a new headboard for the guest room

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 in November of 2006.

guest room

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

iron bed

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.

guest room ~ before the headboard

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.

making a headboard from a door

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

making a headboard from a door

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.

making a headboard from an old door

making a headboard from an old 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.

making a headboard from an old door

making a headboard from an old door

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.

making a headboard from an old door

making a headboard from an old door

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

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ november 23, 2009

A quiet moment of contemplation. But just a *moment.* We’re too busy to stop for long!

contemplation

Monday
chicken stir-fry over rice

Tuesday
spaghetti / meatballs
salad
peas
corn
garlic bread

Wednesday
hamburgers
homemade buns
chips

Thursday
turkey in the crock pot
stuffing
ham
mashed potatoes
homemade rolls
broccoli casserole
green beans with mushroom cream sauce
pear/walnut salad
corn
cranberry salad
pumpkin pie with whipped cream
marbled cheesecake

Friday
fridge food

Saturday
Lunch ~ sandwiches
Supper ~ pizza braid

Sunday
pork loin in the crock pot
accordion potatoes
corn
sugar snap peas

You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

dining room window sills

When my DDIL helped decorate a few Saturdays ago, she put together one of the dining room window sill displays. I wanted to do something different than the blue vases I used last year. I love those, but am trying to take the cobalt blue out of the room. This is what they looked like last year.

dining room windows dining room windowsills

But, though DDIL did a lovely job on the window, filling around the deer with fluff and snow, I had to redo it. Buttercup the cat stole all the fluff, over a course of a week, and took it to DD’s bedroom door during the night as a gift. 😀 I added evergreen branches and am hoping she will leave them alone. So far, so good. I would still like to get a candle in this scene. Maybe something tall behind the deer, or some battery operated tea lights around them? I think it needs the height, though. Hmmm…maybe I could hang a large snowflake from the window sash to give it some “tall” interest…

dining room window sill

~~Rhonda ::pondering additions to the window sill decorations::

date balls

One of my favorite Christmas not-a-cookie treats are Date Balls. They are delicious. Thanks, again, to my friend Mellanie who shared this recipe with me.

Date Balls (Makes about 90 pieces.)

1/2 pound butter (2 sticks)
1 pound dates, diced or chopped
2 c. sugar

Cook over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring constantly. DO NOT BOIL.
I melt the butter first, and start counting the time from when it begins to simmer after I have added the sugar and the dates.

Remove from heat and add:
4 c. Rice Krispies
2 c. pecans, chopped finely
4 tsp. vanilla

Allow to cool, then press into balls. Roll in powdered sugar.

Date Balls

Date Balls

Date Balls

Wearing vinyl gloves keeps my hands clean. This is a messy recipe. But worth it! 🙂

Date Balls

Date Balls

Date Balls

Date Balls

Date Balls

These freeze very well, even coated in powdered sugar. They are a staple at our Christmas Open House.

~~Rhonda

crock pot rotisserie-style chicken

I made the rotisserie-style chicken in the crock pot for supper today. Instead of using a whole chicken, I used three boneless, skinless chicken breasts and six boneless, skinless chicken thighs. The seasoning is delicious. DH and DD both liked it, so we’ll be having this again.

Wish you could smell this delicious chicken.

crock pot rotisserie-style chicken

crock pot rotisserie-style chicken

The original recipe called for the following seasonings. My changes are in brackets.

2 tsp. kosher salt [I used 1 teaspoon of salt. Next time, I’ll use 1/2 teaspoon.]
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. onion powder [I used 1 T. dry onion flakes.]
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Italian seasoning [You can substitute 1/2 tsp. basil and 1/2 tsp. oregano.]
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper [I used 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper.]
pinch of chili pepper [I left this out.]
4 whole garlic cloves [I used 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.]
1 yellow onion, quartered [Left it out, as DH is allergic to fresh onion, but it would be delicious on the chicken.]

As you can see, I didn’t exactly follow the recipe. But, hey, that’s the fun of cooking. Leave this out, add that. See what happens. 🙂

I placed the chicken in a crock pot sprayed with cooking spray, then sprinkled the spices over the top. The chicken cooked on high for four hours. Very easy!

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ november 16, 2009

Christmas decorating is moving right along. We made the snowflakes for the front door last week.

front door

paper snowflakes paper snowflakes paper snowflakes

We cut the paper into rectangles to fit the window panes. It’s always fun to see what kind of designs we end up with. 🙂 Here’s the menu for the week. See anything you like?

Monday
beef stew

Tuesday
Crock Pot Rotisserie Style Chicken
corn
stir-fried baby bok choy
Caesar salad

Wednesday
pizza braid with taco filling

Thursday
spaghetti
meatballs
homemade rolls
corn
sugar snap peas

Friday
Rosemary Mustard Chicken
Brussels Sprout Slaw with Maple Pecans
cornbread
sliced sweet and sour cucumbers

Saturday lunch
BBQ chicken in the crock pot
homemade buns
grapes
chips

Saturday supper
homemade pizza

Sunday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup
garlic bread

Monday
tacos

You will find many more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

living room mantel

This weekend, Genny and I finished the living room mantel decorations. The pictures are framed Christmas cards that tell the story of Christ’s birth.

fireplace in the living room

I added a little detail to the gold cloth on the mantel by using the hot glue gun to attach a bead trim to the hem. It added a nice extra detail.

bead edging

The only thing left to do in the living room is the large tree. It has to wait until we can make popcorn and cranberry strings. We usually do that the week of Thanksgiving, so we can decorate the tree Thanksgiving afternoon. I do have eight bags of cranberries in the fridge, ready and waiting!

~~Rhonda

sugar cookie crisps

Sugar Cookie Crisps

I found this recipe (called Sugar Cookies X) at allrecipes.com in November of 2000, and I’ve been making it ever since. They are sugary and crispy delicious.

Preheat oven to 350*F.

In a large bowl, mix till creamy:
2 c. white sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
1 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients together and add them to the creamed mixture, stirring to combine well.
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt

Chill the dough an hour.

Form the dough into small balls and roll in sanding sugar.

sanding sugar

pretty in pink

Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place 15 cookies to a sheet, as they do spread.

ready to bake

Bake at 350*F for 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

cookies!

Christmas cookies

Makes 9 dozen.

I store them in single layers, in plastic containers, between waxed paper sheets.

stored for Christmas

cookie crumbs

That’s all that’s left. Everything else is in the freezer. 🙂

PS: a note from baking these in 2012…if you sprinkle extra sugar on top the cookie after baking, while the cookie is still hot from the oven, the sugar will stick and make the cookie even prettier.

~~Rhonda

naptime for buttercup

You can find Buttercup under the bubble light tree every afternoon, where she enjoys a long nap before DD gets home from school. She doesn’t bother the ornaments…just makes a little nest and snuggles in.

nap time for Buttercup

And if DD is late, Buttercup prowls the front hall, crying until she gets home. 🙂

~~Rhonda

Christmas prep

Last weekend we got a lot of decorating done. My daughter-in-law and my sister came to help. The dining room was finished, with the exception of one window sill. I need to paint a flowerpot white to complete that project.

DH and our daughter-in-law put up the snow tree. “Snowing” it is the final (and most fun) part. They gently laid handfuls of shredded artificial snow on the branches.

snowing the tree

I made the snowball ornaments for this tree years ago.

snow and snow balls

Our daughter helped her sister-in-law sprinkle the topping of iridescent snow over the finished tree. I had to ask them to turn around and look at me. All I had were pictures of backs. 🙂 Side note…you can’t go wrong with a Little Giant ladder! Every time we need to get up to something, we remark on how glad we are to have it!

snowing the tree

A little greenery over the picture and a little snow on the cupboard tree, and we’re almost done.

dining room cupboard

Silver spindles hang from the reproduction lighting.

dining room light

The windowsills need some candles and then we’ll be done with the dining room. All but the pick up…I confess there are a few boxes and odds and ends left in the room. But we’re well on our way with the decorating!

~~Rhonda