Some Cards I Made at the Senior Community Center

Hi there everyone, Hope you are having a good summer. It's going way too fast though, before you know it August will be here, and the kids are going back to school again. When I was young, time went sooooooo slow and I always wished time would go faster. Saying to my mother, "I can hardly wait for my birthday, I can hardly wait for Christmas, I can hardly wait" for whatever exciting experience was coming up!!!! My mother would say to me, "Don't wish your life away Louise, it will all come soon enough!!!" Never knew what she meant, but now I do, time does fly by fast!!!!!

So, I thought I would give you a small taste of some of the cards I have been making at the Senior Center every Tuesday. It's like my field trip once a week and meeting up with lots of other people my age and have a little fellowship with like-minded card making people. Most of the cards here will be going to Hospice, a few I might keep, and send to people. 

BUT....that might be less, as the price of 1 stamp is now $.66 cents. Price just went up yesterday, how crazy is that. Pretty soon we won't be seeing the mail man visit us with bills or cards anymore. Will be just TOO expensive to send in the mail. 

I took a bunch of pictures with my cell phone the other day of how my garden is growing. But don't know how to transfer those pictures to this computer, I suppose there is a way, have not figured it out yet. That might be my next blog...."How is my garden growing" Looking forward to my Italian green beans and tomatoes. BUT that means the summer is rolling along FAST!!!!! Fall is right around the corner!!!! Aren't you having fun reading my blog..........TIME IS FLYING!!!!!!

This is kind of a rough month for me, I suppose if I let it be that. JP will have passed 2 years ago this month on the 25th. Not too sure how I will handle this memory. Most people go to the grave site and put flowers on the grave. JP's ashes are still here in the house, so he is in so many ways, still here. I told the in-laws that when I pass, to cremate me, mix our ashes together in a bag and drop us in Lake Michigan. I always liked the water.

Well, here we are at the last picture. As you can see, I used Copic markers to color most of these cards. The fisher boy included at the very beginning.

Our next meeting for Hospice is September 1st, so there is still 7 weeks to go...how fast will that go????? I need to get some Veteran cards made and then everyday cards along with Fall cards and then start thinking about CHRISTMAS AGAIN!!!

There you go one blog that covers the whole year...lol!!! Oh, I must tell you, I had another miracle in my life. God surely does take care of the widows.

I had a tree growing next to my foundation and the neighbor cut it for me and then I mentioned the limbs hanging over my roof. I wondered how I was going to get that taken care of without calling a tree trimmer and spending 1-2k that I did not have. The neighbor said, "let me take a look" and he said, "I can do that"....well, he cleared off the roof of branches!!! Oh my gosh, that was a load off my shoulders. God is so good!!! I asked him what I could give him $ wise and he said, "nothing" that again was a miracle to me. 

Now mind you, I have not talked to this neighbor or his wife for 7-8 years because they crossed the line and complained about the fence, we were having put up was taller than their fence. The people were not even done with the fence building, they got 3 warnings from the neighbors, and it caused a lot of trouble for the project manager. I thought it was very rude of the neighbors....they should of kept their nose in their own backyard till the job was done.

Well, that's about all for now, I have a funny one liner for you that I read on another blog today, thanks Brenda!!!

"Never use a GPS when going to a cemetery. It's too scary to hear, "You've reached your destination."

That cracked me up, talk to you all later and have a good one.

Cheers ~ Louise
 

Ohhhhhh Is Anyone There???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Cross and The Rose

Hi there everyone...this is going to be short and sweet. I saw this poster on another blog and just had to have it. The Cross, says it all.

Followed by beautiful roses. This rose was Kylies, the day she died. The Vet gave it to us. I buried it with her. Still as beautiful and I still miss her bunches.

I don't think these are roses....possibly pink tulips. I think they died out, cause I have not seen them since the date marked on the picture 5/11/17.

These were my beautiful long stemmed white roses that grew in the back yard. The plant died, although there were signs of life this past Fall when sprouts of life began to grow. But the rabbits found the new shoots and ate then down to the ground. We will see what happens this Spring...if the plant made it through the Winter. I covered what was left of the plant with leaves and Styrofoam cone, hopefully it made it.

So these beautiful flowers are a bouquet of flowers I bought for myself 2/15/17....they were a late Valentines gift to me, from me....lol! Probably paid $5...on sale today!!!

This is my pretty pink rose bush in the front of the house.....it has been with us for over 20 years and still blooms every year.

Here is another bouquet of carnations that Louise bought for herself....looks like another Valentine's gift to me again 2/19/18.

So there you have it, some beautiful roses created by GOD!!! Thanks for stopping by, hope the roses gave you inspiration that Spring is not too far off. Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh My...Last Post for the Month of July!!!

Hi there everyone. Can you believe it? The last day of July, I think it was just a few days ago that it was July 4th.....right?!?! The summer is flying by way too fast. I am still working on my yard, planting, painting, pulling weeds and what ever tickles my fancy. Sometimes I just prefer to be lazy and do NOTHING!!! I read someplace, that in retirement, everyday is Saturday.....I am still waiting for that, guess I have not been retired long enough....lol!

So, Sunday I cooked on the grill. I am surprising myself, I've grilled more this year then I have in previous years....not sure why, one reason might be that I moved the grill to the patio area rather then in front of the garage.....seems more cozy here and I can sit on the chair and watch the fire. The walk into the house is shorter...…(ha, by a few steps). 

I have chicken (from Sam's Club) was marinated and sprinkled with my homemade seasoning....soooo good! The red potatoes were halved, sprayed with avocado spray, seasoned with my homemade seasoning. I then put them in the microwave for about 15 minutes then put on the grill. I should have taken a picture when the food was done....potatoes and chicken browned perfectly! I just finished up the last of chicken about 30 minutes ago. Good meal with plenty of left overs for JP's dinners. This definitely will be a regular for the grill the rest of this summer.

 So now I will take you on a tour of my back yard.....mind you, there is so much to do yet, probably by the time I get everything done....it will be late Fall and time to put everything in the garage and shed. In the above picture, I have one cherry tomato plant growing....gives me a handful of tomatoes almost every day. My white rose bush died....we will have to dig it up one of these days.....no rush.

In the above picture, I have 3-4 bean plants growing...yep have gotten some beans off the plants. In the black container above the beans, I have a basil plant growing. I took a bunch of leaves off, rinsed them, and placed them on the chicken, cooked a little bit longer, then put mozzarella on top of the basil and chicken...oh yes!! A little marinara sauce helped also.

See those purple and red drawers and broken brown chair? Eventually I will fix the chair and spray paint it and the drawers will eventually have shade flowers growing in them....any ideas?

Here we are at my pond area....love this part of my yard. I need another layer of mulch to brighten things up. See the ceramic cow down in the right corner??? I will be spraying her white with black spots, she will be a Holstein cow. I think she was originally all brown and the paint wore off....time to repaint.

A few hosta's and inpatient's growing in my pond area. Not a lot of sun shines in this area....it's mostly shade. See my Flamingo's....love Flamingos. 

Here is my little sitting area....although I have not had time to sit, cause every time I sit down on my red bench....I see something that needs to change or moved some place else. See my tires? Been spray painting them and growing things in them....still not done. I have a tire that I will paint bright pink. That will be a colorful addition. Bought a "popcorn hosta" and it will go in the pink tire.

This is my second planter that I received free from Habitat for Humanity. This one has beans, pepper plant and a tomato plant. I am planning on planting some chives, and lettuce and maybe some spinach.

If you have made it to this point, I congratulate you and hopefully I didn't bore you. 

In this planter are onions, carrots, a new planting of radishes, beans, pepper plant and cucumber plant that is really producing an abundance of cucumbers. As I mentioned in a previous post....these plants get the morning and early noon sun.

So there you have it. A walk in my garden. I have a few more pictures to share, but that will come in the next post, hopefully within the week.

Talk to you all later, have a great week and coming weekend. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Secret Stamper Images Pt. 1

Hi there everyone. How has your week been? I am a little bit slow at getting these cards posted on my blog. These cards were from the Secret Stamper Image Reveal Party from April 22nd....oh well, guess spring has been a bit busy or, not so busy. No excuses. 

Have really been enjoying May and June. Not so much April though, when we had that bad snow storm....gosh that was a mess. It took my husband 3 days to get the snow shoveled and the car going down the driveway. He missed one day of work and then his supervisor picked him up the 2nd day. Third day he got out. I think by the end of the week you would never have known we had a snow storm of about 22-23 inches.

I had a really neat Secret Stamper. With each image, she sent a letter and where she got  the different stamps and dies. So the above cards were for December. She sent the deer, her card is on the left, my version of her deer image is on the right.

February being Valentine Day, she sent a Valentine kit, the white back ground with a cut out heart, the silver heart, pattern paper for the heart and the little strip of hearts. Her card on the left, my card on the right. I embossed the white back ground with hearts, running it through the cuttlebug. Adding the Love die also.

March, being St. Patrick's Day. She sent the leprechaun, again, her card is on the left and my colored in leprechaun is on the right.

Well, I guess I did not get October in the right order. She sent the small leaves. Her card is on the left, and my card is on the right.

January....She sent the "hello" her card is on the left and mine is on the right......I love that giraffe. I saw the idea at Hobby Lobby and made quite a few of these cards. When my secret stamper sent the "hello" I thought that would fit perfectly for the giraffe.

April's card was the flower. I have this stamp, but she also had the die cut to go along with the flower. Her card is on the left and my card is on the right.

I know I did not get the months straight, should have put them in order when I was taking these pictures. Well, next group of cards will be better....I hope!!

So there you have it. there is another Part 2 to these cards. The images that I sent to my secret stamper. That will be my next post....maybe in 3-4 days or so.

I am still working and planting my gardens....planting flowers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans, lettuce, zucchini and what ever else I can get in my planters. When I am finished, I will take pictures of the things I have been working on.

Time to close, church tomorrow and I need to get some sleep, that's if I can sleep, drank too much iced tea. Talk to you later, keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Cards, Hospice and Plantings

Hi there everyone. Sorry....I have been missing again, living life can sometimes get in the way!! We have had a few doctor and dentist appointments along the way, since my last post on May 3rd.

JP had another tooth pulled again. Pretty soon he won't have many teeth left in his mouth...my cooking skills will have to change to accommodate his toothless mouth. Plus, the Doctor said today his cholesterol was getting a little high, which means we have to lower that with a different meal plan. (Doctor wanted to put him on medication, but JP did not want to be put on more meds.....more meds means more side affects.)

More fish and chicken, less red meat and maybe cut down on the carbs. That would help me a bit, then I won't have to cook two different kinds of meals. What he eats, I can eat and what I eat, he can eat. We have 3 months to work on his diet and I think, 6 months before I see the doctor again for my A1C and lose a few more pounds. My A1C was down a few points. 6 months ago it was 6.7 the 1st of May it was 6.2. I attribute it to the keto diet. Less carbs that turns to sugar. Maybe JP will find more energy in his step, he always seems tired.

So these following cards are what I made last month at Betty's. I really love the card above, plumbers tape placed on card stock and run through the cuttlebug. Then we took alcohol inks and dabbed on the tape. Added the butterfly and embossed the birthday wishes verse. Pretty easy peasy.

This is a really cute card. On the front of the card you see the frog taking a dip into the water. As you can see, acetate was used, stamped on ovals, the inside of the card is the frog coming up for air....funny card...we all laughed when we saw this card.

This was an easy card to put together. The little bird was colored in with copic markers and cut out. The green was white and we colored it, stamping the dots and star flowers, adding the thank you and speckles for embellishments.

The card below was another easy card. Colored the flowers and stamped the verse and added the ribbon. Love the colors.

Wednesday we have another session of card making at Betty's, I always look forward to making cards and getting new ideas. 

I have 3 weeks to get more cards made for Hospice, then that will be our last meeting till September. We get the summer off...that is always nice, then I can leisurely make cards and get geared up for the next session and Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! Gosh....time do fly when we make cards according to the seasons.

I have done a little planting....onions, radishes and spinach.....not too sure the spinach seeds will grow, as they are vintage '92, just thought I would try. I did buy some new spinach seeds today....tomorrow I will plant them along side the old seed and see which grows 1st......any guesses??? I will show you in the next post my planter, I am pretty excited about it and maybe getting some vegies this year.

Well, time to close here....it's getting late and I am getting tired. Talk later. Keep looking up cause better days are coming around the corner. Cheers ~ Louise

Fences - Old and New

Hi there everyone....Hope you are having a good week. It's been a little rough here. JP had to have a tooth pulled last Thursday and was off work both Thursday and Friday. Yesterday, Monday, he had a biopsy on his prostrate and was off work. Today he went to work...guess I will find out how he did when he gets home. The results of his biopsy will be next Monday. We are praying that the results will show no cancer. 

On Monday the 11th we had a new fence put up.....I am really loving it. The above picture is the Old fencing we put about 5-6 years ago.

In this picture we got the green fence all taken down and the ground raked and brush cut down. See that clothes line pole???? It got taken down too....I always thought it was on our property, but it actually was on the neighbors property. Guess I will have to think of another way to hang clothes.

Here are some of the men that worked on putting my fence up. Volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.

Wa la.....here is the finished product.....next year we will either paint it or stain it. I bought some mulch, so I want to lay some down along the fence, hopefully keeping most of the weeds down.

I put my old grill in front of the fence....a couple of benches that were left curb side by the neighbor across the street. He helped us carry them over to our place. We didn't have the fence up....so glad I got them.....they sure did add to the décor.

A little bit of a closer look.

It has been fun decorating my back yard.....already looking forward to Spring....is it here yet???? Oh, that's right it is still fall.

I invested in this pretty mum plant, will have to dig a hole and hopefully save it for next year. That's my ceramic squirrel I made when I still worked at The Salvation Army. We had a kiln in the basement and lots of things to paint. I made this squirrel, a frog, two turtles and a rabbit and they all come out in the spring and back in the shed for the winter. That was almost 30 years ago....time flies!!!

I did some canning of tomatoes tonight....haven't canned in eons. My two tomato plants out front of the house have produced an abundance of tomatoes. I have frozen some, dehydrated some, made spaghetti sauce and tomato soup, a few BLT's, stuffed tomatoes and fried tomatoes and lots of salad's. It's been a good tomato year here.

Well, time to close here. JP will be home in about 10 minutes so I better heat up his tomato soup and dinner I made for him. You all take care and keep looking up....better days are coming. 

Cheers ~ Louise

Fall Equinox and 2 More Fancy Meals

Hi there everyone....how did the first day of Fall treat you today???? Here's a fun thing to do, I have done this so many times.....this is the only day and maybe the 1st day of Spring you can set an egg on it's end and it will stay there. Not sure why or what the scientific reasoning behind it is, but it seems to work every time. So if you think about it next Spring or next Fall....try it...just a little fun thing to show the grand-kids.

Here is the egg sitting on it's end. This is a farm fresh egg from the Free Market. Takes a bit of patience to get it to sit properly, but once it's there....it sits pretty good.

Here is that same egg, laying on it's side.

In the above picture is another meal I made from Blue Apron. This was such a good meal. I loved making the rice with zucchini and garlic, adding the cilantro and lime juice at the very end. So tasty. The corn, tomato salsa is really good and I am thinking this might be a regular, so easy to make. The blackened chicken was rather fun to make too, adding the spices then pressing the chicken with tin foil into the hot oiled pan, interesting way to do chicken.
I gave this 5 Stars

"Blackened Chile-Dusted Chicken with Zucchini Rice and Corn-Tomato Saute" Here is the link to this recipe. 



Another great recipe from Blue Apron. Loved those ramen noodles and the soup juice was really tasty. Blue Apron sent a small roast and I cooked it in my "Nu-Wave" so that it got crusty on the outside and tender in the middle. I shall do this again using a small pork tenderloin. The whole meal just hit the spot and I would probably make this again.

I gave this 5 Stars

"Pork Ramen with Fresh Ramen Noodles & Summer Vegetables" Here is the link to this recipe.

Well, time to close. Have a great evening and keep looking up. Tomorrow I have an appointment with the Doctor. Guess we'll see if the hernia is healing properly. Hopefully I can start driving again. I feel like a roaring lion in a cage....ready to get out and prowl.
Cheers ~ Louise