F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Hi there everyone....how did your day go today???? Well......

Its Friday!!!! Smile the weekend is about to begin!!! Why do we so look forward to the weekends????
"You are wishing your life away"....as my mother always said. I see now what she meant.

We finally got our roof fixed on the 21st and 22nd....the men did a really great job, I feel secure now. They said there was "a lot of mistakes done up there" it is no wonder we had a leaky roof. It's too bad, the damage has already been done.

Now we have to get the ceiling fixed in the kitchen. It sounds like the whole ceiling will have to come down and the supports have rotted and will have to be replaced. Everything will have to be removed from the kitchen (oh yuck)!!! They are supposed to give us an estimate on how much it will cost to get fixed. At this point, I am not sure if "Rebuilding Together" will fix the ceiling or if I need to start saving towards it. If so, that may be awhile before I can get the ceiling fixed.....we will see what happens.

Well, time to close here for now. Have to go make JP his super. so far, he is having hamburgers and soup....not sure what else.

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

O.C.T.O.B.E.R.

Well, here we are in October....what happened to the summer???? Did I miss it or something???

I have some really good news.....FINALLY we are going to get some results on our roof. We got a call today that next week will be when they start working on it. Do you want to hear something funny??? It was 3 years ago this month and next week to be exact that we had our roof worked on the last time. Maybe this time, the leak can be caught.....I sure do hope so, I am SO tired of catching water drips from a leaky ceiling.  Rain is predicted for the next couple of days....so hopefully it won't be downpours of rain.

Today I am making the BBQ chicken in the crock pot. I used the marinara sauce adding ketchup, brown sugar and Worchester sauce. Ummmm, it tasted really good. JP will have the chicken over toasted tortilla's, chicken soup, salad and fruit.

I guess in the next few days, I will start bringing in my plants and ceramic animals for the winter. Our first frost will be this weekend...hopefully I will get a few more tomatoes to ripen before that happens.

Well, this will be a short blog for today...you all have a great day tomorrow and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Just A Little Humor to Start the Day

Hi there everyone. Hope you are keeping warm and not getting too weary of this long winter. Well, looks like another 2 inches of snow and 16 to 19 degrees tomorrow. I have not seen any squirrels around the house....they must be all hiding, maybe I should drop a few nuts on the ground for them. Finally saw a few cardinals on Saturday feeing on our barn feeder.....so there is a little life going on in the backyard.

Yes, I am getting a little weary, I look forward to a bit of a thaw, but then I shall have to deal with a leaky roof and ceiling in the kitchen. As long as it is freezing, the kitchen ceiling does not leak. We will have to call a roofer for sure this spring...it can't go on like this anymore. Not sure how this will be taken care of, guess this one is for God to take care of.

I had an Etsy sale last week, so I was happy about that. After I am finished with this blog, I will take some pictures of some cards I made. My "happy cards" collection. Maybe it will cheer someone up....me for sure if they sell!!! I need a smily face here!!!

Well, time to close this blog for tonight. Need to go wash dishes and get something ready for JP when he comes home from work at 1am. Probably fish, vegies and fruit. Talk to you all later and have a great rest of the night. Cheers ~ Louise

Ceiling Problems

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Hope you're keeping warm if you live in a cold place. Hope you get the rain you need, if you are in a dry place. Hope you are keeping cool if you are in a hot place. Hope you're weather is good where ever you are. If you need a little snow we can send ya some, got lots today....(smile)

Thought you would like to see what I am dealing with and have been dealing with for the last 10+ years.....yep, it's a mess alright. I do not look forward to rain, especially heavy rains. The leaking ceiling is right in the middle of the kitchen, so needless to say, I have to dodge buckets, pots and towels when the drips start. At one point, during a real bad storm, we had to empty the bucket 4-5 times in one down-pour. It was like someone opened the faucet and the water poured down.

Right after that rain....we got the roof patched...at the cost of $1200......but it was to no avail, because after about a year, the leaks began again. Our roof never leaked for 10 years, not till after it was redone by the city. We were told to sue the guy that did the work (didn't have the $$$) and he is no longer in business. (I wonder why???) The city contracted him, after a couple of complaints he was let go, but that was after he messed up on our roof. Damage done.

In 2002 we got a loan from the city to get siding, windows, doors and the roof done plus new gutters. Repaying the loan would happen only if and when we decided to put the house up for sale. As we are not planning on moving any time soon...there is no reason to payback. Only problem is there would be a lien against the house....which I am not comfortable with. Makes it very hard to refinance, if we did that.

In this picture you can see how the ceiling is buckeling, as there are leaks in every corner of the tiles....no sense getting the ceiling fixed till we know for sure the roof is fixed and not leaking again. So there you have it, my tale of woe. You can see why I prefer snow at this time. Snow doesn't leak....for now.

Today I filled out papers for another loan from the city...won't hurt to try. See if they will help us a 2nd time....this time I want a roofer that knows what he is doing....do you blame me??? Also, we will ask for NEW gutters as we never got them the first time around. The roofer just had our old gutters re-galvinized and then they were put up backwards, which has cost alot of seepage in the basement.

Well, time to close, need to go ride my bike and make a card or two....have a good evening and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

Icicle's and Smoothies

Icicle's hanging out the back of our house. I took this picture from inside the kitchen window. 

Here you can see the icicle's dripping from the gutters. We're suppose to get some rain in the next few days. Hope we don't have "leaking roof" problems.

Well, I have been on the hunt for some smoothie recipes. Found a couple that I would like to try.
Had decided that I was going to do a smoothie a day (to keep the doctor away...lol). I make smoothies for JP everyday....do you think I would make one for myself??? NOT!! But I guess I shall change that and start making one.
The Doctor's office called today,
they want to check my blood and see what my numbers are for the AC-1~3 month check up.
That can be a real motivator to get me going on some kind of diet....
nothing seems to be working for me at this point.
Watching the salt in-take, sugar grams, carbohydrates, drinking more water, less coffee,
more exercise, ride the bike...etc. Sometimes I get frustrated and have a "fat day" and just want to EAT!!
No fun getting older and even harder to lose a few pounds as we age.
Maybe I should go to the Mall and walk around.
PROBLEM.....I need money, cause I would be wanting to shop and stop and look at things.
Something to think about though, I sure do feel better after coming back from a shopping errand.....where I have be doing a lot of walking. Maybe I should keep "walking at the Mall" in mind for 2013.

SMOOTHIE RECIPE
Orange Dreamcicle
1 navel orange (bought some cuties, no seeds)
1 cup of skim milk or vanilla yogurt
1/4 teasp vanilla
4-6 small ice-cubes
(I think I might add 1/2 banana and some spinach)

Well time to close this blog for a few days. It's 2:23 am and time to hit the pillows. You all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

The Merry Month of May

Hi Everyone!!!! Well, today is my first blog for the Merry Month of May!!!! Hey, hey!!! As you can see the above card is a very happy and cheery card for "mother-to-be" and "soon-to-be-baby". This little card came to be, because I bought a cloud punch and wanted to use it some how. My duckie stamp was one I had quite a few years and never used it for anything.....even tried to sell it, but it had no takers!!! GOOD THING!!! Because I never would have been able to make this card!!!!

I have listed this card on Etsy for $3.50 + postage. If you would like this card with a different colored background, like pink for girls or blue for boys or maybe a green background for whomever. Convo me on Etsy and I can make it whatever color you like. OR, if you would like a completely different color and use the card for a Birthday, thinking of you or for whatever, just let me know. If it is do-able, I am willing to do it. Give me a couple of days to make the card then I will convo you back letting you know it is finished. Your card will be marked "RESERVED FOR" with your name and you can pick it up and pay through paypal.

I finally found a stamp I have been looking for, for a couple of months, found it on Etsy.......I am so very happy!!! The stamp says "Simply Enjoy your life". The stamp is coming from Florida so hopefully it brings the sun with it......enough of these grey dreary days. The last rain we had was so hard that our kitchen ceiling started leaking again. I thought we had that problem solved, but no, guess not. The guy that fixed our roof said he would come back, I told him we are his worse nightmare. He just laughed and said he'll pull a few shingles off and redo it. He sure is being a good sport about this, no one else would do this for us.

The original roofer guy was the culprit, he cut corners and bought cheap supplies so he would have more $$$$ in his pocket. Guess this is what happens when you go for cheap estimates, you get what you pay for. In this case, we are still paying for his screw-ups. Maybe in the long run, one should not worry about the price, but go with the one that seems more expensive, maybe you will get better service!!! AND not have to pay for the roof a second time........"live and learn" a hard lesson to learn.

JP had his cauterization yesterday. There were no blockages in his heart and the Doctor said he has the heart of a 65 year old, which is what he will be turning in 13 days!!! He will have officially caught up with me and we will be 65 together for 6 months!!!! Then, I turn 66........ominous number!!!! My mind is willing but the body is not!!!!! 

Well, anyways JP has to rest this weekend, which he does very well, he goes back to work on Tuesday, a nice little break. I think we will go out to eat on Monday, kind of a prelude to his birthday. I have a coupon, buy one meal, second one free............so I think we can manage that, and maybe even get a dessert!!!! 

One last thought before I close.........this blog was simply pleasurable to do, cause I used Google Chrome, just don't know why it took me so long.......I just so struggled with the previous blog on Internet Explorer I was about to quit!!! Glad I did not. Well, you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh!!!

Many Cheers to you ~ Louise