Happy New Year ~ 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE

May this New Year of 2016 bring you

a closer walk with Jesus, 

good health,

financial well being

and blessings galore!!!

I have not decided if I will make any resolutions as yet...they are always so hard to keep, not even sure I kept, and was able to follow through on last years resolutions. I know I had a long list, will have to find it and see how close I came.

I am hoping I don't have a lot of medical issues this year. 2015 was pretty scary for me. I am forever grateful to God and how he brought me through the Hernia surgery and colonoscopy, ulcer, dental work and cataract surgeries. I think this new year will bring medical issues for JP though. He has an appointment already lined up in January with a neurologist....for his shakes that have gotten much worse. Maybe through this, they will find the reason for his arm pains.....that would be nice.

Well I will keep this short....who wants to read blogs on New Year's Eve night. I shall be going downstairs to make a few cards and watch the "ball drop" in New York City....my little tradition every year. 

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

My New Blanky, Some Flowers and Blue Apron Invite

Hi there everyone. Welp......it's the last day of August....someone please tell me, where has this month gone????? Remember that song that Frank Sinatra sang...."and the days dwindle down, to a precious few...September, November....."  Now what was the title to that song. Always think about it this time of the year, fall is in the air. 

Well as you can see, I bought my new blanky at Shopko. It was a $50 blanket and I got it for $21...not a bad price. Kylie likes it very much as it is soooo soft and cuddly. I love the color.

Here are some flowers I picked to sit on my table....pretty huh?? Oh and some zinnias too.

These are my volunteer Brown eyed Susans......they love coming back every year in different places of my garden. I wish I could get them to grow in my back yard....but I guess there is too, too much shade back there.

This is my second planting of petunias....the first crop died out and these petunias came free to us. So, wah-lah a new place to grow.

Three days (9/3) till my hernia operation....I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 am....uge, not looking forward to this little field trip at all. You would think I would be used to this after going through two cataract eye surgeries (July 22 and Aug 5), but no, I am not. Fear of the unknown grips my spirit. I would like to have that peace that passes all understanding....the kind of peace that Jesus gives, not what the world gives. Although I cannot say there is much peace in this world, so yeah, I will take the peace that Jesus gives any day or hour.

I have some good news.....Blue Apron (here is their site) just gave me 3 free invitations to invite 3 friends to try out Blue Apron. You will receive 3 free meals with meat, vegetables, spices and directions that come in a refrigerated box with ice on the bottom. It is delivered to your front door and you can start cooking one of the meals that night. I have already invited one blog friend, so I have 2 invitations left.

I really like this concept...as I am trying new foods and spices that I would not otherwise buy at the store....because I did not know how to use it or make it. One of the previous meals called for coconut rice...man that was good and the chicken stir-fry that topped the rice was delish.....JP wanted a second helping and so did I.

Another item I liked and have actually found at the store after much hunting was Polenta. I have seen the rolls of polenta, but not the kind you make yourself. I might make that tonight with the pulled pork I made the other day.....sounds like a tasty meal.

So if you are interested in receiving a box of free food from Blue Apron (again here's the site) please leave a comment, saying you would like to try this out. Even if you are not  interested....still leave a comment. The only stipulation I have is that I must know you and you are a regular visitor to my blog....oh and you like to cook for your family.....thank you. I will email you to get your email address, then send it on to Blue Apron and they will contact you for your address and when the best delivery date is. I think this is so nice of them.

There are two other Companies that do this, "Plated" and "Hello Fresh" Have not heard the reviews of Hello Fresh....but Plated I have. I think I will stick with Blue Apron....thank you again.

Well, guess I will close here for now, you have a great day and keep looking up.....yes, I am trying to do that too!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Laying Low Until Wednesday

Hi there everyone. So yeah, I am laying low until Wednesday. That will be my second cataract eye surgery. I am looking forward to it....finally will see clearly from both eyes. It has been sort of weird these last couple of weeks looking out my eyes....one eye is clear the other blurry. As I do this post, I have to lean in to see what I am typing....maybe I shall have to get reading glasses to see what I am typing next.

Been doing the drops in both eyes now and have not really been into much of anything else. I have a dozen and one things to do...but don't feel like doing anything. Seems my get up and go has got up and went.....someplace other then with me. Oh well, hopefully things will get better in a few weeks.

So following are a few pictures I took of the flowers in the front of the yard, sitting on the porch and zooming in. My moss roses and asylums....aren't they sweet.

In this picture is my black eyed Susan's....they volunteered to grow there....so I just let them do their thing.

Not sure what these purple little flowers are....someone gave us the plants about 3 years ago and they have come back year after year along with the weeds.

Just a little closer look at the moss roses......I rather like these guys.....even though I planted some new plants this spring....I noticed that the moss roses from last year volunteered to grow this year. I like their spirit!!!!

So here is a picture of Kylie. She loves being on the porch and looking out past the porch posts.....her favorite thing to do besides going for walks. Tomorrow Kylie gets to go to the Groomer for her shower and shave.....she is not too happy about going....but when I pick her up.....my goodness, is she ever happy. First of all, cause I came back to get her and secondly.....she feels really good.

The one thing that is hard is those 6 hours she is gone....it is so quiet in this house, it's just not a home without her.

Well, time to close....if you think about it....please pray for me on Wednesday morning, about 8am is the surgery.....I would appreciate it. Cheers ~ Louise

Blue Apron ~~ My New Order Came

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a beautiful day....it was gorgeous outside today, wasn't it???? I heard the sound of the locust today, I just love that sound, it reminds me of those lazy, hazy days of summer when I was a kid. All I had to do was enjoy the summer and play before school started the Day after Labor Day in September. Yeah....those were the days!!!

So, in my post yesterday I mentioned I was waiting for my next order from Blue Apron. It came about 7:00 pm in a refrigerated FedEx truck. Makes me wonder just how long my box from last week actually sat on that neighbors porch. Because the ice block was partially melted. The order that came today....nope, the ice had not even started to melt. So everything in the box was still cold.

Here is what the box looks like...... it felt like Christmas when it arrived.

I Pulled everything out of the box and laid it all on the table....looks pretty good huh?? So dinner tonight will be "Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Burgers with Crispy Curried Zucchini Rounds" and fries and fruit. JP was VERY ok with the menu for tonight. Gosh, I love cooking!!!!

The 2nd meal in this box is "Chicken Milanese with Summer Corn, Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad" The 3rd meal is "Cod & Miso Soba Noodles with Multicolored Cherry Tomatoes & Eggplant" Can you see the beautiful eggplant and zucchini in the picture....yum!!! I like that there are different things in the box that I have not ever tried. Been in such a rut lately, I think this new experience will help me spread my wings a bit. I get so tired of cooking the same stuff week in and week out. This will put some pzazz into my cooking.....I think!!!

I was sitting on the porch this morning, getting some sun on my legs.....they are still very white!!! So for a half hour I sat on the steps and took a few pictures of the pretty sky and clouds. What do you see up there......I think that is a turtle......maybe a duck, maybe a kitten????

Gosh, can you believe today is the last day of July.....where in the world is this summer going??? Next week Wednesday I have my second cataract eye surgery at 8am or so. I have to be at the clinic by 6:50 am to sign in and change clothes, and get that WARM blanket put on me....that is such a comfortable feeling. The lady that sang on the phone to me "Pack up all your cares and woes, singing low, bye, bye black bird" will be there too. She said she would have a new song for me. Will be fun to match the voice on the phone with the real person.

Well, I guess it is time to go walk Kylie around the block, the sun is going down, so it won't be too bright on my eyes. You all have a great evening and see you in August!! Cheers ~ Louise

Flowers 2 X 2 and Brined Corned Beef

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a good day. My days are getting better, been sick lately with another round with the ulcer.  I guess JP's problem with his teeth got to me. He went to the Dentist on Monday and it has been decided that he has 4 teeth that need to be pulled. I had my second deep cleaning on the other half of my mouth Tuesday. Then got sick Wednesday and Thursday, finally throwing up with diarrhea Thursday. TODAY praise God I am feeling so much better and eating a bit more. Lost a few pounds...so that I will take.

Another thing I am dealing with is the cataract eye surgery on July 22nd and August 5th. All the pre-ops and post-ops that come with it. I suppose there will be the eye drops that have to be applied. Oh I don't know, this sure has been a tough year for JP and I....here's hoping things calm down for us in the next few months.

So below are my two lovely Brown Eyed Susan's that come back every year.....love these flowers. This year I got lots of seedlings to start....So I shall be planting them all over my yard....yayyyyyy!

                              Two lovely orange-red Lilly's

                         Two lovely red Bee Balm blossoms.

Two lovely yellow trumpet Lilly's. Not sure that is what they are called, but I do, cause they look like little trumpets to me.

                         Two lovely yellow Begonia flowers.

This is not a picture of my corned beef in the brine, but from the site I got the recipe from. I made the brine and heated it up, it is now sitting on the stove cooling down. As the recipe said, can't add the hot brine to the cold meat....both must be cold then let it sit in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. I made this years ago when we lived on our 20 acres and raised our own beef....yep, those were the golden days for us....lots of work but we ate really good.

I will let you know how this turns out, as I probably will cook it in my pressure cooker along with some cabbage and potatoes. (golly it is not even St. Patrick's Day!!) I cooked up some steamed broccoli in the pressure cooker tonight....delicious, that will go with the chicken and potatoes (that was cooked in the oven). JP's dinner is all cooked, now I just have to do the dishes.

Well you all have a good evening and a great Saturday.....oh how we love Saturday's!!!!! Keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise