November Stuff

Hi there everyone.....wow, where did this month go to. My mother was right, "the older you get the faster time goes" yep, now I see what she meant.

November has been a little rough for yours truly. Guess that is why I have not blogged that much. Both JP and I have had Doctor appointments, he deals with a lot of health issues. One of his main issues is his constant arm pains, he's dealt with these pains for over 10 years now. The older he gets, the rougher they get.

Well, 12/2 he has an appointment with a pain specialist....I hope this works as all the other Doctors could not find the root problem. On 12/10 he has a sleep test. Hopefully we will know what his problem is soon. 

               

Even though it is still Thanksgiving....Christmas is not far off. I bought a wreath for the front door. My birthday present to me. It's been a long time since I bought a wreath, at least 4-5 years. I thought it was time. Also, a little decoration for the back door too. I shall have to take some pictures. Not sure how much Christmas decorations will be done inside the house....since JP will not be able to help, he always brings the containers up from the basement.

Do you like the snow flake card above? I think this will be my Christmas card to send out to friends this year. Just have to take some time to get them done. Hospice cards are done and dropped off. So now I can zero in on making my cards for this Christmas.

I love this Christmas card. I wish I could find this die, I did give 3 of these cards to family in Chicago and one to a friend last Christmas. So, I will continue to hunt for this die. Maybe when I get extra $$$ I will search more diligently.

I always loved this card....some day I will make this card also....looks pretty easy, just have to find that happy, jolly snowman.

Gosh, I did not realize, this is my 900th blog today....wowsers. Time flies when we are having fun....right?? I started blogging in 2008....12 yrs ago??? Wonderful days before the Corona Virus. After all these months, I am still not used to the masks and they look so funny on people too. But, I will obey the rules and wear the mask, even though I do not like them.

Oh....when I went to the Doctor Monday...he asked if I wanted a flu shot, first I said no, he told me the pros and cons, especially someone like me with diabetes. I thought about it and decided maybe it was time. So I got a shot. Amazed the arm does not hurt and seems there is no side effects to this shot. Maybe it will even protect me from the Corona. My last flu shot had to be when I was still working at the Salvation Army, and that was over 20 years ago....again where did all that time go???

Well, I think I will close here before November passes us by and I didn't get to publish this blog. Have a great Thanksgiving and enjoy those that sit around your table....you are blessed.

Keep looking up, better days are coming....Cheers ~ Louise

Hebrews 12:2 "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throune of God."

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 

Here We Are....Two Weeks Into September!!!

Hi there everyone. What can I say.....I guess my blogging has been lacking lately. Not much happening, but then, a lot has in small ways. Least we are not facing hurricanes and typhoons and fires. Here, it's lots of rain, heat and lots of mosquito's that seem to find me no matter where I am. That's one good thing about winter, NO MOSQUITO'S!!!!

So JP lost some hours at work, which means finances have been a little tricky of late. I had to sell some old gold and silver jewelry  left by my grandmothers, mother and myself. Total income this time around was $315 which will go partially towards paying the rest of our house taxes. Then, we start all over again next January 31st 2019.

My doggie, Kylie has not been feeling well lately. I am so afraid that I will have to have her put down. I don't want to....God, could she just die in her sleep???? Not sure what is wrong...she is going on 14 years...hope it is old age. Now why, do we put dogs down and not people??? I asked my Vet that question, she said, because we care more for our animals then we do people!!!

Next Saturday, we are having company from Chicago. JP's brother and SIL...they usually take us out to eat, we visit a bit and then they leave late afternoon, so they are home for the evening....it's a "Kwik Trip" like the gas station. If you live in this area, you would know what I mean. We probably won't go out to eat though and just may order out and have it delivered to our front door. I am going to order a Pumpkin Cream Pie from Schwan's, which looks delicious....I always have the dessert.

Some good news, poundage wise, I have lost 30 lbs since last July 2017. Losing has been a very long and slow process....still have much to lose. My blood sugars have been much, much better. Hopefully I can eliminate the pills after a 50 -75 lb. loss. I am still doing the Atkins/keto diet which has proven to work the best for me. I have to admit though, I don't make it a religious thing, as there are some days I eat potato chips and popcorn, oh, and tater tots too. But pretty much stay close to eating the right things.

Well, I guess that is about all that is going on this month....and there is still 2 weeks left to go. So I thought I better put some cards up, as this is a "Card Blog" so following are some cards I made at Betty's last month....just a little slow in posting. Our next meeting will be this next Wednesday already....time flies when we are having fun???? Card making on my own has been at a minimal....as I have not been in much of a mood....need some inspiration, that's why I like to go to Betty's....there is always something that gets my juices flowing.

So this was a fun card to make, I actually made quite a few of these cards for Hospice. Birthday, Thanks and Thinking of you. I have the stamp set and the background stamp....so yeah, I think this will be my "go to" card for everything....easy and fast to make.

This was a fun card to make, punched out owls. We made the branches for the owls to sit on then pieced together the owls. Bright and colorful.

This was a pretty card. The flowers were embossed. The background???? You know, I forgot what we did. I shall have to ask, was it water color??? Anyways, it turned out really pretty.

This card was stamped and embossed, we colored it in with copic markers and sponged in the blue sky and water. Stamping the birds and verse. Betty always has the pieces cut, so we just have to piece it all together.

Thought you would like to see a few cucumbers growing in my garden....gosh these cucs made a great salad and tasted so good....just wish I had more.....maybe next year.

Well time to close here, you all take care and have a great couple of weeks. I may be back before the month is over....depends. Keep looking up, better days are coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

JP's 71st. Birthday!!!

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying May....it's going quite fast isn't it? Well, we celebrated JP's 71st birthday on Wednesday....just him and I. His brother called in the morning and sent a card also. This is the card I gave JP....a vintage boy wishing him a Happy Birthday. He wondered who that was, and if that was him?!?! NO JP....not you!!! I didn't make it specifically for him, it's just one of the many cards I've made, that I happened to like, so I gave it to him.

This is the present I gave him, you probably have seen it on TV. Got it for $40, it has the whole Bible on it and plays continuously till you stop it or change the verse or chapter. It also has some meditation songs on it. I am sure JP will not listen to the songs, but I will. Sorry the picture is so blurry...but you get the drift.

It's King James Version. So JP likes that, and the voice of the reader has a slight English accent....which I like. Easy listening.

I bought JP this little 6" New York Cheese Cake from Festival Foods. Lite a candle and he blew it out....make a wish, I said, and he gave me the stink eye and said that was superstition!!! Oh geez Jay.....then name a blessing!!!

This sure was a yummy cheese cake, will buy this again. Only $6.99. It was on sale....so I am not sure what the regular price was....but for a birthday cake for two...not bad.

See the cards in the back? The one on the left is the one I gave him...the middle one, his brother gave him, the one on the right, our insurance man gave.

So here we are, piece's of cake cut with strawberries and whip cream. No calories here, right????

This is what is left.....actually half of that cake left, JP had another piece last night and this afternoon....probably another piece tonight. OOOOO and I have to have a piece too!!!

Tomorrow I am going to a plant sale, hope I can find the same tomato plants I got last year.....they were the best tomatoes ever!!! "Beef Steak", the plants got SO BIG and had over 50 tomatoes, that was 3 plants. Maybe this year I will get 2 plants.....it was a very good year for tomatoes!!!

I think we are going to have a nice weekend....so I may work in the yard and try and clean things up a bit. Bring my ceramic animals out from the shed. There's enough for me to do....maybe too much. If I take a little bit at a time, it won't be bad, but I want it all done right away. So I can enjoy the summer, is that possible???

Time to close here...the Schwan's Man will be coming soon and Hockey is tonight, the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets....it should be a good game!! Kylie wants to go for a walk too.

Talk to you all later, keep looking up cause better days are coming, whether here, there, or in the air!!! Cheers ~ Louise

PS How do you like my new background.....I needed a change and a new look. You may see me change the background many times. BlogSpot was so limited in their designs, Glad I found this site. I have about 26 new backgrounds to try...so stay tuned!!!
http://thecutestblogontheblock.com

Cards and a Busy Week

Hi there everyone of you.....guess I have been a bite busy lately. It's been 11 days since I last posted. Last Wednesday was my card making day at Betty's. That is always fun. I like getting new ideas.

Betty does most of the work designing, cutting and measuring. She puts everything in an envelope, card stock, paper, ribbon, tags, etc.  We just put the card together, using her copic markers, stamps and ink and gems.

This was a neat card to make. Betty had the flowers embossed with black. We painted in the colors with Pearlex which makes the colors iridescent...so pretty. I am giving this card to someone...I know she will love it.

This was a putsey card.....nothing colored in, except for all the peddles of the flowers. Betty stamped in the tree. So the flowers were colored then rolled on a rubber mat, glued then the gems were added. 

I really liked this card...will make for a nice birthday card, maybe I will give it to JP for his birthday. We used to have a truck like that....but I think it was green. JP tried to teach me to drive shift...but I never got the hang of it. Standard for me all the way. The background was sponged in with ink, then the windmill, foreground stamped in black. The truck was colored in with copic markers then putsey cut the truck.

We got our refund from Uncle Sam this week.....it will help for awhile. We will be getting our new (to us) dryer from Howie Voight Used Appliances next Wednesday. JP is getting tired of hanging clothes and towels. He hung towels outside on the line, they were out there for 4 days...till I finally brought them in.

The next day, Thursday, I will be taking the car to Muntz to get our radio/CD player installed. Gosh, I have been without a radio in the car for at least a year....it will be nice to have music and talk shows to listen to.

JP has a Doctors appointment on Monday. Keep him in your prayers. He is going for his 6 month check up for "active surveillance" to see if the cancer is still there. I heard the other day that a man had stage 4 prostrate cancer and is having the prostrate removed this next week. I am not even sure what stage JP is?? Will have to ask the Doctor....if I don't forget.

Friday, is Hospice meeting.....almost have my cards finished. Just a few more cards to add to the collection. I made some neat Mother's day cards and Birthday cards. I will have to take some pictures after I am done.

Well, it looks like a busy week....only day open is Tuesday. I need to stay home and wait for the call from Howie Voight to set up a time for them to deliver the dryer. That will be a great day, I am sure JP will have all his wash done, so he can put it in the dryer when it is delivered. No more hanging of clothes.

Well, time to close, I need to go make dinner for JP when he gets home at 1:30am....yeah, it's a long day, no wonder I take a nap at 4:00pm gets me through the rest of the day.

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

WOW ~ Last Day of February!!

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying the last day of February. Where did that time go. Was keeping busy with card making, organizing income taxes, losing weight on the Atkins/Keto diet and keeping my blood sugars down. Yeah, it's been an okay month. Looks like March will come in like a lion with cold....hopefully go out like a lamb.

The above card is a sample of a birthday card I made for the oldest nephew...he'll be 9 years old. I will take a picture of the card in a few days. I decided to make 4 of these cards for the 2 nephews and 2 nieces. That will make things easy, won't have to think of 3 more ideas.....keep it simple, sam!!!

So our back yard is in very bad shape. It flooded out.....what a mess!! This is the worse, it has ever been in the 26 years we have lived here.  We live in the lowest part of the block. So all the rain water drains into our yard. Last year was bad, but not as bad as this. 

It rained all night last week and the water spread into the pond area. The yard was under water completely. Thank God it did not spread into our basement. I can't imagine what people are going through when there houses are under water.

Looks like an ice skating rink....now if I had some ice skates, I could have tried it out!! This would have been great when I was younger....I loved ice skating, but I fell in a hole and sprained my ankle and never skated again.

The flooding spread back into my fire pit area. There's no grass growing back there, now I think the whole back yard will be like the fire pit area. I put some grass seed down last summer....but nothing grew. Guess I will try again.

As of the last couple of days, the weather has been in the 40's so the ice melted quite a bit. Our yard is starting to look normal again. I will be glad when Spring arrives and things start turning green again.

I have some good news about my Atkins/Keto diet. This morning, when I checked my blood sugars, I write everything down on a sheet. Also figured is my weight. So, I lost 1 pound in February....that's not much. BUT when I started this diet on 7/5/17....the grand loss is now 22 lbs. Not bad for this old girl. My Doctor will be happy. Hopefully my A1C will be in the low numbers too.

Well, time to close here. Have to go finish working on my taxes. You have a great day March 1st...hope the Lion does not roar too loudly in your area of the country. Keep looking up ~ better days are coming, soon!! 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

Labor Day Weekend

Hi there everyone....hope you are having a nice and relaxing Labor Day Weekend. Well, as of 1/2 hour ago, our relaxing Labor day weekend ended. I saw a few bees buzzing around in the basement as I watched TV. OH NO!!! We have had a problem with bees the last couple of weeks outside, along side the house. JP sprayed them a couple of times....but I guess the can of spray was kind of old.

So, I bought a new can at Walmart. I told JP tonight....don't forget to spray the bees....he did and guess what, they found a way to get into the house. Now they are buzzing around my stamping stuff. JP sprayed the lights where they were buzzing around and naturally the spray went all over my papers, stamps and ink and stuff....erg!!! He swatted a few bees and the lights above my stamping desk went out. Geez........

So we shut things down and came upstairs. I went to the computer to see if there was some home remedy we could use.....yep, mountain dew and dish detergent, mixed together. The sweetness of the dew draws them and the soap coats their wings and they drown cause they can't fly. So we put 6 bowls of the potion out in different spots to see if that will solve part of the problem. I don't carry much soda in the house and only had a few cans of 7-up....so that is what I used.

We had this problem maybe 10 years ago and we called the exterminator, he set a smoke bomb out in the basement. I just don't want to call the guy over the weekend....could cost and arm and leg to have him do what we might be able to do....oh well, we'll see.

I told JP he is going downstairs tomorrow morning to see what the damage is.....Hopefully they are gone.

So we celebrated 44 years of marriage on the 27th of August. This is the card I made for JP. Was kind of fun to make. I used the left over stuff from my Stampin'up kit for August.  Not sure if I talked much about our anniversary. I did on Facebook and got lots of "likes" and comments. We didn't do much, it was raining that day and kind of dreary. I cooked a steak, fries and salad later on in the day.....nope, not much of a special day.

Today would be my Father's Birthday. He would have been 99 years old. He has been dead for 56 of those years....my how time does fly. He was the love of my life when I was a little girl....the sun rose and set on my father. No one could take his place. My stepfather tried, but to no avail. My stepfather wanted me to call him Dad....but I couldn't. He was pops and that's all he was to me. Pops died in May....he will always be Pops. Least I didn't call him Pete.

This week JP and I have to get the porch cleaned off and furniture moved and get the backyard fence and shrub down. Because Habitat for Humanity is painting the porch floor and putting up a privacy fence in our backyard. I can hardly wait. So, I will have some new pictures for you. Stay tuned. Here is what our fence looks like now. JP is going to mow all the greenery down and we will take down as much of the green plastic fencing that we can. I will be sure to take before and after pictures of everything.

Well time to close....it's almost 11:30pm....maybe time to close shop....I wish I could be downstairs making some cards.....but the bees have invaded our home. So I guess I shall say good-night.

Cheers ~ Louise

How 'Bout Some Cards????

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying the day. I went shopping at Gordon's  today and got 2 1/2 dozen eggs for $2 along with bread, cheese, sliced turkey, fruit, salad, tomatoes and chocolate donuts. Total bill was $42...not bad. I like Gordon's, but it was a quick trip today. Had to be home by 3:30pm the latest to get JP off to work by 4:00pm. So his quick meal was 2 corn dogs from the gas station, mashed potatoes from last night and frozen fruit (thawed) from Gordon's. His lunch box was packed with the 2nd corn dog, chocolate donuts, fig bars, 3 Hersey nuggets, and 2 chocolate chip cookies. I know, I know, so much chocolate, he says it gives him energy?!?!?!?! It would give me a tummy ache....for sure.

I have not decided what JP's dinner will be when he gets home from work at 1:20am....probably some eggs and ham, fruit and chicken soup, I will make that tonight. Quick and easy.....heat water and put chicken bouillon soup in and boil, add noodles, then canned chicken and some curry for spice....makes for a nice soup.

So today I am showing you some cards I made recently. The Minion above was a card I saw on Pinterest.....cute card and simple to make. This card was for my grand-nephew, Dominik who turned 5 years old on July 1st.....hope he liked it, of course I put a new crisp $5 dollar bill in it....that, I am sure he liked. Who doesn't like $$$ on their birthday???

The next 3 cards were from my Stampin'up Paper Pumpkin Kit from April. I finally got all the cards made, most of them will go to Hospice. I will keep a couple for samples.

The kit came with watercolor pencils and brush. So what you see in pink, yellow and blue is the pencils colored in and then I brushed the cards with water.....I like this effect. The washi tape, stamps and ink are sent along with the embellishments and card stock.

Three different ideas using the products inside the box. These were fun cards to put together, must keep these cards in mind using the techniques here.

This last card was from the Stampin'up Paper Pumpkin Kit for June. Watermelon stamps and ink, cards, string, banner, stickers. I made a card and sold it already....better make some more.

Did you notice the American Flag/4th of July card in my banner?? That was made from a napkin. A very fun technique. Needless to say, I am always checking out napkins at the store to see what's new. So I found these napkins, cut them down to size, peeled the first layer off, glued white card stock and layed the napkin down and smoothed it out like wallpaper. Then it needed to dry before I played with it. All I added was the Happy 4th of July. I think I will make these cards for Veterans Day and add "Thank You" for Hospice.

Well, it looks like it is going to rain, so I better close here, and think about taking Kylie for a walk. Talk to you all later, keep looking up.....better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Pretty Flowers and JP's 70th

Hi there everyone.....Hope you are having a good day!! Well, today is JP's 70th Birthday. He said he never thought he would ever make it to 70....yep, we are just a vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow. 

I will probably go to the store and find him a chocolate cake or some specialty chocolate pie....not sure yet. Maybe buy him a plant that we both can enjoy. I probably should buy him a new pair of work pants too. But I will wait till I get a coupon from Shopko...spend $50 and get $10 off....my favorite kind of deal.

Have not decided yet what his special meal will be....probably steak, mushrooms and potatoes.....I would like to get one of those Cowboy Rib eye steaks......and do a reverse sear on it. Put it in the oven first then sear on a fry pan.....sounds interesting.

I finally took some pictures of these lovely pink variegated tulips. They almost look like peonies don't they??? So pretty.

A few more views of these tulips. I need to put another layer of red mulch down, the weeds seem to make their way through the mulch....gerrrrr.....hard to keep up with the weeds.

My cute little pansies. I have some yellow pansies planted in planters on the front porch. Last night I planted red petunias. Tonight I pulled some snow on the mountain and some blue bells.....they look like weeds right now....so now is the time to be rid of them. Laid some mulch down but could use another layer. Oh well.....a little bit each day, I might be done by Fall.

We may order some more mulch, have not decided as yet. It's much easier to order 2 yards of mulch then buy the bags...you don't know from where that mulch is coming from and if it is diseased. Here, we buy this mulch that is actually recycled pallets and then dyed red. They use a magnet to release the nails. 

We have about a wheel barrel and a half left so that is not enough to finish what I want done in the front and back yard. My yard will really look nice when it finally gets done. I hope I am not just dreaming....that eventually it will be reality.

Well, I think I shall close this post for tonight so I can post it tomorrow on JP's Birthday. You all have a great day and keep looking up~~~better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

7th Game - They WON and a Few Cards for Hospice

Hi there everyone....how are the first few days of November treating you??? Ours not so good....we got the results of my husband's prostrate biopsy. It's not a good report. He has cancer, but it is a "slow growing cancer" maybe that is a good report. At this point we are not sure what will happen. The Doctor says this could go two ways. We can watch it and see how fast or slow it is growing by doing more biopsies. Operation, and take the prostrate out. Or radiation, but he did not think that would be a good option.

Next week we have another meeting with the Doctor and if we have questions that is when we will talk things out. JP wants to talk to his brother first. John called tonight, so I was able to fill him in on a few things and he will call JP tomorrow.

The 7th game of the World Series is playing right now. So I thought I would blog a bit. I guess I could have gotten fancy and put the Cubs decal up or something. Maybe next post....(darn the Indians just scored 1-1, okay, that's enough Indians!!). Yeah...score is 5-1 Cubbies just scored again and while I was on the phone with John.

Our Heartland Hospice meeting is this Friday. I've got 75 cards put together, Christmas, Birthday, Thank You, Thinking of You and Thanksgiving. Following are some of the cards that are included in the box...these are not all of them. I simply would bore you with all the pictures.

In the picture below a card made with a Christmas napkin. The napkin is peeled down to the first layer then glued on card stock and smoothed out and left to dry. Then I glue the card stock on a card and embellish the card with speckles...see the glittery look? I made quite a few cards using this technique. Christmas trees, a few different snowmen and Santa too.

Here is my Great Blue Heron....I sure do like this stamp....will probably make lots more of these cards. The Heron is stamped and colored in with copic markers. The layered on card stock and lacy material paper (the name of this paper escapes me at this moment), then I ran some washi tape down the side and added a greeting.

The card below is a recycled card....layered it on sparkling wrapping paper and card stock. The card might have been a post card then I embellished the card with speckles for that glittered look.

The card below was a card I made at Betty's house. The flowers were stamped with different colored  inks, it was not necessary to huff on the inks to make them stamp, as they were special inks allowing you to ink and stamp. I think the flowers were then die cut and raised on the card.

Now this card is my favorite Christmas card....die cut sleigh and houses. "Silent night" is stamped and a pretty trinket added. The background is snowflakes run through the cuttlebug and silver speckles embellish the snowflakes and the edge of the card where the sleigh rides.

Last but not least are these Christmas cards.....I made a whole bunch of these cards a couple of years ago. The scene is embossed with gold then the card was run through a cuttlebug, cutting out the Christmas tree. I layed some sparkly wrapping paper under the scene to pop out the tree. Pretty simple, but very pretty.

Well, the Cubs and Indians are still playing....the score is 6-3, Cubs winning and we are in the 7th.

I think I need to turn the heat on...getting a little bit chilly in this house. Love the weather for November......maybe it will stay nice like this till my Birthday....but then, there is always snow falling around my birthday.......we shall see, as the 21st will draw near pretty fast.

Oh-OHHHHHH Not good, the Indians just scored, it's 6-6!!!!!! Will the Cubs win????? Now we are in the 9th and Cubs are up. It's starting to rain now in Cleveland.....what next!!!

YAY!!!! The Cubs won the World Series....how exciting!!! 8-7....what a game. 1908 was the last time they won the series....that is a very long draught!!!! You have a great day and keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Last Day Of September???????

Hi there everyone.....OH NO it's the last day of September!!!!! Where did the summer go????? Now I definitely know what my mother meant when I would say as a child, "I can hardly wait for Christmas, my birthday, summer, vacation, watermelon, etc." My mother would say, "Don't wish your life away....it will come fast enough!"

So yeah....don't blink, or hold your breath, time flies by so-so fast!

I have been diligently working on my cards.....the last couple of days has been Christmas cards.....yeah, it is that time again to get some cards made for Christmas. They are turning out pretty nice, but I still have not switched gears yet. Maybe when the snow flies, will I get in the mood. I will get some pictures taken in the next few days so you can see what I have been up to.

Sunday I am going to a Stampin'up camp to make 4 cards and see the new Christmas catalog. I might order some die cuts....not sure yet, we shall see. So my next post I will show you the cards I made AND if by chance I won a door prize, a picture of what I won.

So today I went to Sam's club to pay my bill and I got stopped by an At&t sales person. They asked if I was happy with my service and would I like to pay less then what I am paying.....why YES I WOULD!!!! She asked me what programs I liked to watch...I mentioned the Chicago Black Hawks and the other guy said......Go Hawks, turns out he is from Chicago and has been in this area for 4 months....naturally he asked how long we have been in WI....."since 1976" I said. Yep.....40 years we have been in WI. We have been here longer then in Illinois...there is nothing I miss about Illinois, but I do miss watching my Blackhawks.

So anyways....I think I got a good deal. My bill will be lowered $60.00, I get a $300.00 gift card from Sam's Club, At&t will come out to my house to set me up with a NEW recording box and remote. They give you refurbished equipment which means they break down and need to be replaced. All because I am a Sam's Club member. Yay....I did something right. At first I was not going to give them the time of day....but when they said my bill could be lowered, who does not want that to happen...it sure would help in these days....that is for sure.

So now my gas and electric bill has been lowered $27.00 and my At&t bill has been lowered $66.00. That's $93.00 more in my pocket....not bad huh?? I need a good deal now and then....this will be a money saving deal.

October 12th the Blackhawks start their season.....can hardly wait to watch them. I might have a few more channels in this deal....so maybe I will be able to catch a few more games. After watching the Hockey World Cup games....I do think I might be able to watch the other teams too....this will be a fun winter of hockey!!!! BUT you must fear the Feathers.....cause the Blackhawks shall win the season and get the Stanley Cup.....yep you heard it 1st from me.....lol!!!!!

Well, time to close here till OCTOBER. Hopefully I will be a bit more diligent in posting on my blog....guess I am leading a boring life. Have a great day and keep looking up ~ better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

This Week........

Hi there everyone. Hope you are enjoying this wonder fall like weather....I am. I see a lot of yard work in my future these next few weeks. I think I shall have to cut back on some gardening for next year....not so much or so I say now.....lets see if I stick to my guns!!!

So this past week I received a couple of convo's via my Etsy Store. The lady wanted 6 of these flamingo cards, 3 thank you and 3 birthday. I have been diligently working on these cards the last few days....once they are finished I shall put them in my store for her to pick up...hopefully she will follow through. Sometimes I never quite trust someone that has no history of buying from Etsy stores and I seem to be the first one. Oh well, the cards are still mine if she does not pick them up. Oh and plus she wanted a price cut....can you believe that??? I am not sure what people expect, I told her it would take me a week or so, because each card has a lot of work in each card and hand colored too!! So, needless to say, I will not be making that much on these cards.

Today I attended the funeral of this young man....Joshua, the son of our Pastor and his wife Mary. Gosh this was a sad time. He died in a car accident last Sunday. I made this card for Joshua last year when he graduated from High School. Needless to say, there was a very long line of people and most of them friends of Joshua's from school and work. There were pictures surrounding us of Joshua....he lived a full life.....that he did. He will be missed very much.

Here is another big daisy blooming in front of our house. I started this guy from seed. I wonder if heaven is full of Sonflowers?!?!?!

A drawer full of "rose moss"....they are finally starting to bloom. The squirrel likes to dig around here and pull up the little plants......gosh I get so mad at those squirrels.

My swan.....usually she gets geraniums planted in her.....this year....inpatients and just left her in the shade. She is starting to look really pretty.

Last but not least.....a lonely little Black Eyed Susan in amongst star Clementius. Many, many stars and one lonely one daisy.

Here is what the side of my porch looks like right now....is not this gorgeous or what???? When the flowers die and the leaves turn brown, we will cut it all down to it's bare stems, I might cover it with some leaves, but not a lot. She grows like crazy...I even cut her back some  this summer and she took off!!!! Don't do a whole lot of fertilization either, gosh if I did, who knows where she might go...up on the roof?

So this week, I have a mammogram...not looking forward to that. I just don't like my boobs squished....nope, not a whole lot.  The nurse told me it would not hurt as much...my last mammogram was 11 years ago and things have changed a lot. I sure do hope she is not lying to me....don't like liars very much!!!!

Well, time to close, I have some ribs in the oven, slow cooking, it is time to put some BBQ sauce on them, so we can eat about 7:30, kind of late....but the funeral took some time to get through. Then when I got out of the funeral....JP had been waiting in the car, he left the lights on and wore the battery down.....so no juice to get home. Joshua's brother-in-law gave us a jump and we were able to get home....whew, answer to prayer.

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