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

Hump Day and Some Cards

Hi there everyone. Well, it is hump-day....gosh these days are flying by fast. In 3 days, it's my birthday, did I ever think I would make it to 69???? No-sir-ree I did not. When I was 16 years old, 69 was REALLY old to me, like "rocking chair old".  Oh well, I guess we are just a flash in the pan, a puff of smoke, a vapor that is here today and gone tomorrow. Age, it's just a number tagged on to our lives, it's what is in our heart that counts, personally, I just wish the body would cooperate with the heart and mind in the age bracket. If our heart and mind feel like 25....then our bodies should do the same....right???

Talking about age...in these two pictures is the card I made for my Niece's 1 year old daughter. I thought this card turned out really cute. I love how a card comes together, step by step. I bought this stamp set at a thrift store about a year ago and finally used it for this card. Can you see the two layers?? Think I will make a few more of these for the nieces and nephews...next birthday is in March, Evan will be 7??? I better check that one out for sure.

Another picture of the birthday card...here you can see the two layers.

So today, I went to my friends house to make these 4 cards, all Christmas cards....yay... just a few more ideas to use. I really like this card....the stamp was bought from "Our Daily Bread" I need to check out that site and buy this stamp. JP really likes this stamp too. Can you read the stamp that goes along with the candy cane??? Neat saying.

This was a really pretty card, but very putsy, we spent about an hour on this one, it took a lot of time to make, no, may not use this one for a Christmas card to send out.

Liked this card, it was stamped on brown card stock and speckles and sequins were the only embellishment.....very classy.

I may make some of these cards for Christmas, very simple and easy to make. The candles were just pieces of paper and the flame was sparkle paper.....I don't have the branches, so that is something I would have to do something different with.

Well that is about all I have for today. Tomorrow my Blue Apron box will be showing up at the front door....I look forward to my box and the different meals it gives me. Wonder what I will learn this week. Can you tell my life at this point is revolving around card making and cooking...takes my mind off of all the terrible things happening in this world....hard to bear and hear sometimes.

I have been working on some Christmas cards for Biz....so in a few days I will put those cards up in my blog so Biz can see what her card order looks like. So you all have a great night and keep looking up, better days are coming soon.  Cheers ~ Louise

Snowmen and Apple Cards......

Hi there everyone....wow, can't believe it's almost a week since I last posted here. But I have an excuse.....been busy making cards as you can see below. I had two orders to fill. 25 "Apple Note Cards" and 20 "Snowmen Christmas Cards" Also on order, (see 5th picture down) a poster for "Stocking Stuffers" I tell ya one thing....I could not have done the poster if I did not have my "Office program" installed, so happy I did. Have been able to make some labels and tonight, I am typing a letter to a friend....yay!!!

The first picture you see are the snowmen cards. This was a really fun and unique technique. The snowmen are actually napkins, peeled down to one layer then stuck on layered card stock with a glue stick. I had fun doing these....I must find some more Christmas napkins!!!  The silver was run through my snowflake cuttlebug folder. Hard to see, but the snowmen were embossed with 'speckles'. I have another set of 4 snowmen like these on green card stock with silver snowflakes. Then I will be on to another snowman design.  

Again, here are some Apple Cards. I need to make some more of these cards and add them to my Hospice card collection, also needed are a few snowmen. The meeting is December 4th.....I better get cutting.

Did I tell you these apple cards were actually made with a real apple?? Yep, cut it in half, stamped the apple in ink then on to the card stock. Can only use the apple for the evening, cause the next day the apple was browned and drying. Oh well, it served a GOOD purpose.

In these two pictures, the apples are pretty much the same, except for the background. The gold strips were embossed with gold embossing, I like the effect and may do this again with Christmas colors....maybe the snowmen may get some on their cards somehow.

So here is the poster I made for the Dentist office.....just added some washi tape, blue snowflakes and holly in the corners....I rather like this poster. Monday I will take it in for them to decide on which one of the three posters I made will be the final one on card stock. This one was done on paper.

Another Apple card for you....

I want to apologise to you who are reading my post right now. I am sorry that I have not been able to comment on some of your blogs. It is not because I don't want to, I do and have tried, but for some reason BlogSpot is not allowing me to do that.

Since I switched to Windows 10, I have found it much harder to do certain things that I could do easily with Windows 8. One of the things I am finding hard to do is leave comments on blogs. For some posts my only way around it, is to email you, and then I don't know if you see my email, because it probably went into the spam file for all I know.

I used to have problems with only being able to leave comments on certain blogs being anonymous...now for some reason I can't even be anonymous and that comment completely vanishes.

So sorry. I do read your blogs, if you will notice all the blogs on my sidebar.....everyday I check to see if you posted anything...I then go to your blog and read. If you see not comment from me, just know I tried but could not get in.

Well, you all have a good day and keep looking up. Please pray for those families who lost loved ones in this terrorist attack in Paris. I just don't understand why these terrorist get such a thrill in killing people and then themselves. We must pray for America....because we are next on their hit list...God Help US!!!!!!
Cheers (anyways) ~ Louise

Busy Making Cards and FOOD!!

Hi there everyone...hope you had a wonderful weekend....it flew by fast, didn't it?? I was busy making cards and food this weekend. Guess I must have definitely gotten my Mojo back for card making and cooking since my hernia surgery.

Cooked up a "pumpkin pie" pumpkin and spaghetti squash (sorry no pictures.) I still have 4 pumpkins yet to bake and make pumpkin bread or pies...yummy. I found a really good recipe for the pumpkin bread, very simple and easy to make. I will leave you the recipe at the end of this post.

So Thursday JP and I went to the dentist to get our teeth cleaned. While Sue was cleaning my teeth, (I don't know how we got on the subject,) but she mentioned wanting some "apple" cards to give to her patients when she hears they are sick or whatever. I mentioned that I make cards...."Oh, could you make some for me???" She wanted cute cards with an apple, (this is what I came up with so far.) I borrowed an apple stamp from my friend Betty....so I could get a variety of apple cards for Sue. So this is just the beginning.

I want to make a lot of these apple cards, as I plan to put a set of 4 cards in my Etsy store for $12.00 + shipping. That would be $3.00 per card. If I make enough of these cards, perhaps I may donate some to Hospice for next month. They are very cheery....don't you think??

I went on Hallmark.com today to see what kind of cards they have and what their prices are going for. My goodness the prices are really high. I saw a cute card with a snowman on it and they were asking $6.99....yikes!!! Selling my cards is cheap, cheap!!!

So these 3 cards were simple to make. I stamped the apple, ladybug and sun. Using copic markers, I colored in the apple and ladybug, the sun is stamped. Then I sprayed the apples with iridescent spray, layered on black card stock then on the card itself. The second card was layered on silver card stock that was run through my cuttlebug with an embossing folder. I had some sticky silver paper, and thought I would use that for a couple of cards. I liked the way they turned out too.

I also have an order for Snowman Christmas cards...not sure how many as yet...so I have been busy making those also and again, I want to make lots of them so I can put some of the snowmen in my Etsy store and donate  a few to Hospice. Yes, I shall be busy this whole month, making cards. Making up for lost time.

Made this meal on Friday with Blue Apron.....this was yummy, I could not stop eating these Spicy Korean Chicken Wings....man they were good. I shall make these again for sure.

MMMMM my mouth waters as I look at these pictures!!!!! Actually went to Penzey's Spice store and bought some black and white sesame seeds for my next Korean Chicken Wing dinner.

Saturday morning I made a ham, egg, cheese and potato cup cake breakfast, (again, sorry no pictures) They did not last long....pretty good. Saturday afternoon I baked the pumpkin, thinking I would make a pie, but ended up making pumpkin bread. Then Saturday evening I made a pizza.

Today I made Lasagna Soup....oh gosh was that good, tonight's dinner was chicken, hash browns, spaghetti squash and salad. Yep, we ate well today.

So here is the recipe for the "So Easy Pumpkin Bread"
2 cup cooked or canned pumpkin
2/3 cup olive oil (recipe called for 1 cup oil)
1 cup sugar (recipe called for 3 cups)
4 eggs
3 cups flour (recipe called for 3 1/4 cup flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (shelled) this was not in the recipe, I added, just because I wanted to, so I guess this could be optional.
2 tsp. Pumpkin Spice (I got this at Penzey's Spice store)
(recipe called for 1 tsp. each of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon)

Sift ingredients together. Mix pumpkin, oil, sugar and beaten eggs. Stir in flour mixture. Bake in 3 loafs at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Yep....this is a keeper for sure. So much better when you cook up  your own pumpkin.

Well, you all have a great evening....what's left of it. Enjoy this new week and keep looking up.....better days are a coming!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Cards and Blue Apron Steak and Apple Salad

Hi there everyone. Oh my, was it not a BEAUTIFUL day today??? Tomorrow is going to be even warmer and sunny....hard to believe this IS November!!! But you can bet....by the 21st of November, (my birthday) there will be snow....some place and most likely there will be snow here!!!

Been working on some cards lately. I got this idea from Lydia @ "Understand Blue" her address is: http://www.understandblue.com I fell in love with this card and the technique she used with distress ink, water and brush. My card does not quite look like hers.....but that is okay...no two cards can be a like. She did not use sequins and I did. I think it turned out nice, probably will make some more of these for Christmas this year. This card, will be going on my Etsy store tonight. Will be selling this for $3.50 + shipping.

This is one of Tim Holtz's birds...I just love them and they can say anything you want. He is pretty fun, colored him in with Copic markers and sponged the edges with ink. He too, will be going on my Etsy store for $3.50 + shipping.

This is another Tim Holtz stamp set. The leaves are from Stampin'up.  The technique used was shaving cream and alcohol inks. After the card dried then I stamped with Tim's stamps. The leaves are gold embossed to add a touch of elegance. Putting this card in my Etsy store for $3.50 + shipping.

Okay...this was another tasty meal from Blue Apron. "Sumac-Spiced Steak & Honeynut Squash with Pickled Onion & Apple-Walnut Salad"

I loved the apple salad, so simple but tasty. One apple was cored (skin left on) and diced small, toss with the juice of 1 lemon wedge to prevent from browning. The rest of the lemon was zested, and added to the apple salad. Also added to this salad was 2 tablespoons of chopped up walnuts, 1/4 cup feta cheese and mint, finely chopped just before adding to the salad. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Yep, this is a 5 star salad!!!

The steak was a little tough and the butternut squash was good, but I put too much spice on it to make it a little too hot.....guess it was the sumac seasoning (ground up sumac and crushed Aleppo pepper), salt and pepper would be just fine. The squash was sliced, drizzled with oil, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven for 20-25 minutes till browned....yep, this was good too.

The pickled onions were very tasty on the steak....I would do the onions again, but less sugar. The pickled onions were made with onions, sugar, a pinch of salt, the juice of a lemon and 1/4 cup of water. Heat to boiling on medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened and the liquid is slightly reduced in volume. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to pickle for at least 10 minutes.

Well, time to close this post for today. Need to get a few more cards made for Hospice this Friday. It's been 4 months since my last meeting....been a while. Will be fun to see the ladies again.

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

November and Stampin'up Cards

Hi there everyone, how did your day go today? Went to church this morning, we left early today, we usually hang around to talk to people. So we got home and I made quick grilled cheese sandwiches....no, not like the ones I made the other day. Just plain grilled cheeses with ham and sliced, grilled potatoes...that sure did hit the spot. Stamp Camp was at 1:00.  

Today was daylight savings, of which I totally forgot about until 11pm last night....by the time all the clocks were changed it was 11:30, I think we have WAY too many clocks in this house. Anyways, while JP was eating his lunch, he mentioned, "didn't you say you had a meeting at 1:00 pm???" Yes, I said. Well, it's 1:00!!! Oh, those clocks didn't get changed, it's still 12:00.....whew!!!!!! Yeah, way too many clocks in this house.

So I got to Kathy's house on time, actually early and started into making this lovely fall card. A little bit of coloring to this one. I guess that's the newest thing now a days....coloring books for adults...guess I shall have to get a coloring book. Sometimes it is just plain fun to sit down and color a stamped image...very relaxing. Four other ladies showed up, so we were all busy at the different stations, making these cards.

This was a pretty card to make, I bought this set....the cut outs and the stamp set, bundled together and 15% off....maybe this will be one of my Christmas cards for this year. The background is sponged ink, can you see the stars and moon? Then the background was put in an embossing folder and ran through the Hot Shot to make the snow effect. The snowflakes were sanded down to look snowy. This sure made a nice card...I like.

This was a neat card....made to look like a dressing screen. I have this stamp set, so I guess I could make of few of these cards some time. Just would have to get the dimensions for the card stock and the punches.

Now this was a fun hunk of cheese to make. It is an actual die cut that was run through the Big Shot with 2 pieces of card stock. The parts of the cheese were scored and bent to shape the cheese. Dabbed the card stock to look like swiss cheese, I guess. Then embellished with the Green Bay Packer logo, ribbon, sequins and the red card stock. Turned out really fun. I think it shall be my decoration by the computer.

So the Packers are playing right now....so far, not so good, the score is 7-0 Broncos winning. Come on Packers....lets GO WIN this game!!!! OH, oh Broncos just scored again...NOT GOOD!!

As soon as I finish this post, I shall go downstairs and make some cards. FINALLY got my mojo back to making cards again. Sure took time to get it back. Guess the "hernia" took a lot out of me, not realizing it.

Well, you all have a good evening and keep looking up.
Cheers ~ Louise