Hello 2021

Hi there everyone. Well, this is the last day of 2020 and I am SO GLAD tomorrow is the new year of 2021. I do hope it will be much better then this year has been. I am sure other people have had it worse. But God, never gives us more then we can handle. Sometime I wonder how much more He will give us. I need a break from the health and financial problems we face. 

I have no plans for this new year, no goals, no desires. Although, I would like an Air Fryer, guess that is a want. I am not sure which one I will buy. Been waiting 6 months, but the money has never been there to buy one.....guess I will wait a little longer. Maybe when the stimulus $600 hits our bank account, then I will start looking. That is if we are allowed to leave our homes to shop....who knows what will happen when the changing of the guard takes place in the White House.

Not much happened today, I made some apple turnovers...that was fun, I might try cherry turnovers next. I bought a can of apple pie filling and a package of puff pastry. Cut it in 6 squares, brushed egg wash on each of the sides. Dropped some apple slices in the middle, folded them over and pressed them down with a fork, made 3 slices on top and brushed again with egg wash. 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Cooled then spooned icing on top. BAD MOVE, I COULD NOT STOP EATING THEM!!!!!!!

Made a pizza later on in the day. For JP, I made Lox and crackers with cream cheese, tomatoes and onions. JP's favorite. He usually likes bagels, but they are too hard for him to chew.

Well, now I am here, writing my last blog of the year, #25 today. Just a little lax in doing blogs this year, There was not a lot of good to write about. Hopefully things will be better in the new year. Just going to take one day at a time, one hour at a time, maybe even one step at a time, can't go no farther then that. Putting my trust in God the whole time, He knows best what is good in my life, I certainly don't. I've tried to do things my way and just made a mess of every thing. Guess now I will let Him make the calls. Who knows, this maybe the year that Jesus comes back for His church and OFF we go in a twinkling of an eye, what a day that will be.

You all take care and keep looking up, better days surely must be coming. Cheers ~ Louise

GOODBYE 2020

 Hi there everyone, hope you had a nice Christmas and was able to spend it with your family and friends. JP's family lives in Illinois...where we both are from. We've been in Wisconsin since 1976. Guess we are more Wisconsinites now after 44 yrs. How time flies in a twinkling of an eye. My family is non-existent, everyone is dead. No brother's, sister's, aunt's or uncle's. I had one baby but was told to put her up for adoption. I will leave it at that, she wants nothing to do with me.

So here are a few views of my little table top Christmas tree. I have had this tree for over 20 years. I used to do real trees but stopped, they got too expensive for the pocket book. The above tree is the "USA" tree. Red, white and blue lights and red and blue ornaments.

The above tree is my "Valentine" tree. Can you tell, everything is RED and white. The elf seems to always find a place to sit in the tree. Sometimes he stays on the tree all year longs.

"St. Patrick's Day" tree. There's the elf....otherwise every is green. I contemplated an "Easter" tree for April.....but I guess by March I was getting Christmas treed out.

This tree is from 2017. My tree this year looks pretty much the same. I shall take a picture of this years tree in a couple of days, before I start taking it down. Don't think I am leaving it up as long as I usually do. I didn't start decorating this year's tree till Christmas Eve. My heart has not been it Christmas this year. 

I guess mainly because I have been dealing with JP's health issues on a daily basis and he seems to be getting worse as the days go by. A nursing home is in JP's future, it's getting very hard to take care of him the last couple of months. Still waiting to hear from Doctors. Maybe the first of the year things will start to progress. So much is up in the air because of this Covid 19....be glad when it is over, if it gets over.

Well, time to close here. I may do one last blog on the 31st. That should make 25 blogs for 2020. Yeah, I have been very laxed in doing these blogs, just not a whole lot happening. Well, a lot has happened but I just have not wanted to tell the world about my tales of woe's because someone else's tales are probably worse then mine.

So you all have a great New Year and I DO hope 2021 is much better then this last year was. Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise  

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas

Hi there everyone. Merry Christmas to you all. I have not been in the mood to blog much lately. Nor have I been taking many pictures. So what you see here are OLD PICTURES from 2016 and 2017. I guess sometimes OLD is GOOD. Least in 2016 and 2017 there was NO COVID, right???

I am still not ready, the small fake tree is up with it's lights, but I still have not decorated it, maybe today. Got my cards out, I should take a picture of them and put it on this blog....maybe tomorrow. My village is still downstairs.....I am not sure it will come up from the basement this year. I might change my mind....looking at this picture now.

I missed seeing the "Bethlehem Star" last night. Cloudy skies, did look to the south/west but to no avail. Last time the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter was 800 years ago. Then before that, it was back when Jesus was born. Such a historical thing and I could not see it. Guess I will have to depend on the news and "You Tube."

JP had a couple of Doctor appointments this month. One for his arm pains, X-rays were taken and the Doctor did not see any problems. Next on the agenda is a MRI, that's if the Insurance pays for that. After that, not sure what will happen. 

He had a sleep test taken. I had to pick up the instrument at the hospital, hook him up to it, leave it on for 8 hours, take it off and take it back to the hospital. We have not heard the results as yet and that was on the 10th. His next appointments are in February and March. He is really not doing that great. It is hard to watch someone deteriorate to barely being able to get around and needing a wheel chair cause it's hard for him to walk. So scary getting old.  

I was going to make this a short blog....but looks like it has gotten a little wordy. So I will close here for now. Hope you all are enjoying Christmas, it sure has changed quite a bit for many people....one good thing, maybe in the next few weeks that $600 each will show up in the account and I will be able to pay a few bills. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

November Stuff

Hi there everyone.....wow, where did this month go to. My mother was right, "the older you get the faster time goes" yep, now I see what she meant.

November has been a little rough for yours truly. Guess that is why I have not blogged that much. Both JP and I have had Doctor appointments, he deals with a lot of health issues. One of his main issues is his constant arm pains, he's dealt with these pains for over 10 years now. The older he gets, the rougher they get.

Well, 12/2 he has an appointment with a pain specialist....I hope this works as all the other Doctors could not find the root problem. On 12/10 he has a sleep test. Hopefully we will know what his problem is soon. 

               

Even though it is still Thanksgiving....Christmas is not far off. I bought a wreath for the front door. My birthday present to me. It's been a long time since I bought a wreath, at least 4-5 years. I thought it was time. Also, a little decoration for the back door too. I shall have to take some pictures. Not sure how much Christmas decorations will be done inside the house....since JP will not be able to help, he always brings the containers up from the basement.

Do you like the snow flake card above? I think this will be my Christmas card to send out to friends this year. Just have to take some time to get them done. Hospice cards are done and dropped off. So now I can zero in on making my cards for this Christmas.

I love this Christmas card. I wish I could find this die, I did give 3 of these cards to family in Chicago and one to a friend last Christmas. So, I will continue to hunt for this die. Maybe when I get extra $$$ I will search more diligently.

I always loved this card....some day I will make this card also....looks pretty easy, just have to find that happy, jolly snowman.

Gosh, I did not realize, this is my 900th blog today....wowsers. Time flies when we are having fun....right?? I started blogging in 2008....12 yrs ago??? Wonderful days before the Corona Virus. After all these months, I am still not used to the masks and they look so funny on people too. But, I will obey the rules and wear the mask, even though I do not like them.

Oh....when I went to the Doctor Monday...he asked if I wanted a flu shot, first I said no, he told me the pros and cons, especially someone like me with diabetes. I thought about it and decided maybe it was time. So I got a shot. Amazed the arm does not hurt and seems there is no side effects to this shot. Maybe it will even protect me from the Corona. My last flu shot had to be when I was still working at the Salvation Army, and that was over 20 years ago....again where did all that time go???

Well, I think I will close here before November passes us by and I didn't get to publish this blog. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy those that sit around your table....you are blessed.

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

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throune of God."

Talk to The One that Loves You Most

Hi there everyone how's it going with you?? Guess it has been 20 days since I last posted. Not exactly sure why, maybe it is just that I don't have much to write about. This new Blog format is a little hard to manipulate. I tried to get a paragraph going above, before the first meme, but to no avail. So I guess I must start in the middle of the page. (Nope, I fixed it. Just moved the picture down. I knew there had to be a way.)

I have found that my time with God is late, late, like early morning. Usually about 2:30am. Everything is quiet and peaceful until, JP has his arm pain and wanders through out the house, moaning and groaning, yelling and hitting his arm. I am not sure what to do about it. I have prayed and prayed and either there is no answer or I cannot hear rightly. JP has been to many Doctors and none of them can find the problem. Our family Doctor said, "It's a mystery" Thank God I have HIM to complain to. Least I know, He knows.

I am still working on raking leaves outside, hopefully I will get them done in the next few weeks and really hopeful that snow does not fall, making it very hard to rake.

Next week I will be "doggie sitting" a little guy named "Buddy" That should get me out of the house walking a little more. Will see how it goes, the owner cancelled out on me last Friday.

I still have 2 more Monday's to do the Living Well Diabetes class. We have to have actions plans to attain each week. My action plan for this week was rake the leaves, cut down the vine, now I can add, walking Buddy everyday. My other action plan was to get going on my Christmas cards for Hospice. Maybe this will be a busy week.

I hope my body keeps up with my mind this week. So much to do. Well time to close this blog. Hope your week is superb and everything goes well. Keep looking up.....better days are coming.

Don't forget to VOTE on November 3rd. Cheers ~ Louise
 

A Prayer for Our World

Hi there everyone. Hope you all are doing well during this time. We are doing fine except for the aches and pains of old age and everyday problems that crop up. 

Keep looking up, better days are coming. God has complete control of this world and nothing passes by Him that he does not know of. If He knows the number of hairs on our head, then He knows what's happening. Just keep praying.

Cheers, Louise

"The Day's Dwindle Down, to a Precious Few.....September, November..."

Hi there everyone....yep, the days sure do dwindle down to a precious few.....these were my first thoughts when I started this blog.....where in the world did this awful year go to....so fast and so many changes!!! Hope 2021 is a little bit better then this year has been.

I like this scripture, probably a favorite of mine, although this is NOT King James, not sure what version. King James reads. "Cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you". When JP and I were involved in a bus ministry at our old church in Ladysmith, Wi. 

I would make pictures on poster board with the scripture for that Sunday morning which the Children's Pastor had given me. Was usually Saturday night. So there I was, coming up with an idea (always asking God first) for a scripture idea every week. Sunday morning, I would tape the poster in front of the bus for the kids to see, they usually had it memorized before they got off the bus. And the kids were prepared for Children's church, learning what God had for them that day.

Wish I had taken a picture of it. It was a little girl falling into the Hands of God, shall never forget that picture and this scripture that went along with it. I can still see it in my mind's eye. Guess that must have been a God thing for that season of my life.

Here are a few Fall cards. The ones above were made in 2017. I was still involved with the Secret Stamper group. My secret stamper lady made the card on the left. I made the card on the right. I used one of my images, sending her 12 images of the oak leaf. Neat how two people can come up with two different ideas using one image.   

Now the card above was made this year, 2020. Same oak leaf but another way to use it. I am thinking this is a card I made for my secret stamper. I no longer have her card, as I donated it to Hospice. Oh well, that be life, I guess.

Aren't these pretty mums??? Bought these 3 years ago. probably will not buy any this year, not unless some extra money lands in my hands. JP and I celebrated our 47th anniversary, August 27th. I bought a dozen roses for $6....they are still going strong today. Still so pretty.

Well, I guess that is it for now. Maybe in my next blog I will tell you how our 47th Wedding Anniversary went. Our street is almost done, but my car is still parked on the street, as we cannot get into our drive. Be glad when all this road work is done and at least things are normal for awhile....whatever normal is.

I have my crock pot going right now, pork roast with onions and sliced apples. Mmmmm I can smell it already, should be ready in about two hours. Going to make mashed potatoes and gravy and maybe corn bread for a treat. Sounds like a fall meal and good too!!!

Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming.....I am sure of it. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh My Gosh.....Blogspot Changed It's Format

 Hi there everyone. Been awhile since I have been here.....and would you know it....Blogspot changed!!! A whole new learning curve. Come on now....why change something that was not even broken????? I would like to know that answer.

Not much has been going on around here. The street is still being worked on. The original letter from the city said August 24th, the streets, sidewalks, driveway and curbs would be done. (lies). The streets started getting torn up July 6th. At one point we could not get out of our driveway for 20 days!!! Not kidding! Was a good thing I had enough food and such. Towards the end though, toilet paper, paper towels, butter, and a few other things were gone!! And again, the original letter said we would get a notice when to move our cars to the side street. I NEVER saw such notice. I am about to scream at Appleton!!! In this time with the pandemic and everything else going on....don't need this aggravation also!!!

So today.....the street was being leveled out and I thought....maybe I better move the car. So now the car is parked on the side street....and guess what, the workers are gone, maybe I could have left the car in my driveway????? I don't know, just do not want to take that chance again. I have a Doctor's appointment Friday and if I cannot get out of the driveway because of road work, I will miss my appointment.

My Doctor of 33 years retired in July (sigh). So Friday I will be going to a NEW Doctor. JP's prostrate Doctor is retiring in December. His next appointment is not till next June. But JP will have one of the other Doctors in that office to take care of him. 

Another dilemma we face is, I have to find a new accountant, the one we had for 33 years...he was very good, but for the last 10 years or so, we were having to pay $200 to have our taxes done. But then it was affordable, we had the income. But now that is out of our budget, as finances have changed quite a bit.

JP retired from work June 3rd. He is now 73 yrs old. So no income from Jack's. Plus no extra cleaning on the side anymore. Taxes were not taken out and we ended up having to pay the Government $383+$200 for the accountant. Nope, not in the budget anymore. I have been told we can get our taxes done for FREE. Have to find out where that is pretty soon.

In the midst of all this stuff, JP deals with a lot of health issues, one being his prostrate, but now the appointments are 1 year apart....which is good. 

JP went to the foot Doctor last month and this month. He has a big, ugly, painful callous on his right foot. The Doctor scraped it and put some acid on it. But JP still takes baby steps and shuffles around like and old man. Doctor said we need to get some new inserts for his shoes. OR go to a Pedorthist and get fitted with molded inserts which is not covered by our insurance and would have to come out of our pocket $350. One half for the first visit and the rest on the second visit. Guess that is out of the question for now. 

Doctor felt sorry for us because we went to "Good Feet" for their inserts, for both JP and I the cost was $1800.00, He also got a new pair of shoes for $200+. I am still paying on that money making scam....the inserts never worked for JP. and the shoes are worn out and the heel worn down.

JP has a few other ailments, a hernia, needs some dental work and gets arm pains (10 to 20 a day). People think he is having a heart attack and are ready to call 911. But he just walks it off, praying and chanting words over and over.

And yes, we pray constantly, God sees the need....maybe one day these trials, tribulations and frustrations will all end, in His time.

Well I better close here, cause I am probably wearing you out with my tales of woe. One person asked me recently, "How are you doing today" I said, "oh fine. Actually I am not fine. But we have been taught to say, "oh everything is fine, whether it is or not". 

No one wants to hear problems, cause they have their own problems to deal with. I have heard it said, if we throw all our problems in a circle and are told to pick out a new problem, we would again go and pick up our old problems, because we know how to deal with them. Maybe new problems of someone else's would throw us for a loop and we would not know how to deal with them. Do you suppose???

So you all take care and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers, Bunny, Curbs, and Hockey

Hi there everyone ~ how you all doing??? Well I thought I would try to get one more blog done in July....have been very negligent in my blogging this year...guess there's not a lot to write about during a quarantine. But, little by little things are getting back to normal, what ever that is?!?!? 

So, here are a few flowers growing in my garden...above is my new Walmart Hibiscus plant....so pretty!! It is in a pot, so hopefully I will be able to keep it for the winter in the front room window.

These are my purple clematis's, always so pretty to watch them grow. They are also growing by my front porch.

This is my choir of Bee Balm....aren't they pretty? It's either the flowers or leaves that tea can be made from....I will have to check that out on the internet. Yep....you can make tea with both the flowers and leaves. I will have to go out tomorrow and collect some flowers and make tea. Some of the benefits of Bee Balm, the tea has the capability to cure cold and flu, coughing, nasal problems, nausea, digestive problems, headache, vomiting and other common sicknesses. 

I wonder, do you think Bee Balm could cure Corona Virus???

A bunny in the back yard....he seemed pretty tamed, cause he didn't move to fast when I came up on him. Too interested in what he was eating I guess.

So on the 21st of this month the new curbs went in. We still cannot get out of our driveway though. We never got the memo that the curbs were being done, "park your car on the side street." So we sit, hopefully this week, things will change and I can get out to do some shopping. We are running low on a few things.

Oh YAYYYYY! Hockey is starting August 1st. This covid 19 sure did ruin a lot of lives. I can't imagine how it was for all these hockey players being quarantined and not be able to play the game they love and enjoy!!! I really missed hockey. But now it is coming back and hopefully the Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup. There will be 24 teams vying for the cup, I am praying for a good outcome. Least they made it to the playoffs...even if it was by default.

Well, I guess it is time to close this blog for a few days or weeks. It seems July was not to busy....which is fine with me. The weather has been really hot, running in the 90's and all I want to do is just keep cool. I found the basement is cooler, so I have spent some time down there. Although I should be spending time doing cards....rather watch TV. I better get cutting though, cause our first Hospice meeting since March will be meeting September 4th. 

Take care and keep looking up.....better days are coming. 
Cheers~ Louise 

Here We Go Again!!!!

Hi there everyone. Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July...it went way too fast. It's been pretty hot here...in the 90's (I don't do 90's very well.) Our window air conditioner konked out after the 3rd day and started spitting....so I guess it is time to get a new one. That's if I can manage to scrape up some money. So in the mean time I have 5 fans going constantly and a little Artic Air conditioner by my computer...it puts out some cold air but needs to be filled with water every couple of hours. 

Hopefully there will be just a few more days of this hot stuff. The weather will cool down a bit and I can then do some work outside....it's too hot for me to work outside in 90 degrees....but the  weeds and grass like this and grow great in this weather. 

I really do need an air conditioner in the kitchen though, as I do spend a lot of time there. If need be, I can put a lawn chair in the kitchen and camp out in the kitchen during the night. I've done that a few times, when the conditioner worked. Now I just have the fans going full blast.

Dinner tonight was hamburgers and mashed potatoes and gravy and sliced tomatoes with Italian dressing. By the time I finished cooking, I was sweating like a stuffed pig....do they sweat???? Time to sit in front of the fans and enjoy the hamburger.

Well, here we go again. The city is tearing up our street again......Uge!!! They say this mess will be done by August 22nd.

We have special permits to put on our car window as we won't be able to park in our own driveway. So where ever we can find a place to park on the side streets....that's where we can park for the night.

We watched the streets being torn apart this morning....those machines are beasts. The weather was much cooler this morning also, by about noon the weather started warming up a bit.

This is the street down the right of us, they went on to tear up the street in the next block. I thought that street was already finished, as it was already black-topped.....but I guess not.

So here is our front yard....daisies are growing nicely. The blacktop on the side walk will be ripped up also....what a mess this will be.

Well, I guess it is time to close here, you all enjoy your summer...have a feeling it will go pretty fast!!! Take care and keep looking up. I am pretty sure things will get better eventually. Cheers ~ Louise

July 4th 2020

Hi there everyone.....Happy 4th of July 2020!!! Following are just a few Meme's celebrating Independence Day from Great Britain in 1776 and their tyranny on the 13 colonies!!! Hard to believe, we in this modern day of 2020, are still fighting against the tyranny of different things that control us.....will we really ever be free from people and things that desire to control our lives???? 

Corona Virus and all it's rules and regulations.

Most Politian's, Libral Democrat's and Conservative Republicans.

Hate to say this, but Money is a controller.

Entertainment of all sorts, TV, sports, video games, music, crafts, maybe even work and whatever else takes up all your time.

Could food be a controller?....maybe so.

Yes....the Evil one is a controller that uses people to control our lives!!!

Did I miss anything, there probably are a lot of other things that control our lives. Maybe for you it is something completely different. Just seems 2020 so far has been very tuff on so many of us. Spiritually, physically, financially, domestically and mentally.

BUT...Thank God we have HIM to help us through all these trials and tribulations of life that attack us daily on various levels of our lives.

I am not sure how I got on this subject, just seems looking at the way things are developing in this world....our independence is diminishing under a new rule of Socialism, Communism and a large touch of a Marxist rule.....Look out and look up...only God can deliver us from this tyranny of control.

Take care and be safe, keep looking up. I always end my blogs with "better days are coming" I am sure hoping so at this point, for all of our sakes. Cheers ~ Louise

Love Sheet-Pan Meals

Hi there everyone. Hoping all is well by you. Hard to believe it is June already. these last 5 months have been like a nightmare and we have not woken up yet....wish it were over and things were back to normal. 

Well to keep myself occupied and entertained during the quarentine, I was trying different recipes, looking through old cookbooks and old magazines. JP was not complaining in that area.....as he likes to eat food, hot or cold, he ain't fussy in that department. 

Anyways, this recipe below "Petite Meatloaf Dinner" was from an old magazine "Cooking Light" from October 2018. I am amazed at all the magazines I had stashed away. Saw this recipe the other day and decided to make it. The recipe called for carrots and beans. I had no beans so improvised with what I did have. Brocoli, potatos, carrots and radishes, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic powder and spread out on a sheet pan.

Sorry for my shadow....this is before the meat and vegies were cooked. The recipe for the meat loaves were pretty easy.
1 lb. lean ground turkey (I used ground beef)
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
6 Tbsp. unsalted ketchup, divided(3 Tbsp. for meat, 3 for sauce)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 large egg
1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 tsp. kosher salt, divided, (1/2 for vegies, 1/2 for meat)
2 tsp. low-sodium Worcestershire sauce
12 oz. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Again, sorry for my shadow....this is after the meat and vegies were cooked. So preheat the oven 450 degrees. Combine the turkey, oats, 3 tablespoons ketchup, onion, egg, marjoram, and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium bowl. Mix and divide into 4 (4x2 1/2") loaves. Place evenly spaced, on pan. Combine Worcestershire sauce and remaining 3 tablespoons ketchup in a small bowl and brush over loaves. Spread the vegies around the loaves and bake 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Turn vegies and continue to bake until loaves are no longer pink in the center. 12-15 more minutes.

I have to say....this was really good. And while I was making the meatloaf dinner, I was making this french bread to go along with the sheet pan dinner. 

Nothing like warm bread with your meal. These two loaves lasted maybe 2 1/2 days. During quarentine I was making lots of sourdough bread, that was fun....this is just a regular loaf, only thing different was that when I baked the bread, the directions said to put a pan of water under the bread, not exactly sure what that accomplished, but maybe I will try that technique again with a regular loaf. The only thing I can figure is that the bread browned on top better and was more crusty, which I like.

Well time to close, tis getting late and I need to finish this post. you all have a great day and keep looking up....thinking there will be better days ahead. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards Made for Secret Stamper

Hi there everyone, hope you are doing well....guess the virus is still going strong in some other places in our country....be glad when life can go back to normal, when ever that will be. Our Governor has allowed some places to be opened and still others are still closed. Such a shame. Some people have lost everything or are about to lose everything. The world has turned up-side down for many.

April 18th, I started my sourdough starter. 6 days later, I started making bread, pizza crust, doughnuts, waffles, cookies (yes, sourdough cookies) fried bread, muffins, corn bread, scones, cinnamon raisin bread, short bread, biscuits and more bread. (Not all in one day...lol over the course of 5 weeks) I finally put my starter to rest yesterday, just for awhile. 

Actually I have 4 cups of sourdough starter in the freezer. So when I want to start another month of baking, I will pull out one cup of frozen starter, defrost and add 1 cup of warm water and 1 cup of flour. Starting all over. Some of my favorites were the pizza crust, cookies, scones and short bread and of course bread.

I have gone shopping 3 times this month and possibly tomorrow. That will be 4 times this month. Saving some money and YES, I will wear my mask, but I will need to lift it up to get some oxygen in my lungs. We are running low on TOILET PAPER!!!! Least now there will be some on the shelves this time around.

So I made some cards, finally got myself downstairs to finish up the cards I needed to make for the secret stamper group. This butterfly card was easy, I die cut the butterfly. My secret stamper lady gave me the "On your Special day" background.

I sent the flower to my secret stamper....this is my rendition of the flower, done in yellow. Her rendition was in pretty pinks. If I receive the cards from Staci, I'll show you both cards together.

In this card, I sent the die cut of a Heart, being it was for February, it made a good Valentine Card.

Here's my vintage man by a bike....always a good one for Father's Day. Traci's card turned out cute too.

I will show you more cards next month, maybe by then I will have received the cards from Traci and Carrie (my secret stampers). You can compare the cards I made, to the cards Traci and Carri made. Always fun to see how each person comes up with one idea and the other, another idea using the same images.

I planted some seeds in my planter on Saturday. (last years planter). This year so far, Roma Beans, Cucumber seeds, Morning glory seeds, scallions and oregano seeds. Covered the bean seeds with wire fencing so the squirrels and chipmunks would stay OUT!!!

So I went outside today to see how things were growing...…..holes all over the place. The planter with scallions and oregano seeds  planted, the divider was knocked down and there were holes all over.....that upset me very much. How do you grow things when the critters destroy everything????? I would like to know!!!! 

Well, I asked "Cortina" what keeps chipmunks and squirrels away from the garden....."add SPICE to the garden"!!! Cayenne pepper!!! I found some in the cabinet and marched out to the planter and peppered it down. So much so, I started sneezing....that should keep those critters away!!!! We will see how that works. I still have a larger jar...just have to find it. Do you think my Roma Beans will be spicy???

Gonna close here now you all take care and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards & Sourdough Muffins

Hi there everyone...how you all doing this 1st day of the Merry Month of May???? We are still in quarantine till the end of May. I must say....Been doing a lot of baking and cooking of different things. Been really having fun using my sourdough starter. She was in the fridge for a couple of days and I brought her out today to warm her up and then take 1 cup out, gave her another feeding and will probably put her back in the fridge for a couple of days. I will be needing some bread in a couple of days. Still have some buns in the freezer, so that will be good for a couple of days. 

While doing this post, I am in the midst of making "easy sourdough muffins" (okay I am back, another pan of muffins going in the oven). I will give you the recipe at the end of this post.

So these two cards, I made Wednesday night. The top one is going to my brother-in-law down in Illinois. I really like the way it turned out....very manly-man card. It's a die-cut, forget the name of who makes it. I just taped it to white card stock then used copic markers to color in the triangles and squares (guess there are not too many squares)...kinda fun to do, very relaxing. The Happy Birthday is a die-cut also, used sparkly paper, then glued the back to the top of the card.

The Hello card below is done the same way, except in pinks, blues and lavenders. The Hello is a die-cut done in silver. I then added gems to embellish the card. The card is going down to Indiana to a fellow blogger....she has been missing from blogland for a month or so....found out her computer pooped out. Gosh, being in quarantine and not able to be on the computer, that's got to be a double whammy!!!!

So here is what my muffins look like...not quite.....lol!!! Picture looks good though, doesn't it??? I shall have to try one before I end this post and give you a rating!!!

These easy sourdough muffns use up some discard to give your muffins a delicious sourdough taste!

This recipe is for a 10-12 muffins. 
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 large egg, room temperature
1/3 c whole milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c liquid fat(oil, or melted butter, shortening, lard or coconut oil) 1/2 c. sourdough discard (make sure you stir down the bubbles before measuring.)

1. Preheat oven 425 degrees, Line a muffin tine with muffin liners or spray with nonstick spray.
2. Mix Dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, vanilla, oil and sourdough discard until well combined.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients together, stir with spoon or spatula until well combined. The batter will be lumpy. Do not over-mix or the muffins will become tough. If using, fold in any add-ins.
(blueberries, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.) I topped the muffins with a butter, flour, sugar crumble. (this mixture added to the muffin very nicely. I usually use this crumble for my apple pies)
5. Divide the batter evenly between the 10-12 muffin cups.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes and then turn the oven heat down to 350 degrees for about 5-7 more minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs.

Okay, these muffins were dangerously delicious, cooled down with a smear of butter....ummmmm....not thinking there are too many calories in these muffins....but they sure were GOOOOOOOD!!

I am rating these muffins from a 1-10??? I think they are a 10

Well hopefully JP will have enough goodies to last him for the week end. Chocolate chip cookies from Schwans, one donut and some soft sourdough cookies from last week.

Well time to close here....did lots of stuff today and I guess I am a little tired....so much to do so little time. Looks like it is time to work outside and do some planting...maybe some radishes and spinach...cold weather stuff that grows better in the early spring.

Keep looking up better days are coming and us prisoners will be set free!!!! Yes, free at last!!! Cheers ~ Louise