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.

two new Putz house patterns

March 8, 2013 – 10:38 pm

I enjoy drawing patterns for Putz houses. Today I picked two pictures from my Putz Pinterest board and drew patterns for them, in prep for my friend’s visit tomorrow. We are going to putz all day! This little glitter house reminds me of Dr. Seuss. I am developing ideas for making a Dr. Seuss style […]

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true confessions

March 7, 2013 – 8:19 pm

It always take a long time to get Christmas put away. Partly because I love having it up, and partly because the holiday season is so very busy that when it is done, we don’t want to think about the work of taking it all down. But we’re doing pretty well. The only rooms left […]

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great granola

March 6, 2013 – 2:54 pm

I tried one granola recipe and it did not turn out well. I ended up feeding it to the birds. They seemed to enjoy it. Thankfully. The second time I made granola, I tried Alton Brown’s recipe, but had to make a couple of changes. His recipe called for cashews. I used walnuts. And I […]

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menu plan monday ~ march 4, 2013

March 4, 2013 – 10:31 am

It’s been a quiet week. We had some snow. And not a lot of sunshine. Hoping this week will be sunnier and warmer. The grands were here and that’s always fun. If I’m in the craft room, they always want to participate in a favorite activity…coloring, cutting, gluing, punching, and glittering. \ And when Snow […]

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snowfall

March 1, 2013 – 10:23 am

We woke up to a light and fluffy snowfall this morning. The kind that outlines everything in white. DH went out and took a few pictures before going to work. So fluffy! It looks like cotton batting on the branches. The edge of the woods. Mind you, our little “woods” is only about an acre, […]

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things i’ve learned in the kitchen

February 26, 2013 – 4:15 pm

Not in any particular order… Cooking from scratch is cheaper, tastier, and healthier than processed ready-made food. Cookies taste better when made with butter. Guests always want to stand around in the kitchen, even if you are busy. Accept and enjoy it. And give them something to do. Guests, given a kitchen job, may do […]

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spring walked into my garden today

February 25, 2013 – 4:11 pm

My oldest daughter took this picture today…our first daffodil to open this season. This is a ‘Von Sion’ daffodil. Often found in old/vintage gardens. Our starts for this vintage flower came from the farmstead my husband grew up on. And where our older son and his family now live. We are happy to have it […]

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menu plan monday ~ february 24, 2013

February 25, 2013 – 2:09 pm

We weathered the ice storm from last week. Not too bad as we were on the southern edge of the system. We got some ice but it melted away the next day. All the kitties stayed indoors and enjoyed warm and cozy places to keep an eye on us. This is Zilli. She stays in […]

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easy, quick spaghetti sauce

February 21, 2013 – 1:31 pm

This is a basic bare-bones tomato sauce that can be used for pasta, pizza, or added to soup if you have leftovers. I put this recipe together when my children were much younger. When the house was full of littles, I needed a fast and easy sauce recipe. I’ve used it for years and continue […]

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menu plan monday ~ february 18, 2013

February 18, 2013 – 5:54 pm

Last week I made granola. It did not turn out very well. We fed it to the birds. They were happy to have it. I was happy to see it gone. This week I am going to try Alton Brown’s granola recipe. Looking at the list of ingredients, I see I will be changing it […]

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