Christmas Notebook

you turn your back for ten minutes…

September 15, 2008 – 3:05 pm

I watched this little guy for forty minutes early Friday morning, waiting for him to molt from a caterpillar into a chrysalis. I had my camera on the tripod, ready to take a video of the quick transformation. I waited and waited and waited…

Then I turned my back for ten minutes, while I checked email on my laptop…turned around and what did I see?

::sigh:: We are up to six chrysalises now. There are eight caterpillars to go, so I am hoping to catch the molt on video with another candidate. We shall see!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in caterpillars | Tagged black swallowtail butterfly, caterpillar, chrysalis | Comments (0)

menu plan monday ~ september 15, 2008

September 14, 2008 – 6:28 pm

This is as high as I could reach…

The guest room will be done soon. Then it’s on to the hall, the laundry room and the bath. It’s going to be a full week of stripping wallpaper in the addition, so easy meals are on the menu.

Monday
sloppy joes / 40 minute hamburger buns
veggies / chips / dip
microwave baked apples

Tuesday
crock pot pork chops with stuffing
corn on the cob
asparagus
spinach salad

Wednesday
shopping for furniture / eat out

Thursday
baked salmon with honey dijon coating
steamed sugar snap peas
corn on the cob
green salad

When making the salmon, I leave out the butter and spray the fish with butter flavored cooking spray before applying the coating. I also add a teaspoon of dried basil to the bread crumb mixture.

Friday
crock pot BBQ chicken / buns
tortilla chips with salsa and sour cream
coleslaw with peanuts and raisins (recipe follows)
seedless grapes

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
spaghetti / meatballs
Ceaser salad
homemade bread sticks
peas
corn

Coleslaw
1 pkg shredded cabbage with carrots
1/2 c. salted peanuts
1/2 c. Craisins or raisins
1 small apple, diced (unpeeled)

Dressing for coleslaw
1/2 c. light mayonaisse
1/4 c. light sour cream
2 T. milk
2 T. cider vinegar
2 T. Splenda or sugar
1/2 tsp. celery seeds
Mix well and pour over coleslaw. I measure all the ingredients into a jar or small plastic container, then cover with the lid and shake to mix.

You will find more menu ideas at Laura’s site, I’m an Organizing Junkie.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Tagged Coleslaw with peanuts, menu, recipe | Comments (3)

tired but happy

September 13, 2008 – 11:49 pm

A young lady from church is helping me this fall with cleaning out all the drawers, cupboards, and cabinets (maybe even the attic) and, after we cleaned out the coat closet yesterday, I realized the interior had not been painted when we redid the hall a few years ago. It was still the pale yellow the hall used to be. Now that the hall is dark red, with a dark green door on the closet, and a gold buff ceiling, the interior of the closet looked pretty bad after we pulled everything out of it. Well, Saturday DH and DD painted it for me!

Now the interior matches the ceiling. (Someday we’ll finish stripping the woodwork!)

After painting the closet, we moved to the guest room. The wallpaper is going to be history. I want to remodel the guest room and get rid of the wallpaper, the carpet and the cottage cheese ceiling. Of course, that means the entire addition has to be redone. But we’ve made a start.

The room was decorated 12 years ago. It’s time for a makeover. I want to paint the walls, the woodwork and the ceiling, put in hardwood floors, and use different furniture (though I love this chair).

Pulling off the top layer of the wallpaper was easy. And fun!

DD worked her way around the room, pulling wallpaper off everywhere she could. BTW, the four poster bed is on its way back upstairs to DD#1’s room, where it will look better with the 12′ ceiling. I’m planning to get something different for this room, something in a better scale. The guest room is in an addition to the house that was added in the early 1960s. It has 8′ ceilings.

We got quite a bit done. This picture was taken after DH and DD went to a fish fry. I stayed home and worked on the far wall.

While I stripped wallpaper, Buttercup checked out the paint chips. I am not sure just which direction I’ll go, but I like the lighter sea foam colors. Looks like Buttercup likes a darker one.

~~Rhonda 🙂 (tired but happy with our progress)

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in home | Tagged coat closet, guest room, paint, remodeling, wallpaper | Comments (1)

poppy seed muffins

September 13, 2008 – 5:51 pm

DD and I made poppy seed muffins this afternoon. Delicious! We had some warm from the oven, shared some with friends, and I’m thinkin’ the rest will go quickly.

Mix the following ingredients until well blended.
* 3 eggs
* 2 1/2 cups white sugar [I used 1 3/4 c. sugar]
* 1 1/8 cups vegetable oil [I used 1 c. oil…if I had applesauce on hand, I would have used 1/2 c. oil and 1/2 c. applesauce]
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Mix these three ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir into wet ingredients. Do not over mix.
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder [I used 2 tsp. baking powder]
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt [I used 1 tsp. salt]
* 3 cups all-purpose flour

I read the reviews on the recipe site and made a few changes to the ingredients, noted above.

Pour the batter into paper lined muffin tins, filling about 3/4 full. We made 30 muffins with this recipe.

The batter was much soupier than I expected. Several reviews of the recipe mentioned that the batter should not be over mixed. It was lumpy when I poured it into the muffin cups. And they baked beautifully.

Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes. In my oven, 18 minutes were just right. While the muffins are still warm, pour the glaze over them. Messy but worth it.

Glaze
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 2 teaspoons butter, melted

The glaze adds another level of yumminess. I melted the butter in the pot, then added the other ingredients, cooking over low heat and stirring constantly until the sugar was dissolved.

The recipe says to dip the muffins in the glaze. I just poured it on top.

Oh, these are sooooo good.

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged poppy seed muffins, recipe | Comments (1)

crock pot turkey tetrazzini

September 12, 2008 – 5:13 pm

Crock Pot Turkey Tetrazzini

2 c. chicken broth

2 cans cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

1 T. Dijon mustard

2 c. diced cooked turkey

1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

ground pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1 T. dry onion

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. dried parsley

8 oz. broken uncooked spaghetti

Spray the crock pot with cooking spray.
In a bowl, mix together the broth, soup, and mustard.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, except spaghetti.

Add broken spaghetti. Stir to combine and pour into crock pot. Cook on low for 3 hours.

I started with the recipe Easy Crockpot Turkey Tetrazinni. After I took a look at it, I changed it quite a bit. I substituted chicken broth for water. I added more spices and left out the mushrooms and the pimento. Canned mushrooms are just plain yucky and we don’t like pimentos. If fresh mushrooms were on hand, I would have sauteed some of those and added them to the mix. I used one can of cream of mushroom soup and one can of cream of chicken.

How yummy does this look?

It was delicious. DH and I liked it. DD didn’t. But that didn’t surprise me. It’s easy to make and would be a good dish to take to a church dinner or potluck. I’d double it for a crowd and would probably add an hour of cook time for a double recipe.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged crock pot turkey tetrazinni, recipe | Comments (7)

gift wrap center

September 11, 2008 – 10:13 pm

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas prep, gifts | Tagged Christmas, gift wrap center, gifts | Comments (4)

looks more like fall all the time

September 11, 2008 – 9:21 pm

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’

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

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

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

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

The fall “weeds” are blooming.

Goldenrod

White Boneset

Jerusalem Artichoke

Smartweed

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

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

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in our garden | Tagged autumn, butterfly, flowers, garden | Comments (0)

106 days till Christmas :-D

September 10, 2008 – 5:15 pm

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…

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

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, gifts | Tagged Christmas | Comments (0)

pirate cat

September 9, 2008 – 9:17 pm

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.

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.

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

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

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.

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in cats | Tagged cat buttercup costume | Comments (2)

40 minute rolls

September 9, 2008 – 12:44 pm

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.

DD measures the sugar.

5 minute rest…

Adding flour.

We let the mixer do the kneading.

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.

She rolled the dough balls into sticks…

…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.

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

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

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

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

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Recipes | Tagged bread, cooking, recipe | Comments (0)

Christmas Notebook

you turn your back for ten minutes…

menu plan monday ~ september 15, 2008

tired but happy

poppy seed muffins

crock pot turkey tetrazzini

gift wrap center

looks more like fall all the time

106 days till Christmas :-D

pirate cat

40 minute rolls

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