Prepping for Christmas

Hi there everyone. Been Missing in Action lately. Christmas is right around the corner. Just have to decorate the tree.....well, it's a little table top tree. Probably have had 15 years or more....but I manage to decorate it differently every year. Last year it was red, white and blue......this year maybe red and white lights then it will be good for Valentine's Day.

 This is a picture of my little tree from last year.....

 Above a picture of my village and manger scene from 2016. My village changes from year to year, because I place the houses in different places. This year I bought a scenery picture for the back ground, a snowman water tower and new fencing for the village. I like to buy something new every year. I will wait till after Christmas to get some 1/2 price stuff for the village. Gosh, I think I have had that manger scene for at least 25 years.....wow!

 In this picture above is the birthday card I made for my 3 year old great niece.....she is into Minnie Mouse. I saw a few Minnie Mouse cards on the Internet, this is what I came up with.

Thought I would add a few jars of my canned tomatoes. I had a bumper crop of tomatoes this summer. I dried tomatoes, froze tomatoes, canned tomatoes, ate tomatoes, made soup, sauce, BLT's. Yep, we had a tomato good year. I think this winter I will buy a couple bags of dried beans and can those also. I love my Power Pressure XL because it does so many things. Last night I made spare ribs, gosh they were good, cooked them in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes then under the broiler for 3 minutes.....sooooooooooo gooooooood!

So tonight, I will decorate my little tree and make some Christmas cards....just a little bit behind here. Don't know why, just don't feel like putting myself under more stress. I told JP all he was getting for Christmas was a $3.00 (maybe $5) gift certificate filled with quarters so he can buy a few apple juices at his work place. I gave him 3 Christian work books that I found while cleaning a file cabinet and gave those to him. I had the intentions of going through them myself, but never got "A Round To It." Maybe I will look for something that he can open on Christmas Day. He told me to go find myself something and use his SS check. Well, that won't be till after the 20th. So I better start thinking now......I am thinking of getting one of those "SodaStreams" so I can make seltzer water. JP goes through a lot of seltzer and I like it too. Will have to look into that. I really need a new radio that has better reception. I like to listen to Sean Hannity and Mark Levine and all I am hearing is a bunch of static.....uge, that drives me nuts!!!

Well, time to close here....thought I would post something before it got too late into the month of December. You all have a good night and keep looking up ~ better days are coming!!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Pork Spear Ribs....Yummy Good!!!

Hi there everyone.....how is your Wednesday going so far??? I guess I am caught in a "time warp." My mind is still in May. Look at that calendar......it says June 7th already!!! So far this week, we have been whacking at weeds....where did they all come from? I have also run out of mulch and we need to get some more in the next few weeks, guess that depends on finances too.

Our car needs to go in for some work. I decided that I am not going through another summer without air-conditioning. So we will have that fixed and also have the exhaust fixed.....it sounds like a race car. When JP comes home from work at 1:30am you can hear him from 2 blocks down.....geez the exhaust is loud!!!! So that will be next Tuesday that the car is going in for work.

Kylie has not been feeling well lately. The Vet wants to do a liver panel on her. That will be $55, so I guess that will be sometime this week or next. And JP....well, he has another appointment with the prostrate Doctor next Friday...they are calling it "active surveillance" as JP does have cancer, but does not want an operation. So the Doctor is watching it to make sure it does not grow or spread. Lovely.....

The only way to calm my spirit is by EATING!!!! I found a great way to make ribs in my Power Pressure XL....man these are good!!!

As you can see, I used cayenne red pepper, Hungarian Paprika, salt, brown sugar and oregano for the seasoning.

Rubbed the seasoning all over the ribs. Then put the ribs in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Let the steam build up, cook and let the steam out. Oh...I did pour a little bit of BBQ sauce on the ribs before cooking and after cooking too.

So here is the finished product.....looks pretty good...yes??? Good enough to eat!!!! I did stick the ribs under the broiler for about 5 minutes. This will most likely be on the menu more often, especially when I see ribs on sale. I will do the ribs on the grill to see how that works...probably delicious!!

I got a new addition to my stamping stuff a couple of weeks ago. A Personal Cricut for $30. It came with a carrying case, 4 cartridges, pens and needle for cutting and a new cutting mat. Such a deal, I could not pass it up. Since then, I have bought two new cartridges, banners and envelopes. I must remember to take some pictures of the Cricut.  Sooooo, I think that is what I will be working on this summer as it is cool in the basement and may be too hot for this old lady to be outside this summer. Ah....who knows what I will be doing......as the weeds never stop growing. I just know if the spring when this fast how much faster will summer go????

Well, time to close here, must got get breakfast...I think 2 soft boiled eggs with toast and strawberries is on the menu. Had that yesterday and it kept me full for most of the day.

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