but it sure was good!  There is green bean casserole on the plate as well as turnips and carrots that didn't get in the other images.  Of course, the cranberry sauce I made the day before.

Thanks to our friend Erica, we had yummy pumpkin pie!

Catherine did the biggest job making this dinner.  But everyone else helped, too.  Thank you to everyone!

Love you all,

Lois

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wendy, Elsa, Lily (pictured), Kjell, Catherine, and me.  

 I hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving with family and friends! 

Cranberry Sauce

 Good morning,

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  Yesterday I made cranberry sauce and the house smelled wonderful! 

 Of course, two of my advisors were present to be sure I did it right.

I make the cranberry sauce, beans, and buns.  Catherine will makes all the rest for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.  

More to come....

Lois