Happy Birthday, Don!

 Good morning,

Another birthday!  This time it is son Don's turn. 

 We took him to Ford's Garage for a family dinner.  Although we live in the same county, we're on opposite sides of it so it's a bit of a journey to get together, but so worth it!

Happy Birthday again, Don!

Love you,

Mom

Brunch ala Catherine

 Good morning,

Catherine prepared Sunday Brunch last week.

When Catherine cooks, we only need one meal for the day. It was delicious!

Thank you, Catherine.  Love you,

Mom

Tribute to Veterans

 Good morning,

November 11, is the day we remember and celebrate our veterans every year.

The image above was taken when we were aboard Mariner of the Seas where veterans are acknowledged and celebrated.

I don't know about you, but I get teary-eyed when I hear our National Anthem and hear tributes to those who have served our country to keep us free.

All the best,

Lois

Fire Place Adventures

 Good morning,

The temperature dipped into the 30's F a couple of weeks ago.  When we got home from the post office, Kjell went to the kitchen to make a couple of omelets for lunch while I started a fire in the fireplace.

I took the dogs outside in the back yard and they suddenly went to the gate barking wildly.  I walked over to the gate to be greeted by Cincinnati Firefighters in full gear, axes in hand.  A lovely lady firefighter asked, "Is everything OK?"

"Yes," I replied, with a look of wonder on my face.  Then I was asked if we had a fire in the fireplace and I said we did.  Another firefighter smiled and said, "That's fine. That's where fire belongs."  

The firefighters explained someone must have seen the smoke from our chimney and called 911.  

I love our Cincinnati firefighters.  They were so very kind.  

I just can't get my head around someone seeing smoke coming from a chimney on a cold day and calling the fire department.  We live across the street from a university so have an ever-changing group of people passing by.  Catherine is convinced many of them have no clue that there are fireplaces in many old homes and that they are used on cold days.  

I think Catherine just may have a point....

All the best,

Lois

Texas de Brazil

 Good morning,

We have so many birthdays at this time of the year that we seem to pass each other eating out to celebrate.

Our friend Erica took all of us to Texas de Brazil to celebrate Catherine's birthday recently.

 The appetizer bar would have been enough for the entire dinner for me. 

 Here's he birthday girl herself.  :) 

 And, here's our host, Erica. 

We caught Daddy in a smile!  :)

This is a Brazilian-style restaurant where the food just keeps coming throughout the meal.

And, of course here's a special dessert!

Kjell and I shared this creme brulee.  It was the best we've had since Chops restaurant on board ships.

Happy Birthday, again, Catherine!  Thank you, Erica!

All the best,

Lois

Rice Pudding

 Good morning,

Kjell mentioned how much he enjoyed rice pudding when he was growing up back in Norway.  We started comparing notes and discovered our mothers made a very similar rice pudding.

Since my back doesn't like for me to stand very long, which is necessary to do when stirring pudding on the cook top, I opted for the crock pot.

I placed six cups of whole milk, one cup of rice, 1/2 cup sugar into the crock pot, stirred to dissolve the sugar, set it on high, and set the timer on my phone for 2 1/2 hours.  I stopped by and stirred a couple of times during that time.

The result was fabulous.  Here you see a bowl of warm rice pudding with a sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon.  A pat of butter in the center finishes it to perfection.

Oh, goodness, memories of the past for both of us!

Enjoy,

Lois

Yummy Raspberry Dessert

 Good morning,

This was so pretty I just had to take a picture.  That's fresh raspberries on vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream.

It was yummy, too.  

;),

Lois

Happy Birthday to Sarah and Sophie

 Good morning,

Last month we celebrated the birthday of our twin granddaughters, Sarah and Sophie. 

 We enjoy eating at a relatively new restaurant in our area, Ford's Garage.  We've been here before and enjoy the food, service, and fun atmosphere.

 

 It was salmon and shrimp for me!

Here are the proud parents of the twins:  Diane and our son, Les.

And, the birthday girls themselves, Sophie and Sarah.

Diane's mother (right) has recently moved to the USA from Belgium so it was such fun she could join us!

I think we were all born with cameras in our hands....

Special birthday dessert!
 

We're so proud of our grands!

And, here's the group shot courtesy of our server.

The Ford theme is beautifully done!

What a great place to celebrate special occasions!  Happy Birthday to Sarah and Sophie!

Love you,

Granny E

We Voted

 Good morning,

If you're a US Citizen, have you voted?

We voted early!  

God Bless America where we are still able to vote,

Lois

Border Collies at the Labrador B&B

Good morning,

I'm beginning to think our four Labrador Retrievers are entrepreneurs running a B&B for Border Collies.

These two darlings, Teddy and Tillie, come to visit us often.  They've moved in to their favorite spots for their stay.

Teddy and Tillie have trained our resident breakfast maker to add them to the guest list.

Everyone eats well (sometimes too well!) here.

Finger lickin' good!

A raw egg for a shiny coat.

Everyone waiting at the breakfast bar for seconds!

Life is fun with pups....

Lois

Comfort Food - Storm Soup and Fresh Bread

 Good morning,

Kjell made storm soup again.  That's what they call it in Norway.  When the weather is bad, soup can be made from whatever is available.  In this case it is a sausage veggie soup.  Yummy!

 Of course, the perfect accompaniment to home made soup is home made bread.  This one is sour cream and brown sugar.  

Oh, yes....

Enjoy,

Lois

Elsa's Morning Yoga

 Good morning,

Elsa has quite an exercise routine.  It's amazing how "long" she is!

You go girl!

Love you,

Mommy

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Bread and Happy Birthday, Don!

 Good morning,

I made breakfast bread again, while also making two large loaves of sandwich bread.  It's easiest to make a big batch of dough, then use it for different purposes.

Above you see the bread finished and sliced to enjoy. 

 That's cognac frosting dripping down the sides.

 I only needed a small amount of dough to make the breakfast bread.  This recipe is honey and sour cream bread which works for just about everything.

 This little vintage casserole bowl was my mom's.  It is perfect for baking bread.

 This is how the two large loaves looked after the first rise and before the second rise, then baking.

After the first rise, I kneaded a small amount of the dough until flat, added blueberries and white chocolate, then...

...put a similar size piece of dough on top, folded it together, and placed in into the bowl for baking.

Here's a previous post which gets all of this into a comprehensive order so you can make this yourself if you would like to do so.

Enjoy!

Lois

PS - Images of Don's birthday celebration to come....