O.M.G. Where Did June Go????

Hi there everyone....hope you had a great JUNE! But, but, but, this is the last day of JUNE ~ where oh where did JUNE go?????? 

I did manage to get a few plantings done though, have already had some lettuce and a few radishes. In this planter above and below, I planted Italian green beans (they are flat instead of round), radishes, lettuce, and a cucumber plant. I tried some chive seeds, but the seeds must have been old. They did not grow. I have another planter like this on the other side of the yard, that has some new seeds for chives planted, so we shall see.

Here is another view of the beans....hoping to have lots this year. Last years crop was a handful a day...never enough to can or freeze. Maybe this year will be different.

Got my little ponds working, there has been plenty of rain lately, enough to fill the pond up. I still have to get my ceramic animals out.....just a little slow in that area. Maybe this week. As you can see in this picture, there is a few weeds and the leaves still have to be raked up. Maybe I will just leave them and cover with some new mulch....I don't know, still have to decide.

This little fountain is over by my other planter, it's a solar fountain, so it needs LOTS of SUN. I can see it from my kitchen window....fun to watch. Still have lots of work to do here though. A little bit each day may get all the summer work done...I hope.

I do have another fountain on the front porch...that one runs constantly, although I do not have it on today....listening to the rain fall was fine by me. Wish I lived by a water fall....I do love the sound of water splashing or falling.

So in the next 3 pictures are some plantings from seeds. Below are Zinnias...one of my favorite summer flowers.

Another batch of flower seeds.....marigolds. Guess I will have to start transplanting some of these seedlings soon.

Another favorite are these Morning Glories, they will get the morning sun. Will be nice to see early in the morning. Around the planter are purple violets, weeds and a few volunteers tomato plants. 3 of them, they were in this pot last summer, a few seeds must have planted themselves....that's okay.

So there you have it a little tour of my gardens....still much to do, with many, many weeds to pull, THEY never stop growing, do they?!?!

Time to close here, have to go make dinner for JP....I made chicken stew in the crock pot yesterday....so he shall have left overs. I am dieting again, hopefully to lose 10-15 lbs. this next month. I am doing the Keto diet which really works for me. Total loss of lbs. since July 2017, about 35 lbs. I have not been strict on the Keto so naturally the weight loss is very slow. This month, I will really work hard at it and see what comes from it.

You all have a great 4th of July weekend and enjoy the fireworks and family fun. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Independence Day

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful 4th of July!!! The day is beautiful and sunny here in Wisconsin. Perfect weather for fireworks, get togethers, picnics, cookouts and fun in the sun. Me....I will just lay around and maybe get a few things done around the house. Oh, and enjoy my gardens and hope the mosquitos don't find me and carry me away. (that would be a miracle)

So, as we enjoy this day, let us not forget all those men and women who fought for our freedoms. Our freedoms that seem to be dwindling more each day. Remember all those that went before us doing great things and accomplishing great things never before seen. Things that you won't hear on the news media that can only be explained, because God did the doing.

I thought I would share a few pictures and ideas for cards that I found on the internet. I did make a few cards via the idea above. Some of my ideas are in the banner above.

My Patriotic House Mouse's. They show up every year about this time.

Loved this poster when I saw it....I think I found this on Facebook along with the horse below.

Another card. I think my rendition of this card is in the banner above.

Happy 4th of July and celebration of the Birthday of the Declaration of Independence. We are still so very young as a Nation, with lots to learn.....but, we are one of the greatest Nations and still very much blessed by God. For now.

So keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

God Bless America!!!!

Are You Wondering?.......Valentine Tree and Cards

Hi there everyone. Well, you are probably wondering why my post title says "are you wondering?" Yes, I would like to say I am sorry....for I am sure you are wondering why I am not commenting on your blog....I really want to, but blogspot is not allowing me to, and I am very upset about this. I love commenting, just as I love receiving a comment, even if it is just to say hello. I have tried going anonymous, that does not work, (my comment vanishes) then I try the URL and that does not work. (again, my comment vanishes.) I don't know how or what to do. One day I tried emailing one of my blogger friends and that did not work....I clicked and clicked to no avail. Finally I gave up.

I have searched through BlogSpot to see if I could find a setting that needs to be changed and I have not yet found the problem....it sure is frustrating to me. So I just wanted you to know, I do read your blogs....most everyone you see along side my post...I visit most every day. Please don't give up on me, just cause you don't see my comment....I am here, reading your blog....but sometimes I just can't comment.

I do have another blog, on Word Press....but no one knows I am there....Word Press is so complicated to me.....I don't know.........guess it is time for a change of some sort, or just go back to Word Press and scrabble my mind some more. In the mean time, here are some more pictures.

Below is my Valentine Tree....hard to tell the lights are a glowing. I think I will leave the tree up most of February and take it down March 1st. Sounds like a plan.

So here are a few cards I made for my Etsy store. The shoe pictures are actually napkins, using the first layer and gluing it on some card stock then letting it dry. These two cards will be $3 a piece, so $6.00 + shipping ($9.50). I am looking around for St. Patrick napkins, as soon as I find them....they will become cards also.


Blue Apron meal....here is their site. "Chicken & Udon Noodle Soup with Napa Cabbage & Dried Lime" This was a really good soup and easy to put together. The use of the dried lime was unique....but I did not see a difference. I would give this soup 4 stars.

So yesterday (Sunday), I was in a cooking mood. Pretty cold outside, so I think I was making comfort food inside. Baked potatoes, 500degree beef roast and carrots. I also made a baked sweet potato and mashed it with butter, milk, salt and pepper. YUM, I have not been much of a fan of the lowly sweet potato...but that is slowly changing for me. Sweet potatoes make a good pie too.

So, now....we get to have roast beef sandwiches for the week. I have put some sliced meat in the freezer for another meal or two or for Italian beef sandwiches for a later date.

In this picture is Banana Crazy/Wacky Cake and then there is Chocolate, Vanilla, Spice, Lemon and Coffee Wacky cake.....all very simple and on my agenda to make often. There is no butter, milk or eggs used in this cake. I guess in the old, depression days, when it was hard to get butter, milk or eggs, this cake was used and truly, it is very good. Would be wonderful with it warmed out of the oven with ice cream on top. I am sure you could make this gluten free by using rice flour.

Okay....in this next picture is Doggie treats for Kylie....see, I was in a cooking mood. These were very simple. 2 bananas mashed, 2/3 cups peanut butter and 1 1/2 cup oat meal (powdered) So I ran the oat meal in my blender to powder it as much as I could. Then mix the 3 ingredients together...if it is too sticky, put more oat meal in it, too dry, more peanut butter. Then, roll out the mixture and cut into squares or us a cooking cutter. Bake at 350 degrees on parchment paper for 15 minutes, cool and put in a container...Kylie, by the way...loved her new treats and wagged her tail faster then she does for her other treats. Maybe she knew I made them for her?????? They were pretty good too....I tried one or two of them. Maybe they should be "people treats" too.

In this last picture is my Valentine tree in the dark and the setting on the camera was for "fireworks" a setting I did not realize I had....geez, I have had this camera for over 3 years and just now found this setting?? Where have I been living?????

Well, bummers the Green Bay Packers lost their game Saturday. Now they are out for the season. At least I still have the Chicago Blackhawks to root for, and there is still 2 1/2 months yet to play and then the playoffs for the Stanley Cup.....yep, I have high hopes for them.

Not too much going this week except for card making at Betty's on Wednesday. JP has another appointment on Thursday and my Blue Apron meals are coming on Thursday also. OH....another thing going on, I am finally working on my income tax...uge, but I got a good start so that is good, maybe I will be finished before the due date this time.

As for card making I have been making a few new cards lately and also working to put some cards together for the Hospice meeting on the 29th. That always keeps me busy.

Time to close....gosh, it stayed lighter tonight, Daylight saving starts Sunday, March 13th....yay, then, we are back to normal, whatever that may be.

Have a good evening and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Friday Ramblings........

Hi there, how you all doing?? I am fine and surviving the Christmas and New Year's activities. Plus doing some resting too. Caught some kind of cold, the residue is a bunch of flemmy junk and cough in the morning, but once that is out of the way, everything is fine. Sleeping in has done wonders, guess that is why we are told to drink lots of water and get plenty of rest. You might get rid of the cold quicker, instead of it lingering for weeks on end.

Well, I found the above picture someplace on the internet and thought it was worthy of being placed on this blog, so here it tis. ENJOY and I hope it brings a smile on you face!!!

 Listening to the radio while typing. My favorite talk shows are Rush, Sean and Mark........they talk so much of this "fiscal cliff" I wonder what it really means. Is there really a fiscal cliff or is it all just a scare tactic, getting people all worked up for nothing. I don't know, these politicians sure can make up stories to cover up other stories. They should be ashamed of themselves. What is so hard about speaking the truth??? Guess truth does not make money.....hummmm?!?!

Weather is snowy today. I was going to go to the store today, but JP said the streets are slippery. We can go store hopping tomorrow and pick up his meds and some food.

I think I finally got my computer fixed, it was running soooooo slow. I knew there was something plugging it up, but just did not know how to get around it. Finally clicked on Norton again and there is a program Norton has that finds virus's that are deeply hidden and fixes the problem. Plus let's you know if there are other things not working right. So I jumped through those hoops and now things are running better. For now. Have to check out a few other programs I was having problems with before the "big fix".

So what are you doing for New Year's......I think we are going to a friends house, they live on the Fox River. From their home can be see the fireworks and the ball dropping....that should be fun watch, can't remember ever seeing fireworks on New Year's Eve.

Well, time to close this blog for today, probably will say hi again on the 31st and say "Good-bye" to 2012 via my blog.

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