Happy New Year ~ 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

May this New Year of 2016 bring you

a closer walk with Jesus, 

good health,

financial well being

and blessings galore!!!

I have not decided if I will make any resolutions as yet...they are always so hard to keep, not even sure I kept, and was able to follow through on last years resolutions. I know I had a long list, will have to find it and see how close I came.

I am hoping I don't have a lot of medical issues this year. 2015 was pretty scary for me. I am forever grateful to God and how he brought me through the Hernia surgery and colonoscopy, ulcer, dental work and cataract surgeries. I think this new year will bring medical issues for JP though. He has an appointment already lined up in January with a neurologist....for his shakes that have gotten much worse. Maybe through this, they will find the reason for his arm pains.....that would be nice.

Well I will keep this short....who wants to read blogs on New Year's Eve night. I shall be going downstairs to make a few cards and watch the "ball drop" in New York City....my little tradition every year. 

You have a great evening and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Snowy Monday, Cards From Friends and Risotto

Hi there everyone....hope you are still enjoying this lovely season and last few days of 2015. Yesterday we had a foot of snow fall (12.2 inches). JP got stuck in the snow and the car doors froze up at work, so he did not make it home. I guess lots of people got stuck in snow around this area, at least he was stuck in the building and was warm.

Around the country people were experiencing lots of rain and hail, floods, tornados and earthquakes....My goodness what is going on??? If it is not the ISIS Muslims terrorizing us, the weather is also. I guess this is just a sign of the end times, just as the Bible has said. Better days are coming.

So for tonight's dinner I made a beef stew with green peppers and onions and stuck it in the slow cooker. Along with that was my Blue Apron (here's their site) meal "Spinach, Parmesan & Parsnip Risotto with Crispy Parsnip Chips and Sage" Oh my goodness....was this ever a good dish. Never cooked with a parsnip before and this was really good. Half the parsnip was grated and added to the Arboio Rice, onion, garlic and water. While the rice cooked, the other half of the parsnip was shaved and fried in the oil and browned. After the rice was cooked, spinach, sage and Parmesan cheese was added. I have to say that shaved and fried parsnip was a special touch to this dish. Will most definitely make this again.

Thought I would post the homemade cards that I received this Christmas. The top card is by Shirley. A very intricate card that probably took a long time to make...I always enjoy her cards. She is very artistic in her card making.

This ornament card is by Betty. She always has new ideas rolling around in her head. I enjoy going to her house to see here new creations.

This card was made by Sue. I really like this stamp, very simple yet elegant. Sue makes some nice cards too.

This card is by Tina. I go to her blog everyday to see what she is up to. I always know it is her card....her trademark is the stitching around the squirrel. She does a lot of origami cards, an art I have not yet accomplished.

This card is by Joan.....lot's of work went into this one too. I don't throw these cards out....but most likely these cards will end up in my Hospice card collection for next year. Always recycle.

I didn't take any pictures of all the snow we got yesterday, maybe the next snowfall. After awhile you can have just so many pictures of snow. I was out shoveling a little. The front porch and steps and part of the sidewalk....yep...that was enough for me.

Pretty soon I will be working on Valentine Cards.....can you believe that??? Right now I am reorganizing my stamping area....putting all the Christmas stuff away and cleaning and moving things. Guess that will be my Winter project, going through all the stuff and maybe unloading a few things at the thrift store or save for a garage sale in the summer. Yep....always something to keep me busy.

Well time to close this post for tonight. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

The Day After.......

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Mine, it was quiet....but as I get older, I like it like that. My family is pretty much gone. My daughter lives in another state on the east coast and is busy with her own life. My step-father is in Las Vegas and busy with his life. JP's family is in Chicago and....busy with their lives. That leaves us pretty much alone at Christmas, and like I said, we like it like that.

This was our Christmas dinner and it was scrumptious. The main course was from Blue Apron their site. This was a "Spiced Roast Chicken & Collard Greens with Maple Butter & Thyme" Oh my, this was extra delicious. I never cooked with collard greens before and we really liked them. The greens were cooked with onion, salt and pepper, the chicken layered on the greens and a cooked sauce of butter, maple syrup and vinegar poured on the chicken. The right combo of tastes. The Chicken was fried, skin down till browned then roasted in the oven till the meat reached 165 degrees in the breast and thigh parts. I most certainly would make this recipe again and again. I shall be looking forward to my next whole chicken cut in half.

So we had the chicken with collard greens, baked potato with sour cream and chives, bread dressing with chicken gravy and cheese cake for dessert. Yum.....a very good meal to say the least.

Here is a snap shot of all our presents under the little tree.

And.....a picture of my presents. 6 tins of different teas. A new spice rack to organize all my Penzy spices. A new copic marker carrying case. A brand new (el-cheapo) purple watch. AND a new WOK.....healthy meals, here we come.

JP got a pair of slippers (need to get a larger size), socks, Amaryllis plant and 10 little bibles to pass out to truckers. He'll probably get a pair of jeans also.

Kylie got a pair of boots.....now we have to train her to wear them before the snow flies, she will love us for that. Oh and she got some soup bone chewy's.....right now she is hiding her bone so no one can find it....then she moves it to another place, then another place. That bone sure is keeping her busy.

Well, time to close and get to organizing my spices. You all have a great day and enjoy these last days of 2015. Keep looking up....
Cheers ~ Louise

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Hi there everyone. With Christmas finally upon us, I hope you got everything done and are now able to enjoy the festivities. I wish you a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends.

Keep Jesus as the main focus of your celebrations. Also keeping in mind all that He did for you by giving HIS life....the greatest gift of all.

Take time to read the story of Christmas to your family in Matthew 1:18-25 that they will be reminded of his birth and how even then Satan tried to "steal, kill and destroy" the Son of God.

How, even now in 2015 Satan has not given up and wants to take us all out. Keep your eyes on Jesus and be guided by him every day. Ask Him into your heart. That would be the greatest gift you could ever give yourself. Then you will know for sure eternity will be yours with no fear of ever ending up in hell. Joy truly will be yours from this day forward.

Blessings to you, keep looking up!! Cheers ~ Louise

Snowmen?????

Hi there everyone.....well I just looked out the window and there is a small dusting of snow on the ground. Our first snowfall of the season. Maybe it will be a white Christmas after all.

I started this post about 3 weeks ago but never published it only because there was no snow.....so here we go, just a few snowmen to look at. Tis the season!!!

I thought this was a fun snowlady or man. I think I should find some more tires and make this guy. I never did make my frog this past summer, only because I was pretty sick with the hernia problem. Maybe next summer will be better.

Here is a cute card, forgot where I got the idea. I just ordered the embossing folder from Stampin'Up and I have lots of snowflake stamps. I think the snowman is made out of punches and that I can do easily. He sure is sweet looking.

I found this cute snowman last year and thought what a neat idea, making the tree out of a snowman. I used to have a fake white tree years ago and decorated it with red lights and ornaments, it sure was a pretty tree. I never would have thought of this idea. Really cute.

No....I know this is not a snowman.....but he sure is cute. We used to have a white doggie like this, (sniff) he died 3 years ago this month. Hyko was his name.....best dog in the world.

Hope your Christmas plans are going well and you are getting everything done. Don't forget to find some time to relax and put your feet up for a while. Watch a good movie or turn on the Hall Mark Channel and watch some Christmas movies. Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up, things will get better soon.
Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas, Pizza and Cards......

Hi there everyone. Goodness, it has been a week since my last post...time is a'flying! Hope your Christmas plans are shaping up and you are getting everything done that needs to get done. When you are finished you can "R-E-L-A-X" and enjoy the season and the real reason we celebrate this time of year. Yeah, all the fan-fare and busy-ness of the season sure can take our eyes off of what is important.

Have you not heard????? "JESUS....is the reason for the season". I am glad I don't have to worry about getting presents for everyone.....just a few gifts for JP, Kylie, sent off Pop's gift in Las Vegas, got my cards made and sent off, baked cookies and decorate the house.....whew....almost done with 9 days left till Christmas. Why do I put myself through all this busy-ness???? I don't know why, guess I just get caught up in it all, trying to make Christmas special even though it is not that much any more. It's for the kids anyways.

So in the picture below is my little Christmas tree....this year, I decided the tree will be in all blues....hard to tell that the blue and white lights are on...but they are. I have the same blue and white lights on the front porch....so pretty. After Christmas I will put up red and white lights for the Valentines.....love my little Christmas tree, it is so very hard to take downstairs after the season. If I could find green and white lights, I would leave my tree up till St. Patrick's.....hahahahaha!

In the picture below is my Blue Apron pizza...gosh was this ever delicious....I shall make it again. "Roasted Sweet Potato & Caramelized Onion Pizza" and oh....it was so yummy the next day too. Sweet potatoes were peeled and sliced and layered on a cookie sheet, a little salt and pepper and olive oil for 12 minutes or so at a 475 oven. Then cooled and transferred to a bowl. The pan was then used for the pizza dough, spread out to the size I wanted then topped with the béchamel sauce, 2 T oil, 2 T flour and cook, stirring 1-2 minutes till golden brown, milk, lemon zest and 1/4 cup of water was added then the juice of 2 lemon wedges and seasoned with salt and pepper. The sauce got thick and then spread on the dough.

Then topped with the sliced sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, garlic, oregano and fontina cheese. After the pizza baked, the arugula and remaining cheese was added to the pizza. Oh yum...I will do this again. If you would like the recipe just google the recipe name and google will take you directly to Blue Apron and the recipe and you can make this pizza yourself. Again...it was absolutely delicious.

In the picture below is a card a made for a blog friend. Her husband just died recently. I think this has to be one of the prettiest cards I have ever made....was really happy how this card turned out.

This card is for the groomer who does my Kylie's hair every 8 weeks. I picked up a new cuttlebug folder....if you can see it...little paw prints. The snowman is a Christmas napkin and the doggies are stamped, colored and cut out.

This is another new Cuttlebug folder and all I did was use speckles and smooch pens.

In this card, I used some plumbers tape, ran it though my Cuttlebug then added a die-cut tree and stars for decorations. If you can see it, there is a ribbon running down the middle of the card.

The picture below is another Christmas napkin. I use the first layer of the napkin and lay that on a piece of card stock that was covered completely with a glue stick. Smooth it out as best you can without tearing the napkin. Let it dry then cut it the shape you want. I then added speckles to pop out the candy cane, snowman and holly leaves.

I this picture, is the same technique....but I used a Christmas tree. A friend gave me some of her napkins....this is one of them and guess what....she will receive her napkin back in the form of a Christmas Card. I guess that is called "re-purposing".

So tomorrow is my card making outing at Betty's. We are all suppose to bring something to eat that will go along with her pulled pork....oh yum. So I will bring a "Grains and Quinoa Salad" and "Cucumber sandwiches" (of course...pictures to follow soon).

Well, time to close here....the debate is starting and I need to watch that. Finish my Quinoa Salad and type a few letters tonight to friends.

Have a great evening and keep looking up....things will get better.
Cheers ~ Louise

Cooking Up a Storm

Hi there everyone.....let's see, it is now December 8th??? Where is the time going? Goodness, it has been a week since I last posted on my blog. Actually, I did start a post but never posted it. It's still sitting in my "draft file" so here you have a new post.

Guess I have been busy with cooking up a storm, making cards and decorating for Christmas has been taking up my time. Below was one of my Blue Apron meals from last week. "Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Browned Butter-Grape Sauce & Farro" Yep, this was one of those keepers. Never cooked grapes before and they were delish. Butter was melted and browned then the grapes added with shallots and rosemary and the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper added to taste. This was poured over the roasted cauliflower

Here is a closer look of the dish, the cooked farro was added to the arugula and lemon zest, drizzled with oil and tossed with salt and pepper.

Yesterday I made this stew....McCormick's Slow Cookers Savory Pot Roast with beef, mushrooms, onions, potatoes and carrots. Cooked for 7 hours.

In this picture is the result......oh my, the meat was so tender. I would give this a #10 on the meter scale of comfort food. And so tasty too. There will be a couple of meals here....so we'll eat well for a few days.

Tonight I finished putting up the Christmas decorations. My little tree is in blues this year....blue and white lights and blue ornaments, very pretty. Decorated the front porch this year with the same blue and white lights and a few snowflakes. I will take pictures for my next post.

Well, time to close this post....this computer is acting up tonight. You all keep looking up.....things will get better. Cheers ~ Louise

Kitty Sitting and Some Cards

Hi there everyone. Well, here we go...the last month of 2015 and Christmas is upon us....again. Been working on lots of Christmas cards lately, baby sitting kitty's and making lots of food...at this moment, another pumpkin pie was taken out of the oven. JP will be happy for that when he comes home from work in about 10 minutes.

Well, today I went to my friends house to drop off the key to her house. I spent the last 4 days babysitting this cute little kitty. We had a lot of fun and it seemed that Misty liked my visits. Dolores said that when she got home she noticed Misty's eyes were very bright....(I guess like below) so Dolores knew that Misty enjoyed herself and the visits I paid. I cleaned her litter and gave her fresh water and food. Then we would sit in the front room and have conversation. Meow talk.

Here we are playing with my scarf....Misty was always laying on her side, Dolores said Misty was saying she was happy. Well, I am glad everything worked out with Misty.....maybe someday I will get a kitty. Dolores gave me some money, so I will put that towards my Stampin'up meeting this next Sunday.....maybe buy something to make cards with. (Really Louise?????)

In the below picture are some thank you cards I have been making....I rather like them and will make some for my Etsy store and for my private use. I may make some for Hospice also. I had the Christmas tree die cut from a couple of years ago....and just this year used it on this card. The silver background is actually Plumber's tape, run through my cuttlebug. I think they turned out really nice.

Well I put these cards into my Etsy store. A set of 4 thank you's for $12.00 + $3.50 shipping.

In the picture below is a stamped image of a snowman. He was embossed in black then I colored him with H2o paints. Fun to work with. Then just made different backgrounds for each of the snowmen. I will be putting these guys on my Etsy store also. 5 cards for $15.00 + $4.00 shipping. Sometimes I don't charge enough for shipping and have to take it out of pocket...oh well, not going to get rich, it's just a hobby.

So in this last picture is the meal I made from Blue Apron tonight along with fried potatoes and pumpkin pie. Oh yum....if this is vegetarian eating....guess I could do it with no problem. This meal was called "Poached Pear and Crispy Goat Cheese Salad with Escarole & Walnuts" Never cooked a pear....that was different and then the goat cheese was sliced, dunked in flour, then egg, then panko breadcrumbs and fried....oh so very good.

Well time to close here. Hopefully I get this posted on the 30th otherwise, this will be my first post of December. Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up better days are a'comin. Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Thanksgiving 2-U

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. Ours was quiet, which is just fine with me. We slept in till 10:30am....phone was ringing so that woke us up. JP's brother from Chicago was calling. I putzed around on the computer and played scrabble with the neighbor next store for awhile till the computer started acting stupid. Then I shut it down and took a shower.

About 3:00 I left the house to go to a friends house to feed her cat, Misty and clean the litter. Hung around for awhile and talked to her, then turned the radio on for her so maybe she would think someone was in the house....we will see how Misty is tomorrow. I will take a picture of her so you can see how cute she is. I was actually surprised she came to me, maybe she thought I was Delores coming home.

I came home and got our Thanksgiving dinner going. I had already cooked the turkey last night....just a breast this time around, that is enough for JP and I. Also made this wonderful Mac & cheese with turnips and kale....a very good vegi dish. If you google in "Cavatappi Mac & Cheese with Purple Top Turnip and Kale" the Blue Apron's recipe will come up and you can print it off. I never worked with turnips before, so that was a first. Yeah...I would make this again, maybe try different vegies to go with the cavatappi.

So our Thanksgiving dinner included the mac and cheese, turkey, salad, turkey and gravy. See those triangle thingy's? That is Nann crackers topped with melted Brie cheese and a little bit of fig jam.....mmmmmvery good. I do have Turkey soup on the stove...so that should be good. I want to stretch this turkey breast as far as I can....after all, I paid $20.00 bucks for it.

Didn't make a pumpkin pie for today.....but maybe tomorrow. I baked the last pumpkin yesterday, but did not turn it into a pie. Did make a couple of pies last week for my birthday....finished both pies off by Monday. Pies don't last long here....heaven for bid they would get OLD!!!!

Here is a really good recipe from Blue Apron. Here is their site. "Mushroom Browned Butter Cavatelli with Lactnato Kale & Soft-Boiled Eggs" I learned one thing with this one....see that egg??? I have an antique egg cooker, it's over 50 years old and still makes some darn good eggs. Anyways, I followed Blue Apron's way of cooking the soft boiled egg, boil the water and place the egg in the water for 6 minutes then put under cold water.....nope, my egg was WAY too runny. So I brought out my trusty antique egg cooker and got the perfect egg....see the above egg. But yeah....I would make this dish again too.

Here is the "Cavatappi Mac & Cheese with Purple Top Turnip and Kale" Yumm this was really good...making the cheese sauce from scratch.....I think JP will get more mac & cheese dishes with maybe spinach and peppers....this was a very good recipe.

Here's what was left after Wednesday night. I could have eaten the whole dish, but that would have been 1400 calories in one sitting. Plus I thought I better leave some for JP and hopefully some for Thanksgiving Day. Which in pictures 1 & 2 you can see there was still half the casserole left. Yay for us.

So I guess I shall finish this blog and go downstairs and make some cards. I have Hospice cards to finish by the 4th before the meeting and then start my own Christmas cards....I better hurry. I want to get my little tree up soon....have some new lights for it...this year, my tree will be in blue and white lights and ornaments. Looking forward to decorating this year....you can see, I am feeling 100% better compared to just a few months ago. That hernia took it's toll.

Well, the Packers are playing the Bears....guess this is the first time they are playing at Lambeau Field on Thanksgiving Day since the 1920's.....geez that is a long time. Hope they win this one. During the Half-time they are going to retire Bret Farve's jersey...bringing tears to the eyes already....but that must be the plugs in my eye lids to keep them from drying....lol!!!

Well you all have a great evening and keep looking up, better days are a comin'. Cheers ~ Louise

Another BA Meal and More Snowmen

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. I did, yeah it was my 69th birthday...we did nothing special, but I was able to do what I wanted. Instead of going out to eat, I made this wonderful meal from Blue Apron see their link here. "Seared Chicken & Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds with Chestnut and Brussels Sprout Pan Sauce." Oh my, we were both oohing and ahhing at the same time. This was such a good meal. JP loved the sweet potatoes cooked the way they were. Sliced then placed on a pan, oil, salt and pepper and baked for 20-25 minutes at 475 till tender and browned. The Brussels sprouts were deleafed and pan fried with chestnuts then the butter, lemon zest  and sauce was added. I did add the onions also.

The chicken was pan fried, patted, salt and pepper then floured on both sides till browned. The bottom picture was plated with both chicken breasts and the vegies, so we just ate up the whole platter. YES....I would make this again. I suspect if you type in Seared Chicken and Roasted Sweet Potato Rounds....you might get a recipe from someplace. I think I shall have to try that, just to see what happens. Try this recipe, you will truly love it.
Note: yep that is what happens...you type in the name of the recipe and it will take you to the Blue Apron recipe....perfect.

So here are some of my snowmen cards that I have put up in my Etsy store. These cards were lots of fun to make. Made from Christmas napkins then I just used speckles to emboss the snowmen. Each card is $3.00 so 4 cards = $12.00 + shipping $2.50.

The cards in this next picture, I will put up in my Etsy store tonight. Made with Christmas napkins and speckled. These cards will go for $9.00 + shipping.

In the two pictures below are the cards I sent off in the mail today....took a picture of them so I could remember what they look like, and make them again. Gosh, I may have to buy a set of speckles....running low on red and green.

There were 9 different Snowman cards.....love, love them all. In all I sent 21 cards, there was a set of 8, a set of 4 and a set of 3.....Hope she likes them.

I bought my turkey the other day.....just bought a breast and will roast that on Thanksgiving day. We'll have dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce (the real stuff, not canned) bean casserole and baked potato. If I get out to the store again, I want to get some sweet potatoes and cook them the way I did in the first two pictures....roasted....gosh they were good. We will probably have pumpkin pie or maybe cheese cake from Festival foods....yes, we will eat well and there will be left overs for a couple of days......we truly are blessed beyond measure.

Well, you have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your family and friends. Keep looking up, things will get better.
Cheers ~ Louise

Snowmen, Blue Apron and Pumkkin Pie

Hi there everyone. Well, first off, here is part of the order for my friend Biz. I told her I would put some of the cards I made for her on my blog tonight for her to see. There are 20 cards made in all. I love the two cards on the bottom, the one on the left and the one on the right....both were made with Christmas napkins. You never would know would you. I think they all turned out fun. So now all I have to do is put a verse inside each of the cards. Then off they go to their destination.

Today I received my Blue Apron box of food.  Today's entry was Trattoria-Style Cheeseburgers with Crispy Rosemary-Garlic Potatoes and Aioli. MMMMMM was this ever a good hamburger!! Yep...5 Stars on this one.

The Potatoes were roasted with oil, salt and pepper then topped with sauté' sliced garlic and rosemary leaves. The burgers were mixed with lemon zest and salt and pepper....that's all. Then fried and topped with the Fontina cheese. Topped with Kale, lemon and oil dressing. The sauce was mayo, garlic and lemon juice. MAN was that a delicious burger. But, alas, too spicy for JP for some reason. He is getting a bit picky in his old age.

Kylie seemed to be under my feet the whole evening while in the kitchen. Don't know if she was hoping I would drop her some food or maybe she was just keeping company with me. Don't you just love (hate) my 1970's (ugly) floor???? Looks good from this view, but don't look too close.

Also on the agenda tonight was pumpkin pies....hopefully these babies can last till my birthday, if not...guess I will have to make something else.....maybe something cheese-cakey. Yes you do see pumpkin seeds on the pie on the left...I just started putting seeds on the pie.....it's actually very good and crunchy and then some cool whip, yep just what the Doctor ordered. I cut down quite a bit on the sugar. So it can be diabetes worthy.

Well, time to close this post for now....it's going on 2am and time for me to get some sleep. You all have a good day tomorrow and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise