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.

recanning apple butter

Our church family makes apple butter each fall. The canned apple butter is sold to raise money for mission projects. DH brought home four quart jars, like this one. I decided to recan it in 8-oz. jelly jars. A better size for us. The only issue with recanning is to be sure the apple butter […]

menu plan monday ~ october 10, 2011

Two more Christmas trees went up this weekend. The Nativity Tree and the Three Kings Tree. Both are in the library. As we decorate, the kittens are having a good time with the bits and pieces. We’re counting down…thirteen more days and the grands will be here! The three girls are coming back with Pa, […]

kittens and Christmas trees…not sure this is going to work

We put the nativity tree up in the library this weekend. We have had a lot of cats over the years and none have ever bothered any of the many trees we have. Things are changing. Several times this weekend, we had to chase Cedar and Amy out of the tree! They seem to think […]

country drive

I love the changing countryside in autumn. DH and I took a ride the other day. Getting out is difficult for me, with the pain in my knees and other problems, but it’s worth the effort to get out of the house occasionally. Even thistles look pretty with a little back lighting. Roadside scofflaws. We […]

menu plan monday ~ october 3, 2011

With the onset of October, I start the annual cookie/candy production for our Christmas open house. Sunday afternoon, I made Date Balls (thanks again, Mellanie, for this great recipe!). These are one of my favorite holiday treats. And they freeze beautifully, even with the powdered sugar on them. This week, I’ll make another batch of […]

autumn color

Yesterday I was able to spend a little time outside. The weather was beautiful. Autumn is changing the look of the garden. Things are winding down, the trees are beginning to turn, the grasses are yellowing. We saw quite a few Monarchs drifting through on their way south. Amazing that they can make a trip […]

menu plan monday ~ september 26, 2011

Our church’s annual apple butter day was Saturday. They made 150 quarts of apple butter, which will be sold to raise money for the mission fund. Good work, everyone! DH brought some quarts home and it looks delicious! We’ll be including that in some of our meals this week. Goes great with fresh-from-the-oven bread! Monday […]

menu plan monday ~ september 19, 2011

The kitties are still taking it easy… …but we’ve been busy! Saturday, we put the Christmas tree up in the master bedroom. It looks great! Today (Monday) my DDIL came by again to clean the scrapbook room for me, in prep for the holidays. Top to bottom, she did a wonderful job! I didn’t think […]

storing stickles

I’ve been thinking about our annual Christmas Open House and trying to decide on an invitation design. I usually have it nailed down by now, if not totally done, so am feeling a little behind schedule here. While thinking about the invites, I was a bit sidetracked by my little bottles of Stickles. Stickles are […]

yes, we did…

Today, my daughter-in-law and two older daughters helped decorate the glass tree in our bedroom. DH helped, too. It’s never too early at our house. Besides, it’s in the bay, out of the way. It’s not a nuisance. And it’s my favorite. Now I can enjoy it for the next few months. Pictures never do […]