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 ~ february 20, 2012

I’m getting a late start to posting the menu this week. We’re sharing a cold around here. DH had it, the girls had it, now I have it. Things are slow all the way around. We had some fun last week, though. My friend Jane and her husband came over for the day. Jane and […]

menu plan monday ~ february 13, 2012

Here’s a pretty plant that my mother passed on to me last year. She got her start of it from her uncle’s home. It’s an orange amaryllis, Hippeastrum striatum, I believe. Correction is appreciated, if anyone knows it is something else. It blooms in January/February, each year. Down to business…here’s our menu for the week. […]

making putz houses

There is a lot of interest currently in Putz houses, or little glitter houses, that were once used to make village scenes under Christmas trees and on mantles. You can read more about them at Little Glitter Houses and Papa Ted’s Place, just to mention two sites. My Pinterest Putz House Tutorial board has more […]

menu plan monday ~ february 6, 2012

DD has a birthday today. Over the weekend, we took her and a friend out to dinner. She loves sushi, so we enjoyed that. Delicious! A busy week ahead. We’re still taking down Christmas. It doesn’t take as long to take down as it does to put up, but I haven’t been in the mood […]

7 days of shooting

Over the holiday season, I neglected the two flickr groups I enjoy the most. One is Macro Monday, to which one or two macro photos are submitted each Monday according to the week’s theme. The other group is 7 Days of Shooting. There is an overarching weekly theme and, also, daily themes that have to […]

menu plan monday ~ january 30, 2012

We were highly entertained Sunday afternoon watching the twins wrap “presents.” They spent over an hour cutting gift wrap, pulling tape, wrestling with the packaging…so much fun! Pa got a bow, Ma got a box of cereal, Auntie got a box of tea and Sissy got a bowl of chalk. Serious business! They (and we!) […]

chicken taco chili

This Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili was a new recipe for me. See the link for the original recipe. I did change some things, so I’ll show those changes below. I had planned to make the chili in the crock pot as the original recipe does, but didn’t have all the ingredients in time to […]

menu plan monday ~ january 23, 2012

Happy birthday to my sisters, Mary and Margaret! I hope you both have a lot of fun celebrating your birthday today! Our son’s family came over for dinner yesterday. Afterward, the twins helped Pa make cookies. There was a little taste-testing going on, too… It’s 45* today, but windy. A good day to stay inside […]

chicken linguine…with spaghetti

I’ve been trying some new recipes and gave Chicken Linguine a try last night. Everyone gave it a thumbs up, so we’ll be having it again. I did make changes to the recipe, though. You can find the original at the link, and I’ll post what I did below. Spaghetti with Chicken and Broccoli (See? […]

spring, is that you?

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~ a proverb I know the winter hasn’t seemed that long or harsh this year, but I am so ready for spring. The daffodils are already three inches tall, which is about two inches taller than this time the past few years. And soon, […]