Christmas Notebook

house concert

December 11, 2009 – 8:45 am

What can I say?? It was a *wonderful* evening! We had so much fun and everyone seemed to enjoy the music and the accompanying Christmas cheer. After the concert, guests complimented the music with words like “comforting, relaxing, calming, soothing, delightful,” etc.

With 65 guests, we packed them in. They were sitting in the front hall and living room…

and in the dining room…

and up the staircase…

The music was beautiful. Left to right: Nathan Clark George, Ross Sermons, and Mark Stofell.

You can listen to some of the music we heard on Nathan’s web site. A few of my favorites are “Remember O Thou Man,” “O Little One Sweet,” and “What If I Were in the Garden.”

And after the concert, yummy goodies. We served sausage balls, spicy cranberry meatballs, bacon wrapped dates, a veggie tray with beau monde dip, three cheese spread [I left out the chicken and mixed everything together except the tomatoes and parsley which I sprinkled on top] with crackers, fresh red grapes, a tray of cheese and meat picks with pickles and olives, Chex Mix, and four kinds of homemade truffles. We had hot spiced punch, cold punch and hot coffee. With temps below freezing, it was a good evening for something hot to drink. I prepared all the food, except the veggie tray, the day before. Worked out great! The meatballs were kept warm in a crock pot and the sausage balls and bacon wrapped dates were kept in covered dishes in a warm oven during the concert, so they were ready to go when it was time for refreshments. Very easy menu.

After the concert, there was an opportunity to meet Nathan, purchase CDs, and even get an autograph if you were so inclined. 🙂

A lot of our guests stayed for an hour and a half after the concert, visiting and enjoying the goodies, as well as savoring the Christmas atmosphere.

There were three babies at the concert. So sweet! Christmas and babies…two of my favorite things.

Thank you, Nathan, Mark and Ross for another wonderful evening of Christmas music! We so enjoyed it!

Today I’m relaxing. I think I’ll finish Christmas shopping (via the recliner and amazon.com) and maybe I’ll take a nap this afternoon. Sounds good! ~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, concert, Recipes | Tagged Christmas, house concert, nathan clark george | Comments (8)

macro mondays

December 8, 2009 – 9:21 pm

I haven’t posted a Macro Monday for a while. This week’s challenge was “drips, drops and splashes.” Here are some shots I took for the theme.

I like the way the stream gradually turns into drops.

This one has drops in the middle, falling into a frothy splash.

My favorite shot is this water crown.

I don’t know what next week’s theme will be, but I’m looking forward to it. ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Macro Mondays, photography | Tagged Macro Mondays | Comments (1)

Christmas open house

December 7, 2009 – 10:33 pm

As usual, we did not take nearly enough pictures. We were having too much fun visiting with our company. My son took many of these shots for me just as the party was getting underway.

Living room

A gaggle of great guys in the living room.

And time to catch up with friends.

Dining room, with the table pushed against the south wall.

Library / family room, with "It’s a Wonderful Life" on the TV. The stained glass windows were made by our dear friend Gary.

Used to be the “office,” now it’s sort of called the music room, for want of a better name. It’s where the piano lives.

Addition hall, looking toward the guest room.

Guest room, with a few extra chairs for chatty guests.

Upstairs hall…these are the last walls in the house that need to be repainted. Those dull vanilla walls don’t jibe will with all the color in the rest of the house.

Speaking of color…DD#3’s room…

My crafting/scrapbooking room

DD#1’s room

Looking from our bedroom door toward DD#2’s room.

DD#2’s room

The "glass" tree in our bedroom. All the ornaments are made of glass. The tree has more than 250 prisms and crystal bead chains from old chandeliers.

That’s a quick overview of the decorating, though we missed the kitchen. I need to take more pictures for a detailed tour. And I still wish we’d taken more pictures of the guests!

This morning we woke to a very light dusting of snow, but it didn’t last long. I had a long quiet day which was very nice after being so rushed the past week. Tomorrow will be a bit busier as I begin to get ready for the house concert Thursday night. So I’m off to bed.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, open house | Tagged Christmas, Christmas open house | Comments (10)

sugarplums

December 7, 2009 – 9:35 pm

This is such an easy recipe! And delicious. And so pretty when rolled in sparkly sanding sugar.

Sugarplums

1 c. almonds
3/4 c. walnuts
3/4 c. dried apricots
3/4 c. diced dates
3/4 c. raisins
zest and juice of 1 orange (may substitute a few tablespoons of bottled orange juice)
gold sanding sugar or white table sugar, optional [Sanding sugar is a larger crystal than table sugar and has a beautiful sparkle.]

Process the ingredients in a food processor until coarsely chopped. Add orange juice (original recipe says 1/4 c. but I found that to be too much) and pulse until the mixture sticks together. Shape into balls and roll in gold sparkling sugar, if you like. Store in fridge. Makes 24-30. At least that is what the original recipes says. It came from the “Family Fun” magazine, p. 24, in the Dec./Jan. issue of 2002.

I don’t have a food processor, so I do it in a blender.

I mix the walnuts and almonds together in one bowl.

In another bowl, I mix the dried fruit and the zest of one orange.

I process about a fourth of the recipe at a time, and always put the nuts in the bottom so the mixture doesn’t gum up the blades.

It ends up looking like a coarse meal.

Add enough orange juice (I used the juice of one medium sized orange) to make the mixture hold together.

Form into one inch balls and roll in sparkling sugar. I used gold sugar which I purchased at The Baker’s Kitchen.

They can be made without the sugary coating, but it does add a pretty sparkle. 🙂 ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged recipe, sugarplums | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ december 7, 2009

December 7, 2009 – 1:49 pm

We had a wonderful time at the open house yesterday. There were about 175 guests. The Putz display looked great on the cookie table. I think it will move to the corner of the kitchen counter after the house concert party this Thursday.

Monday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup

Tuesday
baked ziti
homemade rolls
green salad

Wednesday
hamburgers / homemade buns
garlicky oven fries
coleslaw

Thursday
We’re hosting a House Concert this evening, so supper will be a quick sandwich.
I haven’t finalized plans for the appetizers for the party/concert, but am thinking about these:
cranberry sauced meatballs in the crockpot
veggie tray and dip
cheese spread with bagel chips
pickles and olives
meat and cheese on picks
red and green grapes

Friday
oven baked BBQ pork steaks
accordion potatoes
green salad
corn

Saturday
fridge food

Sunday
spaghetti
garlic bread
corn
peas
green salad

You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Tagged menu, menu plan monday | Comments (1)

chocolate creams

December 3, 2009 – 12:30 am

Chocolate Creams

1 pound semi-sweet chocolate
1 pound unsweetened chocolate
1 c. heavy whipping cream

To make the cream centers, melt the chocolate. I use the microwave, heating the chocolate for two minutes at 40% power. Stir and reheat for 30 seconds at 40% power, repeating until almost melted. Stir until completely melted. Transfer the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl.

In a small saucepan, over low heat, using a candy thermometer, heat the cream to 130*. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, heat the cream just until little bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Add the hot cream to the chocolate. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, whip for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened. Cover and chill 1 hour, or until just set. If they chill too hard to scoop, just set them on the kitchen counter and let them come to room temperature.

Using a melon baller, scoop up the chocolate mixture and roll into 3/4-inch balls. I scoop the entire batch onto the cookie sheet before rolling them into smooth balls. Using plastic/vinyl gloves to roll the balls keeps your hands clean. Place on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and refrigerate or freeze until ready to dip.

Make the dipping chocolate. I use melted choc. chips and 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate to each bag of chips for chocolate covered creams or almond bark for white covered creams.

To dip, using a fork, dip the centers into the dipping chocolate, coating them completely. I tap the fork against the side of the pan with the dipping chocolate to remove as much extra coating as possible. Place the coated centers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top immediately with chocolate sprinkles, if desired.

Adapted from 1001 Chocolate Treats by Gregg R. Gillespie, recipe #320, p. 172. His recipe uses 2 pounds of milk chocolate and extra steps in preparation that I don’t find necessary.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cookies, Recipes | Comments (3)

a few things we’ve been doing this week

December 2, 2009 – 6:43 pm

After Thanksgiving dinner, we went to work on the living room tree.

Buttercup slept near the tinsel.

Julie decorated the box grand in the living room.

I replaced the lights on this little tree. All better!

We decorated the front porch.

And Buttercup slept on ornament storage boxes.

I made chocolate creams.

I wrapped my babies’ pictures.

Buttercup slept on the couch.

I received a package in the mail! The ornaments from the Christmas Notebook’s ornament exchange. This is just one of them.

My sister and friends from church cleaned my house! Thank you, thank you!

Buttercup slept on the vent.

I started a new house project.

I made sugarplums.

And DD had her hair cut.

And Zak slept with her.

~~Rhonda ::going back to work!:: 😀

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, Christmas prep | Tagged Christmas, Christmas decorating | Comments (7)

menu plan monday ~ november 30, 2009

November 29, 2009 – 10:58 pm

Here’s one of my Putz houses nestled in the guest room Christmas tree. This one was too big for the display stand. I’d like to make more of the houses to put on the tree.

This is the busiest week of the year for us. So much to do to ready the house for our annual Christmas open house next Sunday. The menu for the week is quick and easy to accommodate our schedule.

Monday
lunch
sandwiches
chips
grapes

supper
pork loin sandwiches
fresh fruit

Tuesday
roast beef in the crock pot / sandwiches

Wednesday
tortellini with ham
green salad
rolls
corn
peas

Thursday
cheesy potato sausage soup

Friday
beef stew in the crock pot

Saturday
lunch
sandwiches
chips
fresh fruit

supper
pizza

Sunday
sandwiches
chips
grapes

You will find more menus and recipes at Menu Plan Monday.

More pictures later this week, as I have time! ~~Rhonda :)2

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Tagged menu, menu plan monday | Comments (0)

silver and blue

November 27, 2009 – 1:13 pm

The Christmas tree in the guest room has a silver and blue theme, with a lean toward a vintage feel. The tree has white LED lights that have a bluish cast. The tree rotates. So much prettier in person, but you get the idea. 🙂 By the way, this is the tree I spray painted last year. Worked great!!

You can see more Christmas decorating ideas at The Inspired Room. Scroll down that page for links to other sites where homes are being readied for the holidays.

~~Rhonda ::busy decorating the living room tree today::

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, decorating for Christmas, trees | Tagged Christmas, Christmas 2009, christmas tree, guest room | Comments (2)

a new headboard for the guest room

November 24, 2009 – 11:49 pm

The bed in the guest room has been changed out more times than I can count. Several different frames, some in there more than once, and the bed has waffled between a full and a queen size. I couldn’t find pictures of the other frames that have been in there, but here’s the iron bed frame in November of 2006.

Last year, it looked like this…that’s a full size mattress.

We want to have a queen size bed in the guest room, though, so, for now, the queen mattress is sitting on a simple metal frame.

I do have a plan to have a bed made for the guest room. We had two large pine trees taken down last year and the wood was milled and saved. I want to use that and two old doors to make the new bed. But for now, we decided to hang an old door on the wall as a headboard.

The door came from the church my in-laws attended for years. This is what it looked like in our basement…not a promising start.

But DH cleaned it up, sanded it, and painted it.

Using the instructions on Martha’s site, DH modified the plans a bit and secured the door to the wall. Instead of a 2×4, he used a 2×6. The picture shows it after it has been cut on a 45 degree angle to make a cleat to hang the door on the wall. One piece is secured to the wall studs and the other piece is secured to the door.

The top cleat was made a bit shorter than the door to make it easy to adjust the headboard to the right or left without having the cleat show. He also added a small cleat to the bottom of the door to make it a bit more secure.

After hanging the headboard, DH put my angel pictures back up, centered over the headboard. The pictures are blown up copies of vintage Christmas postcards. By the way, the white spots on the pictures are reflections from the sun shining off the aluminum Christmas tree in the window.

The headboard makes the whole room look more finished. I love it!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in home | Tagged guest room, headboard, old door | Comments (7)

Christmas Notebook

house concert

macro mondays

Christmas open house

sugarplums

menu plan monday ~ december 7, 2009

chocolate creams

a few things we’ve been doing this week

menu plan monday ~ november 30, 2009

silver and blue

a new headboard for the guest room

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