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.

finishing the holiday icebox oatmeal cookies

Life is way busy here. Last Friday I mixed the oatmeal cookies, rolled them into logs, sugared them, and put them in the fridge to harden. And there they waited until this morning. Now they’re baked and ready to be packed into the freezer for the open house December 7. Oh, yum! ~~Rhonda 🙂

menu plan monday ~ october 20, 2008

Our son is getting married at the end of the week, so I don’t have a lot of meals to plan. We’ll be eating out a lot to keep things easy. After the wedding we get to bring the twins home with us for a week! 🙂 Monday crock pot chicken baked potatoes (microwave ’em) […]

slowly moving back in

The renovation continues. The new floors look great. We are beginning to move some things back into the addition. And even set up the crib in anticipation of our grandbabies being here next week. The towel cupboard is back in the laundry room, but I haven’t restocked the shelves yet. It will be a few […]

niko has a new friend

We have had Niko for two weeks and he has been settling in well, though, until this morning, he hadn’t allowed any of the other cats to enter what he considers his space…DD#2’s bedroom and bath. But this morning, Zak sauntered in. Zak ate from Niko’s bowl, while Niko watched and they were on Niko’s […]

before and after

Here’s the coat closet after DH took the old floor and subfloor out. But before the new flooring was installed. This was a half bath when we bought the house. A tiny bath in an awkward spot. We made it into a coat closet and it worked much better that way. After the new flooring […]

new floors

The flooring guys are finishing the addition floors today, as well as putting hardwood in the front hall coat closet. From the hall, looking into the bedroom… It doesn’t look like it in this picture, but the ceiling of the hall and the wall of the bedroom are actually the same paint color. From bedroom […]

holiday icebox oatmeal cookies

These are the cookies I am making today. Click the link for directions and pictures from a previous post. Holiday Icebox Oatmeal Cookies (one of my personal favorites…not real fancy, but crispy delicious) Makes 6-8 dozen 2 c. margarine or butter, softened 2 c. confectioners’ sugar 2 tsp. vanilla 3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking […]

Elfin Bites

Scotch Shortbread Sandy and crumbly, as the perfect shortbread should be. 1/2 pound butter (1 cup or two sticks; do not substitute margarine) 1/2 c. powdered sugar 2 c. flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. baking powder Preheat the oven to 350*F (180*C). Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating well. Mix the […]

Nutmeg Logs

I’ve been making these cookies for Christmas since 1994. Nutmeg Logs 1 c. margarine or butter, room temperature 3/4 c. sugar 1 egg 2 tsp. vanilla 1 tsp ground nutmeg (or 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg) 1/2 tsp. almond extract (or rum extract) 3 c. flour Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat margarine in a large […]

niko

I’m listening to lots of hammering as the new floor goes down. It feels great to just sit back and wait before I have to do anything else in the addition. I thought I’d post a few more pictures of our new kitty, Niko. He is still staying mainly in DD#2’s room/bath (by his own […]