Without My Pets....

Hi everyone, how did your day go...mine was a bit busy but I got through it. Thought I would do some blogging while sitting here. Then I need to start working on some cards for Hospice. Just a little bit behind in that area and the meeting will be this Friday. Yikes!!!

So today I was thinking about pets, found this little poster on Pinterest and thought I would share it with you.

Could not very well share a poster about pets and not post a picture of Kylie....she's my pet....who watches every move I make and sits with me downstairs while I do cards. She knows exactly when it is time to eat and time to go for a walk...she barks at me as soon as I put my shoes on, trying to rush me. She knows the word sit, otherwise it would be hard to put her leash on. Then we walk out to the sidewalk and she walks me the rest of the way. Smelling everything.....I guess that is what Schnoodles (Schnauzer/poodles)do best.

Here's a picture of Kylie sitting on her chair in the basement, her place to sit and sleep while I do my cards. We are looking forward to the weather getting a little warmer, cause we like to sit on the front porch and take in the sun and a little bit of vitamin D.

Three or four days ago it was raining, so there were lots of puddles and everything was wet and muddy. Kylie likes to walk through puddles and by the time she got home she was a wet and a muddy mess. I usually wipe her down, but this time I decided to put her in the shower. I thought for sure she would be afraid, but she was like a trooper. I turned the water on and sprayed her down, she looked like a drowned rat....so funny. She didn't even think to jump out and stayed right there in the tub. Till I picked her up out of the tub and wiped her down. I guess that is a sign that she has been well trained by the groomer. I will have to tell Janine, when I see her next.

Kylie lets us know when the mailman is here and any other person for that matter. Other dogs are not to trespass either. For that matter no squirrels, rabbits or chipmunks. Yes, she is the keeper of this house, watching over us to make sure we are okay.

Well, I could go on, as you can see my "Heart would be empty without Kylie" I think God gives us pets for a reason.....so we can feel the unconditional love of God Himself!!!

You have a great day and keep looking up. Enjoy your April Fool's Day....hope not too many tricks are played on you. Cheers ~ Louise

Saturday's Go By So Fast

Hi everyone. How are you all doing. It sure was a lovely day today, sun shinny and in the 40's today. I'll take that kind of weather anytime.

As you can see I am learning a little bit more, day by day on this computer. Found this picture on Pinterest, (copied to my picture file and saved) thought it was pretty funny. As this is what happens when I buy a can of Pringles. I say, "now Louise, just a little stack"....but, before I know it, the whole can is GONE!!! One of my "guilty pleasures" that and Schwan's Golden Nuggets ice cream bar, they are sooooo yummy with ooey-gooey Carmel!! The Schwan's man did not have any bars on his truck last night....so I shall have to go through withdrawals the next two weeks...uge!!!

Today JP and I went to a Memorial Service of an old friend, he was only 56 years old and died of complications of diabetes....pretty scary. The Memorial was at The Salvation Army. JP and I used to work there over 13 years ago. It was like a reunion of sorts....some of the people, we had not seen for quite a few years....time sure does change people...we are getting older and more wrinkled and puffier!!!

The Officer that hired us back in 87 did the service....it was good to see him, he has been dealing with Cancer for many years but has been cancer free for the last couple of years. I liked the way he answered a few people, when asked "How old are you Ed?" and he said, "I am in my 75th year" for some reason I just thought that was awesome.....well, I am in my "67th year" and hope to make it as far as he has....the Lord Willing!!!

This day went pretty fast....just don't know where the days go. I walked Kylie today....a big German Shepherd came running after us....Kylie barked and I screamed, I am not sure exactly what happened, but the dog turned around and headed home.....do you think he saw something that scared him??? May never know...but I need to thank God and probably not go that way for a while.

Well, time to close this blog for today, you all have a wonderful Sunday and enjoy the presence of God in your life!!!  Cheers ~ Louise

My Goodness, I've Learned A Lot!!!!

Hi everyone....hope you are having a good evening. Made a pizza tonight for dinner, it had homemade vegie marinara sauce, pepperoni, cheese and spinach...pretty healthy I think and very yummy too. Hope the calorie content was not too, too high.

Well, as you can see I finally figured out how to download my pictures from the camera into the computer AND post them on Etsy and on this Blog. Whew, now the true test will be if I can do it again and again and not mess up. So here are four cards I made, hope you like them.
                                     
"Lord I'm Coming Home" in greys enhance this lovely lady with stars and lace. She is one of four vintage cards.  The card is blank on the inside as are the other three cards. This card is not yet in my Etsy store, but will be within this week. Now that I'm learning how maneuver around this new computer.

"Down From His Glory" A gold and yellow vintage lady with stars and lace embellishing this card. for some reason, I forgot to stamp a flower or something old on this card......but that is okay, still looks pretty.

"What A Friend We Have In Jesus" with the vintage lady in red with flowers, lace and a stamped chandelier on the music sheet. I listed this card on Etsy and it has been a fan-favorite with a lot of artists from other Etsy stores favoring it. These cards will be selling for $3.50 each + 1.50 for postage.

"Sin Can Never Enter There" and a vintage lady, lace and tulip stamped on the music sheet. Different about this technique was that I inked the tulip then sprayed with water and stamped, so it looks like a water colored flower. This card is on Etsy also and can be picked up for $3.50 + $1.50 postage.

So there you have it, four new cards, two cards already on Etsy and the other two due in a couple of days. I am thinking of adding some old cook books and a few vintage things I have laying around the house. We'll see as time goes on. I did have a sale a couple of days ago, so I need to start working on that....500 punched hearts with 250 punched and 250 more to go.

You all have a great day and keep looking up. Talk to you later with an update to "Learning something new on the computer everyday" Cheers ~ Louise

I Am Back...............

Hi everyone.......oh my goodness is this all so different...wow!!! I have such a BIG page to write on and I even noticed I finally have "spell check" Where on earth did that disappear to????

The picture above....picked it up from Facebook....my sediments exactly (poor little birdie). Was very busy today...took down the old computer and put up the new one and cleaned up the computer area...gosh it sure got messy. Moved a few things around and reorganized, dusted and vacuumed also.

This is the only picture I could put up tonight. Have not figured out how to get my pictures from the camera into this computer.........I shall work on it though and maybe in a couple of days I will be able to put a few cards up that I am putting in my Etsy store.

Well, it is almost 3am so I better get to bed. You all take care and keep looking up, talk to you later.
Cheers ~ Louise

Computers....uge!!!

Hi everyone. Hope your weekend went well. Mine did, thank you. Saturday I went to Office Depot and bought a new computer. Well, because Microsoft XP is phasing out April 8th and will no longer be supported and updated by Microsoft. I have been getting little messages from Microsoft and my computer has been running REAL slow. I can go get a cup of coffee and come back and this old computer is still thinking and thinking and thinking some more....oiu, more time is wasted just waiting....a true test of my patience.

This is what my computer looks like....it's not a touch-screen computer...that is okay, I know everything else is....but just the fact that I am going from an XP to 8.1 is going to be challenge enough for this old lady...don'cha think????

So.......if you don't see me here for awhile it's because I am off-line for a short time....I hope. My old computer will go down stairs, it will be closer to my stamping stuff and the Cricut, probably will have to get a printer for downstairs too....which will probably work much better for me. I had to buy a new mouse as the old one konked out....what terrible timing....huh!?!

Yes......this will be me after a couple of days....I am sure of it. So keep me in your prayers if you think about it. I hope to be back by the end of the week as I really need to see what is happening on Etsy. I have had a couple of sales, so I don't want to miss anything because I am off-line....again what terrible timing. Hopefully this will be a blessing in disquise in some way.

Well, I better close for now...you all take care and keep looking up. God is just so full of blessings, they are sometimes hard to contain!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Card Making and Genealogy

Hi everyone. Goodness, this month is flying by fast. Last Thursday I went to make cards at a friends house and I am just now putting them up on my blog....oh well, "better late then never" as the old saying goes.

 In this picture and the one below, is the neatest card I have ever seen or made. The box of flowers actually folds up and will fit in an A2 envelope. It was really fun to make and very easy too.

 I folded the box up and it fell open this way. Mailing this card would probably cost a little bit more to mail. But what a pleasant surprise to receive a card like this.

 This card is called "spotlight" where you stamp the flower twice, then color the part you want highlighted, layer on cardstock, lining up the flower with the other stamped flower. Nice effect.

 This is a St. Patrick's Day Card. All the three leaf clovers are colored with copic makers and glitter glue and layered on cardstock and printed paper.

This was a very easy card. Each bird stamped on a square then colored in with markers, each corner punched with a round punch and placed on cardstock.....simple, simple simple.

So there you have it, four fun cards to make. I usually keep these cards for about a year or so, and if I have never duplicated them at some point in time or another, they end up going to Hospice Health Care for someone else to enjoy.

Been working diligently on my "Family Tree" entering names, birth and death dates and other info. It's been an interesting study. My husband said it was a waste of time...and all that info comes from Latter Day Saints. I don't think so, theres just too much info gathered to come from one place. I had to remind him that in Matthew chapter 1, we find Jesus' genealogy, I think there is at least 14 generations mentioned. That is quite a long line of family. So really, I don't see anything wrong with wanting to find out where I come from. If Jesus knew, so can I.

Well, time to close, you all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Vintage Pictures...when life was simple?!?

Hi everyone. Oh my.....I guess we are getting some more snow tomorrow...I want so much to start doing things outside....but I guess we have to wait. My seeds that I ordered from Etsy should be arriving any day now...so I will have my fingers in some dirt by this weekend.

I was playing on Pinterest tonight, saw some neat vintage pictures and thought I would post them here for something different. Hope you enjoy. Being I used to be a hairdresser years ago....my eyes always look first to the hair-dos. As you scroll down you'll see some light romance and dancers.

Thought this was a very pretty lady........love the blues and the softness of the picture. I can only imagine what her thoughts were while this picture was being taken. Do you think life was a little bit simpler back then...I wonder.

This lady sure has some long flowing hair on her head.....looks real curly too. I think it could use a little trim.....maybe a big trim...lol!!

I looked real close at this picture of the young girl....it looks like she had a really tight perm...the hair almost looks "frizzy" on the ends....poor little girl. My mom used to give me tight perms when I was younger...uge...almost frizzy, I would put a bow in the middle of my hairdo and called myself a poodle....ha!! Her lips sure are cute though, aren't they?

Look at the head of hair on this flapper from the 20's...I was reading that the flappers were a rebelious bunch of kids...smoking, drinking, dancing, wild parties. Kind of like now...guess nothing has changed in that department.

Here's a couple of flappers doing the "charlston" together. They look like they were having some real fun. He sure has a head of hair on his head, looks like an "Elvis" hairdo...pretty wild, huh!?!

This last picture is just a little bit of romance for you. Sweet picture, just over the moon. I have been enjoying the moon the last couple of nights...it has been so pretty and bright.

Well, there you have it a few pictures from the past. I've been playing with Ancestry.com the last couple of days, so I guess that is why these old pictures attracted me. For some reason, my grandfather and grandmother have been hard people to find. They died in '59 and '63. I found my grandfater in the 1940 census...but after that I hit the brick wall, not sure where he was from 1940 to 1959 and my mother never talked about him. Well I have until the 28th to try and find some new info. I did find out my father only had a 6th grade education, at 21 he was still living with his mother. He was working for a Dept Store in shipping...that was some new info that I never knew before. Well, I will keep on searching and see what comes up.

In the mean time you all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Heirloom Seeds on Order......

Hi everyone...how did your day go today??? The sun was shining, snow is melting and the days are getting longer. It is still light out at 7pm and the day sure has a spring feeling....love this time of the year.

I bought some seeds on Etsy yesterday......my mind is gearing up to gardening, as you can see. I found this store on Etsy that sells Organic and Heirloom seeds, just could not resist. Her store front on Etsy is at; http://kenyonorganics.etsy.com (Just type in her name and you'll go straight to her shop) Sorry, my link button does not work.

I thought these tomatoes were soooo unique...don't think I have ever seen purple tomatoes before. But they are called Organic Indigo Rose Tomato seeds which are very rare, blue/purple in color. I think she said there were 20 seeds to a pack....so as soon as they come, I shall start them a growing. And the fun begins!!!

These seed are called Rainbow Cherry tomato Custom Sampler Heirloom with 5-6 seeds per envelope of each varity.

Black Cherry
Green Grapes
Peacevine Cherry
Riesentraube Grape
Blondkopfehen Golden Cherry

She said as a bonus...she sends extra seed...so that will be fun to see what she sends. I shall report on it here as soon as they come in the mail.

Two years ago I ordered some seeds from a lady on Etsy....they were called Cherokee Heirloom Tomatoes. The plants got big and bushy but with very little fruit...so hopfully this crop will be better. Maybe it was the weather or something, but I shall try a few seeds again.

Well, time to close, have to go get some cards made. Talk to you later and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Pretty Flowers

Hi everyone. Well, I am getting spring fever...am ready to walk outside and enjoy some color instead of this white stuff. How about you???? The following pictures are flowers I found last year on the internet. None of them were in my garden last summer...but who knows, maybe this year.

Saw some pretty potted daisy's at Walmart for $3.88....thought of buying them...but I reframed from the expenditure. Maybe next paycheck.

Not sure what these pretty little blue flowers are....but aren't they the cutest??? Maybe they are called "forget-me-nots"????

Now these cute flowers are cosmos....I tried planting some last year, but they did not show up...must have been old seed or something. Must try again this year.

Did someone say pansies???? Yep...think I will grow some of these this year...they seem pretty happy no matter where you plant them.

I love these flowers....the ones above and below...I think they are some kind of daisy, will have to check out their make in the garden stores. I think I have a few planted in the front yard...maybe that is why I keep gravitating towards them so much.

Here is another one of those lovely daisy like flowers that I will be looking for this summer.

Now in this picture is a lovely rose. Love those roses!!! I have a yellow, white, pink and red rose bush. Maybe this year I will look for a lovely pink rose like this one. Another rose that I may plant, if I can find them....a moss rose, I like the way they spread and they seem to bloom all summer long.

Last but not least another daisy type flower...can you see I am leaning towards these flowers...maybe that is why the daisy's I saw today at Walmart caught my eye. Yep...I guess I will have a few of these in my the garden this year.

Well, time to close and get a few miles on my bike and make a few cards before JP comes home from work. He's having baked potato, fish, salad, fruit. I made some vegie marinara sauce, so I might pour a bit on his fish and potato. I had a potato with the marinara sauce on....oh my it tasted really good!!!

So you all have a great rest of the evening and hope your tomorrow is well with your soul. Talk to you later and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Monday Musings......

Hi everyone, how is your day going??? According to my computer, the temperature is 55 degrees outside....WOW!!! Kylie was barking at a kid walking down the street with NO jacket on....a couple of days ago, he might have been wearing a jacket....this is Wisconsin weather. We think it is summer now...hahahahaha!!!!

I put out the bird feeders a couple of months ago. FINALLY had a couple of visitors the past week or so. Mr Cardinal and his lovely lady came by for some seeds. Always fun to watch the birds visit.

I made some Vegie Burgers last night, this is not exactly what they looked like, but this is the recipe I used with a bit of critiquing....of course, who follows a recipe to the "T"......not I, that is for sure!!!! No fun in that!!! Anyways....these burgers were actually very good!!!

Greek-Style Lentil Burgers

½ cup dried lentils
2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for brushing patties
1 small onion, chopped (1 cup)(I used frozen onions/peppers)
½ red bell pepper, diced (½ cup)(I used frozen onions/peppers)
4 cloves garlic, minced (4 tsp.)
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can refried beans)
1 cup loosely packed parsley leaves(used dried parsley 1 tablesp.)
½ cup pitted kalamata olives (didn't have)
2 large eggs
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander (didn't have, used terimac instead)
1 tsp. salt (used 1/2 tsp.)
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup plain breadcrumbs (2 c. seasoned breadcrumbs, there is a lot of moisture)
¾ cup grated carrots
½ tsp. baking powder

Tzatziki Sauce (ummm....did not make this, maybe next time)
2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, shredded, and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. chopped fresh mint
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley
1. To make Burgers: Cook lentils according to package directions. Drain.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper, and sauté 7 minutes. Stir in garlic.
3. Blend chickpeas, parsley, olives, eggs, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper in food processor 2 minutes, or until smooth. Stir chickpea mixture, breadcrumbs, carrots, and baking powder into lentils. Shape into 8 patties. Layer patties between plastic wrap, and freeze.
4. To make Tzatziki Sauce: Combine all ingredients in small bowl.
5. Preheat grill to high. Brush frozen patties with oil, and cook 6 minutes on each side. Serve Burgers with Tzatziki Sauce.
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So now I have lots of this vegie burger stuff in the frig. My next experiment will be to make tacos and patties to freeze (as mentioned above in the recipe). See how that works for a quick meal for JP when he comes home from work at 1am in the morning!!!

Well, time to close here for a bit....
I was going to go to the store today....did not make it. That is okay though, tomorrow perhaps. Have to get my list together first. Pay some bills and get JP ready to go to work. Then I have the rest of the day to bum around. Perhaps I will take Kylie for a long walk, she will like that.

You all have a good day and keep looking up.
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Day Spring Cards

Hi everyone...hope you are enjoying this day....it's suppose to be in the 30's this weekend. My computer temp is saying 38 degrees with partly cloudy/sunny skies and a little snow....well that has all bases covered, so whatever happens, the computer/weatherman won't be in trouble. Hahahaha!!!

Today I am adding some cards I made for Spring to my blog. I put them in sets of 6 and am selling them for $9.00+ postage $2.50 (that would be $11.50 a set). If you are interested in buying a set of these cards, just click on my Etsy store to the right of my blog, the link will take you directly to my Etsy store. Click on the set you like and to the right is the button for you to buy, follow the directions and you can either pay with a credit card or by Paypal.

I usually sell my cards for $3.00 a card, so this is a "real deal" at $1.50 a card. Each card will come with an envelope.

The verses inside the cards include, "Birthday Blessings", "Sweet Moments", "It's your day, enjoy", "Your Special", "Sending Happy Thoughts" and "Oh What Fun".

These cute cards can be for Birthday, Thinking of You, Thank You, Cheer up, or just about anything you would desire.

I have started to make Easter Cards and probably will start on Mother's Day/Father's Day Cards also. I wasen't much into making St Patrick this year for some reason...maybe next year. Either these seasons are coming faster or I am getting slower at making cards, not sure.

Hospice is coming up in April, so I need to get cards ready for that project also. Busy, busy, never a dull moment in the life of Louise.

So you all have a great day and keep looking up....Spring is coming. So tomorrow, don't forget to SPRING your clocks forward, it's daylight savings. We lose an hour of sleep but we gain more light....YAY!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Vegie Marinara Sauce....mmmmmm

Hi everyone.....do you see the light at the end of the tunnel??? I heard the weather is going to be 35 degrees this weekend OH AND daylight savings begins too..."Spring ahead" which means our days will be longer....THAT is a sign of SPRING to me. Yes....we are all looking forward to nicer days ahead.

Well today I made some more Vegie Marinara Sauce, thanks to Biz at: http://www.mybizzykitchen.com (for some reason my link button does not work, after 4 tries, decided to just type in Biz's blog address) I love this recipe and it sure is a good way to get all your vegies in one dish, not only for kiddo's but for us adults too!!! So thanks Biz, for a wonderful recipe, this and lasagna soup have to be my favorite all time recipes!!!

MMMMMMMM~~~~~~Vegie Marinara Sauce. Roasted the vegies last night, beans, onion, broccoli, tomato, pepper, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper and seasoning. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Roasted at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. After roasting, let cool then put in a pot. I then added 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 1-28 oz water, 1 teasp. basil and 1 teasp. Italian spices. I let it sit in the frig. overnight (only because there was no time to finish it) Maybe, letting it sit overnight, the spices and vegies can work together and blend well for a more Italianey taste.

Today while making JP's lunch, I took the pot out and heated it up till boiling, then turned down the heat. (which reminds me, I probably will add a couple of pinches of cayanne pepper to this pot of sauce after it is finished.

Brought out the immersable blender and started blending all the vegies together till they were blended. MMMM looking forward to some of this.

Here is the finished project, about this point you can add the hot pepper if you like. Or some hot sauce. How ever much you would like.

You can see in this picture the sauce looks chunky, almost as if there is some kind of meat in the sauce....but there is not. As I said before....mmmmm....looking forward to a taste of this on Spaghetti, spaghetti squash, sauce for pizza, maybe cook up some cabbage and pour some of this sauce over it.....the ideas are endless I think.

I found this picture I took a while back of some vegie sauce on spaghetti, must have taken a month or so ago. But this is what it looks like. One thing I like to do is put some mozzorella on the sauce and melt in the microwave. MMMM just tastes soooo gooooood!!!!

So have a great day, and I hope you try this recipe, it's actually lots of fun to make and is very good and versitile too. Take care and talk to you later, keep looking up!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Just A Little Humor to Start the Day

Hi there everyone. Hope you are keeping warm and not getting too weary of this long winter. Well, looks like another 2 inches of snow and 16 to 19 degrees tomorrow. I have not seen any squirrels around the house....they must be all hiding, maybe I should drop a few nuts on the ground for them. Finally saw a few cardinals on Saturday feeing on our barn feeder.....so there is a little life going on in the backyard.

Yes, I am getting a little weary, I look forward to a bit of a thaw, but then I shall have to deal with a leaky roof and ceiling in the kitchen. As long as it is freezing, the kitchen ceiling does not leak. We will have to call a roofer for sure this spring...it can't go on like this anymore. Not sure how this will be taken care of, guess this one is for God to take care of.

I had an Etsy sale last week, so I was happy about that. After I am finished with this blog, I will take some pictures of some cards I made. My "happy cards" collection. Maybe it will cheer someone up....me for sure if they sell!!! I need a smily face here!!!

Well, time to close this blog for tonight. Need to go wash dishes and get something ready for JP when he comes home from work at 1am. Probably fish, vegies and fruit. Talk to you all later and have a great rest of the night. Cheers ~ Louise

Silent Saturday......Kinda'

Yesssss.......so very true!!!

Have a great day and keep looking up ~ the fight isn't over till it's over!!!!!

Cheers ~ Louise