Saturday, March 30, 2019

Easter Decorations

Kitchen Decor
We've always tried to keep the Resurrection at the forefront of our spring celebrations, but enjoy adding a bit of fun decor along the way in the form of bunnies and eggs. 🐇


Bunny Kisses and Easter Wishes
I found this cute "bunny kisses and Easter wishes" wall-hanging at Walmart this year for under $5.00. The old-fashioned design really captured my attention. It reminded me of those lovely, turn-of-the-century postcards that graced the post office boxes of fortunate recipients during the Victorian Era. They were so pretty! (My grandmother had two shoe-boxes full of them!) 🌷


Wire Bunny With Glitter-Covered Eggs
I found this cute, wire, bunny-shaped egg-holder when thrift-store shopping with daughter, Amber, a couple of years ago. Last year it held faceted and see-through pastel-colored eggs; this year I brightened it up a bit with brightly-colored, glitter-covered eggs that I bought on clearance after Easter last year. 🐇


Happy Easter Wall-Hanging

This is another cute, little wall-hanging that I bought this year. It is much smaller than the other one and was under $3.00 at Walmart. 🐇

Basket of Sparkling, Miniature Eggs
And, last, but not least, I wanted to share this basket of brightly-colored and sparkling miniature eggs. I put them out last year, but had to do so again this year. They were just too cute not too! The eggs are tiny...only about an inch long. They are made to hang on one of those Easter-egg trees...which we don't have...so this is a good way to display them. 🐣

As you can see, I keep the Easter decor to a minimum, but it's just enough to brighten up the kitchen and make it fun for the grandlittles (and for Nana and Papa, too)! 😉

What about you? Do you decorate for Easter? If so, what are some of your favorite decorations?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Pretty Yellow Daffodils



Friday, March 29, 2019

Pretty Yellow Daffodils

Pretty Yellow Daffodils
Wednesday afternoon daughter, Amber, and I got together to dig and transplant daffodils. They were given to us by a family member who wanted them out of his yard and we were glad to have them. 💛


Newly Transplanted Daffodils
We each got enough to completely encircle an old tree stump in each of our yards. In a year or two they should fill in nicely and we and our families will enjoy beautiful bouquets of pretty yellow daffodils for for years to come. 💛


Filtered Daffodils
This bouquet sits in our kitchen now. I used one of those filters on Photo Shop Express to create the image above. Daffodils make me happy! 💛

How about you? What's your favorite spring flower?

Until next time...
~Rebecca


Happy Homemaker Monday - March 25, 2019



Monday, March 25, 2019

Happy Homemaker Monday - March 25, 2019

Greetings, Dear Friends! HAPPY MONDAY! 💗 

I hope that you and yours are doing well and that the first weekend of spring was an enjoyable one! 🌷

My week here was busy and my weekend felt sort of mixed up and out of whack. Of course, I was late with my HHM post (got it posted on Tuesday), which totally threw me off for the week. I had library programs Wednesday, was off Thursday, worked Friday and Saturday, and wasn't feeling well the whole time. Sunday I did absolutely nothing except rest. This morning I'm moving slow, but am feeling better and am hoping to get back on track in every area before the day is done! 😊

Won't you join me as, I link up with Sandra of Diary of a Stay At Home Mom and all the other lovely ladies that make up the Happy Homemaker Monday crew? You'll be glad you did! 💗


Today I am joining Sandra and the other ladies over at
Diary of a Stay At Home Mom for Happy Homemaker Monday.
Please be sure to go over and check it out! 💗
Right now I am...

... finishing up breakfast and enjoying a cup of hot tea while I work on this post.

Am thinking...

... about the week ahead...planning it out, making a grocery list, etc...about all the folks effected by the recent bouts of bad weather...about those in the areas that have been hit hard by blizzards and flooding, about the farmers and ranchers that have lost so much...their homes, their livelihoods, and the devastating numbers of livestock that has been lost...about the spring ahead and the hope that comes with it for all.

On the breakfast plate...

... ff ham, egg, and Laughing Cow cheese wedge on 2 slices of sprouted bread, 2 Sunkist mandarin oranges, and a cup of hot tea. 

The weather...

... right now it's 49 degrees and cloudy with a slight chance of rain this afternoon. According to the forecast today's high should be around 53 degrees, but, after this, highs promise to be in the 60's and 70's...which suits me just fine! 🌞

On my reading pile...

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilderby Caroline Fraser

Online this week...

(One of Sandra's HHM categories is 'On my TV'. I usually skip this category because we haven't been connected to television for years (not even the local channels), but, we do watch DVD's and stuff on-line (YouTube and Amazon Prime), so I have decided to include the category under the new heading above.)

Season 1 episodes of The Rifleman and finally got around to watching The Quiet Man and Darbie O'Gill and the Little People in honor of St. Patrick's Day! 🍀

On the menu this week...

(I'm determined to get more vegetables into my diet!!!) 😉

Monday - turkey burgers, brown rice, black beans, and salad
Tuesday - fish sandwiches, baked potatoes, cottage cheese, and salad
Wednesday - oven roasted chicken, fresh asparagus, cottage cheese, and salad
Thursday - turkey Italian sausage, oven roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli, and salad
Friday - broiled salmon, baked sweet potatoes, steamed brussel spouts, and salad
Saturday - dh's night to cook
Sunday - leftovers

On my 'to-do' list...

Monday - HHM post, plan the week ahead, do weekly "home blessing", laundry, take dd to pick up her van
Tuesday - Take a friend grocery shopping
Wednesday - Work on projects around the house
Thursday - Eye appointments for dh and I
Friday - Work (will go in late as it is 'Popcorn and Movie Night' @ 7:00 - 'Otters - River Masters of the Yellowstone')
Saturday - Work
Sunday - Church

In the craft basket...

I shared last week about ripping out the temperature afghan and starting over...

The Month of January Unraveled
Here's the progress I have made since...


By doing single crochet in the back loop only it makes the color pattern on each side different and gives the afghan a rippled look. It saves a lot of yarn, time, and money, too, over the pattern that I started out with! 😉
Something interesting that I saw this week...

Episode 1 of Trawlers, Rigs, & Rescues: The North Sea


From the camera...


A Pink Hyacinth Blooming in Our Yard
Scripture passage...



Well, Ladies, that's it for this week! I pray that each and every one of you have a blessed and beautiful New Year, and I'll see you next week! Blessings!

Thursday, March 21, 2019

Spring Bucket List 2019


Well...winter is officially over and spring has arrived! I am so thankful! 🌷

Normally, I'm content in any season (fall is my favorite, then spring, then winter, then summer), but, this winter seemed like the longest winter ever and we didn't even get that bad of weather compared to most of the country! I'm just glad that it's over and that spring is finally here! Yeah! 🌸

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).

Here are some of the things that I'm looking forward to this spring and hope to accomplish throughout the course of the season...

1. Write my spring bucket list
2. Plan my spring menus (these will be posted each Monday in my weekly Happy Homemaker Monday posts)

3. Observe the full moon (the third and final "supermoon" of 2019) on the spring equinox 🌕
4. Celebrate Purim by reading the book of Esther, eating hamentashen, and watching One Night With The King
5. Schedule eye exams for dh and I (get new glasses)
6. Dye Easter eggs
7. Host an egg hunt for the grandlittles
8. Eat a Russell Stover's Maple Cream Egg with my oldest daughter on her birthday (it's tradition!)
9. Host a breakfast before church on Resurrection Sunday 🥓🥚🍞
10. Pick a bouquet of pretty yellow daffodils 
11. Celebrate spring birthdays with the grandlittles 🎂
12. Go to Jamesport with our youngest daughter
13. See a prairie chicken
14. Plant a tree for Arbor Day (I'm really wanting a sugar maple for the front yard) 🍁
15. Observe Indian paintbrush blooming on the prairie
16. Plant a vegetable garden 🌱
17. Celebrate May Day with a basket of fresh flowers 🌷
18. Eat fresh strawberries
19. Plan and complete spring programs at work -

     A) Native American Trade Beads (HS) 📿
     B) Grow As We Go (Library) 🐣🐤🐓
     D) Monarch Magic (HS)🦋
     E) First Impressions (Library) 🐇🐍🐁
     F) Aqua Charades (Library) 🌊🤽

20. Celebrate Mother's Day by sharing flowers with the ladies at church, my daughters, and daughters-in-law 🌺
21. Eat fresh asparagus
22. Listen to spring peepers 🐸
23. Celebrate Memorial Day weekend with a cookout 🍔
24. See a brand new baby bison 
25. Lead a wildflower walk at Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site
26. Include fresh dandelion greens in our spring salads 
27. Celebrate Father's Day with my dh 👨
28. Observe a bird's nest with eggs in it and watch until the babies hatch 
29. Attend Spring Training at Knob Knoster State Park
30. Put up a new hummingbird feeder
31. Make violet jelly
32. Take a walk in the rain
33. Go camping with my husband
34. Smell lilacs
35. Empty the car port of stored totes
36. Free the young cherry trees by removing the pile of boards and tin stacked behind the garage
37. Take down the wind generator
38. Re-roof the front porch
39. Replace broken window glass in sunroom and solar heater 
40. Edge the moon garden in sandstone and fill it with white river rock


That's what's on my spring bucket list. What's on yours?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Welcome Spring and Winter Bucket List End-of-Season Update



Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Welcome Spring and Winter Bucket List End-of-Season Update

Photo Credit

Greetings, Dear Readers! 💗

What a thrill it is to officially say good-bye to winter and hello to the long-awaited spring! 🌷🍀🌹🌼🌸

My heart goes out to all those folks in Nebraska, Iowa, and northern Missouri that are dealing with record flooding right now and, along with it, the loss of homes, livestock, and livelihood. Then, there are those further to the north and west that are dealing with the devastating effects of recent blizzards. What a wild winter it's been and, unfortunately, in some areas of our nation, it's not over yet. To those that are in the effected areas, our thoughts and prayers are with you and will continue to be in the days ahead. 🙏

In comparison to the weightiness of all that, my measly little winter bucket list seems frivolous and unimportant, but it is what it is and it's what I wrote, so I will update as follows...

Things that were accomplished will be crossed through like this and any notes that I want to add will be found in parenthesis and in bold type (like this).

Here we go...

A Snow-Capped Bird's Nest At Prairie State Park
Taken January 15, 2018

My Winter Bucket List 2019

1. Write my winter bucket list
2. Plan my winter menus (this will be done weekly through my  'Happy Homemaker Monday' posts)

(This works really well for me. By keeping track of weekly menu plans in the HHM posts, I stay on track with them about 90% of the time.)

3. Celebrate the Christmas season with family and friends

Our Son-in-law, Phillip, and our Grandson, Isaiah 🎄
4. Ring in the New Year with family and friends
5. Celebrate winter birthdays with the grandlittles

Granddaughter, Mary, and I
Granddaughter, Sarah and I
Grandson Silas
Grandson, Jed, and I
Grandson, Dante, and I
Granddaughter, Kira

6. Watch lunar eclipse on January 20th

Our youngest son took this gorgeous photo of January 20th's super blood wolf moon eclipse! He's had a lot of recognition for this photo and has had it made into a variety of products on Etsy. I love the tote bags and have ordered two of them myself. Here's the link in case anyone else is interested: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/1599119665
7. Invite family and friends for soup and bread
8. Celebrate Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's Day by making sweet treats for,
and delivering them to, the children and grands.
9. Celebrate John and I's 31st wedding anniversary

That evening John and I celebrated our 31st Wedding Anniversary by
making a special dinner and enjoying an evening at home.
10. Hang a new bird feeder

Received this beautiful bird feeder as a Christmas gift!
11. Deep-clean the kitchen

(Perhaps I will do this as part of spring cleaning? We'll see!) 😏

12. Drink hot cocoa
13. Plan 2019's vegetable garden
14. Play in the snow
15. Watch 'Little House on the Prairie' - Seasons 1 through 9

(Yes, I, actually watched all nine seasons over the course of the winter and enjoyed every single episode! 😊 I hadn't seen most of them for more than a quarter century!) 😲

16. Read Pioneer Girl - The Annotated Autobiographyby Laura Ingalls Wilder


(Loved it!!!)

17. Plan and complete winter programs at work -

      A) Animals in Winter (library)

Animals in Winter
by Henrietta Bancroft and Richard G Van Gelder

      B) Let it Snow (library)

Coffee Filter Snowflake

      C) Meet the Mustelids (homeschool)

The Badger
One of 55 members of the mustelid family found worldwide.
18. Take a CPR class through work

(Finally got 'er done! Yeah!) 😊

19. Finish a set of black bear cloth napkins
20. Make chili
21. Watch the winter birds at the feeders

Goldfinch at Our Feeder
22. Drink hot tea
23. View frosty-breathed bison with snow-covered backs


(We didn't get a lot of snow, so this was the best I could do.) 😞

24. Take a winter hike

Winter Hiking At Prairie State Park

25. Enjoy a full moon on a snowy night
26. Start a book project that I've got in mind
27. Make snow ice cream

(They got plenty of snow to the north of us, but, unfortunately, here in Liberal, we never got enough snow to make snow ice cream.) 😢

28. Break icicles off the edge of the roof
29. Shampoo carpets

(I can't get this one done until I get my Rug Doctor fixed...which I plan on doing on my next trip to Joplin. A word of warning to anyone who is thinking of purchasing one...they work great, but, apparently, they are notorious for vibrating so hard that it breaks the housing on the motor. The repairman that I talked to said that it is a common problem.) 😞

30. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with family and friends

St. Patrick's Day Treats For The Grands


That's what was on my winter bucket list. What was on yours? 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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