April is Flying By

 That is for sure!!!! Hi there, everyone, how you all doing? Been awhile since I have been here, quite a few things have been happening and blogging never entered the mind of Louise!!!

This cool card was made at the Thompson Center. The technique is called "Sunburst" it is all in how you cut the strips of paper using a 6x6 pad of patterned paper. So fun.

Well, I have to go and get ready for card making at the Thompson Center today, I shall come back later to finish this blog.

Back again, 2 days later and a few more cards to show. This next card, the horse, was a stamp donated to Thompson Center. Sure glad I found it when I did and stamped a bunch of horses, cause now the stamp has disappeared...oh well, guess that happens.

Anyways, my great-niece likes horses and jumps them. So, for her birthdays I like to give her "horse birthday cards". Her brother is into guitars and drums, so that is what I look for, for him. My other great-nephew and niece, he is into hockey and fishing and the niece likes gymnastics and cheerleading. So, the hunt is to find stamps that represent what their likes are. I do love this horse though, so pretty.

This was a fun card to make, it is just strips of paper encircling a square, simple and easy. Made this card a couple of weeks ago.

The next two cards were made at Thompson Center on Tuesday. A "sunburst card" Fun way to make thank you cards, need to make a few more of these for a couple of people that have helped me with  projects around the house.

I love this card, probably it's the paper I like, again it's the sunburst card.

Well, my Chicago Blackhawks did not make the play-offs, nope, not this year or even next year probably. They are in a rebuild with lots of young players coming up the pipe-line and the older players getting treaded off to other teams. Will be sad to see them go, but at least they will have a chance to join a team that is chasing the Stanley Cup. Now we have to wait till August/September before the games start up again.

A neighbor has been helping me get the front yard cleaned up, had weeds growing all over the place, he cut them down, laid plastic down and then mulch. Planted a rose bush at one end and moved a big pot with dirt in the middle of the planter and put flowers in it. What a difference it made. He is going to work up the other side of the yard this weekend maybe. I bought a new peonie stand to keep from letting the peonies lean on the ground. Have to get out there today to set the stand up before the peonies get too big.

Since Jay's passing, exactly 2 years and 9 months today, there is just some stuff, I can't do alone anymore. John on the other side of the house, cuts my grass and shovels the snow. It was a mild winter this winter, but who knows what next winter will be like. Guess I will have to do what I can and hope for the best.

Well, I guess it is time to close this blog for today. You all have a great rest of April and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

What's New February???

Hi there everyone. This is crazy....blogspot still does things I do not understand. Oh well, least I can still type an intro....

Well, Valentine's Day is not far off....what, one week away??? The Valentine cards you see on my blog are from 2016...have not gotten downstairs to make new ones for quite awhile. I did send some cards to Hospice that I had laying around...time to clear things out.

I am thinking the cards above and below are cards I found on the internet and wanted to make, kinda cute aren't they??? I did duplicate the cards above, but can't find the cards or pictures. Must have given them to Hospice.

The card above looks like an easy one, I do have LOTS of eyes, should be an easy card to duplicate.

Now the next 3 cards I did make....in 2016. Really need to take some time to make cards, lately I have been too busy being a "Caregiver" for JP. He requires a lot of work to keep him going. My life sort of disappeared on the back burner of late. February have so far been very busy. Lots of nurses coming daily, Visiting Nurse, Physical Therapist, Speech Therapist, Doctor appointments, Walker/tub seat pick-ups at Easter Seals, Shopping, that was last week. 

This week will be the nurses coming again. Then JP has an appointment, as he will need surgery for a hernia, (not sure when the hernia surgery will be) a Covid test on Saturday and the following week, Upper esophagus and lower colonoscopy. (I am not looking forward to that one, AT ALL!!!!) So that means having him drink all that stuff, running to the bathroom and still do the catheter. Needless to say, he is NOT a very good patient!!!

I have a lot of paper work to sort through, and get taxes done by March 1st. Hopefully I can hold it together for the rest of this month. Another thing I am having to do is, catheter JP 3 times a day, oh and make sure he gets his meds and his food is soft and if meat, it is cut up in small pieces. When did I become a Nurse???

Looking at my calendar right now, I am counting 5 trips to the Doctors and Hospital. That is no easy chore, getting JP out of the house and into the car. A belt is wrapped around his chest, so I can catch him if he falls and get him into the car....what a chore, for him and me!!!

I think, getting downstairs will be my "get-a-way" place, cause he can't come downstairs, he might loose his balance and fall down the stairs....that is all I need. My Chicago Blackhawk games are a get-a-way too. Hopefully they will win lots of games....it is looking good for them this season, lots of young kids that are out to win the Stanley Cup!!!!

 Well, time to close here, hockey will be starting at 2pm and I need to get some lunch for JP. Breakfast was pancakes and jello for JP...gosh those were good pancakes....yummy. Lunch is Air Fry potatoes and chicken, (Thank you Biz, that Air Fryer has come in real handy...a life saver for cooking stuff for JP)

So, this is what's new in February, SO FAR. I suspect more is coming, hopefully the weather will cooperate also....pray for no snow on the days I have to take JP to the Doctor and Hospital visits. Have a great month, and if I have time, I might add another blog this month, if not, see you in March. Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming round the corner. Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers, Bunny, Curbs, and Hockey

Hi there everyone ~ how you all doing??? Well I thought I would try to get one more blog done in July....have been very negligent in my blogging this year...guess there's not a lot to write about during a quarantine. But, little by little things are getting back to normal, what ever that is?!?!? 

So, here are a few flowers growing in my garden...above is my new Walmart Hibiscus plant....so pretty!! It is in a pot, so hopefully I will be able to keep it for the winter in the front room window.

These are my purple clematis's, always so pretty to watch them grow. They are also growing by my front porch.

This is my choir of Bee Balm....aren't they pretty? It's either the flowers or leaves that tea can be made from....I will have to check that out on the internet. Yep....you can make tea with both the flowers and leaves. I will have to go out tomorrow and collect some flowers and make tea. Some of the benefits of Bee Balm, the tea has the capability to cure cold and flu, coughing, nasal problems, nausea, digestive problems, headache, vomiting and other common sicknesses. 

I wonder, do you think Bee Balm could cure Corona Virus???

A bunny in the back yard....he seemed pretty tamed, cause he didn't move to fast when I came up on him. Too interested in what he was eating I guess.

So on the 21st of this month the new curbs went in. We still cannot get out of our driveway though. We never got the memo that the curbs were being done, "park your car on the side street." So we sit, hopefully this week, things will change and I can get out to do some shopping. We are running low on a few things.

Oh YAYYYYY! Hockey is starting August 1st. This covid 19 sure did ruin a lot of lives. I can't imagine how it was for all these hockey players being quarantined and not be able to play the game they love and enjoy!!! I really missed hockey. But now it is coming back and hopefully the Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup. There will be 24 teams vying for the cup, I am praying for a good outcome. Least they made it to the playoffs...even if it was by default.

Well, I guess it is time to close this blog for a few days or weeks. It seems July was not to busy....which is fine with me. The weather has been really hot, running in the 90's and all I want to do is just keep cool. I found the basement is cooler, so I have spent some time down there. Although I should be spending time doing cards....rather watch TV. I better get cutting though, cause our first Hospice meeting since March will be meeting September 4th. 

Take care and keep looking up.....better days are coming. 
Cheers~ Louise 

I Miss You

Hi there everyone. Hope you are doing well. It's been a rough month so far....just too many things to expound about....hey, hey how do you like that word. (definition: explain).

So JP went to work today. He was supposed to get a Doctor's release first. He called the Doctor and it was sent to his place of work. He came home after a couple of hours and is to go to the office tomorrow. They have to ask some questions before he goes back to work. Hopefully he will be able to work for a couple of hours a day. We'll see what happens. His back is not bothering him anymore.

Today is Kylie's death date. It has been 8 months since she has been gone. Gosh, I still miss her. It's hard to believe she is still gone...still so fresh in my mind. Miss her barks and walks. I honestly think I have gained weight, at least walking with her kept me trim. Guess when winter is over, I shall have to take walks by myself.

Pinterest has so many pictures of dogs and the rainbow bridges with lots of poems. Sometimes I have to leave Pinterest because tears come to my eyes and I start crying for Kylie. She was so much a part of this home.

Well, my Chicago Blackhawks won their game tonight, 6-2 against the Sharks. The NHL maybe either cancelling the rest of the games played by the teams for the rest of this month or let them play BUT there will be no fans at the stadiums. I don't know, this coronavirus has gone a bit too far. 

Symtoms of the virus sounds like the colds we get during winter. Fever, cough and shortness of breath. The Hockey players have been told to drink plenty of water, wash their hands and don't touch their faces (they are VERY sweaty after games). I guess tomorrow the NHL will decide what will happen to the rest of this season. The Stanley Cup finals are supposed to start the second week of April and then last till June.
We got some really bad news today. We got our taxes done and we owe the Government $383....plus $200 to the accountant. First time we have had to pay in years, nothing has really changed...just don't know why we owe so much. I have to go to IRS.com and try to get a 120 day extension because we won't have that money by the 15th. I can do payments to the accountant. NEXT YEAR I am going to get our taxes done free, should have done that this year...live and learn I guess.  

Well, here is a picture of my Kylie....she was smiling at me while I took this picture. I only wish that rose was still blooming at the time and had not died.

Well time to close here, it's going on 2am, time to go to bed. Keep looking up better days are coming. I still believe!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

PS.....I never took my village down, it's still UP!!!! Maybe this weekend.

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

December Already??

Hi there everyone, how you all doing??? Can you believe it...December already, how did that happen? Guess I should start putting a few things up for Christmas. Well, I have this snowman on the front door so far. Put my Christmas finger tip towels up in the bathroom. Maybe I will pull out the Christmas tree tomorrow. I still have to do my Christmas cards yet. Don't know why I am so late ?!?!?!

Thinking I would like to make some Christmas cards like this one below. I did not make this card, but I can try to duplicate it. I guess I just like the pink and white colors, very soft looking. Wish I had that jolly snowman though, he is really cute.

So, the Hawks are playing the St. Louis Blues tonight. St Louis Blues are Stanley Cup Champions this year. So everyone wants to beat them, but then the St. Louis Blues want to beat all the other teams. Hope not tonight.

I called the plumber today, our toilet is not working properly. Plumber says it needs a new seal. We had this toilet installed in 2015....this is the 2nd time we have had to have it repaired. (Our last toilet lasted 24+yrs. with no problems). He will be here tomorrow. Gosh, I hope it is not too expensive, I am trying to get bills paid down, not add to them. Oh well, guess that is life.

I am going to cut this post short...the game is about to start in 10 minutes or so. When the game is over I will PS you the score at the end of this post. You all take care, see you later. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

PS. Hawks lost 4 to 0 not a happy game at all. I think the Hawks are in last place in the Central division. Gonna be a miracle for them to crawl out of the hole they got into. But nothing is impossible.

Saturday's

 Hi there everyone, been awhile since I last posted. 18 days to be exact....where does time go???? Don't you just love Saturday's?
I do, sometimes I wish everyday was Saturday, but then again, maybe not, probably would get tired of Saturday's.

Been busy this month....my birthday month. I am now legally 73 yrs old. How did that happen???? My mind still says I am maybe about 37 years old, but the body is not agreeing with my mind....lol.

Had a Doctor's appointment this past week. An annual check-up and blood tests. My A1C was 6.2..yay for that, Doctor cut my diabetes pills down, this is good, maybe someday I won't have to take any pills for diabetes. My Vitamin B-12 was a bit high, so instead of 1000g, down to 500g....okay, I can do that. Cholesterol was a bit high, so he wants me to work on my diet (so tired of dieting), and do a little bit more exercises. I guess I can do that. I miss my dog Kylie, cause we took walks everyday, she kept me busy everyday...since she has been gone, don't go for walks around the block any more. (Cute dog up above, sweet.) This house is so quiet without her too. 

Had to get my driver's licence renewed...that was sort of scary for me. Don't know why, but I just was not looking forward to that experience at all. $34.00 later, I was walking out the door an hour later....whew!!

Still working on the cookbook, been typing recipes into the Fundcraft program. We are at 135 recipes, working towards 200 recipes. We don't have far to go. Then, I need to organize the recipes and put them in the right dividers. We were trying for December to finish, but found out we had to be done collecting by the 15th of this month. We are going to try for January and hopefully have the cookbooks done by February. We'll see how that goes.

I thought I would add one of the recipes I entered into the cookbook. I actually made this tonight and it was REALLY GOOD!! It is called;
"One-Pot Spaghetti Dinner"
1 lb. lean ground beef(90% lean)
1 3/4 c. sliced fresh mushrooms(I used canned)
3 c. tomato juice
1 can(14 1/2oz)no salt-diced tomatoes 
1 can(8oz.)no salt-tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt(optional)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground allspice
1/8 tsp. ground mase(optional)(I had no mase)
6 oz. uncooked multi-grain spaghetti-broken in pieces
Fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese(optional)

1) In a dutch oven, or big pot, cook beef and mushrooms over medium heat and meat is no longer pink; drain if needed. Add tomato juice(I added the whole can), tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried onion, and seasonings.
2) Bring to a boil. Stir in the spaghetti. Simmer, covered 12-15 minutes or until the spaghetti is tender. If desired, serve with cheese on top.

Been busy watching my Hockey games. My Chicago Blackhawks are not doing that great right now...but I have high hopes. There is still 5 more months to play in the regular season and then the Stanley Cup Play-offs that will last till June. So there is still plenty of time for them to make it for the play-offs. I will let you know how they do.

Well, time to close, did not mean for this to be so long.....but, I get a little bit wordy sometimes. You all have a great week-end and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise 

My Favorite Sport 2 Watch

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good August. Well, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Thought it was about time to do something. No new pictures of cards or the gardens...been a little laxed in taking pictures. Guess I will have to get on the wagon again pretty soon.

I know this may not be an interesting post for you....but it is for me. I love hockey....maybe if more people would watch hockey there would be less problems in this world, it's an exciting game to watch and easy to follow. Just follow that puck and you get the idea of what the game is about. Baseball is so slow moving, football is pretty slow too....but hockey, man, down the ice and back, score a goal and hit a player so much action going on!!! Yeah, I like hockey best of all. 

I have been a fan 57 years. My first taste of Hockey was through my stepfather, he had season tickets to the Chicago Blackhawks in 1962.....back then there was Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Chico Maki, Moose Vasko, Reggie Fleming to name a few favorites. We went to every game for almost 6 years. Loved, loved loved the game.

My life changed a bit after I started Beauty School and then left home, getting my first job and an apartment. No more hockey games. Not even sure the games were on TV at that time....I kept track of the Hawks via the newspapers and such. I met JP in '71 and he was into stock car racing. I guess my interests changed and was into stock car racing till 1973 when JP and I got married and he retired from racing. Did I do that???

1976 we moved up to Ladysmith on our 20 acres and raised cows, chickens, ducks, rabbits, cats and dogs. I lost track of the Hawks. We had NO TV for 10 years.....how in the world I did that, I do not know. 1987 we moved to Appleton, but still no TV for awhile. Finally in '92 I got a TV with rabbit ears......nope, no Hockey yet. I missed being able to watch the Stanley Cup Finals 2010, 2013, 2015. FINALLY 2016 brought Hockey into my house!!!! FINALLY I could watch the Blackhawks again!!!!

      The above picture was taken off the TV, March 25, 2019. 

Yep....Fear the Feathers....I think this year will be the year that brings another Stanley Cup....I am hoping, that would be great. 4 Stanley Cups in 10 years. Would that make history for the Chicago Blackhawks!!!!???

This is a shot from the TV. It's an old picture. 2 of the players in this shot are on different teams. Panarin, a winger is with the NY Rangers now. and Hjalarson is with the Coyote's...he was a good Defense player. Hopefully with all the trades this season we will have a good defense again.

This is the Blackhawks hat I want to buy before the season starts....hopefully. Or if another hat catches my eye, I will buy that one.

So now I have had Directv and now Spectrum and I can now get Hockey on TV and if I can't get it on TV, I can get the games on the computer. There is a site that shows all the home and away games of the Blackhawks and those of the other teams. I have no excuses now. Of course I can spend $40+ to get hockey on TV and that would include home and away....not affordable at this time.

So there you have it....if you do not see many posts from me starting in September you will know I am somewhere out there in Hockey land. You all take care and keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Oh August.....Not Sure I am Liking You

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good month so far. Thought for this post I would put some funny signs up that tickled my funny bone when I saw them. Probably got them from Penterest and Facebook.

I suspect you are wondering why I chose the title above...right?!?!  So far this month, JP has been steadily losing hours at work, which means the pay checks are getting smaller. I could not pay our house taxes in full this July 31st....now we will get penalized. I have to go to the Court house to pay the rest....I am scared. I am hoping we have enough to pay the mortgage also....won't know that till Friday, when JP gets paid.

Our little schnauzer/poodle was having a problem, so I got her in for an emergency appointment Tuesday. Her annul glands were giving her trouble, so the vet expressed them, took some blood for Heartworm. Gave her meds for that and flee/tick meds and off we went. Kylie is feeling much better, thank you.

Sunday, I was cooking some chicken breasts on the stove and suddenly the stove started buzzing at me....what the??? The clock was not working and I was getting messages to "lock" then I found that the oven was not working. I was very perplexed. We pulled the plug to see if it would reboot its self.....no after about 5 minutes it started buzzing again. Oh what to do, what to do. 

Yesterday I went to the store where I bought the stove....I have only had the stove for 2 years and 4 months...so the warranty is over. I am not sure they can do anything, except sell me another stove. The guy said it sounded like the computer board was shot. Oh yay for me!!! If we could get it to the store ourselves, they could fix it for more $$$$. I am just not sure what I should do at this point. 

Guess I will let it sit and cook with my crock pot, oven-net, microwave, Nu-wave, grill more and maybe pick up a fry pan at the second hand store. I am even thinking of putting the stove on the street for the garbage men to take. Buy a second hand counter for more storage....maybe a pantry. Do I really need a stove??? Gosh, no more pies and casseroles (sad face). Will have to weigh all the pros and cons on this one.

Good news though, was talking to a friend on the phone tonight, she wants to gift me with her old vacuum. Yes, I said, the one I have is not very strong. She said the one she has is so strong it would probably suck up the dog....lol! It even has a hose to clean the cobwebs off the ceiling...yay for that I have a few. She has another vacuum that she likes better.

Another exciting thing that happened. I signed up to be a consultant for DoTerra Essential Oils. Yep, I will have my own website, where people can order from me there. So as I get more acclimated to the oils and website, I will try and link it up with my blog. 

I have been getting hot flashes lately...whew...hot, hot, hot and I have to wave a fan in front of me. The lady gave me some spearmint oil to apply to the back of my neck....BOOM the hot flash went away.

DoTerra has an oil and ointment for pain, it is called "Deep Blue". For the last couple of months I have been dealing with a "Sciatic nerve" problem. I have tried 5-6 different products for pain...nothing has touched it. Then "Deep Blue" came along and POW the pain has subsided. Well, this morning I woke up with the pain, could hardly get out of bed....I rubbed some "deep blue" on my butt. Made my way to the bathroom. By the time I was making breakfast....the sciatic pain was gone. Gosh that stuff works GOOD!

YES...I can hardly wait for the Hockey season to start...maybe this year the Chicago Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup!! Oh and another thing, we are one day closer to the return of Jesus for his Church....oh what a day that will be boys and girls!!!

So anyways...a few other things going on so far this month. I had my teeth cleaned today....they took x-rays, I have to wait till next week to find out if there were any cavities besides the ones I already have. But otherwise my next appointment won't be till February 11th...hope there is not a snow storm that day!!!

JP has some lab work to have done next Monday. Then Kylie has another appointment on Tuesday for an exam and shots. Wednesday I go to make cards at Betty's. Thursday, JP has an appointment with the foot Doctor...he has a few corns on his feet that cause him much pain. We tried some oils on his feet...has not worked yet as far as I can see. Looks like a busy week already...just hope the $$$ covers all the bills and extra appointments.

Well time to close, it is getting late, I want to go downstairs for awhile and maybe watch some TV. With JP home, it seems my schedule has changed a little bit. You all keep looking up....I am pretty sure better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

All Gave Some, Some Gave All

Hi there everyone. It's the Memorial Day Weekend.....where did May go??? I hope as you celebrate this day of Freedom, that you remember those that went before you. That died, that you might live in a land of Freedom from those that might destroy this great Nation. Some of those people are right in front of us. How scary to think that there are so many people living in this country that would rather live under Socialist and Sharia Laws. I sure do not understand the thinking of these people.

"All gave some, Some gave all" I just heard the announcer on NASCAR say that.  That's not my saying.

I thought I would post some Patriotic cards for this Memorial Day weekend. In this 1st card, it's a copy of someone else's, I am thinking I want to make about 10 of these cards for the Hospice meeting scheduled this Friday. I do have the red lines and some stars to add to the card. My card will most likely look much different then this one. I like the looks of this card, very clean....I will probably add my Happy 4th stamp.

I made these cards last year for Hospice.....I am always looking for new ideas.

Another copy of a 4th of July card. Looks easy peasey to make also. I need to Photo-copy this card and the first one so I can take it to my studio (in the basement) and make 4th of July cards.

Our weekend will mostly involve working in the front and back  yard. JP is pulling weeds for me in front of the porch.....my rose bushes were getting chocked out from the tall grasses growing. There is still a lot to pull. The rain from today made the weeds easier to pull. There is still so much to do. I guess I should not cry about what has yet to get done, but rejoice over the things that are done.

Our pond still needs to be cleaned out, I wanted to hear the trickle of water this weekend so I brought out a big red plastic container and put some water in it and the water fountain.........and Wa-La the sound of a water fountain trickling.

By my red park bench I have a little fountain that runs by solar. Picked that up at the plant sale for one dollar. It's really cute. I will take a picture tomorrow. Yesterday I was working in the garage, trying to straighten up a bit....how does one garage get so messy with just 2 people and 1 dog????

Anyways, some where's between all the working and sitting and trying to enjoy the day. on Saturday...the mosquitoes found me and bit up my arms and ankles....geez all I have been doing for the last 24 hours is itch and scratch. I took an allergy pill a few hours ago. Tried Noxema, Vick's Vapor rub, Absorbine and hot water (that feels good and very soothing.) See, I just put some Absorbine on my ankles and the itch stopped. YAY!!! I should be better tomorrow. I was reading the Vick's keeps the mosquitoes away....I need to try that tomorrow. A dab behind the ears, elbows and knees and where ever else bare skin is showing.

If it is a nice day tomorrow, I may cook on the grill. Well, time to close, it's almost 10:30 and the race is still going. Monday starts the Stanley Cup Finals the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins are playing......I am hoping Nashville wins, even though they beat the Blackhawks in the first round.....the Predators have never won a Stanley Cup, I am always for the underdog.

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

The Secret Stamper Image Revealing Party

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good Monday. My how the weekends fly by so fast. We look forward and in the twinkling of an eye...the weekend is gone......POOH...gone!!!!

So Saturday we were busy spreading red mulch in my little gardens. JP filled the wheel barrel with at least 16 loads in different places. I will take my time in spreading the mulch.....that would be the easy part, unless I get some new ideas for mulch in different places. Yeah, I do that sometimes.

Sunday I woke up pretty exhausted....from all my work on Saturday. But I did get rolling for church. I had dinner already cooked, so all I had to do was heat it up for JP before I left for the revealing party.

About 3:00 I got ready to leave and meet Betty for the ride into Neenah for the Secret Stamper Image Revealing Party. Lots of women were there....maybe about 15 or so. There is one man involved in this group, but he did not come. He lives too far.

So in the top picture, you can see the cards I made with the image sent to me and the cards I made with the image I sent. The lady that sent images to me is the first row of cards on the left and the lady I sent images to is the row on the right (you can not see a few of the cards because I cut them off in the picture.)

This was another batch of cards sitting on another table. As you can see, the images sent and received are so different....so much creativity overload!!!!

These cards were on the same table that the cards I made were on. I totally missed the table with extra images that people brought that they did not want. I took some of my images back, I can use them for Hospice cards. There was also a bulletin board full of cards too.....goodness it was amazing, all the cards.

Well, I signed up for another 6 months...May through October, maybe I will have a better 6 months, with no hitches. I did meet the lady that was sending me images. She was surprised that I did not receive April's images.....the images came today, a bit too late to make cards with. For some reason she thought the revealing party was in May.....duh! Nope, Renea emailed everyone a couple of times to remind them that the party was going to be April 23rd. I guess not everyone reads the MEMO.....oh well!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you....on our way home from the revealing party we stopped at Dairy Queen. We had a treat, a $1.00 root beer ice cream cone. Oh my gosh was that delicious....I must take JP there for an ice cream for sure!!! On my way home from Betty's I stopped at Pic n Save and bought a pizza and got one free and hamburger and buns and seltzer water.....oh and a loaf of bread for 29 cents and a free jar of peanut butter.....now that's good shopping....lol!

I am going to cut this post short...have to go walk Kylie, she missed her walk yesterday, I was sooooo tired!!! I will feed her and then maybe go spread a couple of piles of mulch before "Dancing with the Stars" starts. No hockey tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks are out of the running for the Stanley Cup. But it will be fun to see who wins the Cup. I will let you know.

Have a great evening and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Pizza & Hockey Tonight

Hi there everyone....whomever you may be?!?!?!? How was your Sunday? I missed church today, woke up with a slight sore throat and stuffiness. Decided not to go at the last minute. There is remodeling going on in the church and lots of dust flying around. Didn't care to have itchy eyes on top of not feeling that great.

Jimmy Swaggart Ministries is our Church affiliate, so I can watch the service at home and not miss anything. I sure do wish I could go to a service sometime, but they are down in Baton Rouge, LA and we are up here in Appleton, WI. That's kind of a long way to go to church.

So, today was the beginning of the racing season, Daytona 500 kicks off the season. JP likes racing, as he used to be a stock car racer back in his younger days. He probably could have made  NASCAR but you need lots of $$$ to back you and that was something we had very little of.  Racing ended about 5:30. I walked Kylie, we came home and I put this pizza together. Homemade crust with bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach and cheese. Oh yum this was a perfect pizza and the crust was perfectly thin and crusty.

So here is the pizza before it was baked.....it came out of the oven just in time for the Hockey game that started at 6:30pm. In this picture you see we are in the 3rd period and the score is 2-2. (this was when I decided to take a picture or two of the game, had to turn off the flash, otherwise there would have been the glare of the flash)

Pizza time....almost forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Gosh, this was a really good pizza....wonder if I will ever be able to duplicate this one?????

Another picture....the Hawks won the game....4-2 in the last couple of minutes of play, PLUS they scored in an open net cause the Blues took their goalie out of the net....sad for them....good for us!!!! The Hawks, so far have won 39 games and lost 23. We still have all of March, plus 4 games in April. Then the Play-offs for the Stanley Cup begin. This season sure is going by fast....before you know it, Baseball will be starting!!!!

Good thing we have sports......takes the mind off politics!!!!! I am not much of a Baseball fan, but I sure did enjoy watching the Cubs win the World Series ~ finally!!!!

For this next week....JP has a Doctor's appointment tomorrow, guess we will be talking about his Prostrate with the Doctor and whether or not he will have surgery.

I still need to finish our income tax and take them into the accountant next Monday. Be glad when that is finished. It's like a black cloud hangs over me till I get that stuff done.

Hospice meeting is next Friday, I have the cards done and now just need to put the inserts in. All doable things that can get done in a few days if I stick to it and get it done.

I have some bills that need to be paid this week, so hopefully the weather will be agreeable too. Well, you all have a great week and keep looking up~~~~better days are here to enjoy, now!!!

Cheers ~ Louise