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

3 Blue Apron Meals and a Review from Youtube

Hi there everyone, how you all doing? Well, it's the last day of October....Halloween and no scary people dropped by our house. Glad for that. There were lots of parents and kiddo's walking by. I didn't have the light on....maybe they just knew there was no candy being passed out at this house.

Well, today I am going to show you the 3 Blue Apron meals I made this past week. I have cut down on my orders from Blue Apron to one box every 6-8 weeks. I still enjoy doing the meals but not so many a month. Blue Apron could come every week at $60 a week...that would be $240 a month. If JP does not like a meal, too spicy, too this or too that, it's kind of a waste. I still like making things on my own and keeping things simple. But, I have learned lots of new things, new spices, vegies and techniques in cooking with Blue Apron.

Following, is a YouTube tutorial making Lemon Thyme Turkey Cutlets. I have not made this meal, but it sure looked good. I liked the way this guy cooked....sort of reminded me of me in some ways. The end result though, is always delicious.

The meal below was really good, "Baked Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Cone Cabbage and Sage" (4 stars). Did you ever use a Cone Cabbage? I didn't, and it was sure quite different from a regular cabbage, easier to cut and slice. So all the vegies had to be cleaned and chopped.

A potato chopped, onion, cabbage and sage, seasoned with salt and cooked till the cabbage wilts, water was added and stirred occasionally. Pasta was cooked. 

Then a Béchamel sauce was made with butter, garlic and flour, milk added slowly then 3/4 cup reserved pasta cooking water. Half the Fontina cheese was added and well combined with salt and pepper to taste. The cooked vegies, pasta and sauce are added together then baked. Fontina cheese and parmesan cheese topped the casserole with more salt and pepper to taste.

In the picture below is JP's meal for the night. His fruit with some yogurt, tomatoes and home-made pickles and the Baked Rigatoni and cabbage.

In this next meal, I really enjoyed this one. "Roasted Pork Steam Buns with Black Garlic Mayonnaise & Spicy Cabbage Slaw." (was a bit too much cabbage for these two nights....so I had to make this meal 2-3 days later) This was really good though (I gave it 4 stars). The pork is fried in a pan, then roasted in the oven for 20 minutes till the temperature reaches 145 degrees. The cabbage is combined with the white bottom of the scallion, sesame oil, ginger, vinegar and as much of the spicy gochugaru as liked....This would make the cabbage salad spicy and JP does not like spicy.

The buns are steamed, the roast has been resting. Cucumbers have been marinating in ginger and vinegar, salt and pepper. Black garlic is mixed with the mayonnaise and salt and pepper added to taste. This will be spread on the steamed buns, topped with the sliced pork roast and the marinated cucumbers. Yeah, I really liked this pork and steamed bun combo. The cabbage was a bit too spicy. I ended up throwing a lot out, cause JP did not touch it.

This was a good meal, "Spicy Chicken & Carrots with Harissa, Dates and Chickpeas." (another 4 star) although JP does not care for carrots that much. Rice was cooked and chickpeas roasted, then mixed together as a side dish. The chicken thighs and carrots are cooked together for 8 minutes then dates, water and harissa paste is added, depending on how spicy you want it. After cooking, almonds, parsley, salt and pepper is added. Below is a picture of the meal....I forgot one ingredient.

The sauce, labneh and vinegar seasoned with salt and pepper. I decided to add a taco shell to JP's meal....he did not eat it nor a lot of the carrots. I have to say, the meal looks better with the labneh sauce on it in the picture below.

So there you have it....3 delicious meals. I enjoyed them, which is why I am going to have to be very choosy in my next selections from now on....seems to be a waste when I include JP.

Well, time to close. I need to get some cards in my Etsy store and ride my bike yet tonight. Dinner is cooked for JP, so I don't have to worry about that. What is he having? Chicken, pasta, with cheese casserole....a simple comfort food with no spice.

You have a great day and keep looking up, better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Stampin'Up Camp Last Sunday

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good day. I started working and cleaning the yard....getting ready for winter...leaves are falling and our first frost is tonight. So I pulled off the tomatoes, don't want them to freeze tonight. The weather will get warmer after the frost....but then that would be too late and I don't want to lose the tomatoes that are growing still. But then again....this is October, and maybe I should be bringing things in and winterizing the yard for winter.

So last Sunday I went to a Stampin'Up camp. $15.00 to make these 4 items...PLUS I got one of the door prizes.....YAY....winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!! The top card is a 6x6 card stock folded up to make a pocket to hold a candy bar....pretty cute huh??

The card above was a little putsey, it took extra time to make, but the end product turned out really neat. The yellow star border was a punch....(thinking I will get that punch some day), the stars are a stamp. Now the star slides on the card. The slider part is a die cut. The star is mounted on two pennies to make the star roll along and glide on the card.

This is a the Halloween card. Turned out fun. Kathy has all the pieces put together, we just put the card together and color in what needs to be colored. Although "Frankenstein" was stamped, colored then punched with a punch. I may send this card to my daughter....she loves Halloween.

I really like this card....the leaf is a die cut....I think I might order this die cut, such a pretty card. I like the background embossing folder too. I tell ya, I could spend lots of money for Stampin'up products...I would go broke.

This was cute....Stampin'up has a monthly stamping kit...this months kit contained these little bottles, so Kathy gave us each one to decorate with the contents of the kit. (I brought the tube home, ate the m&m's, took the decorations off and put sequins in it. It became a useful tube to use.

This is my door prize. Lots of paper of different sizes and colors. I am sure they will come in handy.

So Yayyyyyyy, tomorrow is Saturday, what do you have planned??

I guess I will finish what I was doing in the yard today...maybe the next big thing is put the ceramic animals away for the winter, I may have to reorganize the shed where they are stored. You know how that goes, one thing leads to another and before I know it, I have 5 different projects going at one time. Whew...one thing that is nice, the mosquito's are not biting me.

You have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to watch the debate on Sunday....this should be the tale-tell debate and probably very dirty too.

Keep looking up cause better days are coming!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Gosh....I am really slacking!?!

Hi there everyone....how you all doing?? Guess it's been awhile since my last post.....I have been slacking a bit. Either there is not much going on or it is just the same humdrum life going on. Guess I don't lead a very exciting life, I don't blame you for not visiting my blog. Oh well, such is life.

Wednesday I was at my friends house making cards....here is a sampling of what we made. I like this stamp of the man picking tomatoes...was fun coloring him in with copic markers.

Ah yes....there must be a Halloween card in the mix. I probably will send this card to my daughter, as she is a great Halloween fanatic who likes lots of parties and haunted house stuff. Me, I am not much into Halloween, as a matter of fact I dislike it very much.....just don't like being scared to death by creepy things.

The tree was embossed and ran through the cuttlebug. Then we colored the tree in with a brown pencil then dabbed with a liquid that covers the pencil lines and blends everything in. The moon, ghost and pumpkins were punches and we sponged color on the pumpkin and moon.

This next card, we stamped the verse then ran it through a cuttlebug to get the little circles, then sponged color on the verse. The pumpkins were stamped on orange card stock, then colored in with copic markers and then we "fussy cut" the pumpkins. The twigs were from a die cut that Betty has...she then sprayed the back of the twigs with a spray glue and we placed the twigs where ever we wanted them to be placed. The leaves are punches with glue dots on the back and we placed them where ever we wanted.

This pretty little card was a simple one to put together. The flowers are die cuts, but before we placed the flowers on the panel, the flowers on the panel were colored in with copic markers. We also added colored gems on the panel. The flowers were glued on with pop ups and glue dots. Pretty little birthday card.

So what are your plans this last week of September???? Amazing....I have NOTHING planned on the calendar. Gosh, no Doctors, Dentists, there is one birthday coming up though. Other than that....probably pay bills and do some shopping....what else is new????

Tomorrow is the "great debate" between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton....should be a very interesting debate to say the least. I personally will be glad when all this is over, getting very tired of politics and all the lying and slandering that goes on. I already know who I am voting for and it is not the "dear lady"......ha, have you guessed???

Well, I guess it is about time to bring the tomatoes in and cut the bushes down, rake leaves and put my ceramic animals to sleep for the winter. Winter is peeking it's head around the corner.

You want to hear something really strange???? In 8 weeks I will be 70 years old!!!! EEKKKKK, I cannot believe that number, I think it may be like what turning 40 was like!!!! My body has slowed down, but my mind still feels young.....but my body is having a hard time keeping up.....oh well, someday it will all even itself out again.

Well, time to close, don't want to drag this on for too long. So you all have a great day and keep looking up~~~better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Last Day of October

Hi there everyone....well can you believe it? It's the last day of October....wow, wow, wow!!! I won't be participating in the Halloween doings today and tonight.....I don't dress up (I look scary enough), don't turn the porch light on and pass out candy to the "tricker-treaters". Nope, no scary pumpkins on this front porch, just two "pumpkin pie" pumpkins, to make pies with for Thanksgiving dinner.

I do have my reasons......first of all, I resent being scared and isn't that what Halloween is about??? Second of all, I will not help to promote diabetes and bad teeth for little children and big kids. Thirdly, have you ever realized how many people, children and animals are sacrificed on this very evening? NOPE I am not a believer in this PAGAN HOLIDAY!!! So there you have it, my reasons for not supporting SATAN!!! Galatians 5:19-21..."and they that do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." You must read the "whole" of those 3 verses to get the  complete idea of what God is saying.

My box of Blue Apron food came on Thursday. I made some chicken soup from a chicken from Sam's Club and made this wonderful cheese sandwich and salad to go along with the soup! Man, was this delicious!!! The recipe card says, "Brie & Pear Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Brussels Sprout, Arugula and Hazelnut Salad" I love that I learn so many new things and use different items to make a lovely meal.

The sandwich was sourdough bread, with slices of brie cheese, with slices of a pear and sage leaves on top of the cheese. Then grilled in a pan. This was so good, the sweetness of the pear and sage and cheese balanced each other off. The salad dressing, on the other hand was so good, I could have eaten a whole bowl of salad by myself, but needed to save some for JP's dinner.

A tablespoon of honey and the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, mixed together and poured over the salad. I omitted the hazelnuts as I am allergic to them. JP ate them all....which was fine with me. I might try this dressing on a regular salad....asap!!!

So Yeah, I would give this grilled cheese sandwich 5 Stars!!!!! I will make it again and again.

I had my computer fixed and got it home Thursday. And yeah, I am still trying to learn all the new things about it.

I was going to blog yesterday, but found I could not download my pictures from the camera into the computer.....URG!!!!!!! Finally in desperation I called Office Depot and got Josiah, the Tech guy that fixed my computer. He gave me a few steps to follow...1st, using the SDHC card in the camera and inserting into the computer. finally I got the pictures downloaded. Darn, I sure did like the way 8.1 worked better then this Windows 10 in that area.

I personally don't see why some things have to change, but I guess "man" is not happy unless he is about changing things, to make things better (?) but inadvertently he makes things worse. Oh well, that's my pet peeve for the day.

This morning I went to turn on the computer and then I could not get on the Internet......I tried and tried, even pulled the plug on the machine. Nope, it would not work. Again, in my conversation to Josiah.....he said to type in Internet Explorer then take that icon and put it on my desktop.....as you can see, I am on the Internet. I tell you, all the hoops one must jump through to get something figured out.

One of the other things I had done to my computer was, finally I had the "office" program installed which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Not sure how much PowerPoint and OneNote will be used....but who knows. I really wanted a Photo Shop program installed but Josiah said my computer would not or could not handle it. Oh well, guess I have to figure out another way to fix my pictures and add words and stuff.

After church tomorrow, I am going to the Stampin'Up Camp. I wondered how I would pay for part of this and it was neat that God, provided the money for me to go and make some cards and buy a stamp set. A friend called me to ask if I would cut her hair.....sure I said, and she gave me $25....I used to be a hairdresser back in the day, yeah, there I times I wish I had continued, but things change and so does life. But anyways, I still cut my hair and JP's hair, so I am still not out of the game. JP and I joke around about how much he owes me in haircuts and tips....yeah, big time!!!!!

Well, I guess I better close here for now, tonight I want to finish making my Hospice cards. Have a meeting on the 6th, this Friday. So just a few more cards to make and I will have at least 50 cards to donate.

You all have a great evening, maybe I will see you tomorrow with the cards I made at Stampin'Up Camp. Keep looking up!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Last Day of October ~ Why Does It Have To Be Scary????

Hi there everyone....how is your last day of the month going?? I will be glad when this day is over....never cared for Halloween. Too many bad things happen on this day. A very sad commentary for this country and world.

I have heard that Halloween is becoming more popular then Christmas......why???? Why is Satan more popular then Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Isaiah 5:20-21 says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil: that put dark for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Verse 21 says, "Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" WOW, WOW, Wow....now if that does not put a fear in you....Israel had so perverted the scripture, they no longer knew right from wrong....does this not sound familiar for our country now??? Yes, and self-conceit is the antithesis of humility; as humility is, in a certain sense, the crowning virtue, so is self conceit a sort of finishing touch put to vise. (the words in red are from my King James Expositor's Bible commentary)

Should we not Fear God more then Satan???? There are more then 100 verses in the Bible that say, "The Fear of God". God is God, He is the Creator of this World...."in the beginning, God created" So why do we allow satan to put fear in our hearts.......we are not to fear him....BUT....Fear God and God alone!!!

When I look around my city, state and country I see so much that is not right....it is even hard to recognize what I used to know. People have changed, friends change, rules change, laws change, church has changed (and that is one thing that should have stayed consistent, because God NEVER changes). Life changes daily, there are times I find life very hard to cope with on a daily basis as I get older (and wiser?).

When this present administration said, "Change" would come, little did we know our whole world be turned upside-down. I remember many years ago, our prayer in the back room of the church was...."God, turn this world up-side down so that many people will know that you are God and come to know you in a personal way" Hum....I guess He is doing just that!!!!!

So why should we be scared on this last day of October???? Why? God is in complete control of everything and even though things look bad on the outside and it looks like Satan is taking over from our vantage point...Keep Calm ~ God's Got It!!!!!

Have a great day and keep looking up.....see Jesus in all that you do and say this day and every day until His return!!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

An Afternoon of Making Cards

Hi there everyone, hope you had a wonderful Saturday...it was a very gorgeous day....wish everyday could be like this one. Pretty soon the leaves will be falling off the trees...so try and enjoy everyday until then.

Made some cards at a friends house...the black flower is a die cut, I think. We had to poke the little sections out and then dab some glue on it to stick...basically and easy card to make.

This was our first card that we made. Copic markers were used. the clouds were dabbed on with a sponge and cloud form....I do know a fisherman, so when his birthday comes around next year....he'll get this card.

This is one of the Halloween cards we made....I really had a good laugh with this one..."It just isn't Halloween...without a full moon" Sending this card to a friend in South Carolina....she loves Halloween...I am sure she'll get a laugh out of it too!!! I am not much into Halloween card making, so if I can figure out how to send the bag below....she is getting this one too....maybe I will fill it with some candy...hahahahaha! So she can have her own "trick or treat" bag.

This is the inside of the "full moon" card which I thought was rather fun too!!!

So there you have it.....a little bit of card making for the week. I have been busy making other cards...a few fall cards and birthday cards....that will be in my next blog.

Today I went to a paper sale and made a few cards there also. This warehouse has their annual sale once a year, so I really look forward to it every year...usually find some good deals. and what's really great everything is 25 % off at the register...so that helps.

Well, time to close, you all have a great weekend and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

PS Visit my other blog at: cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com

A Few Fall Cards

Hi everyone. Hope your day is going good. I love this time of the year when Fall is in the air. Autumn begins September 22nd. What a beautiful time of the year. The leaves are beginning to turn their lovely colors. As if God took a paint brush and went wild with all the colors of the universe. He is an Artist!!!

So today I am going to show you a few cards I have made for the fall season and will be adding to my Etsy store. In the above picture is a card I made yesterday. I finally found a leaf punch. Crinkling the leaves, I then inked them with green, yellow, red and brown ink then sprayed pearl mist on them. It was a very fun technique and I am looking forward to making a few more cards like this. This card will sell for $3 + shipping. The inside of the card says "Simply Enjoy it all" and was added to my Etsy store today.

These cards were made last fall. I am not sure I added them to my Etsy Store then, but now they will be. This will be set of 4 cards for $8 + shipping. I used a pumpkin embossing folder, sanded it down then inked it. Then covered it with vellum that was stamped with leaves and the words "Autumn Leaves" Then embellished with wooden leaves and stamped leaves and a ribbon running down the side. The inside of these cards say "Bushels of blessing" with leaves and pumpkins stamped. One card is blank.

These cute little scarecrows will be added to my Etsy store in the next week or so.  These 2 cards measure 6.25 " tall X 4.65" wide and will sell for $5.00 + shipping for the two. The scarecrow is stamped then colored in with pens and covered with a glaze, then layered a couple of times with cardstock. A pumpkin is added on the corner and glazed also. The inside of one card is blank and the other says "Have a bountiful Harvest" with leaves stamped.

These cards are stamped with leaves then dabbed with brown ink and embellished with ribbon and shiny leaves. The inside of the cards each say "Fall is when nature turns to Gold" The cards will sell for $8 + shipping. All my cards come with an envelope and clear plastic sleeve for protection.

This is a set of 4 scarecrows for $8 + shipping. Each card is colored a little bit different and the measurements of these cards are 5.50" tall X 4.25" wide. You will probably see them in my Etsy store in the next week or so. The inside of each card is stamped with "Have a Bountiful Harvest"

So there you have it, just a few cards that I have worked on and am working on now. I have a few house mouse stamps that I want to work with and add to my store....then on to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am not much into Halloween cards so you won't be seeing those on my blog any time soon.

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

Last Post for October and Challenge

Isn't this just the sweetest picture???? I love the look on the little monkey's face......"So in love are we two that we don't know what to do......so in love, so much in love."

As this is my last post for October, really didn't want to post anything about Halloween. Just not really much into Halloween and don't like what it stands for. It's a pagan holiday and a lot of pagan worship to the evil one. Something I just can't get excited about like other people do. It's a wonder to me how people, even Christians still play around with it and dress their kids up in innocent characters.....but yet....they are still playing along with Satan and eating right out of his hand of deception. Oh well, to each his own.

Two more days and the 170 mile challenge is over with. I still have 29 miles to put in between tonight, Thursday and Friday. I am not sure if I will make it or not, but at least I tried.

So sad for the people on the east coast and in NY and New Jersey, Staton Island and other cities along the way........gosh, now they are looking at the fear of gas leaks and possible explosions. The pictures are so horrendous. So many people lost EVERYTHING. The thought of having to start over is so traumatic, I just don't know what I would do. But then if one is a believer in Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, He will give you the grace to go through times of trouble. Tribulation in ones life causes patience. I think we as a country have become VERY impatient....maybe this was a blessing in disguise for many people on the east coast.....I don't know, just thinking out loud while typing this blog.

Well, time to go and put in a few miles on my bike. I will let you all know, to whoever reads this blog. How I did on Saturday morning. You all take care and please keep looking up for you never know when your redemption will draw nigh, and you lose everything, but your life!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise

Friday Funday and a Few Creations

Been awhile since I added a few things to this blog that I have made. Really, really, I've been busy creating but not showing off my creations. Was shopping last week and found an ornament at the Shopko store and thought, I could make this! So, home I went to make some circles and glue them together, (thank you Sandi for all the circles you made for me on your machine and for the punch you borrowed me) here is the end result, my rendition of what I saw at Shopko. Of course, their ornament did not have JESUS on it. Ended up giving this ornament to JP for his "spiritual Birthday"The card below is a Halloween card...........not much into making halloween cards as it is so against what I believe. If people really knew what goes on and the many living creatures including babies, children and adults that are sacrificed to SATAN there would be less celebrating and worshipping of the EVIL ONE. It's a pagan holiday that does not belong.........sorry, that is the way I feel.

Anyways, went to Archivers the other day, it's "Tim Holtz"week, made this tag with the fun technique, stamping a tag, with stains, then running it through Tim Holtz's machine (only $199 if you buy it this week) the ribbon was stained and the skull and bat went through the machine also. I thought I would send the tag to my secret stamper so added it to a card and dressed it up alittle. She teaches making cards and is always looking for new ideas.....hope she likes this one. I shall have to make some more tags and do this again, maybe for Christmas cards would be nice. I do have to get on the stick and make my Christmas cards, one more month to get them done...........geez better start getting to work!!!! Need to get a few more Christmas cards in my Etsy store and a few Christmas ornaments too.

Well, time to close this blog for today, need to go pay the electric bill, get some dishes done and do some work outside, time to winterize before the first snow fall...............it's not far away, just peeking around the corner. Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise