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.

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 […]

menu plan monday ~ march 29, 2010

I have some fun pictures from the church scavenger hunt to post soon, but right now I need to get the menu posted and the grocery list made for the week. Before I do that, though, here is a picture of DD’s kitty Buttercup, looking very contented as she sat on the stool in the […]

tuesday blooms

The weather was beautiful yesterday and I was able to get out for some picture taking opportunities. Tete-a-Tete daffodils are sprinkled all over the yard. These are near the back door. In the east yard, the Star Magnolia is beginning to bloom. Looks like a snowstorm doesn’t it? Close-up, the blossoms are ivory colored. When […]

julie’s fake baked ziti

Our son and his wife made this delicious ziti for us one weekend when they were at our house. I decided to use this recipe for supper instead of the one I linked in my menu for the week. Fake Baked Ziti olive oil 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 shallot, minced 1 28-oz. can […]

menu plan monday ~ march 22, 2010

The week looks promising. No snow as was gingerly predicted. Lots of rain. The yards, gardens and fields like that. The lettuce and spinach in the garden are up. And the daffodils are opening all over the yard. Beautiful! And indoors, not to be outdone, the Christmas cactus continues to bloom profusely. So pretty! DH […]

sunday bouquet

The first church bouquet of the season…made with daffodils and bush honeysuckle stems from our yard. The stems work great in the bouquet, providing structure to hold the daffodils in place. I’m so glad spring is here! ~~Rhonda

finally, a picture of cheeseburger soup

Cheeseburger soup. A family favorite. When I posted the recipe a few weeks ago, I didn’t have a picture. So here you go. 🙂 ~~Rhonda

spring time ~ garden time

Once the flowers begin to bloom, there’s no going back. DH picked a few for the kitchen table. And he trimmed a branch from the Southern Oak in the back yard. And he and DD burned the tall grasses. This is a job they usually do in February, but the available February days were either […]