What we did on New Year's Eve

Good morning,

Here are images of what we did on New Year's Eve.  Yes, we ate and we ate very well.  :)

This meal was a joint venture.  I made the bread.  My Honey Egg Bread recipe is here. 

Catherine's friend, Bill, brought the T-bone steaks.  Catherine rubbed them with garlic.  Mmmmm, the kitchen started to smell great....

Of course, with steak a fresh salad is perfect.

The fresh mushrooms served double duty. 

 Some were sliced to put in the salad; some were sauteed with onions to serve with the steak.  :)

Red potatoes were boiled, then mashed with skins on.  Gotta have potatoes with steak, you know!

The steaks were ready to take a trip out to the grill.

Erik (our Black Lab) went outside with Bill to help him grill the steaks while Penny waited patiently inside. 

Yum!  These were fantastic!

The four of us had a fantastic New Year's Eve at home.  Erik and Penny got their share, too. 

Happy 2012 one more time!

Lois :)

Newport Aquarium with the Girls

Good morning,

My Honey and I are the proud grandparents of eight terrific children, six of whom live near us in Cincinnati.  Last summer we had an outing with the three boys for swimming, boat racing, and playing with the dogs.  Recently, we took the three girls to the Newport Aquarium, then out to lunch.  We had a fabulous time!

I really like turtles and was happy to find this guy at the aquarium.  It appears he is posing for me to take his picture.

We were here just after Christmas so the Christmas show and decorations were still here.  The children were given a map and encouraged to find Santa's reindeer that were hiding around the building.

Of course, Grandpa took plenty of wonderful pictures of the fish.  He has published some of them on his blog and I am sure there are more to come.

There was a special show at the Aquarium!  Scuba Santa in the shark tank interacted with the children in the theater.  I got a kick out of Santa's helper, the (huge) elf in the center of the tank was there with a long pole to keep the sharks from taking a bite out of Santa. 

 In addition to fish, there are also birds...

 ...and toads.  These toads would surely disappear from view on the muddy bottom of a river.

 At the end of this section was a place where the kids could climb on the frogs.  What a photo op!

Then it was off to lunch at the Irish Pub at Newport on the Levee. It was such a pleasure to spend the day with such great, well-behaved children.   We have good reason to be proud of them!

All the best,
Lois

Cincinnati Trolley Car

Good morning,

This image is another one to take us back in time here in Cincinnati.  There are cities that still have these, but ours have been gone for a long time now.

I don't remember riding in them, but I do seeing them on the streets when I was downtown with my parents.  I remember seeing them lose the connection to the power on the wires above and the driver having to get out and get them reconnected. 

This actual trolley car is in the Cincinnati History Museum at the Museum Center.  You can go inside and sit down for a ride to nowhere as you take a trip down memory lane.

All the best,
Lois

Pioneer Village - Bardstown, Kentucky - Part 2 of 2

Good morning,

As we spent some time walking around the pioneer village in Bardstown, Kentucky, we began to see some of the people staying nearby in tents who would be part of the civil war reenactment later in the day.

These folks are in full uniform of the times.  Those are wool pants - surely pretty itchy.

It's all pretty realistic.  When "shot" (blanks, of course), the victims dropped and waited for their "bodies" to be removed by other fighters.

The young ladies had plenty to say to the young men.  ;)  It was fun watching the children relive what their ancestors had experienced.

 This little guy was part of the act, too.  The children were "practicing" while the parents were still getting ready for the day.

 There will be other images of this place coming, too, of the people we met as well as the battle later in the day.

 I hope you're enjoying our tour back into history. 

All the best,
Lois

Pioneer Village - Bardstown, Kentucky - Part 1 of 2

Good morning,

I took these images last Fall when we were visiting Bardstown, Kentucky.

This pioneer village is beside the Civil War Museum.

We were here early in the morning so were able to take pictures before there were many other tourists there.

Later in the day a Civil War battle was reenacted here.  It was quite realistic!

There was actually a settlement here during the Civil War, but many of these buildings have been brought  here from nearby settlements.

 Back in these times people found ways to provide for themselves.  American ingenuity.  ;)

 I truly enjoyed seeing the interiors with the period items.  The quilts were beautiful!

 In the center of this image you can see the tents of the group who will be performing the battle reenactment later in the day. 

 We were invited to come over and take a look so we did!  More images to come.  :)

All the best,
Lois

Historical Model of Procter & Gamble - Cincinnati, Ohio

Good morning,

Today's images are of a model of the Procter & Gamble Company at the Cincinnati Museum Center.  The blur in the front of this image is a train moving through the display.  I'm shooting through glass without a flash, but I am glad I took the images.

I remember when P&G looked like this in the 1960's.  My father worked for the company for 38 years so I visited the offices when I was a child.  At the beginning of his time there in the 1920's he remembered when Colonel Procter, son of the founder, walked through the office. 

Dad also arranged for tours for my school of the soap production. 

These buildings bring back fond memories for me.  Now P&G's international headquarters are in downtown Cincinnati and these buildings carry the sign "St. Bernard Soap Company."  We live about five minutes away near Xavier University.

Enjoy,
Lois

Crosley Field and the Western Hills Viaduct - Cincinnati

Good morning,

Cincinnati's Crosley Field was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1912 until 1970, before they moved to Riverfront Stadium. The Cincinnati Reds were the first professional baseball team.

I remember Crosley Field.  It was a sad day in Cincinnati when the Reds moved. 

A Cincinnati structure that is very recognizable to those of us who live here is the Western Hills Viaduct.

These are more images taken through glass without flash at the Cincinnati Museum Center.

Enjoy,
Lois