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

I didn’t post a menu last week as DH and DD were at church camp. That left DD#1 and me at home and we didn’t cook. Just ate as we were hungry. This week, DD has left for NY to go to camp as a counselor and we are back to our regularly scheduled program […]

camp

DH and DD spent this past week at church camp. DH is the director, a fact that DD loves. So great to have Dad there when a girl gets tired or homesick or just needs a hug. There were 94 campers and 20 some staff members. The campers enjoyed all kinds of fun activities. Paddle […]

thanking God for His watchful care

Thursday morning, the winds blew and a tree fell…right on Gary and Laurie’s house. At 5:30 AM, while telling Gary goodbye as he left for work, Laurie watched a hickory tree give way and fall on their house. As it came down, it snapped off a second tree which helped cushion the fall and prevented […]

the garden in transition

The yard is moving from spring to summer. The soft colors of irises and peonies will soon give way to the harder yellows and oranges and reds of daylilies. I must say the peonies have been holding onto spring. We’ve never had them open so late. And seldom have any blooming now, but some, like […]

walking the yard

DH and I love to walk the yard. And if we say, “No computer while we’re out,” DD will tag along. šŸ™‚ Not to mention all the kitties. The peonies are beautiful right now. Most are caged to keep the blossoms up, but those that aren’t have fallen with the rain we had Sunday evening. […]

basket carnival

Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie is hosting a basket carnival, an event where her readers can share their favorite baskets and containers for organizing their homes. I have a few favorites of my own… Under the window seat in the library, we have baskets of toys to occupy guests’ children. These baskets fit perfectly […]

Menu Plan Monday

The week is off to a late start as yesterday was Memorial Day (US), so my regular schedule is a bit off kilter. Here’s the menu for this week. Monday DD#1 is home for two weeks. We ate out with her and DD#3. Tuesday tacos Wednesday DH and I are going out to celebrate my […]

church picnic

Each year in May, we host a spring picnic for our church family. Yesterday the weather was great, the yard was at it’s iris peak and everyone had a great time. The irises are 10-14 days later this year than usual, so the timing was perfect. I don’t think we’ve ever had the picnic right […]

fun at the antique mall

During Sisters’ Weekend we visited two antique malls. I really enjoyed browsing through them. I found a few things I had to take home… These wooden molds will make great paper cast ornaments. Or springerle cookies… These vintage postcards show views of Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois. Abraham Lincoln is my first cousin five […]

does this picture make me look fat?

I snapped a picture this morning of Happy taking a snoozle on the arm of the recliner in the library. She looked rather comical with all the fluff overflowing the arm of the chair. ~~Rhonda šŸ™‚