Sunday Smiles

Chocolate, roses and candlelight, FarmHouse Style.

Happy Valentine's Day

I told my son that I would make hearts that he could give to his teachers for Valentine's Day. "OK," he said, "but can you put their names on them?" Sure, I think I can handle that. He told me this morning that my design met his approval :-)

.... the things we do for love ~Rhonda

With a Spoon

Last night as we were going through our usual bedtime routine, I was struck by one of those moments. The ones where you look at your child and you are so overcome with such an intense bittersweet emotion that tears spring to your eyes and you just want to scoop them up and hold them so tight that time stands still and you remain forever captured in that one second.

But instead, I gave him a little kiss and said something silly~ "You know what? I could just eat you up with a spoon!" To which he responded with a wide eyed "AACKK!" Then he proclaimed, "I've got hopes and dreams you know!? And besides, if you do that, how will I ever grow up to be a Scientist?"

Yes indeed I could.... with a spoon.~Rhonda

"February is for planting peas."

I was going to wait until the end of the month or possibly the first of March to plant the English Peas, but Mother Nature delivered a beautiful weekend of near 70 degree temps and my strong desire to play in the dirt got the better of me. Besides, Grandmaw always said, "February is for planting peas."

My little helper made the row markers.... "Peas, 1 Week".... he's a very optimistic little fellow :-)


Well, here's the spot, better get started.

First I need to cultivate the area. I have a very nice tiller that was my Grandfather's, but it is a large beast and when I use it I really take a beating. So, for this job, I will use this handy little gadget and my shoulders and back will thank me in the morning.

Now I need to get the weeds out. The little wild Spring onions are already popping up everywhere.


Miss Honey takes Grub patrol. Actually, she gobbles up grub worms, earth worms, beetles, bugs, spiders and any thing else that dares to move.

Watch out little earth worm, or you will be the next snack! I'll just cover him up right quick, I really prefer to keep these around.

Now that the tilling and weeding is all done, it's time to add the gold. Compost, made right here on my little farmette.

Well, the seeds have been gently enveloped in the warming earth, given a good drink and now I'll wait in anticipation for the first little green shoots to pop their heads out of the ground and say, "Hello!"

In the words of my Little Blonde Headed Helper, "It is a good day to be a Farmer." Lord, I love that child.

I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed your weekend as we did.~ Rhonda

Sunday Smiles

Good Grief!!

Sweet Taste of Nostalgia

I made myself a treat the other day. It is a pear salad that my Mom used to make my brother and I when we were kids~only my brother, who has an aversion to Mayonnaise, ate his with NO mayo. It is very simple... lettuce, canned pears, cheese, mayo and I added a maraschino cherry, Mom didn't use those.

I made mine with a different type of cheese than she used... I adore extra sharp cheddar. Plus I was fresh out of the government issue sliced American.

Times were very lean when it was just the three of us. My Mom worked two jobs to make ends meet, as a Dental Assistant during the day and as a Shirt Factory seamstress at night. I spent lots of time with my Grandmaw and Papa and my three Aunts. I remember making biscuits with my Grandmaw in her big round biscuit bowl, scooping out the flour and lard from big metal containers in the pantry. She never measured the ingredients or followed a recipe, she just knew how to make them from years of practice. I helped my Papa in the garden, he grew corn so tall that it towered above us and row after row of ripe juicy tomatoes. Green beans, squash, okra, cucumbers, onions and the best cantaloupes I have ever eaten.... from this my love of cultivating the earth was born. My Aunts played with me and pampered me, especially my Aunt Doris who was a young teenager when I was a child.

As an adult, I can understand how difficult it was for my Mom, how tired and worried she must have been. There is a picture of the three of us on Easter Sunday. I must have been three and my brother was 1. We are all dressed for church, me in my white bonnet with little yellow daises, my brother in a striped jacket and clip on tie and my beautiful mother is dressed in a pale yellow sheath dress that details how thin she is. We are all smiling, me with a silly grin that stretches from ear to ear, but under my Mother's eyes are deep dark circles.... she is not even 20 years old in this photo. I cry every time I think of it.

It was not until I was older that I came to comprehend the sacrifices she made for us. Because as a child, I was happy and I was loved, and that was all that mattered.

Funny, isn't it ? How a simple pear salad had the power to transport me back almost 40 years.~Rhonda

Sunday Smiles

My Mother-In-Law sent us this little treat. Guaranteed to make you smile!

Enjoy~ Rhonda