Pa makes fun pancakes (in any shape you want and with chocolate chips added, if you like) and the twins are always eager to help!
These grapes were particularly good. The girls finished them off in record time.
Sometimes the TV is a nice babysitter. A snack of Pa’s good homemade rolls and a nice Richard Scarry story equals quiet in the house. :-}
For a while anyway…
~~Rhonda
The weather has been beautiful and the twins had a great time playing outside yesterday and today. Yesterday they walked in our tiny woods with Aunt E. Twin2 was a little nervous. “Look out for monsters!” she said. Aunt E asked if there were monsters and she said emphatically, “No!” After a while, she announced, “We’re lost! I can’t see Pa’s house!” I guess our big yard seems even bigger to the littles.
Photo by DD#3.
Photo by DD#3.
Photo by DD#3.
Photo by DD#3.
Indoor play is fun, too. Twin1 likes the little brown chair I used as a child. She sits in it at every meal and plays with it between!
Twin2 has the bread dough under control. She thought punching it down was more fun than forming the rolls.
I did a little reconstruction on some of the rolls before they went into the oven, but most of them baked “as is.”
The teddy roll was too hot to eat…so she blew and blew and blew…
They were very good about sharing the teddy roll. No complaints and lots of “I’m sharing!” was announced.
Their parents are due tomorrow evening with the moving truck. Twin2 keeps stating, “I don’t want to go back to my house. I want to stay at Pa’s house!” We’ll see how she feels about it after reuniting with her Mama after six weeks of being apart!
~~Rhonda / ~~Ma
It’s high noon in the process of our son and his family moving from North Carolina to our area. Our son and daughter-in-law are packing the moving truck as we speak and should be rolling in tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning. DH flew to NC Saturday evening and drove the girls back yesterday. A fourteen hour trip! This morning, all were up bright and early. The twins helped me make rolls and buns and we even made a teddy roll. Just like Twin2’s teddy. Right down to the flowers (painted on with edible food markers). As soon as he came out of the oven and had cooled enough, they gobbled him right up.
Planning the menu has been a little challenging. I’m trying to work around the move, taking into consideration everyone’s food likes and dislikes, and the extra company in the house. Meals that can wait are good, as I am not sure just how the timing is going to work out. Following is what I’ve come up with.
Monday
Homemade Pizza
Tuesday
Lunch ~
Tomato Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Celery / Carrot Sticks
Red Grapes
Supper ~
Baked Penne with Chicken
Steamed Carrots
Peas
Green Salad
Wednesday
Lunch ~
Hamburgers on Homemade Buns
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Honeydew Melon
If everyone is at the house, unloading the truck, I’ll send a crock pot of beef stew over for an easy, eat-when-you’re-hungry lunch.
Supper ~
Vegetarian Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Green Salad
Thursday
Tacoritos
Tortilla Chips
Green Salad
Friday
Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Chips
Grapes
Saturday
Fridge Food
Sunday
Baked Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Steamed Carrots
Green Salad
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
The twins went outside to play. While outside, they picked up acorns. I told Twin2 she could plant them at the farm and grow oak trees. She said, “No! ACORN trees!” Well, of course. What was I thinking?
~~Rhonda
Our daughter-in-law celebrated a birthday this week and asked for a chocolate chip pumpkin cheesecake for her birthday cake. I used the Hershey’s recipe.
The recipe calls for a chocolate crust, but I used a graham cracker crust instead. DDIL thought the chocolate crust might have overpowered the pumpkin flavor. I think she’s right. The graham cracker crust was delicious.
Not much of that cheesecake left. The birthday girl gets the last piece!
~~Rhonda
I tried a new biscotti recipe this week. This Cinnamon Biscotti with Pistachios was a big hit at the ladies’ luncheon I hosted today.
The recipe calls for cinnamon baking chips. I’ve never seen those, so used 3/4 c. milk chocolate Ghirardelli chips and 1/4 c. Nestle semi-sweet mini chocolate chips. And instead of cloves, I used freshly ground nutmeg. Delicious!
Monday
Diner’s Choice: Leftovers or Chef Salad
Seedless Grapes
Tuesday
Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Salt and Vinegar Broiled Fingerling Potatoes
Steamed Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas
Green Salad
Pumpkin / Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Wednesday
Luncheon for the Church Ladies at our house
Tomato/Basil Soup with Shrimp
Chili
Ham and Bean Soup
Cornbread
Crackers / Pickles / Olives
Tomato and Mozzarella Bites
Homemade Croutons and Pita Crisps
Iced Tea / Coffee / Biscotti
We served the soup from crock pots on the counter and the soup “fixin’s” were set on the table.
If you guessed leftovers for supper, you are right.
Thursday
Beef/Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice
Friday
Baked Chicken
Baby Baked Potatoes
Green Salad
Stir Fried Asparagus
Corn
Saturday
Fridge Food
Sunday
Spaghetti
Homemade Sauce
Garlic Bread
Peas
Corn
Green Salad
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
I made a stack of Christmas tags this afternoon, using a large tag punch and some old Christmas cards.
Choose cards that are light colored so they are easy to read. Cards with a slick finish are shiny and pretty, but don’t work well with ink pens and some felt markers.
Cards may need trimming to fit in the punch in a way that makes them oriented properly when punched.
The tags could easily be dressed up with glitter, ink, ribbon, etc., to make them even better.
Another good way to recycle old Christmas cards. I’m glad I saved mine!
~~Rhonda
Our church family makes apple butter each fall. The canned apple butter is sold to raise money for mission projects.
DH brought home four quart jars, like this one.
I decided to recan it in 8-oz. jelly jars. A better size for us. The only issue with recanning is to be sure the apple butter is heated to 212*F before filling the jars. So we poured the apple butter into a large pot. The larger the better, as the apple butter will sputter and splash when it boils. NOT fun to have it sputter and splash on your bare arm. Ask me how I know…
The emptied jars were placed upside-down in a container so the last bits of sticky goodness could drain out and be added to the cooking pot.
When canning, set up the entire process before you begin. Once started, you need to keep moving.
Then it was time to stir, stir, stir as the apple butter heated to the necessary 212*F.
With one load in the canner, I waited till it was almost done before filling the jars for the next load.
I processed the jars in a hot water bath for 15 minutes. Now we have some nice sized jars for ourselves and some for gifts at Christmas.
Doesn’t it look delicious? I can tell you…it is!
~~Rhonda
Two more Christmas trees went up this weekend. The Nativity Tree and the Three Kings Tree. Both are in the library. As we decorate, the kittens are having a good time with the bits and pieces.
We’re counting down…thirteen more days and the grands will be here! The three girls are coming back with Pa, and their parents will be driving the moving truck a few days later.
Just look at those sweet faces! Cannot wait! Our menus may change somewhat while the kidlets are here. In the meantime, here’s our menu for this week.
Monday
Homemade Pizza
Tuesday
Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
Homemade Egg Noodles tossed with Fresh Parsley
Steamed Carrots and Peas
Green Salad
Wednesday
Lunch with John and Margaret / Roast Beef Sandwiches
Veggies and Ranch Dip
Red Grapes
Fruit Smoothies
Supper / Chinese Takeout with Paul and Julie
Mississippi Mud Cake
Thursday
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Scampi
Savory Polenta
Stir Fried Veggies with Spinach
Friday
Tilapia with Caper-Parsley Sauce and Baked Fingerling Potatoes
Steamed Asparagus
Corn
Saturday
BBQ Chicken in the Crock Pot
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Fresh Fruit
Sunday
Lasagna Florentine
Garlic Bread
Green Beans sauteed with Garlic
Steamed Carrots
You’ll find more menu and recipe ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
We put the nativity tree up in the library this weekend. We have had a lot of cats over the years and none have ever bothered any of the many trees we have. Things are changing. Several times this weekend, we had to chase Cedar and Amy out of the tree! They seem to think it is a great place to take catnaps. If this keeps up, they are going to be basement kitties for a few months. Trees are going up and the cats have to adjust or take a hike downstairs. I’ll keep you posted.
Amy did have fun with a string of beads this afternoon. While DDIL put the beads on the tree, Amy tried to investigate.
She couldn’t figure it out, but thought it was fun.
Spinning beads were irresistible.
She carefully checked out the lights, but left them alone.
She didn’t play with the beads very long. Eventually, she just sat and watched. Now that the tree is decorated, perhaps the kitties will leave it alone. I’m hoping!
~~Rhonda
I love the changing countryside in autumn. DH and I took a ride the other day. Getting out is difficult for me, with the pain in my knees and other problems, but it’s worth the effort to get out of the house occasionally.
Even thistles look pretty with a little back lighting.
Roadside scofflaws.
We drove by a couple of country cemeteries, as I’ve been working on some genealogy projects. Several generations of DH’s family are buried in this one.
A very out of the way, peaceful and quiet area.
Reminds me that some of our college “dates” were walks through the cemetery. Seems like a long time ago…but I guess the tradition continues.
~~Rhonda