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.

my mother’s day

We had a very nice day on Sunday, Mother’s Day. God blessed us with beautiful weather. The day started with pancakes with the grands. Snow White knows the recipe by heart now. If Pa isn’t ready, she pulls out the flour, the baking powder, salt, etc., so they can begin mixing as soon as he’s […]

menu plan monday ~ may 14, 2012

I hope you enjoyed a Happy Mother’s Day. We had a good day with all our kids home except our younger son and his wife. But I was able to talk to him on the phone. Always good to hear his voice. DH brought his mother over from the nursing home and she enjoyed the […]

hostas in the garden…and other lovely things

As I may have mentioned before, the hostas seem to be especially beautiful this year. ‘Blue Angel’ is just getting started in our garden. We’ve had it for several years, but this one will be quite large when it reaches maturity. It can take 7-10 years to reach maturity, so plant it where you can […]

menu plan monday ~ may 7, 2012

I had this post ready to go last Sunday evening, then we had four long days of intermittent and unreliable internet access. I couldn’t get on my blog, flickr or Netflix, just to mention a few. What a long four days!! It seems to be working this evening, so I’m posting this, even though it’s […]

Sunday bouquet

Today’s bouquet was made with rhododendron and ‘Goldflame’ spirea. This one went together pretty fast. I used a round crystal bowl to hold it, with floral foam taped into the bowl. I like the way it turned out. The glass votive with a few stray blossoms is courtesy of Rose Red. She likes to use […]

the garden is leaping toward summer

There is so much going on in the garden this week that I don’t know where to start. Spring lingers in the peonies and the irises. Summer beckons as the daylily scapes begin to shoot upward. The columbine are setting seed. They self sow easily. If you have a columbine plant, you’ll find new plants […]

warm enough for popsicles

The twins came by today while their daddy ran an errand. We spent the hour or so on the east porch. It was a warm day so we passed out popsicles. We talked about a lot of things…butterflies and birds and ants and beetles… …flowers and trees…and wind…and the bright warm sun… …and frogs…and ponds…and […]

bouquet of peonies

The Sunday bouquet was made up of peonies this week. Five different kinds, though it’s hard to tell from this picture. ‘Raspberry Sundae,’ ‘Sorbet,’ ‘Monsieur Jules Elie, ‘Honey Gold,’ and ‘Festiva Maxima.’ All with a very heady scent, too. DH picked them Saturday evening and the entire downstairs smelled like peonies on Sunday morning. ~~Rhonda

turtle time

Over the past few years, I have been taking pictures of the Eastern Box Turtles we have found in our yard. Last week, I found the first pair of the season. Unfortunately, one got away before I could take her picture, but I did get some pictures of the male. The turtles were on the […]

menu plan monday ~ april 30, 2012

My brother-in-law came on Friday to spend Saturday riding with DH. They did 75 miles with an average speed of 18.2 mph. There’s DH in the orange jersey. On Saturday, my Dad and my sister came for the afternoon and stayed for supper. Great-Pa was happy to be able to spend some time with the […]