Merry Christmas - 2022

 Hi there everyone, hope you are all enjoying the activities of Christmas and all that come with it. I am thinking this may be my last blog of this year. 2023 may be a complete mystery as to whether I continue or not. I have no idea what the days in 2023 have in store for me or this United States (or should I say this "Divided States.)

So today, I shall just add some old cards from past Christmas's, and a few new cards from this Christmas, hope you enjoy.

An old card from 2017 but probably one of my favorite cards of all times.

A new card for 2022.

Another new card for 2022.

And another snowflake card for 2022.

Just a few cards from the past. And today I added some cards I made for this year. Gosh I almost forgot how to add these cards to this blog. I guess it is true, "if you don't use it, you may lose it. 

So have a nice Christmas, and a Happy New Year. 

Cheers ~ Louise

PS, sorry for so few words, not very wordy in this blog.

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!!!

Happy New Year 2019

Hi there everyone. Well.....it's the last day of 2018, my goodness 2018 went by fast, a sure sign of OLD AGE!!!! I suspect 2019 will do the same thing.

I like the way this picture is showing 2018 washing away (like our sins) and now 2019 shows itself. Wonder what this new year will hold for us all? Do you remember 2000 and the y2k craze and how we were running all over to collect water, food and supplies in case everything shut down including computers!!! Gosh, that was 19 years ago, and we are still here and the computers are still causing us headaches...lol!

I am glad I am not going anywhere tonight. It is snowing outside and a predicted 3-5 inches is falling to the ground. People are already shoveling the snow. JP will most likely wait till tomorrow to shovel when all reports say "no more snow." The snow is very pretty though.

We had to have a plumber come and rescue us from a big leak under the kitchen sink today. Guess it was leaking for awhile, maybe over a week or so. I was doing dishes and noticed water on the floor, dripping down. First, I thought it was water dripping from the top of the sink.....but nope, it was coming from down under!!! I called the plumber on Thursday (last week) and he said he could not come till next Wednesday (of this week).....I said okay....just won't do so many dishes at a time. I really don't know how we get so many, there is just the two of us and a doggie. Sometimes I wish I had a dishwasher....would be nice.

Anyways the plumber called at 7am, this morning, saying he had some time today and could he come out. YES, I said. When he came, he checked things out and found where the leak was coming from. He then said the pipes were plugged, he said it was nothing I was doing wrong....it's just part of the process and sometimes the pipes need to be cleaned. Nice guy....now I just have to wait for the bill.  Gosh, I hope this is not a sign of what the new year will bring.....guess I will just have to wait and see.

I am making sloppy Joe's, french fries and salad for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, steak, mushrooms, baked potato and broccoli. A man at church gave us some money to buy a few steaks for the New Year. Was neat how God answered my little prayer....I wanted something special to cook, like a steak, but had no money for it. And God used this man to bless us...God sure works in mysterious ways.

So tomorrow, I will definitely be watching the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins playing at the Notre Dame Stadium NHL Winter Classic. Of course I will be rooting for the Hawks, but I do enjoy a few of the Boston Bruin players, like Marchard and Chara…..will enjoy this game and hoping the Hawks win. 

Well, I shall close this post for now, till next year. Happy New Year to all of you that read my ramblings and look at my cards. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas Day is Right Around the Corner

Hi there everyone......whoever you are???? Are you ready for the big day???? I guess I am....I owe a few cards to people I did not send to, I will make some "Happy New Year" cards for them. Have a few gifts to wrap for JP and myself. But I can do that tomorrow....no rush!

JP received some money as a Christmas gift from the people he works with....that was a pleasant surprise. SO.....I was able to buy a 4lb Boneless Rib Roast (prime rib). I am so looking forward to making that on Christmas. I will take pictures and tell you how I made it.....very simple directions. The roast will cook in the oven at 500 degrees for 5-7 minutes then rest for two hours with the oven off. Guess it depends if I want it medium or rare. I'd like it pink.....but not mooing!!!

Made some "Peanut Brittle" and "Healthy No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars" tonight. There's a lot of sugar involved in these recipes. Here's a picture of the Brittle. No picture of the "Healthy No Bake Crunch Bars"

 The Peanut Brittle wasn't too hard to make. It's made in the microwave, poured on a cookie sheet, cooled and broken into pieces. Was fun to make. Going to give some to the Pastor tomorrow along with some Healthy Crunch Bars. He's a truck driver, so he likes lots of goodies in his lunch box. As does JP when he is at work.

 I made this Apple Pie a couple of days ago.....there is only one piece left....pies don't last long around here.

 Thought I would show you my little village. I added three new things to it this year. The background, the 2 new fences and if you can see it, a snowman water tower to the right of the church. I usually leave my village up till mid-January. It takes me all day to put it up and then all day to take it down. Below the village, is my manger scene....that's about 30 years old now.

Here's my little Christmas tree. I added some purple sparkly feathers....got them at Walmart. I think I will try and get some more, hopefully there will be some left for 50% off. I probably will leave my tree up till Valentine's Day....make it all red, lights, ornaments, beads and of course the elf stays. I usually put it in the corner, where my village sits right now.

Well, I guess I'll close here. Bad news, The Green Bay Packers lost 13 to 0 and the Chicago Blackhawks lost 4-1. Not a good night for both teams. So keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Happy New Year 2017

Hi there everyone...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! YAY.....another new beginning. Well, so far, things are pretty much the same.....no changes. But anyways, I had a good evening. Spent it with my cards. Ending the year with making cards and beginning the year with making cards.....hope there is a profit this year...that would be nice. I might make this my last year with Etsy....didn't get very many sales in 2016, course I was not promoting it that much. Everything is for a season.....I think I have been on Etsy 9 years....maybe it is time to close down the store....I don't know...just thinking.

Friday night I made this Blue Apron meal.....this was really good!!! "Cod en Papillot with Freekeh and Spinach" "En Papillote" means "In Parchment" So yeah, the fish was baked in parchment paper. I do believe I will do this more often. This is what I like about Blue Apron.....learning something new and using it in my regular cooking.

The freekeh was cooked like rice. The spinach cooked down with garlic and the water drained from it. Parchment is laid out, freekeh laid to the side of the paper, then topped with spinach, then the cod that has been salted and peppered. The paper is folded to close into an envelope. Baked 10-12 minutes or until the packets are lightly browned and puffed up. A herb sauce of cream, parsley and lemon zest and 1/4 of the minced garlic and juice of 2 lemon wedges is poured over the fish, spinach and freekeh. I also made some oven fries which JP loves, served with sour cream and chives. Definitely a 5 star meal.

Following are the cards that I was working on last night. I got this new die cut "Stained Glass" from Spellbinders. I really like this die. The "Thanks" die cut not sure where I got it. But here I used all my purple colors, then ran the die cut through the cuttlebug with purple sparkle paper. And Wa-la, a pretty card. Then I thought....why not carry this through to.....

The red colors on a pink card. Then how about........

Green colors on a white card. I also have a card in blues....maybe the next one will be in oranges and today my thought was greys.....Yep, the ideas are endless!!

Today, New Years Day.....I made another Blue Apron meal....a really good one. "Steaks and Green Peppercorn Sauce with Kale and Roasted Potato" Yep....another 5 star. I will tell you about it in my next post along with a picture. For dessert we had cheese cake with cherries on top.....I am full.

Thought I would start my diet today.....nope, not today. Well, I did lose 5 pounds in December. Hopefully I can lose another 5 pounds this month.

Time to close here.....Packers are playing the Detroit Lions....oh, oh Detroit just scored...it's tied at 7-7 now.

You all have a great night and I wish for you to have a great NEW YEAR with good health and prosperity and only good things happen for you. Keep looking up ~ better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Italian Meat Ball Soup and a New Stamp Set

Hi there everyone....Happy New Year to you. It's been pretty fair to us so far. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was kitty sitting, which is fun to me. Misty's mother went on a Greyhound to visit family. I like going to my friends house....it is quiet there and very peaceful. Misty was happy to see me come, she watched me clean her litter and clean her food and water dish. Then we sat in the front room and talked a bit. It was a nice visit.

Friday I made this dish from Blue Apron. Here is their site. This recipe was really delicious!!! "Italian Meat Ball Soup with Farro and Lacinato Kale" This soup reminded me of my Lasagna Soup...but with lots of meat balls, kinda like the meat ball wedding soup....both very good soups. But this soup could be tops....I give it 5 stars for sure.

The meat balls were mixed with panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and the spice blend and salt and pepper. Rolled into little balls then fried in olive oil. The soup was made with onion and spice blend, then the kale was added, a can of diced tomatoes, demi-glace and 3 cups of water. Heat to boiling then add the cooked farro and cooked meat balls. Simmer for 3-5 minutes then place in bowls and top with parmesan cheese. VERY good soup and most likely I will make it again and again.

So today, I took down half my Christmas stuff and packed it away. I still have my little tree up and the village.....maybe this weekend I will take the village down to make space for my little tree. As usual, I will take the blue lights and ornaments off and put red lights and red ornaments and hearts on the tree for Valentines Day. I find it so hard to say good by to my Christmas tree.

My Stampin'up lady dropped off my new stamp set today....can hardly wait to play with it. But as you can see, I am blogging right now. So maybe tomorrow I shall play with my new stamps. Been organizing all my stamping stuff downstairs, and getting ready to make cards for 2016. 

These two cards were made by Becky, here is her site, these are her designs, she says it is okay to "case" her cards....so yes, I will try making these cards with the stamp set I got today. She uses a lot of Stampin' Up products, so it is always fun to see what she comes up with. Almost always, I want to get the stamps she uses after I see her cards. That's what happened here.....I saw these cards and wanted to order the stamps.

So pretty........

Here is a picture of Kylie.....she is barking at me. Saying....."Hurry up, I want to go for a walk". For some reason she loves to bark at me, when I feed her and when I take her for a walk. Oh and she always seems to bark at me when I am cutting up meat, or anything she thinks might be for her. Where she got that idea, I just don't know.

Well....tomorrow I will be going shopping.....Walmart and Shopko, here I come. Have to get some plastic containers for my Christmas stuff. Still trying to re-organize my basement and put things back together after "Rebuilding Together" replaced my basement windows and did some electrical work in May. I know, I am really behind....that hernia took a lot out of me and I am still trying to get back to normal. Whatever normal is????

Well, time to close here, keep looking up....better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Making Christmas Cards

Hi there everyone. How is the Christmas season treating you?? I am not sure as yet. It seems JP and I are seeing the Doctors way too much within the last couple of weeks. By the end of this month JP will have had 3 appointments and I with 3 appointments. Yuk!! Mine was a follow-up and change of meds, blood test and urine test and end of this month the eyes need to be checked by a specialist. JP's appointments revolve around the urologist and today they put him in a tube (he said). Is that an MRI??? Geez, I don't know. Well, in the midst of all this....I must find time to make cards (it's my therapy.)

So in this picture is a fun card. It is called "Iris Fold" strips of paper arranged to make a square. The background went through the cuttlebug and was embossed with snowflakes. Very hard to see the embossing. I think next time I will ink the snowflakes so they show up better.

Here is another picture of my snowman using the Stampin'up "Work of Art" stamps. I really like this set of stamps. And this cute snowman got stamped and made into 16 more cards last night. I think I will use this card for Happy New Year cards and possibly make some more, turning them into "thinking of you" cards for Hospice. With this same stamp set, I can make the American Flag, a butterfly and 2 different sale boats. That will be for another blog, when I get them done.

This is another "Iris Fold" card. The card stock was already cut out to form an ornament. I followed a pattern using strips of paper to make the ornament. Then glued the card stock on a card and layered washi tape on top.

Both the tree above and the second ornament below are done the same ways as the ornament. You can see that both ornaments are done just a little bit different.

Here is another tree in different washi tape colors and the iris fold is in different colors. I sent these cards to the in-laws and nieces. So I hope they like them. I should be getting these cards in the mail tomorrow. Then I just have to decorate a bit more and make some cookies and make my step-father's package and send it off to LasVegas.

Well time to close and go walk Kylie around the block. It's suppose to warm up the rest of this week, so the sidewalks should be clear.

Tomorrow is card making at a friends house....yeah, I always look forward to that and getting new ideas. Next Sunday is another Stampin'up Camp and some more ideas. It's no wonder these days fly by...I seem to plan so much and look forward to each and every event....then it comes and goes so quickly!!! POOF!!!!

Talk to you later and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Making Chex Mix Snacks & a Card

Hi there everyone. How is your day going. It's a lovely, sunny, balmy day of 32 degrees. A good day to Sun-Bathe or sit on the front porch????

As you can see in the following pictures, I made some chex mix. This is my second batch of the season...my goodness, thought for sure that first batch would last at least till after Christmas. Guess JP and I were munching on it more then I realized. Then I ran out of pretzels.....oh, oh time to make some more. I did give a bag away to a trucker, guess I will give him another bag. Oh and I probably will send a bag to my Step-father in Las Vegas. I am sure that is something he can eat. He doesn't want money or candy...the last couple of years I have sent him a stuffed animal....you can just send so many animals. He likes doing cross word puzzels, but cannot see very well to do them. I think that is what has kept his mind sharp. SO I think Chex Mix would be the sealed deal....cause he can munch while watching TV.

So in this picture is the chex mix on the counter....lighting was a bit better. There are pretzels, oyster crackers, M&M's, peanuts, Wheat chex and rice chex.

The lighting was not very good in this picture as I took it in the far corner of the kitchen standing in front of the light. Oh well....you get the idea.

For the mixture, I used 1 package of Ranch dressing, 1 stick of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of Worcester sauce, and maybe 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mixed together and poured over the pretzel/chex mix. Trying to mix real well so that every morsel is covered. Then I covered my pizza pans and cookie sheet with parchment paper and poured the mix on the sheets, spreading them out evenly and sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top. Baked at 250-300 degrees for about 15 minutes or until the mixture is hot to touch. Then let cool and munch!!!.

This is my snowman card. I got the idea off of Pinterest. It is made with the "Work of Art" stamps from Stampin'up. I really thought this was a great idea, so I made some Christmas and Happy New Year cards. Need to make some more for Hospice.....maybe a "Winter thinking of you" card. I will be putting a Happy New Year card in my Etsy store for $3.00 along with a set of Winter/Christmas Note cards in a case ($12) I made these last year at Christmas. Was a bit too late to list them in my store.

A side note: some other ideas that can be made with this set of stamps is the American flag, a sail boat and a butterfly....I have tried the sail boat...but must try the butterfly and flag soon and very soon.

Well, time to close this blog. Need to get going on sending Christmas cards out and getting downstairs and bring some Christmas ornaments up for decorating. You all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

So Long 2012 ~ Hello 2013

Yeppers........Dashing will be completely out of the question for 2013! Going to enjoy every minute (or so I say)!! Been reading a few blogs today, 1) some wish you a Happy New Year, 2) some list "the 12 most popular", (which I truly love especially when it comes to FOOD) 3) and some just continue on as if it is just another day. Me, I think I will go back to January 1, 2012 and see what my expectations for 2012 were and if I met them........

Did you all make any resolutions for the New Year??? I thought about it, but sometimes they are just too hard to keep. I might just try continuing what I started in 2011.

1. continue on my journey to lose some weight and reverse diabetes.
Still working on that and probably continue on into 2013.

2. paint a room or two this year....been awhile since I painted and redecorated.
Nope, no room painting in 2012.

3. this spring, paint the porch floor.
Nope, no porch painting...thought about it though.

4. get some cards into a few beauty shops.
Nope.

5. get the kitchen ceiling fixed.
Nope.

6. these are long shots.........get a new or used stove and couch.
Got the couch and did look at a used stove, but nope, did not get one.

7. more mini-vacations on Lake Winnebago and a vacation this year.
Nope, no vacation but many mini-vacations on Lake Winnebago.

8. more blogs then last year.
Yes, I did manage that by 22 more blogs........2013? 25 more.

9. learn something new.
Guess I didn't, cause I can't think of anything.

10. lose an old habit, what that is I don't know as yet.
Ha...probably gained some old habits, but lose, Nope!

11. continue on in my personal relationship with Jesus.
Yes!

12. make a new friend.
Not sure I did. Oh wait, I did make a blog friend, does that count???

13. weed through the house, get rid of stuff not used for a couple of years.
Yes!

14. garage sale this summer?
Yes!

Well that is 14 things to work on, there probably are more, but this is a good start. Will have to remember these resolutions are here so I can keep reading them every now and then.
Guess I did not read them enough, cause many were not accomplished. So there you have it, shall I continue my quest for perfection in 2013......kinda' hard to attain perfection, very unattainable to me.

What to expect for 2013???
 I have no idea what to expect. Peace would be a good thing to expect, but with the way this world is going, it's hard to foresee. I find it very hard to understand how people can continue living without a relationship with Jesus Christ and still survive living in this barbaric way of life. Killing and being killed, and sometimes for no reason at all, then to just kill!!! 
A very sad commentary for "modern" man!!! Everyone blames the other guy and sadly does not look into the "mirror of truth" to see one's self-deception. We deceive ourselves daily, thinking we are good, when in reality we all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. There is a scripture in the Bible that says to this affect. "Whoa to them that say good is evil and evil good..." This is fast becoming very familiar in our society. Very sad, very sad indeed.

Well, guess it is time to close this blog for 2012.....see you all in 2013 Lord willing. So you all keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise
 Hello 2013

Marching on to 2012 ~ What Will It Hold????

Happy New Year Everyone!

As we march into a this New Year!

I pray that your joys will be many, your sorrows and troubles very few.

May love be yours daily with many blessings galore.

Health and happiness be in your life, never leaving your door step.

A double portion of all that is good.

Finding new faith in Jesus and a closer walk with Him.

Cheers ~ Louise

Keep looking up for our redemption drawth nigh.

This could be the year....

that Jesus comes for His church!!