Merry Christmas - 2022

 Hi there everyone, hope you are all enjoying the activities of Christmas and all that come with it. I am thinking this may be my last blog of this year. 2023 may be a complete mystery as to whether I continue or not. I have no idea what the days in 2023 have in store for me or this United States (or should I say this "Divided States.)

So today, I shall just add some old cards from past Christmas's, and a few new cards from this Christmas, hope you enjoy.

An old card from 2017 but probably one of my favorite cards of all times.

A new card for 2022.

Another new card for 2022.

And another snowflake card for 2022.

Just a few cards from the past. And today I added some cards I made for this year. Gosh I almost forgot how to add these cards to this blog. I guess it is true, "if you don't use it, you may lose it. 

So have a nice Christmas, and a Happy New Year. 

Cheers ~ Louise

PS, sorry for so few words, not very wordy in this blog.

Ohhhhhh Is Anyone There???

 Hi there everyone. Thought I would drop a line or two. Yes, I am still alive and kicking. As you can see by the dates on the pictures below, they are 5 years old, but they are Fall pictures, so I am using them today.

I have not been much into a blog mood, only because not much is happening in my life. Since JP's death, (1 year, 2-1/2 months) everyday just seems to blend into another. I have tried to get a lot done around the house, but sometimes I just find myself sleeping. I get plenty done in my mind, but my body does not cooperate.

Next month, 11/21 I will be 76 years old. WHERE did that time go to?? Never thought I would make it to this age.

Well, to update you all. I had my garage sale and made about $140.00 which did help in paying some bills. The sale was back in June. I thought I would have another one in July, August and possibly in September. But I decided not to. June was enough for me. I am still in the process of cleaning the garage and ridding myself of all the old garage sale stuff that did not sell. I gave "Good Will" 6 banana boxes of stuff already with 2-3 more boxes to go. 

I have decided I am NOT going to sell and move out of this house. And would like to stay here for as long as I can. To down-size, pack and move just sounds like too much stress and a hassle at this time in my life. I am not under pressure now, as I was even 6 months ago as I have made plans with the City to begin paying my property tax which will now keep me from foreclosure in two years. 

I have had a few other financial situations cleared up, so my future looks a little brighter, that's if this country does not go down the tubes with inflation, high gas and food prices and every other crisis that comes up. 

It has been hard to keep my nose above water these last couple of years what with the Pandemic, JP's sickness and death, trying to make ends meet has been a challenge. But God is Good, and He takes care of His own.

I had a really good garden this year with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, onions, dill and basil. I am in the midst of drying the dill and basil. I think the beans are done as it was my second planting. I brought in my green tomatoes, and they are ripening in a dish pan. 

My card making has been at a minimum lately, have lots of ideas, but seem to find other things to do. Cooking for myself is not fun. When JP was alive, I cooked much more, always trying something new and different. Now I just cook what is easy, fast or not so healthy. Hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, fries, steak, beans, broccoli, and corn. Chicken when I can and porkchops anything that can be made in the Air Fryer or microwave. My Air Fryer is my new friend.

My car has a gas line leak, so it has been sitting in the driveway this week. Monday, I have to take it to the service station, hopefully there is enough gas to get it there and has not all leaked out. Then the guy won't be able to work on it till the 20th, maybe sooner. Hopefully the bill will be affordable.

Well, I guess that is all for now, this was going to be a short blog, but I guess I am just too wordy. You all have a great rest of the month...I am sure it will go fast. The days are flying by, enjoy them while you have them. Keep looking up!!! Better days are a comin'. Louise

Time is Flying By Quickly

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July with family and friends!! Mine is quiet, very quiet. It will be a year tomorrow (July 5th) that I took JP to the Assisted Living. 20 days later he died.... lots of memories this month, hope I can make it through without crashing

So, the last couple of weeks, I have been busy with a Rummage/garage sale. Sales were slow on Thursdays, so I cut that day out. Friday seems to be a busy day and Saturday not so much. Course maybe July 4th had something to do with it. But in the 5 days $172.85 was sold.... not bad. I am going to do 4 more days this month, a Friday, Saturday weekend and then the following week. I have an extra bill this month so hopefully enough stuff will be sold to pay that bill.

In the top picture I wanted to mention my little garden...just noticed today that the bean plants are starting to make little beans...gosh I can hardly wait. I will have beans, tomatoes, onions, radish, basil, dill and cucumbers. I meant to plant some flower seeds, but time got away from me. I did plant some marigold seeds and have transplanted them to other places. Going to put some in planters on the front porch.

So here are some pictures of some of the stuff in the sale. I hope this manger scene sells, because I sure don't want to pack it up again. I brought a lot of stuff out from the house, plus I still had stuff in the garage to sell boxed up from several rummage sales before. I need to really sift through all this stuff and down-size a whole lot. As I may have to move in the next year or so. Will be hard to leave because we've been here 31 years this month.

I still have lots of stuff in the basement to go through. I think some of this stuff, I will just go through and take to the thrift store or just throw out. Will see how radical I get.

In the picture below is a card I made for the nephew, he is a golfer and fisherman and only 10 years old. Did you see the saying...."Always golf with extra socks in case you get a Hole-in-one!!! I thought that was pretty funny!!

So here is my first rose of Summer.....so pretty. 

And, my peonies were in full bloom this spring, wish they lasted longer than they do. I did cut a lot of flowers and put them in vases and brought them in the house or left them on the front porch.

More peoni pictures. I actually inherited these flowers from a neighbor. They no longer wanted them in their backyard, and I said, I will take them and so they landed in my yard!!!

I did another radical thing this past month. June 9th, I called Spectrum and asked to cut the cable because I could no longer afford their prices for TV. So now I just have internet and landline. I bought a Roku and installed that on my TV. I am really liking it, lots and lots of movies. I don't get ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX or my NASCAR....to get that all I would have to spend $70 a month. now that would completely defeat the purpose of saving some money. For now, I will settle with Roku and when I have extra $$$ to spend maybe I will get my channels back (which are supposed to be free, but aren't)

Well, time to close, I need to get some bills paid and dishes done today. It's only 1:30pm so I guess I have time yet. But time does fly by quickly, don't keep your eyes closed to long, you might miss something spectacular!!! Cheers ~ Louise
 

Hello?? Anyone There????

Hi there everyone. I know, I know, it has been awhile...like January 7th that I last blogged??? I have no excuses, just trying to live life without Jay and wonder what my next step is and still try to keep sane in an insane world!!!

In the above picture, those are my Lilly of the Valleys, always pick and bring them in for a touch of spring in the kitchen to look at whilst I do the dishes. And even though JP is not here, for some reason I "still" have many dishes to do???? But eventually they do get done, in phases.

I have been doing some cards here and there. Still make cards for Heartland Hospice along with a few other ladies. The last couple of months we have been able to meet together, otherwise we were following "Covid 19 Protocol" and not meeting or just dropping cards off at a place and they were picked up by the Card Coordinator.

The cards above were from a "Stamping Up" kit from 2017. It was a fun kit, apples, strawberries and blueberry cards. I still have some checked background left over so I can make more cards like this. 

The card below is a die I have had for years....makes for a very pretty card. I can't remember how I made the colored background. Experimental ideas using different techniques that get stuffed in a box and forgotten about. This is going to be my challenge this summer...take old dies and stamped images and turn them into cards. I really have a lot of stuff. AND, 3 months to make cards for Hospice meeting September 2nd. I have a feeling that time will go FAST!!!! 

Below are my Irises that grow in the front yard. It was so windy the last couple of days that the poor flowers blew over. So, I cut them down and brought them in to enjoy for a few days. I have so much to do around this house. The neighbor next store cuts the grass in the front of the house. During the winter he was shoveling the snow. I will tend to the backyard with my manual push mower....I can handle that. If I do a little bit each day, I may catch up, by that time it will be fall.

I am going to make a few more of these cards, so pretty and they can be any kind of card I want them to be. The one below is a sympathy card. I am going to use a Thank you card like this for the main post picture. You should see it in the next day or so.

So my life has been up in the air for the last 10 months since Jay's death. I have not been able to handle being a "widow" that still sounds foreign to me. I have been told not to make any big decisions for at least 1 year. After that, not sure where I am going. What with the way this world is going, do any of us know where we are headed?? I only know, through this all, my faith in Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is the only way to go...there is much comfort in knowing him as Lord and Savior of my Life. I think I am learning how to depend on Him and Him alone...which is where He wants us all to be. 

That being said, I shall close here. Hopefully I can keep up with this blog and add new cards maybe once a week. I have moved my stamping space from the basement to Jay's old room. So it is handy just to walk in, sit down and make a few cards. Works for me and I don't have to climb stairs.

You all take care and take JESUS!!! ~ Louise
 

A Few 2021 Christmas Cards

Hi everyone, hope you are having a good 2022 so far. Hard to believe the last time I posted was in November already. Time does fly. My header card is a napkin card. Glue the card stock then lay one layer of napkin on and smooth it like you would wallpaper. You can add your embellishments or whatever you desire.

The top card, the tree, was embossed, then I added little gems for ornaments and white speckles for the star and garland.

The "silent night" card was left over die cuts of the sleigh and trees. Just added gems, snowflakes and stickers. Nothing fancy, just using up what I had laying around.

Now both these cards were a lot of fun to make, I made a lot of these cards, mailing to friends and family. So here again, glue the card stock the size you want. Then lay ribbon on top of the glued card stock, any way you like. After completely dried, I used different embossing folders and then added sticker snowflakes and ornaments.

I can't really say that I enjoyed Christmas and New Year's, it was pretty lonely since JP died. Hard to believe he is gone 5 months now. I have my brother and sister-in-law from Chicago calling once a week and I give a review of what happened the past week and how things are going. I have two other people that call once or twice a week just to talk. So, that part is not lonely. My next store neighbor shovels my snow when it snows, I talk to him every now and then.

As for my future plans, I am not sure what will happen. I would like to stay in my home for as long as I can. Hopefully for at least another year, that will give me time to down-size and get rid of stuff. After 30 years of accumulation...there is a lot of stuff to go through.

This covid (crap) is too much to take, somehow, I am glad JP did not have to witness and experience what is going on right now. It is very sad to watch this USA go down the tubes because so many people want control and desire to live under socialism and communism. They have been led astray, thinking socialism and communism is better than capitalism. One thing I know, God has complete control of all that is happening and going on. Someday soon every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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