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 ~ august 16, 2010

Monday Ham Sandwiches Watermelon Tuesday Ranchiladas The recipe site blogger calls these “Benchiladas” because her husband Ben loves them so much. With due respect to Ben, we’ll call them Ranchiladas as they contain Ranch dressing. 🙂 Toppings: Sour Cream, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Shredded Cheese, Salsa Wednesday Hawaiian Ribs in the Slow Cooker Coleslaw with Craisins and […]

baby butterflies

Two years ago we raised 18 black swallowtail butterflies. We wanted to try it again this year, so Sunday DH went out to check the parsley and found five butterfly eggs. Today, all the eggs hatched. Look at this tiny little guy. We’re looking forward to watching them grow into beautiful butterflies. ~~Rhonda 🙂

peanut butter bars

I concocted this recipe years ago, when my four older children were in school. I was making peanut butter cookies one day and didn’t want to take a long time to cook them, so I put the whole batch on the cookie sheet and baked them. After they cooled, I thought they’d be better with […]

menu plan monday ~ august 9, 2010

We’ve had two sick girls on our hands over the weekend. DH went to church and I stayed home, but did make a simple bouquet to send. The Black Eyed Susans are in full bloom. Even in the heat and humidity, they look great. I think we’re going to have a rather quiet week. With […]

faithful vehicle turns 300,000

Turned over 300,000 miles, that is. DH’s 1990 Suburban has finally made it to the 300s. DH and DD drove it around the block a few times to catch the rollover. And no, they weren’t going 67 mph while taking the picture…the speedometer is stuck there. 😀 The Suburban has been a great vehicle for […]

Sunday bouquet

The surprise lilies have been blooming for almost two weeks. Last Sunday the bouquet was made using them (pink), flowers from the ‘Royal Standard’ hostas (white), and some spirea branches for fill. Pretty in pink. With thanks to my honey who goes out into the garden every Sunday morning in search of bouquet blossoms. ~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ august 2, 2010

A quiet week for a change. 🙂 Flickr’s Macro Mondays’ theme this week was “calm” and that’s the kind of week I’m having. Except for one large project, but it’s a fun one. Monday Turkey over Rice Green Salad Steamed Sugar Snap Peas Tuesday Chef Salad Wednesday Fridge Food Thursday Hamburgers Homemade Buns Veggies / […]

quiche lorraine

Our French exchange student made Quiche Lorraine twice for us. Her mother is from Lorraine, France, and the quiche is a family specialty. The pastry is a mixture of flour, butter, and water. Beautiful! She made the quiche much thinner than the quiches I am used to. We all loved it! Delicious! Sooo good! We’ve […]

menu plan master ~ july 26, 2010

I made a menu for last week, but didn’t get around to posting it. And this week, I’m running late. But better late than never! Our family company is gone and our exchange student heads home tomorrow. We will all miss her, but DD is especially going to miss this new friend. Monday Hamburgers on […]

busy month!

We’ve kept our exchange student pretty busy this month. And DD has kept her camera busy taking lots of pictures. Here are some of the photo ops she has captured. They enjoyed the Fourth of July weekend with all the celebrations. Our exchange student would like to be a fire fighter so she especially enjoyed […]