Last Day of November

Hi there everyone. Finally getting to my blog.....can you believe today is the last day of November??? I love this picture below.....reminds me of my dog Hyko, he will be gone 5 years on the 5th of December....my how the time flies.

So tomorrow is Hospice day....we will be meeting at Perkins for breakfast....yum, I can hardly wait. I have all my cards done, maybe after I finish this post, I will go downstairs and add a few more cards to the collection. 

Went to the eye doctor today for my yearly diabetic eye exam. There was no evidence of diabetic retinopathy. I did have a retinal hole in the right eye....and had focal laser performed in the office. Gosh, after dilation of my eyes....my pupils got really big....and everything was SO bright!!! So I napped most of the day so I could keep my eyes closed.....too, too, bright!!!

We had a nice Thanksgiving. I made ham, mashed potatoes, bean casserole, dressing, gravy, biscuits oh and pumpkin pie with whipped cream....yum. I brought a dinner over to a friends house and sat with her for a couple of hours. She had been in a nursing home for 2 1/2 months for knee surgery with complications. She did not know what she was going to do about Thanksgiving, so I offered to bring her dinner. We had plenty.

I've been putting up Christmas ornaments....little by little. Maybe Saturday I will get the rest up. I still have not put leaves in my rose bushes to keep them warm for the winter, maybe Saturday will be a good day to do that.

Well, this is sort of a boring post, but I wanted to get one more in before December 1st and let you know I am alive and still kicking. You all have a great evening and keep looking up....better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Made Some Cards 4 Hospice

Hi everyone. How you all doing tonight? Hope you're getting your Christmas planning, shopping, baking, card giving, decorating and wrapping done in a stress-free manner...if that is possible. Thought I would get a blog going whilst I am watching the Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood. I think it is going very well, considering it is a "live telecast" I sure don't see any mistakes. I was reading on the internet that the Von Trapp Family were not happy that Carrie Underwood was playing the part of Maria....when they heard there was a re-make of the story they had hoped Anne Hathaway would play the part because she is a professional actress and has received an Oscar....Carrie doesn't even know how to act and is just a country singer. I don't know.....I think Carrie is doing pretty good.

So tomorrow is the Hospice meeting at Denny's. Looking forward to breakfast there and seeing the cards the other ladies brought. The next 3 photos are a sampling of some of the cards I made. I think they turned out pretty good. I am sure those receiving them will enjoy them too, I hope.

In the above picture are some recycled cards. They are really fun to make and I think I will continue redoing cards....it's sort of a challenge to see what I come up with.

In this picture are some cards I created or found an idea on the internet and "cased". Of course I changed them a bit. I don't always have the same stamps, tape or colored cardstock. Oh I must add....the top card is a recycled card someone else made, I just added different colored cardstock.

Thank You cards are in this picture....all these cards getting "New Life" as a recycled card. In all, I put together 78 cards for Hospice this month. I think my first meeting was in March and altogether I donated 393 cards....wow!! Useing a lot of cards I made, or that people gave me and cards I have made in my monthy card class.

Thought you would like an up-date on my diet....so far since Monday....I've lost 3 lbs and 4 ozs. I am feeling much better and have noticed a little more energy. Today it was bananas and Skim milk and diet soup. Had some pop corn again...that might hinder my weight loss, but I need the "crunch". Eating at Denny's tomorrow could be a problem, but I am planning on doing eggs and fruit. Not sure about the toast part, because I have not had bread, butter, cheese, or pasta since Sunday. Just lots of fruit and vegies, this is kind of an expensive diet...but it seems to be working. Sunday is the last day of the diet, let you know the results and if I plan on continuing this plan of losing weight.

Well, it is getting late and I still need to get down stairs and ride my bike for 3-5 miles and make a pair of earrings. So you all have a great evening and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

This and That........

Hi everyone, well it is a beautiful, sunny day and temps are 46 degrees (at this moment). Nice outside, today I need to get some leaf raking done. But that will be after this blog is finished and after I pay some bills and balance the check book. Then most likely it will be time to get JP ready for work and make his lunch and something to eat before he leaves.

Thought I would show you how my hibiscus is growing. This picture is from this summer, had her sitting on the stairs for a couple of weeks to catch the rain, sometimes a shot of rain water is better then tap water anytime....plus I wanted to get the dust off her....she needed a bath!!! Those cute little yellow flowers at the bottom are marigolds....they sure did their thing this year and showed all their glory!!!

This picture is a close up of the hibiscus. Just love this plant. I guess this is the 3rd or 4th year I have had it. Paid $1.50 for it at Walmart....end of the season clearance.........I think I got my money's worth on this plant. Course that does not take into consideration all the plants I have bought from Walmart and they did not make it....guess I tend to forget that.

In the above picture is the hibiscus in the front room now...brought her in this week cause it was getting kind of cold outside and she had so many new buds that I didn't want to stand the chance of losing any of them. So needless to say she is enjoying her winterizing in her favorite window. She seems to bloom and have at least 5-6 blooms everyday......my, my, she is a happy camper. So am I, love watching her grow.

I did something unique.....Went to Archivers and had some pictures made of the flowers I took around the house and had them enlarged, and framed them with some frames I picked up at a rummage sale. I want to enlarge some more pictures and sell them in my Etsy store. Have them matted......see how much that would cost to do. Maybe a hibiscus picture would be fun to do also.

In the above picture is a breakfast I made for myself a couple of days ago. Oiled the pan with olive oil, dropped some spinach in then 2 eggs, breaking the yokes and smeared the egg around, sprinkled with cheese and a slice of ham or whatever meat is handy...(today I used Italian sausage). Toasted a tortilla wrap, flipped the egg mixture over like an omelet then layered on the wrap...sometimes I sprinkle some hot sauce on...but not today, Italian sausage worked just fine!! Not sure what the calorie intake is, but I am guessing around 450 or so. Weight has been a very hard thing for me to lose lately. Since I have been on this new Blood Sugar medication, my numbers have been down but my weight went up. Not sure what is worse, the blood sugars up and weight down or visa versa. Oh well...just one of the side effects of the medication, so what else is new.

Well, time to get going and get this show on the road, it's almost 12noon and I am still sitting here with my robe on. Lazy Louise!!!

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

♥A Valentine Gift for Him♥

This is the Valentine gift I am giving the husband tomorrow, hope he likes it. A "heart box" which I got at Archivers a month or so ago, bought $10 worth of Valetine's product......that was not a hard challenge at all!!! Give me $100 and I could spend it in no time flat...lol!

So I thought it would be fun to decorate, this is what I came up with. My next challenge was trying to figure out what I wanted to put in it, no candy, no nuts, no cookies, no chocolate...........Finally came up with the answer! JP is into dried prunes, yes you heard me, they are individually wrapped, so this will work out well. They are actually VERY healthy, packing in lots of anitoxidents....more then blueberries AND they give you a GOOD constitution!!!!!

Back to the heart construction........wrapped and glued lace around the heart then covered it in red cardstock. Covered the edge with red spickles, then white spickles, sparkly red and gold heart-shapes, lots of bling and a red bow and an old-fashioned Valentine from the 50's. On the base of the heart...(which you cannot see, stuck the sparkly red and gold hearts around the base of the heart. (JP and I went to an Antique store and someone was selling some old valentines, wish I had gotten a few more. But, Valentines is almost over.....maybe next year that antique store will have more.)

JP's gift to me was a brand new pair of slippers......my old slippers were getting hole-ly and dangerous to wear, cause I was tripping over them.....time to go in the garbage, they only lasted 12-15 years or so. A gift from my mother.

JP and I went out to eat after church yesterday.......to the Express Diner (used to be a George Webbs) we got breakfast, buy one, the second one is free. Two eggs over easy, hash browns and rye toast and jelly........very good meal. We also got 6 hambergers for $5 for dinner along with homemade soup I made on Saturday....Italian Wedding Soup. Oh delicious!!!

So I think I will close this blog for now.......wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day, hope it is really special for you.........enjoy. Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise