Another Birthday 4 JP!!!!

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Today is JP's birthday. As we don't have family here, so it's a celebration with just him and I. We never were much into celebrating our birthdays like some do. We are happy when it just passes us by with no "hoopla".

 So this is the pie I made for JP. I was going to buy a "cake boss" cake for $20. But because JP suffered from "gout" this past week, I decided to stay away from all that sugar. JP likes pie and it does not last too long in this house. Simple recipe, I baked the pie shell first, till browned. Let it cool then I placed the strawberries whole on the pie crust. While the crust was baking, I mashed 4-6 strawberries, 1/4 -1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 3 Tablespoons corn starch, 2 Tablespoons lemon juice. Mix together and heat till it thickens, let cool and pour over strawberries. Let it set in the refrigerator. Then cover with the whip cream. This pie was VERY delicious. Next time I think I will cut the strawberries up, makes it easier to eat.

 I bought JP this little Begonia plant from Festival Foods. He likes flowers, so I thought this would make him happy. When all chances of frost passes, we shall transplant it into a larger pot and keep it on the front porch.

 Here we are at BJ Clancy's Bar and Grill. Because it was JP's Birthday, he got a FREE MEAL!!! So his choice was a turkey burger, crispy hash browns and iced tea. I asked him to smile, he did, but by the time I clicked the camera he had this face on him.....geez!!!!

 JP also got some FREE ice cream with a candle on it and the waitress sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Finally got a picture of JP smiling.......yay!

This is the card I made for JP.....He likes the song "Amazing Grace" so I ripped the song out of an old song book and stamped the man with his bike on it....I rather like this card.....I think using songs from the song book will be my "go to" card....it makes a neat card for birthday's, thank you's, Thinking of you, Father's Day and Mother's Day and most everyday cards.

Here's what I had to eat....by the time I thought about taking a picture of my meal......I had munched down half it. I got a lovely salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. My burger was called a "Black Russian" (not the drink....although in my early years....that was my one of my favorite drinks) Sirloin Burger, covered with onions and cheese on marbled rye bread with a baked potato. It was a very good meal and I think I shall order it again. I took half of it home.....which was new to me, I usually can finish what I ordered, not today for some reason. That's good though, now I have a meal for tomorrow. Won't have to cook much after church....left-overs are good.

Well, you all have a great evening and keep looking up.....Cheers ~ Louise

Life is Peachy Keen!!!!

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Well my "gift give away" in celebration of going on 7 years blogging is over....it sure was fun! I've heard from the 3rd place winner, still waiting to hear from the 1st and 2nd place winners. There still is time.

Today I thought I would post some cards I made and are already listed in my Etsy store. The set of cards below are repurposed cards, they go pretty fast and are fun to do. Selling them on Etsy for $8.00+postage. 

This is my vintage lady card, the back ground is some sheet music from an old gospel hymnal, the song is "Have I not chosen you?" I think I will use these as Mother's Day cards, maybe mom will start singing when she get's this card. I might make a few Hospice cards using this card also. I am selling this card on Etsy for $3.50+postage.

This was a fun little card to make....the faces are from http://peachykeenstamps.com and I found some small circle punches to fit the faces, the background is a embossing folder that I ran through my cuttlebug. The "happy birthday" was trimmed off from a store bought card. I am selling this card for $3.00+postage.

Well, time to close this blog for today....can't believe a whole month is just about over. Onward and forward to the "lusty month of MAY" hopefully all the rain of April will bring you lovely flowers in May!!!! Oh and my husband will be 67 years old in May.....he caught up to me, now we will be 67 together for 6 months, then I turn 68 in November.....my goodness time flies!!!! JP is going to get a "Cake Boss" cake, I can hardly wait for a bite of that cake!!!!! YUMMMY!!!!

Have a great day and keep looking up!! Cheers ~ Louise

Do You Like Chocolate Cake???

Hi everyone. How are you all doing on this bright and sunny day??? Well, it is bright and sunny here. Looking out the window though...looks like I need to wash a few windows...hahahaha.

So here's my question: Do you like Chocolate cake??? If you do, this is the BEST chocolate cake I have EVER had!! I thought I might be able to freeze a little, but I don't think it will make it to the freezer, maybe a couple of pieces might, just not sure at this point!!

If you are looking for a GOOD cake for one of those special occasions...this is your cake to buy. Go to: http://cakebosscakes.com

You'll see a big picture of Buddy holding a pretty blue cake. Go up to the right of the screen and click on PRODUCTS go to the pretty teal cake wrapped up like a present. Click on the cake and up will come 7 different cakes and OH! there is that wonderul "Oh My Ganache" cake I had for my birthday!!!

In this picture the cake has been taken out of the box and is sitting pretty on the table. My taste buds were singing at this point and I could hardly wait for the first bite of this scrumptious cake.

Here I have placed 3 candles on the cake and lite them (67 candles would have taken too long to place, light and then blow out) 3 candles was enough and also all I had on hand...lol!

Here I have cut a piece of cake and lite another candle........mouth drooling......I could hardly wait for that first bite of heavenly, delicious, chocolate. YES, YES, it truly was what I was expecting. If I could give you a piece...I would have.

In this last picture is all that is left...actully JP got another slice. And yes.....I did manage to save a few pieces and freeze them for later on in the week, like maybe for Thanksgiving day. BUT....I may get some Peanut Butter Cup Cakes from Buddy...maybe, maybe :)

Well there you have it....Ode to "oh my ganache" cake.......best birthday cake I ever had and best $19.99 I ever spent and well worth it!!!

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Birthday Celebration!!!!!!

Hi everyone, how is your day going?? Well, it's my Birthday tomorrow. I get to turn 67 years of age!!!! Never thought I would make it this far!!! When I was young, I thought, I would stay young forever. Being old was for those who were already "OLD" like "antique Old" When I was 16 and my mother was 36, like, I thought she was ready for the rocking chair, she was soooooo old. Hahahaha....now I don't think that way, cause now....yep....I am ready for the rocking chair. Of course those that are older then me will say...."OH Louise!!!! You are still young and you have alot of years yet to go"!!!! Well, my mind is willing, but my body ain't!!!!

So anyways, I am celebrating tonight and tomorrow. Tonight, gonna make a steak with mushrooms, fries and salad....doesn't that sound good???? Was thinking of making a little cheese cake with cranberry sauce...we'll see. Tomorrow, I am going to Festival Foods to buy my "Cake Boss" Cake, it will cost $19.99, oh but that's what I want for my Birthday with a candle on top. JP, does not know it yet....but he will sing Happy Birthday to me...hahahahahahaahaha.

Here is my cake. A chocolate ganache cake, hummmmm wonder if I can find the exact makings of this cake on Cake Bosses website. Okay...layers of heavenly chocolate cake with chocolate shavings filled with a creamy fudge filling and topped with Belgian chocolate ganache. A couple of pieces should hit the spot....looking forward to this. What ever is left, I am sure we can freeze it again.

Thought you would enjoy seeing a picture of me when I was 7 or 8 years old. I think this was taken in 1953. A man with a pony would come around and take pictures of the kids in the neighborhood. Have no idea what the cost of a picture was....maybe back then it was $1.00 or 2.00. Gosh, I wonder how long the wait was for the picture...who knows. This was my first attempt to scan a picture and download it into my computer. Then I went to picmonkey.com to crop it, that's a fun program to play with. Must go back there and play some more.

Well, time to close here. Time to walk Kylie around the block. Gosh, it's 5:15 and pitch dark out there already....uge, uge, uge. I miss it being light at this time of the day...the days are soooooo short!!!

You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

My Monthly Card Making Day

Hi there everyone. Hope your day went well and you are enjoying the evening, that seems to go much too fast. It's already 7:20pm. Made a couple of pumpkin pies tonight had such a taste for it, just like I thought, mmmm tastes good. They won't last long, once the husband gets wind of them walking into the kitchen tonight. Not one piece will he have, but probably 2 pieces, well, at least they won't go to waste and end up in the garbage.

Yesterday was my monthly card making day. In the above picture are two of the cards. The card on the left was colored in with copic markers and the cardinal colored in and cut out and layered on the cardinal to pop up. The card on the right, little sweet magnolia girl sitting on a frame. The frame and two trees were first sanded down, the trees were embellished with speckles and the frame was left plain. Then the trees were layered on top of each other, one being popped up and the frame popped up also. The sweet magnolia girl is layered on top of the frame.

This card was stamped in blue ink, the trees smeared with glue and sprinkled with glitter. It looks like in this picture the glitter is hard to see. The picture then placed on a lovely border, blue ribbon glued on the card and the saying stamped in blue at the bottom. A blue bow added to embellish the card.

In this Santa Claus card, he is stamped on glossy card that was die cut as an ornament. We dabbed pink ink on the rosy his face up, colored in his glasses and blue eyes. He was then layered on a fancy frame and little tree branches, gems and ornament holder added. Then everything is layered on the card with ribbons and bows.

In this picture is a lovely voltive that we will be making next month. Betty designed this herself. So I will be looking forward to making this next month.

In this picture are two of the voltives one in white and one in beige. I think I will make the one in beige. Soooo in my next card making blog next month you will see the beige voltive I made along with the cards we'll be making too.

So next week on the 21st is my birthday.....wow, never thought I would get this old. I am looking forward to getting my Birthday cake at Festival. Cake Boss's "chocolate gonache cake" can hardly wait to take my first bite of that delicious cake....mmmm!!!! I think along with that cake I will make a steak and fries also. Yeah....looking forward to another year of blessings!!!!

Well, time to close here and get downstairs and work on some cards for Hospice. So you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

My Birthday Cake & An "Almost Sale" on Etsy

Hi everyone, hope you had a great day today....tomorrow is a new day with new experiences...enjoy!!!

I have decided that for my birthday next month, November 21st, I am going to buy this lucious looking cake from the "Cake Boss" and maybe some cupcakes. Of course I will be buying them from Festival Foods....the cake will cost $19.99 and the cupcakes $14.99. Oh, fear not, I won't buy them at the same time, being it's my birthday month, maybe the cupcakes the first part of the month and the cake for my birthday.....oh yummy!!!

So if you click on the link for the Cake Boss cupcakes it will take you to the Cake Boss site. My choice of cupcakes??? The peanut butter cupcakes....another yummy!!! This cake is a chocolate Gnoche...mmmm!!! Who doesn't like chocolate I may have to freeze some of the cake.....oh my, I can hardly wait.

Cake Boss Cakes - Cupcakes

I almost had a sale on Etsy after a VERY dry spell of 10 months of no sales on Etsy!!! BUT it didn't pan out. The sale of this book, the buyer was from Israel.....I did not charge the right amount of postage for international....I never thought anyone from another country would buy something from me. Needless to say, the cost of sending this book was way over what I was estimating, like $22.00 more then what I estimated. So I convoed the lady to tell her the delema. She was very understanding, as she did not want to pay the extra postage either. So, there you go...I refunded her money, and now am waiting for Etsy to cancel the sale as it is still pending. We'll see how long that takes.


Well, it was a busy day, I took down and put away all my ceramic animals and decorations, everything spring and summer. The backyard looks pretty bare. Somehow, I already miss the summer. Another busy thing I did was re-write my profile and policies on Etsy. I have also decided not to sell my cards and other treasures to foriegn countries as the postage is just way too much. After being on Etsy for almost 5 years, this was my first experience dealing with someone from another country....time to make a change and just sell on this side of the pond.

Another problem I face is, I only have $13 left in paypal to pay for fees as I add more cards to the store....I may have to let my Etsy store bite the dust at the end of this year....not unless some miricle occurs and I get a couple of amazing sales within the next couple of months, will I continue on??? That is the question!!!!

It is almost time for JP to come home, so I have to go make something for him to eat. Maybe some pasta, fruit, soup and toast. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise