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.

menu plan monday ~ september 15, 2008

This is as high as I could reach… The guest room will be done soon. Then it’s on to the hall, the laundry room and the bath. It’s going to be a full week of stripping wallpaper in the addition, so easy meals are on the menu. Monday sloppy joes / 40 minute hamburger buns […]

tired but happy

A young lady from church is helping me this fall with cleaning out all the drawers, cupboards, and cabinets (maybe even the attic) and, after we cleaned out the coat closet yesterday, I realized the interior had not been painted when we redid the hall a few years ago. It was still the pale yellow […]

poppy seed muffins

DD and I made poppy seed muffins this afternoon. Delicious! We had some warm from the oven, shared some with friends, and I’m thinkin’ the rest will go quickly. Mix the following ingredients until well blended. * 3 eggs * 2 1/2 cups white sugar [I used 1 3/4 c. sugar] * 1 1/8 cups […]

crock pot turkey tetrazzini

Crock Pot Turkey Tetrazzini 2 c. chicken broth 2 cans cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup 1 T. Dijon mustard 2 c. diced cooked turkey 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese 1/2 tsp. salt ground pepper to taste 1/2 tsp. celery seed 1 T. dry onion 1 tsp. dried basil 1 tsp. dried parsley […]

gift wrap center

Did you know? Christmas is coming. 🙂 I am already buying gifts and want to be ready when it’s time to wrap them. It’s time to take stock of my gift wrap center and make a list of items I need. Tape? Scissors? Ribbon?…etc., etc., etc. If you don’t have a gift wrap center, consider […]

looks more like fall all the time

While I mowed the yard today, I was struck by how “fall” everything felt. The low temps, the smell in the air, the crisping leaves, the autumn flowers… Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ The cabbage white butterflies were hard to get a picture of. They can’t sit still for long. The Buckeye butterflies seem to prefer the […]

106 days till Christmas :-D

The packages of Christmas gifts are beginning to roll in. Love, love, love amazon.com! Makes the shopping so easy! Two gifts for DD and a gift for DgrandD Lauren… I talked to Santa last night. He said I might get a new camera and a macro lens for Christmas! ~~Rhonda 🙂

pirate cat

DD was not feeling well today and stayed home from school. She found several projects that kept her quietly occupied. She read all the comic books in her sister’s room. She played on the computer for a while. And she designed a pirate costume for Buttercup. She began by making a bandanna from red fabric. […]

40 minute rolls

I planned the 40-minute hamburger buns (as rolls) for tonight, but DD wanted to make them yesterday, so we made them into bread sticks and had them with spaghetti last night. They were easy and delicious! Ingredients: * 2 tablespoons active dry yeast * 1 cup warm water, plus 2 tablespoons warm water (115*) * […]

menu plan monday ~ september 8, 2008

Back to a schedule today. Seems the weekend always throws me off… Here’s our menu for this week. Monday spaghetti / meatballs focaccia spinach salad peas corn on the cob Tuesday crock pot turkey tetrazzini 40 minute rolls peas corn on the cob pear-walnut salad Wednesday baked Parmesan tilapia steamed red potato stir-fried peapods with […]