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 ~ 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 […]

cinnamon roses

When I make a pie, I usually have some leftover dough. If the kids don’t gobble it up first, I make cinnamon roses with it. Just for fun. Just because. To make cinnamon roses, roll any leftover dough out as though you were making another pie crust. I found these pictures while browsing my older […]

wish lists and stocking stuffers

Did you know there are only 101 days left until Christmas? No? Well, now you do. I’m already thinking about Christmas. Big surprise! May even put up my favorite tree on Saturday. Early for most of you, I know, but it’s my favorite, so up it goes! Our family makes good use of the wish […]

cookie sheet pie

I’ve made cookie sheet pie for at least 25 years. I came up with the idea when making pies to take to church dinners. A cookie sheet pie serves more people than two pies will, and it’s easy to transport. And it’s always well received. 🙂 I use a 13x18x1-inch pan (called a half sheet […]

menu plan monday ~ september 12, 2011

Before I share our menu for the week, here are a couple of pictures…the first is of our granddaughters, soon to live 12 miles away instead of 12 hours away! This is the bouquet for church Sunday, made with Jerusalem Artichokes, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Becky daisies. Both those pictures were taken with phones. It […]