Happy New Year 2019

Hi there everyone. Well.....it's the last day of 2018, my goodness 2018 went by fast, a sure sign of OLD AGE!!!! I suspect 2019 will do the same thing.

I like the way this picture is showing 2018 washing away (like our sins) and now 2019 shows itself. Wonder what this new year will hold for us all? Do you remember 2000 and the y2k craze and how we were running all over to collect water, food and supplies in case everything shut down including computers!!! Gosh, that was 19 years ago, and we are still here and the computers are still causing us headaches...lol!

I am glad I am not going anywhere tonight. It is snowing outside and a predicted 3-5 inches is falling to the ground. People are already shoveling the snow. JP will most likely wait till tomorrow to shovel when all reports say "no more snow." The snow is very pretty though.

We had to have a plumber come and rescue us from a big leak under the kitchen sink today. Guess it was leaking for awhile, maybe over a week or so. I was doing dishes and noticed water on the floor, dripping down. First, I thought it was water dripping from the top of the sink.....but nope, it was coming from down under!!! I called the plumber on Thursday (last week) and he said he could not come till next Wednesday (of this week).....I said okay....just won't do so many dishes at a time. I really don't know how we get so many, there is just the two of us and a doggie. Sometimes I wish I had a dishwasher....would be nice.

Anyways the plumber called at 7am, this morning, saying he had some time today and could he come out. YES, I said. When he came, he checked things out and found where the leak was coming from. He then said the pipes were plugged, he said it was nothing I was doing wrong....it's just part of the process and sometimes the pipes need to be cleaned. Nice guy....now I just have to wait for the bill.  Gosh, I hope this is not a sign of what the new year will bring.....guess I will just have to wait and see.

I am making sloppy Joe's, french fries and salad for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, steak, mushrooms, baked potato and broccoli. A man at church gave us some money to buy a few steaks for the New Year. Was neat how God answered my little prayer....I wanted something special to cook, like a steak, but had no money for it. And God used this man to bless us...God sure works in mysterious ways.

So tomorrow, I will definitely be watching the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins playing at the Notre Dame Stadium NHL Winter Classic. Of course I will be rooting for the Hawks, but I do enjoy a few of the Boston Bruin players, like Marchard and Chara…..will enjoy this game and hoping the Hawks win. 

Well, I shall close this post for now, till next year. Happy New Year to all of you that read my ramblings and look at my cards. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi there everyone. Hope you are finished with all your Christmas shopping, cooking, baking, cleaning etc. All that goes along with Christmas. It sure can get hectic, can't it?

I cut down on my Christmas card giving this year and decided to send out my cards via Facebook and "blogger." So if you did not receive a card from me this year....here 'tis....Have a Very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy, happy 2019 New Year with many, many blessings!!!

PS. These cards actually went out to relatives and two Pastors. Wish I could have made more like these....they were stunning in real life. Some day I will find the die and make more!!!

Another thing I cut down on this Christmas is my decorating, I still have about 5 boxes to put up, my village, the manger and lots of figurines. I did manage to put my little tree up with lights, decorations etc, the presents were wrapped the other night and put under the tree. I put 3 window lights up (tree, wreath and snowflake) with still one box to unload. It's Christmas Eve....I may not finish, not unless when I finish this post and unload that box, then I am done with my decorating. LOL!!! 

Made some cut-out cookies and a pumpkin pie. The cut-cookies still have to get decorated....do I really care? Not sure, they are pretty good just as they are.

Had a few financial things going on this month. Had to sell a few things just to keep our nose above water. Next month won't be any better because I have to come up with $288 for taxes on the house. Not sure where that will come from....oh but God does, we will just have to wait and see.

JP has this week off, which means a smaller pay check in a couple of weeks. It has been rough going since August when he decided to work just part-time. Maybe in the spring I will get a job with Rover.com and dog-sit, my home or the dogs home.

Well, I am going to close here, time for dinner. You all have a GREAT Christmas. Keep looking up......better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

And the Countdown Begins - 28 Days Till Christmas!!!!

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a good month. Can you believe, Christmas is right around the corner. 28 days and counting. Our days are flying by. Thought I would show you my Christmas tree from last year. It was up for 4 months and had 3 lives!!!! 

A Red, White and Blue Christmas and very patriotic. Love the glow of the blue. Put up in December, then changed over to......

A Valentine's Day Tree. I usually move the tree to this corner, after the village gets put away. Everything is red, of course. Then by the middle of  February, the tree turns Green for...….

You guessed it, St. Patrick's Day!!! But notice my red elf....he seems to like this tree and keeps watch all 4 months. Finally after March, I take the tree down....I have toyed with the idea of leaving the tree up for Easter....but I am finally tired of the tree, and away it goes, down stairs and packed away for another year.

This is Kylie....she was barking at me. She is blind and hard of hearing (sometimes) other times she can hear. She can hear me clap my hands and knows pretty much to follow me. She is going on 14 years...I thought we were going to lose her a couple of months ago, but she snapped out of what ever the problem was. I think the Vet thought she had cancer and was not giving her much of chance. I just changed her dog food and give her real hamburger and chicken with rice, chicken or beef broth and scrambled eggs. That's pretty much her diet, along with milk bones and special cuts as a snack.

I kind of thought I would not put the tree up...only because I have not felt like it.....but then, this could be Kylie's last Christmas.....maybe I need a few more pictures of her and her Christmas tree.

This is my snowman on the front door....guess it is time to put him up.....awww shucks, maybe I will repent and change my mind and put a few decorations up. I really need to get some cards done to send out....I am thinking of cutting my list down, and put a card up on my blog and facebook….wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hope everyone sees it. So many times I send a card out and NEVER receive one back....sort of tired of that. Is that the spirit of Christmas? I don't know, maybe I am the one with the problem.

Oh yeah....I finally, after 4 months got the money for a new/used stove. It will be delivered December 8th...I can hardly wait. I really miss putting something in the oven to bake. For the last 4 months I have been using a hot plate, George Foreman grill, crock pot, microwave and Nu-wave....which has worked. But so many recipes call for baking and I could not bake.

For Thanksgiving I made a turkey breast in the crock pot, bread pudding, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy and a pumpkin pie....in the microwave. Have you ever heard of a microwave pumpkin pie...it was pretty good. I shall give you the recipe in my next post.

Well, time to close here....tonight I have to make a few cards. Hospice meeting next Friday....so I better get cracking here. You all have a great rest of the month....see you in December. Keep looking up, better days are coming (I hope). Cheers ~ Louise

Some More Cards......Part 2

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all having a great week. Thought I would continue on with the cards I made for my secret stamper. These are the images I sent to Linda. Below, the brown leaves. I just added them to a gold embossed leaves background, then added the green leaf and red ribbon leaves at the top and bottom. In my next post, I will show you what her card looked like using the leaves.

This is one of my favorite dies....it is like a stained glass effect. Then placed on a white card and each of the triangle/squares are colored in with copic markers. I added the "hello there" for special effects.

My favorite.....a flamingo, which is what I sent to Linda. A four layered flamingo then cut out. I added the die cut gold ferns and stamped ferns with a few gems. It most definitely is a jungle out there, isn't it???

Two giraffes, criss-crossing, colored in with copic markers and placed on a banner. The letters "friend" added to the bottom of the banner.

The black waves from Stampin'up. I actually bought the musical notes from Linda's store...how unique it all fell into place.

Here is my lovely vintage lady. She is colored in with copic markers. The back ground is glued and then rubbed shinny foil on the card stock and pulled it off to give this affect. Pretty cool....I really need to play around with it some more. There are many different techniques using the foil. I am just looking for the easiest without having to buy a laminater...is that the word for it???

So I have had this post sitting as a draft for about a week. Sorry I have taken so long to finish it. Been kind of busy this past week. Had my Doctor's appointment......my A1C was at 6.2....that is really pretty good! And, I have lost 35 lbs....Doctor was very happy with my results to say the least. I do feel better....now my next appointment is next May....hopefully I can keep my A1C the same and maybe have lost another 10 lbs. Yeah...it's been a very slow process, but then I did not gain the weight fast.....it crept on very slowly...so now it must crept off very slowly.

This Wednesday is my 72nd birthday...WHAT!!! I can't believe I made it to 72, hey, turn it around and it is 27 that was my favorite year...maybe 72 will be the same.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving. I think I might be. Again, it will be just JP and I. Not planning anything special. If I manage to get a turkey breast, I will put it in my crock pot. My stove is still out of commission. So I have to improvise quite a bit. I found a recipe for microwave pumpkin pie. If it turns out, I will give you the recipe.

Well, I think I will close here, you all have a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday. No, I do not go out shopping on Black Friday. Have no urge to do it either. Keep looking up....better days are just around the corner. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards........Part 1

Hi there everyone....well, I decided to come back for awhile. Guess I just needed a small break....there really was not much to report at this end, nothing too exciting going on.

I did manage to make some cards for the Secret Stamper Group I am involved in. The lady that had my name sent these cute caricatures. Lots of coloring with copic markers. My favorite card is the card below....a little ladybug. I especially liked the color combos of the red and beige card stock. Someone told me these were all Whipper Snapper images....cute, cute, cute.

Here you see a cute little frog....it was fun coloring these guys, my biggest challenge was deciding what kind of background I was going to use for each card.

This next card was a fun to make. I found a way to fold the card stock, using a double sided card stock. Fit the card stock to the card, cut down the middle and fold over, using glue to keep it together.

Here we have a possum peeking out of a pot, smelling the flower. Easy background, a stripped background.

Here's a cute turtle. I cut her out and placed her on the double sided card stock.

This was a fun card to make for a birthday.....I like the saying, "Maybe a cupcake will help?" I just happened to have that stamp and thought it would go great with the mouse and cupcake.

My next batch of cards will be the images I sent to my secret stamper, "Linda". She happened to be the owner of the stamp store we met at. She said she liked the images I sent her, she had no stamp or die cuts in her store like what I sent her. So they were all new to her.

Tomorrow I have a Blood test for my A1C....where did those 6 months go to. I did manage to lose 8 lbs. Hopefully the Doctor will be happy with that loss. I am.

I am going to close here for now....hopefully I won't be gone so long. I will try to get back. Have a good evening and don't forget to vote tomorrow.....this is a really big one. It will tell us if the people want to stay Americans or go the Socialist way....which we all know, never turns out good for anyone.

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

Almost Did Not Want To Come Back

Hi there everyone. Yes, it is true, I almost did not want to come back to blogging. Every time I think about blogging....my mind goes blank....what shall I talk about???? I must be leading a very boring life, is this what happens when one is retired??? Card making has been at a minium….just not in the mood I guess. Still dealing with a sick dog, doctor appointments, JP's bad feet, paying bills with no money...oh, because JP is getting less hours now. Like half of what he was making. Yeah, it's been a rough 3 months and November & December don't look any better. 

I am even thinking about finding a part time job....but I don't know what I want to do or where I want to work....it will have to be something that I REALLY enjoy...but what do I really enjoy doing??? My head is spinning!!

Today I think I will put a few posters up that I found on Pinterest....guess what it will be....you got it....Trusting God!!!

 I worry about a lot of things....

 Trust, trust, trust, so easy to say, but to do it is another story!!

 Sometimes I cannot look beyond my circumstances...when we are in the midst of a storm it is so hard to see the sun shining above the clouds.

Ah yes, He is preparing me for something better??? What am I to do while waiting, my heart hurts while waiting for His timing.

A preacher said, "ASK God for what you need....he knows exactly what you need, when you need it. ASK, ASK, ASK GOD for everything you need." I thought I was asking...crying and asking for a financial miracle, God....HELP!!!

I don't know if this post is making sense, it's where I am today. Maybe tomorrow I will be in a better place. I kind of think I have been in my own personal hurricane. Everything is swirling around about me. I feel so week in so many different areas. I need to get back on track some how.

Well, time to close here....hopefully things will be better in my next blog when ever that might be. You all take care and keep looking up ~ better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Wowser.....October 1st Already!!

Hi there everyone. How are you all doing?!?! October 1st....my, how time flies. Sure glad August and September are gone, gone, gone!! Those were tuff months for me. JP was getting less hours at work, now we are reaping what has been sewn. 

Kylie was sick and we (or I) thought we would lose her. But she bounced back, she always bounces back. Vet did blood tests, and x-rays. ($400) They say, she may have cancer because they found a mass. She is not in pain the Vet says, so, we will just try and make her happy, with all her favorite things. She had a couple of seizures, but no more since the last one. I have been giving her hamburger and rice and she gobbles that up. Snubs her nose at Freshpet and Beniful….oh but hamburger and eggs..."two please" she says!! We will just go day to day with her. She gets around pretty good, is going blind and hard of hearing, but her sniffer still works good. So hard to watch a doggie go down-hill, but this little dog is a fighter and just happens to want to hang around a little bit longer. I have a picture of her at the end of this blog.

So following are some cards I made at Betty's. This seems to be my only outlet for now. The month of September I did not even touch making cards except for at Betty's.....not sure what is wrong. I need to get into the swing of things again. Hopefully, October will be a bit better for me. Card wise. Plus, I have a month to make cards for Hospice with the next meeting being November 2nd.

The end of this month I will be going to a Stamp Reveal party that I am involved with....someone sends me 6 images in 6 months and I do the same and we make cards from that image sent and cards from the image received...it's fun, but I am behind on that also. One more image to send, which I will do tonight.

I love the saying of the first card, "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a Butterfly" Betty had the saying and butterflies stamped and embossed already. We colored them in, sponged and stamped the dots. Cut out the butterflies so you could see the black background and added sequins and speckles.

Let's see....if I can remember  how this card was made above. We used copic markers to color in the can, flowers and pots. The background was those stamped dots and sponged ink, the beige was copic marker, then we layered the papers and added the bow.

This next card was pretty and very simple. A circle cut out then sponged in the blue, from dark to light. Stamped the flowers and saying and embossed. The dragon fly is a die-cut. Guess you could use a butterfly if there are no dragonflies in your stash.

This last card is a tree with the leaves and 'Thinking of you" around the border of the tree and truck. The truck colored with copic markers and cut out. Easy-Peasy if you have the car and tree. So many times we make cards and I would like to make more.....but alas, I don't have the stamps to make the card at home. Bummers!

So here is a picture of Kylie going to the vet for her x-rays...we were just leaving the driveway and I thought I better take a few pictures, before I forgot. She looks pretty perky here. I had to take her in at 8:30am and leave her there till we came to pick her up at 2:00pm for the consultation. So yeah, I was kind of nervous to hear what they would say. It was soooo quiet in the house, I do believe it's the dogs and cats that make a house a home. Don't you think?!?!?!?

Well time to close here, I hope I am more diligent in blogging this month....guess I experienced a few days of depression where I did nothing cause things around me seemed to be caving in. I got tired of seeing Kylie sick and JP dealing with his arm pains and sore feet. God knows I need a vacation, but there was no place to run to.

Hockey is starting, so if you don't see me around, I will be watching Hockey or football....Go Blackhawks and Go Packers!!! Hockey my number one passion then football. I understand Hockey better then I do football....and hockey is so much faster and when there is a check....it can be crushing. One guy got hit so bad last night they are not sure the guy hitting the other will even be playing or will be suspended. Have not heard on the guy that got hurt yet.

Well time to close here, JP will be leaving for work at 3:45pm and work 4 hours, if he takes his full 4 hours....time will tell!

I have to keep looking up, as I always tell my readers, better days are coming and I am still waiting for that too!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Here We Are....Two Weeks Into September!!!

Hi there everyone. What can I say.....I guess my blogging has been lacking lately. Not much happening, but then, a lot has in small ways. Least we are not facing hurricanes and typhoons and fires. Here, it's lots of rain, heat and lots of mosquito's that seem to find me no matter where I am. That's one good thing about winter, NO MOSQUITO'S!!!!

So JP lost some hours at work, which means finances have been a little tricky of late. I had to sell some old gold and silver jewelry  left by my grandmothers, mother and myself. Total income this time around was $315 which will go partially towards paying the rest of our house taxes. Then, we start all over again next January 31st 2019.

My doggie, Kylie has not been feeling well lately. I am so afraid that I will have to have her put down. I don't want to....God, could she just die in her sleep???? Not sure what is wrong...she is going on 14 years...hope it is old age. Now why, do we put dogs down and not people??? I asked my Vet that question, she said, because we care more for our animals then we do people!!!

Next Saturday, we are having company from Chicago. JP's brother and SIL...they usually take us out to eat, we visit a bit and then they leave late afternoon, so they are home for the evening....it's a "Kwik Trip" like the gas station. If you live in this area, you would know what I mean. We probably won't go out to eat though and just may order out and have it delivered to our front door. I am going to order a Pumpkin Cream Pie from Schwan's, which looks delicious....I always have the dessert.

Some good news, poundage wise, I have lost 30 lbs since last July 2017. Losing has been a very long and slow process....still have much to lose. My blood sugars have been much, much better. Hopefully I can eliminate the pills after a 50 -75 lb. loss. I am still doing the Atkins/keto diet which has proven to work the best for me. I have to admit though, I don't make it a religious thing, as there are some days I eat potato chips and popcorn, oh, and tater tots too. But pretty much stay close to eating the right things.

Well, I guess that is about all that is going on this month....and there is still 2 weeks left to go. So I thought I better put some cards up, as this is a "Card Blog" so following are some cards I made at Betty's last month....just a little slow in posting. Our next meeting will be this next Wednesday already....time flies when we are having fun???? Card making on my own has been at a minimal....as I have not been in much of a mood....need some inspiration, that's why I like to go to Betty's....there is always something that gets my juices flowing.

So this was a fun card to make, I actually made quite a few of these cards for Hospice. Birthday, Thanks and Thinking of you. I have the stamp set and the background stamp....so yeah, I think this will be my "go to" card for everything....easy and fast to make.

This was a fun card to make, punched out owls. We made the branches for the owls to sit on then pieced together the owls. Bright and colorful.

This was a pretty card. The flowers were embossed. The background???? You know, I forgot what we did. I shall have to ask, was it water color??? Anyways, it turned out really pretty.

This card was stamped and embossed, we colored it in with copic markers and sponged in the blue sky and water. Stamping the birds and verse. Betty always has the pieces cut, so we just have to piece it all together.

Thought you would like to see a few cucumbers growing in my garden....gosh these cucs made a great salad and tasted so good....just wish I had more.....maybe next year.

Well time to close here, you all take care and have a great couple of weeks. I may be back before the month is over....depends. Keep looking up, better days are coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Creamed Zucchini Soup

Hi there everyone....hope you are having a great day. Sorry I have been MIA again. For some reason August has been a tough month for JP and I. On the 27th we celebrated 45 years of marriage. I know that is a mile stone for lots of people and it should be. For us, just another day. I did buy a $5 blueberry cake and made roast beef sandwiches and potatoes in the pressure cooker. Nothing too special. No, we did not go out any place as JP is paranoid about thinking people can smell him....which no one can, he just thinks it.

So today I made this soup. Creamed Zucchini Soup. JP said it was a keeper and I should make this again. The recipe calls for just 5 ingredients...not counting the salt and pepper. Yep, that's it.

Here is the recipe:
1/2 small onion, quartered                      2 cloves garlic
3 medium zucchini, skin on and cut in large chunks
32 oz reduced sodium Swanson chicken broth or vegie
2 Tbsp reduced fat sour cream
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
fresh grated Parmesan cheese if desired for topping (opt.)

Directions:
1-Combine chicken broth, onion, garlic and zucchini in a large pot over medium heat and bring to a boil.
2-Lower heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.
3-Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender, add the sour cream and puree again until smooth.
4- Taste for salt and pepper and adjust to taste. Serve hot, topping with Parmesan cheese.

1 1/2 cups of soup has 60 calories, 10 carbs, 500 sodium...that's a lot of sodium, but you can cut that down. I think this would be good for the Keto diet.

I have been struggling along with no stove/oven. Guess it is okay. I am not in a rush to get a new one. Was thinking of an apartment size oven. That would give me more room for a small used cabinet for storage. I bought a used hot plate and a small George Foreman grill at Goodwill. Told JP we were going to live on hot dogs and hamburgers for now. He said, no problem. I will still be on the hunt for a electric fry pan. I have my eye on one....but it's at Shopko. Guess I will wait till it is marked down and I have a coupon also.

I have been dealing with a bad back for the last couple of days, oh my gosh it really hurt. Hard to walk and get around. It dawned on me today, how I did it. Moving 35 water bottles from it's skid to the bottom of the cart....my back did not start hurting till Monday. I have rubbed DoTerra's "Deep Blue", also "Deep Blue oil" "Lavender oil". In about an hour I will be taking another "Naproxen" for inflammation. One, every 12 hours....guess that is helping. At least I can get up off the bed, chair and lazy-boy with a little less pain. I may take one more day off to recup….depends on how I am feeling. I have some errands to run before Friday.

JP has decided to work part-time, so we are entering a new phase of life. Should be interesting, to say the least, and quite the challenge financially. Hopefully we will be able to continue doing the things we do. I shall have to rearrange my shopping schedule and not shop so much....that's why I said in the paragraph about hamburgers and hot dogs....our menu is going to change quite a bit.

Well, time to close here....this blog is getting toooooo long. And if you made it this far, keep looking up and here's hoping better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh August.....Not Sure I am Liking You

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good month so far. Thought for this post I would put some funny signs up that tickled my funny bone when I saw them. Probably got them from Penterest and Facebook.

I suspect you are wondering why I chose the title above...right?!?!  So far this month, JP has been steadily losing hours at work, which means the pay checks are getting smaller. I could not pay our house taxes in full this July 31st....now we will get penalized. I have to go to the Court house to pay the rest....I am scared. I am hoping we have enough to pay the mortgage also....won't know that till Friday, when JP gets paid.

Our little schnauzer/poodle was having a problem, so I got her in for an emergency appointment Tuesday. Her annul glands were giving her trouble, so the vet expressed them, took some blood for Heartworm. Gave her meds for that and flee/tick meds and off we went. Kylie is feeling much better, thank you.

Sunday, I was cooking some chicken breasts on the stove and suddenly the stove started buzzing at me....what the??? The clock was not working and I was getting messages to "lock" then I found that the oven was not working. I was very perplexed. We pulled the plug to see if it would reboot its self.....no after about 5 minutes it started buzzing again. Oh what to do, what to do. 

Yesterday I went to the store where I bought the stove....I have only had the stove for 2 years and 4 months...so the warranty is over. I am not sure they can do anything, except sell me another stove. The guy said it sounded like the computer board was shot. Oh yay for me!!! If we could get it to the store ourselves, they could fix it for more $$$$. I am just not sure what I should do at this point. 

Guess I will let it sit and cook with my crock pot, oven-net, microwave, Nu-wave, grill more and maybe pick up a fry pan at the second hand store. I am even thinking of putting the stove on the street for the garbage men to take. Buy a second hand counter for more storage....maybe a pantry. Do I really need a stove??? Gosh, no more pies and casseroles (sad face). Will have to weigh all the pros and cons on this one.

Good news though, was talking to a friend on the phone tonight, she wants to gift me with her old vacuum. Yes, I said, the one I have is not very strong. She said the one she has is so strong it would probably suck up the dog....lol! It even has a hose to clean the cobwebs off the ceiling...yay for that I have a few. She has another vacuum that she likes better.

Another exciting thing that happened. I signed up to be a consultant for DoTerra Essential Oils. Yep, I will have my own website, where people can order from me there. So as I get more acclimated to the oils and website, I will try and link it up with my blog. 

I have been getting hot flashes lately...whew...hot, hot, hot and I have to wave a fan in front of me. The lady gave me some spearmint oil to apply to the back of my neck....BOOM the hot flash went away.

DoTerra has an oil and ointment for pain, it is called "Deep Blue". For the last couple of months I have been dealing with a "Sciatic nerve" problem. I have tried 5-6 different products for pain...nothing has touched it. Then "Deep Blue" came along and POW the pain has subsided. Well, this morning I woke up with the pain, could hardly get out of bed....I rubbed some "deep blue" on my butt. Made my way to the bathroom. By the time I was making breakfast....the sciatic pain was gone. Gosh that stuff works GOOD!

YES...I can hardly wait for the Hockey season to start...maybe this year the Chicago Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup!! Oh and another thing, we are one day closer to the return of Jesus for his Church....oh what a day that will be boys and girls!!!

So anyways...a few other things going on so far this month. I had my teeth cleaned today....they took x-rays, I have to wait till next week to find out if there were any cavities besides the ones I already have. But otherwise my next appointment won't be till February 11th...hope there is not a snow storm that day!!!

JP has some lab work to have done next Monday. Then Kylie has another appointment on Tuesday for an exam and shots. Wednesday I go to make cards at Betty's. Thursday, JP has an appointment with the foot Doctor...he has a few corns on his feet that cause him much pain. We tried some oils on his feet...has not worked yet as far as I can see. Looks like a busy week already...just hope the $$$ covers all the bills and extra appointments.

Well time to close, it is getting late, I want to go downstairs for awhile and maybe watch some TV. With JP home, it seems my schedule has changed a little bit. You all keep looking up....I am pretty sure better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh My...Last Post for the Month of July!!!

Hi there everyone. Can you believe it? The last day of July, I think it was just a few days ago that it was July 4th.....right?!?! The summer is flying by way too fast. I am still working on my yard, planting, painting, pulling weeds and what ever tickles my fancy. Sometimes I just prefer to be lazy and do NOTHING!!! I read someplace, that in retirement, everyday is Saturday.....I am still waiting for that, guess I have not been retired long enough....lol!

So, Sunday I cooked on the grill. I am surprising myself, I've grilled more this year then I have in previous years....not sure why, one reason might be that I moved the grill to the patio area rather then in front of the garage.....seems more cozy here and I can sit on the chair and watch the fire. The walk into the house is shorter...…(ha, by a few steps). 

I have chicken (from Sam's Club) was marinated and sprinkled with my homemade seasoning....soooo good! The red potatoes were halved, sprayed with avocado spray, seasoned with my homemade seasoning. I then put them in the microwave for about 15 minutes then put on the grill. I should have taken a picture when the food was done....potatoes and chicken browned perfectly! I just finished up the last of chicken about 30 minutes ago. Good meal with plenty of left overs for JP's dinners. This definitely will be a regular for the grill the rest of this summer.

 So now I will take you on a tour of my back yard.....mind you, there is so much to do yet, probably by the time I get everything done....it will be late Fall and time to put everything in the garage and shed. In the above picture, I have one cherry tomato plant growing....gives me a handful of tomatoes almost every day. My white rose bush died....we will have to dig it up one of these days.....no rush.

In the above picture, I have 3-4 bean plants growing...yep have gotten some beans off the plants. In the black container above the beans, I have a basil plant growing. I took a bunch of leaves off, rinsed them, and placed them on the chicken, cooked a little bit longer, then put mozzarella on top of the basil and chicken...oh yes!! A little marinara sauce helped also.

See those purple and red drawers and broken brown chair? Eventually I will fix the chair and spray paint it and the drawers will eventually have shade flowers growing in them....any ideas?

Here we are at my pond area....love this part of my yard. I need another layer of mulch to brighten things up. See the ceramic cow down in the right corner??? I will be spraying her white with black spots, she will be a Holstein cow. I think she was originally all brown and the paint wore off....time to repaint.

A few hosta's and inpatient's growing in my pond area. Not a lot of sun shines in this area....it's mostly shade. See my Flamingo's....love Flamingos. 

Here is my little sitting area....although I have not had time to sit, cause every time I sit down on my red bench....I see something that needs to change or moved some place else. See my tires? Been spray painting them and growing things in them....still not done. I have a tire that I will paint bright pink. That will be a colorful addition. Bought a "popcorn hosta" and it will go in the pink tire.

This is my second planter that I received free from Habitat for Humanity. This one has beans, pepper plant and a tomato plant. I am planning on planting some chives, and lettuce and maybe some spinach.

If you have made it to this point, I congratulate you and hopefully I didn't bore you. 

In this planter are onions, carrots, a new planting of radishes, beans, pepper plant and cucumber plant that is really producing an abundance of cucumbers. As I mentioned in a previous post....these plants get the morning and early noon sun.

So there you have it. A walk in my garden. I have a few more pictures to share, but that will come in the next post, hopefully within the week.

Talk to you all later, have a great week and coming weekend. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Okay....Cards We Made at Betty's 13 Days Ago

Hi there everyone. Well, as my title says, okay, here are the cards we made at Betty's 13 days ago. Guess I am kinda slow at posting them. It's always a joy to go to Betty's and learn something new.

The top card was stamped with the flowers and the die cut lady bug is from a set Betty got from www.wish.com for just $1...I think she got a few other things along with this little guy. Cute as a bug, isn't it.

I Love Flamingos. This was fun to make. The card was sponged with blue ink for the sky and water. The Flamingos came in five pieces, so you had to match each piece in different colors, oh and get the beek right too.....I must have tried 3 times....this was one of those times, we needed a "Misti". The Flamingo turned out pretty good after a couple of tries.

This was a pretty fishy card....lol! We colored the fish with copic markers. The netting was stamped and a few gems to pop. The waves were from a patterned paper....looks almost real!!

This was an easy card....I really need to find me one of these die cut deer's, hopefully by Christmas so I can make a few of these cards. I have the trees and snowflakes and a die cut something like this one....just need the deer!!! I shall be on the hunt!!!

I've taken a week off from making cards....not sure why, for it is something I really enjoy. My yard keeps calling my name....there still is so much to do. I have been painting tires and planting things in them. Also, I transplanted a tomato plant for the 4th time....I am wondering if it will ever take root. We'll see, it's a Rutger, still has 2 months yet to grow. I still have not gotten all my garden animals out yet......

Can't believe there is only 3 days left in this month....where is this summer going to so fast!!! Well, I think I will close here, as there really is not much to talk about. Do you have times like that? Where there is not much going on to even do a blog??? I used to do a post every other day or so....now it's every week or so or more....

Oh well....keep looking up, better days are coming. 
Cheers ~ Louise