About this Blog: Bread making recipes, knit and crochet projects, wood working, gardening, digital imaging, travel, cruise ships, Labrador Retrievers, and more....

About the Header Image: Idlebrook Wendy Darling Evensen "Wendy" one of our four Labrador Retrievers.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Budding Trees

Good morning,

Flowers are ready to burst into bloom all over the garden.

On the left are red bud trees, on the right is a tulip magnolia. 

Bring on the flowers!

:),
Lois

Monday, February 27, 2017

Clump of King Alfred Daffs

Good morning,

I should separate these before next year, but the clumps of King Alfred Daffodils certainly are pretty "bouquets" of springtime beauty in the center of the brown winter garden.

These King Alfreds have bloomed faithfully for the past 30 years since I planted them. 

Beautiful!

Lois





Sunday, February 26, 2017

Toe Warmer Security Guard

Good morning,

That's Erik sitting on my toe on the patio.

I have to laugh that he has to sit "on" my foot, not just next to me.  He's also a great security guard.  I have never, ever been attacked by a squirrel while sitting on the patio.

;),
Lois





Saturday, February 25, 2017

Blue Skies and 75 Degrees in February?

Good morning,

I took this image yesterday looking up from my chair on the patio in the back yard.

The sky was blue, there was a balmy 75F breeze, and the trees are showing signs of greenery.

Tomorrow it will be cold again. 

Go figure.  It's Cincinnati!

How is the weather where you are?

Lois

Friday, February 24, 2017

First Buttercup


Good morning,

It is so much fun to go out in the garden every morning at this time of the year. 

Every morning a new flower greets me. 

Today it is the first Buttercup.  We'll soon have these covering a great deal of our back garden.

Lovely! 

Enjoy,
Lois

Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Day of the Daffodil

Good morning,

Yesterday was the day! 
The first two daffodils bloomed in our garden. 

As you can see on this last image, there was rain.  By tomorrow, when the sun comes out, we hope there will be many, many more daffodils in bloom.

This is an extremely warm February for us.  We seem to be weeks ahead of the warm Spring weather so we hope we don't have a very cold spell to ruin the flowers that are convinced it is time to make an appearance.

How is the weather where you are?

Lois

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

The Other White Meat

Good morning,

Last night we has a crock pot dinner with "the other white meat." 

My Honey and I were strolling through Sam's Club this week and found a tremendous sale on pork roast.  The only catch was that you had to buy at least 25 pounds of it at a time. 

We did just that and split the package when we got home into six pieces.  We froze five of them and prepared the sixth yesterday.  I put the piece just the right size for two servings into the crock pot with onions, carrots, and potatoes. 
Of course, I also prepared a batch of fresh bread.

Yum!

Lois

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Snow Flakes

Good morning,

These little beauties bloom every year near our gold fish pond.
They're called Snowflakes, but I think they look more like little lanterns.

So pretty!  I love Spring.

Lois

Monday, February 20, 2017

A Bed of Crocus

Good morning,

I took today's images late in the afternoon as the sun was low and casting beautiful shadows in the bed of crocus in our front garden.  Even more crocus have bloomed now.
This patch of crocus was planted so many years ago...
...and still bring smiles every Spring as they push through the Fall leaves still providing a warm ground cover for the garden.

All the best,
Lois

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Babyghan (Baby Blanket) and Doll Update - Yay for Baby Girls

Good morning,

Earlier this month I posted an image of a baby blanket similar to the one above that was in production.  I had just sold the last similar set we had in our shop and was asked to make another.  The second sold the day it was listed so I've made still another to restock the shop.

The newest shown above is listed for sale here.  Yay for Baby Girls!!

We haven't forgotten baby boys, either.  We have a similar blanket with turtle toy in aqua blue here.

Thank you, everyone, for your support of our little on-line shop.   Retirement is good!  We are doing what we love to do.  We also sincerely appreciate your "likes" and "shares" on our Facebook posts.  Those "likes" and "shares" raise the shop's Facebook Page and posts higher in the search engines.  Thank you!

;),
Lois

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Saturday, February 18, 2017

New Color for Spring - On the Needles Now

Good morning,


The new Spring colors are brilliant blues and greens.  How perfect!  I love working with those colors and wearing them.  I took this image of the project on my knitting needles now. 

This is a bright medium blue (one of the new spring colors!) Cables Lace and Columns Sweater, unisex size 32-34 inch chest. This one will be available in the shop as soon as I get it finished.

Let me know if you want to reserve this one or custom order a sweater in your size.

Are you creating for Spring now? 

All the best,
Lois

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Friday, February 17, 2017

Valentine Breakfast

Good morning,

My Honey made a breakfast full of heart this week.  He said he and Wendy spent a lot of time in the kitchen working on this.  Wendy helped him eat the parts that didn't come out just quite right.  ;)
There was great talent in making the eggs!  He took a sausage, slit it down the middle, shaped it into a heart, used a wood stick to secure it at the point, then fried an egg inside. 

Wow!  Very pretty and delicious, too!

;),
Lois

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Valentine Roses

Good morning,

We are enjoying these roses all week.  My Honey gave them to me for Valentine's Day.

I like to take pictures of pretty flowers so that they can be enjoyed long after they have gone.  They live forever in my computer files.  ;)

Thank you, Sweetie,
Lois

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Fish and Shrimp Casserole

Good morning,

My Honey has been doing all kinds of sweet things this Valentine week.

Above is a Fish and Shrimp Casserole that he made for dinner this week.  It was delicious.

But, don't ask me for the details about how he made it.  He isn't telling me so I can't tell you.  I think it was an "original" creation.  Yum!

;),
Lois

Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Happy Valentine's Day!

Good morning,

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope you are able to enjoy it with those you love. 

The Tulip Magnolias are getting ready to bloom.  We generally see them about Easter after watching these buds ripen for weeks.

I'm so enjoying the daily trip through the garden.  Each day there are more and more signs of Spring.

Lois

Monday, February 13, 2017

Welcome the Daffs!

Good morning,

Today's walk in the garden was another winner!
Not only are the Daffodils pushing up, they have buds on them ready for a warm, sunny day to burst open. 

I love Spring! 

Lois

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Crocus!

Good morning,

Look what I found in our garden!
Yay!  Spring is coming soon! 

;),
Lois

Saturday, February 11, 2017

The Current Project

Good morning,

I took this image of my current project with my cell phone.  I love the cameras in the phones these days. I remember the first digital cameras, how heavy they were, how poor the quality of the images were, how hard they were to download, how few pictures they held....  Life is good!

This project is a babyghan (baby blanket) that will also include a matching doll. 

In the spirit of Dory I, "just keep crocheting, just keep crocheting...."  OK, sometimes it's, "just keep knitting, just keep knitting...." 

What are you making today?

;),
Lois

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Friday, February 10, 2017

If the Mat Fits...

Good morning,

It was time to replace the door mat at the front door. 

This one just jumped out at me as being perfect.

;),
Lois

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Show Me the Money

Good morning,

I attended the annual meeting of our dog club this week and watched my daughter deliver the Annual Financial Presentation to the membership.  Catherine has been the Treasurer of the club for several years.
It's fun to be home where I can attend these events.  :)
We have a fabulous dog club with volunteers who make it all possible.

Retirement is good!

Lois

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Cold Weather Dinner

Good morning,

Now here's a winter dinner that we enjoyed.

That's roast chicken, carrots, home made cranberry sauce, green bean casserole (it's not only for Thanksgiving and Christmas any more....), potato salad, applesauce.

Yes, it was yummy! 

What is your favorite cold weather meal?

Lois

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Computer Food

Good morning,

My Honey does a great job of making good snacks from what he finds in the kitchen.

These little stacked snackies, from the bottom up are:

My fresh home made bread
Cod Roe (caviar)
Tomato slice
Hard Boiled Egg slice
Sausage slice.

It was GOOD!

;),
Lois

Monday, February 6, 2017

Pretty Penny Fashion

 Good morning,

Penny is modeling her cowl scarf that she wears on very cold days.  She is ready for St. Patrick's Day with this pretty emerald green velvet cowl, too.
Our pups love to dress up because they get so much extra attention when they do.  They also know they will be going somewhere when they get "dressed." 

As soon as she leaves with Daddy or Catherine, I'll be able to make the bed.  ;)

Lois

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Doggie on the Window Sill

Good morning,

This sweet little Yellow Labrador Retriever is made of very fragrant soap.  Catherine received it as a gift at Christmas and we've enjoyed it ever since on the window sill of the bathroom adjacent to our recreation room. The pup fits very nicely in our little snowman dish.

We will enjoy this Christmas gift year round.

How very clever!

Lois

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Golden Reflection

Good morning,

This was the view from my seat at the dinner table last night. 

That beautiful golden light is the sun reflected in the windows of a Xavier University building.

Lovely.

Enjoy,
Lois

Friday, February 3, 2017

My Office Staff

Good morning,

Do you work from home?

Above are two of my staff.  The one in the foreground is security.  The one behind him is my office staff.

Here's a very funny page about working from home that I just shared on my Facebook page.  Click here and enjoy.  Love it!

Lois

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Movie Night

Good morning,

Sometimes we just have to turn off the TV and all the craziness of the news.

Last night Catherine brought home a movie from the library and we all enjoyed it together. 

Do you manage to see all the Disney and Dreamworks movies eventually?  We do.  ;)

Lois

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Needlework and Wood Update - February, 2017

Good morning,

Be sure to scroll all the way down to see the new wood items and some patterns, too.

We'll kick off this month's Needlework and Wood Update with Royal Purple. 

The sweater above, the hats, boot cuffs and headband that follow are all parts of a set that was a custom order.

This is a child size soft wool hat and scarf set.

 Two infant hats also are new in the shop.
 Tissue toppers have been popular recently so I made a few more to restock.
 I also made some more Luggage Identifiers to restock the shop.


 And, new for Spring are these bird houses.  Be sure to be ready for tenants for Spring nesting.
 This style is a favorite for blue birds and other small birds.  They are made of cypress wood, perfect for outside use.
 If you'd like to build your own bird house, we have published the plans that Kjell has written for the bird house.  The plans are available in the shop, EvensensProductions.com, as a digital download file.
 This Gatsby Style pen in Bethlehem Olive Tree Wood is available in the shop.
 Four more of these pens were a custom order that has already been shipped to Norway.
 And, finally, I've been going through my extensive library that I've collected over the past 50 years.  I have some books of patterns that I no longer use so am making them available very reasonably in our shop for whomever might be interested in them.
 I've also included this very complete DIY book. 

So, that's what we've been doing this month and what is new in the shop.

We invite you to come over and see what's new in the shop here:

http://EvensensProductions.etsy.com

I also want to thank all of you who have "liked" our Evensens Productions Facebook page and have shared our posts: 

https://www.facebook.com/Evensens-Productions-280745605272141/

The more "likes" and "shares" the page gets, the higher it ranks in the search engines. 

That's all for this month.  We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.   :)

Lois

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