Last Day of November

Hi there everyone. It's me, just peeking in for the last day of November.....where oh where did this month go???? According to my calendar....it was a busy one, something going on everyday. No, don't want to repeat it. Wish I was a duck and everything would just slip off my feathers and not penetrate. Just frolic in the sun, playing in the water with not a care in the world....yeah, it would be nice.

Went to Sam's Club today and picked up a few things. They have the best hot dogs....so I picked one up for JP and I for lunch. You get a tall drink all for $3.10....such a deal!! So I got some olive oil, chicken breast, Red Quinoa and Chia Seed Chips, cheese, kielbasa, frozen Mango's and baking potatoes, oh and fig newtons.

I love Sam's chicken breast...they are so big, definitely enough for two people. Now I am looking for a recipe to bake using them....think I have some marinade in the cabinet, shall marinade it and bake.

Tomorrow, is another shopping day. Picking up my new glucose monitor at Shopko, take Kylie to the groomer, then pick her up. Get some eggs...1 1/2 dozen for 68 cents and a $10.00 box of dented & broken bags of food (if it's there for the taking). Oh and some bread and JP's LaCrox water.

Friday is Hospice meeting and we are meeting at Denny's for breakfast, then pass the cards around to look at. We meet once a year at Denny's and Hospice pays for our breakfast. For all the work we have done to make cards for them.

After Denny's I need to go to the Christian Book store and pick up two vials of "Rose of Sharon" anointing oil for Pastor Ron. Walmart, Bed and Bath, Hobby Lobby (better get my coupon before I go) Whew....tired already.....thank goodness Saturday is around the corner.

Well, now that I have completely bored you.....I shall close here and go marinate my chicken breast.

Have a great night and talk tomorrow maybe.....have to finish up my cards for Hospice and put the inserts in....then I am done. Have a great night and keep looking up....better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Thanksgiving Plan "A" and Plan "B"

Hi there everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day. It went way too fast didn't it? My plans for Thanksgiving dinner did not pan out the way I had planned......I had to switch to plan B very quickly, not that I really had a plan....but it sure was a good thing I was not having company and had something in the freezer, I would have been frantic.

I ordered these three meals from Blue Apron to be delivered by Wednesday, the 23rd, no later then 8pm. Well, I waited for FedEx to deliver my meals, and I waited and waited. No meals showed up at my door.

I decided to email Blue Apron and let them know my order did not show up at my door. They responded right away, letting me know their shipping partners truck had mechanical issues. Blue Apron will refund my money on this order and they will also give me 3 free meals. They apologized for my inconvenience and plans I had made. There might be a chance the box will turn up on the 25th...if so please do not use the contents. We'll see, I think the vegies will be fine, the meat might be questionable, but if the freezer blocks are still frozen, do you think it would still be good???? 

So here is what I missed, "Roasted Turkey & Cranberry Sauce with Brussels Sprouts and Mashed Potatoes".....mmmm sure sounded delicious. When I was shopping Sam's club Tuesday, they actually were selling Brussels Sprouts on the large stem it's grown on....I thought, that's neat and almost bought it, but then I thought, no, I better not....getting a whole box of vegies from Blue Apron. Now I wish I had listened to that inner voice.

The second meal, "Italian Wedding soup with Pork Meatballs" I love Italian Wedding soup.

The third meal was "Fresh Cavatelli Pasta with Sauteed Cabbage and Chestnut Breadcrumbs" I was going to make this along with the Roasted Turkey today.....oh well....on to Plan B.

My next three meals, which will be delivered December 29th (and will be free) "Steak & Green Peppercorn Sauce with Kale & roasted potatoes" "Sesame Chicken with Bok Choy & Jasmine Rice" "Cod en Papillote (parchment paper) with Spinach & Freekeh" Looking forward to this one....always wondered how to cook with parchment paper.

Here you see 'Plan B" Pork Tenderloin, homemade sauerkraut, oven fried potatoes, roasted yellow cauliflower and carrots. Oh and cranberry sauce. We just had dessert, Cheese cake with cranberries and whip cream and pumpkin cake.....no calories there right???

Plan B was absolutely delicious. It always helps to have special meals like this on JP's Grandmothers Bavarian China. JP figures the China is about 75+ years old. All still in one piece except for the tea cups, there is only 2 left. They are very fragile.

Well, time to close, I need to get another card up in my Etsy Store....sort of slacking there again. You all have a wonderful night and great day tomorrow on Black Friday. No, I do not plan on going shopping. JP has a Doctor's appointment, follow-up on his prostrate and what we will do about it....to operate or not to operate...his decision.

Keep looking up....better days are coming for sure!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends. Enjoy your meal with all the trimmings that go along with a turkey dinner, or what ever you may be serving on this special day!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Card's Made at Betty's Today

Hi there everyone.....Hope you had a wonderful day. My day started out with Blood and urine test at 11am....I sure cannot figure out my blood sugars. When I got up they were 160. By the time I got to the clinic it was 236 by the time I got home it was 210, I have not checked since. Hopefully my A1C will be okay (but I have a feeling it won't be). Anyways, I was done at 11:15, we got home by 11:30. I had a hard boiled egg, then left for Betty's.

Got to Betty's 12noon and we sat down to make these lovely cards. I took the pictures there, after each card, the background is lousy....just a white paper towel, I usually use white shiny material when taking pictures....there's the difference, much prettier.

This was the last card we made....but I am making it the first card.....such a pretty card. The trees and cardinals are die cuts, the background is a shiny green card stock run threw the cuttlebug and "Silent night Holy night embossed in white. Hopefully Betty can pick up this die cut for me at the convention this weekend.

This seascape card was fun, colored in with copic markers, glue was applied in the places where we wanted the glitter to show. The blue background was run through the cuttlebug as was the white background.......looks like I got it a little crooked there...oh oh.

Another fun card. All die cuts to make this card look like a penguin????

Now if you are a Packer fan....you would like this card. Packers have lost their last 3 games.....hope they get back into their winning form before it is too late!!! But this was a fun card to make, as are all the cards we make. Packer mouse in Packer colors, I got the cheese head a little too dark though....so I think it's more of a Cheddar cheese head. The mouse and fence were colored in with Copic markers. Betty had the sign made....she said, but I wasn't listening. I seem to get lost in coloring. The background was patterned paper.

Last but not least, another pumpkin pie. Nope, this one is all eaten up and gone....time to make another one....yum, JP won't complain.

Well, time to close this post, I need to get downstairs and make some cards. Hospice meeting is on the 2nd of December. We will be going out for breakfast...yum, can hardly wait.

I joined another group of card makers. It's called the "Secret Image Group". There are 19 participants. We stamp, emboss or die cut 14 of the same design/images. Make two cards with that image and keep it till the reveal party and one for your secret partner then send the 12 images to your secret image partner. I hope I got that right.

So anyways....something new will be added to my blog....Secret Images that I send and receive and the cards made through this fun new group. I am sure it will be fun.

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

Pies and Roses

Hi there everyone. So how are you doing after the elections? Gosh, I can't believe how in an uproar this country still is. I was not happy when Obama was elected the first time and then a second time.....I sure did not go out and protest like these people are now....like come on....grow up!!! I heard a lot of these people are being paid to do the things they are doing. It's a shame. Berkley College in California, all the kids walked out of classes because they were so distraught over Trump being elected.....oh good grief!!!!

I think Donald Trump will do very well, he's a good businessman and running this government is a business. He may not have experience running this Country....but did Obama? Time will tell, I only know God gives his people exactly what they want and the majority of the people spoke and were tired of the way things were going. Our County was sinking fast......yes, I am glad Trump won, now we need to pray for him......BIG TIME!!!

Just made a pumpkin pie tonight. Truly very simple. I cooked up a small pumpkin. Put the pulp in a blender, added a cup of milk, 2 eggs, Teaspoon of pumpkin pie seasoning, 2 Tablespoons (over flowing) sugar. Blend together and pour into a pie shell and bake @ 400 degrees for 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Once it cools down, a little bit of whip cream will top off this lovely pie.

Took some pictures of the last roses of summer. Above is my salmon color rose...she must be over 20 years old and just keeps blooming and blooming. I still have to put her to bed for the winter. I just wrap white plastic around her then cover her with leaves....that's all.

This is JP's yellow rose....she is only 5-10 years old and still does not get to a very big height and has very few blooms on her. Not sure what her problem is. She sits right next to the salmon colored rose. But her blooms are always very pretty and vibrant.

My lovely long stemmed white rose....this is such a pretty rose bush and the white roses are gorgeous. This rose bush is already for winter, she is all covered and ready for the first snow fall. I might want to add some fertilizer before they go to bed for the winter.

Well time to close, I need to get some cards into my Etsy store....more Christmas cards....sure do hope some of them sell. Nothing is planned for the next couple of days....maybe just rake leaves and get them on the street before pick-up on Monday.

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

Daylight Savings, Elections and Some Cards

Hi there everyone.....how you doing on this mighty fine day......2nd day of daylight savings....what for, I do not know. I had a hilarious day yesterday. FORGOT to set the clocks back Saturday before going to bed. (too many clocks for one thing-at least 12 in the house alone). JP's fascination is clocks.

So, anyways, JP woke me up Sunday morning at 8am to see if I was going to church.....yeah I guess so. Finally got up, did the ritual of getting up, bathroom, hair, teeth, wash hands, then I decided to do my blood, (usually don't do it on Sundays, take a day off). Sat down at the computer and turned it on, started to do my blood and noticed the clock on the computer said 7:30am (what, am I dreaming????) Then I looked at the Atomic clock and it said 7:30......oh my, my watch said 8:30.....OH-OH I forgot to set the clocks!!!! I went outside to tell JP, "It's only 7:30 not 8:30, I forgot to set the clocks back!

Oh how funny, it sure is crazy getting older and forgetful. How do you like my funny pictures....I love ducks and could not resist the funny duck above. I used to have 4 ducks when we lived up in Ladysmith....I sure did love those birds, they were so much fun to take care of till they started getting killed off by some wild animal. We later found out it was one of my dogs.....gosh I was upset!!!!

JP brought home 4 little pumpkins for me to cook up and make pumpkin pies, have one cooked up and ready to make something with it.......when I saw this picture, I just had to copy and paste......funny picture. Wish making pies was this easy (I think)

So tomorrow is Election day......I sure do hope the right person gets in. The right person is on the right......get it????? I don't think I can stand another 4 years like these past 8 years have been....all our liberties will definitely be taken away.

In these next few pictures of cards are ones I have found on the Internet, and would like to make these cards. I have made this card already, but not using the trees in the background....shall have to try this one for sure.

I like this snowflake card and actually have the stamp.....such a simple card and very clean looking.

I thought this was a lovely card using the butterflies....looks like patterned paper and folding it over and adding a butterfly and some verse.

I just bought this die cut....and have cut out a few leaves....just have to find the embossing folder, patterned paper  and ribbon to make this card. Pretty, pretty for fall.

Think I will cut this post short, need to get a few cards up in my Etsy store....more Christmas cards to sell....hopefully they will....

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

Cheers ~ Louise

7th Game - They WON and a Few Cards for Hospice

Hi there everyone....how are the first few days of November treating you??? Ours not so good....we got the results of my husband's prostrate biopsy. It's not a good report. He has cancer, but it is a "slow growing cancer" maybe that is a good report. At this point we are not sure what will happen. The Doctor says this could go two ways. We can watch it and see how fast or slow it is growing by doing more biopsies. Operation, and take the prostrate out. Or radiation, but he did not think that would be a good option.

Next week we have another meeting with the Doctor and if we have questions that is when we will talk things out. JP wants to talk to his brother first. John called tonight, so I was able to fill him in on a few things and he will call JP tomorrow.

The 7th game of the World Series is playing right now. So I thought I would blog a bit. I guess I could have gotten fancy and put the Cubs decal up or something. Maybe next post....(darn the Indians just scored 1-1, okay, that's enough Indians!!). Yeah...score is 5-1 Cubbies just scored again and while I was on the phone with John.

Our Heartland Hospice meeting is this Friday. I've got 75 cards put together, Christmas, Birthday, Thank You, Thinking of You and Thanksgiving. Following are some of the cards that are included in the box...these are not all of them. I simply would bore you with all the pictures.

In the picture below a card made with a Christmas napkin. The napkin is peeled down to the first layer then glued on card stock and smoothed out and left to dry. Then I glue the card stock on a card and embellish the card with speckles...see the glittery look? I made quite a few cards using this technique. Christmas trees, a few different snowmen and Santa too.

Here is my Great Blue Heron....I sure do like this stamp....will probably make lots more of these cards. The Heron is stamped and colored in with copic markers. The layered on card stock and lacy material paper (the name of this paper escapes me at this moment), then I ran some washi tape down the side and added a greeting.

The card below is a recycled card....layered it on sparkling wrapping paper and card stock. The card might have been a post card then I embellished the card with speckles for that glittered look.

The card below was a card I made at Betty's house. The flowers were stamped with different colored  inks, it was not necessary to huff on the inks to make them stamp, as they were special inks allowing you to ink and stamp. I think the flowers were then die cut and raised on the card.

Now this card is my favorite Christmas card....die cut sleigh and houses. "Silent night" is stamped and a pretty trinket added. The background is snowflakes run through the cuttlebug and silver speckles embellish the snowflakes and the edge of the card where the sleigh rides.

Last but not least are these Christmas cards.....I made a whole bunch of these cards a couple of years ago. The scene is embossed with gold then the card was run through a cuttlebug, cutting out the Christmas tree. I layed some sparkly wrapping paper under the scene to pop out the tree. Pretty simple, but very pretty.

Well, the Cubs and Indians are still playing....the score is 6-3, Cubs winning and we are in the 7th.

I think I need to turn the heat on...getting a little bit chilly in this house. Love the weather for November......maybe it will stay nice like this till my Birthday....but then, there is always snow falling around my birthday.......we shall see, as the 21st will draw near pretty fast.

Oh-OHHHHHH Not good, the Indians just scored, it's 6-6!!!!!! Will the Cubs win????? Now we are in the 9th and Cubs are up. It's starting to rain now in Cleveland.....what next!!!

YAY!!!! The Cubs won the World Series....how exciting!!! 8-7....what a game. 1908 was the last time they won the series....that is a very long draught!!!! You have a great day and keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise