My Birthday Today November 21st!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to me today!!! I made it to 77 years old!!! God's perfect number, I hope it will be a perfect year!!!! I added a few birthday cards to this post, a new one and a few old ones. 

Today I will be going to the Thompson Center to make some cards, maybe work on Christmas cards, that is coming round the corner pretty fast. 

Yesterday I went shopping for my Birthday and Thanksgiving dinner. Buying a small turkey breast and a steak for the BIG birthday!!! Hope there is a $5.00 bouquet of flowers to buy also!!!!! 

Looks like there will be rain and snow on my birthday....no surprise....it ALWAYS snows on or before my birthday, good tracking weather for the deer hunters.

OH!! just got a call from a friend, she is taking me out for Chinese food Wednesday for my Birthday oh yummy!!! What a surprise!!

So, this is going to be my Birthday dinner, gosh this looks delish. The date says Dec. 25th, 2017, it was our Christmas Dinner 6 years ago!!! Not too sure my dinner will look like this. I will have to take a picture of what my dinner will really look like.

Will have to find a bouquet of flowers or at least something to cheer up things around here. I bought a new little white Christmas tree for $18 and will put red decorations on it for a simple change. My old green one will go outside, it's over 20 yrs old. This may be my last Christmas here as I may sell the house in 2024. Not sure when though.

Well, going to close this blog for today. If you are celebrating a Birthday, I would like to wish you a Happy Birthday and a Happy Thanksgiving!!! Keep looking up better days are coming!!! 

Cheers ~ Louise
 

Happy New Year 2019

Hi there everyone. Well.....it's the last day of 2018, my goodness 2018 went by fast, a sure sign of OLD AGE!!!! I suspect 2019 will do the same thing.

I like the way this picture is showing 2018 washing away (like our sins) and now 2019 shows itself. Wonder what this new year will hold for us all? Do you remember 2000 and the y2k craze and how we were running all over to collect water, food and supplies in case everything shut down including computers!!! Gosh, that was 19 years ago, and we are still here and the computers are still causing us headaches...lol!

I am glad I am not going anywhere tonight. It is snowing outside and a predicted 3-5 inches is falling to the ground. People are already shoveling the snow. JP will most likely wait till tomorrow to shovel when all reports say "no more snow." The snow is very pretty though.

We had to have a plumber come and rescue us from a big leak under the kitchen sink today. Guess it was leaking for awhile, maybe over a week or so. I was doing dishes and noticed water on the floor, dripping down. First, I thought it was water dripping from the top of the sink.....but nope, it was coming from down under!!! I called the plumber on Thursday (last week) and he said he could not come till next Wednesday (of this week).....I said okay....just won't do so many dishes at a time. I really don't know how we get so many, there is just the two of us and a doggie. Sometimes I wish I had a dishwasher....would be nice.

Anyways the plumber called at 7am, this morning, saying he had some time today and could he come out. YES, I said. When he came, he checked things out and found where the leak was coming from. He then said the pipes were plugged, he said it was nothing I was doing wrong....it's just part of the process and sometimes the pipes need to be cleaned. Nice guy....now I just have to wait for the bill.  Gosh, I hope this is not a sign of what the new year will bring.....guess I will just have to wait and see.

I am making sloppy Joe's, french fries and salad for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, steak, mushrooms, baked potato and broccoli. A man at church gave us some money to buy a few steaks for the New Year. Was neat how God answered my little prayer....I wanted something special to cook, like a steak, but had no money for it. And God used this man to bless us...God sure works in mysterious ways.

So tomorrow, I will definitely be watching the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins playing at the Notre Dame Stadium NHL Winter Classic. Of course I will be rooting for the Hawks, but I do enjoy a few of the Boston Bruin players, like Marchard and Chara…..will enjoy this game and hoping the Hawks win. 

Well, I shall close this post for now, till next year. Happy New Year to all of you that read my ramblings and look at my cards. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

February is Slipping by Fast!!!

Hi there everyone!!! February is slipping by fast....oh yes it is!!! Here it is....the 7th already. A truism, my mother always said to me, "don't wish your life away, Louise....it will come fast enough." I never knew what she meant by that, now I know. There is a scripture I like, it's on my facebook, "I was young, and now I am old yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 37:25

So today I want to tell you about this great and tasty seasoning. The following picture is from Hardcore, check out their site. There's one blog I like to visit just about every day and she has talked about this seasoning for months now. Biz,  is a diabetic AND a terrific cook. She also is on WW and has lost weight using the point system. I give her lots of credit, she is very well-rounded, exercise, diet and still manages to enjoy life to the fullest!!!

Doesn't this steak look d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s I can hardly wait to cook a good steak on the grill this summer.....there I go again, wishing my life away. So anyways, Biz has been talking about this seasoning and then she would put pictures up of the steaks....mmmmmm....I could almost taste the steak through the pictures.(she takes great pictures too.) Finally I gave in and bought the seasoning going straight to their site. I also left a comment to Biz on her blog and said.....OKAY....you sold me, I am going to buy this seasoning......so I did!!!

In this picture is my Hardcore jars in the seasoning cabinet....yes they have Hardcore red which is for pork and chicken and maybe even fish. The Hardcore black is for steaks and hamburgers. Jess Pryles, the maker of these seasonings sends recipes every now and then....shall have to try them for sure. So far, I have used Hardcore Black for steak and hamburgers oh and I did use the Red for chicken wings.....oh yum!!!

So here is the steak all covered with the Hardcore Black, I did let the steak sit out for about an hour (as per Biz)with the seasoning on it.....made for a very tender piece of meat......yes it did!!! I fried the steak in an oiled hot pan with some mushrooms and peppers....2-4 minutes on each side. The steak was on sale at Pic n Save, an $8 piece of meat for $4.50....affordable. I think I will do this again for Valentine's Day.

This is what the plate looked like all cooked up....yes I did enjoy this meal. Steak, mushrooms and peppers, cottage fries and sour cream and asparagus.....yep it was delicious!!! And NO, I did not make this for JP - this was for "Louise only" sometimes a girl just needs to "treat" herself.....hahahhahha. Had more steak the next day for breakfast....yep, steak and eggs and again, did not share. Maybe for Valentines I will make him his own steak....we'll see.

He did give me $5.00 to buy some flowers....have not invested yet....there is still time for that. I am not sure steak and flowers are an even trade....can't eat flowers!!!! Course there are no calories in flowers, but then not much in steak either. Maybe it's just a Win-win situation. We are both happy in the end!!!

Still have not taken a picture of me with make-up on and a new do with my eyes all healed. My niece has sent me some sample Roden and Fields eye cream, lip cream, face cream and mask.....I have tried it and really like it and have seen a difference...gosh that stuff is great, I just wish I had the $$$ to buy from her. Actually my two nieces are selling it....I do believe they will do really great in this field. Maybe one day when my ship comes in, I can invest in Roden and Fields....but I have a feeling my ship sank in the Bermuda Triangle never to rise again!!

Well, time to close here....nothing much is coming up till next week. I have a Doctor's appointment for my A1C....sure do hope it is controlled and better this time around.

Cards are in the making......working on Hospice cards again....next meeting is March 3rd. They keep me busy, otherwise I would be doing nothing but sitting on my thumbs. Looking forward to Spring coming, maybe this year I will have the motivation to get outside and do something. Last summer I had lots of ideas but no motivation to do it. Hope that phase is over and out!!!

You all take care and keep looking up~~~better days are here again!!!  Cheers ~ Louise

Just Busy...Making Cards, Food and Saying Bye-bye 2 Christmas

 Hi there everyone....well, here we go into January and tomorrow is the 7th already. Where did this week go??? They say time flies when we are having a good time......I guess I must be having a good time, for a 70 year old.

Thought I would show you a few more cards I made with this "stained glass" die cut. I sure do like this die. I have actually made a few more cards like this, one in orange and one in grey. Both are pretty nice. They are actually relaxing to make, sort of like adult coloring. I will take pictures of both after I make another grey "Thanks".

Went to the neighbors on Tuesday, to show her how to make some cards and she liked the grey "stained glass" so much, she asked if she could have it. She wants to frame it. So I gave it to her. Along with a few ideas for making her own cards. It was a fun morning.

The cards below were some of my first cards made with the die and new alcohol ink pens.

In this next picture is a meal from Blue Apron. "Steaks and Green Peppercorn Sauce with kale and Roasted Potatoes" This was a yummy meal, very easy and down to earth kinda cooking. The steak was tender and seasoned just right....I used half the peppercorns, so it was not spicy. The potatoes were sliced, oiled, salted and peppered then roasted till browned. Kale was cooked with minced garlic. Yep, very good meal. 5 stars!!! 

I don't know if I told you about these cookies....gosh, were they good, I could not stop eating them. Made with 5 eggs, 2 sticks of soft butter, 1 cup to 1-1/2 cup sugar, mix together. Add 2 cups flour, 1 teasp. almond extract and some crushed almonds. Mix till the consistency of sticky pancake mix or heavy pudding. Pour on cookie sheet (use parchment paper). Bake 350 degrees till the outside of cookie is browned like in the picture. I timed it about 20 minutes. Such a good Cookie.....will make these again, soon. Oh and top the cookie with one raisin before baking. Oh, they are called "Mama's Cookies"

Next picture are the cards I was showing my neighbor how to make. She has to make 30 thank you cards and wanted to use this technique. All it is, is distress inks dabbed on card stock, using any color you desire, then dabbed with water to make the water spots.....I really like this technique....quick and easy.

I found this card on the Internet....thought it would be an easy card to make for Hospice meeting which is coming up in 3 weeks. Need to have lots of Valentine cards made, so I better get cracking. One of the ladies that comes to the meeting had heart surgery in November. She died of complications a week ago. She will be missed.

Well, time to close here....I have been slowly taking down my Christmas things. It is hard to say good-bye. Just have my Village and little Christmas tree up. I usually keep the tree up till after Valentines Day. Changing lights and bulbs from blues to red and putting hearts on the tree. Yeah....it is hard to say bye-bye to my Christmas tree and village. So....maybe one more month of lights.

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

Happy New Year 2017

Hi there everyone...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! YAY.....another new beginning. Well, so far, things are pretty much the same.....no changes. But anyways, I had a good evening. Spent it with my cards. Ending the year with making cards and beginning the year with making cards.....hope there is a profit this year...that would be nice. I might make this my last year with Etsy....didn't get very many sales in 2016, course I was not promoting it that much. Everything is for a season.....I think I have been on Etsy 9 years....maybe it is time to close down the store....I don't know...just thinking.

Friday night I made this Blue Apron meal.....this was really good!!! "Cod en Papillot with Freekeh and Spinach" "En Papillote" means "In Parchment" So yeah, the fish was baked in parchment paper. I do believe I will do this more often. This is what I like about Blue Apron.....learning something new and using it in my regular cooking.

The freekeh was cooked like rice. The spinach cooked down with garlic and the water drained from it. Parchment is laid out, freekeh laid to the side of the paper, then topped with spinach, then the cod that has been salted and peppered. The paper is folded to close into an envelope. Baked 10-12 minutes or until the packets are lightly browned and puffed up. A herb sauce of cream, parsley and lemon zest and 1/4 of the minced garlic and juice of 2 lemon wedges is poured over the fish, spinach and freekeh. I also made some oven fries which JP loves, served with sour cream and chives. Definitely a 5 star meal.

Following are the cards that I was working on last night. I got this new die cut "Stained Glass" from Spellbinders. I really like this die. The "Thanks" die cut not sure where I got it. But here I used all my purple colors, then ran the die cut through the cuttlebug with purple sparkle paper. And Wa-la, a pretty card. Then I thought....why not carry this through to.....

The red colors on a pink card. Then how about........

Green colors on a white card. I also have a card in blues....maybe the next one will be in oranges and today my thought was greys.....Yep, the ideas are endless!!

Today, New Years Day.....I made another Blue Apron meal....a really good one. "Steaks and Green Peppercorn Sauce with Kale and Roasted Potato" Yep....another 5 star. I will tell you about it in my next post along with a picture. For dessert we had cheese cake with cherries on top.....I am full.

Thought I would start my diet today.....nope, not today. Well, I did lose 5 pounds in December. Hopefully I can lose another 5 pounds this month.

Time to close here.....Packers are playing the Detroit Lions....oh, oh Detroit just scored...it's tied at 7-7 now.

You all have a great night and I wish for you to have a great NEW YEAR with good health and prosperity and only good things happen for you. Keep looking up ~ better days are coming.

Cheers ~ Louise

Last Day of April......

Hi there everyone....hope you had a nice Saturday and the last day of April. I had plans of working outside today....just a little bit chilly and cloudy with threats of rain. Guess it will rain tomorrow though.

JP mowed the lawn finally. But the weeds are over powering me, I don't know where to start first. I have more ideas then time this year and I need to catch up with myself from last year when I was so sick and did not get much done.

So today I went shopping, yes my favorite thing to do. Went to the hardware store, their flowers are set up and I bought a sweet tomato plant and a cucumber plant. That may be it for me this year, for some reason our yard is not conducive to gardening....too much shade. I may plant these plants in the front yard where we get LOTS of sun.

I also bought a little hanging light for the back yard, I like twinkling lights at night. They make me happy for some reason. I noticed the neighbors behind us bought a birdbath and bird feeder....that's neat, maybe the birds will come to our house and theirs for visits this summer.

Don't you just love my picture, I forget where I found it....might have been a fellow blogger....thank you Patty. I think the older I get....this is starting to sound so much like me.

I was at the Pharmacy the other day and two older people behind me were talking about forgetting things when they were at the store and how they need to make lists. I showed them my list and said, "I still forget things" hahahahaha....we all laughed. I said, "My mother never told me old age would be like this." The man said, "If my mother told me....I forgot." The lady said, "If my mother told me, I probably did not listen to her." We all laughed again......and then we forgot we were talking to each other...(kidding).

Well, I guess I shall close this post for tonight. I need to get downstairs and make some cards for Hospice. Next meeting is Friday the 6th....so I need to get (die) cutting (no pun intended) and get some cards made for Father's Day.

Tomorrow I will be making a Blue Apron recipe after church. "Grains of Paradise-Crusted Steak with Mashed Plantain, Collard Greens & Ginger Peanuts" Sound good? I will let you know with a picture and food critique. The picture looks good and I am most certain it will taste delicious too, I have not been disappointed yet.

See you in May with many new cards, food and most likely some gardening and flower pictures. Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Cards I Made Yesterday and Kimchi Fried Rice

Hi everybody....hope you had a nice Thursday. Guess I was not feeling well last night and really slept in late today, like till 1pm!!! Yikes, this will be a short, short day.

JP left for work at 4pm so I have the evening to watch the Blackhawks play (possibly their last game for the season if they don't win tonight), do this blog and maybe go downstairs and make some cards for Hospice. Oh and I may get some rice cooking for some quick kimchi fried rice.....a recipe I really enjoyed from Blue Apron.

All it is, is 4 ozs. of cabbage, sliced thin, 1 Tbs. rice vinegar, 1/4 onion and a kimchi spice blend of gochugaru, sugar garlic powder, ginger, black and white sesame seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and toss thoroughly to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. As the rice has been cooking, it will be added to the cabbage and cooked, salt and peppered till the cabbage is well cooked. Then serve with whatever meat is going along with the meal. Tonight it is Burgundy Pepper steak. (yeah, we eat well, I guess)

So here are some cards I made yesterday at Betty's house. We did a lot of Copic marker coloring and shading....I am not too good at it. I liked the way the flowers turned out. But, my frog did not turn out too well, he should have been a little bit more lighter on the bottom. The back ground is just pattered paper, but adds to the flowers and frog.

Liked the way this card turned out....the little flowers are glued with a tweezers and toothpick...was a very putsey little card to put together, but turned out very nice.

I loved this card. Betty has these markers that don't dry quickly, so you can ink the stamp and stamp it on the card stock and it keeps the color....usually you have to "huff and puff" the stamp to keep moisture on the ink....these stamps, you don't have to "huff and puff" this pretty stamp.

Well, it is always fun to go to Betty's house to learn and get a few new ideas in stamping....it's just a "once a month" meeting, but enjoyable and gets me out of the house.

Pretty soon it will be time to work outside.....and get the pond going and weeds pulled. I think we might order some mulch and mulch the heck out of the front and back yard.....maybe that will keep the weeds at bay.

Well time to close here and get my rice and cabbage chopped as it is the intermission between 1st and 2nd period. I will let you know who won....I am sure you are really interested in knowing....lol!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Cards and Blue Apron Steak and Apple Salad

Hi there everyone. Oh my, was it not a BEAUTIFUL day today??? Tomorrow is going to be even warmer and sunny....hard to believe this IS November!!! But you can bet....by the 21st of November, (my birthday) there will be snow....some place and most likely there will be snow here!!!

Been working on some cards lately. I got this idea from Lydia @ "Understand Blue" her address is: http://www.understandblue.com I fell in love with this card and the technique she used with distress ink, water and brush. My card does not quite look like hers.....but that is okay...no two cards can be a like. She did not use sequins and I did. I think it turned out nice, probably will make some more of these for Christmas this year. This card, will be going on my Etsy store tonight. Will be selling this for $3.50 + shipping.

This is one of Tim Holtz's birds...I just love them and they can say anything you want. He is pretty fun, colored him in with Copic markers and sponged the edges with ink. He too, will be going on my Etsy store for $3.50 + shipping.

This is another Tim Holtz stamp set. The leaves are from Stampin'up.  The technique used was shaving cream and alcohol inks. After the card dried then I stamped with Tim's stamps. The leaves are gold embossed to add a touch of elegance. Putting this card in my Etsy store for $3.50 + shipping.

Okay...this was another tasty meal from Blue Apron. "Sumac-Spiced Steak & Honeynut Squash with Pickled Onion & Apple-Walnut Salad"

I loved the apple salad, so simple but tasty. One apple was cored (skin left on) and diced small, toss with the juice of 1 lemon wedge to prevent from browning. The rest of the lemon was zested, and added to the apple salad. Also added to this salad was 2 tablespoons of chopped up walnuts, 1/4 cup feta cheese and mint, finely chopped just before adding to the salad. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Yep, this is a 5 star salad!!!

The steak was a little tough and the butternut squash was good, but I put too much spice on it to make it a little too hot.....guess it was the sumac seasoning (ground up sumac and crushed Aleppo pepper), salt and pepper would be just fine. The squash was sliced, drizzled with oil, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven for 20-25 minutes till browned....yep, this was good too.

The pickled onions were very tasty on the steak....I would do the onions again, but less sugar. The pickled onions were made with onions, sugar, a pinch of salt, the juice of a lemon and 1/4 cup of water. Heat to boiling on medium-high. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion has softened and the liquid is slightly reduced in volume. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and set aside to pickle for at least 10 minutes.

Well, time to close this post for today. Need to get a few more cards made for Hospice this Friday. It's been 4 months since my last meeting....been a while. Will be fun to see the ladies again.

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

Before and After Steak and St. Patrick Cards

Hi there everyone....this will be a short one....just wanted to show you the "before" and "after" pictures of that wonderful and de-lish-ous heart shaped rib-eye steak.

So here is a picture of the steak in it's "before" state, fresh out of the package from the butcher....I salted and peppered it and poured some steak sauce on top, letting it sit in the frig for a few hours.

A picture of the steak "After" it was pan fried in coconut oil with some onions and mushrooms.....oh my was this ever a good piece of meat....not sure if it was the coconut oil that did the trick, but it sure did smell good.

Here you see the whole meal....salad, mashed potatoes, garlic bread and left-over cod fish from the night before. There was steak left over for Sunday's meal of Steak and eggs and English muffins. Oh Yum!!!!

I will be doing another Card Give Away....this time a St. Patrick's Day Card. Starting today....all you need do is leave a comment, even if it is just to say "Hi". I will put your name on the list and every time you comment, is a chance to win one of my cards. On March 10th I will pick 4 names and then send those 4 a card.

I so totally enjoyed the Valentine give away....I wanted to do another one. Well, time to close for the night...have a good evening and keep looking up....warm days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Valentine's Day - Steak and Cards

Hi everyone. Hope you had a wonderful, fun, filled day and your special someone made it even more special in some unusual way. In the above picture are two cards I received in the mail. The one on the right is from Brenda in Indiana, so simple, but yet so elegant. The card on the left is from Shirley, a card maker here in Appleton. We have been sending each other cards for over 7 years. It's always fun to see what she makes....I think she is truly an artist. She recycled this card as it was a store bought card and she turned it into a new handmade card.

 I just got home from Jacobs Meat Market in Appleton. JP gave me some money to buy whatever I wanted...so I chose this heart shaped Rib-eye steak.....my, my was it good!! As you can see, Kylie took a liking to it and if it had been a bit closer, she might have taken a bite out of it.

I salted and peppered it and put a little steak sauce on it and let it sit in the frig for a couple of hours. When it came time to cook it, I sauteed some mushrooms and onions in coconut oil. (no, I could not taste the coconut). Took the mushrooms and onions out of the pan and dropped the steak in. Cooking till the center was 100 degrees. Dished the steak and poured the mushrooms and onions on top. OH MY WAS THAT STEAK DE-LISH-OUS!!!! I took a picture of our Valentine's dinner all cooked up, mashed potatoes, salad, garlic bread and left over fish....that will be the next post. We still have enough steak left for dinner tomorrow.

Here is another picture of Kylie, enjoying the smells of Valentine's Day.....if she could have, she would have. Yes, she did have some steak too for her dinner....cooked of course, not raw.

I just had to take a couple of these pictures of Kylie.....she is so darned cute with her antics. I think it sure would be a very quiet and boring home if Kylie did not live here.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day



Christmas Eve dinner was steak, shrimp and red pepper grilled on the George Foreman grill. The steak was to perfection and was still pink on the inside. No special seasoning except for my "no salt Greek seasoning" also on the plate was fried mushrooms. I tried to plate it to look tantalizing, not sure 'Gordon Ramsey' would be impressed. Also, on the menu was "Crispy Mashed Potato's" (you will find the recipe in the previous blog) salad and celery with dip and onion rye toast. JP had a bowl of fruit and yogurt for dessert. We enjoyed our dinner very much.



Christmas Morning ~ this is JP looking at his new scrape book I put together for him. The original scrape books were falling apart after 40 years!! I thought I would just get a couple of pages done, but managed to get 23 pages done from 1972 and into the start of 1973. Over the years, pictures and newspaper clippings were taken out and misplaced. So I had to really work hard at piecing it all back together again. (just like humpty~dumpty)

I really enjoyed doing this scrape book, so now maybe I won't be so fearful to try another one. I do have plenty of pictures that can be scrape booked using many themes.....my next book, (which I started about 4 years ago) are all my dogs. Now that Hyko has left us, I guess it is time to get that started again.



Here is a page from the scrapbook, I took a picture cause I wanted to see how it would turn out. So maybe during the course of the next couple of months I will take pictures of the scrape book, so you can see the lay-outs and what the book looks like. I know, I know, "you say.....I have seen plenty of scrapbooks" Ah....BUT, you've not seen this one!! Anyways, this is a picture of JP winning a feature race in his old car "169" in 1972.

 As I said, I really enjoyed putting this together as it brought back lots of memories. I was really looking forward to giving it to him......now I can finish it without being rushed. Christmas eve I received some racing paper and stickers that I had ordered last week. So I was able to organize the book a little bit more before giving it to JP for Christmas.



Christmas Day we spent a few hours at Jim and Arlene's house. Ham, dressing, peas and carrots, baked potato, pear salad, berry pie and tea. Then we opened some gifts....Arlene likes to go "thrift shopping" so I got a cook book full of cookies, JP got a doggie calendar and a picture frame with a picture of a cut-out doggie that looked like Hyko. The didn't know Hyko had died, and so the dog looked like Hyko. (sniff-sniff and sigh)

It was a nice visit, as we sat around talking about the Lord and reading and speaking scripture. JP and Jim can really banter back and forth pretty good and JP usually knows what address that scripture comes from. They both know the Word really good.

We left about 3:30pm and came home.......I guess I was tired, cause about 5:00pm I closed my eyes and did not wake up till 7:30pm...........whew, where did that time go?? So about 8:00pm I made a lasagna in my new little casserole dish from Kylie....can you imagine she paid $3.99 for it. Guess that is another picture for another time. (smile)

You are going to like this........so I made the lasagna and put it in the oven about 8:20, set the temperature for 400 degrees and FORGOT to turn the "ON" knob, soooooo needless to say the lasagna sat in the oven for 1 hour without being baked...........GOOD GRIEF where were my brains!!! So when I realized the lasagna was not baking, it was about 9:20pm. So about 10 minutes after 10pm we were eating lasagna............it sure was good, and well worth the wait or should I say weight....I think it was the new casserole dish that made it taste good.

Well, I guess this blog is getting a bit to long and no doubt you are getting bored with all my rambling. So I shall close for now. Hopefully I will get another blog in before the New Year. So you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise

Time Out Today........Celebrate B-day ♥

Kylie my doggie encircled in pretty snowflakes, holly and corner scrolls. Heard about a new program  called www.picmonkey.com  You can play with your photos, add text and edit, add things (like I did above). Be going there more often to see what else I can do.

Today we celebrated my birthday going out to the "Outback" again. Steak again with aussi fries and asparagus. JP had a fried chicken steak and garlic potatoes/beans. We shared one of those blossom onions with that special sauce. MMMMM~good!! (not a whole lot of calories.....NOT!!!)

Bought a new coat at "Burlington Coat Factory". We have lived in the Fox Cities for 25 years and I have never been to that store.........amazing!!! Guess I will go back there again, kinda liked shopping there, they have everything!!!! Anyways my coat is a 'Calvin Klein" coat which of course was made in CHINA!!  It was a $120.00 coat and paid $60.00, it is black and the material is soft. I like this coat very much as it has snaps, no buttons and no zippers. I just did not want to fool with buttons and zippers. My old coat had buttons and lost them a couple of times. The lining needed to be redone and the coat cleaned. I was figuring it would cost $100 to have cleaned and lining fixed. So I shall wear my old coat around the house......looks like an old rag....but I still love it.

Still have not finished my Christmas cards, maybe in the next few days they will get done. Got my first Christmas card today.......nothing like being really early. Finally figured out what I will send my 87 year old stepfather. He doesn't want me to send $$$, he can't see to do cross word puzzles anymore, no sense sending him food or coffee, cause I don't know what he likes. He liked a little toy I sent him last year that could be wound up and it flipped backwards. He said he liked that. SO I thought today, I will send him a stuffed toy dog..........for the person you don't know what to send......send a stuffed toy ♥♥♥

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day at a friends house. Food was delicious and turkey out of this world. She cooked it in a nesco so it made the turkey VERY tender. I really need to get a turkey for JP and I, as we really like turkey sandwiches and casseroles. We sat around watching football. She got new front room furniture.....the recliner had a massage and heater.....was that ever comfy to lay in, could have fallen asleep several different times.

Well, time to close here. Want to go downstairs and ride my bike for a couple of miles and make a few more cards. So talk to you later and keep looking up for  your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise