Pick Me Up, Sweetheart ♥♥♥



Pick me up, Sweetheart....I ♥ older chicks!!
So, I don't know who this baby is, but I thought he was pretty cute.
I like his shirt actually....made me laugh when I saw it!! Well, you have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

"42" The Story of Jackie Robinson

.In 1947, Branch Rickey put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and other players.

Facing blatant racism from every side, even his own team, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking—ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow. 

So I am watching this movie right now....third time...........love it, it is one of those movies that you can watch over and over again and not get tired of it. Jackie Robinson was quite the man, called a hero by many and had a lot of guts to do what he did. He won the respect of his people, and peers with alot of class. Sad to say, he died of a heart attack at 53, he also had diabetes.   I'll be getting this movie with netflex.......but I just could not wait. U-Verse offered it "on demand" sooooo I am watching it on my TV right now.........great movie!!! I would recommend this film to anyone. 

Nothing spectacular happening. Still working on my stamping studio, moving everything around, will be awhile before I make some cards.   You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Cherries and Apples

 Hi Everyone, how are your days going? Keeping cool has been a priority lately. Gets pretty warm in the house, like almost 90 degrees, but we keep the air conditioner going in the kitchen and fans going in the other rooms. So it is bearable. I like when it is cool enough and I can put a blanket on to keep warm. Looks like there is a big cool-down for the next week so we all will be comfortable till the next heat-wave.

 The other day a friend called and asked if I would like some cherries......I said yes. So I went to pick them up and spent the evening cleaning, sorting, pitting and cooking them. After they cooled I put them in containers and froze them. I pulled a few recipes from the internet, Freezer Jam, Cherry Dump Cobbler and Sara's Famous Cherry Crisp are on the agenda for these cherries along with a couple of smoothies and maybe some cherry frozen pops.

 The cherries that did not make the pick landed on the ground for the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and flies to eat. Nobody touched them, so they landed in the compost pile. The little chipmunk in this picture was checking them out....maybe he thought they were too sour though.

 I am really excited, cause I finally have apples growing in my apple tree. I sure do hope they make it, the limbs are bending over cause there are so many apples in the tree. I think these apples will remain green. I have another tree that is supposed to have red apples........but that one has not produced yet. These trees are over 10 years old. So hopefully this is the year for apple pies and sauce!!!!

Another shot of the apples from a different angle. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

One of these days I will get some cards up. I have not been working on cards for awhile as my studio is still all torn up and I am still re-organizing. And I have been so busy with my gardens......time just gets away. Cheers ~ Louise

Pretty Flowers in My Garden (God's Creations)

 Hi Everyone!! Hope you are keeping cool in this hot summer weather. I am sure all the flowers and vegies are enjoying this weather as this is their best growing time.....warmth makes for happy plants (for some). In the top picture is my wonderful white rose plant. I almost had JP dig it up this spring because it was not even sending out shoots of growth,  I really cut it down to hardly any stems then "suddenly" it started to grow.....boy that was a close one for this rose bush......at this blog writing it must have 12-16 blooms on it. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow.

In this second picture is my Delphinium "Guardian Early Blue" a perennial that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Hope it makes it through the winter, it's hardy to -30 degrees below.

 

 In this picture is a White  "Platycodon Grandiflorus" Balloon Flower. There is no green thumb required for this little plant and is unbelievably easy to grow. I still have to find a place to plant this little girl as she likes sun to part shade. So far she is liking it in the patio garden, as she would get the morning sun and evening sun.

 My yellow rose bush out in front of the house. This is her third year, still pretty small, but she makes beautiful blooms.

 I have liked this plant to sit on my front porch for the last 4-5 years. It's a Sonic Deep Purple New Guinea Impatiens. It always lets me know when it is thirsty and survives on the porch with indirect sunlight. Of course it is an annual and I must buy a new plant every year....but this is the one that gets this spot every year.

 So here is my $1.50 Hibiscus plant that I got from Walmart 4 years ago.....she's a going and growing strong. Although, tonight when I went on the front porch, this plant had fallen off the table and onto the floor. I am not sure if the squirrel in question knocked it over or the wind. Nothing else was knocked over, so I am thinking the squirrel was looking for some mischief cause I didn't feed him in the back yard with all the birdies. But he has another surprise for his cute little paws.....I smeared Vaseline on the shepherd hooks so he can't get into the birdie houses and eat the bird seed....lol!!!! I will let you know who won this war!!!

 Petunias in all their glory!!!

My cute little sunflowers, (I'm forgetting their name at this moment, will check it out tomorrow and let you know). So this is just the beginning of my flower parade. So many creations of God's Glory, HE sure is a God of many, many creations. 

I have some more daisies in the 'fire-pit' and some Bee Balm and a few other interesting flowers. Well, going to close this blog for tonight. Getting a little warm sitting here and I need to go into the kitchen to cool off a bit. (that's were the air conditioner is running) 

So you all have a great couple of days, see you in a few. Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise

Birdie Houses

 Hi Everyone......how is your day going, hope you are keeping cool in this very warm weather. Now remember, if you live in a state that has cold harsh winters, think back to these warm, warm days. At least in winter you can bundle up to keep warm.

 So in these three pictures are our bird houses and bird bath. This has been quite the busy place for active birdies, squirrels and chipmunks. Together they seem to feed on the same stuff. When the squirrels and chipmunks show up....we send Kylie out to chase them away, but they seem to come back when she comes in the house. I have seen cardinals, wrens and finches. Lots of sparrows though.......but that is okay, it is fun just to see the birds enjoy my backyard.

Another view of the houses. The green and white house came from Steins ($16.98) and the red barn came from Menards ($12.98). The same green and white house can be bought at Walmart ($9.97). There is still some things I want to do with the "birdie garden" but it has just been tooooo hot to spend alot of time outside. Maybe when things cool down a bit. This is much too warm for me.

Well time to close here for a bit. You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Blueberry Pie and Planters Station

 Hi everyone, how are you all doing today? Feels like it is going to be a warm day today, already put the air conditioner on in the kitchen. The fans have been blowing all night long, so there is an ever so light breeze flowing through the house.

Well, as you can see in the above picture, we have blueberries!!! A friend brought them over on Saturday, oh yum were they ever good. I froze some, made sauce, ate some, made a salad and fruit salad bowl and oh, made a baked oatmeal with berries breakfast dish. AND this lovely pie in the next picture.

 I just kind of through this together using the left over Phillio sheets in the refrig, spraying each layer, then I dabbed whipped cream cheese on the phillio sheets, then poured the cooked berries over the cream cheese. Baked at 375 for 20 minutes and WAH-LAH a wonderful, tasty torte. It lasted two days. I certainly will make this again.

 Here is a piece of that pie.........only thing missing is the whip cream. Which I bought when we went out to the store later on in the day. The next piece of pie was even better!!!

 Here you see JP eating his pie, he doesn't like pictures taken of himself, nor does he like pictures taken while he eats.......or what he is eating....but we all know "Pie was on his agenda"!!!

 In the picture above is our new/old planting station and JP is giving it a work-out. I bought a bunch of petunia plants for him to plant. I paid $2.25 for 9 containers with 3 plants in each (27 little plants). So he planted them in 5 containers and took them to the church for decoration.

We have taken and planted zinnias around the church, but they got "weed-whacked" so we thought maybe planting them in pots would discourage the "weed-whacker" and he would know for sure he is to "STOP there are plants planted here"!!!!!

I took this picture from the kitchen window, you can see my purple clover in the forefront. Don't think JP knew I was taking this picture of him. I think this planting station will work out well for us. At least it is up high enough that we don't have to bend down. One person told me...."why do you need a planting station, just use the ground." Why yes, the older one gets, the harder it is to bend down and get on the knees!!! THEN it is hard to get up........so I say, "to each his own."

Well, tis time to cut this blog short, it is getting late, going on 12 noon. Time to get ready and take my bike into the bicycle shop to get fixed. It's a Schwinn and is over 42 years old. The tires are bad and it needs to be cleaned up. Gonna try riding it around the block for the rest of this summer.

Talk to you all later and have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards I Made Today.....

Today I went to Betty's house. She does classes in her home where she shows new techniques with making cards. I have probably been going to her house for 5-7 years. My goodness, where did that time go???? She always has some really cute ideas.......only problem, I usually never have the stamps, paper or punches to duplicate the cards made.

So the above card is a little bunny swinging on a swing....cutesy card. He is colored in with colored pens and layered on pink die-cut card stock and colored papers and green card stock, embellished with a bow and flower.

This card was especially fun to make, it has that water-color effect. Inking the stamp then going over it with a color pen then spraying with water and stamping. This is one of those cards that I would like to duplicate but don't have the stamps.
A little PS on this one.....not exactly sure why this card is encased with a larger frame, but for whatever reason, it is what it is.........enjoy!!!

This card was chalked with an oil-base chalk, made for a nice effect and was fun to make.

This card was also created with the oil-base chalk. The funny bird was masked. Stamped then covered with another bird and chalked in the red and yellow. Then the bird was chalked in blue. A very fun card to make. Again, no stamps like this at home to duplicate.

Well, that is about it for today....time to punch out for the day. You have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

4th of July Projects

 Hi Everyone of you that may be reading this blog today. Hope your 4th of July celebration was wonderful!!! Happy Birthday to America!!!!

We celebrated by doing things around the house. Finally got my little fountain going. Was trying to figure out how I could do this, then it dawns on me just to put the fountain in a pot with dirt, then I added the fake leaves and flowers to add some color......works like a charm. The neighbor gave me this fountain over 15 years ago, it used to hang on the garage.....now it has found a new place on the front porch.

 Here again is my fountain in the back yard.....oh my goodness, it is so relaxing to listen to the bubbleing sound of the fountain doing it's thing. I thought I would dig a deeper hole for the liner.......but you know, I think I will just leave it as is. You like my watering can??

 FINALLY finished the fire-pit garden......this little project was done yesterday. It took about 7 wheel barrels of mulch and black material to cover.........hopefully NO weeds will grow. We also dug up this old wild grape vine which NEVER produced grapes.....I think we had the female and needed the male....oh well. Now it is gone and I can plant some Gladi bulbs...I think there is still time to plant. Hope so, cause I still have some tomato and pepper plants to plant today.

These are my pretty Purple Clementis's....I transplanted some of these in two different spots this spring. Along side my Star Clementis on the front porch and back where the grape vine lived. Next year I will try to get some morning glories growing there also. I am very happy that the grape vine is gone.

Well, it is time to close for now, hope you all are enjoying the day. I need to get my act in gear and get some more work done, need to lose a few pounds by Monday, have a doctors appointment...ick!! Follow-up on my blood tests from January.

Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise

Happy 4th of July

Happy Birthday to the United States.

May God continue to Bless this Country

despite those that have turned their back on Him.

II Chronicles 7:14

"If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sins, and will heal their land."

Many Men and Women have died and given their lives that we, today, might be free.

May we never forget what they did.

Just as we should never forget what Jesus did on that old wooden  cross over 2,000 years ago.

He died on that cross, that we might be saved from our sins. How great a sacrifice was that??? 

This Great Nation is heading in the wrong direction,

God help us!!!

Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved"

So keep looking up, for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise