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 ~ april 18, 2011

Spring just gets better all the time. What’s not to like about fresh flowers and new green grass? Or apple blossoms? As spring makes its way through April, we’ll be celebrating the birthday of our oldest daughter. She’ll be home on Easter and we’ll celebrate then with cake and ice cream and presents. 🙂 Here’s […]

hangin’ ’round

Buttercup has decided my new basket makes a great bed. She has been sleeping in it during school, as she waits for DD to finish her work. Happy likes to sit on the railing at the back door. She weighs about ten pounds, but when she drapes herself over something, she looks much heavier. It’s […]

grateful for a spring garden

I love this time of year. Green leaves and colorful flowers are coming up all over the garden. Growing faster than seems possible. The first iris of the season bloomed on April 9. ‘Baby Blessed’ is a dwarf reblooming iris. The Southern Oak is sprouting fresh new leaves. DH cleaned the veggie garden beds and […]

menu plan monday ~ april 11, 2011

The redbuds and the apple trees are blooming. Spring is in full swing. Today we’re getting a nice rain. None of the severe storms that others far north of us had last night. Yesterday’s hot temps are cooler and more comfortable today. The first black swallowtail was spotted by DH. The dwarf iris ‘Baby Blessed’ […]

visiting family

Last week, DH, DD and I traveled east to visit our older son and his family. We had a wonderful time! We spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather. The twins picked up with us just as though we were always around. They love Pa’s homemade rolls. And Ma had lots of help making pizzas. […]

menu plan monday ~ March 28 – April 3, 2011

DH took a few pictures around the yard Sunday morning. Sun, snow, and flowers. By Monday noon, the snow was gone. Sun and flowers? Still here. 🙂 The menu for the week is as follows: Monday Tacoritos (Didn’t get to this last week.) Baked Corn Tortilla Chips Tuesday Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Rice Wednesday […]

snowdrops? um…no, that would be just plain snow

Last Wednesday was warm and breezy and lovely. Today, not so much. Temps hovered around 34* all day. And it snowed, along with some sleet. DH took some pictures for me. I stayed inside where it is warm. The columbine looks no worse for the wear after having snow and sleet pelt on it today. […]

happy little bumble bee

Last Saturday, while we were in the garden, I spied this bumble bee checking out each of the ‘Tete-a-Tete’ daffodils. Looks happy, doesn’t she? If you live in Illinois, and enjoy taking pictures of honey bees and bumble bees, check out the Bee Spotter site. You can add to a scientific study of bees in […]

beautiful breezy day

A lovely day to be outside! DH cleaned up around some of the daffodils and daylilies today. This tiny little daffodil is called ‘Minnow.’ ‘Minnow’ The garden is full of daffodils right now, with more coming on. The warm weather the first part of the week really brought them out. Now we’re headed into a […]

menu plan monday ~ march 21, 2011

We spent a little time in the garden on Saturday and I was happy to get my first sighting of a bumble bee for the season. She was happily going from daffodil to daffodil, collecting pollen. The apricot trees began to bloom on Saturday. A sure sign of spring. I will make another post of […]