June....How Fast Will It Go????

Hi there everyone. How you all doing?? My goodness it was warm today...in the 90's for the next couple of days. I don't do very well with 90 degree weather. If the weather could just stay in the 70's, I would be a happy camper. Guess there is no perfect place to live....except for Heaven, then it won't matter what the weather will be like, because we will be so concentrated on Jesus!!!!

Some flowers from my garden, above are my Allium's. I should get some more of these guys. I sure do like them. Below are my pretty pink/white tulips. As they begin to open, they almost look like roses. So pretty!!!

Below is a picture of a picnic bench at Erb Park. I have found my quiet place. I get 11 hours a week now to get away for "respite time". A caregiver comes to the house, giving me time away from taking care of JP. They will wash my dishes, floor, vacuum, give JP a shower and wash his hair. Fold towels, which there are many, cause I seem to be washing towels constantly. The towels end up on the bathroom floor a lot, because of JP's incontinence. They also will take him on the front porch for fresh air, just kind of filling in for me. 

I had a different lady yesterday. I was told she was a "powerhouse" and that she was, she did things I didn't even ask her to do, I was amazed. Probably out of the 3 caregivers.....she is the best. We are getting a new one this Monday. So that will be 4 ladies.

So, when I go to the park, I take a note book and pen, Bible, a Billy Graham devotional, and write away. I have stopped at Jacobs Meat Market for a hot lunch or Kwik Trip for 2 pieces of chicken/chips and and cold drink. Even though there are lots of people there, it is still very peaceful. God knows I need some peace.

I can only spend 1 hour there or less, cause then I need to rush to the store and get back by 4pm, so the caregiver could leave on her shift. This Monday and Wednesday I will get 8 hours and 3 hours on Thursday. I guess I got a raise in hours....lol! From 9 hours to 11 hours free time.....YAY!!!!!!

This is such a pretty park....we are going on 30 years in this town and we very seldom used the park....always too busy  guess. Now they let people walk their dogs through the park. When we had Hyko and Kylie...doggies were not allowed. We could only walk around the park on the street!!!!

See the cute card to the right? "If you're feeling blue....try painting yourself a different color". I did not make it....but, think I will try, I have the birdie, just would have to color it and write in the saying. Guess, when I get "a round tuit" I will try making it....lol!

Well JP had a Pet Scan and liver panel today, to see if he has cancer and if the cancer in his eye did or did not spread through his body. If that is the case, no cancer in his body, then our next appointment will be in Green Bay at St. Vincent's and he will have the surgery on his eye. 

JP is not doing all that good, all his health issues are getting him down, many times he say's he want's to quit. He is at a place where he may be put in an assisted living or nursing home and he will get 24/7 help. It is getting harder to care for him now. He does not get a lot of sleep and neither do I as I am up with him till sometimes 4 am. Sometimes his sleeping pill does not kick in cause he seems to fight it and gets a lot of arm pains that last 15-20 minutes. Yeah, it is tough to watch at times cause he will hit his arm 4-5 times and moan and groan, scream and shout!!!!

Well, I think I will close here for now, I want to go to YouTube and watch a few of my favorite YouTuber people with Chateaus in France, my get away places. So you all take care and keep looking up....I do believe....better days are coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Simple Rhubarb Crisp and a Quiche from Blue Apron

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good day....Friday and Sunday is coming!!!! And in between those two days is SATURDAY!!! Have to love those Saturdays. It's suppose to be in the 80's, a little bit warmer then today, but I enjoyed this day too, didn't have to put the fans on. JP finally brought up the window air conditioner....it just has to go into the window now. Maybe tomorrow.

So today I made this "Simple Rhubarb Crisp". It's kind of my recipe, mixed with another. I had a lot of frozen rhubarb in the freezer and pulled it all out....I guess I had about 9-10 cups of rhubarb. So I thought, why not make a crisp following the pie recipe I had. Here's the recipe:

Spray a 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 pan or glass dish. Mix together:
5-6 cups rhubarb, 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (one cup if you like real sweetness), 2 eggs, 1/2 cup flour, stir and pour into the sprayed pan or glass dish.

Mix together: 1/2 stick butter (softened), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour, mix till crumbly and sprinkle over the rhubarb mix.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and bake 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 40 - 50 minutes, depends on your oven. Cool down a bit and slice, top with ice cream or whip cream...very yummy!!

My Blue Apron recipe. "Zucchini & Cherry Tomato Quiche with Tomato-Arugula Salad" Yep, this is a keeper too. The zucchini was diced, cherry tomatoes quartered. Make a paste out of the garlic by zesting it. Zest the lemon and quarter the lemon. Make a dressing with the lemon zest, 1/4 of the garlic paste and juice of all 4 lemon wedges. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the zucchini and season with salt and pepper, cook down till lightly browned and slightly softened. Add half the tomatoes and the remaining garlic paste and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Make the filling, crack 2 eggs in a medium bowl, beat till smooth, add 1/2 cup ricotta cheese and whisk till combined. Add the cooked vegetables, whisk well and pour into small pie shells and top with Fontina cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 18 - 20 minutes till the crusts are browned and the filling is set and cooked through. Serve with lettuce and the rest of the cherry tomatoes, pour over the garlic-lemon mixture with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper. Yep...I would make this dish again also.

Tonight is pizza night from Schwan's and left-overs.....so JP will be eating pretty well tonight after work. I hope he appreciates me and my cooking and making sure he eats well. My only problem is I enjoy my cooking also....so hard to lose weight in this house....so maintaining is all I can muster.

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

PS Just a note....I was so sorry to hear of the attack on innocent people in Nice, France by a truck driver. It is so sad to think these terrorist think nothing of human life. Too bad, they have been deceived by the evil one and they think killing people (and themselves) will get them "73 virgins in Heaven"........I think they shall be shocked. As per Rush Limbaugh here is his link.

Their "Koran" was wrongly translated and the "73 virgins" they think they are getting is actually "73 raisins"....what a shock!!!

I pray their eyes will be opened and Jesus will give them visions of the REAL HOLY God of the Universe and many Muslims will be saved.

♥♥♥ I Love Paris ♥♥♥

Oh my....it was so cold and snowy today. So, I decided to take a trip to Paris, France for Valentine's Day. Suddenly that familar song popped into my head, "I Love Paris". Although I have never been to Paris, it sure was fun to visit via Pinterest.com. So come along for a short trip to Paris. The sights are beautiful!

              The song: "Every time I look down on this timeless town, whether blue or gray be her skies,

                 Whether loud be her cheers or whether soft be her tears, more and more do I realize.

                                      That I love Paris in the spring time,

                                       I love Paris in the fall

                                           I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,

                             I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles

I love Paris every moment, every moment of the year, I love Paris, why oh, why do I love Paris? Because my love is near".

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your favorite people. May this day be special and you enjoy the day. Keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Here's an interesting little tidbit about the Effel Tower. Did you know there are approximately 4 acres under the Effel Tower. That sure puts things in perspective doesn't it. I have always seen the Effel Tower in pictures. So picturing 4 acres makes that tower pretty big!!!

Etsy Tap Dance and Mystery List

Doing the Etsy Tap Dance this weekend and today for that fact. SOLD a Christmas card to a lady in France....so very exciting to me.........FRANCE!!! Estimated it would cost $3 for postage, but I have a feeling it will cost more, as this is my 1st international sale, guess I shall find out how much it actually costs to send a card to Europe. Oh well, if I don't make alot on this sale, at least I had the excitement of selling a card from my etsy store, making that 27 sales since I opened my Etsy store in 2009!!!!! Whew.............that calls for a celebration of sorts.....what shall I do???

Was looking for that Christmas card I sold in my many files, but could not find it. Shall have to take another picture of the card along with a few other things I made this weekend, been pretty busy with all my projects, guess that is good.

If you read my previous blog ~ Mystery Saturday ~ I listed 15 things I was going to do for the day............well, I did 8 1/2 things for that day plus one extra thing not listed. They are as follows:
1. finished the blog
2. made the coffee
3. gave myself a permanant (did not trim my hair)
4. cut JP's hair
5. made lunch and dinner (Popover Unside Down Pizza recipe to follow in next blog)
6. did some dishes (but still have many in the sink as I type this blog)
7. made some Christmas ornaments
8. rode my bike for 2 miles (that was the 1/2)
9. took a ride to Sandi's to pick up my circles that will be used for the Christmas ornament (she has a circuit cutter, so can get more circles made then a punch can...........have LOTS of 2"circles)

I guess the rest of those projects will all be done this week at some time or another, don't know when or where, BUT they will get done.

Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh!
Cheers ~ Louise