Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

views from the east porch

For the past few days, I have been sitting in the recliner with my leg up. I have recurring troubles with swelling. Better now. But, sad to say, I wasn’t able to get outside at all on Wednesday when the weather was wonderful. Hopefully, tomorrow. We’ll see. But on Monday, DD and I sat on […]

kitchen helper

My old mixer bit the dust, so I bought a new one. Heavier duty model in a lovely cornflower blue. Love it! (Shopping amazon is so easy!) In this pic, it’s ready for the first batch of bread I made in it. I’m looking forward to trying lots of new recipes! If I just had […]

irish soda bread scones

I found the recipe for Festive Irish Soda Bread Scones at Creative Loafing. That recipe was adapted from Irish Soda Scones at The Joy of Baking. Irish Soda Bread Scones I cut it to make 12 scones. 3 cups unbleached flour 1/4 cup oats (I ground them in my coffee grinder.) 1 tablespoon sugar 1 […]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Here are links to a few St. Patrick’s Day treats. It’s not too late to give ’em a try. Over at Once Upon a Dream, you will find the directions for these cute shamrocks. Creative Loafing has a recipe for Festive Irish Soda Bread Scones. An easy recipe. I am going to give it a […]

goodbye winter…hello spring

This morning, from the kitchen window, I could see that the apricot trees had burst into bloom overnight. I could smell them from the back door. And just outside the back door, the row of daffodils has suddenly blossomed. The star magnolia is another bloom with a wonderful scent. Such a beautiful blossom. Last year, […]

menu plan monday ~ march 16, 2009

DD#3 has her last volleyball games of the season this week, and our second daughter is home for spring break, so the menu reflects both. Some quick meals and some of DD’s favorites. Monday ham / turkey sandwiches on homemade rolls celery / carrots Tuesday potato / sausage soup Wednesday enchiladas grapes tortilla chips Thursday […]

grilled asparagus

This recipe for grilled asparagus worked well under the broiler. We enjoyed this a few weeks ago when it was way too cold for grilling out. 1 pound asparagus, tough ends removed Marinade ingredients: 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1/8 teaspoon black […]

the fun is in the details

I enjoy taking macro photos of every day objects because of the detail those pics reveal. Here are a few of my favorites from the past weeks. An old ring found in my MIL’s button collection. Frozen blueberries. Tub of “butter” spread. The ridges are caused by the knife I use. A ladybug on the […]

menu plan monday ~ march 9, 2009

DD#1 is home for spring break, so the menu reflects her food preferences. She will return to school on Saturday and DD#2 will come home Thursday or Friday to stay for a week. It’s too bad their spring breaks didn’t overlap more than that, but we are glad they both are able to come home […]

sunny saturday

Yesterday was the first really lovely foretaste of spring. DH and I spent the afternoon working in the yard. Picking up sticks and branches. Picking up winter trash. Enjoying the flowers. Planting a few things in the garden. The little 6″ ‘Tete-a-Tete’ daffodils were the first to bloom last year (on March 17) and the […]