Hospice Valentine Cards

Hi there everyone. How are you all doing this fine day. I am finally getting it together in January, and it is almost over!! Wouldn't you know it, just a little slow here.

We finally finished the cookbook and submitted it to Fundcraft on Tuesday the 28th with 275 recipes in all. It's going to be a nice cook book with many good recipes. Mary decided to sell the book for $20 which would mean after paying the expenses of making the books, she could possibly make 4k that would go towards the scholarship fund for Josh. She ordered 300 books, I have a feeling they will all sell. Josh knew a lot of people as do Mary and Ron. There is also going to be 2 other fundraisers this year along with the cookbook. So, the cookbooks could be sold at those fundraisers also.

Finished making the Hospice Valentine cards Wednesday night. Whew. Just 50 cards this time around. A lot of the cards were cards I had hanging around and all they needed were the Hospice inserts or a verse or even to cut the face of the card off and put it on a piece of new card stock. The card below, Happy Valentine's Day with Hearts, speckles and gems. (the card on the left) is a recycled card, cut down to fit the card stock.

Now these cards below...made 10 of these. Fun, fun, fun. Not sure why I wait to the last moment to finish things....but this time it was the cook book that took prominence....needed to get that done. So now I can say....Cook book done (check) Hospice cards done (check) now I have to work on our taxes which are due at the accountants office February 25th. Yikes!!! This is NOT one of my favorite jobs. Going through all the papers and bills etc. for 2019. Well, I do like to organize, so maybe that is a plus.

I still have some of my Christmas stuff up yet....I like the lights...guess maybe this weekend the tree and village will come down. After all, Valentine's day is right around the corner.

The Chicago Blackhawks....they have been on a by-week this past week. First game is February 1st...it's been a dry spell, a lot of Hockey fans have been having withdrawls...lol!!! They were riding on a 5 game winning streak, so hoping they come back still RED-HOT and on fire and headed for the play offs and the Stanley Cup.

Well, I think it is time to close here.....getting late and I have to get up at 7am to be at the Hospice meeting by 9:00am. We meet at Panara's Bread Co. Coffee is usually good there. We pass around the cards so the other ladies can see the cards made by the others. Always fun to see other ladies ideas.

Hope your January was awesome and February will be better then awesome...if there is such a thing like that. Keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Just Busy...Making Cards, Food and Saying Bye-bye 2 Christmas

 Hi there everyone....well, here we go into January and tomorrow is the 7th already. Where did this week go??? They say time flies when we are having a good time......I guess I must be having a good time, for a 70 year old.

Thought I would show you a few more cards I made with this "stained glass" die cut. I sure do like this die. I have actually made a few more cards like this, one in orange and one in grey. Both are pretty nice. They are actually relaxing to make, sort of like adult coloring. I will take pictures of both after I make another grey "Thanks".

Went to the neighbors on Tuesday, to show her how to make some cards and she liked the grey "stained glass" so much, she asked if she could have it. She wants to frame it. So I gave it to her. Along with a few ideas for making her own cards. It was a fun morning.

The cards below were some of my first cards made with the die and new alcohol ink pens.

In this next picture is a meal from Blue Apron. "Steaks and Green Peppercorn Sauce with kale and Roasted Potatoes" This was a yummy meal, very easy and down to earth kinda cooking. The steak was tender and seasoned just right....I used half the peppercorns, so it was not spicy. The potatoes were sliced, oiled, salted and peppered then roasted till browned. Kale was cooked with minced garlic. Yep, very good meal. 5 stars!!! 

I don't know if I told you about these cookies....gosh, were they good, I could not stop eating them. Made with 5 eggs, 2 sticks of soft butter, 1 cup to 1-1/2 cup sugar, mix together. Add 2 cups flour, 1 teasp. almond extract and some crushed almonds. Mix till the consistency of sticky pancake mix or heavy pudding. Pour on cookie sheet (use parchment paper). Bake 350 degrees till the outside of cookie is browned like in the picture. I timed it about 20 minutes. Such a good Cookie.....will make these again, soon. Oh and top the cookie with one raisin before baking. Oh, they are called "Mama's Cookies"

Next picture are the cards I was showing my neighbor how to make. She has to make 30 thank you cards and wanted to use this technique. All it is, is distress inks dabbed on card stock, using any color you desire, then dabbed with water to make the water spots.....I really like this technique....quick and easy.

I found this card on the Internet....thought it would be an easy card to make for Hospice meeting which is coming up in 3 weeks. Need to have lots of Valentine cards made, so I better get cracking. One of the ladies that comes to the meeting had heart surgery in November. She died of complications a week ago. She will be missed.

Well, time to close here....I have been slowly taking down my Christmas things. It is hard to say good-bye. Just have my Village and little Christmas tree up. I usually keep the tree up till after Valentines Day. Changing lights and bulbs from blues to red and putting hearts on the tree. Yeah....it is hard to say bye-bye to my Christmas tree and village. So....maybe one more month of lights.

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

A New Year Begins With a Fresh Pumpkin Pie

Hi there everyone and Happy New Year!!! Hope you had a good first day of this New Year!!!

My day was relaxing. I finally cooked up that pumpkin I bought back in October. Had plans of making a pie with it in November but, it never made it to the oven. Neither did it make it to the oven in December.

But here it is...January 1st and that cute little pumpkin got cooked up.....sorry no pictures in it's original state. Here it is all cooked up. I put the pumpkin in the oven for about an hour. Took it out and let it cool down a bit. Peeled off the outside shell, then sliced it and scooped out the seeds and stringy stuff.

Then I put the pieces of pumpkin in the blender and added some water....it became very creamy (Thanks Biz for the blender). See the pie shell crust? I tried something new, using a spoon, turned it over and pressed down on the crust-ridge making a different kind of design. Think I will do this from now on.

In this picture is the recipe I followed from www.cooks.com , the pie shell and the pumpkin liquid all mixed together.

Here is a closer look at the recipe....hope you can read it.....tis very simple.

AND.....wah lah....here is the pie all baked up....my crust got a little burned, next time I will add some tin foil for protection.

Here is the end result of that pie....OMG...guys was it ever delicious....this will be my "go-to pumpkin pie" for now on. YUMMY I want another piece but my blood sugars might be too high tomorrow morning, so I will reframe from having another piece tonight.

New Years dinner was hamburgers, mushrooms and cheese, potato hash browns, beans and salad. Simple but delicious. Well, time to close. I am recording "The Taste" so I want to get downstairs and watch that. (gee, I wonder if I could get the taste on a spoon of what we had tonight...that would be a challenge.)

JP is sleeping right now, he had the day off. Sooooo, my schedule changes quite a bit when he is home. Can I say, I enjoy my evenings when there is just me and Kylie. Well, you have a great day and I shall post again when something exciting happens...or not. Cheers ~ Louise

Comfort Food....Yummmmm!!

Hello everyone....how you all doing today??? Well, this is the last day of January, now where did this month go??? Onward and forward to February and possibly a bit of a warmer month???

In the midst of all this cold and snow and stuff, I made some "Comfort Food" today. Don't ask me why this is comfort, but it is something that was made alot when I was growing up. Mostly in my teen years, when my mother married into a Ukranian family. Not even sure what this is called....but I sure did like it, and now it tastes even better.

Umm....I will just call it "Fried Bacon and Hot Cabbage Slaw" So today, this is the way I made it: (I say today, because the recipe changes from time to time, but this is the basic recipe.
1 Tablespoon bacon grease (or fry some bacon and use that for this dish)
2/3 cup broken up pieces of bacon
1/2 head of shredded cabbage
1 small onion sliced (this can be optional)
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used the rest of my left over vegie marinara sauce)
1/4 cup of water

So I fried the bacon and grease in a Dutch Oven. When hot added the cabbage and onions and mixed with the bacon and grease. After the cabbage is cooked down a bit add the marinara sauce and water (you can also omit the marinara sauce and just do the bacon and cabbage alone and it is goooooood). Turn down the heat to simmer and cover. The heat from the dutch oven will keep the cabbage cooking. Ready to serve right away. It didn't take long to make cause I was dishing it up for JP's lunch in no time, along with fish and potatoes and a smoothie.

Boy this was a good recipe. Yummy and very comforting. I am not sure what the calorie content is, but it is good and filling. Well, I am going to close now and go finish my dishes. Tonight I am going to make some cards for my Etsy store....maybe a set of 6 birthday cards. Talk to you later and keep warm and cozy with some of your favorite comfort food. Cheers ~ Louise