Cards I Would Like To Make

Hi there everyone....Hope April is treating you well. Well, as I said in my previous post, the first week would be busy. It was.
1) Monday, JP had an appointment with Doctor. His prostrate cancer is stable, no growth, Praise the Lord for that.
2) Tuesday was a free day. Snow was predicted, 3-12 inches. Glad I didn't have to venture out. We might have gotten about 5 inches.
3) Wednesday, we had our dryer delivered.....they even came with all the snow predicted....I was surprised. We are loving the new dryer. Now I have to show JP how to run it.
4) Thursday, I took the car to Muntz to have a new CD/Radio installed....finally music to drive with.
5) Friday, Hospice meeting and all my cards are made, not unless I add a few more tonight.....we'll see. (60 cards made)

Whew...that was a busy week for me, glad it is coming to an end. Next week should be more quieter, hope, hope, hope.

The following pictures of cards are what I am planning to make. I have made a few cards using this Rose Wonder image....I like this technique, looks like water color pencil and the rose stamped on it.

Here we have the Rose Wonder die cut on 5 different colors....pretty neat. I get most of my ideas from Pinterest, love going there for card and recipe ideas, etc.

Isn't this a pretty card, it caught my attention only because it is in purple and gold....like, like, like. Pretty classy!

Below is the peony stamp that I ordered from Altnew, I still have to use it yet....just a little slow. But I think this would be a nice technique. Looks like water color paints, maybe the peony has been embossed to resist the paint. Something to try.

Tonight I want to try a new technique, it is called "Black Ice" If you look it up on YouTube, you will find some tutorials. I had never heard of this technique till I read about it on Brenda's Blog hope this leads you to her address. You should see her sample of a black ice card at this post.

I am going to make one tonight....maybe I will get it on my blog in the next couple of days. (if it turns out) Well, I think I will close here for now. Need to go make dinner. We are having a Blue Apron meal "Chicken Paillard & Olive-Raisin Sauce with Warm Fennel & Potato Salad" Should be fun, I have never worked with Fennel before, then mixed with potatoes should be delicious.

Note: the meal from Blue Apron above...was VERY GOOD!!

Have a great evening and keep looking up....better days ARE coming!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Fall Flowers and a Steak Dinner

Hi there everyone.....WOW can you believe it????? October 1st....where oh where did September go??? I always remember that song that Frank Sinatra sang...at this time of the year.

"September Song"
When I was a young man courting the girls

I played me a waiting game
If a maid refused me with tossing curls
I'd let the old Earth make a couple of whirls
While I plied her with tears in lieu of pearls
And as time came around she came my way
As time came around, she came

When you meet with the young girls early in the Spring
You court them in song and rhyme
They answer with words and a clover ring
But if you could examine the goods they bring
They have little to offer but the songs they sing
And the plentiful waste of time of day
A plentiful waste of time

Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December
But the days grow short when you reach September
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down to a precious few
September, November
And these few precious days I'll spend with you
These precious days I'll spend with you

Well, now a trip to my yard of Fall Flowers. My yellow rose (of Texas). She doesn't get very big during the summer but she sure does produce some beautiful flowers.

I bought these two mum plants at Walmart @ $1 a piece....and just thought to plant them together....thinking I better go out and give them a little bit of water after I do this post.

This is my gorgeous star Clementius....I am not sure that is her real name but she sure does produce some luscious flowers.

My Black Eyed Susan's just keep producing all Summer and Fall long and surprise me growing in different places.

My $5 mum plant....I bought this one at Festival Foods. I need to plant it pretty soon.

Last but not least.....a Blue Apron meal, we had the other night. Seared Steaks and Roasted Potatoes with Balsamic-Glazed Mushrooms. This was really a delicious dinner and the meat was really tender, potatoes crispy and the mushrooms out of this world. Nothing is mentioned in the title about the fried kale.....that was pretty good too.

I haven't talked much about my Blue Apron meals, only because I have not been ordering them that much. I have been very picky and choosey with what I buy. JP does not like spicey, so my options are usually limited. Blue Apron likes to spice things up a bit. So I either cut it out or add just a little.....but if he can taste the spice, he does not eat it. The older he gets the harder it is to cook for him. So....sometimes it is just best to stick with the basics that have no spice.

Well, I best cut this post short.....have to go walk Kylie while it is still light out and then get dinner cooked. I do have a new recipe to share with you. Maybe in my next post. A Power Pressure Canning XL recipe....Pasta Puttanesca in 6 Minutes. It was soooooo good!!!

Tomorrow we find out the results of JP's test from his Prostrate Biopsy last Monday. The appointment is at 12:15 so please keep us in your prayers.

Have a great day and keep looking up better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Fences - Old and New

Hi there everyone....Hope you are having a good week. It's been a little rough here. JP had to have a tooth pulled last Thursday and was off work both Thursday and Friday. Yesterday, Monday, he had a biopsy on his prostrate and was off work. Today he went to work...guess I will find out how he did when he gets home. The results of his biopsy will be next Monday. We are praying that the results will show no cancer. 

On Monday the 11th we had a new fence put up.....I am really loving it. The above picture is the Old fencing we put about 5-6 years ago.

In this picture we got the green fence all taken down and the ground raked and brush cut down. See that clothes line pole???? It got taken down too....I always thought it was on our property, but it actually was on the neighbors property. Guess I will have to think of another way to hang clothes.

Here are some of the men that worked on putting my fence up. Volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.

Wa la.....here is the finished product.....next year we will either paint it or stain it. I bought some mulch, so I want to lay some down along the fence, hopefully keeping most of the weeds down.

I put my old grill in front of the fence....a couple of benches that were left curb side by the neighbor across the street. He helped us carry them over to our place. We didn't have the fence up....so glad I got them.....they sure did add to the décor.

A little bit of a closer look.

It has been fun decorating my back yard.....already looking forward to Spring....is it here yet???? Oh, that's right it is still fall.

I invested in this pretty mum plant, will have to dig a hole and hopefully save it for next year. That's my ceramic squirrel I made when I still worked at The Salvation Army. We had a kiln in the basement and lots of things to paint. I made this squirrel, a frog, two turtles and a rabbit and they all come out in the spring and back in the shed for the winter. That was almost 30 years ago....time flies!!!

I did some canning of tomatoes tonight....haven't canned in eons. My two tomato plants out front of the house have produced an abundance of tomatoes. I have frozen some, dehydrated some, made spaghetti sauce and tomato soup, a few BLT's, stuffed tomatoes and fried tomatoes and lots of salad's. It's been a good tomato year here.

Well, time to close here. JP will be home in about 10 minutes so I better heat up his tomato soup and dinner I made for him. You all take care and keep looking up....better days are coming. 

Cheers ~ Louise

7th Game - They WON and a Few Cards for Hospice

Hi there everyone....how are the first few days of November treating you??? Ours not so good....we got the results of my husband's prostrate biopsy. It's not a good report. He has cancer, but it is a "slow growing cancer" maybe that is a good report. At this point we are not sure what will happen. The Doctor says this could go two ways. We can watch it and see how fast or slow it is growing by doing more biopsies. Operation, and take the prostrate out. Or radiation, but he did not think that would be a good option.

Next week we have another meeting with the Doctor and if we have questions that is when we will talk things out. JP wants to talk to his brother first. John called tonight, so I was able to fill him in on a few things and he will call JP tomorrow.

The 7th game of the World Series is playing right now. So I thought I would blog a bit. I guess I could have gotten fancy and put the Cubs decal up or something. Maybe next post....(darn the Indians just scored 1-1, okay, that's enough Indians!!). Yeah...score is 5-1 Cubbies just scored again and while I was on the phone with John.

Our Heartland Hospice meeting is this Friday. I've got 75 cards put together, Christmas, Birthday, Thank You, Thinking of You and Thanksgiving. Following are some of the cards that are included in the box...these are not all of them. I simply would bore you with all the pictures.

In the picture below a card made with a Christmas napkin. The napkin is peeled down to the first layer then glued on card stock and smoothed out and left to dry. Then I glue the card stock on a card and embellish the card with speckles...see the glittery look? I made quite a few cards using this technique. Christmas trees, a few different snowmen and Santa too.

Here is my Great Blue Heron....I sure do like this stamp....will probably make lots more of these cards. The Heron is stamped and colored in with copic markers. The layered on card stock and lacy material paper (the name of this paper escapes me at this moment), then I ran some washi tape down the side and added a greeting.

The card below is a recycled card....layered it on sparkling wrapping paper and card stock. The card might have been a post card then I embellished the card with speckles for that glittered look.

The card below was a card I made at Betty's house. The flowers were stamped with different colored  inks, it was not necessary to huff on the inks to make them stamp, as they were special inks allowing you to ink and stamp. I think the flowers were then die cut and raised on the card.

Now this card is my favorite Christmas card....die cut sleigh and houses. "Silent night" is stamped and a pretty trinket added. The background is snowflakes run through the cuttlebug and silver speckles embellish the snowflakes and the edge of the card where the sleigh rides.

Last but not least are these Christmas cards.....I made a whole bunch of these cards a couple of years ago. The scene is embossed with gold then the card was run through a cuttlebug, cutting out the Christmas tree. I layed some sparkly wrapping paper under the scene to pop out the tree. Pretty simple, but very pretty.

Well, the Cubs and Indians are still playing....the score is 6-3, Cubs winning and we are in the 7th.

I think I need to turn the heat on...getting a little bit chilly in this house. Love the weather for November......maybe it will stay nice like this till my Birthday....but then, there is always snow falling around my birthday.......we shall see, as the 21st will draw near pretty fast.

Oh-OHHHHHH Not good, the Indians just scored, it's 6-6!!!!!! Will the Cubs win????? Now we are in the 9th and Cubs are up. It's starting to rain now in Cleveland.....what next!!!

YAY!!!! The Cubs won the World Series....how exciting!!! 8-7....what a game. 1908 was the last time they won the series....that is a very long draught!!!! You have a great day and keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Hospital Visit, Prayers and Cards

Hi there everyone. How did your Friday go today??? I was pretty busy. JP had an appointment with the Urologist today. He had an ultra sound and biopsy of the prostrate. I guess they are looking for cancer. His brother had the same procedure and there was no cancer, so hopefully it will be the same for JP. Prayers for JP would be appreciated.

A special treat for us...I bought some pop-corn and a cup of coffee at the Hospital. Our next visit, next Wednesday to find out the results....maybe we will hit the Hospital's "Market Place" for a hamburger and salad....shall see how things go AND if I have $$$ for that day.

We got home about 11am, I took a nap till 1pm then got ready to take off for shopping and pay some bills. Hit Sam's Club, Hobby Lobby and Pic N Save then home. For some reason, I was feeling a little bit queasy with hot flashes in Hobby Lobby....whatever that was I do not know. By the time I got home....very tired. Uge old age is not for whissy's.

Following are 4 cards I made at Betty's last Friday....yeah, I am a bit behind. But I really have been busy making cards for Hospice lately, mostly Christmas cards. I should have enough to send out personally, put in my Etsy store and give to Hospice with some left over for next month.

So with these two cards, the top card is embossed with a cuttlebug folder and little die cut birds glued on, a bow tied and the flowers have speckles dabbed on them. Very simple yet beautiful.

In this Christmas card.....the background embossed with a Christmas folder then die cuts for the fiddle player, holly and Noel were glued on the card and a bow added.

This was really a nice technique. The picture was colored in with copic markers....any colors we desired. then after that we inked the picture with versa mark, then covered with embossing powder and heated to get that glass affect. Die cut birds and a stamped "Happy Thanksgiving" were added. Which reminds me, I need to get some Thanksgiving cards made too.

The last card was a snowman, colored in with copic markers and speckles to enhance the snow. Sequins were added to embellish the card and make the card look like a "snow-globe" Cute huh?!?!?

As I am typing this post....watching the Cubs game which is still playing, I did turn on the Hockey channel and watched the Hawks beat the Devils in overtime 3-2. So now I think the Cubbies should win too.....couple of more endings....Go Cubs!!!

Tomorrow is SATURDAY...my favorite day. We really need to rake leaves and cover the rose bushes. Maybe I need to take some tomatoes of the vine if they did not get frost bit. I was covering the plant for a couple of  days....time to do that. Where did this month go???? November is right around the corner, along with my birthday on the 21st and I shall be 70 years old......OH MY!!!

Time to close this post for today....I will come back on the 31st with 3 Blue Apron meals that I cooked this month, oh and maybe a video from YouTube.

You all have a great day and keep looking up, cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Adult Coloring

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good day. We have been dealing with Doctor appointments these last couple of days. Today, JP had an appointment with Urology....we were at the hospital from 9:30am, finally leaving @ 2:30pm.....long, long day. He has to have a prostate biopsy. It does not sound easy or comfortable. He'll have to take 2 days off from work, because there's no heavy lifting for two days after the procedure. I am hoping for a good report, but the Doctor said this could be cancer. Please keep JP in your prayers.

My appointment was on Tuesday. Diabetes is a very distressing desease. Along with weight (I have gained back 24 lbs of the 40 I lost last year, dealing with the hernia). Needless to say my blood pressure and blood sugars have gone up and my A1C is still a tad too high. I have to have a mammogram in September, my last one was in '05....gosh time flies. Oh and I have been dealing with itchy skin, so the Doctor wants me to stop taking each medication (one at a time) for a couple of days to see if I am allergic to any one of them. If the itching stops, then that med needs to be changed, because I am apparently allergic to it. If itching does not stop then it might be a food I am eating or the laundry detergent. Right now, I am itching...metformin has been excluded for a couple of days. Will have to wait to see what happens.....the itching could be  nerves.

Well...on to some fun stuff.....this is what keeps my head together....is my art work, card making, gardening and cooking.

I bought a couple of Adult coloring books and have been doing some coloring.

What is nice about spending time on coloring these flowers and stuff is that they can be turned into a nice card......we'll see what I come up with. 

Right now I am thinking that I might want to frame a few of these pages. I really liked the above color page...I was almost finished with it and used a pen to outline and there was tooooo much ink in it and it leaked on my colored page. I tried to cover it but to no avail. I just showed you the pretty part. Down in the right corner you can see a dark sploge. Oh, and maybe over on the left in the middle.

This color page was done with colored pencils....oh and ink and stamps (those little dots). It was okay....but I prefer to use Copic markers. Colors are more vibrant.

Well, I think I will close here as I have to do some dishes and think about what I want to make for JP's late supper. You have a great night and keep looking up....better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas Presents

Hi there everyone...gosh, can you believe there is just 3 more days left in 2014. I am hearing a lot the last couple of days, that 2015 is going to be a great year of many blessings. One last World Wide Revival and then Jesus will return for his Church. I sure do hope those prophets are right in their predictions.

 

 But so far, for 2015, JP is looking at prostrate surgery. There's a 90% chance that it will work. He will be off work for a month....for us, I am not sure how all our bills will get paid...but I guess that is something I cannot worry about at this point. Sometimes taking one step at a time can be very hard, cause I want to know the outcome before even starting the journey. Oh well....time will tell as God is God and He never changes and has complete control. I need to remember: KEEP CALM ~ GOD'S GOT IT!!!!

So as my title says, "Christmas Presents" I have been wanting to get a little record player and finally found this one at Shopko. It was priced at $79.99 but I got it for $39.99. Yep, good price huh?? It was marked down to $49.99 and with my coupon "Spend $50.00 and get $10.00 off" could not pass up the deal. I wanted a black record player, but by the time I got back to the store to buy it (I am a procrastinator)....this is all that was left. Not my favorite of colors.....but it works and it was fun playing some of my "big CD's" hahahaha!!!

Now I am looking forward to going back into my record collection to see what I have....hoping I have some Franki Valli and the Four Seasons records. I shall let you know how my hunt goes. That will be for another blog. If you have not seen the movie "Jersey Boys" do rent the DVD....it's a really good movie.

This was JP's Christmas present along with $10, two pairs of work pants, some peanut butter hot chocolate and a record. He loves lox and bagels....so Christmas morning I wrapped up the frozen lox and bagels, tomato, onion and cream cheese in colored tissue paper and put it on the table. About 3pm I said to JP, are you not going to open your presents???? (he is not a fan of Christmas and I have to drag him to the table to open his gifts.....kinda puts a damper on the festivities....scrooge!!!) So needless to say he was thrilled...I should have taken a picture of him, cause he had a big smile on his face and wanted to eat right away....score!!

JP's gift to me was $15.00 and he told me to buy some prime rib at Festivals. They always have a special on Saturday's $10 a pound for prime rib with the sauce. All I have to do is cook 2-3 minutes on each side while sautéing the mushrooms....oh my that is a delicious meal. So I got a little piece today....was surprised they still had the prime rib special going....yeah!!!

Well, time to close for now....maybe see you on the 31st....geez, I need to get some cards made for my Etsy store....have really been slacking in that area. Oh and time to take the tree down......another string of lights died....so my little tree does not light up. Goodness, bad year for lights.!!!

Have a good day and keep looking up.....Cheers ~ Louise