annual Christmas open house

December 7, 2010 – 3:50 pm

Well, gang, it’s done for another year. The open house was held last Sunday, and it was another great success. We had a wonderful time. Many guests told me the open house opens their own Christmas season each year. I’m always happy to hear how much everyone enjoys it. Here are a few of our guests…

My niece and my niece-in-law…

open house guests

Friends from church, with a view of the cookie table…

open house guests

Our friends on the right came to our rescue at 11pm, the night before the open house, because a leg on the stand for our 9′ nativity tree had broken. My sister was holding the tree upright, DH was scouring the attic for another stand big enough to hold the tree. They rushed over in their jams, helped DH lift the tree and it slipped right into the new stand. Crisis averted! Thanks, Shawn and Melissa! Friends in need, friends indeed!

open house guests

DD and friends, enjoying her room…

open house guests

Sweet, godly women…on the left, a dear friend…on the right, one of three wonderful friends, one being my sister, who came at 9:00 Saturday morning and cleaned our house until 5:00 that afternoon. I would never make it without their help!

open house guests

Among the yummy treats…are these not the cutest little guys?

marshmallow snowmen

Delicious, these Holiday Petits Fours are a must have…

Holiday Petits Fours

And the Sour Cream Sugar Cookies are, of course, a staple…

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

We do a lot of decorating for Christmas…understatement, I know… Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite for more.

The old armoire, finished off with fresh greenery…

winter deer

In the upstairs bath…

windowsill bubble tree in bathroom

Dining room cupboard…

dining room cupboard

Living room mantel…

the Christmas story

Downstairs bath…

bathroom window

Laundry room…

laundry room counter

Liberian nativity in the library…

Liberian nativity on the buffet

I’m working on a Christmas house tour post, so will save the rest of the pictures for that. I hope you enjoyed this little peek at our open house party. I’m already making notes for next year’s event! 🙂 ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, open house | Comments (6)

menu plan monday ~ december 6, 2010

December 7, 2010 – 2:48 pm

I took Monday totally off as I was so very tired after all the open house prep, then the party. DD was very happy to hear we were not having school on Monday. She had helped a lot with the party prep during the past few weeks. She said, “You mean we don’t have to do ANYthing today??” Yup, that’s what I mean. Nadda…nothing…zip. So we played on our computers and I took a very nice three hour nap. It was a restful day. Buttercup seemed to appreciate the lack of activity, too. She spent time soaking up some sunshine on the windowsill, even though it meant she had to sit on Christmas beads to do it.

soaking up some sunshine

Monday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Rice
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Tuesday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Noodles
Corn / Peas

Wednesday
Chef Salad with ham and leftover chicken

Thursday
Tomato Soup
Toasted Cheese Sandwiches
Carrot and Celery Sticks

Friday
Hearty Ham Casserole
Cornbread
Stir Fried Cabbage with Garlic

Saturday
Lunch ~ Fridge Food
Supper ~ Homemade Pizza

Sunday
Pork Chops in the Crock Pot
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans with Sautéed Mushrooms
Corn
Green Salad

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

~~Rhonda

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

picture ornaments

December 1, 2010 – 11:01 pm

Today I made a few more picture ornaments for the tree in the upstairs hall. It has pictures of our kids from Christmases past. Today I printed some from last Christmas so I could add our granddaughters to the tree.

picture ornament

To make the ornaments, I print photos using Print Shop.

printing pictures to use as ornaments

After trimming the photos, I matted them and added some glitter glue. When I made the first picture ornaments years ago, I tried to make them look like something the kids would have made as a Christmas art project.

matted and decorated with a little glitter glue

To make hangers for the pictures, I used gold cord and strung them with some little gold beads I had. The needle threader helped a lot!

beading the hanging string

Knotting the gold cord on each side of the beads helps keep them in place.

needle threader

A little hot glue on the back and they are ready to hang.

glue it down

finished and ready to hang

picture ornament

Here are a couple of the older photo ornaments.

picture ornament

This picture was taken in 1988.

picture ornament

Fun to make and easy, too! ~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ november 29, 2010

November 29, 2010 – 9:44 pm

This is a very busy week for us. Next Sunday is our annual Christmas Open House. We expect 180-200 guests, and, of course, I want everything to be perfect! :-} With apologies to my husband who has taken the week off to help…but he knows how I am, don’t you, Honey?

We started decorating the addition counter last night and it is a work in progress. Didn’t get back to it today, but plan to finish it tomorrow.

addition counter in process

We decided to add some beads to the window over the counter and I really like the way they turned out. Easy to do with Command hooks.

window above the counter

This picture doesn’t do justice to DD’s Japanese themed tree. It turned out so well!

Japanese tree

Genny decorated the mailbox, which has been her special project for several years now. This year, she added lights to it and it turned out great!

my sister always decorates the mailbox

Buttercup takes all the commotion in stride.

Buttercup's shimmery nest

Needless to say, the menu this week has to be very easy to put together.

Monday
Spaghetti
Homemade Sauce
Garlic Bread
Corn

Tuesday
Hearty Ham Casserole
Cornbread

Wednesday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Rice
Peas

Thursday
Spicy Shredded Pork
Homemade Buns

Friday
Cheeseburger Soup

Saturday
Casey’s Pizza

Sunday
Ham / Turkey Deli Sandwiches
Chips
And then, after a very quick lunch and some very last minute details, Party time!

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

~~Rhonda 🙂

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ november 22, 2010

November 22, 2010 – 11:38 am

This past weekend, my sister and her daughter-in-law came to help put up more Christmas trees. And, can you believe it??, I didn’t take a single picture! Sarah did a great job and was happy to do anything we asked of her. She even made chili for lunch and then made homemade pizza dough for supper. Both were delicious!

We’ve been enjoying the nativity on the box grand in the living room. I did finish lighting the larger tree to the left in this picture. Covered it with new LED warm white lights.

setting up the nativity

The guest room tree has never looked better. So pretty in blue, white, and silver. This tree has cool white LED lights on it. They have a blue cast to them which works perfectly on this tree.

tree topper

little white church

We do need to add the tree skirt to the nativity tree in the library. I think I’ll have DH build a one foot high box to put this tree on next year. The branches touch the floor. 🙂

Christmas ribbon

I’ve been mulling over the menu for the week. We’ll have company on Thanksgiving Day and my sister is staying from Wednesday evening until Sunday morning. We’ll be busy decorating and preparing for the open house, so I want items that are easy to make and accessible whenever someone is hungry. When we are putting up Christmas decorations, we usually don’t stop for sit-down meals.

Monday
Crock Pot Chicken over Rice
Homemade Rolls

Tuesday
Tortellini with Ham and Cream Sauce
Peas (served on the side instead of in the pasta)
Celery and Carrot Sticks

Wednesday
Hamburgers / Homemade Buns
Chips / Dip

Thursday
Crock Pot Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed Potatoes
Homemade Rolls
Pear Walnut Salad
Green Beans with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Cranberry Jell-O Salad
Corn Pudding
Pumpkin Pie and Whipped Cream
Cherry Cheesecake

Friday
Lunch ~ Turkey or Ham Sandwiches / Fridge Food

Supper ~ Cheesy Potato-Sausage Soup

Saturday
Lunch ~ Roast Beef in the Crock Pot for sandwiches

Supper ~ Homemade Pizza [I leave the egg out of this recipe for pizza dough.]

Sunday
Baked Salmon
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Snow Peas
Corn
Green Salad

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

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (2)

menu plan monday ~ november 15, 2010

November 15, 2010 – 8:19 am

We’ve been busy around here, with Christmas decorating and cookie baking. DD spent a few days at her older sister’s house, so I had Thursday/Friday with no homeschooling. That meant I had time to catch up on cookie baking. I made Sour Cream Sugar Cookies, Sugar Cookie Crisps, Elfin Bites, Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies, Chocolate Cream Truffles, Peanut Butter Truffles, Date Balls, and I made the dough for the Icebox Oatmeal Cookies. Haven’t baked the oatmeal cookies yet. Maybe tomorrow. A lot done, but a lot more to do!

We’re going to try a new recipe this week for Shrimp and Corn Chowder. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Monday
Tacos

Tuesday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Baby Baked Potatoes
Green Salad
Corn
Peas

Wednesday
Bottomless Chicken Pot Pie
Cornbread

Thursday
Corn and Shrimp Chowder

Friday
Baked Salmon
Rice
Green Salad

Saturday
Chili in the Crock Pot
Crackers
Celery / Carrots / Ranch Dip

Sunday
Crock Pot Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn
Green Salad

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

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (4)

menu plan monday ~ november 8, 2010…better late than never…

November 10, 2010 – 11:50 am

We’ve enjoyed days of glorious fall weather. From the classroom, we’ve watched the Southern Oak in the backyard turn from green to gold. This pictured doesn’t do it justice, but does give a hint of its beauty.

out the classroom window

Buttercup continues to join us each school day. She slept in this box of scratch paper all day and, when I went to bed at 11:00, she was still there. Makes me wonder what she was doing that wore her out so much.

the school cat

Monday
Leftovers

Tuesday
Cheeseburger Soup

Wednesday
Homemade Pizza

Thursday
Pork Chops in the Crock Pot (changing the recipe with less soy sauce, fresh ginger, and added honey)
Rice
Corn
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas

Friday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice

Saturday
Spicy Shredded Pork
Homemade Buns
Chips / Ranch Dip
Celery / Carrot Sticks

Sunday
Chicken in the Crock Pot
Egg Noodles
Green Salad
Corn
Peas

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

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (2)

nutmeg logs

November 2, 2010 – 10:14 am

Yesterday, I baked Nutmeg Logs for the Christmas Open House. I’m a little behind on baking, but still have four weeks, right??

I like to cut the cookies with the crimped pastry cutter. It gives the cookies a decorative edge.

Nutmeg Logs

I make these rather thin because that creates a crisp cookie. The cookie platter needs a variety…crisp/chewy…thick/thin…dark/light…with fruit and nuts or plain…cookies/candy…what to choose, what to choose!?

Nutmeg Logs

I prepared all the cookies for baking and left them stacked while I ran out to pick DD up from visiting a friend. No problem as there is no chemical leavening in this recipe. The cookies can be placed close together on the baking sheet for the same reason. They will not spread. The top sheet has the “leftover” cookies…those bits and pieces from the last cutting that I don’t want to recut. These are the cookies that everyone can sample while the rest are frozen for the open house.

Nutmeg Logs

The finished cookies get a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze and a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg.

Nutmeg Logs

These will be stacked between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container and frozen until the open house.

Nutmeg Logs

The recipe is here. Easy and delicious. If nutmeg isn’t a favorite spice, cinnamon could be substituted.

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas, Christmas prep, cookies | Comments (6)

menu plan monday ~ november 1, 2010

November 1, 2010 – 12:13 pm

Last weekend Genny and I worked on decorating the living room for Christmas. If you are new to this blog, yes, it’s early for most people, but someone has to be the exception, right? Each year, we host an open house the first Sunday of December, so we have to be ready early. We have only four more weeks for heavy duty decorating, and then we have a week to concentrate on the details of last minute decorating, cleaning and baking.

setting up the nativity

Classwork is going well. We’ve caught up from being sick for an entire week and are back on course. Buttercup still joins us every morning for school. She spends most of the time sleeping on textbooks or homework papers, but today she was keeping an eye on the balloon DD brought home from the parade. The balloon frightened her at first, but then she became intrigued by it.

what's that??

Here’s the menu for the week.

Monday
Spaghetti / Homemade Sauce
Garlic Bread
Peas
Corn

Tuesday
Hearty Lentil Soup
Cornbread

Wednesday
Baked Salmon
Baby Baked Potatoes
Stir Fried Sugar Snap Peas with Cherry Tomatoes Scroll down the linked page for the sugar snap peas recipe.
Leftover Cornbread

Thursday
Chicken and Noodles
French Peasant Bread

Friday
Stove Top Tilapia
Rice
Steamed Green Beans
Corn

Saturday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup

Sunday
Broccoli Beef Stir Fry
Rice

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

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (3)

menu plan monday ~ october 25, 2010

October 25, 2010 – 11:45 am

My sister Genny came again this weekend, even though I was still recuping (and crouping) from the bad cold I had last week. She and DH did a lot of work with the ongoing Christmas decorating. I did a lot of supervising. We worked on the library tree, which displays my collection of nativity ornaments. It also displays this ribbon on which is written the Bible passage Luke 2:1-20.

Luke 2:1-20

Here it is on the tree, though still in the middle of tweaking.

Christmas ribbon

Because DD and I were both so ill last week, we are a week behind in homeschool lessons. Hopefully, the menu will allow some time for catching up.

Monday
Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Melon Slices
Pretzels

Tuesday
Baked Chicken
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn
Stuffing
Green Salad

Wednesday
Chicken Caesar Wraps

Thursday
Tortellini with Ham
Peas
Corn
Green Salad
Garlic Bread

Friday
BBQ Chicken in the oven
Cornbread Muffins
Celery / Carrot Sticks
Red Grapes

Saturday
Lunch ~ Fridge Food
Supper ~ Pizza

Sunday
Roast Beef in the Crock Pot
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli / Cauliflower / Carrot au gratin
Green Salad

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

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (6)