Life in 2020 and Cream Puffs

Hi there everyone.....I know, I know, it's been a while, like 2 weeks since the last post?!?! I used to be so diligent writing my posts, 3,4,5 a month. Now it's just 1 or 2 posts. Guess not too much is happening in my life. I can post just so many cards, so many recipes, so many Hawk games, till people get tired of reading my posts, guess that is better then no posts at all.....right?!?!

Have not been doing any cards lately. But I need to make some for Valentine's Day. Hospice meeting is coming up on the 31st. and I have very few cards for that day. Maybe it's a good thing I have a Hospice meeting, cause it makes me make cards, even if I don't feel like it. Need some inspiration I guess.

The cookbook has taken up a lot of my time....we are nearing the end though. I have typed in 275 recipes (there are a few more coming....so maybe it will be about 280). We will be sending the book in with dividers, pictures and info to have Fundcraft put the book together. Maybe the end of this month or the beginning of February is our ending date.

Speaking of recipes (no, this one is not in the cookbook) I made these cream puffs the beginning of this year. Don't they look delicious?? Always wanted to make these, found a recipe that sounded pretty easy. So many times, these fancy recipes sound so complicated....thought I could handle this one. Following is the recipe.
Eclairs - Preheat oven 400 degrees.
1 c. water
1 stick butter
1 c. sifted flour
4 eggs
Heat water and butter to boiling point. Add flour, stir constantly till the mixture is smooth and forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool. Beat in 4 eggs one at a time. Till all mixed together. Drop dough on greased cooking sheet (or use parchment paper to line the cooking sheet.) Bake 30 minutes until light brown. Set aside and cool. Prepare your filling. Cut puffs lengthwise, but not through. Pipe custard into center. Melt chocolate and frost puffs.

I tried making the filling, but it burned the pan. So I filled the puffs with sliced banana and spooned Cool Whip into the puffs. Covered the puffs with Chocolate syrup. 

I do have a package of vanilla instant pudding. I will try that next time I make these puffs. A fun dessert to have on hand. The ideas are endless. How does strawberries sound...oh yum!!!

 I believe in my Christmas post I mentioned I would post "My 3 Kings" I made these guys 52 years ago. Using paper Mache and material. They have their own container, an "All" soap detergent container that is probably 53+ years old.....everything is antique. It would not be Christmas without "My 3 Kings".

Isn't this a great picture of a Blackhawk, so powerful and strong. Speaking of the Chicago Blackhawks. Patrick Kane got his 1000 point last night. It was so cool to watch. All the guys came off the bench and surrounded him, congratulating him on his 1000 point. The announcer said he scored 500+ goals and 400+ assists (meeting somewhere in between.) I will find the exact stats and insert them in this post at a later date.

So I have been watching lots of Hockey....my entertainment. Would be wonderful to go to a game....but a little expensive and too far to travel. So it is cheaper to watch at home on TV.

Patrick is only 31 years old....so he has lots of years left to score more goals and assists. Patrick is the 4th Hawk in Franchise history to score over 1000 points. I heard also, he is the 90th player in the League to score 1000 points...so many mile stones he has reached and he is not done yet. His mother and father must be VERY proud of him. All his team mates love him and look up to him....he has become quite the icon for young kids that want to be just like him. Even some of his team mates are young enough to remember watching him and wanted to be like him. So awesome. I tear up thinking about this man!!!

So I guess I will close here for now. Who knows when I will come back. Maybe when something exciting happens, not sure when that will be. Just know I will be watching Hockey, making cards and cooking till the snow subsides and the days start getting longer. I am ready and it is just January.

Talk to you later, keep looking up better days are coming. 
Cheers ~ Louise

Wishing You A Happy Valentine's Day

Hi there everyone. Here is a Happy Valentine's Day bouquet of flowers to you all. These flowers were last year's blooms. No flowers this year, not affordable. Guess I would rather have a steak or something delicious. Flowers are nice to look at, but you can't eat them....so last year's model will have to do.

I did make an Apple Pie for JP tonight for Valentine's, I am sure his eyes will bug out like...WOW A PIE!!! The pie will probably be gone in a couple of days. He says, "don't want it to go to waste"...that won't happen, not in this house....lol!

This is relatively an easy pie to put together. The recipe comes from Door County's "Wagon Trail Resort" cook book. I will find the link to the Wagon Trail....maybe someday you might want to visit, looks like a wonderful place to stay at.

APPLE PIE
2/3 cup sugar (I used Stevia)
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. flour or tapioca (I used flour)
cinnamon and nutmeg (as much as you want)

Heap apples in an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Quantities of other ingredients depends on how many apples you used. Dot with butter.

(I used a pie crust already made, dumped apples in dish and covered with a crumble of melted butter, flour and stevia. Mixed it together and spread over the pie. As you can see in the above picture. This is my favorite way to make pies.)

There were no instructions as to what the temperature was to use and how long. So I went with 400 degrees and 45 minutes. Oh, and I did add a handful of raisins to the recipe.

So there you go....hope you enjoy. JP enjoyed it, as did I. One of my better pies.

You have a great Valentine's Day, hope you get some love. Keep looking up cause better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

The Title??? Modge Podge Life

Hi there everyone. Well, it sure has been awhile since I last posted on my blog. Three weeks, guess I could have gone longer, but even I was getting tired of that pie...it sure was good though and easy to make. I made another pie a week later, but only chocolate....was good, but much too runny. Guess I needed to cut down on the milk. Live and learn I guess.

Don't you just love this meme...definitely, a dog is man's best friend. As is God, our best friend too. To bad He is being chased out of Homes, Schools, Churches and Washington D.C. plus each State. Sad commentary. It's no wonder this Country is a MESS!!!!

I think this is a cute card below....I have not made this card as yet. Have to buy some balloons. Looks so simple but yet a fun card that the nieces and nephew's will have fun receiving. I shall have to check out this blog to see what other ideas she has....but this card caught my eye and had to save it with plans of making them some day.

Here are some pretty flowers for you....wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day. I have no special plans except possibly, I might pick up some strawberries and chocolate and try my hand at making "chocolate covered strawberries" Mmmmm sounds good!
Probably make a special dinner of steak and fries and maybe a cake too.

I have been spending a lot of time watching Hockey....I sure do like hockey, better then football. Football is soooo slowwww compared to hockey. The Blackhawks were not doing too good the beginning of this season. Then the coach was fired and the Hawks got a new coach who has been leading them to a much better season. They are actually looking at getting into the playoffs.....that sure would be great.

I used to go to the games back when I was a teenager. Pops had season tickets, so I went to all the home games. Back then there was only 6 teams. Now there are 31 teams, that is how big Hockey has gotten in the States and Canada.

I found a couple of threads on the Internet that I follow while watching the Hawks play. There is usually about 10 - 15 people chiming in, rooting for the Hawks or telling different players to get of the ice because they are worthless......they better read the above sign!!! But it is fun, keeping up with them, feels like I am at a hockey game. I do enjoy watching the other teams play too and do follow other teams, but the Hawks are my favorite. And my favorite player is Patrick Kane #88. Hopefully some day I can get a Patrick Kane jersey to wear while watching the Hawks play.

Don't you just love the above meme....."A list of sports better than Hockey" Ummmm, there are none!!! Hockey is the Best!!

Weather has been pretty cold with quite a few days below 0 with lots of snow. I sure will be glad when winter is over. I noticed on Facebook, someone posted that it is only 30 days and Day light Savings will be here....I like when the time changes, although I don't like having to change all the clocks in our house. We never did change the time in the car (mainly because we did not know how)...so we won't have to worry about that one.

We had to buy a new battery for the car last week....that was not in the budget....but at least we know the car will start. I have to buy a new printer. (Also not in the budget) Buying a color cartridge is $30 verses a new printer is $30. Weird! May as well get a new printer I say.

Well, time to close here, I am getting a little wordy and probably lost a few of you along the way. You all have a great night and keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

Finally......Feeling Better

Hi there everyone. Yes.....finally feeling better. This has been quite a bout with the flu or whatever this was. Now JP has it. Lots of coughing and hacking and blowing the nose. Tiredness and no ambition to do anything but sleep. Didn't even feel like blogging....nope, had nothing to say and no pictures to add to this blog.

To top that off, my computer decided to act up....for some reason it was not letting me in. I am wondering if I got hacked???? I finally had to let the computer reset itself back to when I first got it. Which meant I lost some programs, like Microsoft Word, a few games and Norton to name just a few, oh and my screen saver pictures.

Norton was telling me I needed to buy a new subscription.....that was upsetting me, because I still had 2 months left before I had to renew, which will be $100. Then losing my Microsoft Word, was another bummer. I ended up having to buy a subscription yesterday, for a year at $69 and will have to renew next January. Not exactly sure how I got the previous program. I finally did find the games that I lost, I like scrabble and Yahtzee, found them, which were free. Now I guess I can get on with life for awhile. Till something else happens to my computer. Computers are kinda expensive to have I think.

The picture above is another idea for the new peony stamp I bought from Altenew. Looking forward to making a few cards with this stamp in the next few weeks.

My card making "mojo" has been very low. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm probably a 2 or 3, no creative juices flowing!!!! I did manage to get some cards put together for the Hospice meeting on the 26th. What I did was pull a bunch of cards together that were in my inventory. Made a few Valentine's Day cards and placed the inserts for Heartland Hospice in all the cards. My next batch of cards, I will make labels and place them at the bottom of the card instead of ripping the inserts out with the sayings on them and replacing with the Heartland Hospice insert. So much extra work eliminated. I noticed that the other ladies were just using labels.....I thought, why can't I???? So now that I have my Word program, why not make labels???? The message is still the same.

Finally....took my Christmas Village down today.....I guess that is a sign that I am feeling better. I left my table top Christmas tree up....it is decorated in red for Valentine's Day. I'll take it down before St. Patricks.....not unless I change my mind....who knows.

Well time to close here. You all have a great day and keep yourself healthy, get plenty of rest and stay away from the coughers and sneezers!!! Keep looking up ~ better days are coming. 

Cheers ~ Louise

A New Year ~ What Will Transpire??

Hi there everyone. How is your New Year going so far?? Already it is January 6th.....where oh where did that time go??? I took down 1/2 my Christmas stuff. I still have my village up and my little table top Christmas tree is now decorated for Valentine's Day. I found some red Christmas decorations at Walmart at 50% off. I could not resist. Red snowflakes, a red butterfly and two red hummingbirds. Sweet. I still have to finish decorating the tree with a few more things, beads, bows and bulbs. I will take a picture when finished.

I have an apple pie in the oven right now. I can hardly wait to try it. It's called "Apple Crumb Cheesecake Pie" I am going to see if I can get the video up on this post. Nope...no video. But here is a picture of the cake/pie.

 Well, I just had a piece of pie with a small scoop of vanilla Geleto ~ YES this is worthy of making again and again. It was simple to make. I used a Pillsbury pie crust. Made the cheese spread with 1-8 oz package of cream cheese, softened. 1/4 cup sugar and 1 large egg and beat together. This mixture is then spread on the unbaked pie crust.

The apple pie filling. 6 cups of apples, peeled and diced and 2 T. lemon juice poured over the apples so they don't brown (I used frozen apples, no need for lemon juice). 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cornstarch, 1 t ground cinnamon, 1/4 t nutmeg, 1/4 t. salt 1 cup water.

Stir together the sugars, cornstarch, spices and salt in a sauce pan, whisk in the water until everything is dissolved. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer till thickened.  Add the apples then increase the heat to medium, cook and stir together for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool. 

The directions say to refrigerate the filling in an airtight container for 4-6 hours to thicken. But I poured the mixture over the cheese right away. Did not seem to affect the pie any.

The crumb topping is 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup quick cooking oats, 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. nutmeg, 2 T melted butter. Mix altogether till crumbled and spread on top of the apples.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. DELICIOUS !!

 How do you like these Valentine cards, I found them on Pinterest. I think I will make a few of these to send to the nephews and nieces. LOL....I think they are cute!! I do have PLENTY of eyes.

Funny cards above....kids will love them.

This heart with one eye is cute, I am trying to figure out how to put this one together. I do have that stamp..."I've got my eye on You" I have a few weeks to play with it though.

I guess I am going to start working on our income tax. We got our work sheets from the accountant today. So, the sooner I get them done the sooner we might have a refund. I just have to get my rear in gear and motivate myself to do it.

We have quite a few Doctor appointments coming up in the next couple of months for both JP and I. Why does it seem the older we get the more the Doctors want to see our bodies. I don't remember seeing the Doctor that much in my 30's and 40's, maybe for only the annual exam...oh well, I guess they have to eat too. JP always says that. And I say, yeah, but not on my nickle!!! Boo, bad sport!!

We ended 2017 with car problems, the car was leaking antifreeze. Took it in, JP thought the clamps needed to be tightened, they did that, but it still leaked. So we started 2018 with car problems. On  Friday, JP took the car back in and it was decided we needed a new water pump. The water pump was on warranty, which saved some money. So we just have to pay for labor. Whew, glad it was not more then $100.

Since I do not have a crystal ball, I cannot say what will transpire this New Year....maybe I do not want to know, I might not want to take that leap into the unknown. I just hope I can draw closer to Jesus and seek Him more for all my needs. It is so easy to walk this life without inquiring  of the Lord as to what to do next. I used to do that...ok Lord, what do I do next. But I forgot, and stopped doing it. I think 2018 should be my year to depend on God more for my every need. Oh, oh.....you know God is inspiring me to write this, He will take me at my word.....this should be an interesting year!!

Well, time to close here....this post is getting a bit tooooooo long.

You all take care, keep looking up ~ better days are coming!!

Cheers ~ Louise

Prepping for Christmas

Hi there everyone. Been Missing in Action lately. Christmas is right around the corner. Just have to decorate the tree.....well, it's a little table top tree. Probably have had 15 years or more....but I manage to decorate it differently every year. Last year it was red, white and blue......this year maybe red and white lights then it will be good for Valentine's Day.

 This is a picture of my little tree from last year.....

 Above a picture of my village and manger scene from 2016. My village changes from year to year, because I place the houses in different places. This year I bought a scenery picture for the back ground, a snowman water tower and new fencing for the village. I like to buy something new every year. I will wait till after Christmas to get some 1/2 price stuff for the village. Gosh, I think I have had that manger scene for at least 25 years.....wow!

 In this picture above is the birthday card I made for my 3 year old great niece.....she is into Minnie Mouse. I saw a few Minnie Mouse cards on the Internet, this is what I came up with.

Thought I would add a few jars of my canned tomatoes. I had a bumper crop of tomatoes this summer. I dried tomatoes, froze tomatoes, canned tomatoes, ate tomatoes, made soup, sauce, BLT's. Yep, we had a tomato good year. I think this winter I will buy a couple bags of dried beans and can those also. I love my Power Pressure XL because it does so many things. Last night I made spare ribs, gosh they were good, cooked them in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes then under the broiler for 3 minutes.....sooooooooooo gooooooood!

So tonight, I will decorate my little tree and make some Christmas cards....just a little bit behind here. Don't know why, just don't feel like putting myself under more stress. I told JP all he was getting for Christmas was a $3.00 (maybe $5) gift certificate filled with quarters so he can buy a few apple juices at his work place. I gave him 3 Christian work books that I found while cleaning a file cabinet and gave those to him. I had the intentions of going through them myself, but never got "A Round To It." Maybe I will look for something that he can open on Christmas Day. He told me to go find myself something and use his SS check. Well, that won't be till after the 20th. So I better start thinking now......I am thinking of getting one of those "SodaStreams" so I can make seltzer water. JP goes through a lot of seltzer and I like it too. Will have to look into that. I really need a new radio that has better reception. I like to listen to Sean Hannity and Mark Levine and all I am hearing is a bunch of static.....uge, that drives me nuts!!!

Well, time to close here....thought I would post something before it got too late into the month of December. You all have a good night and keep looking up ~ better days are coming!!!!
Cheers ~ Louise

Post Valentine's Day

Hi Everyone...Hope you had a beautiful day with your sweet friends and family. Yeah, I had a nice day. We went to church. Bought some chips for the 16 mile trip home. Stopped at home to pick up Kylie and take her for a ride to the store. One of her favorite things to do. She likes to go for walks too.....but it has been very cold. But a warm up is coming next week....whew, can hardly wait.

So we picked up Kylie and went to Shopko to get JP's meds, then to Festival Food for a Valentine's treat. Cheese cake, bought 4 slices for $4 and some whip cream. Then I bought some fried chicken and butter lettuce for salad. When we got home, unpacked, and through fries in the oven, set the table, ate our chicken, fries, salad and cheese cake. Yummmmmy little meal.

The rest of the day was for rest and relaxation and a nape at 4:00pm. Made some Valentine cookies and did some dishes. Don't want to over exert myself, do I??? So now, here I am typing this blog. After I am finished I shall go down-stairs and watch Downton Abby.

So in the above picture is the Valentine card I made for JP.....lots of hearts for him from Louise and Kylie!!!

Here is the Blue Apron recipe I made Friday night. (or was that Thursday)????? Anyways, "Goat Cheese and Kale Quiche with Butter Lettuce and Chive Salad" I AM IN LOVE with Butter Lettuce!!! I bought another head Friday.....and came home with another head today!!! Love, love, love, where have you been all my life???? So I mix a little garlic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, sweetener, and wa-la a delicious salad. I think I may not use regular salad dressing again.

Here is a picture of Kylie.....she got a new blankie for Valentine's Day....can you tell she likes it???? Snoozy-doozy girl!!!

Well, you have a great couple of days.....I will be house cleaning, as we will be having some company from Chicago coming on Friday. So, I must dust and straighten up a bit. And get those darned dust bunnies mopped up and  the dishes done!!!!

Keep looking up cause better 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.

My Valentine Tree....

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a nice Saturday....it was lovely outside today....I should have taken a walk with Kylie, but I did not. Maybe tomorrow.

Today I am posting my Valentine's Tree. Lots of hearts, and look there's that red elf....he must have hid among the branches when I was taking the Christmas stuff down, I think he hoped I would miss him.....well, I really didn't only reason he stayed in the tree was cause he is RED and perfect for Valentine's Day.

I suspect the tree will come down after Valentines.....I don't dare leave it up for St. Patrick's Day. I love the lights....and will miss them.

Tomorrow I shall be picking 4 names. If you have commented on any of my blogs for past few weeks, you became eligible. Each comment was worth a chance to win and Valentine Card from me. I can hardly wait to pick the names. I will let you know if  you won by an email and if I need your address, I will let you know. I do have a few addresses......so we shall see.

Nothing too much happened today....just worked on Income tax and getting that all organized. Still have to go over the medical stuff and pull all of the 2014 bills out of the files.

Making this a short and sweet post, have a good rest of the day and keep looking up. Cheers ~ Louise

There is Still Time.....

Hi there everyone. Well....it's Friday, where did this week go to??? So fast, the days are going. We are so busy wishing our lives away, always looking forward to the next season, the next day off, the next vacation, the next holiday, the next meal, the next football season, the next I-phone, the next, the next, etc. It's no wonder the days and weeks fly by so fast.

There is still time to leave a comment on my blog to get your name added to the bowl to receive this lovely vintage looking Valentine Card....just for you!!! Yes, Sunday, February 8th I will pick 4 names from the bowl, every comment left is a chance to win. So if you have left 6 comments, that is 6 chances to win....2 comments, two chances. I will contact those that won on Sunday night. If I have your address, then great, if not I will need your address to send this card. On the 9th I will post the winners who won. Who knows, if all works out.....I may just do this for St. Patrick's Day also.


Been busy making St. Patrick cards....and getting ready for Hospice on March 6th. Need to have put together about 75 cards, St. Patrick, Easter, Thinking of you and Thanks You's.  What's really been fun is that I can still use my heart punch to make the shamrocks....such fun, each shamrock requires 3 hearts and the stem is punched out with the heart punch also. I will show you the St. Patrick cards later ,as that will be for another post in a week or so.

Not much going on at the moment. Started the income tax dance....that always takes me awhile to get motivated to do....tend to procrastinate on it, I have to have my part done by March 10th and then take the paper work to the accountant to finish. No.....I cannot do my own....it's so hard to understand the language on the tax forms, I would mess it all up. Better to have someone who knows what they are doing.

Well, time to close here, need to go to bed. It's 2:05am. So good night and I hope Friday, February 6th is a good one for you all. Keep looking up!!!  Cheers ~ Louise

The Last Day of January......

Hi there everyone. Hope your Saturday is going well for you. This was a quiet day, nothing much going today. I am making some Mexican Meatball Soup in the crockpot. It should be ready around 8pm or so. I keep taste-testing, I am afraid by the time 8pm rolls around I will be full of meatballs and there won't be any for JP. Uh-oh!!!!!

Isn't this little poster so true???? When I look at my puppy dog I always think how sweet she is, and if she could talk, boy would she tell me a thing or two. Such unconditional love.....I believe....it's the same kind of love that God has for each and every one of us....when men fail all around us.....we still have God that loves us no matter what!!!!!....how great is that?????

Commercial Time.......So you have one more week to leave a comment on my blog, (the last one, this one or the next couple of blogs.) Even if you just say "Hi" that would be sufficient enough to be eligible for a Valentine Card from me. February 8th I will pick 4 names and those winners will receive a card for Valentine's Day. Enter as many times as you want leaving a comment each time. I will put your name in the hat....the more comments, the more chances to win.

Cannot believe this is the last day of January...my how the time flies. I had two sales for my cards (18 cards in all) in January, one on Etsy and the other from a friend....here's hoping February will be good to me too.

One thing I have to work on this month is the income tax....uge I hate that job, getting everything together for the accountant, cleaning out my filing cabinet of 2014 stuff,  answering the questions, so much work....but then I have to remember, maybe there will be a refund too....and that always comes in handy, helping to pay bills.

Still working on doing smoothies everyday, watching my weight and blood sugar numbers. Didn't do very good at losing any poundage in January....maybe February will be better.

Well, time to close, hope the rest of your day is good, keep warm and keep looking up.
Cheers ~ Louise

Christmas Eve Waffles

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a wonderful Christmas Eve. Got all your shopping done, cooking and baking done? I just got the pork roast with sauerkraut in the oven and will add the potatoes and carrots in about an hour. The bean casserole will be made later, possibly on the menu will be a no-bake cheese pie with cherries on top....sounds yummy. Tomorrow will be leftover pork roast.

One of JP's Christmas gifts is Lox and bagels. So I will pack that box first thing tomorrow morning. He will probably eat it right away. So that will cover his breakfast and lunch. It will be a quiet day for us as we have no children or family here in Appleton.

This morning I made some waffles, plenty of waffles for JP to munch on. Gosh they were good, my choice of toppings, peanut butter and cranberry sauce. Munched them down while making more waffles.

My little waffle maker makes the best waffles....this was just the start of the waffle making, should have taken a picture after all the waffles were made....but you get the idea. There was enough batter to make about 12 of these cakes. Oh so good!!!!

 

I watched a great movie last night from Netflex...."Jersey Boys" about the Four Seasons and their bumpy offstage lives stretches across four decades....it's ironic how Jersey Boys has showcased the group and they are even bigger then ever. I went on Youtube to see Frankie Valli and he is still singing and going on...amazing story!!! So I probably will watch it again downstairs while making a few cards....I have to get some more cards ready for the Hospice meeting in January. Valentines and winter cards are on the agenda.

 

Well, you all have a wonderful day and enjoy the blessings that God has given and don't forget to keep looking up.....the merry go round will slow down and you can get off for a breath of fresh air. Then we will have the NEW YEAR to think about and what it will hold for us all. Take care.

Cheers ~ Louise





♥Valentine Cards♥Icicles♥Flowers♥

Hi everyone, hope you are having a lovely evening with not too much stress going on. Thought I would post some Valentine cards I just listed on Etsy tonight. These cards have been in my inventory for awhile. They've either been in my Etsy store for 4 months and then sat in my stock for a year. I decided to re-list them for $1.00 each and put them in a set of cards for $12.00+$5.00 postage. If you would like a closer look, just click on my Etsy Store link to the right of this post. It will take you straight to my store.

ICICELES HANGING FROM THE GUTTERS.........This can't be too healthy for our "already weakened roof" problems. Glad it is frozen up there, otherwise we would be dealing with a leaky roof and kitchen ceiling. There is a chance we might be able to get a grant with the City if we quilify, I have to download the application and see where we stand. It would be nice if they could fix.....what they broke 11 years ago.

In this picture is a shot from the kitchen window looking out the backyard. You can see how much snow we have already had and December is not over with yet. JP knocked the pretty icicles down. But I am sure more will form again. Our front porch roof is leaking now...just not sure what that problem is. I know that when the roofer took the gutters down....they were not put back up the right way, sad, the trouble one man can create.

Pretty flowers........went shopping Friday and decided to buy a bouquet of carnations for Louise. They smell so pretty. Only paid $2.99. I thought that was a good price for a little bit of prettiness. Got 3 little bouquets out of one big one. A small one in the kitchen, on the dinning room table and one right here by the computer....I can smell their aroma right now. SWEET!!!!!

Well, time to close here for awhile. Talk to you all later, hope you have a nice rest of the weekend....take care and keep looking up!!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Can You Believe It?

I still have my Christmas tree up???  Yeppers........I like the lights and just did not want to take down my tree so I turned it into a Valentine's Day tree. I think now, I am ready to take it down any day now.....it's time I guess. I took everthing that was Christmas off the tree and made punched-out hearts with Valentine hearts at the base.....everything red. I have enjoyed my Valentine's Day tree and even thought to turn it into a St. Patrick's Day Tree...........guess that would be stretching it though.....the husband is getting tired of it though. So I may take it down on the 25th....that week maybe..............maybe..........maybe.......  :)

Here is a close up of the tree. Red bows, ornaments, garland and hearts. Sweet huh?  I wish my camera could have taken a picture showing the lights, but couldn't do that.........probably doing something wrong. 

Thought I would add a picture of the roses that JP gave me for Valentine's Day.....3 lovely roses. One already died (which is drying in the kitchen), but the other two are still doing great, even as of today they look really great.

Not much going on....it snowed last night (4-7in. in some areas). The snow mountain in our backyard is getting BIGGER and HIGHER. There is another storm coming on Monday and Tuesday.........well, maybe another month of this and then the rains will come and we will have to deal with a leaking roof....uge!!!
 So, I guess for now it's okay to deal with snow.

My next blog (or two) I will put up a few more "number cards" for children. Plus one Easter and a couple of birthday cards. I will be joining a card group that meets once a month and makes cards for Hospice patients. I have an over abundance of cards sitting in containers needing a home. A friend mentioned this group to me and asked if I would be interested in being a part of it.....I thought, yeah, why not. That would be a way of weeding through a lot of cards and donate them to people needing a bit of cheer, and maybe letting them know "God Loves You" with a stamp at the bottom of the card. The first meeting is March 1st....at 9 a.m. at Atlanta Bread Co. That is pretty early for me as I usually go to bed about 2:30 a.m. because JP gets home from work at 1 a.m. I'm usually cooking something for him to eat at 1.00. NOTE: even if I went to bed early, probably would be lying in bed....wide awake!

Well, time to close here, it's almost ready to get JP ready for work and make his lunch. He needs to leave for work at 4:00 pm and shovel the dumpsters at the buildings he works at. So you all have a great day and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh. Some day I will write a blog explaining that previous sentence and why I use it. Have a great day today and everyday, despite the chaos in this world.
Cheers ~ Louise

Happy Valentine's Day Pizza

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
Here is my special Valentine present to JP at 1:00am this morning when he got home from work.
 Made the crust from a package mix, shaped the dough into a heart then baked for 6 minutes at 450 degrees.

After cooling down a bit, (time was 12:30am...much too early to finish decorating and bake.)
Something different I used, instead of tomato sauce or pizza sauce,  I used Mild Enchilada Sauce.  Sliced mini-peppers, pepperoni, Italian turkey sausage, (geez, what was I thinking, forgot the mushrooms and onions.)

In this picture the pizza is all decorated and sprinkled with Mozzarella cheese and ready to bake.
Baked at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Well, as you can see, the pizza is cut and robbed of some yummy pieces. So now I am wondering, can a shamrock pizza be made......hummmmmmm????

 Have you noticed my pizza pan, not the most beautiful of pizza pans, but.....it has seen lots of pizzas in it's day and probably many, many more to come. I think this pan is over 40 years old.....guess some people would throw this baby out....but hey, it still works, it's a little warped, but I like it. I have a newer pan in the cabinet, but I hardly use it....I always grab for this one for cookies, roasting vegies and baked chops and chicken AND of course PIZZA!!!

Well, I took some pictures of the cards I made at Betty's house on Tuesday....they turned out really cute, that will be in my next blog along with my Children's cards 5 & 6. 
So you all have a great Valentine's Day and enjoy and keep looking up for your redemption draws nigh.
Cheers ~ Louise