gift wrap center

Did you know? Christmas is coming. 🙂 I am already buying gifts and want to be ready when it’s time to wrap them. It’s time to take stock of my gift wrap center and make a list of items I need. Tape? Scissors? Ribbon?…etc., etc., etc.

If you don’t have a gift wrap center, consider setting one up. It can be as small as a box that slides into a drawer, or as big as a cupboard dedicated to gift wrapping. You will find it invaluable all year long, but especially so at Christmas time!

This cupboard belonged to DH’s grandparents. I use the drawer and the doors below to store the items needed to wrap gifts. We use it as a gift wrap center year round, but, as I said, it is essential at Christmas time. The dining room table is just to the left in this picture and it makes the ideal place to wrap presents. Even the kids find this the perfect spot for wrapping presents.

gift wrap cupboard

I use boxes in the drawer to organize the supplies needed for the gift wrap center. Left to right: tissue paper, scissors/tapes/pens/etc., misc. ribbons/ ribbons on spools.

wrapping supplies

This old crock holds wrapping paper. During the year, it’s birthday paper, wedding paper, etc., and the crock sits in the corner behind the door. During the holiday season it holds Christmas paper and sits next to the cupboard where it is within reach.

gift wrap crock

Last year, I found this lovely old market basket in an antique store and decided to use it as the gift wrap storage container. I tied a big blue bow to the handle and it worked out great. The basket on the floor holds extra ribbons.

wrapping paper basket

The shelves in the bottom of the cupboard, behind the doors, holds boxes and bags, small gifts, etc.

gifts, boxes, bags, etc.

Need to wrap a gift? Come on over! 🙂 ~~Rhonda

looks more like fall all the time

While I mowed the yard today, I was struck by how “fall” everything felt. The low temps, the smell in the air, the crisping leaves, the autumn flowers…

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

sedum 'Autumn Joy'

The cabbage white butterflies were hard to get a picture of. They can’t sit still for long.

cabbage white butterfly

The Buckeye butterflies seem to prefer the sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’

Buckeye butterfly

The path in the woods has a sprinkling of crunchy leaves.

woodland path

This fuzzy little brown guy was resting on the white boneset.

little brown moth

The fall “weeds” are blooming.

Goldenrod

goldenrod

White Boneset

white boneset

Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem artichoke

Smartweed

smartweed

The Southern Oak is still green. It’s leaves will begin to turn yellow in October.

back yard in early evening

I didn’t get a picture of the asters…I need to do that. The dark purple ones are in full bloom. The ones from the family farm are just beginning to bloom. Soon they’ll be covered with blossoms and butterflies.

~~Rhonda

106 days till Christmas :-D

The packages of Christmas gifts are beginning to roll in. Love, love, love amazon.com! Makes the shopping so easy!

Two gifts for DD and a gift for DgrandD Lauren…

Christmas is coming

I talked to Santa last night. He said I might get a new camera and a macro lens for Christmas!

~~Rhonda 🙂

pirate cat

DD was not feeling well today and stayed home from school. She found several projects that kept her quietly occupied. She read all the comic books in her sister’s room. She played on the computer for a while. And she designed a pirate costume for Buttercup.

does the hat fit OK, Buttercup?

She began by making a bandanna from red fabric. Then she designed a hat. We looked online and found a pattern for the basic shape on a page for kindergarten projects. I cut it out for her and she sewed the two pieces of felt together by hand. Then she cut the skull and crossbones from white fabric and used tacky glue to adhere it to the hat.

the world's most compliant cat

This is the world’s most compliant cat. Bar none.

how do I look in my pirate hat?

A red vest and sword/belt were the final touches.

the dread pirate Buttercup

complete outfit

Buttercup is such a sweet cat. She adores DD and lets her do anything she wants with her. She’s dressed and packed and toted and hauled all over the house. She puts up with it all. And when DD is done, Buttercup takes a long nap.

sleeping in the sunshine...dreaming of other worlds...

~~Rhonda 🙂

40 minute rolls

I planned the 40-minute hamburger buns (as rolls) for tonight, but DD wanted to make them yesterday, so we made them into bread sticks and had them with spaghetti last night. They were easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

* 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water, plus 2 tablespoons warm water (115*)
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 3-3 1/2 cups flour

We didn’t have any eggs on hand, so left the egg out. Still delicious. And we used 3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour plus 1/2 c. whole wheat flour.

ingredients

DD measures the sugar.

sept 2008 098

5 minute rest…

sept 2008 103

Adding flour.

sept 2008 104

We let the mixer do the kneading.

sept 2008 106

It’s hard to tell, but there *is* a plastic cutting mat on the counter for this step. DD cut the dough ball in half, then half again, then into thirds.

sept 2008 107

She rolled the dough balls into sticks…

sept 2008 109

…and sprayed the tops with butter flavored cooking spray, then sprinkled basil and powdered garlic on nine of the rolls. She left the others plain.

sept 2008 113

Resting for ten minutes, then ready to bake at 425* for 8 to 12 minutes.

sept 2008 117

Wish you could smell these…we baked them for 10 minutes, but they could have used a minute or two more.

sept 2008 121

Supper was delicious! Spaghetti with home made sauce, stir-fried zucchini with garlic, corn on the cob, and fresh bread.

spaghetti supper

Try this bread! It can be made into hamburger buns, bread sticks, rolls, whatever. Easy and very tasty. The recipe was simple enough for DD to make and she really enjoyed getting such a quick return on her bread making efforts.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ september 8, 2008

Back to a schedule today. Seems the weekend always throws me off… Here’s our menu for this week.

Monday
spaghetti / meatballs
focaccia
spinach salad
peas
corn on the cob

Tuesday
crock pot turkey tetrazzini
40 minute rolls
peas
corn on the cob
pear-walnut salad

Wednesday
baked Parmesan tilapia
steamed red potato
stir-fried peapods with cherry tomatoes

Thursday
chicken and noodles
green beans
corn
green salad

Friday
BBQ pork steaks in the oven
lima beans
corn
carrots / celery sticks
tomatoes / cucumber slices

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
tortellini with mushrooms and ham
40 min. rolls made as bread sticks
green salad

There are more menu ideas at Laura’s site.

Stop by and see how our caterpillars are doing. They are fascinating to watch!

~~Rhonda 🙂

butterfly babies

It seems every time we pick more parsley for the caterpillars, we also bring in a caterpillar or two. Or three. We’re up to 15 or 16. So some of the cats in the fish tank are very small and some are getting very large! I think we have every instar represented in the tank.

wide range of sizes

This afternoon, I watched two caterpillars molt their skin, which I had never been able to catch them doing before.

molting caterpillar

molting caterpillar

molting caterpillar

After they molt, they rest for a while, then turn around and eat the old skin.

molted caterpillar

Have you ever watched a caterpillar have lunch? They are eating machines! BTW, this video is in real time, no speeding up.

~~Rhonda 🙂

crock pot BBQ chicken and cornbread

I found this BBQ chicken and cornbread casserole recipe. Thought it sounded interesting, and decided to do something similar.

I sprayed the crock pot with cooking spray and put raw boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs in the bottom. The recipe called for cooking the chicken prior to putting it in the crock pot, but I didn’t think that had to be done.

I drained a can of corn (reserving the liquid) and poured the corn over the chicken. Then I doused the chicken with some BBQ sauce…not as much as the recipe called for though.

Here’s the crock pot prior to adding the BBQ sauce.

chicken and corn

I made two boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix, omitting the butter and using the corn liquid for part of the milk, and poured that over the chicken.

making the corn muffin mixture

cornbread batter over chicken

I cooked it on high for two hours and on low for four hours. The finished product…

cornbread and BBQ chicken

Review…I liked it. The chicken was delicious, though I would leave the corn out if I made it again. The cornbread was dense. Not sure if that’s a result of the mix I used or the corn liquid I substituted for part of the milk. I’m not being critical, though. I liked it. It’s just that the cornbread I make from scratch is much lighter in texture. I should post that recipe for you some time…it’s good!

DH said “I don’t think the cornbread went real well with this.” Or something to that effect. He meant he’d rather not have it again. DD wouldn’t eat the chicken and wanted the bottom of the cornbread cut off. She didn’t like the BBQ sauce on it. Which I tend to agree with. I kept thinking, “this should be pork and beans.” Not sure where that thought came from. But it made me think about making a similar dish but using sliced kielbasa sausage instead of chicken, with pork and beans poured on top, and then topped with cornbread. Wonder what that would taste like??

~~Rhonda

Zilli and Buttercup

It’s been two years since we adopted Buttercup, Zilli, and Zak. They are fun additions to the family. I came across these pictures today while looking for something else. Zilli and Buttercup still play together almost every morning, early, chasing each other around the house at break-neck speed.

get the tail...get the tail...get the tail

get Zilli!

get away!

And here they are on the ladder and the library shelves. They are about six feet off the ground here.

"Wild Animals"

Zak was a cutie, too.

soaking up the sunshine

Here is Buttercup now. She’s keeping an interested eye on the caterpillars in the fish tank. So far she hasn’t bothered them.

keeping an eye on the cats

And Zilli, being cute.

are you lookin' at me??

And Zak, relaxing.

Zak in the hosta garden

Funny how they have such distinct and separate personalities. A source of endless fun.

~~Rhonda 🙂

ooey-gooey, moist and chewy brownies

These brownies are delicious served with fresh strawberries, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate syrup. I need a picture of that…

Brownies

  • 1 c. butter or margarine (2 sticks), softened
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 c. flour
  • 1/2 c. cocoa
  • 12 oz bag mini chocolate chips, divided

Cream the butter and sugar until light.

jan 2008 015

Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until well blended.

Add the flour and the cocoa. Mix slowly to prevent the dry ingredients from flying everywhere.

jan 2008 017

Set aside 1/2 c. of the chocolate chips and add the rest to the dough, stirring well. You can stir them in by hand, if you like, but I use the mixer.

jan 2008 018

Everyone will want to lick the beater when you’re done. 🙂

jan 2008 019

Spread in a greased 9×13 pan and bake at 350*F for 25 minutes.

jan 2008 020

When the brownies come out of the oven, sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top. When melted (just takes a few minutes), use a fork to spread the chocolate across the top of the brownies.

jan 2008 030

Enjoy! ~~Rhonda 🙂