Cock a Doodle Doo Rooster Party

Cook a doodle doo. Rise and shine. It's "Show Us Your Roosters Party " time. Barb at Bella Vista is hosting this fun party, so be sure to visit her to see the list of all the other party goers.

This white rooster is the newest addition to my collection. I got it at Olde Tyme Marketplace in Marshville NC. It's a wonderful shop owned by Beth, who also has a blog of the same name.

This proud gentleman sits on the deck. I wish he would do a better job of scaring the deer away.

These two were every happy together until I dropped the colorful one and broke it beyond repair!

This is the oldest one in my collection.

This lamp rooster is my most recent find at a garage sale awhile ago. My newset and oldest sit on the red hutch in our kitchen.

I didn't set out to collect roosters. Did you? They just sort of followed me home and then all of a sudden I seemed to have a collection!

Thanks for coming to visit me and my roosters. Now scoot on over to Bella Vista and join the party.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday I try to write about something I am thankful for.

I was looking at the photos of our trip to Canada earlier this summer and reminiscing about the great time we had with my sister and her family. We were constantly laughing, playing with the grandchildren, drinking tea, eating and talking.
Here we are, my sister and I with her two girls holding their children and my daughter beside me. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for all my family, but today I am just showing a picture of the ones in Canada. I love you family!!!

We often take our families for granted don't we? Why don't you call someone in your family that you haven't talked to in awhile and tell them you love them.
Maybe they need to hear it today.

Rhondi xo

To anyone who read my post yesterday. It should have said it's NOT a quilt!

A New Project

Sometimes I get these ideas that are a little bit crazy and often very time consuming. I've got all these parts of old shirts left over from a previous project and I have an idea of something to do with them.

I've cut them all in 2 1/2" strips. Then I've sewn the strips together.

Then I cut each strip into 2 1/2" widths and sewed those together .

I made a whole bunch and sewed them into bigger strips until I have something that looks like this.

It's kind of crazy really, I am taking perfectly good fabric and cutting it up and then sewing it back together again! Basically I am making my own fabric. I'm not going to tell you what I'm making, but I will tell you it's NOT a quilt.

It will probably be next week before I get it finished, so you'll just have to wait until then to see what I'm up to!

I hope you are having a GREAT day.

Rhondi xo


PS I've been experimenting with the look of the blog so bear with me as I try different ideas.

Company For Breakfast

“Come look,” my husband called to me on Saturday morning. It was a sweet little fawn.
I quietly snuck around behind the deck and she stood still and looked at me for a minute, Then she turned and looked in the other direction.
Her mother was there. She was probably telling her to get away from these humans. You can see her camouflaged on the right side of the picture.
“Come on,” her mother called.
Reluctantly the little fawn turned and darted off.
But not before she finished off her breakfast of the last of my impatience! And just yesterday I noticed that the impatience plant had gotten quite large and the deer hadn’t touched it. Oh well, that’s life when you live at the edge of a woods!
When was the last time you had guests for breakfast? I served mine impatience. What did you serve your guests?
Rhondi xo

Juicy Ripe Tomatoes

It’s summer and what better treat that juicy ripe tomatoes still warm from the garden.  They bear no resemblance to those pale pink tomatoes that my local grocery store sells the rest of the year!  Let’s make a sandwich.

 

Slice the tomatoes.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toast some whole wheat bread and spread it generously with mayonnaise.  I like Kraft reduced fat mayo made with olive oil.  It’s very flavorful.  Season with salt and pepper.

Add a glass of cold milk.  My favorite summer sandwich.  Yummy!

What is your favorite summer food?

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful to have my car back looking as good as new. A tree fell on it and caused so much damage that the insurance company said it had to go to the salvage yard. We were able to buy it back from salvage and with the rest of the insurance money we were able to get it repaired.
Click here to read the post about the tree that fell on it. This car is very special to me. It belonged to my mom and she bought it when she was 70 years old. Whenever I drive it I am reminded of her zest for life and her youthful attitude until the day she died. It looks like a new car even though it is 16 years old. I hope I get to drive it for at least another 16 years.

Today I am thankful for my little car.

What are you thankful for today?
Rhondi xo

My Love Affair With WIcker

I guess my love affair with wicker all started when we bought our first house. It was a tiny white frame house with a front porch. I knew the porch just had to have wicker furniture but there was no money in the budget. I remembered that our next door neighbors where I grew up had a set of wicker that belonged to their grandma and it had been stored in the rafters of their garage for years. Whenever they cleaned out their garage they'd take it down and then put it back up again, so I had seen it many times.

It was the same style as the one in this picture: a chair, a rocker and a loveseat. (this is not mine) So the next time I was visiting mom and dad I went next door and asked them if they might be willing to sell it to me. To my surprise they said they would give it to us! So we happily carted it home, got out the white spray paint, glued some of the loose parts and I made cushions that were bright green with white dots.

We enjoyed that set for quite a few years, but it was very old and brittle and eventually it just fell apart.

Over the years I have bought and sold quite a few pieces and right now this is what I have. I absolutely love the chaise lounge that I got at an auction many years ago. It is my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house.

This sofa table was found at a yard sale. This tea trolley that I got at a yard sale too. It has a tray that lifts off the top.A vintage child's rocker also came from a yard sale. It was only $5 a couple of years ago! Oh and there is the planter behind which I showed you in a previous post. I just acquired that this year and I didn't paint it white like I usually do!This is one of the chairs I got to replace the original ones we had. I can't even remember where it came from. I just recently painted it yellow, which is quite a departure for me and actually now that I've lived with it for awhile I'm thinking of painting it white.This chair and desk belonged to my mom. She gave it to me when she moved into an apartment and didn't have a space for it. I think it is very old.And the last piece of wicker I have is my fern stand which I showed in my very first post. I've had it for a long time too. I think I got it at a yard sale years agoActually I have one more piece, but it is up in the attic. When we were expecting our first baby, 36 years ago I bought a wicker cradle. One of these days I will bring it down, clean it up and display it somewhere.

So that is my love affair with wicker. Other pieces of wicker have come and gone but the ones I have now I plan to keep for a long time.

Rhondi xo

Today's Thrifty Treasures

I just love Rhoda's blog, Southern Hospitality and this week I decided to join in with her "thrifty treasures" post. I love wicker! I especially love it painted white!
I found this table at Goodwill for $4. All it needs is a coat of white paint. I don't need it. I don't really have any place to put it, but who could resist for $4? Not me!! So I'll buy some white spray paint and figure out someplace to put it :)

Make sure you visit Rhoda and see all the other thrifty treasures this week.

Next time I will tell you how I acquired my first wicker chairs.

Rhondi xo

Can You Guess?

Yesterday I found something at the Goodwill. It is really quite goofy. I'll bet you don't have one. Can you guess what it is? Here is another angle

Does this clue help?
Did you guess that it was a teapot? It is such a silly thing but it just caught my fancy. It would be great for a mad hatter's tea party. It holds about 4 cups of tea. As I was holding it a little girl, pointed to it and with a big smile said, "Look at the teapot Mommy!"

Now it just wouldn't be proper to pour tea from such a silly pot into a normal mug.

I just happened to have this one that I got last year. They make an odd couple!

On those days when I need to remind myself not to take life so seriously I will pour tea from my egg teapot into my little peasant girl mug. If you need an escape from the stress of life for a little while, just stop by and pour yourself a cup of tea. Maybe it will cheer you up too!

I just picked up a copy of this book so I'm going to sit down and enjoy it while I try out my new teapot..
What a lovely way to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon!

I hope you get time to relax and enjoy yourself this weekend.

Rhondi xo

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thinking about the everyday things that I am thankful for.


Yesterday my daughter and I went shopping together. Neither of us are shoppers, but she had some things to buy for her classroom and I had a 30 % off coupon and a voucher for 2 free chicken sandwiches at Chik Fil A, so we were motivated. I am thankful for a daughter who lives near by and enjoys spending time with me.


This morning my husband and I went for our early morning walk. I am thankful that we have a lovely neighborhood to walk in and that we are both healthy and he has been cancer free 7 years.


Last night our daughter in law called just to chat. I am thankful for 2 great daughters in law.



I came across a wonderful website called The Daily Motivator and found this for you. Make sure you press pause on my playlist so my music doesn't interfere with the music on the video. I hope you enjoy it.



Oh and one more thing I am thankful for today- YOU !!!



What are you thankful for today?



Rhondi xo

Ah Yes, I Remember It Well

Do you know what this is? Here is a little hint.

Do you know what it is now?

Did you guess?This is my well worn and faded copy of Julia Child's Mastering The Art of French Cooking Volume One.On the weekend I posted about seeing the movie Julie and Julia and I noticed Kim also had a post about it yesterday. It got me thinking and remembering all the times I had used this wonderful cookbook. We got married in 1969 and this was one of the first cookbooks I got. It was the bible for anyone who wanted to be a "gourmet cook". At the time I didn't really know that it was a breakthrough in cooking for the cooks of North America. I just liked the recipes.I used it a lot back in the day but seldom do anymore. We are more conscious of eating healthy and so many of the recipes are loaded with butter and cream !In the 70s gourmet dinner parties were very popular and I was constantly turning to Julia for inspiration when we it was our turn to host the dinner. When I got out the book this morning and flipped through the pages, it automatically opened to a couple of recipes. By the look of the mess on this page I made boeuf bourguignonne a lot! Another favorite was crepes. I was quite the expert and could make them very thin. As you can see, this is also a well used page! Here is my old fry pan with a copper bottom which I bought just for crepes.

I learned to make quiche and french onion soup. The soup is still a family favorite.Wooden spoons and several sizes of whisks were a must.

The book jacket was lost long ago and as you can see the spine is very faded.

Seeing that movie reacquainted me with an old friend.I had forgotten what an important part of my life that cookbook was and how much it influenced me as a cook.

When the weather turns cool I am going to make boeuf bourgignonne again. I think I'll put my old frying pan back into action and make some crepes one of these days too! It wasn't until I saw the movie and began to recall cooking from the book that I realized how much Julia Childs influenced me in my early days as a cook. Thank you Julia!

Have you seen the movie?

Does the sight of Mastering The Art Of French Cooking bring back memories for anyone else?

Rhondi xo