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.

garden pics

I took these shots to share on Tuesday, but life got hectic for a few days, so am sharing them now. The columbine has come on thick and fast this week. It’s a nice long bloomer and adds color to the beds this time of year. My favorite columbine is the blue one… I thought […]

menu plan monday ~ april 19, 2010

The yard is transitioning from early spring to mid-spring. The irises are putting up their buds and a few have flowered. The earliest are ‘Baby Blessed,’ the old purple variety from DH’s family farm, and the old white ones from his great-grandmother’s place. You can see those in my previous post. The first of the […]

flower friday

I’ve been sick this week and spent more than two days in a recliner. Didn’t get back outside to take pictures of the garden until today. But this morning was beautiful, so I enjoyed being able to get outside. I also spent some time on the east porch. Am reading Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey […]

menu plan monday ~ april 12, 2010

We are enjoying perfect spring weather right now. And it looks like we’ll be able to enjoy it for the next week or so. I tried to keep the menu pretty simple most days so we could spend as much time outside as possible. Monday Toasted Cheese Sandwiches Chicken Tortellini Soup Tuesday Crock Pot Turkey […]

clouds of pink

The redbud blossoms opened Monday. The yard is full of billowing pink clouds of blossoms! The redbud by the kitchen is the only one that was in the yard when we moved in. This year we have more than 20 blooming. The daffodils are beginning to wane, but still look lovely. The Poet’s are a […]

menu plan monday ~ april 5, 2010

We enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner with friends from church. After pie and ice cream, they brought out their four wheeler for DD to enjoy. And she did! Sunday evening I sat on the east porch and enjoyed the spring breezes and the waning sunlight. The redbud trees are THIS close to bursting into bloom. […]

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!

We had a wonderful Easter day. I especially enjoyed the hymns at church this morning. Triumphant! After church we enjoyed dinner with friends, and then I spent a quiet afternoon, with some reading time on the porch swing. The evening light across the yard was so pretty. The spring blossoms are wonderful reminders of the […]

friday flowers

The high winds we’ve had the past few days have knocked a lot of petals off the star magnolia, leaving a white blanket on the ground. I took this picture of the apricot trees a few days ago. The winds have shattered the blossoms, but I can still smell their fragrance from the house. Magnolia […]

heat free chili

A mild chili, for those of us who don’t like heartburn. 🙂 I found the recipe for Heat Free Chili on Hallee’s blog, and used that as a foundation for my own version. I know…I can’t resist changing things around. And, yes, I do eat my chili with peanut butter. Yum!! Heat Free Chili / […]

“hearts on fire” scavenger hunt

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galations 6:2 was the theme for the evening and there was a great turnout for the “Hearts on Fire” scavenger hunt. Everyone met at church, received t-shirts, were assigned their teams, and away they went to solve clues to figure out where they were […]