Ohhhhhh Is Anyone There???

 Hi there everyone. Thought I would drop a line or two. Yes, I am still alive and kicking. As you can see by the dates on the pictures below, they are 5 years old, but they are Fall pictures, so I am using them today.

I have not been much into a blog mood, only because not much is happening in my life. Since JP's death, (1 year, 2-1/2 months) everyday just seems to blend into another. I have tried to get a lot done around the house, but sometimes I just find myself sleeping. I get plenty done in my mind, but my body does not cooperate.

Next month, 11/21 I will be 76 years old. WHERE did that time go to?? Never thought I would make it to this age.

Well, to update you all. I had my garage sale and made about $140.00 which did help in paying some bills. The sale was back in June. I thought I would have another one in July, August and possibly in September. But I decided not to. June was enough for me. I am still in the process of cleaning the garage and ridding myself of all the old garage sale stuff that did not sell. I gave "Good Will" 6 banana boxes of stuff already with 2-3 more boxes to go. 

I have decided I am NOT going to sell and move out of this house. And would like to stay here for as long as I can. To down-size, pack and move just sounds like too much stress and a hassle at this time in my life. I am not under pressure now, as I was even 6 months ago as I have made plans with the City to begin paying my property tax which will now keep me from foreclosure in two years. 

I have had a few other financial situations cleared up, so my future looks a little brighter, that's if this country does not go down the tubes with inflation, high gas and food prices and every other crisis that comes up. 

It has been hard to keep my nose above water these last couple of years what with the Pandemic, JP's sickness and death, trying to make ends meet has been a challenge. But God is Good, and He takes care of His own.

I had a really good garden this year with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, onions, dill and basil. I am in the midst of drying the dill and basil. I think the beans are done as it was my second planting. I brought in my green tomatoes, and they are ripening in a dish pan. 

My card making has been at a minimum lately, have lots of ideas, but seem to find other things to do. Cooking for myself is not fun. When JP was alive, I cooked much more, always trying something new and different. Now I just cook what is easy, fast or not so healthy. Hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, fries, steak, beans, broccoli, and corn. Chicken when I can and porkchops anything that can be made in the Air Fryer or microwave. My Air Fryer is my new friend.

My car has a gas line leak, so it has been sitting in the driveway this week. Monday, I have to take it to the service station, hopefully there is enough gas to get it there and has not all leaked out. Then the guy won't be able to work on it till the 20th, maybe sooner. Hopefully the bill will be affordable.

Well, I guess that is all for now, this was going to be a short blog, but I guess I am just too wordy. You all have a great rest of the month...I am sure it will go fast. The days are flying by, enjoy them while you have them. Keep looking up!!! Better days are a comin'. 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

Made Some Gherkan Pickles the Other Day

Hi there everyone hope you are having a good evening. Thought I would do a short post tonight. Made some Gherkin pickles the other day.....I love these pickles. They are made from over-ripe pickles. Years ago, probably back in the 60's you could buy these pickles in the store, but I don't see them anymore. So I have made my own and they seem to have come pretty close to what I remember them being.  I used to love making a good sandwich with these pickles, I remember them being a sweet-sour taste, so with a ham and mayo on toast was sooooo delicious!!

As you can see in picture, I peel the over-ripe cucumbers, clean out the seeds and discard the seeds. Then I slice the cucumbers.

Place them in a plastic container, in salted water for 24 - 48 hours overnight on the counter, then I place them in the fridge if I see I will not be making them within those 48 hours.

After their long soak, I drain them and place them back in the plastic container.

In a pan, I add about 1/2 to 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar and about 2 cups of water....enough liquid to cover the pickles.

I then add turmeric, sugar and salt....oh and celery seed or celery salt.....then I taste, taste, taste till I get the taste I want.
The most important part of this is, to heat the liquid and seasonings to boil for a few minutes. Then pour over the pickles and let sit till the liquid cools down and can be refrigerated.

They keep in the fridge for however long they last.

TA-DA......here is what they look like when finished....yep this was a good batch of pickles!!!!

NOTE: They sure do make a good sandwich!!!

Maybe I will show you how I make my dill pickles....just made a batch tonight but did not take a picture of them.

Well time to close....JP will be home from work in about 10 minutes, so I have to get his dinner going. I made Cheese Burger Slider Casserole......now this was a delicious meal, I think he will like this one with cole slaw and beans and a few pickles from above.

Have a good night and keep looking up, better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Summertime Projects

Hi there everyone....I hope you had a nice day off and enjoyed your 4th of July holiday. We enjoyed the day. Made a pork roast, corn and beans on the grill and played in my gardens, oh and got bit up with the mosquitoes.

Today I am going to show you some of my projects I have been working on. Just a few. These drawers were all blue and I repainted them, put handles on them, filled with dirt and planted onions, radish, swiss chard. In the wheel barrel is cucumbers.

In this yellow drawer is sunflowers and more onions. The pie tins and wire mesh were to keep the squirrels out.....but that did not stop the chipmunks though. Out of 15 seeds planted the chipmunk left me 8 plants. I did transplant the sunflowers into bigger pots and protected wire mesh.

These drawers are still in their re-purposed process, the pink one is ready to plant....I just have to get some dirt in there....maybe flowers for this one. The red drawer will probably have lettuce planted when things cool down a bit. I have to get some more red paint for that one yet. Along with some white paint to spray down an old ladder and wicker stool for the porch. (no pictures as yet). Still on the back burner is my "Freda the Frog and daisies painted on the shed door.

See my pretty red bench??? This is my "Red Garden" Eventually everything will be red. I want to get a bamboo 6 foot fence to hide the neighbors junk and make my "red garden" a little bit more private, but that may be down the road a bit. Also on the agenda is some red mulch. This area gets the morning sun and evening sun, will be a nice place to meditate. (hopefully minus the mosquitoes)

I am painting rocks too....I thought different colored rocks thrown around would add a bit of color here and there. A few other things I have been working on....stepping stones, I made one so far. Turned an old tea cup and saucer into a bird feeder, it is still drying, as I used A LOT of liquid nails on it....that might work. Fixed my old picnic table umbrella with liquid nails too....the stick broke and it is still drying.

This is what my neighbors side of the house looks like when I first pulled the weeds and planted some tomato, cabbage and pepper plants. I tried zucchini, but the seeds were too old. If I had not done that....the weeds would have taken over the side of their house. This picture was taken May 28th.

Here is what the side of their house looks like as it is growing....looking good. Least I can keep an eye on the plants and know when they need water. This picture was taken July 1st. Lots of growth, but the two cabbage plants on the left are not doing so good, I had to transplant them because the rain from the gutter was beating them down. Poor things, if they make it, it will be a miracle.

So there you have it....keeping busy outside and inside making cards.....maybe next post will be a few cards. We shall see. You all have a great day and keep looking up.....better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

Beautiful Bella & Pretty Peonies

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a "bellissimo" weekend. Ours was kind of exciting. Thursday it started out with this site. BELLA sitting on her roof!!! What a site, I tell ya. For whatever reason, she crawls through the window screens and just sits there, waiting for her humans to come home. Well on this fine day, it happened that the man from Rebuilding Together came by to pick up their sign and he saw Bella sitting on the roof. He called Community Service. While he was calling Bella decided to go back into the house. Yes, crawling back through the window screen and back to safety.

As soon as he knew Bella was safe, he left. About a half hour later the Community Service police came. They looked around the house and on the roof. One of them saw me standing on the porch and came over. I told them Bella sits on the roof waiting....she does not jump, but I guess she could and it would be a long hard jump for her. She has done this a few other times. When I see the owners I will tell them and get their phone number. Next time this happens, I will call them and let them know. they said, "great...because there was really NOTHING they could do."

Saturday....Bella was on the roof again. I tell ya....I get such a kick out of seeing Bella sitting calmly on the roof looking off into the distance. She is so funny!!! BUT, not so funny on this day. I went over to Bella's home and told her master "John" about her antics. Bella thought it was great that I was visiting and to get John's attention, she decided to eat a DEAD chipmunk!!! Oh yuk.....I could not look cause every time I looked, I almost lost it and gagged!!! John never did get that dead chipmunk out of Bella's mouth. Bella thought it was great sport and pranced around, thinking she had done a wonderful thing.

After she ate the chipmunk she came up to the porch and wanted to greet me with a mouth shake....looking closely at her, Bella has to different colored eyes...one blue and one grey/white....funny dog!!!

Here you see my peonies...these are in a bouquet in the front of the house. Hold on, I shall go take another picture of the peonies.....the sun is out now I think I will use this picture as the header for this blog.

Here we are a picture of the peonies in a bouquet in front of the house. See my cucumbers to the right?? 3 in a pot and 4 or 5 in the ground....one way or the other....I shall get some cucumbers this summer. Maybe I will be able to share some too. Or make lots of pickles this summer.

My little evergreen tree planted by "Rebuilding Together" is not doing too well....we have to get some cow manure for it this week. I shall make some tea and give it a shot for all the plants....they can hardly wait.

Well, time to close here....think I will go downstairs and make a few cards...have not been down there for awhile....guess outside work is taking up my time.

I have found a wonderful book to read....it's called "The Mystery Of Lucy and the Dark Woods" by Diana Kosmoski, it's her first authored book and I have found it very interesting and good reading. I have taken time, after JP leaves for work, I sit on the front porch for about an hour with an ice tea and Kylie watching the action on the street from the porch. It is very relaxing. As for most books I get interested in, I don't want the end to come...but it will. I may have to ask Diana to write a sequel.

You have a great week and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

A Yummy Spring and Summer Salad....

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day that included family, friends and lots of good food. Also I hope you remembered those who gave their lives that we might enjoy the freedoms we have today.

Today almost felt like a Saturday....we always seem to get lots of things done. I did manage to plant some Cosmos and sowed some cosmos seeds....so it should be fun to see them grow. Next set of flowers to plant are my Zenia's, they usually get planted along side the house, which is their regular place.

I made this wonderful salad....I think this is a keeper. Very refreshing....never thought to mix cucumbers and strawberries together. The idea came from this blog

The only thing I did different was add the salad dressing and feta cheese. On this salad I used an Asian sesame salad dressing which was very good. My previous salad had Caesar's dressing. I guess you could use any dressing you like.

This is what it looks like when the husband gets a hold of the salad.....sure glad I had my portion.

Watching the Blackhawks play the Ducks in Anaheim, CA.....10 more minutes to play and the Hawks are losing.....geez.....come on Hawks!!!!!

So this week.....the last week of May, (where did this month go????) I will be cutting a friends hair. She had asked me in April...but I was sick and not able to do it. So she waited till I felt better. Nothing planned on Wednesday. Thursday I go to the Dentist to get a deep cleaning on half my mouth. The other half will be in July. Uge, not sure I am looking forward to this....but I guess I shall survive.

I am still trying to put my house back together after having Rebuilding Together people come and make many improvements on my house.....and I am still loving all the new things added. I love my kitchen and the new ceiling.....yes, I took some pictures today....soon to be seen on this blog.

Well time to close here, I made a rhubarb crisp....so I need to go try some of that and get a drink of water....thirsty!!! (Darn the Ducks just scored and there is 4 minutes left)

Have a good evening and keep looking up!!! Cheers ~ Louise

PS....WHEW....the Hawks and Ducks are tied 4-4 and will be going into OVERTIME!!!

PSS.....'Da Hawks lost!!!! Next game is Wednesday!!!

SATURDAY....YaYYYYYYY!!!!

Hi there everyone. Hope your weekend is starting off good!! Have you ever tried to find some funny pictures....and none of them were very funny?? That's what happened for me tonight. I wanted to do a new post using a funny picture, but this is all I could find. Oh well....now that it is actually Saturday morning. I can look forward to sleeping in, probably won't hit the pillow till 2:30am. Yay!!!

Not much has been going on here. Just trying to enjoy the summer and what is left of it. My flowers are doing great and I do enjoy looking at them everyday. Been making teas with my Hibiscus plant, Lemon Mint in the front yard, Bee Balm and Hyssop tea in the back yard. All 4 are really great and each one has some really good health benefits.

My husband likes the Hyssop tea because it is mentioned in the Bible. Hyssop has a kind of licorice taste. Bee Balm attracts the bees and butterflies for the nectar and the leaves can be dried to prepare bergamot tea. The native Americans shared this tea with the early settlers, who then used it as a substitute when imported tea became scarce after the Boston tea party.

I take the flowers of my Hibiscus plant, rinse them and put them in a hot pot of water. I have talk about the Hibiscus tea in a previous post. The Lemon Mint tea is just as it says...a lemony mint taste. I have some drying on the front porch and plan to get some more dried by the end of this month.

I am getting a few cucumbers from the garden, no tomatoes as yet. It looks like my onions are not doing so good again this year. Oh well.

Don't have a lot of plans for today....maybe work on some cards and get a few new things into my Etsy store. I have been "out to lunch" for the last couple of weeks so to speak....so I better get some things listed, people will think I closed shop...lol!

You all have a great weekend and keep looking up! Cheers - Louise

PS. If you would like to check out my other blog it is cards4ubylouise.wordpress.com

A New Month and a Garden Harvest

Hi everyone, how are you all doing this first day of the month??? Wonder how fast this month will go by??? Hard to believe the summer is almost over except for a few more warm days ahead of us and then WINTER is just around the corner.....YIKES!!!!

Well, I thought I would post some vegies from my garden.  I made a tomato garden this year....so in the above picture you see some of my tomatoes. My but they were yummy this year.  BLT's  were absolutely divine!! My cucumbers are doing good this year as I planted the young plants in an old wheel barrel. I have tried planting in other areas but they just did not seem to grow.....the wheel barrel must have had perfect growing conditions this year.

I have onions growing all over the place....but none of the onions seem to get really big....more like small marbles...oh well, guess I will just buy them at the store. The rhubarb did not do good this year, no harvest. Had strawberries growing in the front of the house.....they did well, lots of sun and rain for those berries. Not a good year for beans....planted in two different places....they did not take off...oh well. My oregano and garlic are doing well. Peppers are growing along with the tomatoes. Oh and how did I forget....I planted potatoes in a container....they are still sprouting, so have not received a harvest as yet...that's if the squirrel does not get to them before I do......DARN that squirrel!!!!

We've been given lots of vegies though...tomatoes, peppers, jalapeno peppers, egg plant, cucumbers, cabbage have been bountiful, with more to come, I hope.

In this picture is my green apples..........I am so happy that these babies made it. As of this writing I have 11 containers of cooked up apples in the freezer. Each container will make one apple pie. Oh yum!!

Our Labor Day will consist of JP going out to the tree and getting some more apples off the tree. He is taller then I...so hopefully he'll get higher then I could. I think they are ready now, cause the apples that I cut open today....the seeds were black or almost turning. So I will cut some more apples up tomorrow, cook them and freeze some and make a pie for Labor day. We have company coming from Chicago....so guess what....they are getting some apple pie. Why buy dessert when I can make a pretty good pie here with some whipped cream...........oh my, I can hardly wait!!!!

Well, time to close, it is getting late and I need to get some sleep. Going to be a quiet day around here, we'll get some things done around the house before company comes next weekend. Have a great Labor Day and don't' labor too much......lol!!! Keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Been Bizzy Here Lately......

Bizzy, bizzy, bizzy!! We got 2 yards of red mulch for $60, $35 extra delivered.  I think I have filled 11 wheel barrels full so far.....with much more yet to go.
So I have been working on my different gardens, with my "Fountain Garden" in the picture below. I still have much more to do, but it is coming along fine. Picked up that little goose at a garage sale, isn't he cute??? I need to redo the fountain and dig a hole deeper for the liner, which means moving all the rocks again. But in the mean time, this works for now.

 In the picture below, I made this cute little "angel garden" tonight, adding the brick, mulch, and snow on the mountain.

 Now this picture below is my "patio garden." Layed the mulch down around the bricks and side garden tonight. Sometime this summer we are going to get a picnic table, Sam's Club seems to have the best price.

 In the picture below is my "Tomato Garden." In the forefront, is an old wheel barrel with burpless cucumber plants.......hopefully I will get some cucumbers this year. I will also have some onions planted in that little box. Also planted in the garden is a perennial daisy plant.

 In the picture below is the "fire pit garden" as you can see there is a lot to do and lots of weeds to pull. See that ugly shed to the right of the garden??? I want to paint the shed white and make some painted flowers on it, spruce it up a bit, but that may not be till July or so, after I get all my gardens done and all the mulch spread.

I still have a few other gardens going, but those are still needing some TLC. Eventually it will all come together. 

Well, I think I will close for now, have to get dinner going for JP's dinner tonight. Making a few cards also, seems my cards get put on the back burner when there is garden work to do. So much to do and so little time....my plate is full. Have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise