Picked a Bouquet of Flowers 4 U

Hi everyone...hope your day was beautiful and full of little surprises along the way. I picked a bouquet of flowers for you all..........

Here it is, zennias, daisies and some small sunflowers oh and some lavendar to add a little splash of purple....so pretty isn't it??? For some reason I was not bringing the flowers in the house that much. Just enjoying them outside I guess. As you can see, the sun is shining....it was positively a beautiful day.

In this picture is a close up of the flowers.

Here is a picture of my hibiscus. The plant is about 4 years old now. I paid $1.50 for it at Walmart....it sure is a survivor. It seems to really like where it is growing. I my prune it down this year, which is something I have never done before, I think it might need it now.

In these next two pictures is a funny little monarch that fluttered around on my zennias, all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I thought that was quite an exciting thing...it must of loved those zennias. So, I decided to snap a few pictures of him or her.

Another picture on a different flower....I think he or she was just enjoying the sun and the smell of the flowers. I was just enjoying snapping pictures. I think when I can get more pictures made up free at Archivers, I will have these made and then frame them. I am also thinking of selling a few pictures in my Etsy store. Maybe a 5X7 for $5.00. Still thinking on that one, we'll see.

And........here again is my volunteer sunflowers. It has been fun watching them grow and watching the bees do their thing. I just could not get enough of these flowers...probably I will not see them grow like this again. I think they did very well volunteering themselves to grow in my garden. God is so good and He knows just what we need to make us smile. I hope the neighbors and passer-byers enjoyed them also.

Another shot of my fountain. I have planted some white, yellow and burgandy mums in urns and set them out in different places. The white mum is in front of the fountain....pretty isn't it?

Well, I guess this is the final white rose of the season....(sad face) I shall miss my roses....they were pretty this year, but I don't think it was a very good year for them. I have seen years when they went crazy with blooms, this year not so much.

And last but not least....my wonderful apple tree made some wonderful apples and here is one of those pies. I found a really neat recipe this weekend for apple pie. The base of the pie is a pancake. Heat the pan up in the oven, make a pancake batter and pour it into the pan, roll it around to cover the sides and stick back in the oven to bake a bit. Then add your apples and then I topped the apples with a crumble of butter, sugar and flour and spread it around. Stick it in the oven till browned on top. OH MY GOODNESS....then topped with whipped cream....that was goodness on a spoon, my taste buds were a dancing!!! (Happy, happy face)

Well, time to close as it is getting late and I need to get some sleep....this next week will be busy as we are having company from Chicago for the weekend. The flyer in the newspaper from Festival food says the Burgandy Spoon Roasts are on sale this week. Sooooo I think I shall make Roast Beef Sandwiches, chips, potatoe salad, coleslaw, relish tray and APPLE PE of course.

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!! Cheers ~ Louise

PS....an update on my garage sale...this past weekend, I made $8 for the three days. Weather was too nice, plus someone stole my "garage sale" sign and I had competition with Octoberfest. So not such a good sale. Depending on the weather I shall do another one as long as the stuff is set up....you just never know, the next one could be a bountiful day and I could unload some more stuff!!!!

Garage Sale This Week and That New Friend

Hi everyone. Well, it is Thursday and Friday is a comin'. I spent 6 1/2 hours in my garage sale today, only making $5.50...uge, I sure do hope tomorrow is better, I am looking at possibly 8 hours. Saturday, maybe 4+ hours. Last year at this time, I found that Thursday was not a good selling day and that Friday was better....so, I am looking for tomorrow to be a good day. I will let you know how things turned out.

So in this picture you see I am selling my cards for $1.00 each, Plus some stamps. 7 cards have sold so far with many people looking at them. Two people wanted my business card. One lady said she would call me when she needed some cards....we'll see what happens. What with postage going up to 49 cents soon...there may not be a lot of mail going out in the near future.

In this picture is a table full of stuff, I would say that about 1/4 of the stuff is gone........which is a good thing. I did add some stuff today, most of the stuff is going for $1.00, 2.00, 3.00, 50 cents and 25 cents.....not a bad deal.

These pictures were taken last week, so there is still lots of stuff on the tables. Although there is less at this writing.

Well....bad news....we will not be getting that "New Friend" Henry....(sad face). Plans fell through and the lady that was giving us Henry will be keeping him instead. She was going to get two more birds and those birds will not be coming to her, so Henry will be staying with her after all....(sad face again). It took me awhile to get used to the fact that we were going to get Henry, then in seconds, a phone call comes and disappointment settles in.......oh bummers!!!! Oh, such is life, things are given and things are taken away....sometimes even desires and thoughts are taken away to be put on the back burner.....something I will never understand. It is a good thing that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are our ways, God's ways. All we need to do is "believe" that God knows what is best for us and flow with it.

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

A New Friend and Fall Cards

Hi everyone...hope your day is going well. Thought I would do a short blog for today, at least I hope it will be a short one....I tend to get a little wordy at times. Need to do some shopping, so that's why the shortness of this blog.

Yes....this just might be what our "new friend" will look like. "Henry" is a Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot. We are going to meet him on Sunday to see if he likes us and we like him. I have always wanted a bird in the house....never, never thought it would be a parrot. But we will see, Henry is 40 years old and could have another 20-40 years of life....he certainly will out live us no doubt.

Here is another picture of a Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot. They are talkers and screechers and singers....it just might be like having another person in the house....we will see how this all pans out.

In this picture is another set of cards I will be adding to my Etsy store. I just added a set to my store yesterday and now it will be on to Christmas cards....my how the seasons fly by through card making. Which reminds me I need to get a card out to my Secret Stamper, not sure where the time is going, but it sure does fly by doesn't it. It must be an "age" thing. Cause when I was younger, time seemed to stand still and I just could not wait till my birthday, Christmas, vacations, till my Dad got home....till I was a teenager, 21 and I could drink, get married, have a baby etc. My mother would tell me, "Louise, don't wish your life away....it will come soon enough." I didn't know what she was talking about then....but now I do. Funny, I didn't wish to get old, but here I am....now I look back and wonder, "where did the time go?" It all went "way to fast"!!!!!!!

In this picture is the set of cards showing the inside.....don't usually show the insides, so this must be a first for the blog. Well, I am going to close here, you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Someday, I will tell you what that verse from the bible means. Take care. Cheers ~ Louise

Star Clementis or Jasmine??? Which is it???

 Hi everyone....hope you had a great Saturday. It was another beautiful day, a little chilly but still wonderful. Oh and did you see by the calendar.....it was the last day of summer.....(sigh).....now to really enjoy the Fall. As winter is peeking around the corner again!!!

Well, as you can see by the title of this blog...Star Clementis or Jasmine...which is it??? Last year at this time, I had a garage sale, and a lady told me this vine was a "Star Clementis" well, I believed her, figured she knew her flowers and never questioned it. So at this years garage sale....a man came by and saw my vine and he asked if I knew what it was.....I told him last year a lady told me it was a "star clementis" he said he had a vine like this also....and it is called a Jasmine. I said, really....I always thought it was a "star". No he said, it's a Jasmine....well, all this time, I thought......so I looked up on the computer..."Jasmine Vine" and sure enough it is a Jasmine.........an exotic flowering vine from China who likes warm weather.

OKAY.....I looked it up and GUESS WHAT!!!! This vine is called a.....STAR JASMINE VINE.....now how about that......both the man and the woman were right, I am at peace now......lol!!!

 Here is a shot of the "star jasmine vine" from the inside of the porch, gives us lots of privacy, don't you think?? Here's the link for more information about this vine. http://treesandshrubs.about.com/od/commonshrubs/p/star-jasmine-trachelospermum-jasmineoides.htm/ Hopefully this takes you to the link...if not just type in "star jasmine vine" and you will find all sorts of info.

Well, this week I had a garage sale, Thur, Fri and today....made $68 not too shabby for 3 days. Weather was nice and people friendly. I think I will hold another sale next week-end. As long as the stuff is still out and the weather is supposed to be in the 70's next week...perfect for a garage sale. It is Octoberfest also, so maybe there will be lots of traffic too. Well, time to close this blog. I am so glad my problem is solved and now I know for sure what this vine is called....YAY!!!

You all have a great weekend and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Some "End of the Summer" Flower Pictures

 Hi everybody, how are you all doing this wonderfully bright and sunny day, September 17th??? Well, right now I am sitting at this computer doing this blog....as you can guess. But afterwards, I plan on getting dressed and going outside for a bit. Need to get the garage ready for a "garage sale" this week and next. Hopefully I can make enough $$$ to buy a new computer. (Dream on)

Now for a small tour of my flowers. In the above picture is my "Star Clementius" they cover the whole side of the porch....they are amazing!!! We have to cut them down every fall, down to the ground. But as you can see, by this time of the year they have grown to the roof. The flowers usually last for about 4-6 weeks there about. Then they start to fall off and leave a BIG MESS!! But they still are pretty for the time they are with us.

 This is what you see on the stairs going down from the porch...I put my hibiscus plant on the stairs to catch the rain water...she was getting kind of dusty, so the rain washed her off. Those are giant marigolds down there with a sprinkling of little purple flowers, (forget their names right off hand)

 Now this is my volunteer sunflower with a bee attached to it. In the back ground are 3 roses and the star Clementius. Anyways, the sunflower came from the compost pile, apparently I had some sunflower seeds in the compost that decided to grow. We must have planted some flowers and JP used the compost for extra dirt and "wa la" DAISIES. There are a couple more flowers that are about to bud....just as soon as they do I will take more pictures. This is a first.....probably won't happen again, not unless I plant some daisies from a package of seeds. Ha...and then they may not grow.

 In this picture, is our little cottage type house. It is over 125 years old, one of the first houses to be built on this block. Although you would not know it by looking at it....it's been updated quite a bit. It's a very sturdy house with a 8x8 solid, center beam running down the middle of the house. The joists are 2x8 actual beams and floors (not 2x4). In previous years there used to be a big tree growing in front of the house...a wind knocked it down and it landed on the roof....you can still see where the front part of the roof is a little tipsy.

We had the house resided with new doors and windows added. The roof was redone also. Sad to say, it had never leaked till we had the roof redone...now it leaks. There was like 3 layers of shingles, so no leaks were allowed. Then, the roofer took all the shingles off, and put on new ones.....ever since then, we have had roof problems. Guess we need to get the roof re-done....but alas, no money.....maybe I need to do a garage sale for the roof.....lol!!!

 These lovely flowers are my zinnias......I loves my zinnias. I have planted these flowers along the side of the house for the last 5 or so years....maybe more, guess now it is a tradition for me....the bees like the flowers too.

 Ahhhh yes, my apples.......I really enjoyed my apples this year. The tree is about 15 years old (or more) and this is the first year that it produced so many lovely apples. The lady at Sprangers Apple Orchard told me, now that my tree knows that it can produce apples, we will most certainly have apples next year too.....oh yippie, I can hardly wait. So to date, I got over 115 apples and the birds and varmints got the rest. I made lots of apple pie filling and have about 18 containers in the freezer....lots of pies and smoothies coming up!!!

In this last picture are my roses....I have 4 rose bushes and these are the red ones. Sweet huh?!? I shall have to remember to get a picture of each rose before the season ends and post it here....I love roses. I have this red, a coral, yellow and white rose bushes....I used to have a bright pink one but it died after 20 years. I am sure I still have pictures of it though.

So there you have it, a few pictures of my "end of the summer" flowers.....each year I say I will do less, but more seems to show up....I probably will eventually go with perennials, rather then annuals....less up-keep. But for the mean time this is fine with me.

Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

House Mouse Challenge

Hi everyone...how is your Saturday going?? It was so beautiful this morning, I had all intentions to working outside. But, as you know, plans change as the day goes on. I got up early to go to a "Warehouse Paper Sale" and also to Festival Foods for a $10.00 box of "dented and scratched" canned goods and boxed food" and get home by 11am, so JP could have the car to do his errands. His plans fell through, I could have spent more time at the Warehouse sale. Shucks, could have browsed more and not rushed. Oh Well....that is life!!!

My "$10 box of dented cans and packaged foods" was a success. Probably getting $45 worth of food from soups, tuna, beans, vegies, cereals, and candy. Some of the things we don't use, I pass on to the Pastor's son.

Also, my trip to the Warehouse sale, I got 3 stamp pads in red, green and purple and re-inkers to match. Some pretty card stock and paper. We are also able to make and take a couple of cards. Maybe I will take pictures and download those pictures in my next blog.

I have entered a challenge on another blog. "America" makes cards with "House Mouse" stamps. I just love her cards....she has been gone for awhile (moving) and just came back. If you go to her blog, you will be able to see her "give away" which will be October 1st....well, I am just hoping I will be that "blessed" winner for this "give away." So here is a cute little "House Mouse" all dolled up in a pumpkin outfit. Pretty cute!!!

Not exactly sure why I can't get the picture of all this luscious candy so you can see it. But, here's the link...."America's blog" http://cardsbyamerica.blogspot.com She has 185-ish adorable Charms in many themes, a bag of 24 Rolls of Colored Twine and a box of Liquid Metal markers (for coloring your charms to match up to all your projects). She says, "Isn't this fun??"

"All you have to do to win this CANDY is leave me a comment, FOLLOW me and help to spread the word about my little blog by posting a pic of this candy with a link coming back to my blog. That's it! Anyone, anywhere is eligible to win. The lucky winner will be chosen on Oct 1st. :)

For extra chances to win, I would LOVE it if you also became a FOLLOWER of our FUN House-Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge Blog found HERE. Simply stop by to see what we are all about. Maybe you'll want to join us by playing along with the NEW "Autumn Leaves" Challenge! If you do, you will have another chance to win more fabulous prizes from our incredibly generous sponsors Simon Says Stamp and Di's Digi Downloads. PLUS, another chance at a second huge CHARM LOT prize! So don't miss out! Check us out HERE!!"

So I am going to try following on House Mouse and Friends and see about those challenges.

Okay, I am going to close this blog....see if I can get a picture of that candy on my blog....if not, this will be a "pictureless" blog today. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

"Monthly Card Making Class" We Made Some Pretty Cards

 Hi everyone, how you all doing??? We got over a few hot days of high in humidity and now the feeling of "Fall" is back in the air again, maybe for another week or so....who knows...Only God!!!

Well yesterday was 9-11 another day for remembering those that died in that terrible attack from those that hate America!! So sorry, for those that feel that way. But I guess as long as there are men on this earth there will always be wars and rumor of wars, man against man (and woman against woman), everyone scrambling for leadership or dictatorship, which boils down to "control and money"......in the end though, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Can't wait for that day, it can come none too soon. Finally all this mass confusion will be over.

Okay, now for some good stuff. I went to my monthly card making class yesterday.....one of the neat things I do and really enjoy as it inspires me and gives me some great ideas for future cards to make. I am especially liking the first card in the above picture. It was the last card we made and the most fun. It's on my list for a possible Christmas card idea.

The card is sort of like "Iris folding" except you are not folding papers, but still placing strips of paper on a pattern to form the square. The embossed pumpkin is a Sissiz folder, must be on the look out for this one....it could be chalked in with a little color. I really like the effect, almost looks like a "patch work quilt".

 In the above picture is a pretty card....the butterfly stamp is from "Amuse" and the butterflies were colored in with dye ink pens then blended with a water brush. The green back ground is a die cut....(I shall be on the look out for this one too....lol)

 This lovely card was run through the cuttlebug. The leaves punched out and run through the cuttlebug for texture and edged with brown ink. A bow placed at the top and speckles dabbed on the card, although you can't see them too well on this card.

 In this card, a large heart placed on a white strip that was run through the cuttlebug and layered on top of a strip that was punched with a border punch. The flowers and leaves were placed on the card, adding a lovely accent.

This last card was a fun one...with the little bear peeking out....he was colored in with pens then layered on different die cut card stocks. Flowers and butterflies embellish the card.

Well, time to close this blog...I hope you all enjoyed my previous blog. "He Knows My Name" Sang at Jimmy Swaggart Ministries on SBN. Gosh, I love that song...if you didn't catch it, scroll down and take a listen.

Here is something to think about, if God knows OUR name and prays for each and every one of us....how much more does He know the names of those who are yet to be born and those who have gone before us??? If He knows and numbers the hairs on our head including those that have fallen out and are growing back....and if He numbers the stars and calls them all by their names (Ps.147:4)...my goodness... He is a very intimate friend that sticks closer to us then a brother, isn't He somthing??? He loves us more than we realize.

Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

He Knows My Name

I want to share something special with you tonight....hope you like it. It is so sweet to know that HE knows my name and He prays for us to know Him in a more intimate closer relationship....Thank You Jesus!!!!!

A Few Fall Cards

Hi everyone. Hope your day is going good. I love this time of the year when Fall is in the air. Autumn begins September 22nd. What a beautiful time of the year. The leaves are beginning to turn their lovely colors. As if God took a paint brush and went wild with all the colors of the universe. He is an Artist!!!

So today I am going to show you a few cards I have made for the fall season and will be adding to my Etsy store. In the above picture is a card I made yesterday. I finally found a leaf punch. Crinkling the leaves, I then inked them with green, yellow, red and brown ink then sprayed pearl mist on them. It was a very fun technique and I am looking forward to making a few more cards like this. This card will sell for $3 + shipping. The inside of the card says "Simply Enjoy it all" and was added to my Etsy store today.

These cards were made last fall. I am not sure I added them to my Etsy Store then, but now they will be. This will be set of 4 cards for $8 + shipping. I used a pumpkin embossing folder, sanded it down then inked it. Then covered it with vellum that was stamped with leaves and the words "Autumn Leaves" Then embellished with wooden leaves and stamped leaves and a ribbon running down the side. The inside of these cards say "Bushels of blessing" with leaves and pumpkins stamped. One card is blank.

These cute little scarecrows will be added to my Etsy store in the next week or so.  These 2 cards measure 6.25 " tall X 4.65" wide and will sell for $5.00 + shipping for the two. The scarecrow is stamped then colored in with pens and covered with a glaze, then layered a couple of times with cardstock. A pumpkin is added on the corner and glazed also. The inside of one card is blank and the other says "Have a bountiful Harvest" with leaves stamped.

These cards are stamped with leaves then dabbed with brown ink and embellished with ribbon and shiny leaves. The inside of the cards each say "Fall is when nature turns to Gold" The cards will sell for $8 + shipping. All my cards come with an envelope and clear plastic sleeve for protection.

This is a set of 4 scarecrows for $8 + shipping. Each card is colored a little bit different and the measurements of these cards are 5.50" tall X 4.25" wide. You will probably see them in my Etsy store in the next week or so. The inside of each card is stamped with "Have a Bountiful Harvest"

So there you have it, just a few cards that I have worked on and am working on now. I have a few house mouse stamps that I want to work with and add to my store....then on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am not much into Halloween cards so you won't be seeing those on my blog any time soon.

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Thoughts 4 Thursday


Thought this was an interesting saying and so true. I find that sometimes I can't even finish a sentence and the person I am talking to has gone off on another subject....oh well, their loss. I guess that means they were not even listening to what I had to say. Listening is an ART that has somehow lost it's way in this "high technology world." Someday, we will realize how much we lost and then it will be too late for some. Have a great day and don't forget to look up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

A New Month and a Garden Harvest

Hi everyone, how are you all doing this first day of the month??? Wonder how fast this month will go by??? Hard to believe the summer is almost over except for a few more warm days ahead of us and then WINTER is just around the corner.....YIKES!!!!

Well, I thought I would post some vegies from my garden.  I made a tomato garden this year....so in the above picture you see some of my tomatoes. My but they were yummy this year.  BLT's  were absolutely divine!! My cucumbers are doing good this year as I planted the young plants in an old wheel barrel. I have tried planting in other areas but they just did not seem to grow.....the wheel barrel must have had perfect growing conditions this year.

I have onions growing all over the place....but none of the onions seem to get really big....more like small marbles...oh well, guess I will just buy them at the store. The rhubarb did not do good this year, no harvest. Had strawberries growing in the front of the house.....they did well, lots of sun and rain for those berries. Not a good year for beans....planted in two different places....they did not take off...oh well. My oregano and garlic are doing well. Peppers are growing along with the tomatoes. Oh and how did I forget....I planted potatoes in a container....they are still sprouting, so have not received a harvest as yet...that's if the squirrel does not get to them before I do......DARN that squirrel!!!!

We've been given lots of vegies though...tomatoes, peppers, jalapeno peppers, egg plant, cucumbers, cabbage have been bountiful, with more to come, I hope.

In this picture is my green apples..........I am so happy that these babies made it. As of this writing I have 11 containers of cooked up apples in the freezer. Each container will make one apple pie. Oh yum!!

Our Labor Day will consist of JP going out to the tree and getting some more apples off the tree. He is taller then I...so hopefully he'll get higher then I could. I think they are ready now, cause the apples that I cut open today....the seeds were black or almost turning. So I will cut some more apples up tomorrow, cook them and freeze some and make a pie for Labor day. We have company coming from Chicago....so guess what....they are getting some apple pie. Why buy dessert when I can make a pretty good pie here with some whipped cream...........oh my, I can hardly wait!!!!

Well, time to close, it is getting late and I need to get some sleep. Going to be a quiet day around here, we'll get some things done around the house before company comes next weekend. Have a great Labor Day and don't' labor too much......lol!!! Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise