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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Friday, March 31, 2023

Sleepy Elsa and the Chair

 Good morning,

That's Elsa snoozing in a chair in the living room while the rest of us are watching TV.  It's the typical evening for us and the pups.

When we purchased two new recliners, the plan was to give away or otherwise dispose of a couple of other pieces of furniture.  When we moved them out of the way for the new items, the pups immediately took over.  She looks so comfy, doesn't she....Now it is hard to even think of getting rid of these old pieces of furniture. 

 Life with Labradors.  It's the best!

Lois

Thursday, March 30, 2023

Brilliant Yellow of Spring - Blossom of the Morning

 Good morning,

Today's blossom:  After a grey winter that was sometimes very white with snow, the brilliant yellow of delicate daffodils shining in the sun is so very welcome.

Gorgeous.

 Happy Spring!

Lois

 


 

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Moon Dog?

 Good morning,

Anyone who knows me knows I love dogs.  Now I'm beginning to see them as I go out the back door and look up at the moon at 2:30 AM when my pups tell me they have to go outside.

Does anyone else see a dog (poodle?) with the moon as its eye?

OK, I need more sleep....

;),

Lois

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Lily Video



 Good morning,

Here's a short video I took while Catherine and I visited our new pup, Lily, about a week ago.  Sweet Lily will come home to us on April 19.

She is just so sweet!

More images soon!

Lois

Monday, March 27, 2023

Not Diet Food

 Good morning,

It's not diet food, but it sure was good.  This is a single large steak burger with cheese, A-1 Sauce, and onions.  No bread.  I ate about one third of it before I had had enough to feel more than full. 

 Nope, not on my healthy diet, but sometimes a girl just has to have a little something special.  I'm sure that's happened to you, too, right?

;),

Lois

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Kjell's Work in Process

 Good morning,

Kjell sent me an image of the birds he is working on in his shop.  He has completed most of the painting and has to apply several coats of finish and let it dry between each one.

Eventually, they will be available in the shop.  

Come see all the other beautiful things Kjell has made!

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

I love hearing from you and reading your blogs.  What a talented group of people we have here in the blog-o-sphere.  Some of your blogs are set so that I am unable to leave comments (I know about all that spam), but I want you to know I do enjoy reading them.

All the very best,

Lois 

Saturday, March 25, 2023

Lone Blossom

 Good morning,

My blossom of the day is this pink beauty that is blooming in the middle of the lawn in the back yard.  It is the last of its kind (originally, there were more than 50) in this area of the yard and has returned to please us with it's gorgeous color and aroma for more than 30 years.

It is so much fun to go outside and see what is newly blooming each day.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Friday, March 24, 2023

Break Time

 Good morning,

While moving some storage boxes, the moving team took a break.

Pictured are the mover (top right) and the mover supervisor.

They are such hard workers!

;),

Lois

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Lamb Leg Prepared in Air Fryer

Good morning,

A few months ago I received an air fryer as a birthday gift.  I've used it many, many times to prepare chicken and potatoes, but this was the first attempt at a lamb leg.

Kjell did the research for how long and at what temperature, prepared the meat with garlic and other spices, then we took the plunge to see if we could get something we liked.

 
Wow, it was good!  The lamb leg was wonderful and we'll surely do this again.

If you haven't gotten an air fryer yet, put it on your list for Santa!  Or, perhaps the Easter Bunny?

:),

Lois

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Two Ladies Sun Bathing

 Good morning,

Although still chilly, it was a beautifully sunny day here yesterday.

Kjell took this image of the girls sunbathing and wrote "Soon there will be three."  Yes, I'm sure our new baby Miss Lily will enjoy being out there with them, too.  We are looking forward to bringing her home on April 19.

All the best,

Lois 

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Fresh Bread

 Good morning,

The house was filled with the aroma of fresh bread yesterday afternoon.  

It's still cold outside so the fireplace was crackling and it was a perfect day for bread baking.

Spring!  Where is Spring!

;),

Lois

Monday, March 20, 2023

Meet Lily!

 

Good morning,

Meet Lily!    Catherine and I visited our friend and favorite Labrador Retriever breeder (Alicia Miller, Millstone Labradors) yesterday to meet our newest "baby" in person for the first time.  It seems Lily approves of Catherine with lots of kisses and of course, we certainly love Lily already! 

Lily will come home to us on April 19. I guarantee there will be plenty more pictures of this little beauty with her older siblings Elsa, Wendy, and Erik.

We are so excited!

:),

Lois

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Work in Process This Week

 Good morning,

This week's Work in Process is a blue afghan blanket.  I have more than 60 of the 80 squares finished so will soon be crocheting them all together to make a large size blanket.

 There are many other blankets completed and in the shop here.

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

Happy Spring!

Lois

Saturday, March 18, 2023

The Morning After

 Good morning,

If you came home wearing one of these last night...

 ...you probably...

 ...had too much green beer!

I hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day!

Lois

Friday, March 17, 2023

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 Happy St. Patrick's Day

From Elsa and All the rest of us in the Evensen Household!

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Bird Feeder Visitors

 


 Good morning,

Here's a short video of a pretty visitor to our bird feeder yesterday evening.  This is a woodpecker who worked his way up the post of the bird feeder before helping himself to the food on the platform.

The interesting part is that the post of the bird feeder is metal, but he kept pecking away at it on his way up.  He stayed for quite some time.  

Also, today we saw cardinals, robins, blue jays, sparrows, finches, and starlings.  The wonderful part is that we can watch the bird feeder live from our chairs in the living room and via our phone from the camera in the bird feeder.

I hope you enjoy the short video.

Lois

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

A Family Joint Venture - Gravlax Dinner

 Good morning,

We all contributed to a gravlax dinner that turned out wonderfully.

On the left above you see the gravlax, prepared by Kjell.  Catherine prepared the scrambled eggs on the right and

the gravlax sauce.
And, I made the home made bread.  

We enjoyed our Norwegian gravlax.  If you're interested in the gravlax and sauce recipes, I've published them earlier here on this blog.

Enjoy!

Lois

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Birds on a Log - Daddy's Photo Op

 Good morning,

If you look carefully, you'll see two sparrows enjoying bird seed that Kjell spread on a log in our back yard.

When the weather is warm enough to tolerate being outside for more than ten minutes, Kjell has had his camera set up to take pictures of our feather visitors.  I snapped this one with my phone camera when I was out with the pups for just a couple of minutes.

I get a kick out of the birds in front of our home when I go out to load up the bird feeder.  If I have let it go empty for more than a day, they are waiting out there "yelling" at me to hurry up with the food.  

:),

Lois

Monday, March 13, 2023

Spring from our Dining Room Window

 Good morning,

This is the view from our dining room. It is taken through both glass and a screen, but it is still quite lovely.  

The beautiful pink flowers on the Tulip Magnolia are coming into bloom, but take a look at those clouds!  As I write this, there is a very light dusting of snow out there and the temps will drop even further over the next couple of days.

 When we've had these temperature drops in previous years, we have lost the lovely pink flowers before they come into full bloom.  Hopefully, they'll still be there tomorrow.  If not, there is always next year.

Happy Spring!

Lois

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Leprechaun Food

Good morning,

We made a Leprechaun Dinner a little early this year.

That's corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.  

 No, we're not Irish, but we do enjoy the traditions.  How about you?

Yum!

Lois

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Bread Making Day

 Good morning,

I hadn't made my breakfast bread for months so made enough sour cream and egg bread dough for one loaf of breakfast bread and two standard size loaves.

Above you see the breakfast bread after the first rise.  I have kneaded again and pressed out in a large circle so that I could add dried blueberries and butterscotch chips.  I then folded the edges of the dough to the center, inverted, and placed this breakfast bread into a round baking dish.

 Concurrently, I had shaped the rest of the bread into standard loaves.

 In the same oven I baked the round loaf for 35 minutes, then added another ten minutes for the larger loaves.

Here are the magic ingredients for the breakfast bread icing.  ;)  That's about 3/4 cup powdered sugar, three drops of vanilla, and just enough cognac to get the consistency I wanted. 

 Whisk until smooth

 

 then drizzle over the bread.
Slice and enjoy!

You can always diet tomorrow.

;),

Lois

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Front Garden Daffodils

 Good morning,

When I first planted the daffodils many years ago, I had some sort of orderly pattern.  Through the years they have made their own pattern and I love it.  

These clumps of daffodils are at the base of the Red Bud trees in our front garden.

I love Spring!

Lois

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Tulip Magnolia

 Good morning,

The weather has been very inconsistent this year swinging from 70's F down to below freezing.  The Tulip Magnolia in front of our home is coming into bloom somewhat early this year. 

 A year or so ago this tree was happily coming into bloom early when a very late and very cold snap destroyed all the beautiful blossoms.

I hope we get to see this tree in bloom this year!

Lois

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Sweet Little Buttercup

 Good morning,

The pretty little buttercups are beginning to bloom all around the yard.  They grow wild and I guess some people think of them as weeds, but we welcome them every year.

Happy Spring!  Well, it certainly feels like Spring here this week!

Lois

Monday, March 6, 2023

Immediate Occupancy

 Immediate Occupancy - Small residence available on first come, first served basis.  Lovely neighborhood, pond nearby, full time guard dogs, fly-in restaurant nearby.  Pay no attention to the man with the camera;  he is harmless.

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Needlework and Wood Working Update - March, 2023

Good morning,

Welcome to this month's Needlework and Wood Working Update where we document the items we have created during the past month.

Kjell has created two gorgeous boxes for the shop this month.  Above is a jewelry box with inlays and an interior sliding tray. $130.  Be sure to look at the details here. This jewelry box and the following one have received a great deal of interest.  If you're interested, act fast!

 

 This Patriot Box is another one of a kind.  $142.  These boxes can be used for jewelry or other treasures on a desk or dresser.  More images of the inside and all sides here.  What a lovely gift for a man or a woman.

Above is our Green Lovers Large Afghan Blanket that features Butter Cream color flowers.  $165.  More images and information here.  

The afghan above and the one following would each be excellent choices for Father's Day or Mother's Day.

 Here is a different version of our favorite Warm Browns Large Afghan Blanket.  $165.  More information and images here. 

 This pretty Sunset at Sea colors shawl is great for casual or formal wear.  It will be a beautiful gift for yourself or someone else and is a great buy at $45.  More images and information here.

  

I try to keep the popular cloche hats in stock.  This one is made with double strand premium lightweight yarn that is cozy warm and comfy.  $12.  More info here.
 

What lovely colors for Spring!  This cloche hat is $8.  More here.
 
 
This gray mask/ear saver set and
 
this tan mask/ear saver set were both custom orders that have been delivered.

That's it for this month.  We sincerely appreciate your encouragement, likes, shares, pins, and purchases, too!  Thank you for supporting our shop of hand crafted items since 2011.

All the very best for a beautiful Spring!

Lois

Friday, March 3, 2023

Daffodils and Logs

 Good morning,

About 30 years ago I planted daffodils along a low stone wall in our back garden.  That wall is now covered with vines and is behind the daffodils in the picture above.

The daffs have continued to delight us year after year.

 Last year a bad storm brought down an old tree in the corner of our yard.  Our friend, Bill, did a great job of cleaning up the mess and cutting the tree into firewood.  The larger parts of the tree are placed along the stone wall until the wood is aged enough to split which will be this coming summer.

 We truly appreciate Bill and what he does for us!  We have enjoyed the fireplace all winter and will surely have enough wood for next winter, too.

In the meantime, the daffs won't give up.  They are coming up next to, behind, and between the huge logs stacked all along the stone wall.

Mother Nature is so very strong and beautiful!

All the best,

Lois

Anniversary Flowers

 Good morning,

The doorbell rang a couple of days ago and these beautiful flowers were delivered.  The card inside had a lovely message for our anniversary from My Honey.

This was a sweet surprise.  Generally, My Honey gets the flowers while we are both out shopping so he can ask me what colors I would like to have or daughter Catherine is his secret shopper. 

Thank you, Sweetie, and Happy Anniversary again!

Love you,

Lois