I'm Dreaming of a WHITE Christmas by whatshername on Etsy

I was picked to be in a treasury by "whatshername" that was a neat Christmas surprise. Click on the following link to see my "White on White Christmas Card"

May your Christmas be Merry and 2011 be your best ever year!!!!
~Louise~

Click on this link:
I'm Dreaming of a WHITE Christmas by whatshername on Etsy

Merry Christmas Blessings

Here is a Christmas card I made and sent out to friends. Colored her in with pens, H2o's and sprayed her with glimmer mist and placed her in a pre-made card. Wa-La a pretty lady wishing you Merry Christmas Blessings.

Almost done with preparing for Christmas.....which is only 5 days away. Where in the world did this year go? So much has happened and what have I learned throughout this whole year? I am not sure, will have to sit down and write everything out, month by month, day by day. Shall give myself two weeks to reflect and maybe I will come up with a blog report after it is finished.

I received my Christmas present plus birthday present from my Step father. He gave me $100 to spend for whatever. I bought a Mini NuWave.....oh gosh is it ever a neat little appliance. I made a whole chicken in it the other day, was it ever delicious. Last night we finished up the bird and then I turned it into chicken soup. Yummy!!!!

My Christmas present........... finally got a Dutch Oven!!!! Only paid $30 for it compared to even Walmart's Dutch Oven which was $60, the brandmark is "Better Homes and Garden" I guess you are paying for the name. So in this case, cheaper was the way I went and still have a nice pot. I have made a few things in it. A vegetable soup that was out of this world. And a stew that came very close to being out of this world!!!!!!

I am thinking that for Christmas I want to make that lovely Beef stew that Julia Childs made...Boeuf a la Bourguignonne. I found the recipe so, if I make it, I shall take a picture and give the recipe right here on this blog!!!!!

Well, I shall close for now, as sometimes I can get pretty wordy at times, so you have a great day and talk to you soon.
~Louise~

Winter's Greeting Snowman

Winter is here, whether we want it or not. We got 11 inches over the weekend.....whew, guess that is better then rain, as our roof leaks into the ketchen, so snow is better at this point. Well, here I have a snowman card, he is a "Winter Greeting Snowman" as I have finished the Christmas cards. Now it is on to Valentine and Winter Cards. I am going to put him in my etsy store, probably tonight, you can go to http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ to see all my other cards. This particular card will be $3.00 + postage. You will receive one free card of my choosing plus a bookmark.

Well, you have a great day and see you in a few days as I am trying to get ready for Christmas and get all my cards out to friends and family. Take care and take Jesus!!!! ~Louise~

Silent Night

"Silent Night, Holy Night".........this is my newest card, made and put in my Etsy store last night. The price is $3.00 + postage. Go to: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ to see how I made the card. Going to make a few more of these cards to send out to friends and family. But I have to get a move on if I want them out this week end. Cheers ~ have a great day ~ Louise

An Iris Fold Christmas Card

Made this card last night, using my own templete (not hard, just cut out a square)layed it on a snowflake Cuttlebug folder and cut it out then smudged with red ink. Used ribbon for the iris fold (following a templete), the iris is gold wrapping paper. Topped with a ribbon for a bow then covered the snowflakes with red speckles then added Merry Christmas. This is a closer look at the Iris Folding with ribbon.

I am going to add this to my Etsy store tonight, the price will be $3.50 + postage. You will receive one free card and a book mark for free, so total cost will run you about $5.00 tops, if it goes over I will pay the rest. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! The card will come with an envelope and clear plastic envelope for protection. The inside of the card says "Thank God for His Son♥ His Gift too wonderful for words. 2 Corinthians 9:15"

Go to http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/

~ A Choice We Must All Make ~

~ Please read John 3 ~

Mr. Snowman Card and White Chili

Here's a little card I made tonight.....made the snowman a couple of days ago and was trying to decide what to do for the background. Got an idea today laying on an exercise bed.

Ran dark blue cardstock through a snowflake cuttlebug folder then a dabed a white ink pad on the snowflakes and wa-la......layered Mr. Snowman on burgandy cardstock then on the blue background. Tied a white ribbon round him just to add a little pazaazzzzzzzzz! If I don't sell him tomorrow (as I am taking him to my exercise class) I will put him up on my Etsy store for $3.00 + postage.

Tonight I am making some white turkey chili.........as soon as it's made and plated, I will take a picture of it and add that to this post along with the recipe.

The recipe:

1 lb chicken breast or cooked chicken or turkey cut in pieces

1 med. onion, chopped

1 1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 tbl vegetable oil

2 cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1 can 14 oz chicken broth

2 cans 40z chopped green chilies (I used 1 can of tomato and chilies)

1 tsp salt (didn't use salt)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used chili powder)

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup sour cream

Saute chicken, onion and garlic salt in oil. (if using cooked chicken or turkey, just add when onions are soft. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to boil and reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 30 min. Remove from heat and stir in cream and sour cream. Serve immediately

The above white chili is delicious!!!!!

Talk to you later~Louise~

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

Happy Thanksgiving to you all that might be reading my blog today. Our thanksgiving was small (JP and I) and quiet, but a very good day. A new vegetable was added to the turkey menu, and that was swiss chard. I hadn't used swiss chard since the 80's when I planted it in my garden. Saw a recent cooking show with Curtis Stone using swiss chard and thought, now that looks fun, even down to the cutting of the chard, quick and easy and healthy no doubt!!!

We had turkey, with the potatoes and carrots thrown in with the turkey the last hour of cooking, dressing, pumpkin souffle', swiss chard, gravy, real cranberry sauce, relish dish, and pumpkin pie! All for just two people...........did not know anyone that needed a meal, guess we are out of the loop of important people to invite or something. That's okay though, we enjoy each other's company......good thing after 39 years. I have already turned some of the left overs into turkey soup, so meals today will be easy and then tonight....turkey dinner again.

Today being Black Friday, I shall be one of those that "stays home". Never was interested in venturing out and fighting the crowds of people........no, don't think so, not today. Plus a big factor would be "no money"!!! My next investment for December will be a "Dutch Oven" which I have been wanting since I first saw the movie "Julia and Julie". A bigger pot has been on my mind for making soup for quite a long time and a "Dutch Oven would fit the bill. Of course I am saving for one.....so it will be awhile before I get the one I want, which sits at Walmart, a red one for $70. That will be my Christmas present.

Well, time to close this blog for the day..........and get something done around this house, have a good day and Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.
~Louise~

My Free Birthday Dinner

Well here is my Free Birthday Dinner from JB Clancy's on Sunday, November 21st...........my it was delicious! I really splurged on the french fries, certainly not on my diet, oh but they were gooooood!!!!! Along with the steak and fries I got a beautiful salad and bread with honey butter and coffee. For dessert it was chocolate ice cream with a candle on top. Sweet and yummy. JP and I shared this special treat. It's not every day one celebrates their 64th birthday! Some people do not even make it to 64. Thank you God for 64 years, you have been generous and loving to me.

On Friday the 19th I went out to lunch with Shirley. That was a lovely lunch at Carmalitta's Italian Bistro. I mentioned to the waitress that it was my birthday on Sunday, not thinking there would be a reward.......hahaha! For lunch I had a Chicken Ceasar Panni and side salad. No camera for this one, so no pictures....I wish I had though, it was a lovely meal. After we finished our lunch, the waitress brought a mini boston cream cake with a candle on the side and chocolate spritz across the plate, it was as pretty as a picture. All in all I had a wonderful birthday, with a few birthday cards and birthday wishes on Facebook.

After our meal at BJ Clancy's, JP and I went to an antique mall and I bought a pitch fork for our compost pile, a cook book with hundreds of soup recipes, a fenton vase and fenton dish that holds candles. My stepfather had sent some money for my birthday, so I was able to get a few things for my stamping addiction, some spices for my cooking addiction and some tea .........for my tea addiction. I am putting a little to the side so I can buy a Dutch Oven, the one I am looking at will run about $70......so I have $30 set aside. Maybe if I add a little each week, by Christmas I will have enough to buy the one I want. Can hardly wait!!!! In the mean time I will make soup in my small pot for the time being. Without a vision the people parrish, well, I have a vision, at least for a month or so. :)

One more blessing on my birthday took place.......my $1.50 Hibiscus that I bought at the end of summer bloomed for my birthday. She was sooooo very pretty and made me very happy!!! Will be fun to see how she does during the winter. Maybe by Christmas we will have more blooms. (another vision?)

Well dear friends, I am off to get ready to go out and get some errands done. We got our turkey today......JP got a free 12 lb turkey at his place of employment........which is nice. So that looks like we will have turkey soup and lots of left overs for the freezer and many meals, yummmmmm. There's a storm coming this afternoon, so I need to get some plastic up on one of the basement windows and we need to move the snow blower to the forefront of the garage today.

In my next blog I will show you a couple of Christmas cards I have been making which will probably end up in my Etsy store, just in case you don't have the address, here it is: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ So have a blessed Thanksgiving and enjoy your families.....you never know when that may crumble and there will be no more get togethers for what ever reason.
~Louise~

Just found this unique way to make a card.

Just a Few New Cards Added to Etsy

This Thanksgiving card is in my Etsy store: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ selling for $3.00 + postage. Used Mark It pens to color in the pilgrims and indian then layering on black and gold cardstock which I ran through the cuttlebug.

My Christmas card is a set of cards, 8 in all, same design but layered on red, green, silver and gold foiled cardstock. The set of cards are $16.00 + postage and you can find them on my etsy store. I will put up a few more cards for the christmas season as I finish them and take pictures and download them.

Have a great day, oh and my car is working great!!!!

Louise

My New Silver Bullet #2

Here is my new car...TA DAAAAAAAA!!!!!! 1997 Ford Taurus

We paid $1400 verses $1300 for new brakes on my old 1996 Buick LaSabre.....was hard to see my LaSabre go, BUT God always brings something good out of something bad, doesn't He!?!

Well, here's to better days ahead!!!!!!!

Louise

My LaSabre Died (sniff)

Sad to see her go, she was very loyal and trusting and when she broke down, she broke down really good!!!

She has been a part of my life since January 8, 2005, not quite 6 years, (sniff, sniff). I feel like I went to a funeral, watching her being pulled up on the truck leaving to be junked out at Gibsons and we only got $225 for her. Not much for funeral expences.

"My Silver Bullet" rusted out on the bottom and the brakes stopped working and were leaking all over. We were told it would cost $1300 to fix and then that could open a can of worms and possibly the fuel line would need to be replaced also. We were told it would be better to invest in another car rather then sink more money into My Silver Bullet..........I was really bummed out.

Here she is being pulled up on the truck to be hauled away, I looked underneath her and truly she was a real rusty mess.

Here is "My Silver Bullet" leaving. I will miss her, she was a good car. But now I have a "Silver Bullet #2" a 1997 Ford Taurus, it has a little rust, brakes are good, tires good, drives good, all it needed was an alignment. Good to go for now. The people that had it took good care of it, so hopefully this one will last for awhile.

I will show you pictures of the Ford in my next blog as I have not yet downloaded the pictures as yet. So till another time, TTYL ~ Louise

"All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to his purposes" Romans 8:28

Jeff Markin: Back from the Dead, Reborn Into the Light

Jeff Markin: Back from the Dead, Reborn Into the Light

This is a "Must See." All that's needed is the faith of a mustard seed and you will see miracles. Oh and, OBEDIANCE when God asks you to pray!!!!

Winter is a Coming

Yep, winter is a coming........I will miss our dinners on the front porch. It was like going on a mini vacation each time we sat out there.

This might be last years dinner on the porch but it was still delicious and enjoyable. I guess we ate on the front porch so much that taking a picture of the meal became old hat.

This years mini vacations were a little less because the mosquitos and bees were so bad. But we still had quite a few meals on the front porch.

We have most of the garden cleared and all the summer ornaments in........the first frost has not struck yet so the tomato plants are still growing.....but not many tomatos on them. The rose bushes are covered.....ah shucks....it feels like winter is coming.

Now, I shall zero in on my cards, been laxed in this area. Well, need to get ready for work, so talk later, have a great day ~ Louise

My $1.50 Hibiscus Plant

Here is my newest plant that I aquired from Walmart last week. A Bush Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinenis) and I paid $1.50 for it....amazing, guess when Walmart wants to unload something they REALLY slash the prices!!!!

Today the flower began to open up, there are a few more buds to open, hopefully we will be able to keep this plant over the winter and enjoy her in the spring and summer. The second picture shows the next bud that will begin to open....aaahhhh can hardly wait to see it opened all the way....maybe tomorrow.

Worked in the yard today and raked some leaves into my little gardens for mulch. JP sprayed for weeds. We have a terrible run on creeping jenni all over the yard, it's taking over every inch of grass. The neighbors got it too, but they killed it off, then rototilled and planted new grass. Coarse their yard is in better shape then ours and they are all fenced in so the varmits can't take over like they have here. We have two big trees, one needs to be cut down and the other trimmed....the one that needs to be cut down just may come down next month and hopefully next spring we can have the other tree trimmed, depending on how much it might cost.

Well, I am going to shut this blog down for tonight, talk later, hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather.

Louise

My Newest Card~Mr. Scarecrow

Here is my newest card which I just put in my Etsy store last night. Mr. Scarecrow was colored in with Mark-alot pens and glazed pens then I covered the scarecrow with a clear coat of glaze. The corners were punched and lines drawn from each corner with a glazed pen. Layered on orange paper that went through a cuttlebug, the background are pumkins which I inked with green. A little ribbon embellishes the corner of the card. The inside of the card says "Have a bountiful Harvest" This card will sell on Etsy for $3.50 plus postage. You will also receive a free card, a bookmark and little thank you card for ordering this card. Go to my etsy store at: http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ You can use paypal or a Visa or Master Charge to pay.

So you all have a happy fall, enjoy, because it will go really fast and soon we will see the snow fly.

Blessings~Louise

What's New?

I have a few moments and thought I would put a few thoughts down in my blog and show you some pretty flowers growing in my garden. To your left is a white flower clementis. This is the second year of growing and it over took all three trelis's.....amazing. This is the inside of the porch. I took pictures on the outside, but have to find them. These pretty little white flowers have given much privacy for us on our porch, sad to say, we have not ate on the porch alot this summer, too many bees and mosquitos. We've done alot of cook outs this summer with charcoal, which has been alot of fun with our little $20 grill.

I should look for a picture of food on the grill.....just a moment. Be right back. Okay, I found a lovely meal cooked on our little grill. MMMMMMM looked so good, I could almost smell the aroma. Veggie shishkababs and chicken. that was sooooo delicious. These pictures were taken back in July 31st......my how time flies.

Been working on a few new cards, but have not put any up on my Etsy store lately. I will be renewing some Christmas and Autumn cards, but nothing halloween.....I actually hate halloween, it's worship of the Devil and I am not into worshipping the Devil. So there you have it, people have been so blinded by the evil one, they cannot see.....if someone held a spoon before their eyes and they were told it was a spoon....guess what, they still would not see that spoon. Satan not only has people blinded but also brainwashed. I prefer to have my brain washed in the Blood of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. There is no other way to live.

So what else is new???? We are looking to have a tree cut down in our backyard......we got the first estimate today......I could not believe how much the estimate was.......guess......just a quick guess.......give up? $2,284.oo yep.....hard to believe huh? No we are not going with him, that is for sure.

I will be taking some pictures of our front yard. JP and I landscaped the front with lots of wood chips and today I bought some stepping stones so we can walk through our little front yard garden. I am looking forward to opening up the whole front with lots of flowers and a Zuchinni plant or two.....I can't get over the fact that I planted 12 zuchinni seeds. 6 plants made it and out of those 6 plants I have yet to get 1 zuchinni.....ground too wet I guess. The back yard got flooded twice. Been a frustrating year to grow things, I am beginning to think I am losing my green thumb!

Well, I think I shall close this blog for tonight, talk to you later~Louise

Made a New Card Tonight

Here is one of my little girls smelling a rose which made it on a card tonight. A tri-fold card made with my mini score board. Then I outlined the lines scored. Placing the little girl on top after cutting her out on the right side. I needed something to fill in and thought a lovely flower would do the trick and a little greeting at the bottom "Just a Note". The inside of the card is blank to write a small note. Which is what will happen to this card as it is going in the mail box tomorrow to a friend. We exchange cards, it is always fun to receive a card from her.

I do plan on making a few more cards like this one in different colors and will probably add one of them to my etsy store. http://www.cards4ubylouise.etsy.com/ The price of the card will be $4.00 as there is alot of work involved in making this card. I am sure you would agree once you see it. This card will come with an envelope and a clear plastic envelope for protection. As a bonus you will receive on free card and a bookmark. Well, you have a safe Labor day and enjoy your day off.~ Louise

Hyko and Kylie

Here is Hyko, he is about 12 years old. We've had him for about 8 years, now that is hard to believe. Seems like he has been with us forever. He is a Bolegnese, kind of like in the Bishon family. We got Hyko from the Appleton Animal Shelter, he had been given up by his 1st owner who abused him pretty bad. Hyko was afraid of men and stayed away from JP for awhile.....now JP and Hyko are best friends. Hyko has alot of ailments but he just keeps going like the energized bunny. Bad heart, teeth, a tumor on the bladder, he is getting hard of hearing and his sight is getting bad. Oh well, just like we humans, everything starts to wear down.

Then there is Kylie, she is about 5 years old or so. She was maybe about a year old when we got her from the OshKosh Animal Shelter. Kylie was found running homeless, she might have been dropped off and left to fend for herself. She was very fearful of us when we first met her. But she sure did take a liking to Hyko, it was love at first sight for Hyko and Kylie.

Kylie is a Schnoodle, (part poodle and part schnawzer). She is pretty healthy and likes to eat and run and sleep, go for rides and walks.