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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Wednesday, February 19, 2025

High Level Job

 Good morning,

I believe this image was taken on deck 11 of Liberty of the Seas.  

Cleaning is constantly in progress aboard RCCL ships.  I wouldn't want this high level job, though.

Image credit to Catherine.

All the best,

Lois

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Main Dining Room - Salad Lunch

 Good morning,

Catherine sent me this image of a wedge salad she enjoyed aboard Liberty of the Seas.  She knows I love these and would consider this my entire lunch. 

Ah, yes, being on a cruise ship where you can select any restaurant, enjoy excellent food, and not have to do the dishes.

;),

Lois

Monday, February 17, 2025

Junior Suite - Liberty of the Seas

 Good morning,

This is a view of the living room section of Catherine's Junior Suite aboard Liberty of the Seas.  

It's so very comfy.  I find a balcony vital to have the personal space to enjoy the ocean.

All the best,

Lois

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Sailing Out of the Port of Ft. Lauderdale

 Good morning,

It was a gorgeous day for sailing when Catherine and her friend sailed out of the Port of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

 It is fun to see these images while it is cold, snowy/rainy, and icy here in Ohio.

Have fun, Ladies!

Love you,

Mom

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Pool Deck - Liberty of the Seas

 Good morning,

This is part of the water park aboard Liberty of the Seas.  

Cruise ships have become a destination themselves.  Many people come for the ship and don't care where it goes.

:),

Lois

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Royal Promenade

 Good morning,

This is part of the Royal Promenade aboard Liberty of the Seas.  Here's where you can get pizza and other items you can see listed on the awnings.

Liberty of the Seas is a sister ship to Freedom of the Seas where Kjell and I "lived" for the last six years of his service with Royal Caribbean.  The layout of the ship is exactly the same so it is fun to see it all again in Catherine's pictures.  

I hope you enjoy our virtual cruise aboard Liberty with us!

Lois

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Promenade Deck 5 - Liberty of the Seas

 Good morning,

This image was taken by Catherine from the Promenade Deck 5 of Liberty of the Seas.

The Mustering Drills are handled differently on board now and it is a vast improvement.  Now guests check in to their muster station with a crew member and they have met the requirement for knowing where to go.  Evacuation instructions are available on cabin TVs and on the phone app.  Easy Peasy.  Back in the old days, we all had to don our life jackets and line up on this deck.  It got crowded, it was hard to hear, and if someone didn't come, the whole process was sometimes held up until the missing person was found.

Thanks for sending the pictures, Catherine.  While it's cold here in Ohio, we are enjoying your cruise with you.

Love you,

Mom

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Ft. Lauderdale Lawn Critters

 Good morning,

No, these are not real.  These are lawn decorations at the hotel where Catherine and her friend, Rebecca, are staying before their cruise.  I'm not so sure I'd want this one on my lawn....  ;)  

 This critter looks a little more friendly.

More fun images from Catherine to come!

All the best,

Lois

Monday, February 10, 2025

Swordfish Artwork at FLL

 Good morning,

This artwork is displayed at FLL - the airport in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  There's a price tag hanging from it, so I am sure it is for sale.  Very nice!

Image credit goes to Catherine.

Lois

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Happy Second Birthday, Lily!

 Good morning,

Yesterday was Lily's (left) second birthday.  She has been quite a handful these first two years!

Daddy caught this picture while Lily and Elsa were snoozing on the couch together.

Sweet girls.

All the best,

Lois

Saturday, February 8, 2025

FLL Greeter

 Good morning,

This is a greeter at FLL.  Yes, Catherine is in Ft. Lauderdale and will soon be boarding Liberty of the Seas for a quick cruise before she is immersed in tax season here at home

More to come!

Lois

CVG Food

 Good morning,

Catherine sent me this image of the snack she was having at CVG while waiting for her plane.

I wonder where she could be going....

 Hmmmm....

Stay tuned,

Lois

Friday, February 7, 2025

Lamb and Cabbage ala Kjell

 Good morning,

Kjell took this image as he was making Lamb and Cabbage.  

There is a lamb leg cut into bite size pieces under three heads of cabbage in that pot.

I think we'll have enough for the rest of the week.

What's your comfort food?

:),

Lois

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Peace Lily

 Good morning,

I took this image without flash.  The only light was a table lamp.  

The flower is so graceful.  Just lovely.  I had to preserve its beauty by capturing this image.

All the best,

Lois

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Raw Diet for Dogs

 Good morning,

We feed our four pups a raw diet that we prepare ourselves.  We've done this for more than 20 years now so all of our dogs have had this diet since they were just a few weeks old.

That's Erik's dinner above.  You see a chicken back (sometimes it's a neck) and ground hamburger (sometimes it's ground chicken or turkey, never pork).  What you don't see under the chicken is a half tablespoon of chopped veggies and oatmeal as well as supplements and medications that our nearly sixteen year old boy needs.  All of the food is human grade, purchased at local grocery and meat stores.

The first question many people ask is about salmonella and/or other problems with feeding raw.  Yes, those would be problems for us humans, but not for dogs.  

So, that's what our canine athletes eat for dinner.  For breakfast, the meal is about the same, except a raw egg including the shell replaces the chicken back. 

We are very careful to wash our hands after handling the raw ingredients in these meals.  Also, we have a specific small part of the kitchen counter that we use only for dog food preparation.  This area is away from/across the room from where we prepare human meals.

Of course, our pups get some of our food, too, but not things that can do them harm such as onions and chocolate.  

All the best,

Lois

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Viking Food

 Good morning,

My Honey, Kjell, was born and grew up in the oldest Viking town in Norway.

Vikings are known for their love of potatoes and hi-fat meats.  Of course, these things kept them warm and fed in their cold climate.

A treat that I make for Kjell is potatoes cut to bite size pieces, placed in a baking dish, sprinkled with olive oil, covered with one package of Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix, tossed to cover potatoes with olive oil and soup mix, and baked at 350 for 45 minutes.  

Then I remove from oven to add sausage (this is Polish sausage) that I've cut into bite size pieces and return it all to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.

I like to eat mine with a side of apple sauce.  Yum!

 Yes, it is not healthy.  Yes, it tastes delicious.  No, we don't have it very often.

;),

Lois

Monday, February 3, 2025

Playing at the Dog Club

 Good morning,

Catherine took Elsa (pictured) and Lily to the dog club yesterday to play on the agility equipment.  Actually, they were there training, but the pups think of it as playing.  They have so much fun!

Thanks for the image, Catherine.

All the best,

Lois

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Lemon Butter Dill Salmon

 Good morning,

This was a quick and easy dinner that was also delicious.

Lemon Butter Dill Salmon is just what the name says.  In an ovenware dish I poured just enough lemon juice to cover the bottom of the dish, added two portions of salmon skin down, a thin sprinkling of lemon juice on the fish, added pats of butter, then dill.

 I preheated the oven to 350 F, covered the dish, and baked for 35 minutes.

 It was perfectly flaky and delicious!

Yum!

All the best,

Lois

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Happy Birthday Number One Son

 Good morning,

Yesterday was number one son, Les', birthday so Catherine, Kjell, and I took him to lunch at Izzy's.

I just had to have Izzy's Famous Reuben, a potato pancake, and apple sauce.

Oh, yes, this was good!

Happy Birthday, Les!

Love you,

Mom

Friday, January 31, 2025

Bath Time for Elsa

 Good morning,

I was sitting in the living room when Elsa came running down the stairs wearing her purple bathrobe.  Catherine had given her a bath and Elsa came down to dry off.  

She had brought me a toy and was so excited that she wouldn't hold still so I could get a picture that wasn't blurry.  I snapped several pictures and this was the least blurry one.  :)

She was so happy!  Labs love water.  

Sweet!

Lois

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Downtown Cincinnati

 Good morning,

Kjell took today's images when we had an appointment in downtown Cincinnati.  We were on the 19th floor of the First Financial Building.

The image above is of Procter & Gamble World Headquarters.  Behind the towers is Mount Adams.  The church on the right side of the picture is Holy Cross - Immaculata.  We've attended wedding in this pretty old church.  The modern building in the center is Highland Towers Apartments;  what a gorgeous view they have!  The famous Rookwood Pottery is also atop Mt. Adams.  We are happy to have a Rookwood fireplace in our 100 + year old home.

 This is a view of the Ohio River.  You can see why the bridge is locally known as the Big Mac Bridge.  We are in Ohio;  that is Northern Kentucky on the other side of the river.
Here is a wider view of the Ohio River.

Lovely, isn't it!  We are having beautiful weather for a few days.  That certainly makes up for the horrible snow and cold we have had for the past three weeks!

All the best,

Lois

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

A Gorgeous Winter Day

 Good morning,

We had beautiful weather in Cincinnati yesterday.  It was sunny and the temperature stayed above freezing for a full 24 hours.  The snow in our front yard is about gone, but we still have snow in the back yard where we get little sunshine.

I took the above image as we were almost home from the post office yesterday morning.  We were passing Xavier University which has been building and expanding faster than I can keep up with the changes.  I graduated from XU many years ago, but the place certainly has changed since I was there.  

We live across the street from XU a couple of blocks away and around the corner from where I took this image.  It's a lovely neighborhood.

Happy Winter!  I hope the weather is pleasant wherever you are.

All the best,
Lois


 

Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Work in Process this Week

 Good morning,

I have started another Bavarian Stitch afghan blanket for the shop.  The colors come together so nicely.  For some reason, I've been "stuck" on Valentine colors recently.  :)

What are you making, baking, growing this week?

All the best,

Lois

Monday, January 27, 2025

Coyotes in the Neighborhood

 

Good morning,

If you look carefully at the short video, you'll see a coyote come up my front stps, walk to the side of my porch, and after a few seconds, he passes by the camera once again.

We're not happy to see the coyotes this close to the house.  They are known to attack pets and fences don't stop them from coming onto the property.  I've stopped filling my bird feeder near my front porch.  I think the character in the video was here checking the bird feeder.

So, life goes on in the city!  Now we have coyotes!

All the best,

Lois

Sunday, January 26, 2025

Catherine in the Kitchen

 Good morning,

We so appreciate Catherine's great meals that she prepares.  My back just doesn't like for me to stand for very long, so it gets difficult to prepare a meal that requires more than a can opener and the microwave.

Having real food prepared by Catherine is wonderful.  

Thanks, Catherine, for the ham, hash brown casserole, and brussel sprouts with bacon.  It was delicious and very appreciated.

Love,

Mom

 

 


 

Saturday, January 25, 2025

Sushi for Christmas

 Good morning,

It's not easy to get the family together now that the grandchildren are older. So, this week we had dinner together at our favorite sushi restaurant to celebrate Christmas with Don and family.  

Tokoyo Japanese Restaurant is a favorite of ours not only because of the great food, but because of the people.  Service is perfection and we also just love the private room where we have privacy for our gathering.

So, it was Merry Christmas again this week!

How fun!

All the best,

Lois

Friday, January 24, 2025

Wedge Salad

 Good morning,

Catherine sent me this image of a salad she ordered at BJ's.  I responded that it looked wonderful!

When she got home she brought a salad for me.  When I said I liked it, she ordered one for carry out.  I'll enjoy it today for lunch.

Daughters are wonderful, aren't they!

All the best,

Lois

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Kjell's Work in Process - Leaf Box

 Good morning,

Kjell is busy in his wood workshop once again.  

Above you see the top of a leaf jewelry box.

 The box will have two trays inside.

 And, all pieces fit together perfectly.

Of course, there is still plenty to do to finish the box.  

This will be quite lovely!  When finished, it will be available in the shop where there are many other beautiful items finished and available to ship now.

All the best,

Lois

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

It's a Dog's Life

 Good morning,

Wendy lead's a Dog's Life here as she snoozes on the couch.

Our pretty girl is ten years old.

Precious!

All the best,

Lois

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

IKEA Meatballs

 Good morning,

Catherine and Erica stopped at IDEA for a meatball dinner this week.  These are Swedish meatballs (note the flag), but in our home we make Norwegian meatballs.

Yes, they are similar, but not the same.

Yum!

Lois

Monday, January 20, 2025

Needlework and Wood Working Update

 Good morning,

This is the collection of what we've finished since the last update.  We've been busy recently so haven't finished so many things this time, but have more things in the works that you'll see next time.

Above is a large afghan blanket of pink flowers bordered in red.  It will be a beautiful Valentine gift and will be lovely to display throughout the year.  More information and images here.  $185.  Only one available. 

 This generous size lap blanket is in green and white for your favorite leprechaun or for anyone who goes to a school whose colors are green and white.  :)  More images and information here.  $65.  Only one available.

This Cloche Hat is new in the shop this month.  These are lovely to wear under a hoodie or to bed in very cold weather.  It's a great helmet liner and may also be used as a chemo cap.  Only $8.  This one is here.

We have more Cloche Hats in a large variety of colors and sizes here.

 Kjell made a new sign for our gate across our driveway.  The circle in the middle is for a camera.  We can see who is approaching even before they get to the gate.

So, that's the round up this time.  We hope you'll shop with us for Valentine's Day and every day.  Come see it all here:  https://EvensensProductions.etsy.com.

We sincerely appreciate your likes, shares, pins, favorites, and purchases, too!

All the very best,

Lois

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Indoor Garden

 Good morning,

My indoor garden is quite happy these days.  I find it interesting that my Christmas Cactus is about a month late blooming this year.  These are the first buds that should be quite pretty when they open in a day or so.

 My Peace Lily is ready to open, also.

I truly enjoy my indoor garden.  I used to spend a great deal of time in my garden outside, but my back no longer cooperates, so my indoor garden and patio container garden (when weather permits) are about all I'm able to do.  

All the best,

Lois

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Sunrise and Snow Through the Window

 Good morning,

The colors of the sunrise and the snow through the leaded glass of our front door are just beautiful.

Happy Winter!

Lois

Friday, January 17, 2025

Kjell's Sausage Soup

 Good morning,

Kjell made sausage soup and it was delicious on a cold winter day.  

This soup is one of those things that is never repeated because the ingredients are what is found in the fridge at any one time.

The dash of wine helps, too.

:),

Lois

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Dirty Snow

 Good morning,

Yuck!  Usually, when it snows in Cincinnati, the temperature rises above freezing within a few hours and the snow disappears.  Not this week.

The snow was pretty coming down and the first few hours.  All 10.5" of it.  Of course, it was not to much fun for driving.

The pile of snow in the picture is still there after about a week.  

Tomorrow, it's supposed to be above freezing for a few hours again....

Happy Winter!

Lois

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Great Desserts!

 Good morning,

One of our dog clubs has their holiday party in January each year so they don't compete with all the other holiday parties in the  month of December.

This year the party was held at a local casino and featured a buffet dinner of prime rib, chicken, and all the sides.

The image is of the dessert tray.  

Sadly, Kjell and I didn't attend this year, but Cath brought us a few left overs that we enjoyed tremendously!

Happy January!

Lois

Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Fresh Bread Today

 Good morning,

It's bread making day!  There's nothing like the wonderful aroma of home made fresh bread.  

I wish I could share that aroma with you here on the blog.

All the very best,

Lois