Ah....Birthday Blessings

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful day. I did, thank you. Today I turned 68, yikes now that is a big number. Never thought I would make it this far. I am sure those of you who are older will say, "Ah you are still young and have many more years ahead of you" But you know what? I am still feeling older, just can't do some of the things I used to, and seem to walk a little bit slower these days....yeah, "my mind is willing but the body ain't."

Well today started out with a bang. JP had to get blood tests, because he has another appointment with the urologist next week. He is still dealing with the problem he has had for 6 months. He did finally go to the foot doctor and had his corns and warts shaved off and an acid put on the wart. WaLa.....he can now walk and the corns and warts don't bother him. Still have not gotten the bill for that adventure as yet.

So I got up at 9:30am, only because the phone rang at 8:10am and 9:20am....and no one was there, geez could not even sleep in today. Did my blood, made a green smoothie and fed Kylie. Turned on the computer and off we go into cyber-space. 1st I checked Facebook to see Birthday greetings from friends, then on to blogs, emails and pinterest, yes, so much to do.

So Thursday I went shopping and splurged on this lovely bouquet of flowers for $2.98. My choice of cake was a New York Style Cheese Cake, half chocolate chip and half plain cheese for $9.99 at Festival. I made some cranberry sauce and spooned that over the cake.....MMMMM was it good. No pictures as yet, that is coming in the next blog. If we don't eat the cake up before I can take a picture. :)

The mailman came Thursday with 3 cards in the mail for me....that was nice. One was from a blogger friend and another one from a stamping friend (both these cards were homemade). The 3rd card was one of those regular cards (but pretty) from an old friend that I used to work with at The Salvation Army. I always feel guilty when she sends a card, cause I always seem to forget her birthday in March......I must remember this next time around.

While I was on Facebook, my SIL messaged me that her daughter (our niece) had a baby girl....now that was neat....what a great day to be born on ~ November 21st. Her name is Madelyn Renee and so very cute too!!!

So JP came home and we made plans for the day. I would go to Shopko and get his meds and a few other things. I was going to get a wok that was on clearance ($59.99 marked down to $39.99), walked around with it in the cart and then talked myself out of it. I did have one 6 months ago and wore it out and thought I would get a new one.....but now I won't.  Not unless I change my mind again. What I  really want to get is a portable record player....yeah, and play some of my old records while making cards....doesn't that sound like fun???  Been wanting a record player for a very long time....maybe now is the time.

The record player is on sale for $79.00, marked down to $59.00 and with my $10 off coupon would bring it down to $49.00. Then the next big decision is....what color, black, red or turquoise.....gosh, so many decisions. But yeah....I think that is the route I will go, sometimes I just don't want to watch TV while making cards and just listening to music would be fun. I can pull out all my old records and reminisce. There's 78's, 45's and 33's...yeah, good times.

So after shopping, JP and I went to the library for a book sale. While I looked at the books, he went to a music store to see if his old concertina as tradeable for a saxophone. We'll see what happens on that deal.

So anyways I bought a few books, some cook books, diet books, antique books and a dvd. Gosh the library had a lot of books for sale...there were some old, old books too...I thought I would buy one, it was dated 1860...hummm...maybe I should have bought it. I did get a child's cookbook, that I think might be worth $30.00, it was a first edition, first printing, a little worn....but maybe worth something. I saw one on Etsy just like it and was selling for $37.00.

While I was checking out the books, one of the ladies looked at me and said, "Your hair is so beautiful, I watched you as you were walking around. Your hair color is beautiful" Well I said, "thank you, you made my day. I was just telling my husband this morning that I needed to do something with my hair...it is getting so grey!!!!" JP said, "NO...it looks nice". Guess I will keep it, must be my crown of glory from God.

After the library, we dropped off the Concertina and books at home and went to BJ Clancy's for my free steak. If you show up there on your birthday your dinner is free....such a deal, can not pass that up. We like to go to BJ's for our birthdays.....sometimes it works out, sometimes not. Actually brought home some steak for a snack tomorrow....maybe I should freeze it....we'll see. We got home, and I walked Kylie down the block and back....very chilly and wind was blowing....burrrrrrr!!!

Schwan's Man came.....bought some asparagus for my green smoothies, some turkey pot pies and garlic cheese bread. I know, a little pricey......but oh so good!!! Well, I think that about covers my birthday day....very busy but lots of fun....sorry my blog is so wordy but hey.....it's my birthday, what did you expect????

You all have a great day and keep looking up.....Oh I for got to add, today was a bright and sunny day.....must have been a gift from God.  Cheers ~ Louise

November~~~It's My Birthday Month!!!

Hi there everyone....YAY...it's time to celebrate my birthday ALL MONTH!!! Yes, I will, and because I am one year older...I shall try to do some special things all this month, to celebrate this mile stone in my life.

Yep...never thought I would make it to 68...when I was younger, 68 was so far away..."and aren't people in their 60's ready for the rocking chair and nursing homes???? They are sooooo very old!!! (I thought) Well, I still feel pretty young, but my body is telling me otherwise. But, I shall keep on keeping on as long as I can.

Some things that I am planning this month are:
1) Hospice meeting on the 7th, will be taking about 75 cards.
2)Stampin'Up Camp on the 9th - new things to learn.
3)Card Making on the 13th - new things to learn.
4)My Birthday on the 21st - 68 years old.
5)JP got the 21st off, so we shall eat out and I will get a free steak.
6)A book sale at the Library on 20th and 21st
7)Need to make an appointment at the Doctor's (uge) - no rush.
8)Thanksgiving on 27th....no plans...probably a small turkey for us.(I love all the things that can be made with left-overs)

One thing I am looking at buying is one of those blenders that makes smoothies and hot soups...that just might be up my alley. I saw one demonstrated at Sam's Club but they were asking $275. Gosh the soups were good, and the smoothies, out of this world. I shall have to check it out more thoroughly my next visit to Walmart.

One thing that happened in October (that I am rejoicing about and it was sort of an early birthday present) is that we finally got our roof done. It had been leaking for over 11 years. To my dismay, the kitchen ceiling has been getting worse and worser. About 6 tiles have fallen and you can see where the ceiling is sagging in. The ceiling fan has tilted to the side a little...I had such a fear that the ceiling would cave in and day light would show through.

We had an agency called "Rebuilding Together" come and redo the back part of the roof. The cost of the repairs was taken care of by donations to the organization. They help Senior Citizens who cannot afford to fix their homes, they also help Senior Citizens stay in their home, building ramps if needed, fixing things around the house. So in these two pictures you see our little house and the scaffold that was put up. The scaffold really helped us, cause JP was able to go up there and rake the leaves off the roof plus cut some branches that were laying on the roof. It made it easier for the men to work....it's amazing how God works things out for us when we least expect it.

I wish we had gotten this construction company in the very beginning. None of this would have happened and we would not be dealing with a leaky roof and ceiling. They did a great job. If and when we can get the ceiling done, I will be calling them to do the job. It's comforting to know we have someone we can call that will do the job right!!!

I did check with our Insurance Company.....they would not be able to fix the ceiling....it has to be a "sudden or unexpected" crisis and this roof/ceiling crisis has been going on for 11 years. What we should have done in the very beginning, like right after the ceiling started leaking was call the guy who did it and have him come back and fix it....he sold his business......it was too late!!! We have been caught between a rock and a hard place all these years.

So now the roof is fixed and I can live with the ceiling the way it is, as long as it does not LEAK!!!!!

In these two pictures you can see we had lots of leaves. We are still in the process of raking and cleaning up the yard before Winter and the snow starts to fly....uge....I am praying we don't get a lot of snow this year. Our snow blower is not in the best of condition, so JP will have to shovel the snow. Our neighbor has a blower but his knees are bad. Who knows we may have to pay someone to do our drive-way. One day at a time....no sense worrying now...so that is why I am praying...not too much snow God.

Well time to close this post for today....it's kind of long and you are probably yawning and skipping over a lot of my boring ramblings. Well, you have a great week and keep looking up!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

These are a few cards I had made for St. Patrick's Day. My newest card for St. Pat's did not make it on this blog as I mailed them out to people already, forgot to make an extra one. Well, next year I will have one for my blog.

Making tonight's dinner, a brisket with potatoes, carrots, cabbage and onions....mmmmmmm good!!! It is starting to smell good in this house. It sure is a beautiful day today, was supposed to rain this morning but it didn't. Temperature in the 70's, I sure do love this kind of weather, seems perfect, almost like "heavenly"!!!!

Been working on my "Family Tree" this past week, has been pretty interesting. Alot of my ancestors come from Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, oh and Michigan but mostly the migration started from Germany on both sides. It has been kind of hard finding my Father's ancestors as my great grandfather came from Germany. On my mother's side it seems the ancestral line goes back to the 1700's from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania.

I go to the Library where I can get on Ancestor.com for free. From home here, I can get on Archives.com, free for 7 days then I pay, so if I can get all my hunting done in 6 days, then I can cancel. Will see though, there is so much to look for and it has been a lot of fun!!!!

Well, I need to take some pictures of my Easter cards and get them into my Etsy store. I am running behind here, in a few day I will put them up here on my blog. Then, have to make at least 12 cards to send to family and friends. Talk to you later, have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Making Christmas Ornaments

Been busy making Christmas ornaments for my tree and for Etsy. Going to put a few up in my Etsy store today just as soon as I finish this here blog. Which won't be very long. Also need to get my regular Christmas ornaments up for the season. Got my cards all done and they are ready to be mailed on Monday. As I sit writing this blog, am watching my favorite Christmas DVD " The Christmas Card" such a neat story. In the midst of war in Afganistan, Cody Cullen is touched by a card sent by Faith Spelman from a small and picturesque town of Nevada City, California. As months pass, the card never leaves his side, giving him the strength to survive and setting him on a mission to find her. I'd encourage you to find it either on Netflex, the Library or buy it. It's a great movie, puts ya in the Christmas Spirit and might put a tear in your eye just as it puts a tear in my eye everytime I watch it.

Anyways, the ornaments are pretty fun to make. Long strips of cardstock, scored every 1/4 inch, then folded like a fan. Glued on one end, fitted together with the other end, then flatened to form a circle and glued. You can then decorate it any way you like. I'll be selling them for $1.25 a piece or 8 for $9.50 + postage and shipping. They should be up and running in my Etsy store by tonight

Well, guess I will close this blog for today, keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Friday Funday ~ What's New With You????????

Hi there fellow bloggers, so what's new with you today??????? I'm still taking my meds for that UTI. Feeling much better.....thank God! I was totally surprised by the fact that I had this infection, feeling a little uncomfortable for many months was my only complaint. So, I thought this was a normal thing for a 64 going on 65 year old. NO, it was not normal, now I know. Only problem is I have to take this medication on an empty stomach, but I never know when the stomach is empty. Well, maybe in about 1/2 hour I will take a pill, type alittle, then zonk out, cause that is what it does, makes me drowsey and tired.

Went to the Library yesterday.......FINALLY found this cookbook I have been wanting to see before I bought it at Barns and Noble. My husband has Gout, so I have wanted to see some of the recipes from this cookbook. They are very simple and basic, like "eggs parmasian" sounds good, think I will try it in the next week or so. Another cookbook I got was "Just 1oo Calories" looked like a good one for Louise to try, as I am always on a diet of some sort.....lol! The third book is on stamping. "Making Cards with Rubber Stamps" thought there might be some new ideas I could try.

The three books

Eight DVD's, this shall keep me busy for the week. 1 Cardmaking Dvd and 2 Crocheting Dvd's (as I am into making doily's fof a season), 2 diet Dvd's "You on a Diet Workout" and "You on a Diet" (two different authors, should be interesting, hopfully not boring) the other 3 movies, "The Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock. "Gifted Hands" The Ben Carson Story and "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. That all should keep me busy and out of trouble for the week at least. Will let you know if I try any new recipes from the cookbooks.

Well, I think I shall shut down this blog for now, the medication is starting to work, doesn't take much. Be sure to stop by on Monday to see my blog as I will be doing an interview with Elena from the Ukraine, if all works out well and I didn't overwhelm her with questions.

Take care and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise