Happy Birthday, Flowers, a Cake, Food and Captain Serious

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good Merry Month of May. My month has been VERY shaky, to say the least. I try to tell myself everyday the above Meme.....but I am only human, not perfect as yet. As much as I want to give up, I can't. JP is wanting to give up, as he is very tired of all these physical and mental health issues he faces daily.

JP's birthday was yesterday, 17th, he is now 74 yrs old....yep an old man now. He got a 3 birthday cards, a call from his brother in Hoffman Estates, and a few birthday wishes from the doctor's office. I bought him a new pair of slippers that look like street shoes, he can slip them on and off with very little effort. Never got a chance to make a card for him. Forgot the cheese cake in the freezer....tonight will be okay I guess.😍

This week-end was really a tough one. I had to call the fire dept. to help me pick JP up off the floor in the bathroom. We were doing a Cath. and over he fell, that was early Saturday morning. Then early Sunday morning, I had to call again (as per his nurse that comes weekly). This time he was transported to the ER. All his vitals are perfect, BUT he needs his meds changed, the Doctor in ER says he has dementia. There needs to be a follow-up with the regular doctor and the physiatrist.

Above is a picture of my pretty tulips that opened up like roses, they are so pretty in the sun light. 💓

To continue on with JP's problems and mine, (as I am the caregiver). JP has had 4 eye doctor appointments. All confirming he has Melanoma in his right eye. The next appointment will be in Green Bay at St. Vincent's Hospital. Do not know when that will be as yet. If you would please pray for JP. We are living day by day, I just can't go any farther then the next hour.🙏🙏🙏

This was a cute Valentine's cake I got for JP......sorry to say, he was really GOOD!!! He was devoured in a day!!!😊

So once I find out when the appointment is, Community Care will find a ride for us up to the Hospital in Green Bay and home again. (I hope). The last two trips to ThedaCare Hospital in Neenah, a car-pool picked us up.....really nice people, and they helped me get JP in the car too. So helpful (the first ride, the second ride, the caregiver and car driver both got JP in the car).

In these two pictures, is a meal I made for JP. He has to have soft food, so I thought stuffed peppers would be good on a sheet pan. It's just hamburger, rice, egg, bread crumbs and seasonings stuffed in green peppers. The asparagus has oil, salt and pepper then I cut up onion, covering the asparagus. Oh and those orange strips are sweet potatoes. So everything was soft, then I covered his food with gravy. The above picture is before it was baked, below after it was baked. Yummy meal. 👍👌😀

I guess I will be getting help to find a place for JP to live, where he will get 24/7 care. He is getting very hard for me to care for and I am losing sleep, staying up with him during the nights to make sure he does not do anything crazy, like fall. 

On Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's a caregiver comes to watch JP for 3 hours, while I can go to the store, or just get away for some free time. 

On Monday's a landscaper comes to cut our grass. (the neighbor took advantage of the situation (yesterday) and had the landscaper cut his grass also).👎I did not like that situation, but who am I???? My other neighbor did not think that was right either, because this neighbor is capable of doing it himself!!!!! Oh well, that is people for ya'!!! I asked the landscaper if this neighbor paid him and yes he did. I just did not want this neighbor getting a free grass cut on my dime....you know what I mean????👎💢😝

So now I guess we just wait to see what happens next. Tomorrow, I have an appointment at 11am to get my blood drawn for the A1C...it's been 6 months since the last one. At that time, the A1C was 6.3 which was good, I have a feeling it will be much higher with all that has been going on.....I hope not though. JP has an appointment at 10:30 with the doctor as a follow-up from his ER visit. Also the eye doctor wants JP's doctor to know what is going on. Sure glad they keep in contact....I have had to explain everything, cause JP can't remember anything.😢😭😩

Thursday, I have to take the car in for it's oil and grease job plus get some new tires for the front. JP says I do not need to do that, that they are fine. I am still going to have them checked. JP has not driven the car 5-6 months now. I do the driving. They will have the car for most of the day. Then call when it is ready and they will pick me up in the car, driving back to the service station, then I can have the car.

At 2pm I have a virtual meeting with our Insurance Co. to up-date  our insurance....hopefully there won't be a lot of changes and the price won't change much.

Friday the caregiver will come at 1pm, hopefully giving JP a shower and clean clothes and I can take off for a few hours. She also washes my dishes, if there are any (which there usually is), she vacuums, washes the floor, cause JP pees the bathroom floor a lot. She folds towels, doing little things in keeping this place clean. She is a real help.😌😌😌Much relief to me.

So this handsome hockey player is in need of prayer. 🙏🙏🙏He plays for the Chicago Blackhawks and he is the Captain of the team. He has been out of commission this whole season. He has been dealing with an illness that has not been diagnosed as yet. His complaint is that he is weak and lethargic and nothing else has been said. His name is Jonathon Toews. The Blackhawks did not make it to the Play-offs this season. Covid 19 messed things up for all the teams. Well, the next season starts in October and hopefully Covid 19 is just a passing thought.

Time to close here, if you are still with me, I hope you will pray 🙏🙏🙏 what the world needs most is prayer, never ending prayer!!!!

You all take care and keep looking up....better days are coming and when the trump sounds we are on our way to meet JESUS!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise

PS had lots of fun playing with the emojies today....you just may see them a lot more!!!💚💛💜💙💖

The Last Week of February

 Hi there everyone....hope you are having a great February. I am still living in 2020 I guess. No new changes and we are just plodding along going from day to day.

Here is a "little funny" I found today on another blog. Made me laugh a little bit....yeah, that's me alright. Might be good enough to put on Facebook too.

Things have not progressed a fast as I would like, JP is still a very needy person and just about all my waking hours are about him. As I sit here looking at my desk calendar, we have been very busy with nurse visits, Doctor visits, Hospital procedures, and Catherization's. I cringe at the thought of what the Dr. and Hospital bills will look like when they start filing into my home. 

I think the nurse visits will end this Thursday and two Doctor appointments so far in March, after that I am not sure what will happen. I know we are going from short term care to long term care. We will have nurses coming again, BUT they will be helping me with taking care of JP. and giving me, the caregiver, time off to take care of things that need to be done for Louise. Not sure yet what that is but I will take it.

JP will now go on Medicade, not sure what that all entails, but I will pay $29 a month home care and if there is reason to put him in assisted living that will be taken care of (I think) I might have to also pay room and board, but at this point, not sure how much. I Do have a few people walking me through this, thank God for the ADRC. Time will tell how this all pans out. Will keep you updated.

In the mean time.....who are these people????? They all live in France. Stephanie (2nd from right) owns a beautiful Chateau de LaLande. She started a YouTube Channel just before this pandemic started. Stephanie has been a blessing to many, many people around the world. All these other people in this picture are people that help Stephanie and live with her at the Chateau. From Right to left, Selmar (jack of all trades), Stephanie, Phillip (another jack of all trades), Marie (in the back, married to a 2nd co-owner of the Chateau, in the forefront her son, Antone) Behind Antone, Mari (Florest and cook), Nati (assistant for Stephanie). Behind Nati is Michael (#1 co-owner of the Chateau) and then David who visits and helps with designing of the garden and lake.

They all have a place and do what needs to be done to renovate this beautiful Chateau. Just type in: "Stephanie at The Chateau Diaries" and this will take you to all her Vlog videos. Once you go to her channel, you may be hooked and go to all of her other videos. A very lovely, gracious woman who knows how to bring the best out of everyone she meets.

Here are some cute little squirrls.....they need a caption: this one...."Shoot da puck!!!" What is your caption????

This one is: Yeahhhhhhh the Hawks Winnnnnnnnnnn!!!!! What's your caption????

Yep....Hockey game tonight. Hawks are playing the Columbus Blue Jackets. (note: you know how the Columbus Blue Jackets got their name??? That's where the Civil war uniforms were made for the North...Columbus, Ohio.....interesting fact....eh???)

So anyways the Hawks play tonight, I shall have to watch hockey on the internet at Volokit.com, the game is streamed with lots of buffering at times, once the buffering stops then I can watch the game in enjoyment.

If you haven't noticed, my You Tube visits and Hockey are my "get-a-way" places where I can forget the problems of the day. Well you all have a great rest of the day and also a great rest of the month of February. Take care and keep looking up, better days are just around the corner!!!!! 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 

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

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

Hello????? A Few Hospice Cards

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good April so far. Guess I have been missing for awhile as this is my 1st post for April. As I look at my calendar....there has been something going on just about every day. Doctor appointments, the Stanley Cup playoff Hockey games on TV (now that is VERY important), Doggie appointment, shopping, card making, etc. Little things that take up a lot of time. I had to miss my Hospice meeting this month as it conflicted with JP's Doctor appointment. Hard to be at two places at one time. So I took my Hospice cards to Betty's and she took the cards to Hospice for me. I will make the next meeting though.....Lord willing.

Oh...I made something different last week...a carrot pie. Yes, it was very good too. The pie actually tasted like a pumpkin pie. So if you ever want to make a carrot pie, just use your favorite pumpkin pie recipe and it will work out fine. The only thing I did different is I made it an "impossible pie" using a 1/2 cup of flour mixed in with the liquid, it will settle down to the bottom to form a crust. Don't forget the whipped cream!!!!

Following are a few cards I made for Hospice this month. Below is my Llama....love this guy. I think he can adorn any card I make. In this card I used glue and laid foil on top to make the strips. Laid the die cut Llama on top....and that was that.

The card in this picture was made by using a butterfly die and black embossed "Happy Birthday." The beautiful colored bookmark was covered with silver plumber's tape, embossed with an embossing folder. Then drops of different colored Distress inks and smooshed with a sponge to get the effect I wanted. Pretty, pretty. I need to make more of these cards. Probably for my Secret Stamper.

Here is my Llama again, this time he is on a "Thank You" card. I used a rainbow foil to give it a different effect.

This is a die cut....palm leaves I think. I make different backgrounds then just lay this die cut over it....makes for a very lovely card. The sayings are "Thinking of You" and "Happy Birthday" stamped on vellum. If I remember correctly, I used "brusho's" a powder like substance and spray the paper either before or after and sprinkle the brusho colors on and the little beads spread and mix with the other colors and make for a lovely back ground.

In this picture are the favors for Mother's Day. We make 20 favors, different assorted colors and ribbons. Then we put chocolates inside each favor. We will do this for Father's Day and Veteran's Day also.

Well, time to close here, getting late and this hockey game is about over, Calgary 2 and Colorado 6, it's been a ruff and tumble game, of playoff caliber!!! I wish the Chicago Blackhawks could have made the playoffs.....but that will be for the 19-20 season...for sure.

I am rooting for the Washington Capitals, my favorite player is  Captain Ovechkin. The other team I like is the Las Vegas Golden Knights....favorite player, Mark Stone. There you have it....it will be interesting to see who gets the Stanley Cup this year.

You all have a great rest of the month.....keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

The Title??? Modge Podge Life

Hi there everyone. Well, it sure has been awhile since I last posted on my blog. Three weeks, guess I could have gone longer, but even I was getting tired of that pie...it sure was good though and easy to make. I made another pie a week later, but only chocolate....was good, but much too runny. Guess I needed to cut down on the milk. Live and learn I guess.

Don't you just love this meme...definitely, a dog is man's best friend. As is God, our best friend too. To bad He is being chased out of Homes, Schools, Churches and Washington D.C. plus each State. Sad commentary. It's no wonder this Country is a MESS!!!!

I think this is a cute card below....I have not made this card as yet. Have to buy some balloons. Looks so simple but yet a fun card that the nieces and nephew's will have fun receiving. I shall have to check out this blog to see what other ideas she has....but this card caught my eye and had to save it with plans of making them some day.

Here are some pretty flowers for you....wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day. I have no special plans except possibly, I might pick up some strawberries and chocolate and try my hand at making "chocolate covered strawberries" Mmmmm sounds good!
Probably make a special dinner of steak and fries and maybe a cake too.

I have been spending a lot of time watching Hockey....I sure do like hockey, better then football. Football is soooo slowwww compared to hockey. The Blackhawks were not doing too good the beginning of this season. Then the coach was fired and the Hawks got a new coach who has been leading them to a much better season. They are actually looking at getting into the playoffs.....that sure would be great.

I used to go to the games back when I was a teenager. Pops had season tickets, so I went to all the home games. Back then there was only 6 teams. Now there are 31 teams, that is how big Hockey has gotten in the States and Canada.

I found a couple of threads on the Internet that I follow while watching the Hawks play. There is usually about 10 - 15 people chiming in, rooting for the Hawks or telling different players to get of the ice because they are worthless......they better read the above sign!!! But it is fun, keeping up with them, feels like I am at a hockey game. I do enjoy watching the other teams play too and do follow other teams, but the Hawks are my favorite. And my favorite player is Patrick Kane #88. Hopefully some day I can get a Patrick Kane jersey to wear while watching the Hawks play.

Don't you just love the above meme....."A list of sports better than Hockey" Ummmm, there are none!!! Hockey is the Best!!

Weather has been pretty cold with quite a few days below 0 with lots of snow. I sure will be glad when winter is over. I noticed on Facebook, someone posted that it is only 30 days and Day light Savings will be here....I like when the time changes, although I don't like having to change all the clocks in our house. We never did change the time in the car (mainly because we did not know how)...so we won't have to worry about that one.

We had to buy a new battery for the car last week....that was not in the budget....but at least we know the car will start. I have to buy a new printer. (Also not in the budget) Buying a color cartridge is $30 verses a new printer is $30. Weird! May as well get a new printer I say.

Well, time to close here, I am getting a little wordy and probably lost a few of you along the way. You all have a great night and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

14 Days Into 2019

Hi there everyone....14 days into this new year and it has been hectic and frustrating!!! Without going into too much detail, as I look at my desk calendar....everyday has something going and I am already POOPED!!!!

The last day of 2018, we had to call the plumber AGAIN. A leak under the sink and water dripping on the floor. The pipes were plugged to the tune of $264 and we still owe $40 from the last visit....the toilet was leaking down in the basement. A drip, drip, drip, every time the toilet flushed and oh did the basement smell. I thought we were in the clear for awhile and then the leak under the sink started the last week of 2018.

JP has had quite a few days off from work...the last week of December which meant a very small check for this month. We barely had enough $$$ to pay the mortgage. Not sure what next month will bring...but we will see.

I signed up for food help once a month at the Salvation Army. Yep....that took a lot for me to do. 17 years ago I worked at the Salvation Army and was helping people with getting food....now I need the help...it is quite humbling, that is for sure. So Friday I signed up and was taken into the warehouse and walked through the aisles. My cart was full and weighed out at 112 lbs of food. Guess I will not have to go shopping for a while, except for medication, paper products and Kylie's food.


Saturday, I had Spectrum come and set up the tv, internet and phone. I am cancelling At&t and Directv. Cost wise, I was paying $225 a month. Spectrum will be $75 dollars cheaper. Now I have to get used to the new numbers. Just looking for ways to save money. Tuesday I will be signing up for Energy assistance....will see how that goes. Hopefully I can get a few months paid, and that will help. Hopefully....by the end of the month I will have enough $$$ to pay our house taxes. Since JP went part-time it has been really tough making ends meet.

Maybe this is why I have not been blogging a whole lot....just have not felt like it as there is nothing exciting to write about or take pictures of.
 
 I got a new used stove last month....so it has been a joy to cook again. I made some 30 Minute Dinner Rolls, that were really good. Following is the recipe: Hope you can read it.

Last week I made "IHOP" copycat Buttermilk pancakes. Oh my gosh.....were they delicious. I am going to make more, but I will have to use regular milk and add a little bit of vinegar to make the milk sour....that should work.

My only enjoyment has been watching the Chicago Blackhawks on TV and computer....only wish they would start winning more. But I am getting into the other teams and only hope the other teams don't beat the Blackhawks....it's been an interesting season though.

Card making has been at a minimum lately....Valentines and St. Patrick cards....cleaned out my stash so there are lots of cards for those two holidays. Just have to put inserts inside the cards. BUT my printer is not working, so I may not have enough inserts to put in the cards.....I tell you, there is always something to hinder me from doing what I need to get done.

Health wise....we are still plugging along. JP still gets his arm pains, people who don't know him think he is having a heart attack. Then he tells them he has been getting these attacks for 8 years and has been to 5 specialist, none of them could point the finger at the problem. So, we live with it. 

Kylie still deals with her blindness and hard of hearing, but she seems to be doing better and loves to eat, go outside, sleep and walk around the house bumping into things. When it is not cold, we go for walks, but since she can't see that well, we never quite make it down to the corner because she is already heading back the other direction. Funny how a dog's life can change so radically.

As for me, I am still on the Keto diet (part-time), it works for me. I want to lose another 20 lbs this year. That is doable. My Doctor will be happy with me. My A1C is 6.2....next appointment is May, so I need to keep working on that. I still deal with a sciatic nerve problem on the left side of the butt. Gosh, it hurts when I get up in the morning and can barely walk....after an hour or so it gets better. Guess I am stuck with that pain for the rest of my life.

Well, now that I have completely bored you to death with all my problems, I shall close here for now. No telling when the next time I will be here. But I will keep you updated now and then. So until then, keep looking up because I am very sure, better days are coming soon and very soon. Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas Day is Right Around the Corner

Hi there everyone......whoever you are???? Are you ready for the big day???? I guess I am....I owe a few cards to people I did not send to, I will make some "Happy New Year" cards for them. Have a few gifts to wrap for JP and myself. But I can do that tomorrow....no rush!

JP received some money as a Christmas gift from the people he works with....that was a pleasant surprise. SO.....I was able to buy a 4lb Boneless Rib Roast (prime rib). I am so looking forward to making that on Christmas. I will take pictures and tell you how I made it.....very simple directions. The roast will cook in the oven at 500 degrees for 5-7 minutes then rest for two hours with the oven off. Guess it depends if I want it medium or rare. I'd like it pink.....but not mooing!!!

Made some "Peanut Brittle" and "Healthy No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars" tonight. There's a lot of sugar involved in these recipes. Here's a picture of the Brittle. No picture of the "Healthy No Bake Crunch Bars"

 The Peanut Brittle wasn't too hard to make. It's made in the microwave, poured on a cookie sheet, cooled and broken into pieces. Was fun to make. Going to give some to the Pastor tomorrow along with some Healthy Crunch Bars. He's a truck driver, so he likes lots of goodies in his lunch box. As does JP when he is at work.

 I made this Apple Pie a couple of days ago.....there is only one piece left....pies don't last long around here.

 Thought I would show you my little village. I added three new things to it this year. The background, the 2 new fences and if you can see it, a snowman water tower to the right of the church. I usually leave my village up till mid-January. It takes me all day to put it up and then all day to take it down. Below the village, is my manger scene....that's about 30 years old now.

Here's my little Christmas tree. I added some purple sparkly feathers....got them at Walmart. I think I will try and get some more, hopefully there will be some left for 50% off. I probably will leave my tree up till Valentine's Day....make it all red, lights, ornaments, beads and of course the elf stays. I usually put it in the corner, where my village sits right now.

Well, I guess I'll close here. Bad news, The Green Bay Packers lost 13 to 0 and the Chicago Blackhawks lost 4-1. Not a good night for both teams. So keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

4 More Days!!!

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season. It's 4 more days till the big day!!! I am mostly done with everything. There's a few things I want to get. JP needs a new pair of shoes for work. But I need him to come with me to the store to try them on and buy them. He is not one for shopping. So after Christmas, and the big rush to return things is over, we'll go find him another pair of shoes for work.

I want to get a "Spring-form" pan.....so I guess that will happen after Christmas too. I am looking forward to making a few things in it, like a CHEESECAKE!!! I have an apple cake recipe that uses the spring-form pan, so I am looking forward to getting this pan.

In the picture below, is what I bought for ME....a Chicago Blackhawk beanie hat. I will wrap it and tag it from JP and Kylie. Their shopping is done!!!

This will keep my head warm during the winter months. My summer hat will be another Chicago Blackhawk hat also. Maybe something like this. 

Or maybe this one, I like that gold Chicago Blackhawk....pretty! Maybe I shall have to invest in both of them?

By the time summer comes, my hair will be long and I can wear a pony tail and stick it through the back of the hat. That was my style this past summer....was fine with me....a very easy style to take care of.

JP is also getting a large tin of pop-corn. He also wanted $$$ to buy apple juice at work, so I will give him a bunch of quarters to use for the machine so he can get "his apple juice addiction." Oh and I bought him a bottle of "Miracle Marvel Oil" for the car. He will be happy with that.

I want to make a special meal for Christmas....but I have to wait to see if we have enough money after paying bills. Maybe Sunday after church we will stop at Festival foods and buy a "Boneless Rib Roast" I saw a recipe on Facebook that made my mouth water.....I want to make it for Christmas!!! I told JP that the menu for Christmas will be prime rib, asparagus, maybe corn, and potatoes and some kind of dessert. BUT....it depends on how much money is in the check book. If not enough, we'll have to get a cheap steak (poor us) and mushrooms. Actually, that sounds good too.

I am making an apple pie tonight....I doubt it will last till Christmas...I guess by then, if it did last, it would be pretty old by then. My pies don't get very old when JP lives in the house!!!!

I am starting to make cards for Hospice, I have till January 26th before our next meeting. Least I can take my time to make them and not be rushed. I found a new technique using coffee filters. It's called "Tie-dye" using brushes or stamps. I saw a couple of different ways to do this....it should be fun trying to make and duplicate the technique.

So, I guess it is time to close here....no telling when I will be back. If I don't come back before Christmas....Let me just wish you a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your family and friends. Remember too, that we are celebrating Jesus's birth.....JESUS is the reason for this season. Have a great time and keep looking up....better days are coming!! Cheers ~ Louise

Cards Made for the Revealing Party on Sunday

Hi there everyone....yay! It's Friday and Saturday is coming!!! I have a busy day coming up tomorrow. Starting with a Continental Breakfast at WG&R Furniture store. I also will get a free gift, a coffee mug and spoon....yeah, I like to collect the stuff they give away for free and then it gives me a chance to look a round at the beautiful furniture that I cannot afford....so I just dream and dream and dream.

After dreaming a bit, I will head over to Betty's to buy some card stock. A 96 year old lady is giving up stamping and asked Betty to sell her stuff. So the paper will sell for 25 sheets for $1. I need red and blue....so hopefully there will be some colors I need. I may or may not head over to GFS to get some mushrooms, frozen fruit, butter and bread.

Saturday night Betty and I are going to the show to see "Let There Be Light" a Christian movie. I have had these free tickets for two years and never used them......tomorrow night is the night!!! Sean Hannity and Mark Levine have been talking about the movie....it's playing at the Marcus Theater....so I called Betty and she said she would go. So, another Yay for the day!!! Oh and I have a ticket for FREE pop corn too!

Following are some cards I made for the revealing party on Sunday. Betty and I are involved in this group. There is about 18 ladies in the group. We send 12 images to a mystery lady and maybe the same lady or another lady sends me 12 images for 6 months. We are supposed to make two cards with the images. Sometimes I am a bit stumped as to what to do, but finally I get inspiration.

So in the above picture, the mystery lady sent me the scare crow and corn stalk and a few fall sayings.

In this above picture, the mystery lady sent me the orange background, I inked it with Distress Oxide and embossed with clear embossing then added the die cut leaves and bow. I like this card...think I will make a few more for Hospice next week.

The picture above, she sent me the master gardener, tools and seed packets....this was one of those images I did not know what to do with. I added the saying "Grow where you are planted" seems apropos for this card.

Now this was another card that had me stumped for awhile, actually the stars came in July and it wasn't till October that I finally thought of something.....just a card decoration using the die cuts she sent.

In this card....the mystery lady sent me the lip stick, mirror and perfume bottle. I had the shoes and the pretty lady and just made it a "Ladies Night Out" card.

This card was actually the first one I made from the mystery lady....she sent the frog, so I colored her in and added the hi's and hello's and google eyes.

We had to make two cards each. A set to lay on the table and a set to give to the lady that sent the images AND a set of cards of the images I sent to. I will put those cards up in the next few days. I will let you know what the movie was about, I am sure it will be a good review. I hope Betty does not get tired of my face after this week-end.....lol!

Well time to close, Chicago Blackhawks are playing the Nashville Predators....hard to type and concentrate on the game. The game is 2-1 in Nashville's favor.

So talk to you later and keep looking up, better days are coming....for sure!!! Cheers ~ Louise