Christmas

January 1, 2011 – 1:04 am

My computer came down with a virus last week. That has hindered my blogging and flickr posting. Right now, I’m using an old computer that isn’t as friendly as my own, but I was tired of waiting for my own to be refitted.

Christmas morning started with apple dumplings made by my son (in the background here).

apple dumplings

Then on to reading the account of Christ’s birth from Luke 2:1-20, then stockings, then presents.

Luke 2:1-20

Christmas morning

Christmas morning

Jane and Domo hats

I made a little putz house for my daughter-in-law. It’s a model of their own home.

their home as a little glitter house

Christmas morning

More soon. 🙂

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in menu | Comments (1)

house concert

December 21, 2010 – 4:38 pm

Last week, we hosted our fourth annual house concert. As always, the music was beautiful! Nathan George and his friends, Mark Stoffel and Ross Sermons, are such a talented trio!

one of my favorite Christmas events

Two of Nathan’s children sang a song with their dad.

two of Nathan's children sang a song with dad

Several people commented that it was fun to watch the musicians nimble fingers while they played. I’m partial to Mark’s mandolin playing. Wonderful!

Mark Stoffel's nimble fingers

The weather had produced icy roads and that kept attendance down, though I was surprised how many guests still made the effort to come. Just shows us how much people love this event.

house concert

We even had a few people here for the first time.

house concert

house concert

After the concert, everyone stayed for snacks and an opportunity to chat with the musicians.

appetizers for after the concert

We served
Shrimp Dip with Triscuits
Sausage Cheese Balls (DD’s favorite, so we have to make these!)
Puff Pastry Holly Leaves
Spicy Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce Delicious!
Bacon-Cheddar Biscuit Snackers
Veggie Tray with Dip
Cheese Cubes
Chex Mix
A fruit tray provided by Susan. Thanks, Susan!
Coffee
Spiced Cranberry Punch (hot punch)
Cold Cranberry Punch (This recipe makes a very refreshing punch, one that gets many rave reviews. So easy! Mix one 1-liter bottle mandarin orange flavored seltzer water with one 12-oz. can cran-raspberry concentrate. May add ice, but do not add any other water. Serves 8.)

This is always a relaxing and fun evening, worshipful in content and delightful in every way. We’re already looking forward to next year’s concert, which is scheduled for December 15, 2011, God willing.

You can sample Nathan’s music on his website nathanclarkgeorge.com, where his albums are available to purchase.

Thanks, Nathan, Mark and Ross for another wonderful concert!

~~Rhonda

By ~~Rhonda | Posted in Christmas | Comments (1)

menu plan monday ~ december 20, 2010

December 20, 2010 – 11:51 am

We’ve finished a big week of entertaining, having a lot of company, and doing a lot of work to get ready for those events. The house concert with Nathan George, Mark Stoffel, and Ross Sermons was wonderful! As always! I’ll post more about that soon.

one of my favorite Christmas events

And the dinner party Saturday evening was great, too. I tried a new chocolate cheesecake recipe and it was delicious!

chocolate peppermint cheesecake

This week looks much more relaxed. I am wrapping presents, enjoying the decorations and lights, looking forward to Christmas Day and then to the following week when our son and his family will be here for a visit. We’ll have a second Christmas Day on Thursday the 30th, when our entire family will be here at the same time! SO looking forward to that!

Monday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup

Tuesday
Spaghetti / Sauce / Meatballs
Garlic Bread
Green Salad
Peas
Corn

Wednesday
Rosemary Ranch Chicken
Baby Baked Potatoes
Steamed Green Beans
Corn

Thursday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice

Friday
Pizza

Saturday
Turkey in the Crock Pot
Stuffing
Baked Ham
Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn
Endive, Pea and Avocado Salad
Homemade Rolls
Chocolate Cheesecake

Sunday
Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Fridge Food

I hope your holiday prep is almost done and that you have a wonderful and merry Christmas!

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

~~Rhonda

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

menu plan monday ~ december 13, 2010

December 13, 2010 – 4:56 pm

The month of December is flying by! How are your Christmas plans coming along? I’m always so glad to have the house decorated by the time we host our annual open house the first Sunday of December. That gives us all of December to enjoy it. We tend to decorate every nook and cranny, so there is always something to look at.

tiny nativity

dining room chandelier

sledding boys

We have two events scheduled for this week. Thursday evening will be the fourth year we have hosted a house concert by Nathan Clark George and his friends, Mark Stofell and Ross Sermons.

The second event is a dinner party for the local library. In February, each year, the library hosts a charity auction. We donated a Christmas dinner for eight with a Christmas house tour of our home. That is scheduled for Saturday evening.

Monday
Baked Penne with Chicken
green salad
corn

Tuesday
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
Rice

Wednesday
Crock Pot Turkey
Noodles
Steamed Sugar Snap Peas
Corn

Thursday / House Concert
Shrimp Dip with Triscuits
Sausage Cheese Balls (DD’s favorite, so we have to make these!)
Puff Pastry Holly Leaves
Spicy Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce Delicious!
Bacon-Cheddar Biscuit Snackers
Veggie Tray with Dip
Chex Mix
Coffee
Spiced Cranberry Punch (hot punch)
Cold Cranberry Punch (This recipe makes a very refreshing punch, one that gets many rave reviews. So easy! Mix one 1-liter bottle mandarin orange flavored seltzer water with one 12-oz. can cran-raspberry concentrate. May add ice, but do not add any other water. Serves 8.)

Friday
Sloppy Joes
Homemade Buns – We’ve been making these with buttermilk. Sooo good!
Veggie Tray Leftovers

Saturday / Library Dinner
I’ll post this dinner next week. I’m still tweaking the menu, though I know it will involve a nice beef roast and possibly a chocolate peppermint cheesecake…

Sunday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup

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

PS – Bring your pets in…it’s cold out there! That’s what Zak thought Sunday morning when I snapped this picture of him through the kitchen window…we DID let him in, BTW. He will be spending these cold days indoors, even though he prefers to be outside.

my cat Zak

~~Rhonda

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

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)