Last Day of April......

Hi there everyone....hope you had a nice Saturday and the last day of April. I had plans of working outside today....just a little bit chilly and cloudy with threats of rain. Guess it will rain tomorrow though.

JP mowed the lawn finally. But the weeds are over powering me, I don't know where to start first. I have more ideas then time this year and I need to catch up with myself from last year when I was so sick and did not get much done.

So today I went shopping, yes my favorite thing to do. Went to the hardware store, their flowers are set up and I bought a sweet tomato plant and a cucumber plant. That may be it for me this year, for some reason our yard is not conducive to gardening....too much shade. I may plant these plants in the front yard where we get LOTS of sun.

I also bought a little hanging light for the back yard, I like twinkling lights at night. They make me happy for some reason. I noticed the neighbors behind us bought a birdbath and bird feeder....that's neat, maybe the birds will come to our house and theirs for visits this summer.

Don't you just love my picture, I forget where I found it....might have been a fellow blogger....thank you Patty. I think the older I get....this is starting to sound so much like me.

I was at the Pharmacy the other day and two older people behind me were talking about forgetting things when they were at the store and how they need to make lists. I showed them my list and said, "I still forget things" hahahahaha....we all laughed. I said, "My mother never told me old age would be like this." The man said, "If my mother told me....I forgot." The lady said, "If my mother told me, I probably did not listen to her." We all laughed again......and then we forgot we were talking to each other...(kidding).

Well, I guess I shall close this post for tonight. I need to get downstairs and make some cards for Hospice. Next meeting is Friday the 6th....so I need to get (die) cutting (no pun intended) and get some cards made for Father's Day.

Tomorrow I will be making a Blue Apron recipe after church. "Grains of Paradise-Crusted Steak with Mashed Plantain, Collard Greens & Ginger Peanuts" Sound good? I will let you know with a picture and food critique. The picture looks good and I am most certain it will taste delicious too, I have not been disappointed yet.

See you in May with many new cards, food and most likely some gardening and flower pictures. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Hospice Cards

Hi there everyone. This will be a quickie post. (I am thinking) As you can see, I have been busily working on some cards for Hospice. The meeting is next Friday, sooooo, I need to get a stock pile of cards made and get some Father's day cards made also.

The stamps above are from Stampin'up, I really liked the way the cards turned out, I may not give them all to Hospice, as I can think of a few people that need a card on my end.

When I was rummaging through some old card stock, I ran across this froggy and thought he would make a cute card. "Never, never throw things out, you never know when you can use them again." That should be my motto, as I think this guy has been hanging around for a long time and he finally got made into a card.

In the above picture is my new die cut from Stampin'up called "Rose Wonder" I have the stamp that goes along with this die cut, but I rather like the effect that this gives. Makes for a nice Birthday card.

Here are my "crazy birds" from Tim Holtz.....I had them laying around also and thought they would go good on these cards....again, never throw anything away.

These are some quick Thank you cards, using washi tape and graph paper for the background and my die cuts and butterflies to embellish the cards with a few sequins.

Well that about covers it....next post, maybe some Father's day cards. So tomorrow I am getting a box from Blue Apron....I look forward to that once a month. It's like going to culinary school for 3 days and learning and tasting something new.

You all have a great couple of days, I'll post something about Blue Apron. Oh and by the way.....I am still in mourning about my Chicago Blackhawks losing and not going on to win the Stanley Cup (sob).

Keep looking up....better days are coming (I keep telling myself that, but I am still waiting.)
Cheers ~ Louise

"Fear The Feathers" Nope....No Fear

Hi there everyone.......how was your day today???  I was kind of busy today. Tearing the bed apart and washing bed blankets and linen, making cards and cooking. After the game I shall have to put the bed back together again....uge, one of my unfavorite jobs, remaking the bed, but oh so nice and comfy to get into a cozy bed at the end of the night.

I am so looking forward to this last game of the series with the St. Louis Blues tonight.....game 7, it will tell if the Hawks or Blues go on to round 2 of the next series with whoever wins. The score is tied 2-2 in the 2nd period.

"Fear The Feathers" I got this poster from my SIL's facebook, not sure where she got it, but I shall pass it along to you. One thing I miss living in Chicago, or near Chicago is seeing the Blackhawks play. I used to go to the Blackhawk games, season tickets back in the day when they still played at the old Chicago Stadium, those were the days!!!

So we moved to Wisconsin in 1976 and had the Green Bay Packers to root for, but my heart was still with the Chicago Blackhawks. I would rather watch a hockey game then a football game, maybe because I understand it more. I was told to "always follow the puck" and that I do.....the football? Hard to follow!!!!

When we moved up to Ladysmith Wisconsin, for 10 years, we did not have a TV.....I know, how I managed, I do not know. But I lost touch with the Hawks and what they were doing. It wasn't till two years ago I could get them on TV again and was able to get a few games again. AT&T has allowed me to watch more games this year......so I feel more complete, knowing I have the Hawks and hockey to watch again and any team is fine with me. I am from the old school, when there was just the original 6 teams, now there is 30 teams....hard to keep them all straight.

Well, we are going into the 3rd period and the score is still 2-2......oh boy, I think I need some coffee and popcorn!!!!!

Oh my gosh.....what a game.......I am so nervous!!! The announcer just said whoever wins this round will play the Dallas Stars......oh-oh St. Louis just scored 3-2!!! Okay Hawks lets go!!!!! I am sad.....I don't think the Hawks will win this one....okay 1:20 left. I can't look!!!

HAWKS........LOST!!!!!! BUMMERS....end of the story.

Well.....cheers anyways ~ Louise

Cards I Made Yesterday and Kimchi Fried Rice

Hi everybody....hope you had a nice Thursday. Guess I was not feeling well last night and really slept in late today, like till 1pm!!! Yikes, this will be a short, short day.

JP left for work at 4pm so I have the evening to watch the Blackhawks play (possibly their last game for the season if they don't win tonight), do this blog and maybe go downstairs and make some cards for Hospice. Oh and I may get some rice cooking for some quick kimchi fried rice.....a recipe I really enjoyed from Blue Apron.

All it is, is 4 ozs. of cabbage, sliced thin, 1 Tbs. rice vinegar, 1/4 onion and a kimchi spice blend of gochugaru, sugar garlic powder, ginger, black and white sesame seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the rice has been cooking, it will be added to the cabbage and cooked, salt and peppered till the cabbage is well cooked. Then serve with whatever meat is going along with the meal. Tonight it is Burgundy Pepper steak. (yeah, we eat well, I guess)

So here are some cards I made yesterday at Betty's house. We did a lot of Copic marker coloring and shading....I am not too good at it. I liked the way the flowers turned out. But, my frog did not turn out too well, he should have been a little bit more lighter on the bottom. The back ground is just pattered paper, but adds to the flowers and frog.

Liked the way this card turned out....the little flowers are glued with a tweezers and toothpick...was a very putsey little card to put together, but turned out very nice.

I loved this card. Betty has these markers that don't dry quickly, so you can ink the stamp and stamp it on the card stock and it keeps the color....usually you have to "huff and puff" the stamp to keep moisture on the ink....these stamps, you don't have to "huff and puff" this pretty stamp.

Well, it is always fun to go to Betty's house to learn and get a few new ideas in stamping....it's just a "once a month" meeting, but enjoyable and gets me out of the house.

Pretty soon it will be time to work outside.....and get the pond going and weeds pulled. I think we might order some mulch and mulch the heck out of the front and back yard.....maybe that will keep the weeds at bay.

Well time to close here and get my rice and cabbage chopped as it is the intermission between 1st and 2nd period. I will let you know who won....I am sure you are really interested in knowing....lol!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

My Cake, Birthday Card and 1 - 2 Make

Hi there everyone. So in my previous post, I said I would take a picture of my decorated cake. Here it is....chocolate frosting and crumbled peanut butter cake and nuts on top. I used the "Crazy Cake" recipe (with no eggs, milk, butter or bowls.) But, I used a bowl anyways. I guess this is one of those depression cakes when the mother/baker/chef had no eggs, milk or butter, they could still make a cake.

You can make this cake with chocolate, Vanilla, Banana, Lemon, Spiced, Coffee & Kahlua and Carrot Crazy Cake and now Peanut Butter. A very versatile cake to say the least. I have tried the chocolate and vanilla adding the bananas and powdered peanut butter.

Here is the basic recipe for a Vanilla cake: 1 1/2 cups flour + 2-3 Tablespoons, 1 cup sugar (I cut it down to 1/2 cup sugar) 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix together.

Make three holes in flour mixture: Pour 1 tsp. white vinegar in 1 hole, 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract in the second hole and 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used olive oil)in the 3rd hole. Then pour 1 cup water over all and mix well until smooth. Pour into a greased cake pan. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degree oven.

If you want a Lemon cake, add 1 tbsp. lemon zest to the flour mix and 1 tsp pure lemon extract.
If you want a Spiced cake, add 1 tbsp. pumpkin spice to the flour.
If you want a Coffee and Kahlua cake, add 3/4 cup cold brewed coffee and 1/4 cup Kahlua.
If you want a Carrot cake, add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. cloves, allspice, nutmeg, 3/4 cup finely grated peeled carrots, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup golden raisins.
If you want a Chocolate cake, add 3 Tbsp. cocoa (unsweetened)
If you want a Banana cake, add one banana, mashed

Here is a picture of the birthday card I made for grand-niece Ella, for her 4th birthday. I added 2-$2 dollar bills....I think if I was a kid, I would so look forward to that card with $$$ in it, would be fun for a kid to receive. I have another 4 year old card to make for July and a 2 year old card to make for November, they both will get $2 bills in their cards also. So I have time to think about what I want to make. JP's family sure keeps me busy with birthdays, anniversaries and such....

My inspiration for this card was just the elephant stamp that I picked up for $1 at Micheal's, colored with my copic pens and  built on it with my die-cuts and added embellishments of pearl speckles, flowers, google eye and sequins.

I found this card on the Internet the other day and thought this would be a fun card to make, maybe use it for Hospice and change the "my friend" salutation to "thinking of you". Here is where I get a lot of my inspiration. Becky comes up with lots of great ideas using lots of Stampin'up products, Hero and Altnew. She does quite a few classes a week in her home, only problem, she lives in CO, so it would be hard for me to go to one of her classes, so must be satisfied just visiting her on the Internet. She says it is okay to case her cards....so that is what I do.

Well, HOORAY....the Chicago Blackhawks won tonight....a really ruff and tumble game and my favorite player, Artemi Panaran got a goal on an open net....yayayayayayayayaay! Hawks won 3-2. Now they come back to Chicago for 2 more games....sure do hope they win those games. These players want to win so badly that they get very frustrated when the puck does not bounce their way, so then the fights flare up and lots of penalties are called. The Hawks got one of their goals via a power play.....But wow, the goalies sure are playing great games!!!!

 

Well, time to close, it's 11am and JP will be home at 1:00am, I need to think about what I am going to make for him. Oh, and do a few dishes too. Tomorrow I am going to make "Grandmas Meatballs" and spaghetti....a nice change.

 

You have a great weekend...it is supposed to be SPRING finally...so I imagine everyone will be out working in their yards...maybe us too, at least get the front porch ready to sit on and get the fountain going.

 

Keep looking up, better days are coming....Cheers ~ Louise

Old Stove ~ New-Used-Stove

Hi there everyone....how are you doing this fine day????? My Hawks are in the Stanley Cup Playoff's, they are playing the St. Louis Blues, so far the score is 0-0 and we are in the 3rd period!!!!
I will let you know the score at the end of this post.....Go Hawks!!!

Well, as you can see....I got a new (used) stove (please scroll down two pictures)....the white stove which finally matches my refrigerator, pretty cool, huh???

So the above picture is my old Norge, it came with this house when we bought it in 1991, so yeah, I had it for 25 years and who knows how long it has been within this house. It was "on it's last legs" as the appliance man said. It was working on only 2 burners, the timer and clock did not work, the oven door did not close all the way, so heat escaped  when baking and the oven door handle fell off dozens of times, finally I had JP grey tape it back, I got tired of opening the door and the handle would come off....geez!!!

In the above picture is the old stove all cleaned and ready to hit the rode....I shall miss you....no, not so much!!! (notice my lovely yellow walls (Rebuilding Together painted my kitchen and I have been adding the back-splash, a little at a time, I need to get another package at Menards this week and finish the bottom part. I seem to splatter a bit.)

TA-DA....here is my new (used) Amana stove. The appliance man said this stove is from the 2000's....so yeah, a little bit newer. A digital clock, timer, oven cleaner, it even shows the temp as it is preheating too. The heating elements get hotter faster too. I have a feeling when I fry a steak in the pan, I will actually be able to hear the sizzle of the steak....can hardly wait!!!

I am really enjoying this new stove and have been cooking up a storm. Last night I roasted a whole chicken.....tried a new recipe, no, I did not take a picture, I guess I forgot.

Tonight, I made this Cheesy Asparagus Tart with Hollandaise Sauce. If you are interested in this recipe, I think you might find it here. Yummy, this was really good. When JP comes home I will heat it up and a ham loaf from Easter Sunday. There will be Chicken soup from the roasted chicken last night. I love making Chicken soup....no two pots are ever the same.

In this picture.....I am making a chocolate/peanut butter cake with fudge frosting. I have not taken a picture of the finished product. You will have to come back in a few days to see what it looks like finished....lol!!!

Well time to close here for a few days....have to go finish my cake and watch the rest of the Hockey game....we are in overtime..score is still 0-0.....my goodness!!! This is just the first game for them with 6 more to go. I think, who ever wins 4 games, wins, then it's on to the next team. Just this one series will last 2 weeks....in all, the hockey teams will be playing into June. I sure don't remember the season lasting this long when I used to see the games in Chicago back in the 60's....course then there was only 6 teams....now there is 30 teams (if I calculated right). 

Aw....shucks....St. Louis scored!!! 1-0!!!! Well, there's 6 more games to go with St. Louis.

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

A Gift and a Few Cards for Hospice

Hi there everyone. I sure have been slacking at blogging, haven't I....no need to answer that. Guess I have been busy making cards. Our Heartland Hospice meeting was this past Friday. So all last week I was busy making cards and getting my box of 50 cards ready to donate.

We had a pleasant surprise waiting for us, we each were given this lovely gift, a cup and delicious blueberry muffin, which is hard to see in this picture. (it is actually gone now, that's why I said it was delicious!!! What a nice surprise. Heartland also buys us a breakfast at Denny's in December....so yeah, those are the little perks of volunteering for Heartland Hospice.

Note: I am drinking tea out of this cup as I type this blog....this makes a nice tea cup, don't you think???

Following are a few cards I donated to them....these Sandhill Cranes were filed away for 5 years....I thought, what the heck, lets turn them into a card. The crane was stamped and embossed in gold....just not sure how I did the background though......hard to remember after 5 years. I sure am glad no one asked how I made it or if I have the stamp anymore. The stamp was borrowed from and old friend I am no longer in contact with. Anyways, it turned out pretty neat and colorful too. I really should try and look for a stamp something like this...sure is an elegant card. Guess that is why I am enjoying using my Flamingo stamps....maybe I should look for a more elegant Flamingo like this Sandhill crane.

These cards will be good for a man....a cute raccoon and woodpecker.....I love this die cut and it will be hard to give back to the owner. I think this week I will make about 20 of these die cuts in different colors, so I have a stock of them. Can never have enough. Then I shall have to return the die cut to Betty.

In the picture below are some really easy cards I made. Saw a card like this on the Internet and saved it to my files. All I did was use the alcohol inks and scribbled the colors on, then stamped the tree, which was from Stampin'up and added the salutation and some sequins for embellishment.....very easy, peasy!!!

This was a neat card to make, I saw a copy of this card on the Internet. The stamp is from Stampin'up, it's called "what I love" the stamp comes in 3 phases, first the black is stamped, then the lighter stamp, then the darker part of the stamp to make it three-toned.....I like the look of this card, simple , springy and refreshing.

I donated this lovely lady along with a few other ladies that were similar to this one for Mother's Day cards....I did add some daisy stars along side this card, which completed the look. I sure do like this lady and probably will keep one for myself....maybe frame her and hang her on the wall, as we are BFF's.

This was another easy card, although it did take some time. Each flower was stamped, then cleaned and stamped with another color till all 4 flowers were stamped. Then I drew a line down each side of the flowers, it is hard to see in this picture, but I embellished the cards with speckles on the lines, and sequins for a little sparkle. I dabbed the one card with red ink, but did not care for the look and left the others plain.



I have a few other cards up my sleeves for Father's Day....one will be a golfer, maybe in black and white or brown....kind of simple.

I bought some new Stampin'up die cuts and stamps...looking forward to receiving them. Also from another company, I bought some oval die cuts and stamps.....I think I better hold back from stamp shopping, it sure can get expensive at times. Oh well...."what price, glory"!!!! (now what does that mean??? It just popped in my mind?????? Maybe I should ask Cortana???)

Well, time to close, have to go to bed in a little while. I have a Doctor's appointment tomorrow, they are taking some of my blood....hope my blood sugars are normal and not to high. I always worry about that.....don't want anymore medication to take, things are fine as they stand.

Have a great day and keep looking up....better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

April Came in Like a Lamb....I Guess

Hi there everyone. Well, it's the first day of April and April Fool's day.....nope, no one played a trick on me...and I did not play tricks either....guess I am not that much into trick playing. AND, April seemed to come in like a lamb....at least for today. Guess there is snow coming over the weekend, not much I don't think. 

So, today's post is about the cards I have made recently. The rose card and cross card were both made at Betty's card class two weeks ago....see how slow I am in getting things posted??? I love that Rose card.....as I told Betty, I think I will send it to "myself" when my birthday comes around....lol!

The cross card, I thought came out really nice....amazing, I do have this stamp and probably will make a few more....maybe use it for a "sympathy card". I usually don't have sympathy cards on hand, so this would be a good one to have....or it could be an Easter card for next year. The color on the card is chalks and then a fixative spray was used to keep the chalks from smudging.

The following cards are my "vintage lady" cards.....aren't they gorgeous??? A few years ago Betty gave me these pictures that were printed on plastic.....I never used them. At my last class, Betty had some cards made up and I bought a few for samples. She borrowed me her die cut for the frames. Actually the one below is mine....I just bought it the other day at Hobby Lobby. It sure turned out beautiful, I think I will send this to me also....lol!!!

The purple vintage lady below.....gorgeous again....the die cut frame is Betty's. I have made about 10 extra frames so I can make a few more cards using this frame as I need to get this die cut back to her.

The blue vintage lady is another frame I picked up at Hobby Lobby....she turned out lovely too.

In the picture below are the "Steak Tacos and Mole Verde with Radishes and Avocado" from Blue Apron. I made these a few weeks ago....then made them again with flank steak.....goodness these were good. I love the Mole Verde sauce on the steak which was made with tomatillos, spice, chopped pepitas, cilantro and juice of a lime.....gosh, so deliciousness!!!!

My next 3 recipes came yesterday from Blue Apron and they are "Steak and Eggs with Quick Kimchi Fried Rice", "Chicken Fried Chicken with Baked Sweet Potato & Collard Greens" and "Dukkah-Spiced Cod with Warm Beet, Carrot & Arugula Salad"

I have decided to get these meals once a month, so whatever they are.....it will REALLY have to be superb in their presentation and ingredients!!! We'll see what happens. I still enjoy making these meals and learn so much from them, it's like going to culinary school once a month for $60.00...guess that is pretty cheap when I look at it that way.

Well, tomorrow is SATURDAY.....yay, how I love Saturday's!! It's  supposed to rain or snow, I think I will go downstairs and make some more cards....Hospice meeting is next Friday....so I need to get some cards put together for that. You may see another post with cards I made and probably one of the recipes from Blue Apron.

Time to close....it's getting late and I need to start thinking about JP coming home and what to make for his dinner. Probably leftover spaghetti and chicken, toast, fruit...maybe a salad too. I guess this is why I always have dishes in the sink, I can never quite catch up with dirty dishes.

So you all have a great weekend and keep looking up....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise