Wowser.....October 1st Already!!

Hi there everyone. How are you all doing?!?! October 1st....my, how time flies. Sure glad August and September are gone, gone, gone!! Those were tuff months for me. JP was getting less hours at work, now we are reaping what has been sewn. 

Kylie was sick and we (or I) thought we would lose her. But she bounced back, she always bounces back. Vet did blood tests, and x-rays. ($400) They say, she may have cancer because they found a mass. She is not in pain the Vet says, so, we will just try and make her happy, with all her favorite things. She had a couple of seizures, but no more since the last one. I have been giving her hamburger and rice and she gobbles that up. Snubs her nose at Freshpet and Beniful….oh but hamburger and eggs..."two please" she says!! We will just go day to day with her. She gets around pretty good, is going blind and hard of hearing, but her sniffer still works good. So hard to watch a doggie go down-hill, but this little dog is a fighter and just happens to want to hang around a little bit longer. I have a picture of her at the end of this blog.

So following are some cards I made at Betty's. This seems to be my only outlet for now. The month of September I did not even touch making cards except for at Betty's.....not sure what is wrong. I need to get into the swing of things again. Hopefully, October will be a bit better for me. Card wise. Plus, I have a month to make cards for Hospice with the next meeting being November 2nd.

The end of this month I will be going to a Stamp Reveal party that I am involved with....someone sends me 6 images in 6 months and I do the same and we make cards from that image sent and cards from the image received...it's fun, but I am behind on that also. One more image to send, which I will do tonight.

I love the saying of the first card, "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a Butterfly" Betty had the saying and butterflies stamped and embossed already. We colored them in, sponged and stamped the dots. Cut out the butterflies so you could see the black background and added sequins and speckles.

Let's see....if I can remember  how this card was made above. We used copic markers to color in the can, flowers and pots. The background was those stamped dots and sponged ink, the beige was copic marker, then we layered the papers and added the bow.

This next card was pretty and very simple. A circle cut out then sponged in the blue, from dark to light. Stamped the flowers and saying and embossed. The dragon fly is a die-cut. Guess you could use a butterfly if there are no dragonflies in your stash.

This last card is a tree with the leaves and 'Thinking of you" around the border of the tree and truck. The truck colored with copic markers and cut out. Easy-Peasy if you have the car and tree. So many times we make cards and I would like to make more.....but alas, I don't have the stamps to make the card at home. Bummers!

So here is a picture of Kylie going to the vet for her x-rays...we were just leaving the driveway and I thought I better take a few pictures, before I forgot. She looks pretty perky here. I had to take her in at 8:30am and leave her there till we came to pick her up at 2:00pm for the consultation. So yeah, I was kind of nervous to hear what they would say. It was soooo quiet in the house, I do believe it's the dogs and cats that make a house a home. Don't you think?!?!?!?

Well time to close here, I hope I am more diligent in blogging this month....guess I experienced a few days of depression where I did nothing cause things around me seemed to be caving in. I got tired of seeing Kylie sick and JP dealing with his arm pains and sore feet. God knows I need a vacation, but there was no place to run to.

Hockey is starting, so if you don't see me around, I will be watching Hockey or football....Go Blackhawks and Go Packers!!! Hockey my number one passion then football. I understand Hockey better then I do football....and hockey is so much faster and when there is a check....it can be crushing. One guy got hit so bad last night they are not sure the guy hitting the other will even be playing or will be suspended. Have not heard on the guy that got hurt yet.

Well time to close here, JP will be leaving for work at 3:45pm and work 4 hours, if he takes his full 4 hours....time will tell!

I have to keep looking up, as I always tell my readers, better days are coming and I am still waiting for that too!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Almost Another 10 Days Have Passed

Hi there everyone. Thought I better do a post...it's almost another 10 days since the last one. Not exactly sure where these days are going, but they sure are flying by. I could understand if we were on a great vacation to someplace exotic, but no, we are not. Just home-bound with no place to go. Many issues stand in our way. Money is the #1 issue for sure, need I say more???

So we make the best with what we have and go on from there. My little world revolves around my home anyways, so here is where my vacation time is. Going out in the back yard, sitting on the front porch, or down in the basement making cards, playing with my flowers and plants, listening to my water fountains and trying to avoid mosquitoes. Ish I hate them. Did you know it is the female that bites, first she numbs the spot with her saliva then pokes you till she finds the vein...and sucks out the blood. I found a post about mosquitoes and will post it here in the next few days. 

I am  now going to show you some before and after pictures of the neighbors fence.....it took over a year for the finished look, but I guess it was worth the wait. I guess, I guess. I disliked having to look out my kitchen window and seeing all their junk....but now, I just see my junk and to tell you the truth, it is more pleasant looking out my kitchen window.

The above picture still shows their old green fencing with all their stuff...the jungle gym, brown house, purple dinosaur and a bunch of building stuff. The neighbor sold that fencing and the buyer took it down.

Here is a shot from another angle....all their stuff. Beyond their fence is my snow fence which will be replaced with a wooden fence by Habitat for Humanity this September....I can hardly wait.

I bought some bamboo last year and finally put the fencing up this year to camouflage all their stuff...but you can still see it. It did help for a little while.

Here you see behind my bamboo fencing is their 6 foot fencing....I actually love it and it gives much privacy. If the dumb mosquitoes would leave me alone I could sit out there and read my Bible.

So there you have it....instead of "As the World Turns" we have "As the Fence Turns" hahahahahaha!! Do you see my little solar fountains? Like when the sun shines and my fountains sprinkle water.

Well, time to close here. I mentioned in my last post, I had some exciting news to share with you....I think I will wait on that....maybe in August I will share the good news. Hold on.....it's coming. In the mean time keep looking up ~ better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Fences, X's and Solar Toys

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a lovely 4th of July week-end. Thought I would share with you how my little fencing looks....the neighbors are finally putting up their privacy fence, which will be nice for my side of the yard. So in the mean time I put up this bamboo fencing which camouflaged the junk in their backyard. It was hard to look at "their stuff" every day from my kitchen window. It did not bother my husband.....but it sure was depressing to me. 

I don't know about you, but when I have to do dishes and I look out my window and see "a royal mess" day in and day out....it is depressing. So I proceeded to try and make my side of the yard cute and pretty......something nice to look at. But, the neighbor said she thought my stuff was "old people stuff" and she would rather look at her stuff. NOT ME!!!! I tried to stay sweet and tolerant but I BOILED inside!!!!

Tomorrow their fence will be up....today they just put up the posts.

I will take pictures tomorrow of the fencing they put up.....it will be a world of difference, I am sure. NOPE! No finished fence today....maybe another couple of weeks, it might be finished. I won't hold my breath.

I still should get some sun, but not sure how much at this point. We will see what transpires. Gosh....maybe I should get a little kiddy pool to sit in when it gets really hot out.....will be nice to have some privacy!!!

This is a really weird picture......"X marks the spot" It was about 8:30am and I let Kylie out to do her business and I noticed this X with a circle around it in our driveway. I don't know where it was coming from....have never seen this before. It must be a reflection from something....but from where??? An unidentified object? As I said, I have never seen this before and we have lived in this house going on 26 years. Maybe it's a sign from heaven????

A few pictures of my solar animals......Jonah the Whale.....a Pink Flamingo and purple petunia's. Just planted these petunia's the other day.

"Bull Frogs and Butterflies and I've been born again".....so the song goes. So every time I get into the car that's the song that goes through my head. He just keeps moving to the light and makes me smile!!! Now a days, I need more smiles to keep me going.

I took lots of pictures today of flowers and fountains and fences.....maybe I should take a few pictures of some of the cards I have been making...really, I have been working on cards too. I have a couple of months to get some cards ready for Hospice....just taking my time.

You all have a great July 4th tomorrow. We have nothing special planned. We will probably work in the back yard....that's our vacation spot....wish the mosquitoes would leave me alone though. I might get the grill going and but some ribs on.

Keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Sitting on the Front Porch

Hi there everyone....how are you all doing??? Hope you are keeping Cool. Cool. Cool!!!! I am not, we still have not replaced the air conditioner....I had it on for about a half hour last night and then it started spitting and had to shut it down. But, it was on long enough to cool things down a bit in the kitchen. I felt a little cooler, but the coolness did not last long.

About 10pm Kylie and I went and sat on the porch for about an hour...it sure was cooler outside with a slight breeze AND there were no mosquitos.....goodness, could they not find me???? I almost fell a sleep a couple of times. The trickle of the water in my fountain and the crickets chirping had a very hypnotic affect on me.

So, in the pictures below.....you will find me sitting on the front porch, again. Yeah, it's a place to go when I want to take a time out......"my mini vacation" to dream about places I would like to go if I had the money. The last couple of days my wishing has taken me to places where I would be close to water and could sink my toes in some sand.....gosh that sounds heavenly to me about now. But for now, I shall have to dream on my porch and listen to the water fountain trickle on the porch or in the back yard.

So here I am, camera facing east. In the foreground is a big butterfly....it's sitting in my fountain. In the very last picture you will see the water fountain with flowers, flamingo's, light, fall leaves and the butterfly. In this picture you see my brown eyed Susan's and my privacy wall of star climentus. And yes, we have eaten on the porch....not a lot, but some.

That's my glider chair....it's a nice place to fall asleep on. When our air conditioner worked in the kitchen, I would bring that chair in the kitchen and slept in it all night long....very comfortable. Next to the chair on the railing is my 3 pots of basil. I have been drying the leaves for later use and putting the leaves in grilled cheese sandwiches and salads......yum!!!

Oh look.....my tosey's!!!! Just relaxing. So in the front view are my petunia's and that green plant you see is my Christmas Ponsetta.....yep, it's still growing. One of these days (not sure when) I shall have to stick it in the closet or some dark place so the leaves get red. Maybe I better google "ponsetta plant care" and see what the prescription is.

In this view, are my roses, among the roses is lemon mint (that I need to dry and make mint jelly with), petunia's and brown eyed susan's. If you look through the screen and porch railings you can see Hissop growing. That's another plant that I need to bring in the leaves and flowers and dry them for tea.

Finally, my camera is facing south-west and you see my white wicker chair (which I have painted every couple of years), we have had that chair for 25 years now and who knows how long the neighbors had it before us. Anyways, in this picture are my geraniums....they are two years old. JP brought them in for the winter and managed to keep them going. I think they like this spot, cause they get lots of sun.

Here is a closer picture of the geraniums, they are sitting in a pot that straddles the porch railing. I want to find another pot like that.....I think I got it at Shopko...but have not seen another one as yet.

Last, but not least is my little trickling water fountain....water looks a little green, I better change the water. Yeah, this is a nice place to sit....I wish my computer could go out here too, but alas, I do not have a lap-top.....that would be nice though (I think).

Well, time to close, it's 5pm and I need to get some pictures up in my Etsy store. Finally!!!! I have been working on cards, but just too lazy to take pictures and get them in the computer then into Etsy....but today I shall do a couple of cards and maybe a couple cards tomorrow. My next post will be the cards that I put up in my Etsy store.....stay tuned.

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

Cheers ~ Louise

Well.....If I Can't Take a Vacation.....

Hi there everyone. How is your day going??? As my title says....."if I can't take a vacation" real soon, I guess I will just change my "Blog Look." I heard a long time ago that when a woman starts moving the furniture around in the house....she is in need of a vacation. Could that be the same for changing colors and pictures on my blog??? Well, I feel a bit better, this background looks very summery, doesn't it?? The other background was nice, but seemed to depress me for some reason...maybe cause it was so dark. This should help for awhile.

 
 Here's a few more pictures of some beaches.....not sure I used this one in the previous blog...but that is okay....it still looks fun down there and I would like to float around in that blue, blue water, sinking my toes in the sand.

Another shot of a far away beach....wouldn't it be nice to put your toes in that sandy beach??? Or just sit in the water and take a nap....dream, dream, dream!!!!

Well, time to close, I need to finish planting my tomato plants and get going on staining my front porch....see how far I get on that today. Staining the porch may just be an "all summer job" for me, a little bit at a time, geez, don't want to over do it!!!

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

Pelican Island and Boat Ride



Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your summer. Here are a few pictures of some pelicans.

In this picture you see "Pelican Island" the actual name is "Black Bird Island" BUT it seems the pelicans live there mostly. One thing noticed right away was the awful smell of Birds. The island was just loaded with pelicans. When they saw us coming they scattered, all heading for the water. Only a few pelicans were brave enough to stay. Maybe they were the guards.....guarding a nest or two. (I am just guessing)

Here you see more pelicans flying off...maybe to distract us.

Getting a little bit closer here, via my zoom lens on my camera. Looks like there might be a few seagulls hanging around on the island. Well we left the birds to their island and headed back.

It was a day well spent and even though it was mostly cloudy, I did end up with a little sun burn on my forehead. Not much on my arms as it was a bit chilly and I had a jacket on.

Well, so much for my mini-vacation....they never last long, but it still was refreshing and a change of sorts. You all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Cheers ~ Louise

A NOTE: The previous part of this blog was deleted as per request. Sure hope the Pelicans don't mind their picture taken.

My Friend Kylie and a Few Cards...............



Hi Everyone, how is your day going. We are dreaming of warm summer days on the front porch, peeking out and seeing flowers and butterflies.........yes many beautiful days to look forward to!!! I took this picture of Kylie last year and played with www.picmonkey.com really should go there and play some more.....but seems I find other things to occupy my time.

Here is one of my anchor cards I made a while back. Using my cricut........found the anchor on a site where it was free to take and as I was looking for anchors that was a pretty good deal for me. So I made a bunch of anchors in blue and red and in different sizes and just went about making lots of cards. I will be putting one of these two cards in my Etsy store....been a while since I listed a card on Etsy, must be more diligent at listing if I want to sell a few cards. Either my cards are no longer appealing or the economy is bad cause none have sold for a long time. Oh well, guess I will donate them to hospice so I can just keep making them. Always nice to have a card for every occasion and not have to go out and buy cards. Have you seen the price of a card lately? Yikes!! Enough to choke a chicken!!!

This is my second anchor card in blue. The tape at the top and bottom is "washi tape" which I love working with. I did pick up some 12 X 12 paper like the tape, so will have to sit down and play, see what I come up with.

I have some wolf and elephant cards in the making.......will take pictures of them and add them to this blog in the next few days and then list them on Etsy. Haven't been downstairs to make cards in a few days....was spring cleaning my bedroom last night, whew, do things get dirty and dusty and moved the bed around, TV and sewing machine....makes things look a little different, almost like a new room. I heard a long time ago, that when a person moves their furniture around that they are longing for a vacation.....yep, that sure is true....JP and I have not been on a vacation since 2005, went down to Indiana for a conference.....would be nice to take a road trip again to someplace we have never been. I hear Hawaii calling my name.............someday!!!

Well time to close, have to go get ready and run an errand, you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh!
Cheers ~ Louise

So Long 2012 ~ Hello 2013

Yeppers........Dashing will be completely out of the question for 2013! Going to enjoy every minute (or so I say)!! Been reading a few blogs today, 1) some wish you a Happy New Year, 2) some list "the 12 most popular", (which I truly love especially when it comes to FOOD) 3) and some just continue on as if it is just another day. Me, I think I will go back to January 1, 2012 and see what my expectations for 2012 were and if I met them........

Did you all make any resolutions for the New Year??? I thought about it, but sometimes they are just too hard to keep. I might just try continuing what I started in 2011.

1. continue on my journey to lose some weight and reverse diabetes.
Still working on that and probably continue on into 2013.

2. paint a room or two this year....been awhile since I painted and redecorated.
Nope, no room painting in 2012.

3. this spring, paint the porch floor.
Nope, no porch painting...thought about it though.

4. get some cards into a few beauty shops.
Nope.

5. get the kitchen ceiling fixed.
Nope.

6. these are long shots.........get a new or used stove and couch.
Got the couch and did look at a used stove, but nope, did not get one.

7. more mini-vacations on Lake Winnebago and a vacation this year.
Nope, no vacation but many mini-vacations on Lake Winnebago.

8. more blogs then last year.
Yes, I did manage that by 22 more blogs........2013? 25 more.

9. learn something new.
Guess I didn't, cause I can't think of anything.

10. lose an old habit, what that is I don't know as yet.
Ha...probably gained some old habits, but lose, Nope!

11. continue on in my personal relationship with Jesus.
Yes!

12. make a new friend.
Not sure I did. Oh wait, I did make a blog friend, does that count???

13. weed through the house, get rid of stuff not used for a couple of years.
Yes!

14. garage sale this summer?
Yes!

Well that is 14 things to work on, there probably are more, but this is a good start. Will have to remember these resolutions are here so I can keep reading them every now and then.
Guess I did not read them enough, cause many were not accomplished. So there you have it, shall I continue my quest for perfection in 2013......kinda' hard to attain perfection, very unattainable to me.

What to expect for 2013???
 I have no idea what to expect. Peace would be a good thing to expect, but with the way this world is going, it's hard to foresee. I find it very hard to understand how people can continue living without a relationship with Jesus Christ and still survive living in this barbaric way of life. Killing and being killed, and sometimes for no reason at all, then to just kill!!! 
A very sad commentary for "modern" man!!! Everyone blames the other guy and sadly does not look into the "mirror of truth" to see one's self-deception. We deceive ourselves daily, thinking we are good, when in reality we all are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. There is a scripture in the Bible that says to this affect. "Whoa to them that say good is evil and evil good..." This is fast becoming very familiar in our society. Very sad, very sad indeed.

Well, guess it is time to close this blog for 2012.....see you all in 2013 Lord willing. So you all keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh. Cheers ~ Louise
 Hello 2013

♫♪♫ Monday, Monday ♫♪♫

Do you remember that song by the "Mama's and Papa's????? Monday, Monday, so good to me.....(must find the words for this blog)

Yeah, it was a little hard to wake up this morning. This cute kitty says it all, took this picture off  Facebook today.....just made me laugh!!!

Well it was a quiet and busy weekend. Went to a paper sale at PaperCuts and  an "Amuse" stamping party and open house at Betty's place. Made 2 make n' take cards at the paper sale and 3 make n' take cards at Betty's. All very good ideas to use for future cards. Spent a little bit of money but, is that not the idea?????????

After my field trip of sorts, JP and I went for a short date to the antique store and looked around at all the old things that I remember as a child and are now ANTIQUES.....oh if only I had known as a young kid, to start collecting, would have been rich or would I have been called a hoarder and pack-rat???? Who knows, maybe if I sold some of our old stuff, I could make a few bucks, but it is hard to part with some of my "stuff".

Didn't make anything special this week-end. We were just basically trying to keep cool.  Friday, was half a chicken in my Nu-Wave which keeps the kitchen cool and a stir-fry of vegies. Saturday, JP ate left overs, fruit bowl and pannais for supper. Sunday, BLT pannis, beans, left over stir-fry vegies, ceaser pasta salad and fruit. Simple, simple, simple.

Trying to figure out why I took so long to write a blog.....it's been a week since I last wrote, must have been on a "blog vacation" or something. Actually been playing on Pinterest alot lately.........sure can be addicting. Guess, I am vacationing there...........no I did not vacate, (that's where vacation comes from, when you vacate one place to go someplace else). Maybe I just got side-tracted. So listen, if you feel like it, go to http://www.pinterest.com/ and type in Louise Langefeld Gatti and check out my boards, you can see some of my favorite things, cards, crafts, water fountains, places to visit, diets, food and more food and lots of refreshing drinks!!!! Check it out, you will be glad you did.

Guess it is time to close, this computer is acting up. I threaten to take it into Office Depot for a cleaning but I just know they will say..........."oh you need a new Windows 8 computer" or just try to sell me an older computer just to get it off the floor to make room for the new ones. But then, we both need our eyes checked and it looks like another used car is in our future. Soooooo you all take care and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.
Cheers to you ~ Louise



SMILE ♥ you'll feel much better!!!!

Found this little guy on the internet.........heehee.......what a mouth full of teeth! I think that is a smile, he makes me smile, so it must be a smile.

Moved the frontroom furniture around today.......looks good, less crowded. I heard that if you move your furniture around means you want to go traveling or take a vacation. Yep, I am ready for something, but alas, no $$$$ to go. So I will just move the furniture around and paint a few rooms. Yes, I think that is what I will do.

I wrote JP's blog today, go take a peek. http://goodnewsministriesinc.blogspot.com/ Changed the font in the title and added a few gadgets, connected his blog with my facebook and twitter accounts. Maybe he will get more traffic. We'll see.

Going to close my blog for today, have to get back to work and finish cleaning house. Want to work on some cards tonight, got an idea from another blog and want to try it tonight. If they turn out, I may use it as my "make'n take" at "Girls Night Out" next Thursday.

Keep looking up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Cheers ~ Louise