Before and After ~ Front Of the House

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a nice day....well, it's Friday and we have the weekend to look forward to. Bought some hamburger and hot dogs at Jacobs Meat Market, hopefully the weather will be nice this weekend and we can grill out and eat on the front porch again this weekend.....this is our vacation time you know.....so we have to take every minute we can to enjoy!!!!

In the following pictures are the before and afters of our house. In this top picture the big bush was nice....and I really just wanted it cut back. I guess they did and there was not much left of it after it was cut back......so they took it out.....gosh that had to be a BIG JOB!!! Also in this picture you can see the basement window....all eight windows were replaced and also you see no shutters on the house.

Again, another view of the porch.....looks real sad.....the porch got painted, deck and posts and the front yard landscaped. Pat also put an electric outlet on the porch for my little water fountain and for JP when he uses the weed-eater. Pat also put a new porch light up for us.

WA LA!!!! Doesn't the make-over make a difference??? "Curb Appeal Plus" don't you think??? I didn't realize how much that bush made a difference, the front yard looks less cluttered....I am liking the new look. See the basement window? The shutters? The new Plants?

Here is a better view of the front of the house, the shutters, basement window, there is 5 new plants out front. Not sure what those purple plants are, I shall have to check out the nurseries to see if I see something like it. I like how the porch popped out. The shutters gave my house that finished looks. Gosh, it only took 12 years for the shutters to get back up on the house.

Another view of the house with the sign and showing the work done by the companies. Not sure how long it will be up. One of the neighbors already asked me how long will it be there.....don't know, I said, I am sure they will take it down when they are ready or when the house is completely done. The front door still needs to be painted and everything finished by June 15th.

I need to have the garage door opener re-programed, I don't understand the directions and can't open the door from inside the house. So if Pat shows up again, I can ask him to show me how to do that...cause I know it will get discombobulated again.

Tomorrow I have a few plants to get in the ground and a little landscaping in the front. I want to plant some rose-moss  down the front walk....maybe find a rose bush for the other side of the front house now that the big bush is gone and that part will get lots of sun.....oh my so much to do and so little time.

Well you have a great weekend and keep looking up. The Chicago Blackhawks are playing the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow.....game 7...we are hoping for a WIN!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day - Steak and Cards

Hi everyone. Hope you had a wonderful, fun, filled day and your special someone made it even more special in some unusual way. In the above picture are two cards I received in the mail. The one on the right is from Brenda in Indiana, so simple, but yet so elegant. The card on the left is from Shirley, a card maker here in Appleton. We have been sending each other cards for over 7 years. It's always fun to see what she makes....I think she is truly an artist. She recycled this card as it was a store bought card and she turned it into a new handmade card.

 I just got home from Jacobs Meat Market in Appleton. JP gave me some money to buy whatever I wanted...so I chose this heart shaped Rib-eye steak.....my, my was it good!! As you can see, Kylie took a liking to it and if it had been a bit closer, she might have taken a bite out of it.

I salted and peppered it and put a little steak sauce on it and let it sit in the frig for a couple of hours. When it came time to cook it, I sauteed some mushrooms and onions in coconut oil. (no, I could not taste the coconut). Took the mushrooms and onions out of the pan and dropped the steak in. Cooking till the center was 100 degrees. Dished the steak and poured the mushrooms and onions on top. OH MY WAS THAT STEAK DE-LISH-OUS!!!! I took a picture of our Valentine's dinner all cooked up, mashed potatoes, salad, garlic bread and left over fish....that will be the next post. We still have enough steak left for dinner tomorrow.

Here is another picture of Kylie, enjoying the smells of Valentine's Day.....if she could have, she would have. Yes, she did have some steak too for her dinner....cooked of course, not raw.

I just had to take a couple of these pictures of Kylie.....she is so darned cute with her antics. I think it sure would be a very quiet and boring home if Kylie did not live here.

Left-overs from the Turkey Breast



Turkey soup cooking in the Duch Oven mmmmmm good!!! My soups are pretty easy and usually no recipe is followed. In the above picture you see the turkey breast cooking on high. I then turned down the heat. Added the vegies, (celery, onions, carrots, eggplant cut in cubes (usually whatever I have on hand). Removed the turkey breast and added noodles, simmering and letting the turkey breast cool down then deboned. Added the turkey to the soup and chicken boulion from Jacobs Meat Market. I let the soup simmer till ready to serve. 

In this picture you see the turkey deboned and added to the turkey gravy and scooped onto buns. The left over potatoes were added to broccoli and sugar pea pods to make a stir-fry. Tomatoes were sliced for the added color. Goodness I can hardly wait for my tomatoes to start growing this season. This was a very good meal and I am looking forward to buying another turkey breast in the near future.

Going to close this session for my blog, as I have to get ready to take a trip to Shopko and get the husbands medications and maybe just shop around a bit. You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise