Christmas Notebook

home extension Christmas party

December 11, 2008 – 11:41 pm

This evening we had a wonderful time at our annual Home Extension Christmas party. Everyone brought an appetizer or a dessert. Delicious!

Before (and after!) dinner, touring the house to view the Christmas trees was at the top of everyone’s list. Then it was time for some sit down chat.

Purse pew… 🙂

Two ladies had to leave early and a few ladies were not able to come at all. DH took a picture of the rest of us before the party ended.

A fun evening! Now we move on to the public house tour, tomorrow evening and Saturday afternoon. All proceeds will benefit our church’s mission fund. Our Home Extension group usually has an ornament exchange at our annual Christmas party, but this year the ladies decided to give donations to the mission fund instead. They donated $119! A great start for the weekend fund raiser! Thank you, HEA friends!! 🙂

~~Rhonda

under construction

December 9, 2008 – 2:39 pm

DD’s room will take a while to complete. The two level bed/book nook is about half done. Next will be the cubbies/steps to the second bed and then the new closet. This wreath hangs on the current closet door.

The pink tree turned out very cute! Not sure why DD didn’t want it on a box this year. But it’s her room, her tree. If she wants it on the floor when I’d prefer it on a box, no big deal.

The pink tree has been a big hit.

For the open house, we taped the plans for her room to the end of the bed.

The overall plan:

DD is excited about what is happening in her room. We’re looking forward to more progress on the bed this week!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in remodeling | Tagged chrismtas tree, christmas wreath, dd#3's room, remodeling | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ december 8, 2008

December 8, 2008 – 1:40 pm

We had a wonderful time at the open house yesterday. But that is just the beginning of a busy month of entertaining. This week, I am hosting my home extension group’s Christmas party, and Friday and Saturday our home will be open to the public for a house tour to raise money for the mission fund at church. That means another week of very easy meals!

Monday
baked tilapia with Parmesan crust
steamed red potatoes
peas
corn

Tuesday
BBQ pork steaks in the oven
baked potatoes (microwaved)
lima beans
corn

Wednesday
veggie pizza

Thursday / Home Extension here
leftovers

Friday / Public House Tour
turkey / ham / cheese sandwiches

Saturday / Public House Tour
turkey / ham / cheese sandwiches

Sunday
crock pot chicken cordon bleu
rice
spinach salad
peas
corn

You will find more menu ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

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

sugarplums

December 8, 2008 – 1:15 pm

Lindsey and Tricia, this is for you. 🙂 So glad you were able to come yesterday!

These sugarplums are delicious and easy to make. I double the following recipe for the open house.

Sugarplums

* 3/4 c. raisins
* 3/4 c. chopped dates
* 3/4 c. dried apricots, chopped
* 1 c. walnuts
* 1 c. almonds
* 1/4 c. orange juice

Mix all the ingredients together, except the orange juice.

Using a blender or a food processor, pulse the mixture until you have a coarse meal. I use a blender as I don’t have a food processor. I’m sure this would be easier in a processor where you could chop the whole batch at one time. In the blender, I do about a cup at a time.

The bowl on the left shows the fruits and nuts after grinding them in the blender.

After all the nuts and fruits are ground together, add the orange juice, stirring well. If you let the mixture set for half an hour or so, the dry ingredients will absorb some of the orange juice. Not necessary, but helpful.

Form the mixture into 1-inch balls and roll them in sugar. I usually use sanding sugar for this as it gives the sugarplums a pretty sparkly look, but all I had this year was regular white granulated sugar. Still pretty. And so yummy!

The sugarplums can be placed in candy paper liners, though I never do. Store in the refrigerator. Makes 24-30. I found the recipe in “Family Fun” magazine, December 2002, page 24.

Other dried fruits or nuts could be substituted. I think they would be good with craisins (dried cranberries), dried cherries, and/or figs. And don’t forget dried plums (prunes)! Pecans could be used in place of some of the nuts.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cookies, cooking | Tagged candy, Christmas, cookies, recipe | Comments (2)

open house

December 7, 2008 – 10:01 pm

We made it! About 10:00 this morning, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t! I think this year was the hardest to pull together of any we’ve done. I guess renovating, a son’s wedding, and babysitting one year old twins doesn’t help make Christmas prep any easier! But with the tremendous help of my sister Genny and many friends from church, we did it! Here are a few pictures from the afternoon.

Our usual kitchen helpers were here, plus a few young ladies from church. Wonderful helping hands.

Stacks of cookies…

Seems everyone likes to congregate in the kitchen.

The village Genny made looked great on the cookie table.

Lots of company…family and friends.

We worked hard for this one, but it was another success. 🙂

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in open house | Tagged Christmas, open house | Comments (1)

a few snapshots from the past few days

December 6, 2008 – 8:08 am

Busy! We’ve been *very* busy! Last night, I didn’t have the energy to check email before I went to bed at 12:00. For me, that is tired! 🙂 Here are a few pics from the past few days.

Sugarplums

Peanut Butter Truffles

Genny always decorates the mailbox

Young ladies from church came to help. A blessing, to be sure! Below, Ashley and Ruth. Yesterday, Brooke, Samantha, Ashley, Susan and Bob came to lend a hand. SO helpful!!

I no longer climb ladders, but my helpers are great at it. 🙂

Niko thought all the boxes from the attic were very interesting.

Our house pictured on a 1912 postcard…this is an enlarged copy of both sides of the card.

While painting, DH took the window panes out of the windows and replaced the rope on the weights.

Ruth decorated this little tree in the master bath, but after I looked at it for a few days, I decided it needed a good dusting…too much powder on it from several Christmas seasons in the bathroom. 🙂 So I took everything off the tree, gave it a shower, wiped down the lights, washed the ornaments and put it all back together. Now it sparkles.

Happy loves the wooden ladder, but totally ignores the metal one.

I wrapped the baby pictures. Along with DH, these are the best gifts I ever received. 🙂

DD tries out the upper bunk…the bed won’t be done for the open house, but next week Ray should be able to get it enclosed and finish the steps up to the second story. DD slept on the lower bunk last night. 🙂

Back to work! I have three hours of sugar cookie decorating ahead of me. ~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas prep, Uncategorized | Tagged decorating for Christmas | Comments (1)

foam board houses

December 3, 2008 – 8:16 am

A few weeks ago, I saw a pretty display in a store. White houses and trees, flat and glittery. I thought, “We could do that!” My sister drew a pattern from the picture I took.

She cut the patterns from foam board.

The buildings and trees were sprayed with texture paint (which was brown…couldn’t find white) and then sprayed with white paint. The texture added a lot to the overall look of the pieces. After the paint dried, a hot glue gun was used to run a thick line of glue along the border.

And the glue was sprinkled with flaked opalescent glitter mixed with white glitter.

How cute is that?

We leaned the finished houses and trees against some candles and books to get an idea of what it will look like. They will be attached to something to make them stand straight and will decorate the cookie table during the open house.

I’ll put a snowflake themed tablecloth on the table and pile some fluffy “snow” around the base of the houses and trees. I think they’re going to work well!

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas prep | Tagged white houses | Comments (3)

dd’s room in progress

December 1, 2008 – 4:15 pm

I know it’s crazy to try to get some of this stuff done before Sunday, but DD has been SO patient and looked so forward to having her room remodeled, that we want to see what we can finish before the open house. The carpenter told us he could have the bed done in time, so we are hoping that turns out to be so!

DH has been painting the room for the past several days. A little more work on the woodwork and the painting will be done.

The lime green is in a small indention in the wall. Her desk will be placed in front of this window. The closet to the right will be removed after Christmas and a new closet will be built to the right of the door to the room (which is where I was standing when I took the picture).

The carpenter is building a two story bed nook (the ceiling is 12′). The upper story will be a second bed for company, as well as a library nook for DD. The bed will have walls, windows, and steps up to the upper part. Each bed will have a ledge for a clock, a lamp, etc. Gary wired the outlets for us last week. Above the ledge will be shelves for books, display, etc.

I’m looking forward to posting pictures of this room when it is completed!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in remodeling | Tagged dd#3's room, remodeling | Comments (4)

menu plan monday ~ december 1, 2008

December 1, 2008 – 10:53 am

I’ve missed a few weeks of menu posts. I’ve been so busy that by the time I think of it, we’re into Wednesday or Thursday! Made the menus…just didn’t get them here. This week will be *very* busy, with prep for the open house on Sunday. So, easy and quick meals with some crock pot meals thrown in. Love that crock pot! And don’t forget, you can find a lot of other menu ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

Monday
deli turkey / ham sandwiches
chips, veggies, dip

Tuesday
sloppy joes / buns
cole slaw
grapes

Wednesday
crock pot BBQ chicken / buns
chips, veggies, dip

Thursday
spaghetti
garlic bread sticks
peas
corn
green salad

Friday
crock pot Italian beef / buns
grapes
veggies and dip

Saturday
order pizza

Sunday
deli turkey / ham sandwiches
chips, veggies, dip

I’ll leave you with a picture of the nativity. This is the week I need to remember what Christmas is about. With all the prep and decorating we do, and especially right before a big party, it’s easy to be caught up in the “to do” list and neglect the reason we celebrate Christmas.

~~Rhonda 🙂

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

thanks, hgtv!

November 30, 2008 – 11:16 pm

We’ve redecorated the addition which includes the guest room, and I knew the Christmas tree had to be something other than the Victorian themed tree we’ve had in the past. The new decor is cottage / country. I found a pink tree for DD#3’s room on Ebay, so decided to use her old tree for the guest room. I looked at silver trees, flocked trees, and other new trees. Too expensive. I was watching HGTV the other night, while working on a computer project. I saw a show about Christmas decorating…I think it was “25 Great Holiday Ideas,” but I’m not sure. Anyway, on the show, they spray painted a tree gold. I thought, “I can do that!” Only in silver. 🙂

I used shiny silver spray paint and a fine glitter in “antique silver” color.

I experimented on a small piece of garland, trying three different colors. Once I moved on to the tree, I started at the top.

I worked in sections. As I sprayed a small section, I sprinkled it with glitter before it dried.

I love the way it turned out. The green has been muted and the shiny silver lightens the entire tree.

I used white LED lights on the tree. The color is very white and looks better with the blue/white room than the incandescent lights that glow with a yellow cast.

Genny and I tried some silver icicle strands on the tree and I think it will be the perfect finishing touch. Now I need a tree skirt…

2011 update…here’s the tree this year. Still looks great!

2012 update…the previous tree was beginning to shed needles like Charlie Brown’s tree, so I bought a new tree for this room. And I spray painted it silver because I love the look so much. I didn’t use glitter this time, though. The glitter did shed a lot. Many of our Christmas Open House guests tell me this is their favorite of the more than 20 trees we decorate each year.

2013 Still going strong. The tree skirt was made by my friend Laurie from a light blue round tablecloth for the bottom layer and a piece of pale blue tulle printed with silver snowflakes for the overlay. We decorated 28 trees this year and this one is still a guest favorite.

2014 It continues to be a guest favorite.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in decorating for Christmas | Tagged christmas tree, guest room | Comments (6)

Christmas Notebook

home extension Christmas party

under construction

menu plan monday ~ december 8, 2008

sugarplums

open house

a few snapshots from the past few days

foam board houses

dd’s room in progress

menu plan monday ~ december 1, 2008

thanks, hgtv!

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