April is Flying By

 That is for sure!!!! Hi there, everyone, how you all doing? Been awhile since I have been here, quite a few things have been happening and blogging never entered the mind of Louise!!!

This cool card was made at the Thompson Center. The technique is called "Sunburst" it is all in how you cut the strips of paper using a 6x6 pad of patterned paper. So fun.

Well, I have to go and get ready for card making at the Thompson Center today, I shall come back later to finish this blog.

Back again, 2 days later and a few more cards to show. This next card, the horse, was a stamp donated to Thompson Center. Sure glad I found it when I did and stamped a bunch of horses, cause now the stamp has disappeared...oh well, guess that happens.

Anyways, my great-niece likes horses and jumps them. So, for her birthdays I like to give her "horse birthday cards". Her brother is into guitars and drums, so that is what I look for, for him. My other great-nephew and niece, he is into hockey and fishing and the niece likes gymnastics and cheerleading. So, the hunt is to find stamps that represent what their likes are. I do love this horse though, so pretty.

This was a fun card to make, it is just strips of paper encircling a square, simple and easy. Made this card a couple of weeks ago.

The next two cards were made at Thompson Center on Tuesday. A "sunburst card" Fun way to make thank you cards, need to make a few more of these for a couple of people that have helped me with  projects around the house.

I love this card, probably it's the paper I like, again it's the sunburst card.

Well, my Chicago Blackhawks did not make the play-offs, nope, not this year or even next year probably. They are in a rebuild with lots of young players coming up the pipe-line and the older players getting treaded off to other teams. Will be sad to see them go, but at least they will have a chance to join a team that is chasing the Stanley Cup. Now we have to wait till August/September before the games start up again.

A neighbor has been helping me get the front yard cleaned up, had weeds growing all over the place, he cut them down, laid plastic down and then mulch. Planted a rose bush at one end and moved a big pot with dirt in the middle of the planter and put flowers in it. What a difference it made. He is going to work up the other side of the yard this weekend maybe. I bought a new peonie stand to keep from letting the peonies lean on the ground. Have to get out there today to set the stand up before the peonies get too big.

Since Jay's passing, exactly 2 years and 9 months today, there is just some stuff, I can't do alone anymore. John on the other side of the house, cuts my grass and shovels the snow. It was a mild winter this winter, but who knows what next winter will be like. Guess I will have to do what I can and hope for the best.

Well, I guess it is time to close this blog for today. You all have a great rest of April and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Easter is Just around the Corner

 Hi there everyone, hope you are having a good month. Today was the first day of Spring and we will be getting a snowstorm starting Thursday night. Got my car parked in the garage, so no snow on the car and also my soft maple is dropping those little red thingy's on the ground. So just trying to protect the car from all "that stuff" defacing it.

Well Easter is just around the corner! Guess it is early this year although it just seems time is flying by so fast. Making cards for Hospice keeps me on my toes because I have to always plan for the next holiday a month early so the cards get to Hospice in time. Then we are on to the next holiday, oh well, makes life interesting. 

So, the card above is a die I used at the Thompson Center. A large donation of paper, dies and stamps came in and I used this die above from the donation, makes for a nice card.

The Birthday Blessings cards, the background came in as a donation to Thompson Center, that is one embossing folder I do not have, so when I saw these backgrounds, I found a way to use them. The roses are from a sticker set I bought at the Dollar store. Made for a nice, simple and easy card to put together.

Now this was a fun Easter card to make. One of the ladies at the Thompson Center led the class and gave us instructions on how to make this card. She had all the pieces cut out and we colored them in and placed them on the card, then the card is set up so that it sits up, hard to tell in this picture, but the Happy Spring is holding the card up.

I was at the Thompson Center today and finished off some cards I am making for Hospice for our next meeting. I will take a picture of them for the next blog. I found some more dies and did some cutting with them. Hopefully I can make a few more cards with those dies.

The Hockey season is almost over, my Chicago Blackhawks are in last place (there are 32 teams in the NHL). Hopefully in the next few years they can get in the playoffs, they are in a rebuild right now, so things are not looking good for them. But they are fun to watch. a young team with lots of guts and desire. One of the kids, is only 18 years old is going to get the "Rookie of the Year Award" he is almost as good as Patrick Kane and Patrick is the best!!!!!

Well time to close, the game is over, and the Hawks lost 6-2. Need to finish this blog and get ready for bed....getting late. You have a great rest of the month, keep looking up, better days are coming!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Where Did September Go????

Yikes! Time is flying by!!! As someone said to me, "I shut my eyes Monday night and wake up, it is Friday morning already" Yep, it's true. Why did time go so slowly when I was younger and speed up so fast as I grow older???? Never will understand this concept of old age!!!!!

Well, can't believe 5 weeks have passed since my last blog, either I am lazy or just running out of mojo to blog, either or, just not much happening in my life (for now), which is fine with me at this time in my life. My Chicago Blackhawks have started their pre-season games and October 10th is the first of the regular season. So, this is good! I like hockey, then NASCAR, then Football. Hopefully the Packers do well without Arron Rogers. Oh, and the Blackhawks do well without Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Time will tell, I guess.

Hospice meeting was yesterday, always fun to meet together and see what the others have brought to the table as donations to the "card ministry" to Hospice.

So, these were some of my offerings. The cards above were fun to make, an idea I saw on Facebook. I really should make a template next time, so the pieces will be uniform and fit. I sort of pieced together the segments, so no, they were not uniform, each one was a bit different, but maybe that was part of the fun. I shall have to make some more like this, maybe some Christmas cards and Valentine cards too.

The bottom card, another pieced together card in a different design. Liked the new "blessed" word for this card, just bought it recently, filled up the space that did not have a blocked design.

These two cards were made at the Thompsom Center. There is a room set aside for Scrapbook and card makers. All the supplies have been donated, so the classes given are free. They usually have two teachers that give of their time showing us how to make cards. Then on the days they are not there, it is free time, and we can do what we want using the supplies that are there. So, this is what I came up with, the medallion was there to use, and the leaves die I brought from home to use there.

In this picture is another leaf card I made at the Thompson Center. The card on the left was made at home with my laminator and foil and ran a strip of green cardstock down the center and then placed the "blessed" word on it.

The cards below were an idea I found on the internet, not sure where. But I found the marbled cards from Hobby Lobby and thought they would make a nice card, I added the flowers and "just a little note" and left the inside blank.

So, this month of October will be "yard clean-up month"? The big tree in the back yard will dump millions of leaves, last year I never finished the whole yard, maybe this year will be different. The front yard, I have to cut down the peonies bush, daisies, my large porch vine and whatever else I can get too. Yeah, a lot of work for this old lady at this time. We'll see how it goes.

I have been going through some more of JP's old files from the 80's and 90's, gosh he had a lot of stuff. There were a few tracts intermingled, so I will be able to send them to Bob, who has been passing out all of JP's tracts that he had in his office. I moved all of JP's prayer journals to where the files were kept and put JP's ashes with his prayer journals, kinda keep it all together. Then there will be room in the file/safe to put a few other of JP's keepsakes. Along with a folder I am putting together that is titled "In Case of Emergency and/or Death for Louise E. Gatti" Everything that I can think of that has to do with JP, Louise, this house, Insurance, Wills, etc. so whoever the Executor is will know all there is to know and where to find it. Is that all possible???? I don't know, but I have been told to do this by a couple of people, it is a gift to those left behind that will have to take care of everything after I am gone. A morbid thought!!!!!

Can't think of much more, the time is 4:30 and I have yet to accomplish anything around this house. I am going to make a chicken dish tonight that I saw on Facebook that looked really good. My tomatoes are starting to ripen so one tomato will be used in the dish. I will take a picture of it, if I remember and don't eat it first.

Talk to you later, keep looking up better days are coming!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise

What's New February???

Hi there everyone. This is crazy....blogspot still does things I do not understand. Oh well, least I can still type an intro....

Well, Valentine's Day is not far off....what, one week away??? The Valentine cards you see on my blog are from 2016...have not gotten downstairs to make new ones for quite awhile. I did send some cards to Hospice that I had laying around...time to clear things out.

I am thinking the cards above and below are cards I found on the internet and wanted to make, kinda cute aren't they??? I did duplicate the cards above, but can't find the cards or pictures. Must have given them to Hospice.

The card above looks like an easy one, I do have LOTS of eyes, should be an easy card to duplicate.

Now the next 3 cards I did make....in 2016. Really need to take some time to make cards, lately I have been too busy being a "Caregiver" for JP. He requires a lot of work to keep him going. My life sort of disappeared on the back burner of late. February have so far been very busy. Lots of nurses coming daily, Visiting Nurse, Physical Therapist, Speech Therapist, Doctor appointments, Walker/tub seat pick-ups at Easter Seals, Shopping, that was last week. 

This week will be the nurses coming again. Then JP has an appointment, as he will need surgery for a hernia, (not sure when the hernia surgery will be) a Covid test on Saturday and the following week, Upper esophagus and lower colonoscopy. (I am not looking forward to that one, AT ALL!!!!) So that means having him drink all that stuff, running to the bathroom and still do the catheter. Needless to say, he is NOT a very good patient!!!

I have a lot of paper work to sort through, and get taxes done by March 1st. Hopefully I can hold it together for the rest of this month. Another thing I am having to do is, catheter JP 3 times a day, oh and make sure he gets his meds and his food is soft and if meat, it is cut up in small pieces. When did I become a Nurse???

Looking at my calendar right now, I am counting 5 trips to the Doctors and Hospital. That is no easy chore, getting JP out of the house and into the car. A belt is wrapped around his chest, so I can catch him if he falls and get him into the car....what a chore, for him and me!!!

I think, getting downstairs will be my "get-a-way" place, cause he can't come downstairs, he might loose his balance and fall down the stairs....that is all I need. My Chicago Blackhawk games are a get-a-way too. Hopefully they will win lots of games....it is looking good for them this season, lots of young kids that are out to win the Stanley Cup!!!!

 Well, time to close here, hockey will be starting at 2pm and I need to get some lunch for JP. Breakfast was pancakes and jello for JP...gosh those were good pancakes....yummy. Lunch is Air Fry potatoes and chicken, (Thank you Biz, that Air Fryer has come in real handy...a life saver for cooking stuff for JP)

So, this is what's new in February, SO FAR. I suspect more is coming, hopefully the weather will cooperate also....pray for no snow on the days I have to take JP to the Doctor and Hospital visits. Have a great month, and if I have time, I might add another blog this month, if not, see you in March. Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming round the corner. Cheers ~ Louise

Is It Still 2020????

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good year so far. This might be a short blog, or it might be a long blog, depends on how wordy I am today.

January has really been a very eventful month so far and not completely for the good. Oh there were a few blessings along the way for sure, January has not completely bottomed out yet.

One awesome blessing I received was that I was gifted with a Simple Living Air Fryer!!! I had been wanting one for 6 months. But never really had the money (figured I had to wait for the stimulus)....first things first, the bills have to get paid first. I really love this air fryer. I have made french fries, potato chips, steak and mushrooms (yum), chicken, hamburgers and onions. Oh and I boiled small potatoes cut them in half, then mashed them, sprayed them, seasoned them and put them in the fryer, 15 minutes @ 400 degrees. After cooking, topped the crunchy potatoes with sour cream.....oh yeah, happy days!!!

A fellow blogger, My Bizzy Kitchen sent me this air fryer via Amazon. It was such a surprise, and I am really enjoying it. Dinner tonight will be chicken and those mashed potatoes. YUM!!!! Thank you Biz, I love this machine and have figured out how to work it.

Another blessing is "Weatherization" came into my house to do some work. More insulation in the attic, 2 new fire alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm. They changed 24 energy efficient light bulbs. Checked out the furnace. AND, this Friday I will be receiving a brand new Energy Star Refrigerator. My refrigerator is 15 years old. So this will be a good thing. I have to clean it and empty it of it's contents...of course, figured I would do that tomorrow and as long as it is cold, I can keep things outside. I shall see. 

Looks like this blog is becoming a wordy one, cause the really big problem we had this month is JP has been in the hospital since last Thursday. Dinner on Wednesday (13th) was french fries and a hot dog, bun and soup. JP's habit is not to eat things hot, so the food sat on the table for an hour till it was cold. He was eating the hot dog, did not chew it completely and swallowed it whole. Then he started chocking and spitting up, this went on all night. Little did we know he was close to pneumonia also. I called 911 about 7:30 am. (14th)JP was taken to the hospital and he has been there ever since. He might be home today, but I have not heard as yet. He is dealing with a few other issues and I guess they are working on those also. 

With Covid 19, I am not able to visit JP at the hospital, which makes it even harder and I have to go by what the Doctor or nurses say. I probably should call the nurses desk today. The last nurse I talked to did not give a whole lot of info. JP calls every day, but he kinda skims over things and can't remember a lot.

I have managed to clean a bit around the house, looks pretty nice right now. Dishes done, wash pretty much done, shopped last night so there is food in the house. Vacuumed, dusted etc. Not sure I will have time to do much when he comes home. I guess my new job description is "care giver". Guess it was that all along, but I did not realize that.

Another sad thing happening, my Chicago Blackhawks have not won a game yet. 4 games played and the same 4 games lost. They came close to winning last night, but hey, there is 52 games yet to play. I shall root for them through it all. I am sure there will be some wins along the way.

So now you know why I titled this blog...."is it still 2020"  personally I don't think 2020 left. 2021 is just a continuation of 2020. Not sure I am liking this New Year, it's not started out on the RIGHT FOOT....get it??? Lol

I am cooking some green pea soup with a ham bone in it. I am getting whiffs of it right now, can hardly wait. Think I will look up a recipe and see what spices I should put in it. So you all take care and stay safe from the Covid. If you think about it, do pray for JP and I. Just not sure what is around the corner for us. Keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Duckies in my Backyard

Hi there everyone....how you all doing?? It's still Quarantine time here in Wisconsin. Kind of getting tired of this staying home business....I needs to get out of here and just go shopping with out worries of getting sick. But my mind takes over and says...."oh, just be lazy and do nothing!!" So I listen, and only do what I feel like doing when ever I feel the need to do something. So everything sits for a couple of days till I finally get to it. Same thing with this blog...guess that is why you don't see too many posts from me...just lazy I guess.

So on April 9th we had some visitors to our back yard....Mr. & Mrs. Duckie. Wonder what drew them to our backyard...not really sure. Maybe they thought there was water near by. Maybe it looked like a good place to hide and take a rest. Whatever it was...glad they landed in our backyard.

Isn't this a handsome male duck? I love the way the sun hits his head....so pretty!!

See the female, she almost blends in with the dirt, leaves and moss. I was taking the pictures from the kitchen window....almost seemed like they were watching me, making sure I stayed my distance. They made their way around the tree and into the section behind my bedroom window. Then came around again to the patio.

They were keeping an eye on me....no sudden moves please!!! Then suddenly from above....comes a black squirrel down the tree....what are those big birds doing down there....WHAT!?! HEY!!! This is MY tree and MY yard...scram you's guys!!! Suddenly they were gone. Squirrel and ducks gone as quickly as they came!!!

Certainly am feeling like I live at a Wild Animal Preserve…they must know I am still missing my doggie. So when an animal shows up....it's picture taking time....love when the animals come to my backyard.

This rabbit showed up last September in front of my bedroom window....I zoomed in quite a few times to get this close up. I think he/she was watching me. No sudden moves please!!!

Pretty soon it will be time for me to go outside and start working in the yard....I have quite a lot of work to do. Well, a little bit at a time and I might be done by fall.

We finally got the stimulus check in the mail today....that helps for sure, We will have to use it to pay the property taxes and probably the Federal taxes too, but that won't be due till July 15th, thank God the due date was pushed up. We would not have had the $$$ at the time it was due and probably would have had to call IRS to get an extension.

I ordered 1/2 yard of some Chicago Blackhawk material on Etsy....I want to make some masks. Made two masks yesterday, using red check material, just to see if I could. They turned out okay and will be good to wear while my Blackhawk masks are getting made. I have to see if I can make a "single" layered mask....two layer is hard to breathe through....some of these masks being made on "you tube" have 3 layers. Now that would be very hard to breathe through. I tried making a bandana mask...with all the folds there were 8 layers.....whew, that was really hard to breathe through. I could only leave it on for a few minutes. My gosh....a person needs to breathe!!!!

One of these days I will start working on some cards...that is one of those things I keep putting off for another day. You would have thought I would have been doing cards all this time. Quarantine = card making. Guess not, not in my books.

Still making bread, buns, cookies, pizza dough, waffles etc. with my sourdough starter. Want to make some sourdough donuts one of these days....soon. Well, I think it is time to close here, this post is getting insanely long and probably boring. So you all take care and I hope in the next few weeks we can all escape "house arrest" and get on with our lives!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

How Ya Doing??

Hi there everyone, how ya all doing??? This Coronavirus has sure taken over our lives.....unbelieveable isn't it?? Hope you are all taking care of yourselves. 

JP has gone back to work, his back is much better, but now I think his company will be shutting down next week. Bills are getting very hard to pay....guess I can only pay what I can pay.

So glad to hear that the IRS will allow us to pay our taxes by July 15th. Just did not know how I was going to pay Uncle Sam by April 15th??? I have been told if I call the IRS, I might be able to get an extention for 120 days if I am still having a problem paying. Was hoping for a refund, but that did not happen this year. Did you know your Social Security checks are taxed. Hard to believe, aren't we taxed once already, then taxed a second time?.......my goodness, that makes no sense to me.

Following are some cards I made for Hospice last month. Pretty simple, but fun to make. The background is an embossed folder and the 'hello' is a die cut. Just added a few gems.

Here again, the background embossed with a cross with the different names of Jesus. Then I added some flowers and gems.....a good one for Easter which is coming up April 12th....gosh time flies.

Did you know....tomorrow is the first day of SPRING???? Surprise!!!!! My crocuses are popping up now. They sure are  pretty and there seems to be more popping up each year.

If the weather stays nice, maybe I will get outside and rake some leaves that I never got raked last fall. Will have to see how the weather goes, if not, I have plenty of things to do in the house. 

Can you believe.....I still have my Christmas village up, thought I would take it down on the 7th, but that did not happen, now it is starting to get old and I did not even turn the village lights on tonight. Oh well, see what happens time wise.

My Chicago Blackhawks have not played since March 11th (I know that is just last week....but it seems like a month ago) because of the virus. All the teams were shut down, that has to be hard on all the players. Especially if the teams were in the top 3 and in the  wild card position. But supposedly Hockey will start up again in July/August. Probably then the Ice will not cooperate....who knows what will happen, every day is a guessing game.

Well time to close here, hope in the next few weeks this coronavirus will be but a bad dream and life is back to normal. So far 2020 has been a TUFF year for many people. Going to have to go out to the store and see if I can find some toilet paper.....just using Kleenex right now (I have maybe 4 boxes, that should last for awhile)

Take care and keep looking up....better days are right around the corner. Cheers ~ Louise  

I Miss You

Hi there everyone. Hope you are doing well. It's been a rough month so far....just too many things to expound about....hey, hey how do you like that word. (definition: explain).

So JP went to work today. He was supposed to get a Doctor's release first. He called the Doctor and it was sent to his place of work. He came home after a couple of hours and is to go to the office tomorrow. They have to ask some questions before he goes back to work. Hopefully he will be able to work for a couple of hours a day. We'll see what happens. His back is not bothering him anymore.

Today is Kylie's death date. It has been 8 months since she has been gone. Gosh, I still miss her. It's hard to believe she is still gone...still so fresh in my mind. Miss her barks and walks. I honestly think I have gained weight, at least walking with her kept me trim. Guess when winter is over, I shall have to take walks by myself.

Pinterest has so many pictures of dogs and the rainbow bridges with lots of poems. Sometimes I have to leave Pinterest because tears come to my eyes and I start crying for Kylie. She was so much a part of this home.

Well, my Chicago Blackhawks won their game tonight, 6-2 against the Sharks. The NHL maybe either cancelling the rest of the games played by the teams for the rest of this month or let them play BUT there will be no fans at the stadiums. I don't know, this coronavirus has gone a bit too far. 

Symtoms of the virus sounds like the colds we get during winter. Fever, cough and shortness of breath. The Hockey players have been told to drink plenty of water, wash their hands and don't touch their faces (they are VERY sweaty after games). I guess tomorrow the NHL will decide what will happen to the rest of this season. The Stanley Cup finals are supposed to start the second week of April and then last till June.
We got some really bad news today. We got our taxes done and we owe the Government $383....plus $200 to the accountant. First time we have had to pay in years, nothing has really changed...just don't know why we owe so much. I have to go to IRS.com and try to get a 120 day extension because we won't have that money by the 15th. I can do payments to the accountant. NEXT YEAR I am going to get our taxes done free, should have done that this year...live and learn I guess.  

Well, here is a picture of my Kylie....she was smiling at me while I took this picture. I only wish that rose was still blooming at the time and had not died.

Well time to close here, it's going on 2am, time to go to bed. Keep looking up better days are coming. I still believe!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

PS.....I never took my village down, it's still UP!!!! Maybe this weekend.

Finally..After a Year's Wait!!!

Hi there everyone....how you all doing?? Not sure where this month went, but it passed by pretty quickly. Although it was quite stressful for the most part.

So below you will see a printer. FINALLY bought one like this today, it's only been a yearmy old printer went capoot. When ever I had the money, it had to go for something else. Got it hooked up tonight, have not tried it as yet. It's a little bite different then my old one, of course much newer.

I had to write out my recipes by hand instead of printing them. What a bummer. So now I have lots of hand written recipes instead of lovely copied ones. 

The interesting thing, in how I got the money for the printer is pretty strange. It seems there was a lawsuit against the Office Depot and support. "Many customers who took their computers to Office Depot for a free 'PC Health Check' were told their computers had symtoms of malware - even when that wasn't true. The FTC says that these bogus scans, provided by Support, convinced many customers to buy unnecessary computer repair services". The companies agreed to settle the lawsuit. According to Office Depot's records, I was one of the customers who paid for computer repair services between 2012 and 2016. (gosh that means my computer might be about 5-6 years old.) So anyways, I got a check for $47.74 and decided this was a good time to finally get a new printer. AMAZING!!!! I paid $29.00 for this printer. It will be good to have one finally. 

I was using Heartland Hospice stickers inside my cards. One of the ladies gave me a bunch of stickers to use till I got a printer, now I can do my inserts for the cards, instead of stickers. Yeeeaaaaa!!

I have to tell you a funny story. I went into Best Buy to check prices for a printer (to high, cheapest was $44). Then I ask a salesman about a ROKO that gives you most TV channels if a person decides to cut the TV cable. Anyways I wanted something I would be able to still watch my HOCKEY GAMES. The one salesman says, "What team do you watch? I said Blackhawks, he said Booooooo. I said what team do you watch? He said Detroit Red Wings....I said Boooooo!! Blackhawks and Red Wings are rivals of course and they are part of the Original 6 teams that started in '26 there about. So anyways the other salesman says, I am a Pittsburg Penquin fan! Oh how funny, so we started talking hockey while he tried to sell me a ROKO...said I would think about it after the season is over.

Then off I went to Walmart and found this printer for $29.00

So my Blackhawks are doing pretty good right now...there is only 18 more games left for the Hawks and they are 6 points out of the Wild Card. To get in the Wild Card you make it into the play-offs....so it is getting pretty exciting. If they can win 8 or 9 games that might do it.

We lost a good goalie, Lehner...he was traded to Las Vegas Golden Knights. They are playing tonight so I want to see how Lehner does. I imagine ALL the Blackhawks will be watching this game also.

The Hawks played last night and beat the #1 team Lightning Bolts in the Atlantic league, they have 113 points. Tomorrow the Hawks play the 4th place team Florida Panthers in the Atlantic league. Should be interesting, cause the Panthers coach used to be the Hawks coach till he was fired....gonna be a wild game I think. The Hawks have something to prove and the Panthers will have something to prove too!!

I think I need a hug from Jesus....it's been a rough month. JP hurt his back at work, he does not remember how....but it was so bad that he has not been able to work the last 15 days. I use his pay check to pay the mortgage....Might have a hard time paying the mortgage in March.....we need a minor miracle. Do pray for us.

Well, time to close here so I can concentrate on this Hockey game between the Golden Knights and Sabers. Want to see how Robin Lehner does. Keep looking up, better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

PS...where did Blogspots spell check go?????? If you see a mistake please overlook.

Hospice Valentine Cards

Hi there everyone. How are you all doing this fine day. I am finally getting it together in January, and it is almost over!! Wouldn't you know it, just a little slow here.

We finally finished the cookbook and submitted it to Fundcraft on Tuesday the 28th with 275 recipes in all. It's going to be a nice cook book with many good recipes. Mary decided to sell the book for $20 which would mean after paying the expenses of making the books, she could possibly make 4k that would go towards the scholarship fund for Josh. She ordered 300 books, I have a feeling they will all sell. Josh knew a lot of people as do Mary and Ron. There is also going to be 2 other fundraisers this year along with the cookbook. So, the cookbooks could be sold at those fundraisers also.

Finished making the Hospice Valentine cards Wednesday night. Whew. Just 50 cards this time around. A lot of the cards were cards I had hanging around and all they needed were the Hospice inserts or a verse or even to cut the face of the card off and put it on a piece of new card stock. The card below, Happy Valentine's Day with Hearts, speckles and gems. (the card on the left) is a recycled card, cut down to fit the card stock.

Now these cards below...made 10 of these. Fun, fun, fun. Not sure why I wait to the last moment to finish things....but this time it was the cook book that took prominence....needed to get that done. So now I can say....Cook book done (check) Hospice cards done (check) now I have to work on our taxes which are due at the accountants office February 25th. Yikes!!! This is NOT one of my favorite jobs. Going through all the papers and bills etc. for 2019. Well, I do like to organize, so maybe that is a plus.

I still have some of my Christmas stuff up yet....I like the lights...guess maybe this weekend the tree and village will come down. After all, Valentine's day is right around the corner.

The Chicago Blackhawks....they have been on a by-week this past week. First game is February 1st...it's been a dry spell, a lot of Hockey fans have been having withdrawls...lol!!! They were riding on a 5 game winning streak, so hoping they come back still RED-HOT and on fire and headed for the play offs and the Stanley Cup.

Well, I think it is time to close here.....getting late and I have to get up at 7am to be at the Hospice meeting by 9:00am. We meet at Panara's Bread Co. Coffee is usually good there. We pass around the cards so the other ladies can see the cards made by the others. Always fun to see other ladies ideas.

Hope your January was awesome and February will be better then awesome...if there is such a thing like that. Keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

2019 A Recap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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