The Last Day Of the Ides of March

Yep.......it's the last day of March...........where did this month ago?!?!?!? A month ago I was all consumed with the thought of how I was going to get through this month with no way of paying bills, suddenly having to make quite a few doctor visits, getting around with one car and buying food..............goes to show, we are not to worry about anything and "to cast ALL our cares upon the Lord"!!! We got through this month, now on to April, one day at a time. That is all we are to do, like walking, one step at a time, one day at a time!! Well, I don't want to bore you with anymore of my personal life.....guess some people don't like to hear stuff like that! So I will go on to what I have made!Here is a coursage, must have been last year when I was making lots of orgami flowers, added a few to my Etsy store, (actually gave more away then sold) none sold on Etsy (dar-nut)!!!! So guess I will try another color. Had alot of people on Etsy "favor or like" my flowers and my flowers ended up in a few treasuries, but none were bought.............oh well, such is life!!!

I was told I should not renew my cards or flowers if they don't sell the first time, take them off and put new ones up...........yeah, right. I have sold a few cards that I renewed, so I think I will just continue what I am doing for now. Everyone has to do what they think is right and works best for them, let the other guy do what they want.............no two people are alike and no two Etsy stores are the same!!! Still a "free" country to do what you want................so far!!!!

Anyways, I shall make this a short blog for now........have to get ready and straighten up the house. JP and I are going on a date today, the annual cooking show in Little Chute. Chef Jeff and Chef Mark will be making different foods "Hits the Road" type food whatever that will be, going to be prizes, samples of different food and lots of signing up for prizes and goodie bags......okay here we go!!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

!!! Problems In Life !!!

Cute huh?!?! Maybe we should all "sit on our problems"??? There sure are alot of problems in this world, it's no wonder people are getting very angry. Prices going up everyday on everything we eat, gas, clothes, etc.......who can afford to live...........ONLY THE RICH! I just read an item on the Internet, that a husband and wife are having a hard time making ends meet and they make $100,000.00 a year!!! My gosh, just give me $30,000.00 of that, I could do it and still get some bills paid!!!! Guess we all put our priorities on certain things that others don't and visa-versa!!!

So how is your day going blog friend??? We are well, it's Friday and the weekend is here........these days are just sailing by so fast, my mother used to say "don't wish your life away, it will go fast enough" a very true statement although I did not believe it back then, cause life could not go fast enough for me then............geez........slow down world, it's going to fast now!!!!

Lot's of things happening to JP and I. Yesterday we went to the cardiologist for JP, his arm pains him alot.......seems he has a pinched nerve, but the Dr. said we could take some measures to find out what the problem is, for now he put him on a mild heart medication. Blood tests in a month and another visit to the Dr. Then decide if there is something surgical that can be done for the arm or maybe there is a blockage.

I have to go on diabetes medication and cholesterol medication.......I am not to happy about that. Thought the Dr said he would give me a year to get my act in gear......guess this diabetes is hard to beat and seems to bounce all over the boards everyday, up and down like my weight.......oh well, it is hell getting old!!!! Just as soon as I lose a few pounds my brain kicks in and sabotages my body and says "oh go ahead and eat that, it won't harm you" yeah, right......and what happens? Those 2 pounds are gained back..............honestly, losing weight is a frustration to me!!!!

Well, I think I will close this blog for today, have to get ready to go to the store and get some bread and meat.....keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!
Cheers~Louise

1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4 Given

Finally got my Easter cards up in my Etsy store and here on my blog. I found the stamp, "1 cross+3nails=4given" at a fellow Etsy artist's shop http://www.sweetgrasstamps.etsy.com/ I am going back there to see what else she has, a definite trip is at hand.

These cards are selling in my Etsy store for $2.75 per card or 4 cards for $11.00 + postage $2.50. Didn't want to make them toooooo expensive, thought that was a decent price. Have made 12 extra for sending out myself and have the makings for a few more.

Well, today is Monday, March 19th............where does the time go????? We are having an early spring, which is really nice, but anything can happen, like more snow, so I am not that anxious to get my gardening done. I do have my swing ready and set to enjoy these mild nights. Last year a tree limb fell of my swing and dented it, so it looks a little decrepit. But it will be okay for out there, who knows, maybe another limb will fall on it again this spring/summer when the storms come through. Right now that seems so far away, but you never know with Wisconsin weather.

Been a little busy of late, looking up my Family Tree on Ancestor.com and Archives.com, sure has been alot of fun......FINALLY am finding my relatives in Germany, never knew much about them, didn't even have any dates. But like cream, they are rising to the top and it has been fun to say "HI" to them, I don't feel so all alone anymore. 27 relatives through Archives.com have waved back at me..........lol!

Going to go now, you have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!
Cheers ~ Louisa (my grandmother's name)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

These are a few cards I had made for St. Patrick's Day. My newest card for St. Pat's did not make it on this blog as I mailed them out to people already, forgot to make an extra one. Well, next year I will have one for my blog.

Making tonight's dinner, a brisket with potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions....mmmmmmm good!!! It is starting to smell good in this house. It sure is a beautiful day today, was supposed to rain this morning but it didn't. Temperature in the 70's, I sure do love this kind of weather, seems perfect, almost like "heavenly"!!!!

Been working on my "Family Tree" this past week, has been pretty interesting. Alot of my ancestors come from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, oh and Michigan but mostly the migration started from Germany on both sides. It has been kind of hard finding my Father's ancestors as my great grandfather came from Germany. On my mother's side it seems the ancestral line goes back to the 1700's from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

I go to the Library where I can get on Ancestor.com for free. From home here, I can get on Archives.com, free for 7 days then I pay, so if I can get all my hunting done in 6 days, then I can cancel. Will see though, there is so much to look for and it has been a lot of fun!!!!

Well, I need to take some pictures of my Easter cards and get them into my Etsy store. I am running behind here, in a few day I will put them up here on my blog. Then, have to make at least 12 cards to send to family and friends. Talk to you later, have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Microwaved Potato Chips MMMMM Good!!!

I haven't added a recipe on my blog for a long time, so here is one I just tried tonight. I have no idea how many points it has for you Weight Watchers, calorie wise, there are 198 calories per serving and 220 mg. sodium, oh.....but they sure are good!!

I got the recipe for Jacques Pepin's cookbook "Simple and Healthy Cooking" on page 66, I shall attempt to type out all that Jacques said on this recipe.............here it goes.

Microwave Potato Chips with Salsa Cruda ~ yield: 6 servings

It is amazing how potato slices dry and brown in the microwave oven without the addition of any fat or salt. It is important to cut the potatoes into very thin slices in a food processor fitted with a slicer disc attachment or with a hand-held potato slicer. The only drawback to this recipe is that you can cook just 10-15 potato slices at a time (depending on your microwave's size).

To make larger batches of chips, lightly coat a large jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange the slices in a single layer, without overlapping, and spray the surface of the slices. Bake the slices at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes, watching closely and removing slices as they become brown and crisp.

3 large potatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled
3 cups Salsa Cruda
(another recipe he has in his cookbook....for now, just open a jar of Salsa. I did not use salsa with my chips tonight and they were just fine the way they were. I did add some pop corn salt and spices).

Using either a slicing disc fitted on a food processor or a conventional potato slicer, cut the potatoes into 1/16" slices. Wash the slices in a large bowl of cool water and dry them thoroughly with paper towels.

Arrange some of the potatoes in 1 layer on a waffled microwave tray and microwave on high heat for 5 minutes, or until crisp. Remove. Repeat until the remaining potato slices are cooked. Serve with Salsa Cruda. (or your special jar of Salsa)

So there you have it, chips whenever you want them. I don't usually keep chips in the house, cause I can polish off a whole bag by myself..........(Chips are my temptation). Sometimes I have a taste for chips...........now I can make them and they taste really good!!!

Well, it is getting late so I shall close this blog for tonight. Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

♥♥♥Today is My 220th Post♥♥♥

WOW WEEEEEEE!!!!!!! Today is a celebration of sorts......hard to believe 220 posts, where did that time go??????? That is about 4 1/2 years of blog posts. Must do something special today, like some kind of special picture!!!! Okay here are my pictures, what better way to celebrate but with steak, fries and ice cream with a candle on top!!! (these are old pictures from 2010 but very apropos for now, my favorite place to go for a free Birthday dinner..BJ Clancey's).

Now if I can just maneuver these pictures around so they look compositionally correct. Hummmmm, wonder if that is a word...guess I will find out when I do a spell check!!!

Still working on my Easter cards, probably will have them up and going in my Etsy store tomorrow or Monday. That will give about 4 weeks before Easter, hopefully enough time for someone to see them and buy them, I have my hopes up for this one, hopefully I can get them out there on Twitter and Facebook and to all the teams I am involved in on Etsy. Time will tell.

JP is at the church right now, cleaning. When he gets home I will be going out to Copps, for 50% off on meat and $1.49 for butter plus a few other things. Such deals....wish I had a little freezer for special deals....maybe this year we will get a little freezer with the money we get from income tax, that's if Obama allows that to us.

Well, I shall close this blog for today, you all have a great day and enjoy the weather, it is gorgeous outside, gives a person spring fever plus today is daylight savings, "Spring ahead and Fall behind" So, before you go to bed tonight, set your clocks ahead and go to bed early...lol!!!

Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

☺☺ Funday Thursday ☺☺

Saw this picture on the Internet and just had to save it to my files, it brought a chuckle to my heart. Would be funny to snap a picture while the monkey is peeking into the camera lenses.......funny monkey!!!!

So, how are you all doing today??? Hope all is well with you on this bright and sunny day, well, it is bright and sunny here in Wisconsin today and the snow is melting....yeah, it feels like spring outside. Think I will sit out on the front porch with a good cup of French Roast decaf coffee today and soak up some Vitamin D. Life is good even in the little things!!!!

Did you notice? I changed the look of my blog...........guess it was time for a new look. There still are a few things I want to change, but that will come in time. The background is of a mountain.....thought that was very apropos for me as I feel there are always mountains in my way. Jesus says it takes "faith" to move mountains. Sometimes my faith is very small at times, but there always seems to be a way through those mountains, even if we have to tunnel through day by day, one day at a time.

Made an Easter card last night, the theme is "1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given" it turned out great! I will make some more cards tonight and place a set of cards on my blog tomorrow for you all to see. Most likely I will add the set of cards to my Etsy store also, 4 cards for $10. That would be $2.50 per card. I bought the stamp from a fellow Etsy Artisan in Montana I will get her name for you. http://www.sweetgrasstamps.etsy.com Totally fast service too, so if you like this stamp it certainly will arrive in time for you to make some cards of your own like this.

Well, I better get going, have a few things to do before I lock myself up in my studio to make some more cards. You all keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Lollipops and Ancestors

Isn't Life Sweet??? Yep, today it is!!! Sun is shinning and the temps for today through Wednesday will be at least in the 40's-50's!!! Oh yeah, that is great for Wisconsin!!!! Snow melt, here we go.This cute little card came from a stamping magazine and I just could not resist making it. I thumb through magazines at the store, before buying, just to make sure there is something within the magazine that catches my eye that I would like to make. I'm pretty sure most everyone is like that. Why spend money for something you won't read or use????

Anyways, I had everything to make the card, my stamp is different though, but it goes with the theme. I used Shish-kabob sticks, but popsicle sticks could be used, I might try that also. The only thing that might be a hindrance in mailing this card is the stick, just might cost more in mailing, like maybe 20 cents more.

The circles were punched out with different multiple colors, trying to keep them within the color sequence. In my most recent cards, I have placed colored dots in the center....always adding to or embellishing something new on my cards.

This card could be a birthday for boys and girls or even adults........why not?!? Maybe a "thinking of you" or just a plan old "Hi how are you?" card. Ideas are endless in card making!!!

Been thinking of starting a scrapbook, just not sure of what, maybe old pictures of my mom and dad....I have very few of those pictures, (most were destroyed in floods) but what I do have should make a nice scrapbook. Been also thinking of my ancestry. My mom started a family tree which only went back to a couple of grandparents, guess that would be a good place to start.

I like watching a program on Friday nights "Who do you think you are" where they go back into the history of families and where they came from and who they were.......that is so interesting to me, would be neat to know where I came from and why I am who I am today. I am drawn to England, so I most definitely think I have English roots in me and German too. Someday I will find out who my ancestors are. My mother never spoke too much of them or of my father's family so there has always been a "question mark" in my life.

Well, I suppose I could ramble on, but I will stop here, have things to do around the house so you all keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

A Happy Birthday Card!

A Happy Birthday Card for Evan. It's his big #3!!! I thought long and hard on this one, wanting to use his name and the #3. This actually is a second card, tore the 1st card up, redoing it completely. Evan was on the front of the card with "Happy" across the front. The inside with "Birthday" at the top and #3 and the animals on either side.........just did not make sense to me and only after someone mentioned it did not flow............so took it apart and redid it. This flows now....."Happy Birthday Evan #3"

The banners were just cut out and each one colored with Copic markers and stamped with the letters and a star colored in with a sparkle gel pen. I added the arrows for fill-in.

I have had these black letters for a long time and thought I should put them to use. Cut the #3 out and added the stars and arrows and animals.........I think it made for a nice card to a little boy! Jackie and Callie are having babies this year so I shall have to put my thinking cap on for more cards with numbers and names. I now have a Cricuit so making birthday cards should be quite fun!!!

Will be putting a new card up in the next few days, was working on it last night, don't want to tell you what it is yet, for it is a surprise, it could be a card for Evan or one of those new little babies.

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise