Merry Christmas...

...from our house, to yours!

 ~Our Boys, Circa 1994~

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."~Burton Hills~

 May the Spirit of joy fill your hearts and homes as you celebrate this most wondrous of seasons. Wishing you peace, prosperity and health in 2012.

Until next year...

Rhonda

It's Independence Day

~From every mountain side, let freedom ring~ 

From our house to yours, wishing you a safe and 

happy Independence Day!

Until next time...

Rhonda

~The View~

~The View from my porch today~

Today is one of those rare days when the sun is shining and the temperature is perfect. As I type this, the curtains are billowing in the breeze and I can hear birds singing outside my window. I am alone in the house except for two lazy dogs, sprawled at my feet.

The coming week is one that is full of possibilities. The entire week stretches out before me in which there is only ONE task that I must complete…something which is even rarer than the perfect sunny day.

I truly love and enjoy people, and can be a very social person. But I am a “homebody” at heart, and there are times that I begin to feel burdened by social obligations. Summertime is especially taxing, with its round of picnics and weddings and graduations…and I am sometimes overwhelmed by the constant rush to be somewhere or the effort it sometimes requires to be with other people.

The older I get, the more I crave quiet solitude, and the less I feel the need to be apologetic about it.  Sometimes I am happiest when I am alone. I am blessed with the endless ability to entertain myself and never run out of things to do. I’m never bored with my own company…qualities that have always pleased my mother.

I have a great deal of company in the house, especially in the morning when nobody calls.
~Henry David Thoreau~

 And so, I am eagerly anticipating this large block of unfettered time. I relish the thought of completing simple household chores without hurrying, preparing healthy meals, and spending time reading and stitching. This week, I plan to take time to just “sit”...as there is nothing better than mornings on the porch, with coffee, pups and time to daydream.

The coming week is one that is full of possibilities…what will you do with yours?

Until next time…

Rhonda

(Please forgive the crazy spacing...blogger is a mess today.) 

~Mother's Day Wishes~

This photo of my Grandparents Ralph and Beulah Dalton, with seven of their eight children, was taken around 1942. My mother, Martha, is in the middle row on the far left. 

~No Love like a Mother's Love~

"There is no love, like a mother's love, no stronger bond on earth... like the precious bond that comes from God, to a mother, when she gives birth.

A mother's love is forever strong, never changing for all time... and when her children need her most, a mother's love will shine.
God bless these special mothers, God bless them every one... for all the tears and heartache, and for the special work they've done.

When her days on earth are over, a mother's love lives on... through many generations, with God's blessings on each one.
Be thankful for our mothers, for they love with a higher love... from the power God has given, and the strength from up above."

~Jill Lemming~

 

~Happy Mother's Day!~

Until next time...

Rhonda

~Tokens of Love~

 I ask you, is there anything more romantic than a man bearing vegetables from his own garden?

~A gift from Mr. Kattywhompus~

I think I'll cook something delicious to reward him for his efforts. This recipe from his great Aunt is on the dinner menu tonight.

Aunt Bob's Asparagus Casserole

3 cups fresh asparagus, chopped and steamed (water too)

OR

(2, 10 oz. cans of canned asparagus, with water)

1 cup cubed cheese

1 1/2 cups cracker crumbs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup roast red pepper

1 tsp salt (I use 1/2 tsp.)

1/4 cup melted butter

Set butter aside. Gently toss remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Place mixture in a 9"X 9" baking dish and drizzle butter over the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Aunt Bob is the wife of Uncle Louie, of  Uncle Louie's Apple Cake fame.

Until next time...

Rhonda

Keep Manhattan, Just Give Me That Countryside!

Each Tuesday Misi at Gable House Musings issues a challenge to her readers...for this week's Tuesday Display Chain she left it up to each of us to pay tribute to any subject we choose.

I chose the theme, Farm Livin'. Now, I haven't always lived in the boonies...as a girl I lived on Main Street, just one block from the bustling metropolis that was Lowell, Indiana...population 2,270. It was as a young bride that I moved to the country...to a hundred year old farmstead, complete with a dilapidated barn and a chicken coop. Those first few years, out of fear that someone would call me a city girl, I learned to glaze windows, butcher chickens, grow a garden, can tomatoes and make jelly. I embraced country living with gusto...and still do.

Many years and quarts of  tomatoes later, we built a new house and moved from our little farmstead. We didn't go far, only a few miles up the road. And even though the new house has ample closet space and electric outlets in every room...I  sometimes miss my old yard with the apple trees and the chicken coop.

Just when Mr. Kattywhompus & I were beginning to think how nice it would be to have animals again, and that we should think about building a barn and putting up fence, something unexpected happened to remind us that animals, although wonderful, are hard work.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and we had company after church. We had just finished eating lunch and were enjoying tea on the back deck with our "city friends", Barb & Amy. Mr K. & I were sitting with our backs to the driveway when suddenly Amy's eyes grew huge and Barb mouthed the word, "Goats". When I turned to see what all the excitement was about, I saw this...

A veritable goat stampede...about two dozen in all...turning in at the drive, heading up the hill, and coming straight for us-fast! Just as we sprang out of our comfy chairs and got the door closed behind us, the goats began to congregate on the deck. It was soon apparent that our deck could not accommodate such a large number of goats. No problem, one by one they jumped over the railing and found their way to the side yard. At this time, I should point out that we don't have goats... and our closest neighbor is over a mile away.

After we gathered our wits about us, we realized that no one seemed to be looking for these goats...and that it was up to us to herd them back to whence they came. Mr. Kattywhompus found a length of rope in the garage to use as a lead. He explained to us that where one goat goes, the others will follow. How he knew this, I'm not sure...but it turns out he was right.

By this time, city girl Amy, has been bewitched by the lost goats and begs us to allow her to "walk" the  lead goat. What can we do, but allow it? After all, Amy is our guest. She is handed the rope and off she teeters in her high heels and church clothes, behind "her" goat. Four adults, three children and two dozen goats start down the road, hopefully heading for home.

All is going well until two young girls from the neighboring farm ride up on bicycles, shouting, arms waving...each with a tiny chihuahua dog tucked under her arm. The girls are from migrant families and neither of them speak English. We have no idea what the girls are saying, but the WAY they are saying it makes the goats run faster. I gotta hand it to city girl Amy, she never lets go of the rope. The girls with chihuahuas lead the way and we scramble to keep up with Amy. At this point we must look like some deranged version of The Bremen Town Musicians.

When we get the goats back to the neighboring farm, we find no one at home. Between hand gestures and my eighth grade Spanish, we surmise that the girls have accidentally let the goats out of their pen. The girls showed us where the goats belong...but we would no sooner get one goat in the pen, than another would jump over the fence. We finally realized that we were putting the goats in the horse pen. My Spanish was rustier than I thought.

Let's just say that through a series of unfortunate events, the horse got out...and while we were corralling the horse, a few pigs got loose, and then some sheep wandered. Eventually we (Mr. Kattywhompus) got all the animals inside the various pens.

Farmer Bailey had a nice day at the county fair...but was confused when he came home that evening to find his livestock rearranged. 

 

Mr. Kattywhompus is rethinking that barn. 

And city girls Amy & Barb sent us the nicest thank you note...said it was the best time they'd had in a long while. They can't wait to be invited back.

  Farm livin' is the life for me.

Until next time...

Rhonda

Many thanks to Julie King, for graciously allowing me to use photos from her blog. It was she who captured the comical images of the goats that you see here. You can visit Julie and her beautiful art here and here.

Tuesday Display Chain~ These Four Walls~

~These precious bunnies, from Cheryl at Patty Cake Primitives, are the newest addition to my Easter display~

~Tuesday Display Chain~

Each Tuesday Misi, of Gable House Musings selects a theme and invites bloggers to play along with her "Tuesday Display Chain". This week we are asked to show off our favorite walls.

This one was easy...I am blessed beyond measure to share my four walls with a man who adores me and three sons who make us look like better parents than we really are. Throw in three cats with big personalities and two comical dogs,  and we have enough to keep us entertained for a long while. Is it any wonder that home is my favorite place to be? 

"Home is any four walls that enclose the right person(s)." 

~Helen Rowland~

~The buttery is still one of my favorite places in our home...so many possibilities for decorating. Here it is decked out for spring.~ 

"I'm not famous but my kids think I'm a star
  I'm not rich but I've made a million memories so far
I may not be a model
But my man thinks I could be
I may not be from royalty
But in these four walls
I'm the queen"

~Sara Evans~ 

Just for fun, here's another peek at those adorable bunnies.

 Details like the painted eyes and the little needle felted whiskers add extra charm to these sweet little bunnies.  And I just love the way Cheryl used stain to add contour to them.

"Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."  

~Joseph Campbell~

Until next time...

Rhonda

As long as I’m living…

…my baby you’ll be. 

How many times did we read that book? And I could relate to the young mother with the new baby, or even the slightly older mom who sometimes felt like she lived in a zoo… But today, as I stood in the still dark morning... watching the lights of the moving van grow smaller, I realized that I have reached the middle of the story. I felt the lump rise in my throat...

I remind myself that this is the natural progression of things, that boys will be boys, and then will become men. I don’t know how or when it happened…I was too busy raising little boys to notice. Mr. Kattywhompus attributes 99% of it to perseverance. Perhaps he’s right.

And I am comforted by the knowledge that these are good men. Indeed, very good men.

So today, I hope you will indulge me as I post a few favorite pictures of my men.

~My Three Sons~

~Nash, our rolling stone, is a professional musician. When he was 17, he went on the road touring the country with his band for almost five years~

~I love these pictures of him "doing his thing"~

~Photo from his Reverend Guitar endorsement~

 ~One of my favorite photos of Nash, on the coast of Maine, during his Pirates of the Caribbean phase~

Brothers...so different, and yet with such a strong bond. It makes my mother's heart glad.

 ~Luke, the funniest person I know...

...is also our athlete~

 ~Luke, after his first half marathon. He raised over $700 for World Vision~

 ~Crossing the finish line last year~

Today Nash & Luke will move into their first place together. I’m so excited and proud of them. They will be two hours from home. Do-able for this Mom.

 This is not their first adventure together. Two years ago they hiked the Appalachian Trail…

~Nash, on the Appalachian Trail~

And last year they hiked to the summit at Longs Peak (CO).

~Nash, Eric, Luke~

~Nash & Luke at the Key Hole~

 ~Luke at the summit~

~Nash, Matt, Eric, Luke & new friend at the summit~

 ~The incredible view from the summit at Longs Peak~

I just got word...they've arrived at their new place! They're unpacking. 

On to new adventures...for all of us.

Until next time...

Rhonda