The Last Day of May and....

Hi there everyone....how was you Memorial Day Weekend.....my goodness, we plan ahead for the big day and then....POOH....it's gone.

I had a nice day...worked outside, pulling weeds and planting some tomato, pepper and cabbage plants and a few old seeds...if I don't see growth, I will replant.

We grilled out, (shucks no pictures) yummy prime rib hamburgers and red potatoes with a Caesar salad on the side. Then we ate on the front porch. Something we have not done in a long time for some reason. Yeah, I think I know the reason, I was sick all last summer and did not feel like grilling and eating on the porch. That could have been the reason.

Well, being this is the last day of May....I have 9 days till Hospice meeting. I have not even started to make cards yet.....but I think the following cards will be samples of what I will be making.

I found this card yesterday on the internet and thought it would make a great 4th of July card and even a Veterans Day card in October.

The butterfly card below looks like a fun card to make. Just punch a bunch of circles and 2 hearts for wings.

I made this card for Father's day, some birthday cards for men would be good with this design. It's kinda fun to do and very relaxing as it sort of reminds me of adult coloring.

As soon as I receive my Mini Misti in the mail....I am going to make this card. The flower comes in 4 different stamps...so using the misti will help with stamping this stamp.

Today JP and I had our teeth cleaned. We are good till September and another visit. Tomorrow the car gets an oil change. Friday through Sunday I will be sitting for Misty the cat.

I will go to her house, feed her, talk to her, pet her and clean her litter. She seems to enjoy my visits plus I even get paid to watch her. A Bonus!!!!

Saturday, Kylie goes to the groomer at 8:30am and then there is a demo at the Library put on by the Master Gardeners at 10am to 11:30 in how to do container gardening. They will put a planter together and then there will be a drawing for the planter. I feel "lucky" since I just won a Mini Misti.....lol!

Well time to close this post....hope you have a great evening and keep looking up....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

My Memorial Weekend Project.....And a Blessing to Those That Served

This being Memorial Day, I would like to THANK YOU to you all that served this country that we might still be FREE. You gave your life, just as Jesus gave his, that we might be saved from our sins and live in freedom. Thank You, Thank You! For all you have done!! As this song goes, "Thank you Lord for saving my soul, thank you Lord for making me whole, thank you Lord for giving to me, thy great salvation, a gift to me."

Hi there everyone. How is your Memorial Day Weekend going??? As you can see, I am posting this on Sunday (late) evening. We were quite busy Saturday, my project was my neighbors side of their house. Her weeds were growing very well and as they have been up north, I asked her if I could pull her weeds and plant some extra tomato and pepper plants we received from the Appleton Master Gardeners. Her answer was yes.

So in these two pictures you can see all those weeds...pretty easy to pull, there was a fern and a small hostas planted along this side of her house. On the other side of the door are a few more hostas....I will work around them.

In the picture below is the finished project on this side of the door. I threw in some zucchini seeds, 2 tomato plants and 2 pepper plants and 4 cabbage plants. Along with some radish seeds. I will also throw some Swiss Chard seeds and onions too.

The ground was really pliable and easy to work with. I sure do hope these plants grow. They will get lots of hot afternoon sun during the day, so that will help in growth. Another plus will be when I walk out my back door I will see these plants growing rather then weeds. My side of the driveway will be flowers but they only get the morning sun.

Here's another shot of the side of her house.

Tomorrow I will have this part to work on.....maybe just pull the weeds and get some more tomato plants.....I have fallen in love with sliced tomato sandwiches.....and I want to can some this year too. So we can't have too many tomatoes!!!

Today I suffered from being outside all day yesterday and I got bit up pretty bad by the mosquitos or whatever they were. I did not feel a thing till last night when they started itching. I tried sprays, Absorbine Jr. (which felt cooling) everything. Finally a friend at church said try some Benadryl, so when we got home, I took a pill....and in half an hour I was out like a light...tonight I ran HOT water on my arms and legs. Helps for a little while then the itch starts up again.

So, as much as I would like to do some more weeding I am so fearful of the mosquitos getting me, I shall have to carry a bug candle around with me or something to repel them. OR not work so late into the evening.

I am looking forward to receiving my Mini Misti this week sometime....so I really need to get some more things planted before the Misti comes because I shall lock myself in the basement and will be playing with making cards with my Misti!!!! It's the little things that make me happy!!!

Well, time to close, you all have a great day and keep on looking up....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Exercise, I Won a Misti and a Garden Walk

Hi there everyone, how have you all been doing. I guess I have been MIA again for a week, again.

Had Internet and U-Verse problems these last 5 days. Finally broke down and called At&t and talked to some foreign person that is so very hard to understand. (Gosh.....I hate having to do that). But the problem is fixed and you know "what I have to do??" Each day I have to pull the plug on the modem....can you believe that??? I struggled for 5 days. I would be on the Internet and the TV would freeze up then give me a message that U-Verse signal has been lost and I had to jump through 5 hoops to get things working again.....nope, not gonna do that. But then to top that off, every time I would try to do something on the Internet I would get the message "oops we can't find that page". Boy I was getting VERY frustrated.

First I thought it was my computer and I had to take it in to get cleaned and that there was some kind of virus. But then, when the TV would freeze up, I decided it was an At&t problem. So I finally called tonight and explained the situation to the first guy....we got cut off. Then I called back and got a second guy and had to explain everything a 2nd time (geez, getting a little upset by now) and I was not sure he could really figure it out.

Suddenly he said...."I know what  the problem is and he said I had to unplug the modem for 2 seconds every day" "yeah, sure, I said, we'll see" Okay....everything is working so far..................

So I really didn't start a new exercise routine....I have been thinking about it though....hahhahaha!!

I am soooooo excited!!! I won a mini misti from here. A misti was being given away everyday for the Month of May. All I had to do was leave a comment on the blog that was giving away the misti for that day here's that blog. Today I found out I won one......don't usually win things...but today was my "lucky day"!!! When my misti comes in the mail I will show you how it works....it's a great tool for a stamper/scrapbooker.

I took a picture of my Purple balls (their names fail me).....the first year I had one ball. The second year 3 balls. This year....6 balls! They are multiplying. (there was another one, but it fell on the ground....so it happily made it's way into the house as a bouquet. (maybe I should take a picture of it)

This is the Garden Walk....my neighbor Kathy...which I just met a few weeks ago has a wonderful back yard that I was just biting at the bit to see. Finally one day I gathered the nerve to ask her about a plant I had in my front yard....I did not know if it was a weed or a flower. She did not know what it was.....today she said it was "Phlox" I guess I will let it keep growing.

This is her Lupine.....pretty purple....love, love.

A beautiful Clementius.

Some pretty pink Lupine.

Ummmmm....I forgot what she called these pretty flowers. Kathy said she would let me know when more flowers were blooming in June...that will be fun. June is also the Master Gardeners Garden walk....I might go to that too. Never know what kind of ideas one can come up with. Course I have so many ideas going....I may not be able to keep up with myself.

Well, time to close here, I have to get another Father's day card up on Etsy tonight. Now, as long as things are working right....PTL!!

Have a great night and a good Saturday and keep looking up, things do get better....just ask me!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Class Cards and JP's Birthday Card

Hi there everyone....I think it is finally Spring. According to the weather forecaster on my computer, for the next 10 days the temps will be in the 70's. Now that is perfect weather to me. Spring like and not too hot. Gosh, I sure do hope my air conditioner works this year, I may have to think about getting a new one for sure. But I will cross that bridge when I get to it....not sense running towards it if I don't have to run.......

So following are 4 cards I made at Betty's card class yesterday......the top one, as you can see is a bride and groom.....very simple and easy to put together.

The tulip card was fun to do. Stamped the tulips on black card stock with white ink. Then colored with colored pencils.....very relaxing, now I know why those adult coloring books are so popular now a days. Just gabbing and coloring can sure relax the mind.

This little birdie was told it was your birthday.....a simple card and fun to put together. We cut the tree in half then added the black and green strips that were punched out with a border punch. Betty had the bird cut out for us, so we just had to glue dot him in place.

I love this card and those two peanuts....it was fun coloring them. The inside verse says "Oh nuts, I forgot your birthday" The two nuts were colored in with copic markers then layered on a die cut frame and printed paper. I shall have to look for these two nuts at the different sites I visit.

Now here is a card I made for JP for his birthday. I thought he would really like this one. I got the stamps and folder from one of those magazines that come from the UK.

Here is the inside of the card....don't you just love this card. It did take a long time to put this card together and I made 5 of them. So I actually spent a whole evening on these cards. One already went to Kylie's groomer for her birthday, JP got one and another one is going to a friend. Two more left.

Well, time to close this quickie post and go walk Kylie. Hopefully I can get up the energy to do that. I wanted to work outside, but for some reason....the motivation was not there....Oh now I understand that saying and how true...."the mind is willing but the body isn't."

Note: After Kylie's walk, I did work outside for about 1/2 hour, raking leaves and moving them to under the tree. I moved the swing a bit, turned on the water fountain and sat on the swing with Kylie for awhile....I think a mosquito found me. Well, I am armed with Vicks Vapor Rub, which I did not have any on. I read that Vicks keeps the mosquitoes away.....we shall see.

Have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers. Cards. Water Pond, Food

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having some nice days. I think it will finally feel like spring this week. Maybe I will get some things done outside this week. I have been enjoying my flowers....tulips, but they are starting to poop out now. It's a good thing I took some pictures of them before the rabbits and frost got them. The flower below, is actually a store bought bouquet that I treated myself to for Mother's Day. It's still sitting on the dinning room table, but it's little petals are starting to fall on the table.

My variegated tulips....so pretty, but for some reason the rabbit thinks it is food. Good thing I took a picture this day, because the next day they were down like the rabbit thought he was a lumberjack and "timber" they fell to the ground. (darn wabbit!)

My pink variegated tulips....I think I planted these the first couple of years we were living in this house and they are still going strong.

Pretty yellow tulips.

My pink tulips.

My orange tulips. I think I need some white and red tulips, maybe I should plant some this fall.

Here is a card I finished last night. I bought a new die cut which makes these cute little flowers, a nice little card for Thinking of you notes or birthdays.

Got my pond going the other day.....love the sound of water trickling. I had to tip the bond back upside and replace the rock around the pond. There's a few rocks that I need to have JP move, too heavy for me. I don't want to get another hernia.

So here is another Blue Apron meal I made the other day....very yummy and tasty. "Pork Tteokbokki with Asparagus and Spicy Black Bean Sauce" I didn't make it as spicy as it called for, so JP ate it with pleasure.

The asparagus was cut, blanched and drained thoroughly. Ginger and the bottom part of two scallions was cooked in oil with salt and pepper. Add the ground pork and cook till browned. Rice cakes (These rice cakes are Korean-a deliciously chewy ingredient often shaped and prepared much like a rice noodle) have been boiling in water till tender then added to the mixture along with 1/4 cup of the rice cake water. Then add the blanched asparagus, black bean sauce, soy glaze and half the reserved rice cake water and as much of gochujang as you like....(that is the spice). Cook a few minutes more, then divide between 2 dishes and garnish with the green tops of the scallions.....Enjoy! Yep we sure did.

Tonight I am making Zucchini pancakes for JP's dinner along with some left-overs. Bought a cantaloupe a few days ago and still have to cut into that. So I guess JP's dinner will be a modge-podge of things to eat tonight. 

Tomorrow, I have to go to the store and get some meds for JP and will probably tackle some weeds. I did get my front porch water fountain going.....yay! Now it is time to sit on the front porch, that is Kylie's favorite place to watch the world go by.

Wednesday, I have a date with Betty....my card making day......so you probably will see those cards on Thursday or Friday.

Well, you have a great day and keep looking up......better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Rhubarb Pie and Ashby's Teas

Hi there everyone.....hope you had a good day. I have been very laxed in my blogging lately, not sure why???? Maybe cause I don't have that many visitors and/or commenter's. Gosh, just not sure how one goes about having regular readers and commenter's. Or....maybe my life is not that exciting that people don't care to come by and see what I am up to.  That's okay....no problem.

I for one, have a few blogs that I like to visit daily, I don't comment much, one reason is, I have to be in Google Chrome to comment, for some reason blogger won't let me comment when I am in Internet Explorer.....just don't know why things have to be so hard. Oh well, I guess I must be more diligent a commenter in order to receive comments and be in Google.

Right at this moment....this rhubarb pie is baking. The rhubarb is from our backyard....yum, I can hardly wait for a bite....better pull the whip cream out from the freezer. It's really an easy recipe. I use a freezer pie shell or Pillsbury pie and roll it into the pie pan. The filling is:
4-5 cups of cut rhubarb
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 egg (it keeps things together)
Mix together with your hand is the best.

Pour into the pie shell and cover with a topping of 3-4 Tablespoon butter, 1/4 to 1/2 + cup flour and mix together till crumbly (you may have to add more flour to make it more crumbly) Then I add some cinnamon to the mixture then spread across the pie.

The pie is baked at 425 for 10 minutes then turn the temp down to 350 for 30 minutes. Cool and serve with ice cream or whip cream.

Today in the mail, I received this wonderful tea, "Ashbys Tea"....so good. I never heard of it till I went to Doloris' house to cut her hair and she served me this tea.....the purple one is what I tried, "Cinnamon Plum Tea".....I always like something new and this sounded so delicious. The other tea I tried at her house (6 weeks later) was "White Pomegranate Tea"....oh my, that was good too. I vowed that I would buy some and that was like in January.....finally I ordered the teas on Monday and the teas came today.

I decided that I need to go back to my tea drinking, been doing too much coffee lately. I think the added cream sure can add calories to ones body.

I used to think my ducks all had to be in a row, and if they weren't I would shoot them....which is what I told one of my former bosses 14 years ago....we just laughed about it, because I found out later, he needed to have all his ducks in a row too!!

 

Anyways, I found these signs on the Internet....I think the duckies were on Facebook, the bottom sign, (probably Facebook also) they both brought a smile to my face and I needed to have them for my files. Which reminds me, I have been slowly working on cleaning up my picture files and putting all my 2015 pictures on the memory stick....no telling how many pictures I have. But it seemed to clear up some space, so I was happy about that.

Yep....sometimes I could use a little help around this house.....wonder what it is like to have a chef, butler and a maid????????????? Guess I will always wonder about that one and just do it myself. I don't mind the chef part, as I like to cook. A maid that cleans the house......that would be nice as I am not a cleaner.....just do the basics. A butler?????? now that would be interesting.

Watching hockey at I type this post, the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks are playing.....the Predators are losing miserably 5-0 and this is the last chance for the Predators, 7th game....oh well, looks like the Sharks will be playing the St. Louis Blues, not unless some miracle takes place for Nashville.

Tonight's dinner for JP, when he comes home, will be pork steak with applesauce, roasted cauliflower, fruit and rhubarb pie....well rounded I think, it was delicious as I already had some pork and applesauce.

Well, as soon as this game is over, I shall go downstairs and get my cards ready for Hospice tomorrow. I thought it was last Friday but after checking the schedule....I found I had one more week to work on cards. It will be the usual 50+ cards, but at least I am not rushing to make them.

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

Food and Father's Day Cards

Hi there everyone....hope you are have a great Sunday and a Happy Mother's Day....weather was mighty fine today. We went to church, I got a little purple petunia to plant some place. Made a Blue Apron meal "Spring Chicken Fettuccine with Sauteed Asparagus, Kale & Rosemary"  (It was "ok"...but not great) Then I sat down to watch some hockey and fell asleep. I really should have been outside doing something, but never made it....took Kylie for a walk and now here I am finishing my post that I actually started last night. Maybe in a little bit I will go downstairs and do some cards. (After I make my rhubarb pie though)

The running of the Kentucky Derby was yesterday....I was watching #10 Whitmore (the jockey caught my attention, always winking at the camera) and #13 Nyquest (named after a Detroit Red Wing hockey player) Nyquest WON!!!! He was at 2-1 and paid $6.60 (guess I would have made $4.60 betting $2.00 to win...hahahahha). When I was still living at home, (in the 60's) my step-father was a gambling man and we went to lots of sulky races in Maywood and regular horse races in Arlington Heights....yep, I did a little bit of betting.) Sad to say, my step-father lost a lot of money because of his betting. Guess that is why he lives in Las Vegas now....so he can play his games)

In these two pictures are some recipes I made from Blue Apron last week....as usual, they were delicious. The above recipe is: "Zucchini & Parmesan Quiches with Red Leaf Lettuce Salad & Pink Lemon Vinaigrette"

The spinach was cooked then pressed to get all the liquid out then chopped. The zucchini, diced and cooked with garlic and seasoned with salt and pepper. Eggs mixed and crème fraiche, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of water whisked together, the zucchini and spinach whisked together and poured into the pie shells and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. While baking at 425 degrees for 18-20 minutes (these were small pie shells, a larger pie shell might be 40 minutes)

The salad was chopped and the vinaigrette is a shallot-lemon juice mixture with salt and pepper to taste and slowly whisk in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until well combined. Combine with the lettuce and top with the rest of the shaved Parmesan cheese.

This recipe is "Grains of Paradise-Crusted Steak with Mashed Plantain, Collard Greens & Ginger Peanuts" Yum the steak was pretty tender this time around....and now to find the Grains of Paradise seasoning....gosh that was good.

Something interesting about this meal was the plantain....I rather like this fruit/vegie, not really sure what to call it...looks like a banana but is more tougher and you can boil or fry them and they are so good. In this recipe, they were boiled then mashed, butter, lime zest, salt and pepper was mixed in then set aside.

The steak was seasoned with salt and pepper and the crushed grains of paradise then pan fried to your desired doneness then left to rest.

Crushed peanuts and ginger were cooked together and set aside. Collard greens were cooked down. Parsley and the juice of a lime, oil, salt and pepper mixed together and served as a sauce for the steak.  The mashed plantain was dished out, then topped with the collards and then the steak and peanut crunch and then topped with the herb sauce. My this was pretty tasty, for sure.

These next four cards are the Father's Day cards I made for Hospice. I probably will make some more of these cards to give to a few men.....I like the hot air balloon card the best and probably will make one to send to the step-father in Las Vegas. He is going to be 90 years old in July....so maybe one of these cards will be a birthday card for him also.

Someone gave me the stamp for this next card, it's been sitting around for 4-5 years and finally used it....looks like a stained glass window card, sorta.

And last but not least....my golfer....I have had him for over 10 years at least. He has been on Birthday cards and Father's Day and I always seem to pull him out every couple of years with a different idea.

So there you have it....another day in the life of Louise...just doing time till Jesus returns for his church....can't be long now what with the way things are going on in this world. Just when you think you  heard it all....something else takes the cake. Sometimes I wonder where people are getting their brains. Don't you? How in the world do we keep sane in an insane world????

Well, I am off to go bake a rhubarb pie. You all have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Busily Working on Cards and Eating

Hi there everyone.....how is your day going??? It's a beautiful sunny day and the temps are in the 60's. I guess the next few days will be warmer and Saturday will be in the 80's.....Spring has Sprung!!!!! Such a nice time of the year. I am hoping to work outside the next few days. Get some things done and pull some weeds.

I will be visiting my neighbor on Saturday, who has been sick and home-bound for 8 weeks. She is going stir-crazy and needs company. I will take her a card...something like the one below.

These two cards were made with the Stampin'up "Rose Wonder" stamps and die cut. Gosh they make a beautiful card. I have been really enjoying playing with this set. So much can be done with this beautiful rose.

I think I showed you this card earlier, but layered the flowers on grey card stock with black background. I bought this new punch, wavy circles. Like the look it gives.

I have added these cards to my box of Hospice cards for this month....I am sure they will be liked. Below is another  "Rose Wonder" card.....so pretty. The meeting is tomorrow, so tonight all I have to do is add the inserts to the cards and if I have time add a few more cards. I have so many cards, but some are just not suitable for someone who is dying.

Blue Apron Day is today.....I have a box coming, I look forward to my boxes and the next few days of cooking. I call it my "Culinary School" for 3 days of cooking. I have learned so much and have enjoyed the different tastes that Blue Apron avails to us novice cooks. Well, I guess I can't say novice, because I have been cooking food for 46+ years.

There was a time that you could not even get me to peel potatoes and boil them and then I would scorch them because I got side tracked and forgot they were cooking....uge!!!

This was a really yummy recipe "Seared Chicken with Sauteed Purple Potatoes, Kale and Apple" I really enjoyed making it. The chicken breast was salt and peppered and placed in oil, browned and cooked through, then left to rest while the vegies cooked. Butter and 1/2 cup water is added to the fond, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and pour over the meat and vegetables.

The vegetables: purple potatoes (where do I find purple potatoes???????) diced, 1 onion diced, kale roughly chopped and 1 Granny apple diced. Cook the potatoes till tender, add the onions (don't forget the salt and pepper) then add the kale and apple and 2 Tbl water. Stirring, till the kale is wilted. Slice almonds, mustard and 2 Tbl. water was added and (salt and pepper)

Place vegetables on plate, top with the chicken and pour the fond over.......oh this was really good, 5 stars for sure!!!!

Note: one thing I have decided is to not add as much salt and pepper as their recipes call for because EVERYTHING is salted and pepper in every step. So, no, not so much salt please.

This was another card in the Hospice card collection.....I really like this card, I have not used these stamps in a very long time and thought they would make for a nice Father's Day card......I was right!!! I need to make more of these cards and put them in my Etsy store for sure. My step father might like one too, eh, maybe one for JP too.

Well, that's about it for today, you all have a great day and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

May Day....May Day

Hi everyone...how was your first day of May....it went fast didn't it??? Saw this funny owl on the internet and had to copy and paste. That's me when I finally hit the pillow at 2am. I can hardly keep my eyes open and just want to zonk out for a few hours but then I have to tell myself JP will be home soon and you need to get something for him to eat.....yeah, not much nap time here. I am so glad when the clock is showing it's time to go to bed.

I don't have many plans for this week, except for getting my cards ready for Hospice. So yeah, I will be working on Father's Day cards and Birthday cards this week.

 

I might work outside and pull some weeds, hopefully my eyes do not tear up too much. Tis the season for allergies you know. I think we might buy a load of mulch this year and hopefully get rid of some week growth. I have so many plans in my head, I hope I can keep up with my ideas....if not, there is next year.

 

Time to close, I need to get downstairs and make a few cards. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise