"The Day's Dwindle Down, to a Precious Few.....September, November..."

Hi there everyone....yep, the days sure do dwindle down to a precious few.....these were my first thoughts when I started this blog.....where in the world did this awful year go to....so fast and so many changes!!! Hope 2021 is a little bit better then this year has been.

I like this scripture, probably a favorite of mine, although this is NOT King James, not sure what version. King James reads. "Cast all your care upon Him for He careth for you". When JP and I were involved in a bus ministry at our old church in Ladysmith, Wi. 

I would make pictures on poster board with the scripture for that Sunday morning which the Children's Pastor had given me. Was usually Saturday night. So there I was, coming up with an idea (always asking God first) for a scripture idea every week. Sunday morning, I would tape the poster in front of the bus for the kids to see, they usually had it memorized before they got off the bus. And the kids were prepared for Children's church, learning what God had for them that day.

Wish I had taken a picture of it. It was a little girl falling into the Hands of God, shall never forget that picture and this scripture that went along with it. I can still see it in my mind's eye. Guess that must have been a God thing for that season of my life.

Here are a few Fall cards. The ones above were made in 2017. I was still involved with the Secret Stamper group. My secret stamper lady made the card on the left. I made the card on the right. I used one of my images, sending her 12 images of the oak leaf. Neat how two people can come up with two different ideas using one image.   

Now the card above was made this year, 2020. Same oak leaf but another way to use it. I am thinking this is a card I made for my secret stamper. I no longer have her card, as I donated it to Hospice. Oh well, that be life, I guess.

Aren't these pretty mums??? Bought these 3 years ago. probably will not buy any this year, not unless some extra money lands in my hands. JP and I celebrated our 47th anniversary, August 27th. I bought a dozen roses for $6....they are still going strong today. Still so pretty.

Well, I guess that is it for now. Maybe in my next blog I will tell you how our 47th Wedding Anniversary went. Our street is almost done, but my car is still parked on the street, as we cannot get into our drive. Be glad when all this road work is done and at least things are normal for awhile....whatever normal is.

I have my crock pot going right now, pork roast with onions and sliced apples. Mmmmm I can smell it already, should be ready in about two hours. Going to make mashed potatoes and gravy and maybe corn bread for a treat. Sounds like a fall meal and good too!!!

Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming.....I am sure of it. Cheers ~ Louise

February ~ What's UP!!!

Hi there everyone. Wow....February and what's up??? Thought I would add another picture of the peony stamp I bought from Altenew. This one looks like it might be a water color rendition of the peony. Looks like fun. I do have the die cut that goes along with this stamp. So most definitely I will have to try this effect.

Started working on my income tax....first I have to go through the files, cleaning everything from 2017 out and start the year fresh....out with the old and in with the new I always say!!! (and I have a lot of OLD to throw out ~ upstairs, downstairs and in the garage.) Maybe 2018 will be my "throw out the junk year." After living in this house for almost 27 years, we have a lot of old to throw out, no doubt.

Otherwise, it looks like February will be quiet....for now. I really need to get some cards made.....looks like Valentines day is coming up soon, an anniversary and birthday at the beginning of March. 

Hospice meeting March 2nd....things might be a bit easier this month. As I finally made labels to place in the cards rather then the regular inserts. So if there happens to be a card with a saying inside, rather then take it out and replace with the Hospice insert, I can just place a label at the bottom of the saying. This might save some time, making life easier.

Well, think I will close here for now....it's 12:03am....time to go to bed. You all take care and keep looking up....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

42 Years & Counting

Hi there everyone....how is your day going? Today we celebrated 42 years of marriage. We did not do anything....nope, not this time around. Guess I am not in a celebrating mood. I thought I was going to buy a cake at Walmart, but decided not to. I have not even made a card, what's up with that????

I guess it is mostly because I am facing hernia surgery next week and tomorrow I have to have a CT scan....so maybe my heart is not in this right now. Maybe after the surgery and recovery I can think about doing something special.

Here is a picture of JP and I at "Red Lobster" (thus the bibs) celebrating our 37th anniversary in 2010. The waitress took this picture of us....looks like happy times to me. Oh and the food was delicious too. No, don't remember what it was.

This picture was taken at Christmas time, looks like Kylie is pretty young there and maybe I was still working as a merchandiser, my last year of working was 2010. So maybe this picture was taken in 2006 or '07.

This picture was taken maybe about 3 years ago (2012) there abouts. Not sure if it was around one of our anniversaries or not....just one of the few times we went on a boat for a fun day.

Ummmm.....guess we don't take a lot of pictures of ourselves, as you can see. Too bad I did not date these pictures...my camera now dates pictures I take....but not then.

Well, I guess that is about it for now.....I have to get ready to make JP's dinner and maybe make a fast card. I need to go to bed soon
because I have to get up early to leave for the hospital tomorrow morning about 6:15am....uge, I am not an early rising person, so this will be tough. If you think about me tomorrow morning and on September 3rd, I would appreciate your prayers.

Have a great day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

An Anniversary and Flowers.........

Hi there everyone. Well, it is Labor Day Weekend. Where art thou oh Summer???? The days are going way to fast, I believe we just had Spring???? Is that right??? Now I know what my mother meant when she said not to wish my life away because it will go fast enough. Just like these flowers, they bloom one day and POOF they are shriveled up and gone the next. Except for the "black eyed susan" in the 3rd picture. They last for at least 5-6 weeks which is fine by me. I really love them.

So Wednesday we celebrated 41 years of marriage, it came and went with not too much excitement. I bought myself some white lilies at Festival for $2.98....I love their smell. Which reminds me, I should take a picture of them before they poop out. Bought JP a pair of work jeans and a blue T-shirt. Made a card and we had chocolate cake and ice cream.

We were going to go out to eat last night at "Little Chicago" but JP was having so many arm pains I said "forget it, we'll stay home" and eat. So I went to Festival and got a piece of "prime rib", fish, mashed potatoes and chicken wings at the deli. Then I bought some mushrooms to go with the prime rib. Made a salad and we sat down to a pretty nice meal that didn't take long to make. I still had dishes to do though....oh well, good food always comes with dishes that must be done. PS...JP"s arm pains have subsided today. My diagnosis? He gets worked up about something, it's like anxiety attacks, he says they come from Satan...I say go to a Doctor, he says, "yeah, right, they don't know anything". So we go back and forth with this and it DRIVES me crazy and him too. It's just a short putt for both of us.

I am thinking I will buy another piece of prime rib again. I cooked it for 3 minutes on each side while sautéing mushrooms with the meat, then poured the au jus over the top, oh my that was a wonderful "slice of heaven". Yes, I will do that again.

So here is a shot of my two hibiscus's, I bought these plants maybe 5 years ago. Had planted one of them in the ground and it did not take too well. The other plant I thought had died, but it seemed to resurrect itself. They both had a rough start. So this year is the first year they both bloomed, and I couldn't have been more happy....least I know they both survived a rough upbringing. I keep them in the house through winter. Then bring them out in the spring.

This is a close up of my black eyed susan. They seem to pop up where ever they like and volunteer their time in my flower garden every year. I tried to get some seeds going in the back yard but they just don't seem to get it....the front yard is where they like to grow.

Well time to close and maybe go over to my other blog and write something, maybe about beets. You have a great day and a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. If you would like to visit me at me other blog the address is: cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com
Cheers ~ Louise

What's Moo With Yoo?

Hi Everyone, hope your day went well. It's Friday, and Saturday and Sunday are coming. Funny how we all look forward to the weekend. It's goes so fast and then we are back to Monday in a blink of an eye!!! Highly over-rated, I think. Not sure what we will be doing. Thought we would take a day-road trip someplace, or maybe next Saturday.

JP and I celebrate our 40th wedding Anniversary on the 27th......no plans for a big party, as we are not the "party kind of people." We didn't even plan a wedding, got married by a Judge at Chicago's City Hall at 11am on Friday, August 27, 1973 (JP was racing at the time and could not take time off to get married). Then at 3pm we were signing papers for the closing of our house at 2525 Greenwood Ct. in Arlington Heights, IL. We were there for 3 years then moved to Wisconsin. That little house is no longer there, as it got torn down, and someone else made alot of $$$ on that acre of land and it wasn't us. But, we have been happy in Wisconsin and probably will not go back to Illinois. We've been in our little house for 22 years.....roots are planted deep like some of the trees around us.

Well, here you see my "cow" card. Picked up this stamp at a thrift store for $1.49. I think I made a really good purchase here. Just listed this card in my Etsy store tonight. So far, at least 5 people have favored it.....no sales as yet. Made 8 cow cards. Already gave one as a thank you and another card will go for a thank you also. Listed this card on Etsy and another card will go to my Secret Stamper. Maybe one for Hospice and one for another friend....huh, think that leaves 2 cards left, my they go fast.

So the inside of the card says, "What's Moo with Yoo?" As I did not have a stamp, decided to just print it on the inside of the card....looks good to me....why do I always think I need a stamp, when I can print whatever I want. Years ago I took up calligraphy.....guess it helped in more ways then not.

Well, I think I will close for now.....I have a few things to do before JP gets home from work. He will have left over stew, salad and fruit salad. In my next blog, I am going to give you a really neat recipe. "Fruit Strussel Coffee Cake" Need to take a picture of the finished product. I am using my apples from my apple tree, of which I am so excited about. Will tell you more later. Stay tuned.

You all have a great weekend and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

Refurbishing 40 Year Old Furniture



Hi Everyone....well, as usual I am having troubles with blogspot on IE. So off I went to Google Chrome. Honestly, why does there always have to be kinks in everything I try to accomplish.....to work patience in my life??? Geez, enough already!!!!!!

I had a nice week end...finally decided to paint some old chairs I have had for over 40 years....was not thinking when I took them apart....should have taken a picture...before and after. Well, here is a partial before picture. Not sure when I reupholstered the chairs....maybe 30 years ago, I am thinking this is the original paint job. So I decided to spray paint them mat black. Spray painting the pink rose came after I had sprayed them both black. Sweet inspiration.

Here I have both seats taken off and in the midst of spray painting one chair and starting the next one.

Added the pink to the chair....I really like the look....so classy....what do you think??? I ran out of paint. So we jumped in the car and took a ride to Walmart. Bought 3 more cans at 97 cents a can....Hey big spender!!!! But at least I had enough to finish the chairs and do touch up. AND maybe possibly another item if need be....whatever that may be.

Here are the two chairs.......finished. Ah....it feels good to accomplish something. I have all these ideas swimming in the head that I want to do.......but sometimes money and time do not coordinate with each other.

Here are the chairs on the front porch....finished and ready to go. Thought today we would eat on the front porch.....hamburgers and french fries....but we did not make it. Well, there still is maybe another month or so of dinning on the front porch. I want to get a new table cloth....maybe just a plain pink one....this one looks a  little busy with the chairs and all. Time for a change.

One of my other projects was to stain the porch floor, but I did not get to that project......aw...maybe next year. That is what I have been saying for the last couple of years. 

Well, time to close for today. Nothing much going this week. JP and I are going to celebrate our 40th anniversary. We might take a week end trip to Algoma...we'll see.
Cheers to you all and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Louise

A Few New Cards Added to Etsy

Hi everyone........not sure how many that is, but hope you are all having a wonderful Saturday.....so much to do, so little time. Been watching some cooking shows on TV this morning and now I am ready to cook. My direction is towards tomatoes and peppers. Received a great surprise early this morning, JP came home with a big box of tomatoes and peppers from work. On one of the cooking shows, Lydia from Italy made "stuffed tomatoes" gonna try this one today for dinner, I have some big peppers in the frig, so I need to stuff them too. Made a big pot of rice and added some little sausages to that rice. Deydrated some peppers and tomatoes and will make some salsa also.

Was reading on another blog that today is "World Make a Card Day". Well for sure I will be making my Christmas cards tonight, but thought I would add come cards already made to this blog. Hope you like them.

The above card "Happy Anniversary with the two doves" was made a couple of weeks ago and just added it to my Etsy store a couple of days ago. (the card is $3.00 + shipping and postage) It was basically easy to put together. Using Wabashi taped on the card and the 3 silver hearts were punched out and glued on top of the tape. A border punch at the top for added pzazz. The doves were from  an Amuse die set, using the frame from the die cut and dabbing with pink ink to get the affect I wanted. The inside of the card says "Thinking of you on this Special Day"

This is my "The Flying Duck 1" card which I just added to my Etsy store last night the card  is priced  for  $3.00 + shipping and postage. A very fun card to make using a flying duck templates and stamping a scenery stamp on top then dabbing ink around the duck to fill in. A scripture verse added and the lines drawn in and studs added to embellish. 

I added this Christmas decoration along with a few other decorations to Etsy this past week. Little round disks punched out and folded to form the horn like sections then dabbed with gold speckles. Each section is glued together to form the wreath, Peace is calligraphied and speckled and the tree added for embellishment. This ornament can be added to your tree, on a present, on the door where ever you want to display this lovely ornament. The price is $7.00 + shipping and postage.

I have not added this card to Etsy as yet........it's a very fall looking card and looks like the duck is flying into fire or a sunset or sunrise. You can see the scenery stamp pretty clear here. Done pretty much the same way as the above duck card only adding squiggly lines. This card will also be $3.00 + shipping and postage.

As this post has gotten pretty long, I think I will close here for the day. You all take care and enjoy your Saturday and Sunday and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

39 Years of Marriage - 100 Mile Challenge

 The 100 Mile Challenge..........this was the odometer reading the beginning of this week. When I first started this challenge the odometer read 2,506.1. I now have about 14 miles more to go.........probably will keep going and see how far I get to the end of this month. Turned up the tension about 9 notches so it has been a bit of a challenge the last couple of rides....but I shall keep it at this level till it starts to feel easier for me, then turn the tension up a notch or two down the road a bit.



 Here is my lovely new Pink Hibiscus. Bought her at Shopko a couple of weeks ago and paid $5.00. This past week I transplanted her into this white urn. Hopefully she will enjoy her new home during the winter months. She has a few more blooms that will probably open up in a few days. Below you will see a close  up of her, pretty huh? No, I have not named her as yet.....do you have any ideas???

 On Monday JP and I will be celebrating our 39th wedding anniversary. JP got the day off from work. So, we will just "play for a day". I think we might go to the "Outback" on College Ave. Get the special "a 4 course meal for $15 a person" if there are any left-overs, which there probably will be, we will have another meal or two for later on. Haven't decided what else we'll do, maybe hit an antique store or two. We like to check out prices of things we have ourselves. One of these days, we will sell a few things, but I like the antiques I have and find it hard to part with them.

Another thing I would like to do is sit by some body of water.......that is very relaxing to me, would love to stick my feet in some water. Maybe find a light house and take some pictures. Hummm, guess that would be Kimberly Point in Neenah..............here we come!!!!

Finally got an appointment at EyeMart. Guess what, my old glasses were actually too strong for me, I found myself squinting quite abit and having to take my glasses off so I could see up close....bifocals just were not working..............Now I can see!!! Being pre-diabetic, eyes need to be checked once a year. Guess when the last time I had my eyes checked, are you sitting down??? Ready? 2001, yep that is right!! Now with having medicare maybe I can keep up with these eye exames. Next eye appointment will be for JP, I think his last time was about 6 years ago. His glasses have broken quite a few times and have been glued back together. Time for new ones.

Speaking of JP, he is now going to a chiropractor. Something we thought we would never experience, but it seems his arm pains are connected to the neck. JP had x-rays taken and Dr. Matt could see right away what the problems was. We should have gone to him in the first place, but who knew??? Dr. Matt said at least with all the tests done, the heart, stomach and a few other things could be ruled out. And now, at least we know from where the problem is coming from. Now hopefully with the manipulations on his neck will help. He has had less pains then he had, so that is a plus. JP used to drive race cars and got jolted around alot, probably had whiplash a couple of times. Sooooo, in his old age he is now paying for things he did in his youth.

Well, it is time to close this blog for a while, you all keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

PS.........how do you like my new look on my blog.....felt I needed a change, like buying a new top or a pair of shoes, maybe even a purse!!! Happy Days!!!

Some New Cards for My Etsy Store



Made a card like this and gave it to someone who gave me a bunch of vegetables. I liked the card so much, made another one. I actually had this stamp set for over a year and never used it for anything. As the lady gave me some vegies, thought it apropos to giving her "My Vegie Card" Was fun to do and very easy. Lots of stamping and some coloring with copic markers. I am putting this card in my Etsy store today and will probably sell it for $3.75 + shipping and postage as it is a larger card measuring 6.00" x 4.75" and will come with an envelope.



A pretty little Thank You. Dandelions embellished with liquid pearls, a bow and butterfly. The inside of the card will be left blank so you can write your "thanks". The card measures 5.50"x4.25 and will come with an envelope. Price of the card will be $3.00 + shipping and postage.

Butterflies and buttons Happy Anniversary card. This card measures 5.50" x 4.25" and will come with an envelope. I can leave this card blank, but can stamp it with a lovely verse blessing this special day. The card will go for $3.00 + shipping and postage.

"If you close your eyes while eating, the Calories Never Count ". This card was alot of fun to make and just sort of evolved into what it is. First I colored the picture, then placed it on the blue cardstock then layering it on a card and flowered paper. embellishments are the butterflies and sticker brads. The card is priced at $3.75 + shipping and postage and measures 6.00" x 4.75" and will come with an envelope.

To get to my Etsy store just follow the link to the left of this post or you can go to: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com

So there you have it, four new cards that will be in my Etsy shop in the next few days. Remember, you saw them here first. (except for the above card as it is already in my etsy store). You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh. Cheers to you all ~ Louise

♥A Very Vintage Looking Card♥

Isn't this a pretty card.......wouldn't mind someone sending a card like this to me, I really like it. JP and I went on a date Saturday and I found these reproduced vintage replica cards - 9 postcards for $.50 and thought they would make a nice card. Needed to send an anniversary card and put this one together last night......yep, think I will make some more like these. Simple to make and put together for one of those quicky cards, yet very elegant and that needs to go out by the next day. I ran off a couple of cards on my printer, soooooo can make lots of them. The postcards are not a "copywrite" so it is legal for me to copy.

Going to add a few cards to my Etsy store today after I finish this blog....more St. Patrick Day cards. Another 4 card set for $10 + postage (just $2.50 for each card - a special for St. Patty's day) Check out my store at http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ Had a good start for the year, having 3 Etsy sales......hope that is a good sign for the rest of the year. My husband said it takes a good 5 years to get a business going, been on Etsy since 2008..........this is my 5th year, I hope he is right. Hope, hope, hope!!!!

Well, I need to close this blog for today and go on to Etsy. Then, get working on my income tax.....uge! I have till March 2nd to put it all together. Our accountant likes that I organize everything so he just has to look at it and zip, zip, zip it is all finished. We are hoping to get some money back as JP's car broke down and we could not get it fixed, needed too much work. So now we are down to just one car and that puts quite a kink into my schedule. If I have shopping to do, I need to be home in time for JP to go to work....not fun!

Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!

Cheers ~ Louise

My December Special on Etsy

So, I just put these cards in my Etsy store today. A special deal if I have to say so myself. A set of 12 cards priced at $21.00 + postage and shipping will bring the price to $24.50. I usually sell my cards for $3 a piece so I am selling these cards in this set for $1.75 a piece. My inventory has gotten so large, thought I could do this as a special for December. Maybe this will be "Special" for every month in 2012.....just to keep the Post Office busy with cards and letters in the mail.

Please check out my etsy store at: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com.

This is a pretty short blog for today, have to go do some decorating of the house. My Christmas cards are in the mail, as a matter of fact, just recieved the card today that I sent JP and the dogs. After decorating the house I can think about baking. I have only one gift to send in the mail to Pops in Las Vegas. Not sure what I will send yet, maybe zuchinni bread and cookies and a crossword puzzel. Well, I shall close this blog as it is acting really silly today so you keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

A Relaxing (Busy) Anniversary Week-end

Saturday's Morning Glory Flower♥

I thought this was a very pretty morning glory showing it's true colors.....lovely isn't it? We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. Not exstravagantly, but within our means. Friday was a trip to Neenah, buy a sub at Subway ($14) and sat by Kimberly Point and watched the water, and things around us, was a beautiful day. Even got on a swing for a little while.

Saturday off to the Share program and Festival foods for a $7 box (included lots of goodies, toilet paper, styrofoam plates, juices, candy bars, noodles, sauce, cake mix to name a few) and food at share and order for next month. For our afternoon excursion we went to Krieger Jewelers and pawned JP's school ring, my siam silver and a bronze medalion from 1934. Pay back was $160. I think I will look through my jewelery box and see what else I can find. Found out the ring we bought last year at a pawn shop was worth $599-$799 new...............that was nice to know. Not sure what it is worth now....maybe not as much.

Went to Sam's club to pay a bill and buy some peanut butter and lettuce, tried some samples then off to StevieB's for a pizza buffet........that was good, had salad and about 5 different kinds of pizza. Onions/pepper, Philly/steak, Hamberger/beacon, Taco, BLT.........was very good but filling! Then we went home and I fell asleep for a couple of hours. ($14)

Sunday was Church. After Church we went home, let the dogs out then went out to eat at the Wisconsin Ave diner. JP had pearch and I had a Senior Hamberger, fries and salad. Then we both had ice-cream cones. ($18) We then went to an Estate sale.....nice stuff, got a new bretta water pitcher for $1.50 and some ceramic easter eggs that should have been 1.75, but I think I got everything for $1.75. Went home, got the dogs and went to the Golden Goat and turned in aluminum cans at 60 cents a lb. that was the highest we had ever seen..........so we got $3.12 for 3 boxes of cans....not bad. Then off to KK to the antique shop to try and sell some stuff............maybe awhile before we ear anything. I am selling two hand blown candle holders with candles for $30, JP took two things priced at $14. Every little bit helps......we are trying to get some money together to get our roof patched up so it does not leak.....before the winter, hopefully.

Well, after this busy weekend, we went home and we both zonked out and slept till 8pm....whew that was a busy afternoon and the end of a busy weekend!!!!!!

Somethings we shall do again............1. Go to Kimberly point for a picnic and take the dogs with. 2. Go back to StevieBs. 3. Go to the Antique store to see if our stuff sold. 4. Go through my jewelery and see if I have any gold and silver to pawn. 5. We shall go back to Wisconsin Ave Diner, cause the food is good.....but only if we have a $3 off coupon....it's the only way to go.

Well, time to close..........may not blog till September.......so have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Our Anniversary Weekend♥

Well.........38 years ago on the 27th we were married by the Justis of Peace at City Hall in Chicago. Not the the most beautiful place to get married but it was what JP wanted. He just could not take time out from racing to get married in a church. So, at 11:00 am on a Saturday we were married and at 3:00 pm we were signing the papers on the closing of our house. By the afternoon we were moving into our little house in Arlington Heights. I had put my foot down, and told JP I would not move into that house until we were married. We lived together for 2 1/2 years before getting married. If I had it to do over again......no, I would not live with someone before being married, some how the beauty of marriage is destroyed, it just is not the same after marriage.

Lighthouse on the point...........our excursion to Neenah.
A visitor dropping in to see if we dropped some food or............would throw some to him/her.

♥

JP took the day off today from work, so we did some errands, then went to Neenah, bought a subway and went and had lunch at Kimberly Point by the lighthouse. We have decided to do this again and maybe just pack a lunch and take the dogs for an afternoon "break away" we really need to learn how to kick back and enjoy..............................♥

Tomorrow the 27th, we'll go out for lunch at Stevie B's, and a steak in the evening some place....not sure as yet where we are going. That is another post I guess.


Well, I guess I will close this blog for tonight and continue on tomorrow. Pray God will keep those in the path of "Hurricane Irene" safe and not many lives will be lost.................Be safe people on the east coast.


Louise

♥37 Years of Marriage and My 1st Wedding Ring♥

Yep, that's right, you are reading the title right!!!!! It was our 37th Wedding Anniversary on Friday. This was the first time ever that JP bought me a ring....and a wedding ring at that. As you can see there are 3 rings, the pinkie ring is my mother's which I inherited, the middle fingered ring is a ring I bought at Kohls maybe about 15 years ago and that lovely ring in the middle is my new wedding ring. Can you imagine it was in JP's budget too. The pawn broker said to take it to a Jeweler for an appraisal, you might be surprised at how much it is worth......I shall do that.

FOOT NOTE TO THE READER........Now you might ask, why was JP buying me a wedding ring now, after all these years? When JP and I got married (by the Justice of Peace in Chicago in 1973) I had to buy my own ring, cause he didn't have time to look and/or buy a ring for me cause he was in the midst of racing and just could not take time off. He just did not have time to get married and a marriage licence, he felt, was not that important. It was to me though. He thought we could live together forever, but we had found a house and I said "I will not move into that house unless we are married". So he repented and we got married at 11am August 27th, signed the papers to the house at 3pm and moved into our little house in Arlington Heights, Illinois by the late afternoon.

So here we are in August 27, 2010 and JP is buying me a ring for our 37th wedding anniversary and we are beginning the hunt.

We went to a couple of pawn shops, and a jewelery store. At the first pawn shop, there were at least 5 large cases of rings to choose from, found a couple of rings but they were way out of JP's budget. He had saved $90 and had an extra $10 to top it off. Many of the rings were $200, $300, 4 and 500 all the way up to 1k or more. The salesman showed us the 50% off rings and the 30% off rings.....I would pick a ring and he would take it out, one ring at a time. Finally came up with 3 rings I liked. Then I had it narrowed down to one ring which was $149.00 ~ just a little over JP's budget, oh gosh but did I like it. We ended up not buying it, we left that store to go to another, thinking we would come back.

We were told to go to a jewelery store where they sell estate rings. So we tried there, didn't really see anything I liked, really didn't know what I was looking for, but you know......when you see what you like, you will know that is the one. It will yell out your name and say "I am the one ~ buy me"!!!!!! The saleslady then took us to some "NEW" wedding rings (gosh, I just knew they would be out of JP's budget for sure) Well, wouldn't you know it, I found the perfect ring, it was gorgeous and fit perfectly......but alas..... it's sale price was $2,800.00.....just out of curiosity I asked if there were any discounts and she calculated and came down to a whopping 2K. Gosh I liked that ring alot. We left there, I was alittle bummed, cause I really liked that ring (LOL)

We decided that Saturday we would go looking again, I had to go to the Share program and would stop at "Mr Money" on the way back home. This was a little-er pawn shop....with one case of rings, there the lady showed me the rings one and two at a time.....till finally I said, show me rings for $100, then she started bringing rings out and telling me what she could give them to me for.....then I spied this ring you see at the top of this page......tried it on and said.....this is the one. They were asking $149 but could come down to $110....I said I would bring back my husband.

To make the long story short, we bought the ring.....cause it was calling my name. Plus it just looked like it belonged on my hand.......don't you think???? We ended up paying $120 for the ring and that was including tax, I think we got a good deal, and both JP and I are happy and HE FINALLY BOUGHT ME A RING!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a "glad day" all day going out to eat at Red Lobster then shopping around for a ring, nice date, here is a picture of JP and I. Hope your days are glad too!!! Louise

ANOTHER FOOT NOTE......I had an extra $20 to add to the total cost of the ring.

♥New Cards a'brewing and Computer Follow-up♥

Here is a new card in the making. It is a bleach technique, which is really lots of fun.

1-Ink the stamp with versa-mark and stamp on the colored cardstock you want to use.

2-Embossed with black embossing powder.

3-Filled a cup with bleach and used a soft pointed blending tool and filled in the places I wanted bleached....which was all of the little girl.

4-Let dry, then give her a second coat of bleach and let dry thoroughly before coloring.

5-My first attempt to color her in I used colored pencils.....looked nice and looked almost antiquey.

6-My next attempt was using Twinkling H2O's, I like this technique, hard to see her sparkle, but she is. Now I shall turn her into a card tonight along with the other little girls I made. I probably will sell one of these little girls in my Etsy store. Hopefully I will have her up in the next week or so. Go to http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ I probably will sell her for $3.50 as there were alot of steps to making her. AND this is a piece of art....and maybe even one of a kind. If you like this "little girl smelling roses" stamp, I found her in Door County at Oscars Stamping store.

As a follow-up to my computer problems.....it didn't end when I brought the computer home. I ended up taking it back to Office Depot, because it kept shuting off and rebooting at least 10 times. They could not find anything wrong with the computer, so I took it home and hooked it up. Again, the computer ran like a champ for 3 days then acted up by shutting off and rebooting, so I pulled the plugs and started all over again.......this time I found there was a short in the monitor, took the old monitor off and brought up another old monitor from down stairs.......The computer has been working fine for over a week now with no problems. Although the screen is much smaller now, maybe someday I will invest in a larger-flat screen. But until then, this one is fine for now and is working.

It is our Anniversary on Friday, we've been married 37 years.....where has all that time gone? I guess we are truely vapors.....puffs of smoke, here today and gone tomorrow. JP is taking the day off and we might go to Red Lobster for lunch. We should have a little money saved for that special day. Well, time to end this blog for now, watch for another blog in a week or so, once I get a couple of cards put together.

Blessings~Louise

♥6 Birthday's and 1 Anniversary♥

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday God Bless you......Happy Birthday to you!!!!

14th - Susie

16th - Linda

17th - JP, Tom, Dawn

18th - Mary

Happy Anniversary to Howard and Linda on the 18th. Here is your card, a "purple heart" card.

Hope you all had, and are having a great day. JP (my husband) was treated to dinner today (Sunday) by a friend and tomorrow (Monday) I will be taking JP out for a dinner......hope I can find one of those places that gives a free dinner for Birthdays.......JP has the day off, so I shall check around to see who is giving a free dinner for the Birthday Boy. We just might get a really good hamberger at Windy City's....who knows. Dessert will be strawberry cheese cake, which is a complete surprise at this point. An $8.99 cheese cake on sale for $3.99....I got a deal!!!! Hopefully it taste good.

The above cards are my new ones which I made this week-end. I bought a new Nestabilities die- cut to use with my cuttlebug.....been wanting this die for over a year and finally invested. I really think this is a card that can be used for most anything, birthday's, anniversary's, thank you's and you guessed it..........Valentines!!!!

Not much news today, we'll see what this week brings. Have a great day~~~~Louise

One More Week in August

Just a short note to all that read this blog: I made each paragraph in different colors, not just for looks but because I just could not seem to get this blog to seperate, if I had left it as is, was hard to read. Ssssooooo I seperated with color. Looks nice though, doesn't it, a little embellishment.

Yeah...........it's true, one more week in August. I mentioned in my Etsy store annoucements that "Poor, poor August" did not have any holiday in it's 31 days.......BUT.......August sure has been a busy month full of surprises too! Here's a lovely picture of my Gladiolis's.........a surprise that they even grew this summer as they were some of the bulbs I had left in the ground over the winter.

Went to the funeral of a woman I used to work with......amazing how the death of someone can fan the flames of a lot of memories, some not so good. Saw a few people I had not seen in years, my how they have changed...........as did JP and I no doubt. The funeral was short and sweet, I think she was cremated, the family led the service, (there was no clergy) and there was alot of remembering of her and her pranks she played on people........ummm......her vindictiveness hurt alot at times and I was her target many a time. Sadly, I will not miss her much, I often wonder if things could have been a little bit different between her and I......but her beliefs and mine did not seem to be compatable. Oh well.......time to let bygones be bygones......hopefully she made to the other side and is dancing in the arms of Jesus. If not......she's burning, big time!!!!!!!

JP and I will be celebrating our 36th anniversary this week..........no special plans that I know of. I think we shall go out to eat, just him and I, we are due for that steak dinner. Yep, we met in March of 1971 on a blind date............hard to believe the time has passed us by this fast....was only yesterday, wasen't it?

Birthdays................my mother's birthday was this month, she would have been 83 on the 2nd. Nieces birthday on the 9th, also Frances birthday on the 9th. Another friend on the 5th, oh and on the 15th was Kathy's birthday and the 20th Bill's birthday. The 17th was the death of that lady I worked with.

Starting next month JP will be getting Social Security...........we both chose to get early retirement.........after reading an article today on Yahoo, maybe it's a good thing to get it early, cause for the next 2 years there is not going to be an automatic raise, honestly, older people worked all there lives then comes retirement and guess what, they can't afford to retire anymore. This country sure is messed up and the rich get richer and poor get poorer.

As I sit here looking at my calendar for August, I am a little sad, as all I did was work, pay bills, exercise, and watch my weight, to no avail.......JP and I sure do need a vacation, even if it's just a week-end to Door County and sit by Lake Michigan........oh well, we'll see what September brings.

Well, I think I shall close this blog for tonight and go on to my other blog at: http://www.cards4ubylouise2.blogspot.com/ Have a good day and see ya....."here, there, or in the air"

Louise