Mother's Day Cards and Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Mother's day. I am a little late at wishing you all a great day. Finally got my pictures into the computer. A little slow here. We had a nice day. Went to church and watched Jimmy Swaggart on the big screen. Always a good service even though we are not in Baton Rouge, I can still feel the Holy Spirit in Forest Junction when watching on TV!!!

Usually on Mother's Day the ladies are given a gift for Mother's Day. Being I am the only lady there plus the Pastor's wife, I got two bags of pop corn and two Giant Pansies, one purple, one red....so pretty!! We went home and I made gyros and oven fries....yum so good. Wish we could have gone out to eat....would have been fun to not have to do the dishes afterwords.

Mother's Day has sometimes been hard to deal with as even though I had a baby....I was told, that baby had to be given up for adoption. A decision I still regret to this day. That baby is now 49 yrs old....wow time does fly!!! She has two sons and one son has had a son.....I guess that makes me a mother, grandmother and great- grandmother. Three labels, I have but don't have....oh well that is life, we make decisions, or they are made for us, then we have to live with those decisions for the rest of our lives. 

Okay....on to my card making. I recently purchased this embossing folder from Stampin'up which makes beautiful 3D flowers and roses….I fell in love with the image the moment I saw it. You had to buy $50 worth of product and got this floral embossing folder for free. I asked my Stampin'up lady if there was some way I could buy the folder without having to buy $50 worth of product. She checked into it and said I could buy her folder and she would order another one for herself.....nice lady.

So in the above card, I used gold card stock then rubbed black ink on the flowers and a little bit of green on the leaves. Placed the image on brown card stock.....such a pretty card. If you can see it, I stamped and embossed a Happy Birthday verse. This floral image can be used for just about any kind of card, Thanks, Birthday, Thinking of you, Sympathy, Mother's day etc. 

These next two Mother's Day cards, the card on the right, I used silver card stock, rubbed black ink on the flowers then versa mark and embossed with clear embossing powder. Made for a very smooth finish. The card on the left was black card stock and I rubbed silver paste on the parts I wanted to shine the most. 

I looked on Pinterest and found lots of ideas using this embossing folder.....the ideas are endless, can hardly wait to try them all. Chalks, copic markers, water color pencils, Twinkling H2O, lots of ideas on the horizon.

In these two pictures are the chocolate covered strawberries. They did not last long, I made them Friday night and ate the last of them 30 minutes ago. Yes, I shall make these again....maybe for JP's birthday this next Friday. He will be 72 years old.....when did we both get this old?????

I melted the chocolate in the mic and added butter to make it creamy then dunked the strawberries in the chocolate and sprinkled the strawberries with coconut flakes. So good!!!

Well, time to close this post before I get too wordy and start boring you. You all have a great rest of the day. Tomorrow JP has an appointment with the foot Doctor and Tuesday I have an appointment to find out what my A1C is. JP has to renew his drivers licence on Wednesday....gosh this will be a busy week and I have to decide if I am going to bake a cake or buy one....that is something I am not too good at.....baking cakes and decoration....I am no Cake Boss!!!

Take care and keep looking up, better days are coming.
Cheers ~ Louise

It's All About Jesus

Hi there everyone....hope you are having a good day. Hope your Resurrection Sunday was a blessing to you and your family. Our Sunday was quiet as usual. Dinner was pork roast, apple sauce, oven fries, asparagus and beans. Cheese cake for dessert....yumm!

So this post is going to be about Jesus, nothing more and nothing less. I think I have been silent too long.....no more!! Here are a few signs, pictures and yes, some cards.

I saw this poster on Pinterest and just had to have it. But, isn't it true? If the Bible, God's Word, was still allowed in schools, perhaps there would be less killings in schools too. In some places it is not even safe to go to school....sad how this world has kicked Jesus out of schools and EVEN some churches!!! What is this world coming to??? Even so, COME LORD JESUS!!!

The above picture is hanging in my front room. It was given to me 32 years ago, when JP and I lived in Ladysmith, WI. We were involved in a Crisis Pregnancy Center of which was also a part of a Salvation Army Service Unit. Also involved, a prison ministry, food and clothing ministry, a Church Ministry Outreach and many other things too numerous to mention. We even took in a 19 year old and mentored him, he got saved and now 32 years later, still serves the Lord along with his family.

Can you see in this picture how Jesus grieves over the aborted baby? How sad, his helpless creations being murdered..........sacrificed for convenience sake.

What is a post without a few cards. No I did not make these. But one of these days I will. I do have this embossing folder....perhaps this will be next year's Easter card.

William Booth was a very Godly man.....starting the Salvation Army with the help of God. His words are very true for even today. Can you see this happening now???

I love this picture, Jesus helping Joseph. Baby Jesus picks up 3 spikes and the cross is in the shadow of his body. A single picture, worth a million words.

Here is something else to think about....Jesus died for our soul, the soldier died for our freedom. How dare ANYONE take our Freedoms away. As for our souls, we belong to Jesus and NO ONE has a right to take that from us!!! God said it, I believe it and that is all there is to it!!!!!

So Jesus has been a part of my life for many, many years. I gave my heart to Jesus when I was 7 yrs old. I got up every Sunday, got ready to go to Sunday School and church (by myself). My mother and father would stay home. When I came home from church, my mom would say, "What did you learn today?" I would tell her about Jesus and show her the pictures I drew. Eventually she started to go to church too. I guess back then I was witnessing to my mother....so very, very innocent.

I could go on with my journey with God and what he has done for me....but I am sure you would get bored. We all have a story to tell on how God has directed us in many ways, but also how we have taken steps without him and landed in a ditch. Sometimes, those ditches were hard to escape. But when we looked unto JESUS, He helped us out.....thank God, his eye is always on us, guiding and directing our every step till the day we die.

Well, time to close, need to go make some Bullet proof "Keto" coffee. You have a great day and keep looking up....better days are coming for sure!!!!! Cheers ~ Louise

Hello????? A Few Hospice Cards

Hi there everyone. Hope you are having a good April so far. Guess I have been missing for awhile as this is my 1st post for April. As I look at my calendar....there has been something going on just about every day. Doctor appointments, the Stanley Cup playoff Hockey games on TV (now that is VERY important), Doggie appointment, shopping, card making, etc. Little things that take up a lot of time. I had to miss my Hospice meeting this month as it conflicted with JP's Doctor appointment. Hard to be at two places at one time. So I took my Hospice cards to Betty's and she took the cards to Hospice for me. I will make the next meeting though.....Lord willing.

Oh...I made something different last week...a carrot pie. Yes, it was very good too. The pie actually tasted like a pumpkin pie. So if you ever want to make a carrot pie, just use your favorite pumpkin pie recipe and it will work out fine. The only thing I did different is I made it an "impossible pie" using a 1/2 cup of flour mixed in with the liquid, it will settle down to the bottom to form a crust. Don't forget the whipped cream!!!!

Following are a few cards I made for Hospice this month. Below is my Llama....love this guy. I think he can adorn any card I make. In this card I used glue and laid foil on top to make the strips. Laid the die cut Llama on top....and that was that.

The card in this picture was made by using a butterfly die and black embossed "Happy Birthday." The beautiful colored bookmark was covered with silver plumber's tape, embossed with an embossing folder. Then drops of different colored Distress inks and smooshed with a sponge to get the effect I wanted. Pretty, pretty. I need to make more of these cards. Probably for my Secret Stamper.

Here is my Llama again, this time he is on a "Thank You" card. I used a rainbow foil to give it a different effect.

This is a die cut....palm leaves I think. I make different backgrounds then just lay this die cut over it....makes for a very lovely card. The sayings are "Thinking of You" and "Happy Birthday" stamped on vellum. If I remember correctly, I used "brusho's" a powder like substance and spray the paper either before or after and sprinkle the brusho colors on and the little beads spread and mix with the other colors and make for a lovely back ground.

In this picture are the favors for Mother's Day. We make 20 favors, different assorted colors and ribbons. Then we put chocolates inside each favor. We will do this for Father's Day and Veteran's Day also.

Well, time to close here, getting late and this hockey game is about over, Calgary 2 and Colorado 6, it's been a ruff and tumble game, of playoff caliber!!! I wish the Chicago Blackhawks could have made the playoffs.....but that will be for the 19-20 season...for sure.

I am rooting for the Washington Capitals, my favorite player is  Captain Ovechkin. The other team I like is the Las Vegas Golden Knights....favorite player, Mark Stone. There you have it....it will be interesting to see who gets the Stanley Cup this year.

You all have a great rest of the month.....keep looking up, better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Fabulous Wordless Wednesday

Have a great day and keep looking up as better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

A Few Cards For Hospice

Hi there everyone. Well it has been awhile, been missing since February 13th....thought I would be back sooner. But you know, sometimes I just don't have much to talk about. I know a lot of blogs I read....there is something going on everyday. Me....not so much, I am guessing this is just a small lull in my life. Maybe when Spring comes around, I will be more active. 

Card making has been at a minimum lately. It's been like a whole month that I even went downstairs to make a card or two. Have not felt very inspired I guess. So today, I went downstairs to get some cards ready for Hospice tomorrow. I had a bunch made, but last month I did not make it to Hospice meeting....weather was bad and we could not get the car started....we needed a new battery to the tune of $179...just what we needed, but where can you go without a car now a days....no place.

So the above cards are some I made today....easy peasy kind of cards. Just embossed with the Cuttlebug. Stamped the saying and used Speckles to color in the middle of the Daisy. This card can be most any card you want. Turned these cards into Thank You's.

The cards above and below....I made these last month. Embossed with the Cuttlebug, then I covered it with black ink then clear embossing powder and heated with a heat gun. The technique is called "Black Ice". I used gold card stock and red card stock. Using the same embossing folder for both. I added a few gems to all the cards along with a ribbon and Thank You tag.

The cards below, were cards I made with the Stampin' up club kits I was getting once a month from Stampin'up. Cute cards, everything is in the box to make 8 cards. You can use their ideas or come up with your own ideas. I chose to use their ideas. I decided not to get the kits anymore....$20 a month, became to costly.

Again, here are a few more cards using the daisy embossing folder.....using the Thinking of You verse. Easy, peasy simple card to make. Need to make some more of these cards to have for extras.

Well that about covers it for now. This weekend I need to start working on income tax....(not a favorite project.....BUT I have to think, the refund will help us quite a bit.) Since JP went part time in August, we have been living on the edge and just barely getting the bills paid. Oh well, I pray every night....."Give us THIS Day, our Daily Bread" and God has been faithful by helping us daily to get through....with a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our back, a car to drive. We are rich then most, so I better NOT complain!!!

You all have a great Month of March....I may be back for a few posts....but then again, I may not. I am thinking of taking a "Hiatus" for a couple of months until something exciting happens. So in the mean time, keep looking up cause better days are coming ~ for sure!!! 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

An Easy Cheesecake Recipe

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a great Saturday. Mine was quiet (except for one phone call), my only plans were to make this pie (below), make some pizza dough (and a pizza for dinner tonight) and do the dishes, that never seem to get done. I thought I would get downstairs to do some cards, but did not make it.

Another challenge for today was to call Directv and find out where I am to take their remotes, DVR and cords. If I keep them and don't send them in 22 days I will get charged. Please, am I not paying enough!?! Well, the guy I talked to, tried to give me a better deal then Spectrum. I said they already hooked me up, I am not going to change over, then have Directv re-hook me up again....come on now. Well, he would not let it go and said how about this deal.....NOOOOOO I said, stop pushing me!!! Gerrrrrrr I was getting mad. He finally stopped. I said all I want to do is return your product and not get charged for it. I can no longer pay $225 a month. Spectrum is $75 cheaper!!! Why do they push so hard???

Well anyways, here is the easy lemon cheesecake recipe. I think you could use instant Chocolate pudding mix, or Strawberry mix, or whatever you may want to use. Chocolate sounds good!!!

Instant Pudding No Bake Cheesecake

Soften 8 oz. cream cheese in microwave 30-45 seconds. Blend in 1/2 cup milk with cheese until smooth.

Add pudding mix and 1 1/2 cup milk to cream cheese mixture. Beat for 1 minute until smooth. Pour into a graham cracker crust and put in refrigerator till firm, 2-3 hours. So simple, oh but don't forget the whip cream....soooo good!!! I am afraid this pie will not last the weekend.

I made some more cut-out cookies the other day....using cream cheese and butter, almond extract and flour. They were so soft and the frosting pretty and sweet. Taking a picture now for my next blog post. Needless to say, there are not many left. 

Guess that is why I have so many dishes in the sink that never seem to get done, cooking too much. Well, I think I will cut this post short. Getting tired and want to watch some cooking shows then go to bed. You all have a great rest of the weekend and keep looking up, better days are coming, Cheers ~ Louise

14 Days Into 2019

Hi there everyone....14 days into this new year and it has been hectic and frustrating!!! Without going into too much detail, as I look at my desk calendar....everyday has something going and I am already POOPED!!!!

The last day of 2018, we had to call the plumber AGAIN. A leak under the sink and water dripping on the floor. The pipes were plugged to the tune of $264 and we still owe $40 from the last visit....the toilet was leaking down in the basement. A drip, drip, drip, every time the toilet flushed and oh did the basement smell. I thought we were in the clear for awhile and then the leak under the sink started the last week of 2018.

JP has had quite a few days off from work...the last week of December which meant a very small check for this month. We barely had enough $$$ to pay the mortgage. Not sure what next month will bring...but we will see.

I signed up for food help once a month at the Salvation Army. Yep....that took a lot for me to do. 17 years ago I worked at the Salvation Army and was helping people with getting food....now I need the help...it is quite humbling, that is for sure. So Friday I signed up and was taken into the warehouse and walked through the aisles. My cart was full and weighed out at 112 lbs of food. Guess I will not have to go shopping for a while, except for medication, paper products and Kylie's food.


Saturday, I had Spectrum come and set up the tv, internet and phone. I am cancelling At&t and Directv. Cost wise, I was paying $225 a month. Spectrum will be $75 dollars cheaper. Now I have to get used to the new numbers. Just looking for ways to save money. Tuesday I will be signing up for Energy assistance....will see how that goes. Hopefully I can get a few months paid, and that will help. Hopefully....by the end of the month I will have enough $$$ to pay our house taxes. Since JP went part-time it has been really tough making ends meet.

Maybe this is why I have not been blogging a whole lot....just have not felt like it as there is nothing exciting to write about or take pictures of.
 
 I got a new used stove last month....so it has been a joy to cook again. I made some 30 Minute Dinner Rolls, that were really good. Following is the recipe: Hope you can read it.

Last week I made "IHOP" copycat Buttermilk pancakes. Oh my gosh.....were they delicious. I am going to make more, but I will have to use regular milk and add a little bit of vinegar to make the milk sour....that should work.

My only enjoyment has been watching the Chicago Blackhawks on TV and computer....only wish they would start winning more. But I am getting into the other teams and only hope the other teams don't beat the Blackhawks....it's been an interesting season though.

Card making has been at a minimum lately....Valentines and St. Patrick cards....cleaned out my stash so there are lots of cards for those two holidays. Just have to put inserts inside the cards. BUT my printer is not working, so I may not have enough inserts to put in the cards.....I tell you, there is always something to hinder me from doing what I need to get done.

Health wise....we are still plugging along. JP still gets his arm pains, people who don't know him think he is having a heart attack. Then he tells them he has been getting these attacks for 8 years and has been to 5 specialist, none of them could point the finger at the problem. So, we live with it. 

Kylie still deals with her blindness and hard of hearing, but she seems to be doing better and loves to eat, go outside, sleep and walk around the house bumping into things. When it is not cold, we go for walks, but since she can't see that well, we never quite make it down to the corner because she is already heading back the other direction. Funny how a dog's life can change so radically.

As for me, I am still on the Keto diet (part-time), it works for me. I want to lose another 20 lbs this year. That is doable. My Doctor will be happy with me. My A1C is 6.2....next appointment is May, so I need to keep working on that. I still deal with a sciatic nerve problem on the left side of the butt. Gosh, it hurts when I get up in the morning and can barely walk....after an hour or so it gets better. Guess I am stuck with that pain for the rest of my life.

Well, now that I have completely bored you to death with all my problems, I shall close here for now. No telling when the next time I will be here. But I will keep you updated now and then. So until then, keep looking up because I am very sure, better days are coming soon and very soon. 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

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi there everyone. Hope you are finished with all your Christmas shopping, cooking, baking, cleaning etc. All that goes along with Christmas. It sure can get hectic, can't it?

I cut down on my Christmas card giving this year and decided to send out my cards via Facebook and "blogger." So if you did not receive a card from me this year....here 'tis....Have a Very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy, happy 2019 New Year with many, many blessings!!!

PS. These cards actually went out to relatives and two Pastors. Wish I could have made more like these....they were stunning in real life. Some day I will find the die and make more!!!

Another thing I cut down on this Christmas is my decorating, I still have about 5 boxes to put up, my village, the manger and lots of figurines. I did manage to put my little tree up with lights, decorations etc, the presents were wrapped the other night and put under the tree. I put 3 window lights up (tree, wreath and snowflake) with still one box to unload. It's Christmas Eve....I may not finish, not unless when I finish this post and unload that box, then I am done with my decorating. LOL!!! 

Made some cut-out cookies and a pumpkin pie. The cut-cookies still have to get decorated....do I really care? Not sure, they are pretty good just as they are.

Had a few financial things going on this month. Had to sell a few things just to keep our nose above water. Next month won't be any better because I have to come up with $288 for taxes on the house. Not sure where that will come from....oh but God does, we will just have to wait and see.

JP has this week off, which means a smaller pay check in a couple of weeks. It has been rough going since August when he decided to work just part-time. Maybe in the spring I will get a job with Rover.com and dog-sit, my home or the dogs home.

Well, I am going to close here, time for dinner. You all have a GREAT Christmas. Keep looking up......better days are coming. Cheers ~ Louise

And the Countdown Begins - 28 Days Till Christmas!!!!

Hi there everyone, hope you are having a good month. Can you believe, Christmas is right around the corner. 28 days and counting. Our days are flying by. Thought I would show you my Christmas tree from last year. It was up for 4 months and had 3 lives!!!! 

A Red, White and Blue Christmas and very patriotic. Love the glow of the blue. Put up in December, then changed over to......

A Valentine's Day Tree. I usually move the tree to this corner, after the village gets put away. Everything is red, of course. Then by the middle of  February, the tree turns Green for...….

You guessed it, St. Patrick's Day!!! But notice my red elf....he seems to like this tree and keeps watch all 4 months. Finally after March, I take the tree down....I have toyed with the idea of leaving the tree up for Easter....but I am finally tired of the tree, and away it goes, down stairs and packed away for another year.

This is Kylie....she was barking at me. She is blind and hard of hearing (sometimes) other times she can hear. She can hear me clap my hands and knows pretty much to follow me. She is going on 14 years...I thought we were going to lose her a couple of months ago, but she snapped out of what ever the problem was. I think the Vet thought she had cancer and was not giving her much of chance. I just changed her dog food and give her real hamburger and chicken with rice, chicken or beef broth and scrambled eggs. That's pretty much her diet, along with milk bones and special cuts as a snack.

I kind of thought I would not put the tree up...only because I have not felt like it.....but then, this could be Kylie's last Christmas.....maybe I need a few more pictures of her and her Christmas tree.

This is my snowman on the front door....guess it is time to put him up.....awww shucks, maybe I will repent and change my mind and put a few decorations up. I really need to get some cards done to send out....I am thinking of cutting my list down, and put a card up on my blog and facebook….wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hope everyone sees it. So many times I send a card out and NEVER receive one back....sort of tired of that. Is that the spirit of Christmas? I don't know, maybe I am the one with the problem.

Oh yeah....I finally, after 4 months got the money for a new/used stove. It will be delivered December 8th...I can hardly wait. I really miss putting something in the oven to bake. For the last 4 months I have been using a hot plate, George Foreman grill, crock pot, microwave and Nu-wave....which has worked. But so many recipes call for baking and I could not bake.

For Thanksgiving I made a turkey breast in the crock pot, bread pudding, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy and a pumpkin pie....in the microwave. Have you ever heard of a microwave pumpkin pie...it was pretty good. I shall give you the recipe in my next post.

Well, time to close here....tonight I have to make a few cards. Hospice meeting next Friday....so I better get cracking here. You all have a great rest of the month....see you in December. Keep looking up, better days are coming (I hope). Cheers ~ Louise

Some More Cards......Part 2

Hi there everyone. Hope you are all having a great week. Thought I would continue on with the cards I made for my secret stamper. These are the images I sent to Linda. Below, the brown leaves. I just added them to a gold embossed leaves background, then added the green leaf and red ribbon leaves at the top and bottom. In my next post, I will show you what her card looked like using the leaves.

This is one of my favorite dies....it is like a stained glass effect. Then placed on a white card and each of the triangle/squares are colored in with copic markers. I added the "hello there" for special effects.

My favorite.....a flamingo, which is what I sent to Linda. A four layered flamingo then cut out. I added the die cut gold ferns and stamped ferns with a few gems. It most definitely is a jungle out there, isn't it???

Two giraffes, criss-crossing, colored in with copic markers and placed on a banner. The letters "friend" added to the bottom of the banner.

The black waves from Stampin'up. I actually bought the musical notes from Linda's store...how unique it all fell into place.

Here is my lovely vintage lady. She is colored in with copic markers. The back ground is glued and then rubbed shinny foil on the card stock and pulled it off to give this affect. Pretty cool....I really need to play around with it some more. There are many different techniques using the foil. I am just looking for the easiest without having to buy a laminater...is that the word for it???

So I have had this post sitting as a draft for about a week. Sorry I have taken so long to finish it. Been kind of busy this past week. Had my Doctor's appointment......my A1C was at 6.2....that is really pretty good! And, I have lost 35 lbs....Doctor was very happy with my results to say the least. I do feel better....now my next appointment is next May....hopefully I can keep my A1C the same and maybe have lost another 10 lbs. Yeah...it's been a very slow process, but then I did not gain the weight fast.....it crept on very slowly...so now it must crept off very slowly.

This Wednesday is my 72nd birthday...WHAT!!! I can't believe I made it to 72, hey, turn it around and it is 27 that was my favorite year...maybe 72 will be the same.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving. I think I might be. Again, it will be just JP and I. Not planning anything special. If I manage to get a turkey breast, I will put it in my crock pot. My stove is still out of commission. So I have to improvise quite a bit. I found a recipe for microwave pumpkin pie. If it turns out, I will give you the recipe.

Well, I think I will close here, you all have a great Thanksgiving and Black Friday. No, I do not go out shopping on Black Friday. Have no urge to do it either. Keep looking up....better days are just around the corner. Cheers ~ Louise

Some Cards........Part 1

Hi there everyone....well, I decided to come back for awhile. Guess I just needed a small break....there really was not much to report at this end, nothing too exciting going on.

I did manage to make some cards for the Secret Stamper Group I am involved in. The lady that had my name sent these cute caricatures. Lots of coloring with copic markers. My favorite card is the card below....a little ladybug. I especially liked the color combos of the red and beige card stock. Someone told me these were all Whipper Snapper images....cute, cute, cute.

Here you see a cute little frog....it was fun coloring these guys, my biggest challenge was deciding what kind of background I was going to use for each card.

This next card was a fun to make. I found a way to fold the card stock, using a double sided card stock. Fit the card stock to the card, cut down the middle and fold over, using glue to keep it together.

Here we have a possum peeking out of a pot, smelling the flower. Easy background, a stripped background.

Here's a cute turtle. I cut her out and placed her on the double sided card stock.

This was a fun card to make for a birthday.....I like the saying, "Maybe a cupcake will help?" I just happened to have that stamp and thought it would go great with the mouse and cupcake.

My next batch of cards will be the images I sent to my secret stamper, "Linda". She happened to be the owner of the stamp store we met at. She said she liked the images I sent her, she had no stamp or die cuts in her store like what I sent her. So they were all new to her.

Tomorrow I have a Blood test for my A1C....where did those 6 months go to. I did manage to lose 8 lbs. Hopefully the Doctor will be happy with that loss. I am.

I am going to close here for now....hopefully I won't be gone so long. I will try to get back. Have a good evening and don't forget to vote tomorrow.....this is a really big one. It will tell us if the people want to stay Americans or go the Socialist way....which we all know, never turns out good for anyone.

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