Ohhhhhh Is Anyone There???

 Hi there everyone. Thought I would drop a line or two. Yes, I am still alive and kicking. As you can see by the dates on the pictures below, they are 5 years old, but they are Fall pictures, so I am using them today.

I have not been much into a blog mood, only because not much is happening in my life. Since JP's death, (1 year, 2-1/2 months) everyday just seems to blend into another. I have tried to get a lot done around the house, but sometimes I just find myself sleeping. I get plenty done in my mind, but my body does not cooperate.

Next month, 11/21 I will be 76 years old. WHERE did that time go to?? Never thought I would make it to this age.

Well, to update you all. I had my garage sale and made about $140.00 which did help in paying some bills. The sale was back in June. I thought I would have another one in July, August and possibly in September. But I decided not to. June was enough for me. I am still in the process of cleaning the garage and ridding myself of all the old garage sale stuff that did not sell. I gave "Good Will" 6 banana boxes of stuff already with 2-3 more boxes to go. 

I have decided I am NOT going to sell and move out of this house. And would like to stay here for as long as I can. To down-size, pack and move just sounds like too much stress and a hassle at this time in my life. I am not under pressure now, as I was even 6 months ago as I have made plans with the City to begin paying my property tax which will now keep me from foreclosure in two years. 

I have had a few other financial situations cleared up, so my future looks a little brighter, that's if this country does not go down the tubes with inflation, high gas and food prices and every other crisis that comes up. 

It has been hard to keep my nose above water these last couple of years what with the Pandemic, JP's sickness and death, trying to make ends meet has been a challenge. But God is Good, and He takes care of His own.

I had a really good garden this year with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, onions, dill and basil. I am in the midst of drying the dill and basil. I think the beans are done as it was my second planting. I brought in my green tomatoes, and they are ripening in a dish pan. 

My card making has been at a minimum lately, have lots of ideas, but seem to find other things to do. Cooking for myself is not fun. When JP was alive, I cooked much more, always trying something new and different. Now I just cook what is easy, fast or not so healthy. Hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, fries, steak, beans, broccoli, and corn. Chicken when I can and porkchops anything that can be made in the Air Fryer or microwave. My Air Fryer is my new friend.

My car has a gas line leak, so it has been sitting in the driveway this week. Monday, I have to take it to the service station, hopefully there is enough gas to get it there and has not all leaked out. Then the guy won't be able to work on it till the 20th, maybe sooner. Hopefully the bill will be affordable.

Well, I guess that is all for now, this was going to be a short blog, but I guess I am just too wordy. You all have a great rest of the month...I am sure it will go fast. The days are flying by, enjoy them while you have them. Keep looking up!!! Better days are a comin'. Louise

An Easy Cheesecake Recipe

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a great Saturday. Mine was quiet (except for one phone call), my only plans were to make this pie (below), make some pizza dough (and a pizza for dinner tonight) and do the dishes, that never seem to get done. I thought I would get downstairs to do some cards, but did not make it.

Another challenge for today was to call Directv and find out where I am to take their remotes, DVR and cords. If I keep them and don't send them in 22 days I will get charged. Please, am I not paying enough!?! Well, the guy I talked to, tried to give me a better deal then Spectrum. I said they already hooked me up, I am not going to change over, then have Directv re-hook me up again....come on now. Well, he would not let it go and said how about this deal.....NOOOOOO I said, stop pushing me!!! Gerrrrrrr I was getting mad. He finally stopped. I said all I want to do is return your product and not get charged for it. I can no longer pay $225 a month. Spectrum is $75 cheaper!!! Why do they push so hard???

Well anyways, here is the easy lemon cheesecake recipe. I think you could use instant Chocolate pudding mix, or Strawberry mix, or whatever you may want to use. Chocolate sounds good!!!

Instant Pudding No Bake Cheesecake

Soften 8 oz. cream cheese in microwave 30-45 seconds. Blend in 1/2 cup milk with cheese until smooth.

Add pudding mix and 1 1/2 cup milk to cream cheese mixture. Beat for 1 minute until smooth. Pour into a graham cracker crust and put in refrigerator till firm, 2-3 hours. So simple, oh but don't forget the whip cream....soooo good!!! I am afraid this pie will not last the weekend.

I made some more cut-out cookies the other day....using cream cheese and butter, almond extract and flour. They were so soft and the frosting pretty and sweet. Taking a picture now for my next blog post. Needless to say, there are not many left. 

Guess that is why I have so many dishes in the sink that never seem to get done, cooking too much. Well, I think I will cut this post short. Getting tired and want to watch some cooking shows then go to bed. You all have a great rest of the weekend and keep looking up, better days are coming, Cheers ~ Louise

And the Countdown Begins - 28 Days Till Christmas!!!!

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a good month. Can you believe, Christmas is right around the corner. 28 days and counting. Our days are flying by. Thought I would show you my Christmas tree from last year. It was up for 4 months and had 3 lives!!!! 

A Red, White and Blue Christmas and very patriotic. Love the glow of the blue. Put up in December, then changed over to......

A Valentine's Day Tree. I usually move the tree to this corner, after the village gets put away. Everything is red, of course. Then by the middle of  February, the tree turns Green for...….

You guessed it, St. Patrick's Day!!! But notice my red elf....he seems to like this tree and keeps watch all 4 months. Finally after March, I take the tree down....I have toyed with the idea of leaving the tree up for Easter....but I am finally tired of the tree, and away it goes, down stairs and packed away for another year.

This is Kylie....she was barking at me. She is blind and hard of hearing (sometimes) other times she can hear. She can hear me clap my hands and knows pretty much to follow me. She is going on 14 years...I thought we were going to lose her a couple of months ago, but she snapped out of what ever the problem was. I think the Vet thought she had cancer and was not giving her much of chance. I just changed her dog food and give her real hamburger and chicken with rice, chicken or beef broth and scrambled eggs. That's pretty much her diet, along with milk bones and special cuts as a snack.

I kind of thought I would not put the tree up...only because I have not felt like it.....but then, this could be Kylie's last Christmas.....maybe I need a few more pictures of her and her Christmas tree.

This is my snowman on the front door....guess it is time to put him up.....awww shucks, maybe I will repent and change my mind and put a few decorations up. I really need to get some cards done to send out....I am thinking of cutting my list down, and put a card up on my blog and facebook….wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hope everyone sees it. So many times I send a card out and NEVER receive one back....sort of tired of that. Is that the spirit of Christmas? I don't know, maybe I am the one with the problem.

Oh yeah....I finally, after 4 months got the money for a new/used stove. It will be delivered December 8th...I can hardly wait. I really miss putting something in the oven to bake. For the last 4 months I have been using a hot plate, George Foreman grill, crock pot, microwave and Nu-wave....which has worked. But so many recipes call for baking and I could not bake.

For Thanksgiving I made a turkey breast in the crock pot, bread pudding, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy and a pumpkin pie....in the microwave. Have you ever heard of a microwave pumpkin pie...it was pretty good. I shall give you the recipe in my next post.

Well, time to close here....tonight I have to make a few cards. Hospice meeting next Friday....so I better get cracking here. You all have a great rest of the month....see you in December. Keep looking up, better days are coming (I hope). Cheers ~ Louise

Mmmmm Strawberries

Hi there everyone. How are you doing today? All is well here....my strawberry plants are producing...oh my, I am in love. They are not the biggest in town....but they are good to the very last berry.

Yesterday, I saw a Robin enjoying him/herself....I wondered who the culprit was that was eating a few berries. Sitting on my porch, I found out who it was. Gosh, I had no idea that Robins ate anything other then worms!!!! Now I know.

You like my blue bowls? I picked then up at a garage sale...they also have covers. I can use them in the microwave for steaming vegetables and heating food....I shall have to try that soon. For now, they are good for my strawberries.

Nothing too much is going on today. I finally straightened out the garage yesterday, now it is an organized mess. LOL! Today I need to plant my Rose Moss, cucumbers and more zucchini in the front of the house. I will then have cucumbers and zucchini planted in 3 different places. One of those 3 places has GOT to produce some fruit for me this year. I have quite a bit of shade trees around my house, so it makes for some tough growing. I lost my apple trees....they did not get enough sun.

So, we shall see how things go this year. The plants in the front of the house will get sun pretty much all day....that's where the strawberries are. So if the strawberries are thriving....maybe the cucumbers and zucchini will too.

Well time to go do a few things around the house. You all have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Microwaved Potato Chips MMMMM Good!!!

I haven't added a recipe on my blog for a long time, so here is one I just tried tonight. I have no idea how many points it has for you Weight Watchers, calorie wise, there are 198 calories per serving and 220 mg. sodium, oh.....but they sure are good!!

I got the recipe for Jacques Pepin's cookbook "Simple and Healthy Cooking" on page 66, I shall attempt to type out all that Jacques said on this recipe.............here it goes.

Microwave Potato Chips with Salsa Cruda ~ yield: 6 servings

It is amazing how potato slices dry and brown in the microwave oven without the addition of any fat or salt. It is important to cut the potatoes into very thin slices in a food processor fitted with a slicer disc attachment or with a hand-held potato slicer. The only drawback to this recipe is that you can cook just 10-15 potato slices at a time (depending on your microwave's size).

To make larger batches of chips, lightly coat a large jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Arrange the slices in a single layer, without overlapping, and spray the surface of the slices. Bake the slices at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes, watching closely and removing slices as they become brown and crisp.

3 large potatoes (about 2 1/4 pounds), peeled
3 cups Salsa Cruda
(another recipe he has in his cookbook....for now, just open a jar of Salsa. I did not use salsa with my chips tonight and they were just fine the way they were. I did add some pop corn salt and spices).

Using either a slicing disc fitted on a food processor or a conventional potato slicer, cut the potatoes into 1/16" slices. Wash the slices in a large bowl of cool water and dry them thoroughly with paper towels.

Arrange some of the potatoes in 1 layer on a waffled microwave tray and microwave on high heat for 5 minutes, or until crisp. Remove. Repeat until the remaining potato slices are cooked. Serve with Salsa Cruda. (or your special jar of Salsa)

So there you have it, chips whenever you want them. I don't usually keep chips in the house, cause I can polish off a whole bag by myself..........(Chips are my temptation). Sometimes I have a taste for chips...........now I can make them and they taste really good!!!

Well, it is getting late so I shall close this blog for tonight. Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise