bread baking time

The grands spent the afternoon with us. They love to help in the kitchen. Today we made bread.

making bread with Ma

And they helped clean out the mixing bowl, too.

cleaning up the mixing bowl

~~Rhonda

spring blossoms

The wren is singing loudly outside the kitchen window and the trees look like they are “clapping their hands” in the breeze (Isaiah 55:12). A beautiful Sabbath morning.

The garden gives a glimpse of God’s creation as it moves through the spring bloomers. Color and beauty. Amazing plants and flowers. Inspiration at every turn.

Peonies are some of my favorite flowers and they are beginning to open. Looking through my pictures, I see that the first peony out in 2008 was ‘Lavender Lady’ and she opened on May 18. That must have been a late year, because we usually have peonies the first week of May. This year they are quite early!

‘Sorbet’

Peony 'Sorbet'

‘Krinkled White’

Peony 'Krinkled White'

‘Buckeye Belle’

Peony 'Buckeye Belle'

‘Lavender Lady’

Peony 'Lavender Lady'

I used ‘Lavender Lady’ in a bouquet for church this morning. The lilac is a later blooming one called ‘Miss Kim.’

Sunday bouquet

‘Miss Kim’ is a Korean lilac. She blooms a few weeks later than the larger lilacs in our yard which extends the lilac season nicely. The leaves and blossoms are smaller than the large lilacs and the scent seems more spicy than heavily sweet. The buds are a dark lilac and open to a soft mauve. A great little lilac.

Lilac 'Miss Kim'

She’s maybe five feet tall. Perhaps a few inches shorter than that. I’ll have to check next time we’re outside. The shrub is planted where we can catch the scent from the both the front and the east porches.

'Miss Kim' lilac

There’s a large patch of Johnny-Jump-Ups in one of the front yard beds. They always remind me of my Grandma Ashby. She had them in her yard on the farm.

Johnny-Jump-Ups

Along with the Johnny-Jump-Ups are the Star of Bethlehem. They began popping up in the yard this week.

Johnny-Jump-Ups and Star of Bethlehem

We dig the little white star out of the beds, but allow it to come up in the grass and around the benches. It can take over in no time, if not held at bay. But it’s so pretty and has that “surprise” element by popping up almost overnight after the leaves begin to fade. We wouldn’t want to be without it.

may 2008 063

The only daffodils still blooming are the last of the Poet’s.

Poet's daffodil

The hostas are responding well to the early warm temperatures we’ve had this spring. In this bed, left to right are ‘Golden Tiara,’ ‘Sea Fire,’ ‘Lime Twist (small almost hidden one), ‘Allan P. McConnell,’ and ‘Stiletto.’ I love the rippled, long, thin leaves of ‘Stiletto.’

hosta bed

‘Samurai,’ with the evening sun behind it, glows with bright yellow green this time of the year.

Hosta 'Samurai'

I keep taking pictures of ‘Sagae’ because it looks so pretty with the Sweet William blooming next to it.

Hosta 'Sagae'

Yesterday, DH dug trees out of the flower beds. A perpetual problem. He potted up nine redbud trees. Anyone interested? He planted tomato plants and covered the bed with straw. Zak thought the straw was provided for his amusement.

Zak

Zak

Earlier this weeek, Zak was intent on watching something. He is a great mole catcher, but I think he may have been listening for the little garter snake that lives along the driveway. That’s one snake I hope he doesn’t catch.

Zak in the garden

One last picture…I captured this photo of the late blooming dogwood with the setting sun behind it. It brought out the faint pink cast of the blossom.

dogwood

I hope you are getting outside to enjoy a garden. Or gardens! Or you can go online. It is Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day over at Carol’s May Dreams Gardens. Check out the beautiful gardens there.

Come back soon. We’ll have more pictures!

~~Rhonda

in the garden

The cooler temperatures haven’t bothered the garden. Things are growing beautifully.

Hosta ‘Samurai’

Hosta 'Samurai'

‘Liberty’

Hosta 'Liberty'

Peonies are beginning to bloom.

‘Festiva Maxima’

Peony 'Festiva Maxima'

‘Flame’

Peony 'Flame'

The iris show is beginning. ‘Raspberry Blush’ is one of our earliest.

Iris 'Raspberry Blush'

DH did a lot of mulching this week.

mulching

mulching the hostas

And we enjoyed our first lettuce and spinach from the garden.

washing lettuce from the garden

Yum!

fresh lettuce from the garden

I love this time of year. Everything is fresh and lush and the temps are enjoyable. I hope you’re able to get out to putter and work in a garden.

honesty plant

You can visit other spring time gardens, or post your own, at Tootsie Time.

~~Rhonda

crock pot brown sugar chicken

I tried this recipe today and it is a keeper!

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken

This is the link to the site where I found the recipe for Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken. Below is the recipe with the changes I made.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and six boneless, skinless thighs
3/4 c. white sugar
1 T. unsulphered molasses
2/3 c. white vinegar
1/4 c. Sprite [Next time I will leave this out and add 1 tsp. lemon juice.]
4 minced garlic cloves [Could have used more.]
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Place the chicken in a greased crock pot. Pour the other ingredients over the chicken. No need to stir. Cook on high for four hours. It could be cooked on low for 8 hours. Serve over rice. The chicken would be delicious served on sandwiches.

If your family likes sweet peppers, I think those would be great in this.

To make the rice, I put the liquid from the crock pot (liquid measured 4 cups) in a saucepan. Added two cups of rice, covered it with a tight lid and brought it to a boil. I immediately turned it down to a bare simmer and let it simmer for 25 minutes without lifting the lid. So good with the chicken!

A green salad and some crusty bread would round out a great meal. The recipe is so easy to make and very good. DH commented several times on how much he liked it. He also mentioned it would be great to take to a church dinner, so maybe some of you will get to try it soon. 🙂 Definitely a keeper.

By the way, I don’t buy brown sugar anymore. I just add some molasses to white sugar. Same thing. Maybe I should change the name of the recipe…

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ april 9, 2012

Easter Sunday was not the best day I’ve had. I woke up feeling fine, but around 9:30 was hit with aches and nausea. It turned out to be another leg infection. I’m dosed with meds and feeling better today. But I had to ask my DDIL to come over early to fix dinner. She took care of everything with the help of my family after they returned from church. I spent most of the day sleeping in the recliner. Thankfully, I felt well enough to sit on the porch Sunday afternoon and watch the girls hunt for eggs. That cheered me up a lot. Don’t they look cute in their Easter dresses?

Easter

The menu for this week takes into account some requests. It is as follows…

Monday (I requested not to cook!)
Fridge Food / Easter Leftovers

Tuesday (DD requested pizza.)
Homemade Pizza with mushrooms

Wednesday
Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken
Rice

Thursday (DH hasn’t had salmon for while, so I requested this for him.)
Pecan-Crusted Salmon
Garden Salad
Oven Fried Potato Wedges
Broccoli

Friday
No Boil Baked Penne ~ I’ll be using cooked, diced chicken instead of sausage. And homemade sauce.
Garlic Bread
Garden Salad

Saturday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Veggies / Ranch Dip

Sunday (DD the youngest requested this.)
Greek Chicken Pasta
Garden Salad
Rosemary Bread

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

And that’s the end of the story.

lovebugs

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ april 2, 2012

The week has gone by quickly. Not sure why. I didn’t get around to making the menu earlier, but here it is in case anyone is interested. Easter dinner isn’t set in stone yet. I’ll confer with our daughter-in-law and see what their family would like to include.

The twins stayed overnight with us. Yesterday we enjoyed bubbles on the porch. Lots of laughter and lots of fun.

bubbles

New dresses and they can’t wait for Sunday to wear them!

new dresses

And now the menu.

Monday
Taco Salad

Tuesday
Carry Out

Wednesday
BBQ Chicken
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Baked Potatoes

Thursday
Chicken and Noodles

Friday
Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Rice

Saturday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Green Salad

Sunday
Fig Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Butter Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Deviled Egg Chicks
Sauteed Cabbage
Roasted Carrots
Green Salad

Pear Crisp
Vanilla Ice Cream

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

~~Rhonda

decorah eagles

I am enjoying watching the Decorah eagles. The first eaglet hatched yesterday and the second one today. One to go.

eaglets

The parents are very attentive, feeding bits of fish to the babies today.

2 eaglets hatched, one to go

This is a wonderful opportunity to watch an amazing process up close and personal. You can view the eagle cam here.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ march 26, 2012

When the twins put their heads together, they always remind me of the fairy tale about Snow White and Rose Red.

Snow-White and Rose-Red

Today we took straw bales out to the farm for the potato patch. The girls were fascinated. Though Snow White said, “This is itchy,” and hopped up right away.

"This is itchy."

Quick and easy menu this week. Seems there’s too much going on to stop to eat. Or at least to cook.

Monday
Fridge Food

Tuesday
Carry Out

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Coleslaw

Thursday
Stir Fry Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas
Rice

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Ham / Turkey Sandwiches

Sunday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Rice
Corn
Peas
Green Salad

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

~~Rhonda

Sunday bouquet

The lilacs are perfuming the yard. Our yard has shrubs from my mom’s yard, my grandmother’s yard, and my mother-in-law’s yard. All went into the bouquet.

Sunday bouquet

~~Rhonda

“baby” ants

While enjoying the east porch Saturday afternoon, the girls discovered a line of small ants moving across the railing.

ants on the railing

“Look at the baby ants!”

ants on the railing

Fascinating!

ants on the railing

Having the ant crawl over her fingers and hand didn’t bother her at all. Different story for her sister.

didn't bother her at all for the ant to crawl over her hand

Had to show it to Pa.

showing Pa the ant

showing Pa the ant

Putting the ant back “so he can go home and find his Mommy and his Daddy.”

putting the ant back

Long after her sister lost interest, she kept watching and playing with the ants. Her ability to focus on one thing over a long period of time always surprises me.

~~Rhonda