2019 A Recap

Hi there everyone and a Happy New Year 2020. I am making this post the last one of 2019. Can't believe this year has passed by so quickly. Now I know why my mother always said to me, "don't wish your life away, Louise, it will go fast enough!" Now I know what she meant.

Following are some pictures from 2019. You will have to forgive me, for in 2019 I didn't take a whole lot of pictures. Once you see one snow picture, you've pretty much seen them all, unless you are in a different place. For Louise, that was not the case. We stayed pretty much put in one place, home. 

So go grab a cup of coffee, tea, or pepsi, cause this will be a long post.

 So I guess there was snow in January and February (didn't mark on my calendar or take pictures.) Along with the snow came a lot of changes, as you can see with the butterfly above. Butterflies change from the cocoon to beautiful butterflies....maybe we do too.

January brought financial assistance in the way of food from the Salvation Army and Energy Assistance. Along with disconnections of AT&T Phone/internet and TV. It was costing way too much. House taxes were due too. Signed up with Spectrum, what a hassle between the two companies, honestly.

February started out with a bang....our car would not start. Battery died and there was lots of snow. The one glimmer of fun I had was watching my Chicago Blackhawks on TV and the internet. And, making my cards.

March seemed to be going well, things were calm and quiet (as my mother would always say). Then Kylie got sick and I took her to the Vet. Xrays and blood work. She had a mass and they didn't give her good news. Just love her and keep her happy with lots of walks, hugs and kisses. Then the car broke down.....again!!!

 April brought Dr's appointments for JP and I. Tax refund and Co-pays and bills due. Does it ever end? Nope, not till we die or get raptured. The water was shut off a couple of times during April so the City could rip up our street for sewers and laterals. The street will be a mess like this in 2020 also. In the mean time, we have a bill of $1500 to pay up in the next 5 years that will be added to our house taxes for this mess.

 May brought more Dr's appointments again....never ending when we get older. Netflex got cancelled...which now I find is actually a blessing. Saving $$ for one thing, and also not so much time watching movies...oh because there is hockey till June at least. Got a couple of Aflac refunds for our Dr's bills. That helped a lot.

 June brought vegetable and flower seed plantings. Vitamin B-12 shots for Louise and a mammogram and the last grooming for Kylie. My favorite store closed....Shopko.

July, my eyes started itching, took some allergy pills, least the mosquito's did now bite me to death. That very sad day arrived on the 12th, we had to put Kylie down. I lost my best little friend. A very hard day, it got so bad, I had to carry her outside to go tinkle and potty, and carry her back in. Kylie was blind and partially hard of hearing. The treats stopped a couple of days before she died, she wasn't interested in them any more and she had a couple of seizures. The last seizure was that day....it lasted much too long and she did not know where she was. Broke my heart. The hardest thing was calling the Vet and taking her in.  We buried her in the back yard.....it's been 5 1/2 months now, and I still miss her.

August, tending to flowers and vegetables. Sort of just going through the motions of living. Kylie's death knocked the stuffing out of me...still miss her terribly. JP and I celebrated 46 years of marriage. We did nothing special.

September. This beautiful Fall Clematis starts blooming, it looks like a blanket of snow. There were a couple of Dr. appointments for both of us. I ordered a Blackhawk hat and JP's brother and SIL came for a visit and brought me a Chicago Blackhawk flag. 

October, The Hawks started their season October 4th. Let the games begin!!! Mary and I started working on getting a cookbook put together. The two below were books I put together in '84 for the church I was going to. In '95 another cookbook for the Salvation Army. So I said to Mary, why don't we put a Fundcraft Cookbook together to raise funds for Josh's Scholarship Fund and off we went. When it is all said and done, we should have raised $2500 profit for the fund. She collected recipes from friends and family and friends of Josh's. I started typing, typing and more typing into the programs that Fundcraft had set up. Oh and also along the way, I was making cards for Hospice. So between typing, card making, watching the Blackhawks....was very busy.

November, Birthday month....yep, turned 73 and had to get my license renewed for another 7 years. I will be 80, will I make it to that age....I don't know. Dr. appointment for my A1C...too low, 6.2, Dr. wants me to go back up to 7.0, so he cut down one pill. Colored my hair and cut it too. Yeah, I do that every now and then. The grey was getting TOO GREY!!! We never did get all the leaves raked up because we had a snow storm, going to be a mess in the spring. Hockey games through out November and I still miss my Kylie.

December, here we are, the last month of the year. Put up the Christmas tree, ornaments and village. $60 came in the mail from Aflac...bonus from all our Dr. appointments. Hospice at Denny's and they bought us card makers breakfast. Lots of Hockey games...Hawks aren't doing so good, but I have high hopes for the last half of the season....they just could make it to the playoffs, b/c we have two great goalies. We will see, time will tell. I signed up for Energy Assistance again, 2 months will be paid, hopefully January and February, 2020. That will help. Still typing recipes and getting the book organized. We will probably send the book in the end of January, I should be done with recipes and organizing and such. We will have about 275 recipes, give or take.

So, today is the 31st. Nothing is planned. I will put some herring, cheese and crackers out, maybe some pickles and salami too. There is a hockey game at 8pm Blackhawks and Calgary tonight…..so you know what I will be doing. After the game I will watch the New Year come in New York and watch the ball come down.

Time to close this post....if you are still with me, I applaud you, such a good friend. You have a great new year. May 2020 be your best year yet. May you live with Jesus on your mind and in your heart. Keep looking up, better days are coming. 
Cheers and blessings ~ Louise  

PS...this post will take 17 minutes to read, give or take a few. That's how long it took me read and do a few corrections. See ya!!!

Recipes and Cook Book Update

Hi there everyone, how fast this month is going. So much JOY this month I can hardly stand it!! Not sure why I am putt-sing around so much. My cards are not finished. Still have my little tree to decorate and the village to put up. Oh and cookies to make, of course. Maybe I will get "my three kings" up tonight. Paper Mache statues I made 52 years ago...goodness they are old. Let's see if I can rustle them up. Nope, they must be on another SDHC disk. Maybe I will take another picture of them.

I am still working on putting recipes into the Fundcraft program. There might be about 75 recipes to go yet. I was going to type some in tonight and was told by the Company, "Sorry, your time is up. You must contact the company to change the date for entering recipes" We told them the first of December.....well, trying to get recipes from people is like pulling teeth. Everyone keeps forgetting to give you their recipes and sometimes you have to go back 2 and 3 times to remind people about giving you a recipe or two. That was my problem back in '84 and '95. Things have not changed, and it's still the same in 2019. 

We had to get at least 200 recipes, I think by the time we are done, there should be at least 250 give or take a few here and there. So now we are figuring that ALL recipes should be in by December 31. So we can start filling out the forms, getting pictures ready and submit the recipes. It would all have to be done by January 15th. Hope we can make it. I have to make the call tomorrow to change dates and ask a few more questions.

Here is a recipe for you, that will be in the cook book.
Angel Macaroons
1 pkg. (16oz.) Angel Food cake mix
1/2 c. water (yes that is right)
1 tsp. almond extract
1 c. sweetened shredded coconut (opt.)
1/2 - 2/3 c. chocolate chips (opt) (or mint, butter scotch, etc.)
Preheat oven 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, water and extract together with **beater on low for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Fold in coconut. Drop by Tablespoonful @ 2" apart onto parchment paper, lined on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Remove paper with cookies to wire rack to cool. **You can beat the mixture with a spoon by hand, don't have to use a beater. (these cookies will be soft after bake.)

I am not sure this recipe will be in the cook book, but I tried it and it is really goooooood!! It's called:
Best Burgers and Fries Seasoning
1 Tbsp. Basil
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. celery salt
2 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. garlic salt
4 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. pepper
1/2 c. salt
1 Tbsp. cumin
Mix altogether in a mason jar. Good on burgers, fries, chicken, fish, pork and vegies. (for this recipe, I doubled it already, so if you want, half it.)

Well, time to close here, getting late and I need to work on moving a few recipes around. Have a good week and talk to you later. Hopefully I will have all the Christmas stuff done and cards in the mail when I come back. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

December Already??

Hi there everyone, how you all doing??? Can you believe it...December already, how did that happen? Guess I should start putting a few things up for Christmas. Well, I have this snowman on the front door so far. Put my Christmas finger tip towels up in the bathroom. Maybe I will pull out the Christmas tree tomorrow. I still have to do my Christmas cards yet. Don't know why I am so late ?!?!?!

Thinking I would like to make some Christmas cards like this one below. I did not make this card, but I can try to duplicate it. I guess I just like the pink and white colors, very soft looking. Wish I had that jolly snowman though, he is really cute.

So, the Hawks are playing the St. Louis Blues tonight. St Louis Blues are Stanley Cup Champions this year. So everyone wants to beat them, but then the St. Louis Blues want to beat all the other teams. Hope not tonight.

I called the plumber today, our toilet is not working properly. Plumber says it needs a new seal. We had this toilet installed in 2015....this is the 2nd time we have had to have it repaired. (Our last toilet lasted 24+yrs. with no problems). He will be here tomorrow. Gosh, I hope it is not too expensive, I am trying to get bills paid down, not add to them. Oh well, guess that is life.

I am going to cut this post short...the game is about to start in 10 minutes or so. When the game is over I will PS you the score at the end of this post. You all take care, see you later. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

PS. Hawks lost 4 to 0 not a happy game at all. I think the Hawks are in last place in the Central division. Gonna be a miracle for them to crawl out of the hole they got into. But nothing is impossible.

Happy Thanksgiving to You All

Hi there everyone. Wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thought, as I was sitting here by the computer, and watching the Macy's Day Parade and the Dog show afterwards.

My little tradition every Thanksgiving Day. I would say hi. Nothing spectacular going on today. Just going to take it easy with a small dinner in a few hours. I am going to make something different today. It's been on my mind. Green bean casserole mixed with noodles. I can see it in my mind, so I thought I would try it. It will be easy for JP to chew, as his teeth are getting real bad. I am also having chicken (already cooked), dressing, gravy, potatoes, cranberries and buns. maybe a pumpkin pie too. Sounds good to me. No turkey today, did not feel like cooking one for just the two of us.

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

Saturday's

 Hi there everyone, been awhile since I last posted. 18 days to be exact....where does time go???? Don't you just love Saturday's?
I do, sometimes I wish everyday was Saturday, but then again, maybe not, probably would get tired of Saturday's.

Been busy this month....my birthday month. I am now legally 73 yrs old. How did that happen???? My mind still says I am maybe about 37 years old, but the body is not agreeing with my mind....lol.

Had a Doctor's appointment this past week. An annual check-up and blood tests. My A1C was 6.2..yay for that, Doctor cut my diabetes pills down, this is good, maybe someday I won't have to take any pills for diabetes. My Vitamin B-12 was a bit high, so instead of 1000g, down to 500g....okay, I can do that. Cholesterol was a bit high, so he wants me to work on my diet (so tired of dieting), and do a little bit more exercises. I guess I can do that. I miss my dog Kylie, cause we took walks everyday, she kept me busy everyday...since she has been gone, don't go for walks around the block any more. (Cute dog up above, sweet.) This house is so quiet without her too. 

Had to get my driver's licence renewed...that was sort of scary for me. Don't know why, but I just was not looking forward to that experience at all. $34.00 later, I was walking out the door an hour later....whew!!

Still working on the cookbook, been typing recipes into the Fundcraft program. We are at 135 recipes, working towards 200 recipes. We don't have far to go. Then, I need to organize the recipes and put them in the right dividers. We were trying for December to finish, but found out we had to be done collecting by the 15th of this month. We are going to try for January and hopefully have the cookbooks done by February. We'll see how that goes.

I thought I would add one of the recipes I entered into the cookbook. I actually made this tonight and it was REALLY GOOD!! It is called;
"One-Pot Spaghetti Dinner"
1 lb. lean ground beef(90% lean)
1 3/4 c. sliced fresh mushrooms(I used canned)
3 c. tomato juice
1 can(14 1/2oz)no salt-diced tomatoes 
1 can(8oz.)no salt-tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt(optional)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground mase(optional)(I had no mase)
6 oz. uncooked multi-grain spaghetti-broken in pieces
Fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese(optional)

1) In a dutch oven, or big pot, cook beef and mushrooms over medium heat and meat is no longer pink; drain if needed. Add tomato juice(I added the whole can), tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried onion, and seasonings.
2) Bring to a boil. Stir in the spaghetti. Simmer, covered 12-15 minutes or until the spaghetti is tender. If desired, serve with cheese on top.

Been busy watching my Hockey games. My Chicago Blackhawks are not doing that great right now...but I have high hopes. There is still 5 more months to play in the regular season and then the Stanley Cup Play-offs that will last till June. So there is still plenty of time for them to make it for the play-offs. I will let you know how they do.

Well, time to close, did not mean for this to be so long.....but, I get a little bit wordy sometimes. You all have a great week-end and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise 

One Day at a Time

Hi there everyone. Looks like it has been awhile since I last posted here. (Oct. 9th. goodness) What was I doing??? Living life I guess. Day by day, one day at a time, is all I can do.

Busy with my Blackhawks and watching them do a lot of losing lately, but I think there is a turn around and I just might be seeing them doing much better. Actually I have been keeping track of all the teams. I invested in Spectrums NHL Center Ice. So now I will be able to get ALL hockey games. Where before, I could get most of the games on the Internet, BUT, there was too, too much buffering, drove me crazy. Now I am a happy camper. I guess there were a lot of unhappy people dealing with the same problem. A couple of the other big networks cancelled hockey games locally. Dish, Directv and a few others. I might pay a little more, but I got my hockey.

As I look at my calendar from October, some of the things I was dealing with, was trying to get cards made for Hospice, finish the cards for my secret stamper group. Making 6 new images for the next 6 months and making cards with the images I got for the last 6 months. Got everything done. I also was typing recipes for the cook book Mary and I are putting together for a fund raiser for a scholarship for her son Josh. After everything is said and done....we might make about $2,500. (hopefully) But it does take time. Collecting recipes sometimes is like pulling teeth, not sure why. We have 87 recipes, going for 200. So we have a ways to go.

I am still trying to learn the quote above....slow learner here. My birthday is this month....yikes....73 years now, where did all those years go? The Bible says, "we are just a vapor" we are here today, gone tomorrow. That's why time flies so fast. We need to enjoy the days God gives us, but we always seem to rush ahead of HIM. getting ourselves in trouble and wonder why we wear out. There is usually no peace in what we are doing day in and day out on our own.

Well, I think I will close here for a while. I'm thinking the next few blogs will be some of the recipes we are putting in the cookbook. Just to give you a taste (no pun intended) That should be fun to do.
Talk later, take care and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Cookbooks and Hospice Cards

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good week. October is kind of exciting for me....I need some excitement in my life!!! The Hockey season has started. Tomorrow the Chicago Blackhawks have their first home game of the season, with 7 games being played at the United Center. Hopefully the Hawks will win all of those games....starting the season off with a bang!!!

The Pastor's wife and I are putting together a cookbook to raise funds for her son's scholarship in support of the Hilbert High School Football and Chilton Hilbert Wrestling. Josh was killed in a car accident 3 years ago. Mary has been working diligently on raising funds for his scholarships. So far, one young man has been helped through the scholarship fund set up for Josh.

At this point we are just collecting recipes, hoping for 200 at the end of this adventure. That hopefully will bring a $2,500 profit. As the recipes come in, I will be typing them into the program Fundcraft has set up. Things sure have changed since I last did these two cookbooks above....my goodness. The Abundant Life Assembly of God cookbook was put together in 1984 and The Salvation Army cookbook was put together in 1995. I still use both cookbooks to this day. It's always fun to look at the different recipes and remember the person who submitted that recipe.

Hopefully we will get the cookbook done by Christmas, so they can go out as Christmas gifts. Mary has a couple of other fund raisers in the planning stages. A Fishing Banquet, Josh loved to fish. And a "Family Feud" fund raiser at the Bowling Alley. Also included is the Annual Fund Raiser in September....that's the big one. Hopefully there will be cookbooks at all these events.  

In these next few pictures are a few cards I made last month for the September 6th Hospice meeting. The next meeting will be November 1st (where has this year gone to???)  I am still working on November's cards....have lots of Christmas cards made and will probably add the cards that I will get from the Secret Stamper Revealing Party on the 20th of this month.

Can you tell....I like this 3D Rose and Flowers embossing folder. The ideas are endless. The top card is embossed on black card stock and I smeared a gold substance on it, till I got the effect I wanted. The bottom card is embossed on plain gold card stock. The above card is a Thank You, below a Birthday. Two different cards, two different looks.

Below are some Veteran Cards I made. Always fun to make. We also made little favors that hold a piece of Hersey Chocolate. I thought I took a picture, but guess not.

The next two cards are my Butterfly cards. Pretty easy to make, as you can see. Just 2 die-cuts, a Thank You and some pearls to embellish the card.

This last card is a embossing folder with little butterflies enhancing the card along with a few gems.

Well, that's enough excitement for one post. The Hawks have 10 games yet this month...hope all goes well with them. The cookbook will be a success and I have lots of inspiration making some new cards for Hospice. Before you know it the snow will be falling.....not looking forward to that white stuff.

You all have a great week. See ya later. Keep looking up, better days are coming!!
Cheers ~ Louise

FRIDAY

Have a great weekend everybody!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise

Lots Of Blessings Today

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a GOOD DAY. I am, we ALL need a good day every now and then. Breaks up the monotony of bad days!!!

So today in the mail I received my Chicago Blackhawk hat....seen below. It was $7.99 plus tax and shipping, making it $13+ (forgot the exact amount). I am excited, now I can watch the games with my hat on......Go Hawks!!! I was told the hat would not make it here till October 1st. But surprise...it came today. Blessings!!!

I think I might add some bling to my hat....red and silver gems, will make it flashy and sparkle!!! So am wearing it as I type this post....love my new hat. Now I have to get some $$$ in my Paypal to buy some Blackhawk slippers, which is next on the agenda.

Another blessing for today, I went to the eye doctor for a Diabetes Eye check. No diabetes present. That is a good sign. I asked for prayer at church Sunday...guess I was kind of concerned, but all clear!! Praise God!!

On the way out of the clinic, I saw a man sitting in a car with a little white doggie. I said Hi, can I pet your doggie? Sure he said. What's the name and what breed? I said. He said, a Teddy Bear (a cross between a Bishon and Shih-Tzu, a Shichon) and her name is Cassie. All the while we were talking Cassie came to me and I was petting her....I said I missed my dog, she died 2 months ago. Aww he said you'll get another dog....it sure felt good to pet a doggie, I tear up even now, just thinking about this little blessing from God today.

Finally finding some time to make cards. Maybe I will have some posted here in the next week or so. My creative juices have been dried up a bit. We'll see how things go. Have to have some cards made for Hospice meeting November 1st. I think I should have 50-60 cards.

October is the Secret Stamper revealing party. So I need to finish making 4 more cards. Then I will have two cards each of the 6 images my SS gave me. And I will have made 2 cards of 6 images I sent to my SS. Does that make sense. Kind of complicated. After the cards are made, then I must make 6 new images for my NEW Secret Stamper, Whew....hope I got that all right.

Trying to think of any other blessings. I guess every day is a blessing to wake up in the morning, I think we tend to forget who gave us breath?? God cares for us in so many ways, never forget to remember from whom all blessings come....keep looking up!!

Now this is my winter hat which I already have. I marvel at some Blackhawk fans in Chicago, they show pictures of their Blackhawk rooms, you name it, they have it, jerseys, blankets, pillows, pictures, pucks, sticks many of them signed by the players. I have some pictures too, but from the 60's, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Chico Maki, Moose Vasko and so on. Maybe one day I will scan them and put them on this blog.

Time to close this post. I have to clean this house. J.P.'s Brother and sister in law are coming for a visit Saturday...need to straighten up the house. They usually take us out for lunch. Another blessing for this week!!!

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

PS Did I forget to mention, my computer is working better, I had to uninstall 3 programs that were bogging down this computer and optimize and clean the disk a couple of times. Next thing is to get some of the pictures off this computer and onto a Gorilla Drive Stick. Or, maybe if I can find a "Photostick" maybe this computer will work really fast.

Computer Problems

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all having a wonderful September. Summer went by way too fast. Well, this post will be VERY short. It seems I am having a problem with my computer. I wanted to give you a few pictures and a short paragraph or two. BUT, for some reason Blogger keeps on telling me "Blogger is not responding" and won't bring up my file of pictures. So, no card pictures this time around. So boring.

Facebook is doing the same thing to me..."Facebook is not responding" and it takes a couple of minutes for Facebook to start working before I get all my newsfeeds. 

Just not sure what is wrong....wonder if somehow I got a virus, but then I thought Norton was taking care of things for me. I may have to take this computer back to the store and get it cleaned. ONLY, if I can get it done for free. Maybe there are a few programs that are bogging down this old computer. Tomorrow I will pull the plug and see if the computer resets it's self. Getting very frustrating how this computer is working soooooo slooooooow and not responding properly!!!

So if you do not see me for awhile....let it be known, I am having problems with this computer. I will try to comment on your blogs if Blogger allows me to. You all have a good Fall and keep looking up ~ hopefully better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Received Some Fresh Eggs

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying the last days of summer....where did it go??? I never did get all the things done that I wanted to do. I give myself so many things to do and when I comes time to do those things....I sabotage myself and don't do any of it....no wonder I am always tired!!!!

I finally sat down and made some cards. Hospice meeting is in a couple of weeks so I need to get my 40 - 50 cards made. Well, I am sitting at 35 made. When I hit 50, I will take some pictures of the newer ones.

So the card below is one I made last night. I got the idea from Pinterest. The pastor's wife gave me some farm fresh brown eggs. So I thought I better make her a Thank you card. She likes my cards and always enjoys receiving them. She calls my cards "candy to her" she saves them all. That is always nice to hear, that someone enjoys the cards I make.

So this card is made from the Stampin'up set "Hey Chick" probably had these stamps for a couple of years and have never used them. BUT, have thought about using them many times. Finally found a reason to use them. So the card above is stamped with the funny chicken in the corner and colored in, "hey chick" is stamped in the upper corner. The lines and dots are hand drawn. I then splattered the card with silver ink.

The inside of the card, again I drew the lines and dots and added "for the" and the "S". Stamped the "Thank you, eggs and You're a good egg!" Turned out really cute.

Well, I am going to close here for now. Have to go get some dishes done and JP's dinner cooked. Tomorrow is our 46th wedding anniversary......wow....talk about time flying. Never thought we would make it to this number. Well, Happy Anniversary to US!!! I bought a little cheese cake, will defrost some strawberries and whip cream. Also going to make a beef roast, potatoes and asparigus…...Yum!!!

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

My Favorite Sport 2 Watch

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good August. Well, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Thought it was about time to do something. No new pictures of cards or the gardens...been a little laxed in taking pictures. Guess I will have to get on the wagon again pretty soon.

I know this may not be an interesting post for you....but it is for me. I love hockey....maybe if more people would watch hockey there would be less problems in this world, it's an exciting game to watch and easy to follow. Just follow that puck and you get the idea of what the game is about. Baseball is so slow moving, football is pretty slow too....but hockey, man, down the ice and back, score a goal and hit a player so much action going on!!! Yeah, I like hockey best of all. 

I have been a fan 57 years. My first taste of Hockey was through my stepfather, he had season tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks in 1962.....back then there was Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Chico Maki, Moose Vasko, Reggie Fleming to name a few favorites. We went to every game for almost 6 years. Loved, loved loved the game.

My life changed a bit after I started Beauty School and then left home, getting my first job and an apartment. No more hockey games. Not even sure the games were on TV at that time....I kept track of the Hawks via the newspapers and such. I met JP in '71 and he was into stock car racing. I guess my interests changed and was into stock car racing till 1973 when JP and I got married and he retired from racing. Did I do that???

1976 we moved up to Ladysmith on our 20 acres and raised cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits, cats and dogs. I lost track of the Hawks. We had NO TV for 10 years.....how in the world I did that, I do not know. 1987 we moved to Appleton, but still no TV for awhile. Finally in '92 I got a TV with rabbit ears......nope, no Hockey yet. I missed being able to watch the Stanley Cup Finals 2010, 2013, 2015. FINALLY 2016 brought Hockey into my house!!!! FINALLY I could watch the Blackhawks again!!!!

      The above picture was taken off the TV, March 25, 2019. 

Yep....Fear the Feathers....I think this year will be the year that brings another Stanley Cup....I am hoping, that would be great. 4 Stanley Cups in 10 years. Would that make history for the Chicago Blackhawks!!!!???

This is a shot from the TV. It's an old picture. 2 of the players in this shot are on different teams. Panarin, a winger is with the NY Rangers now. and Hjalarson is with the Coyote's...he was a good Defense player. Hopefully with all the trades this season we will have a good defense again.

This is the Blackhawks hat I want to buy before the season starts....hopefully. Or if another hat catches my eye, I will buy that one.

So now I have had Directv and now Spectrum and I can now get Hockey on TV and if I can't get it on TV, I can get the games on the computer. There is a site that shows all the home and away games of the Blackhawks and those of the other teams. I have no excuses now. Of course I can spend $40+ to get hockey on TV and that would include home and away....not affordable at this time.

So there you have it....if you do not see many posts from me starting in September you will know I am somewhere out there in Hockey land. You all take care and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

RHUBARB-FLOWERS and VEGIES

Hi there everyone....where did July go????? Now it is August, time sure does fly by quickly!!! I have not been doing many cards, but I bought a few things from Spellbinders which should be coming this next week....so maybe I will get some inspiration. This will be a treat, as I have not splurged on card making supplies for at least 5 months.) Hospice meets September 6th, so I better get cracking soon, and get some cards made.

A friend gave me a bunch of rhubarb last week (he has 23 plants), so you know I got a lot. I turned most of it into sauce. In this picture below, those are "Rhubarb Bread Pudding Cups." 
First I made the sauce: 
5-6 cups of chopped up rhubarb
1 to 1-1/2 cups sugar (recipe called for 3 cups sugar)
1 package strawberry jello

Now here is the trick...mix the rhubarb and sugar in a bowl and put in the microwave for maybe 7 minutes. (more or less depending on your microwave) It should be cooked through. Add the jello and mix. Can't resist...a few teaspoons went into my mouth...have to make sure it tastes right. So yum-ee

Next step, spray the bowl, place croutons in bottom of little bowls, pour a couple of tablespoons rhubarb sauce on top of the croutons. Mix 3 eggs and milk or cream together (you could add a few shakes of cinnamon) and pour on top of bread and rhubarb. Poke with fork to make sure egg mixture is spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. When egg mixture does not wiggle on top, it's done. Cool a bit. Top with ice cream or whip cream.....YES!!!

So in these pictures are some of my flowers. Here are my brown eyed susans….last years flowers did not do well.....this year there was an abundance. I love these flowers.

In the back yard are my Bee Balm and purple Clematis. So pretty when I look out the back kitchen window. When the storm came through, they got knocked down....oh well, next year they will be back. We call the Bee Balm our "choir" there are so many of them.

My little rose bush....adds some nice color in the front yard.

My Italian Beans....gosh I love these beans....they are more flat, rather then round, I like the taste of them. I have been microwaving then, adding butter and some garlic seasoning.....very good.

The picture above, you see my zucchini plant, (finally got 3 zucchini's so far) and 2 tomato plants. the one on the left is a "Big Girl" and the one on the right is a called a "Mortgage Lifter" Lots of tomatoes on the Big Girl, not many on the Mortgage Lifter yet. Looking forward to BLT's!!!

So here is the pretty pink rose the vet gave me for Kylie.....when we buried Kylie, I gave here the rose and her teddy bear.

I am still missing this little girl.....I cry almost every day. She was with us for 13 years....very hard to forget her. I don't know what hit me yesterday, but I had a break down....and cried and cried. It's only been 3 weeks today, since she left us. I hope she is happy and running around, chasing her rabbits and squirrels and butterflies.

Time to close here, gosh, it sure feels like Saturday, but it's only Friday night. We might be going to an annual scholarship fund raiser tomorrow....not sure yet. I guess we can go for as long as we want, cause there is no puppy dog to get home to and let out.

Have a great weekend, talk to you later. Cheers ~ Louise

RIP Sweet Kylie

Hi there everyone. Gosh I hate typing those words. We had to put Kylie down on Friday the 12th. I hated to do it but it was time. I knew she was not going to get better. Hope was gone. She had a really bad seizure about 6am. She had had a few before, but this one lasted much too long. When she finally came out of it, she was so disoriented and it was hard for her to walk. Being blind and hard of hearing...she bumped into everything.

I finally had to find the nerve to call the vet....and said I think we need to put Kylie down......I hated to say those words too. I had hoped she would die in her sleep...but she had a mind of her own, I guess Schnauzers are like that. They said, 12pm okay? Yes, I said. Oh how I dreaded that time. But watching Kylie suffer was hard to watch too. So we took her in, she really did not know where she was, and when I laid her on the table....she fell asleep. I guess the seizure really knocked her out.

They gave her the shot to relax her, then the needle to make her die. She stopped breathing and it was all over for Kylie. My heart broke and breaks even now writing this.

So following are a some pictures of Kylie from last year....this is my favorite, she always loved being on the porch and looking out between the posts. She always had a smile on her face. except for these last couple of months.

 I think in this picture she is barking at me for some food.

 Relaxing on the porch.

 She loved going for rides, but not so much going to the groomer and the vet.

 Always peeking over the table to see what we are eating, hoping to get some herself.

Yep, barking at me again.....give me some of your food human!!!!

I have some more pictures that I will add to my blog here.....Hope you don't mind. This house is so empty without her. She followed me all over, where ever I was....there she was too. 

So hard to loose a friend like her.

The hardest part about having a dog is the good-bye....so heart breaking.

Bye for now.....Louise