cottage on main

Fresh...

2012-02-02T14:25:00.001-07:00

Fresh flowers.
Fresh apples in my sweet-heart basket.
Fresh new month.
It makes my heart do a little skip ...just to think that February is here.

I took some of the fresh apples and made dried cinnamon-sugar apple slices.
Tasty snack.

Fresh fallen snow.
Looking at the neighbors farm and toward the mountains.
Fresh white snow.
Winter is trying to remind me that it isn't quite Spring yet.

Fresh snow on the eaves.
Just hanging on.... until 'whoosh' it all slides off.
That's what I love about having a metal roof.

Freshly painted stairs.

I have an idea for the stairs....if I decide to go that direction.
For now, I'm just going to enjoy the fresh paint.

Fresh creative project.
I found another old cupboard door .
Again.... thanks to ReStore.
Another 100 pennies spent... and a new can of chalkboard paint.
After it's done... it will be a great little chalkboard sitting on a wrought iron easel.
Menu board one day....' happy thoughts' board another day.

Yes... it's a fresh new month.
I can hardly wait to see what the month brings.
I just know it's going to be a great month.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for my sweet-heart. He's so good to me.
I'm grateful for our little breakfast date. We had a blast.
~I'm grateful for good friends.
Thanks 'J' for making my day today.

The Key.

2012-01-26T11:01:00.001-07:00

The key for getting through the nippy month of January is... to stay busy.
Have a great project list, and something to do each and every day.
I framed up some old skeleton keys that I have been collecting for quite a few years.
They are a little worn, and a little rusty.
Completely interesting, and so charming.

Love the detail.... and that rust....swoon.....

Cute little heart detail.
What a treat.

Speaking of hearts..... I love this new heart basket that my 'sweetheart' bought for me.
I need to think of something to put in it.
I'm thinking some little fabric hearts would be just the right touch... at least for now.

The Amaryllis is starting to bloom.
It was supposed to be a pink and white one... but I'm loving, absolutely loving the red.
Hope it makes it through until February 14th.

I worked on the quilt that my grandma made for me.
Just a few repairs.
It was a wedding gift, and almost 25 years old.
A real treasure.

Enjoying the sunny flowers that our son gave to me.
They've lasted for almost 2 weeks now.
Such a bright spot, and lovely to look at.....especially when there's a little snow on the ground outside.

And, isn't it always fun to sit down with great decorating books?
One of my favorite past times.
Gets my creativity going, and before you know it....I'll be changing more furniture around, making a craft, and painting.

Yes....
time seems to pass quickly when I stay busy.
That's certainly the key for me.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful that Brooke only required 5 stitches from her little run in with some glass.
Sheesh... first Cole and Lorena's accident.... then stitches for Brooke.
I'm grateful that everyone else has stayed accident free.
~I'm grateful for my sweet and amazing family. So grateful that Spencer helped me lay the tile in the bathroom, Shaun and Spencer put in the wood floor in the upstairs hallway, and that Brooke has helped me paint, and organize things. Ahhhh ..... shrinking 'to do list' = happy mom.

CaaaRunch! Accidents happen.

2012-01-15T12:01:00.002-07:00

The most important thing to note here is the fact that despite a trip in the ambulance to the emergency room... no one was seriously injured or killed.

Our son and his little wife were in a really bad accident this week.

Lorena...being so tiny took a huge hit.
She got cut on her lip and on her knee. A huge bump on her forehead, and banged up her arms.
She was taken by ambulance to the hospital...treated and released.
It will take a while for the bruising, lumps and bumps to go away... and a bit longer for the soreness to go away.

I feel so bad for them.
They have been married just 5 1/2 months... and this was their first vehicle together.
They had only had it about 5-6 weeks....and it was a sacrifice for them to buy it.

More than anything... we are so grateful that our Heavenly Father was watching over them and protecting them from serious, serious injury.

Life happens... crashes happen... and then, we move on.

Right now... we are so busy, and have so much going on that I have become a bad blogger.
Not intentionally....... but that's the way it is right now.
I'm trying to read every one's blogs and catch up with y'all.
Please have patience with me.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful that Cole and Lorena are OK.
I've received a few of those phone calls in my life that cause my heart to skip and beat, and my stomach to drop. I hope that I never receive another one of those calls ever again.....no matter how UN-realistic that may be.

January Smiles.

2012-01-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

Red geraniums.

My 'Farmhouse' sign hanging above the farmhouse light my hubby installed for me.

Candles.

Fresh citrus from Arizona.... thanks to dear friends.

Lemon leaves...... from the lemons that were in the bag of citrus.

Darling decorative apple cider jug....a Christmas gift from a dear friend.

These are some of the things that are bringing smiles to my face this first week of January.
We have been so blessed, and our blessings continue each day.
We have had quite mild weather and tons of sunshine.
Each morning, I open the curtains and the sunshine pours through the windows and brightens my day.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for K. selling us his riding lawn mower... practically brand new, and for a terrific price.
Once we start mowing again, it's going to be so nice to have. Especially with as much lawn as we have.
~I'm grateful that all of our kids are doing so great in college. Starting a new semester...and their grades from last semester were all terrific.
B. will be graduating after this semester and moving on. Still working on pre-med... and hoping to get into med. school soon.

All around The Cottage.

2012-01-02T17:18:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy time of year here at The Cottage On Main.
Not only have we had Christmas and New Years, but we've been working on the renovations as well.
We're getting through the cold winter days by doing projects around the house.
Once the weather warms up again, we'll be outside working on gardens, barns, and the granary.

We were able to get the sun room painted...just three days before Christmas.

But, it was a great Christmas gift to ourselves. Feels so cozy and inviting now.

Because this room has to multi task... we all spend a lot of time in there.

If it's laundry, crafts, computer time ...what ever. Everyone of us is in the sun room each and every day.

I love the paint colors that we used in this room.

A little country, a little Tuscany, a little Farmhouse, and a whole lot Cottage.

I've had a tote full of hooks, and knobs and finials for quite a few years now.

Whenever I see something like that on sale... I grab it and put it in the tote.

Certainly comes in handy.

I found three charming hooks in the tote.

Perfect for the sun room.

Ta-Da... instant place to hang up a jacket and a hat .

This is a little glimpse of how the sun room looked 'before'.
Yeah... big difference.

So.. here we are...working away the winter days.
Hoping to get more projects crossed off of our list.
By the way.... I am still working on the stairs too.
I am about half way done, and so far...big difference.
I think they are going to turn out great~

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for the gorgeous weather that we've had recently. It feels wonderful to get out in the sunshine and have the sun on my face.
~I'm grateful that we have a brand new month, and even better...a brand new year. The possibilities are endless and I just know this will be our year to shine.

Reflections.........

2011-12-26T13:21:00.001-07:00

It's official...
Christmas is over.
December is fading away, and a brand new month and year are on the way.

The perfect time to relax, reflect on the past year, and make bucket lists for the coming year.

Make it the best year ever.

This is your year to shine.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for this past Christmas season.
~I'm so grateful for all of our blessings... great and small and the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father.

Santa Claus is that jolly old gent.....

2011-12-19T13:59:00.001-07:00

who goes.."Ho, Ho, Ho!"

Then again, if you had to work only one day a year ..

you'd laugh too!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope that everyone enjoys the holidays, and the blessings that this time of year brings.

I'll be back after Christmas .

I'm taking a Christmas vacation from blogging to enjoy my family, the blessings of the season, and friends.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful for the blessings that Christmas brings.

All Around The Cottage.

2011-12-14T11:13:00.001-07:00

Days and Nights.
This time of year, it's as if the days and nights go by in the blink of an eye.
The days are shorter, and there is never enough time to get everything done.
Everyone is super busy, and rushing around to get things done, in time for Christmas.
I just wanted to post a little glimpse of my week so far, and share just a few beautiful pictures and a recipe.

The beautiful moon over the West mountains.

I just had to take a moment to enjoy the beauty of the moon.
What a sight.....set against the mountains, and a winter sky.

My sweet husband gave me flowers.
Just because...he loves me.

They are so beautiful.
I appreciate how thoughtful he is of me.

We've been making Christmas candy.
Chocolate Marshmallow Drops.
A recipe that I adapted from Paula Deen.
For this recipe you will need:
2 1/2 Cups sugar
3/4 Cup evaporated milk
1/2 stick of butter
Combine above ingredients in heavy pan.
Cook on medium heat, stirring until sugar is disolved.
Once mixture comes to a full rolling boil, cook without stirring for 8 minutes.
In a separate heat proof bowl, combine:
2 Cups pecans (roughly chopped)
2- (6.8oz.) giant Symphony bars--chopped up
1/2 of a jar (7 0z.) marsmallow cream

Once the boiling candy mixture is done, pour over the chocolate, nuts and marshmallow cream.
Stir to combine.
Drop from teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper.
Let cool. Package for gifts, or store in a container in the refrigerator.

The Chocolate Marshmallow Drops are delicious.
This is also a super quick and easy recipe to make.

This will be a week of cleaning, and baking.
Getting ready for Christmas.
I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for our children, and our daughter in law.
They keep me laughing and help me to remember to have a little bit of fun each and every day.
~I'm grateful for my sweet husband. All that he does to show his love for me each and every day.
The daily love notes, the sweet prayers, the sweet kisses.
I am also grateful that we are making time during all the business of the season to go on dates.
It's been a blast.

Mountain Valley Wildlife

2011-12-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Bald Eagles, and the Golden Eagles have returned to our
Mountain Valleys.
Magnificent.

Buddies.
Settling in for the night.

This one did not want his picture taken.

Soaring away from our camera.
Up and away towards the mountain.

The deer are always in town.
Now that there is snow in the mountains, a few more deer move down into the valley.
We counted 5 bucks among these deer.

They really didn't want their pictures taken either.

The 'Gully', or the 'River Bottoms'.... just one of the gorgeous views that my hubby enjoys on his way to work.

Beautiful Mountains and Beautiful Valleys.
We are so blessed to live here.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for this day.
~I'm grateful for a warm home, and a beautiful place to call home.

If you make hay while the sun shines.....

2011-12-07T04:00:00.004-07:00

Then you must make fudge when the snow falls.

In all my years of baking and cooking, this is honestly the fastest fudge recipe I've ever made.
Absolutely delicious too.
No worries about the sugar crystallizing, or the chocolate seizing . Nope.
Just easy , rich and creamy fudge.
You will need:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 package of your favorite chips.
Chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter, dark chocolate. What ever you like.
And you will need 1 Cup of add ins. Such as peppermint marshmallows, nuts, M&M's, crushed candy canes, crushed Oreo cookies, etc... etc..
Again.. what ever you like.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk into a heat proof bowl.
Microwave on high for one to one and a half minutes.
Take bowl out of microwave and stir in chips.

Keep stirring , until the chips are melted and mixture is creamy.
Then: stir in your add-ins.

Pour into a prepared pan.
I used some foil pans that are disposable; approximately 5x7 inches in size.
I also make this recipe and pour into a prepared 8x8 inch glass pan.

Wrap a pretty ribbon around the pan. There you have it.
A delicious and appreciated gift.

Or... cut into squares and enjoy. ( I cut the fudge before it had completely cooled and that's the reason it looks too soft. Try and wait until the fudge cools completely to cut into squares....if you can wait that is.)

The possibilities are endless.
White chocolate and peppermint.
Dark chocolate and walnut.
Peanut butter and chocolate chunk.
Use your creativity.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that I've been able to truly embrace the idea of simplifying.
Grateful to use my creativity. Grateful to be happy with the everyday miracles.
~I'm grateful that the roads are clear of snow, and safe to drive on.
I don't worry as much about my son driving to school, or hubby driving to work.
~I'm so grateful that I slept like a hibernating bear last nigh. Ahhhh. Rested and rejuvenated.

Winter weekend at The Cottage

2011-12-04T16:43:00.001-07:00

Winter colors.
Old insulators sitting on the window ledge in the sun room, reflecting sunlight.
A 'crystal' snowflake hangs in the window.
Little touches all around The Cottage.
Decorations for Christmas and the winter season.

The tree is up, lights twinkling.
Old ornaments dusted off and hung on the branches of our Noble Fir tree.
A live tree. The first one that we've had in many years.
The fragrance is wonderful, filling the house with that Christmas smell.

Lots of wood chopping going on.
We began the weekend with little snow on the ground.
A snow storm later, the snow is beginning to accumulate .
It is snowing now.
Softly coming down, like drifting powdered sugar....covering the branches and rooftops.

We're keeping the wood stove burning and staying toasty and warm.
How wonderful this wood stove has been.
Little did I know eight months ago just how warm and efficient this wood stove would be and how much we would come to love it.
I love to watch the fire crackling away as the house gets toasty warm.

Spencer cleared some snow off of the walk way.
He grabbed the propane burner out of the barn, and away he went.
Not only did he melt the snow off of the sidewalk.. he practically got the sidewalk dry.
Next year we will be replacing this sidewalk, and there will be even more cement to clear snow from.

Our electric pressure cooker.
An early Christmas gift to ourselves.
Gee.... why didn't I get one of these years ago?
How fast can you make dinner?
In the blink of an eye with this baby.

Teriyaki chicken.
Easiest thing ever.
Chicken.. pineapple tidbits...a bit of Yoshida sauce.
Twenty minutes later... ta-da... dinner.
Teriyaki chicken over rice.
Now I'll have lots of extra time.... I just might go build a snowman.

Not to be left out.
Rowdy tore into a box.
He loves boxes.
Just don't put a box down that you don't want recycled into mulch.

I worked on the stairs this weekend too.
I've been trying to keep working on house renovation projects.
So, now that I'm stuck inside because of winter, it has given me an opportunity to get some of those inside projects caught up.
One more thing we can cross off the list.....once I finish, that is.

There are quite a few more stairs to go before I can consider this job finished.
I'm deciding if I want to paint numbers, or a quote, or stencil on the stairs.
Hmmm.

The sun sets on another week at The Cottage.
Winter is here.
Christmas is on it's way.
Looking forward to the coming week, full of promise and a few projects too.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful to have been able to do some canning this past Fall. We are really enjoying those jars of garden goodness.
~I'm grateful for being able to embrace the simple things in life, and working on simplifying everything in my life. Making time for what matters.
~I'm grateful for cheesy-tatoes.
Comfort food for a cold winters night.

Barn Love. Must be...

2011-11-29T10:21:00.001-07:00

Because we wouldn't work on the barn renovation in the middle of the holiday season, if it wasn't for our love of our little old barn.

The north wall sagged... and sloped.
Years ago, someone had cut holes in the side.
Inside the barn, someone had cut out 4 support posts.
Just whacked them off.

From the inside of the barn, you can see how bad the damage was to the north wall.
You can see that the roof needed to be jacked up and supported so that the rotten wall could then be removed.

Yikes!
The north wall is completely removed.
The rotten logs that were used for the foundation of the wall had to be dug out.
The ground had to be leveled.

The entire wall re-framed.
The huge foundation timbers had to be constructed with treated lumber.
To last at least another ninety three years.
The roof of the old barn will be re-constructed in the Spring.
For now, it is shored up, covered with heavy duty farm tarps.
The north wall has been completed with construction plywood, and in the spring will be clad in 1x6 pine boards to match the rest of the barn.

Love the old adobe brick.
The brick makes up the east and the west walls of the barn, and is clad in the pine 1x6's.
I just love that brick!

Another picture of the brick.
Beautiful patina, and shape.

A barn worth saving.
Absolutely .

Look closely.
You can see some old leather saddle bags hanging in the rafters.
Yes. I love this old barn.
Thankfully, I have a sweet, amazing husband that totally loves the barn too.
He would save it for me, even if he didn't think it was cool.
Because he loves me.

Sending out a huge 'thanks' to D.M. for all his help with the barn wall re-construction!!

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for 'Orange Glo'..... sure makes cleaning our wood floors a breeze.
~I'm grateful for the little 'glass' snowflakes hanging in the windows. Sparkling in the sun. They are so sweet.
~I'm grateful for my early Christmas present... an electric pressure cooker.
Yippee.... dinner's going to be a snap to make.

Shifting Gears.

2011-11-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year.
Putting up the Christmas tree.
Lighting the candles.
Decking the halls.
I'm doing it all.
Be back soon.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm most grateful for this glorious season.
~I'm grateful for our live Christmas tree.
I'd forgotten how wonderful live Christmas trees smell.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.... and a dose of laughter.

2011-11-21T14:42:00.006-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!
I hope everyone has a
Thanksgiving filled with family, gratitude, and good eats.
Reflecting on the blessings we all have.
After I eat my 'Candy Bar Pie', turkey , dressing ,mashed potatoes, gravy, brown sugar carrots, cherry pie filling salad, rolls, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, crackers, and cheese balls, and a piece of fudge..
I'm gonna be dreaming about this:

( I especially like the small print.. the big prints just rude!)

And... thinking how true it is!

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for a cornucopia of blessings.
~I'm grateful that my sweet hubby, and awesome kids have consented to humor me, by going to all the 'Black Friday' sales with me.

Be back in a few days....
Err... I mean I'll be rolling back in a few days.

Give Me Galvanized

2011-11-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

Galvanized treasures.... all in a row. Sitting along an old bench on the front porch.

Love of all things galvanized.
The older, the better.
That patina.
That character.
Makes my heart smile. And, my lips too....

Galvanized French Flower Bucket.
Keeping the silk sunflowers together. Sitting on our hutch.

Old jars.
In our hutch.

Old milk can.
Circa 1945.
It belonged to my dad.
He used it every day.

Old galvanized horse watering trough.
A lot of patina on this one.

Filled with summer herbs ;dried and gone to sleep for the Winter.

Galvanized wash tub.
Found in an old house; circa 1900
Re-purposed to hold fire wood.

Our 'new' galvanized roof on the old granary.

Yes, I have a love for galvanized stuff.
New and old.
But especially old.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for apple cider
~I'm grateful for old quilts made by my grandma.
~I'm grateful for chex mix recipes. Just right for snacking on when watching movies.
~I'm grateful for work progressing on the little barn.

Gold

2011-11-14T17:12:00.001-07:00

Our weekend at The Cottage started out with some breath-taking sunsets.
A storm was moving through, and the clouds were amazing.
The setting sun lit everything up with a rich golden color.
The pictures almost appear as though they were taken on the camera's sepia setting.
They weren't.

Looking over my neighbors farm.
Just as the sun dips behind the West mountains.
Glorious gold sunsets.

Friday night, we curled up on the couch, with a fire crackling away in the wood stove and watched our new favorite show.
It's become an obsession.
Click on the link below to see what all the hub-bub is about.
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/gold-rush-alaska/

Todd Hoffman.
A son trying to help his father achieve his dreams of striking it rich in Alaska.
He has spirit, determination, and a 'good head on his shoulders'.
I would have blown up a thousand times at some of the stuff that he has to deal with.

Todd's dad is Jack Hoffman. Boy does he ever remind me of an old gold miner.

He reminds me of the old gold miner in the Disney classic 'Snowball Express.'

Some of you remember that character.

Fred Hart. In my opinion.... nothing more than a scallywag, a claim jumper, and a j**k.
How dare he take the Hoffman's claim out from under them.
After the Hoffman's invested a quarter of a million dollars, blood, sweat, and tears.
Yes... he's a j**k!
(Sorry if you are related to him, feel free to e-mail me and tell me all about his good points, and virtues)

Sunday night sunset.

The weekend is over.

But, not leaving without a splash of gold to light up the evening sky.

Sunbeams radiate.

Almost as if the sun is waving goodbye.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful for hot water. I really enjoy washing dishes up after preparing Sunday dinner.

Grateful to have hot water and soap to get the dishes sparkly clean.

~I'm grateful for my sweet husband. He spoke to a friend of ours at the bank today, and is making plans to do an addition onto our house. It might be a while yet, but I'm grateful that he wants to make our home a forever home and have it 'just perfect' for our family.

~I'm grateful to have had a date with my sweet hubby. We always have the best time together!

~I'm grateful to have my sweet little dog. Rowdy is a real sweetheart.

Staying Power

2011-11-09T10:36:00.000-07:00

You know how you love something, 'just because.'

Even if it doesn't make sense?

The old door to the sun room is one of those things.

We put it back on when my sweet husband, and friend were working on replacing the exterior door in the sun room.

You know, just to keep the dust out of the house, and keep the heat in.

Well, I love the way it looks.

That old Farmhouse door.

Hubby doesn't know why I want to keep it there. It serves no purpose.

Other than... I smile every time I glance at it.

That, and it's one more place to decorate.
What's not to love about a basket hanging on the door.
Filled with green apples , a gift from a sweet neighbor.
Also tucked inside the basket one of my very few 'Laura Ashley - Sophia' plates that I found at the thrift store many years ago.

So.... it stays.
The old Farmhouse door is going to stay.

Something else that has staying power is the old 'Sunkist' crate that was dug out of the little barn.

Thankfully Spencer cleaned it, and waxed it for me.

Sits on top of the refrigerator.... and contains some of my favorite cookbooks. Some new, some old.

Yes... it's staying too.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful that I have an amazing and sweet husband that loves me so much. He's my number one fan.

~I'm grateful that we were able to get a bit of Christmas planned and shopped for. I feel much more prepared.

~I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to serve members of my ward. Helping out with a funeral of a long time member of our community.

~I'm grateful for glass cleaner... store bought, or homemade. I love to shine things up around the house.

All around The Cottage.

2011-11-07T14:10:00.001-07:00

Winter wonderland.
This is the wintry scene looking out one of the sun room windows.
The glass is really old, and original. With waves and bubbles.
Gave the picture a watery effect.

We stayed super busy this past weekend.
Fluffing our nest, and more renovation work.
We also did a few seasonal project.
One of my projects was to make this Cinnamon-Brown sugar scrub.
I was inspired and found the 'how to's' on this blog--homeiswhereoneheartis.blogspot.com
To make the Cinnamon-Brown sugar scrub you will need:
1 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. white sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. canola oil ( you may also use vegetable oil, or sunflower...NOT OLIVE OIL )
Combine ingredients until blended well and store in a jar.

I also made the most delicious Chocolate-Pumpkin bread.
Moist and delicious, with a hint of spice.
The recipe that I adapted was found on the 'Taste of Home ' website.

For this recipe you will need:
1 Devils food cake mix
1 Spice cake mix
1 29oz. can of pureed pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling)

In two separate bowls, mix 1/2 of the pumpkin with each cake mix.
So that you have 1 bowl of pumpkin -spice cake mix, and 1 bowl of Devils food cake mix.
Blend each cake mix with the pumpkin until well combined.
The mixes will each be thick, sort of like thick muffin batter.

Prepare two loaf pans with non-stick spray.
Spoon batter into loaf pans. Alternating between the chocolate and the pumpkin.
Swirl a knife, or spoon handle through the batter to give it a marbled appearance.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes, or until bread tests done.
Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, or serve with whipped cream.
Delicious!
This sweet bread also freezes well. Perfect for gift giving.

The kitchen chalk board got finished and hung up.
I love it!
Made it out of an old cupboard door that we picked up at ReStore for a 100 pennies.
We love it so much that we've decided to make a couple more.
One for the sun room too.

New Fall wreath.
Hanging on the front door.
Welcoming all..... and welcoming the Thanksgiving Fall.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that the latest 'cancer watch' looks as if there is no need to worry.
Better to be vigilant, and stay on top of it.
~I'm grateful for just enough apples to make one more batch of Apple Butter.
~I'm grateful for a positive outlook. Trying to stay positive and be happy makes all the difference.

**** I just want to clarify something... our 'cancer watch' is not for myself, rather for our daughter.

She had a kidney transplant, and one of the side effects of her anti-rejection medications is a high increased likely hood of cancers. She had already battled skin cancer, and we are watching another spot on her gums. Thanks very much for your concerns and prayers. You all are so kind and thoughtful.

Uplifting and Inspiring.

2011-11-03T19:53:00.000-06:00

Remember the Uncle Arthur children's books?

We read a lot of stories out of the 'Uncle Arthur' story books to our kids, when they were little.
Well, years have passed and I have no idea where our 'Uncle Arthur' books disappeared to.
Much to my delight, I found an Uncle Arthur book at the thrift store.
Published in 1947.

I love the illustrations in this book.
I love that these books were written to teach a lesson, morals and values.
In the back of the book, there are also Bible stories.
Some of the lesson stories in this book, include:
Following Instruction
Golden Rule
Price of Impatience
Reward of Faith
The high cost of cheating
How to resist temptation
Thrift
Tidiness
etc... etc.. etc.

'The children's Hour"

Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day's occupations,

That is known as the Children's Hour.

Henry W. Longfellow

I've been doing a lot of prep work , cleaning and caulking.

Preparing to get the sun room painted.

My goal for the sun room is to make it an uplifting and inspiring place to be.

The colors are perfect.
Each evening, you can look over our little farm, and see the sun setting behind the mountains.
It is inspiring and soothes the soul.

The feel that I really want to have in the sun room, is one that is inspired by the movie 'Under the Tuscan Sun'
A little bit old world farmhouse, and a dose of cottage.
Warm, inviting, inspiring and uplifting.
The sun room is a multi purpose room.
When you have a small house, many times a room has to do double duty, or more.
This is the room where the laundry is done, the computer and printer are , the pantry cupboard and craft supplies.
In short... a place where many hours are spent by all members of the family.

This room has the colors in that I chose.
See how beautifully they work together?
Good inspiration for me !
So, away I go.... working , working, working to pull it all together.
That place that uplifts and inspires.

And, every now and again, I'll take a break and read my 'Uncle Arthur' book and find inspiration for being a better me.

I'll bookmark all my favorite stories to read to those future grand kids of mine..... one day .... a long,long, long time from now.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that the new door is on the sun room. I'm grateful that I've just about got the windows finished and will be ready to paint.
~I'm grateful for our new wood burning stove.
It's the bomb! It burns so efficiently, and kept the house at a toasty 75 degrees, and using very, very little wood!
~I'm grateful for friendly neighbors that stop by for an afternoon chat. How wonderful to see their smiles.

Novembers Glow

2011-11-01T09:37:00.000-06:00

We awoke to glowing skies.
November has arrived.
Snow is in the forecast.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those that have suffered the early storms, and snows that have caused so many problems.

Won't be long now..... until deep snow covers the mountains.
Stores of water for the summer gardens.

Working on the windows in the sun room.
All thirty six panes of window.
Each one has to be scraped, caulked , primed and painted.
On Saturday, we bought paint, and I found the most delicious colors of paint.
One of the colors is a warm yellow.... called "Biltmore Buff.'
The other paint color is a kind-of terracotta red color... called 'Brick Paver.'
Sherwin Williams paint.
My hope is to get the windows in the sun room finished, and get painting.
Everything in the sun room needs to be done.
Everything.
My hope is to get it all done before Thanksgiving.
October was our month for renovating the kitchen, and I would be so happy if we could get the sun room done in the month of November.

Better get busy.
I have Halloween decor to put away, windows to paint, laundry, vacuuming, dinner to get in the slow cooker, etc... etc..
I'll leave you with this :

"Autumn arrives, array'd in splendid mein;
Vines, cluster'd full, add to the beauteous scene,
And fruit-trees cloth'd profusely laden, nod,
Complaint bowing to the fertile sod."
~ From the 1818 Farmer's Almanac

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that we were able to get the shutters painted and put up on the outside of the sun room, before the snow comes.
~I'm grateful for the warmth of a cottage home, and the smell of a B&BW candle--"Winter Garland."
~I'm grateful that tomorrow, we will be working on getting the new door on the sun room. A beautiful solid alder wood door.
~I'm grateful our electrician...K , will be able to get my outlets, switches, and lights just where we want them to be in the sun room.

Joy Riding with Friends.

2011-10-29T09:05:00.001-06:00

One is twenty years old , and one is three years old.
Neither one recognizes the others ones age.
They just enjoy hanging out, and joy riding with each other.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for my awesome family, and a beautiful Fall weekend to spend with them, just hanging out together.

Yes! We have no bananas.

2011-10-27T16:50:00.000-06:00

Eddie Cantor sang 'Yes! We have no bananas', in 'Make it Snappy.' (1922 Broadway revue)
The song became a major hit in 1923.
A banana shortage, caused by a banana blight is said to have inspired the song.
There are a few other stories that credit different origination's to the song.
I wasn't around when the song was first made, but I've heard it sung and mentioned many times.
It's the song that came to mind as I was making up a batch of banana cookies.
I had quite a few bananas, and had to mix up a two batches of cookies.
Finally, I used up all the over-ripe bananas.
Yes! We have no bananas.
Thank goodness!

This recipe:
Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.
3/4 C. shortening
1 C. sugar
1 egg
Cream together, until fluffy.
Add: 1 C. mashed , very ripe bananas
In separate bowl, combine:
1 2/3 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 3/4 Cups rolled oats
Mix together dry ingredients and stir into creamed mixture.
Add: 1 pkg. chocolate chips.
3/4 C. chopped nuts-- optional
Bake on cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, or until lightly golden and done.

I had time in between batches of banana cookies to sew up some rice bags for the winter nights.
If you've never made them before, just google them; there are lots of tutorials on the Internet.
I made two different sizes.
The two smaller ones take about 2 minutes to warm up in the microwave, and the two larger ones take just a minute more.
I warm them up just before bed and put them between the sheets, just where my feet are going to go.
Keeps my toes warm and toasty. Wonderful!

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for being able to find my old Halloween ceramic decorations. I know it's a little thing, but I painted a few ceramic decorations when our kids where just little. They are have special meaning for me, and I was happy to find them .
~I'm grateful for our old dutch oven. It is heavenly used throughout the week, and saves me so much time getting dinner on for the family.
~I am grateful I also found my little Laura Ashley red and white floral plates. I just have a few; a thrift store find. I put some plate hangers on them, and placed them on one of the walls in our master bedroom. They make me smile, every time I walk by and catch a glimpse of them.

Faded Time....

2011-10-26T06:25:00.001-06:00

Faded painted signs.
Times gone by.
The 'Squirt' sign is a painted sign on an old store in our little town.
Brings back memories.
Remember when the sides of buildings were painted with advertisements?
So many of those signs have faded, or disappeared completely.

Another local 'Ghost sign'.

There is a movement to preserve these old signs, before they disappear forever.
Some 'Ghost signs' are being restored.
I have started looking for 'Ghost signs' in every town. Photographing them, in case they fade even more, and disappear forever.

Yesterday, we had a chance to meet up with some old friends.
Friends that we haven't seen in more than 10 years.
It was so much fun to catch up with them, and share old memories.
After we had lunch in Payson, I drove by the old school where we would go sledding in the winter.
This old school sits on a hill..... perfect for sledding.
Dad and Mom would pack up the station wagon with all six kids, sleds, mittens, and thermoses of hot chocolate and head over to Payson.
We'd spend an entire Saturday, sledding down the hill.
Long time ago.
I don't know if they still allow sledding on the hill.
I was quite happy to see that the old building was still there, and in beautiful condition.
Lots of memories of my childhood and fun winter days.

On the way back home, we stopped by the ' Red Barn' to buy some apple juice.
They have the best apple juice ..... ever.

Huge pumpkins on display.

Getting into the spirit of the harvest season.

We bought a few gallons of apple juice, and a beautiful harvest wreath.
Reflected on our wonderful visit with old friends, and shared old memories.
I want our children to have a respect for the past, as well as an enthusiasm for the future.
Not to forget how lovely the simple things in life can be.
To know that when things are fading with time, that they can remember, talk and journal, and take pictures to remember.
Faded time.... faded, but not forgotten.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that I had such a wonderful childhood. We didn't have a lot of money, and my dad worked hard and was a wonderful provider for our family of eight.. What we did have, was laughter, and fun, and adventure, and plenty of love to go around. I am so grateful for those values. To have been taught what really matters in life. Family is everything.
~I'm grateful to have the chance to catch up with old friends.
~I'm grateful to have laughter in our home. And, plenty of love to go around.

Oh Honey !

2011-10-24T15:07:00.006-06:00

Honey.
Straight from the bee keeper himself.
A friend had told us about a guy that sells honey by the pound.
He sells it in honey buckets too.
Five pound buckets, or five gallon buckets.
I really wanted to fill a few of my old canning jars with honey.
What a great gift these will be.
Vintage canning jars filled with liquid sunshine.
If you buy the honey by the pound , and take your own containers, it will cost you $2.20 a pound.

Third generation bee keeper .
Filling my old canning jars with honey.
I think he told us that this tank holds 3000 gallons of honey.
Oh Honey!

Our beautiful mountain valleys are perfect for the honey bees.
He told us that this crop is mostly wildflower and alfalfa honey.
In just one week, his bees are headed to California.
A winter vacation; away from our deep, cold snow.
I can tell you ... it is absolutely delicious honey. He will sell out of honey very soon.
So, I'm going back on Friday to get some more honey.

Went to the post office to pick up my mail this afternoon, and a wonderful swap package awaited me.
I have done a few swaps with Julie, and I always receive the most generous, and beautiful swap items.
She is very talented and does beautiful handiwork.
The table runner in the above picture is just one of the beautiful things that she made and sent to me.

It's been a sweet as honey day!

Attitude of gratitude:

~I am grateful for people that still want to bee keep, and sell honey. I am grateful that we have the opportunity... right here in our little communities to buy fresh honey.

~I'm grateful to my sweet husband, and his perseverance. He has had to completely re-build the door frame around the store room door. Chiseled out the bad wood, cut and chisel the new wood to match up with the old architecture of the house.

Very time consuming.

~I'm grateful for sweet blog friends. They inspire me, and lift me up, make me laugh, and once in a while... I cry with them. How blessed I am to have such wonderful blog friends all over the world!

Shopped and shopped and shopped 'til I dropped.......or until it got too dark to see anything.

2011-10-20T08:43:00.001-06:00

It's true.
We shopped and shopped.
Sweet hubby took me to all the shops and places that I wanted to go to.
It was my b.day and he spoiled me.
These pictures are from the one of the shops at Gardner Village.
Love the beds, and linens, and fun decorating accessories.

Cheery red and green, cottage style bed.
Loved the apple green colored walls.

Another section of the same store. Dining sets galore.

Yet another bedroom set. Loved the basket on the bed, and the little set of stairs to the bed.

In one of the courtyards..... pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins.

Really loved the shabby finish on this hutch.

Another store.
It was our first time going to this store.
They had tons of stuff.
Some re-furbished, some consignment.

See what I mean......tons of stuff.

You could buy everything here to furnish and decorate a home.
What I loved the most about this store, is that everything was unique.
Nothing cookie cutter.
Stuff that no one else would have, or be able to buy out of a catalog.
Decorating from this store would guarantee a home that was unique and special.
That's why I like thrift shopping so much. I find things that no one else has. It adds so much charm to our home.

It was our first time at World Market.
I liked it OK.....but I like Trader Joes better. Sure wish that we would get a Trader Joes in Utah.

Lastly, we went to Pirate O's.
One of our all time favorite shops.
Looking from the outside, you would never know that this store carries some wonderful stuff.
They have a cheese room.
Gourmet products from all around the globe.
It was packed with people the day that we were there.
I did get a really beautiful pale yellow tin with a rooster on it.
Spencer stocked up on 'Blackjack' and 'Beemans' gum.
We had a wonderful trip, and a great time together.
But, I was happy to get home.
I always say....' I like to go, but I like getting home more.'

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for my little 'Brother' sewing machine. I've had that thing for years and years and years. I pulled it out yesterday and made some simple curtains for our kitchen.
~I'm grateful for the warmish weather that we've been having. We are able to get some more winterizing projects done.

Which Witch......a day at Gardner Village.

2011-10-18T10:10:00.003-06:00

Every year. It's tradition.
For my birthday, my sweet hubby takes me to Gardner Village.
We spend the day going to some of my favorite places.
Gardner Village is one of those favorite places.
This time of year is especially fun.
There are all kinds of fun things to see and do.
The witches are always a hit.

This witchi-poo is a fishing witch.
OK..... so she uses TNT; but it gets the job done.

Hula hooping witch. Love her skirt!

Flying witches.
Love the witch that is guiding her into the landing zone.

Student driver.

We had a great day! We shopped, had lunch and went to a bunch of my favorite places.

Later, I'll share more pictures of our fun day.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful that we finally have everything home. No more stuff in the storage unit. And, even though I still have no idea where to put everything, I am grateful that it's no longer spread out. Thank you D. for everything!!

~I'm so grateful that C. and L. were able to come for a visit. It is so good to see them and see how great they are doing.

~I'm so grateful that my sweet hubby is getting the new door built for the store room! Awesome.

~I am especially grateful today for our new family Dr. He made the tests that I have to do so easy on me and was so kind to me!! I will miss Dr. Jan so much, but we hope he enjoys his retirement to the fullest!

A second life for the sunflowers...

2011-10-12T14:10:00.002-06:00

We spent the day cleaning out the raised garden beds.
Raking out the pumpkin vines, the tomato plants, beans , etc.
My sweet husband tied the sunflowers onto the old fence posts.

He wanted to leave the sunflowers for the birds, and the deer.
I love the way they look on the old fence posts.
And, I love that he thinks about the birds and the deer wanting the sunflower seeds.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that my sweetheart took me for an early morning ride. To shake off the sleepies and to see the sunrise.
~I'm grateful for the sweet friend that stopped in yesterday with an early b.day gift. So thoughtful.
~I'm grateful that we have laughter, and smiles, and peace in our home.

Weekend at The Cottage.

2011-10-10T09:30:00.003-06:00

Our weekend at The Cottage.
My collection of vintage kitchen utensils.
There's no rhyme or reason to what I collect.
It just has to be something I really like.
Most of my collected items have been acquired at yard sales, or at thrift shops.
I found this chicken-wire tote at a yard sale recently, and love how the vintage utensils look in it.
I'm leaving the square bottomed potato masher out on the island; next to the candle.
It's a heart-happy thing.

Chippy paint, Patina.
Years of helping homemakers out in the kitchen.

I used some of our garden grown pumpkins to decorate the dining room table .
I've had the bobbins for years. Another yard sale find.
I often wonder if the seller regrets getting rid of them.
I use them in our home decor all the time.
The table runner......yes, another yard sale find.
It all comes together to make a charming table vignette.

I used up a few more of the green tomatoes out of our garden.
Pureed to make a wonderful jam.

Green Tomato Jam
You will need for this recipe:
2 1/2 Cups pureed green tomatoes. Peeled and cored.
2 Cups sugar
1 Pkg. ( 3 oz.) raspberry gelatin.
In a large saucepan, bring tomatoes and sugar to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved.
Skim off any foam. Pour into jars or freezer containers, leaving 1/2 in. head space. Cool completely before covering with lids.
Refrigerate or freeze. Yield: about 3 cups.
I put one jar in the refrigerator and the rest of the jars in the freezer.

One of the things that I love about this recipe, is the fact that it helps use produce that didn't ripen.
I hate throwing away something useful.
It's an old time tradition to use up everything. Resources were, and should be precious.

We washed, trimmed, and blanched the rest of the green beans.
Placed into freezer bags, and frozen.

I made a slow cooker full of Terriyaki chicken.
Perfect meal for a weekend night. Especially after making jam and freezing beans.
For this recipe you will need:
3 lbs. chicken breasts
1/2 C. pineapple juice
1/2 C. ketchup
little bit less than 1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. soy sauce
3 garlic cloves--crushed
3/4 tsp. ginger powder
Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix the rest of the ingredients together with a whisk. Pour over the chicken. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken when done. Stir chicken and sauce together in slow cooker and allow the sauce to soak into the chicken.
Serve with rice.

Our weekend at The Cottage was busy.
Filled with wonderful smells from the kitchen .
Lamps and candles glowing.
We took a few moments out from our shedule to snooze and relax too.
A perfect weekend.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful today for the chance to get a little reading in. I love to read.
~I'm grateful that Spencer took his bagpipes to my fathers grave, and played "Amazing Grace."
He's so thoughtful.
~I'm grateful for a new week. Memories to be made.
~I'm so grateful for the good health that our Father in heaven blesses us with!

Mouthwatering Green Tomato and Apple Chutney.

2011-10-07T13:20:00.000-06:00

Marking the changing of the seasons by harvesting, cooking,storing, and preserving the bounties of the harvest.
Creating that old time country feeling with gifts of food, and glistening jars of goodness.

Our tomatoes didn't ripen this year. I'm pretty certain that it had everything to do with not getting our planting done until the beginning of July, and a little bit to do with the fact that this summer has been much cooler and wetter than years past.
Bonus of the harvest is that we still have quite a few green tomatoes, and we got them picked before the storm yesterday.
Perfect for chutney.
Chutneys, pickles, jams, and jellies are some of those wonderful things we make and bottle for those cold winter months.
A tasty reminder of warm weather days and tasty garden produce;
just when we need a reminder most.

For this recipe, you will need :
4 Cups of completely green tomatoes.
3 Cups of firm, tart apples
1 C. raisins
3/4/ C. diced onion
2 cloves of garlic-minced
1 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 tsp. sea salt
3/4 C. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. mustard seed
2 tsp. roasted ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

Rinse and drain tomatoes. Peel, cut out stems and any blemishes. Cut tomatoes into 1/2 chunks.
Place in heavy pot.
Peel, core and cut the apples into 1/2 inch chunks; add them to the tomatoes.
Add the raisins, onion, garlic, brown and granulated sugar, salt and vinegar. Mix the ingredients well and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and boil the mixture slowly, and uncovered, stirring often , for 30 minutes.
Add the ginger, mustard seed , coriander, cinnamon, and cayenne. Return to a boil, adjust the heat and continue to cook the chutney uncovered at a low boil, stirring it often , until it holds a mounded shape when lifted in a spoon.
Taste it carefully. Remember that the balance of flavors will improve as the chutney mellows in the jar. Add, IF NEEDED, any additional vinegar, sugar, and or salt to taste.
Ladle the boiling -hot chutney into hot, clean pint or half pint jars, leaving 1/4 inch of head space.
Seal the jars with new two-piece canning lids according to manufacturer's directions and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath, or steam canner. Cool, label and store the jars.
Let the chutney mellow, and the flavors marry for a few weeks before serving.

Mouthwatering. Delicious accompaniment to crusty breads, cheese and cold meats.
I can't wait to have some with grilled sausages, and I'm really looking forward to eating this chutney with our smoked turkey that we will serve at Thanksgiving.
More than likely, a few jars will end up being given out at Christmas time too.

Yes... it's that wonderful Harvest time of year.
And, I love it!
I love the smells of the kitchen and the candles glowing throughout the house, and hot chocolate with a dash of cinnamon.
Harvest Blessings.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful to have my old canning jars back. Thank you so much to those of you that have returned them to us. I especially am grateful to get my really, really old square bottomed jars back. Thanks!
~I'm grateful for warm, fluffy socks to pull on my feet.
~I'm grateful for Bag Balm... sure makes my hands and heels soft.
~I'm grateful for being a journaler. We are a 'record keeping people', and I really am grateful to have time in my mornings to journal, reflect and ponder.

Thars SNOW in them thar hills !

2011-10-06T08:25:00.001-06:00

The first snow of the season.
It's been raining for almost twenty four hours straight.
We woke up to chilly temperatures, and snow on our West mountains.

It's quite beautiful.
Something magical and peaceful about snow on the mountains.
I'm not sure how long it will stick around.
It's supposed to warm up again this weekend.
But, it sure is an exciting preview of coming attractions.

I think it will be a good day to stay inside and bake pie.
Made this apple pie in our 'new' stove, and it turned out terrific.
There's always a learning curve whenever you get a new range, to know how it will cook and bake.
So far, I'm tickled pink with how our old Wedgewood cooks and bakes.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for a warm, cozy home, and for my family.
~I'm grateful to have food to can and put in the fruit-room for winter.

Adding the fact that right now, as I type, snow has begun to fall outside on the yard.

Looking Up.

2011-10-04T08:24:00.001-06:00

Looking up.
That's what I've been trying to do. Literally, and metaphorically.
Cutting firewood has got me thinking about burning firewood, and chimneys.
Have you ever looked up at the chimney on a house?
I started paying more attention to the chimneys on the house and humming 'Chim Chim Cheree' to myself.
Well, maybe not exactly just to myself.
It's amazing what you can see, just by looking up.
This owl was watching over main street from the rooftop of our old rock church.

The rock chimneys on this building are gorgeous, but what a happy surprise to see the owl.

Spencer and I raced back home to pick up my hubby.
We wanted him to see the owl too.
It was a little light for an owl to be out.
Hubby thinks that he was a young owl, maybe not too wise yet.

A few of the chimneys on our old school building.
Can you imagine getting enough fires built in the boilers to keep this building warm .
Sheesh.
I get tired just thinking about it.
I'm pretty sure that these chimneys saw more coal smoke, than wood smoke.
Currently, this building is being restored and renovated. It is used in the summer for art shows and auctions.

Three chimneys. A lot of fire building must have taken place back in the day.
To make a home cozy and warm.... there often had to be multiple fireplaces, wood stoves, cook stoves, or coal stoves.
It was a lot of work to prepare for the winter.
Often times, you will see an old house that has been re-roofed and the chimneys removed.
A lot of the roofing companies will remove them for free.
Tragic. An old house should have chimneys. Even if they are not currently being used to heat the home or vent a stove. It looks odd to see an old house without a chimney.
Look up the next time you take a ride, and you will see what I mean.
Oh.... also, you might just see a few birds.
I was amazed at how many different birds we saw perched on the chimneys we saw.

Looking up at this house, I was so surprised and thrilled to see all this detail.
Don't know who this guy is supposed to be. For some reason the movie 'Scrooge' came to mind, and the doorknob that shows Marley's face.
Maybe this is Marley.

Same house. The old porch light. Very cool.

Same house, viewed from the street. All that gorgeous detail is just about hid from view by the trees. But looking up..... we spied it .

Looking up... we saw the moon.
Still hanging out in the sky, looking down on the earth.
I hope that whatever is going on in your lives this week, that things will look up and that it will be a great week for everyone.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I think Brooke's grateful to be getting her stitches out today.
She is very worried about the scar. And the anchor stitching that will definitely leave a scar too. If anyone knows for sure how to get rid of scars , and fast, please let me know.
~I'm grateful to the soft Fall rain that we had last night, and early this morning.
Our home feels so cozy.
~I'm grateful for the new candle that BHG just put out, 'Warm Crackling Campfire'. It's a new favorite. A little pine, a little clove, a little vanilla maybe. Not sure.... but it's yummy! Bought mine at WM for under five buck. Me think I need another one.

Why I'm so tired, and worn out , but so grateful in many ways.

2011-10-02T20:06:00.003-06:00

It started out like this....

Brooke had to have surgery.

The Dr. did a biopsy, and they found cancer.
Basal cell carcinoma.
We took her into the office, and a few hours later, the cancer was excised, and hopefully gone forever.

The stitches come out next week, and the healing begins.
Due to the anti-rejection medications that she is on,(due to her kidney transplant) her chances of cancers increase exponentially.
We'll always have to be vigilant and watch and test for any kind of cancer.

A few days before the surgery,
we drove up this canyon to cut more firewood.

Spencer helped his dad cut for hours, and hours and they were able to get a lot of wood cut .

This is a load of fire wood that a friend of ours cut, and split and gave to us. He didn't need this load and graciously gave it to us. We are so grateful.

What a hard worker. My sweet husband works hard for our family. He is a wonderful provider and never complains about any task. He always does what needs to be done. We can always count on him.

We also had the corrals cleaned out. We wanted them cleaned before winter and the rest of the driveway back to the hay barn leveled.
When we got home from the canyon, one of my husbands friends was already working on cleaning out the corrals and leveling the driveway. Once again.... we are so grateful for such wonderful friends.

On Wednesday, Spencer and my hubby set up scaffolding so that they could tear the old roof off of the granary. It had to be a gazillion years old, and very weathered.
We have future plans for the granary, and in order to keep it weather tight, we needed to get a new roof on it before snow falls.
We actually recycled some galvinized tin. It will work for a while.

And again, friends to the rescue. Another friend stops by to help get the galvanized tin roof up on the granary. Sweet husband cuts the metal and hands it up. He is not fond of heights AT ALL.
One side is done, the other will be getting completed in the coming week.

Finally, the week wrapped up
with a kitchen over-haul.
We had put the kitchen at the end of the list, over and over, and over. Trying to get other projects completed.
Finally, we dug into the kitchen.
Everything needed to be done.
Electrical outlets moved and a few new ones added.
Old World texture added.
Primer.
Paint.
Gas line installed for vintage Wedgewood stove. AWESOME.
Light fixture installed.
Water line installed for refrigerator. Three cheers for cold water and ice !
Cupboards moved.
Shelves and pot rack built and installed. Thanks Babe.
New kitchen island built and installed. Thanks Spencer.
Etc.. etc... etc..
Still need to .... finish touching up all paint. Paint remaining cupboards. Finish decorating.
Buy 2 new stools.
Keep old stool that my Dad used every day in his work shop.
He'd be so proud of all the hard work that we've been kicking out around here.
He'd also feel bad for Brooke and for more c**p that she has to go through.
He'd tell her.."love you, little darlin."

* A glimps of our new kitchen *

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful for my amazing family. Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he gave us families.
~I am so grateful for wonderful friends, for their support, help and love.
~I'm so grateful for the many, many prayers for Brooke.
~I'm grateful for General Conference. How it feeds me spiritually.
~Most of all... I'm grateful to know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. That he loves us and even when life gets hard, we know that He is there to guide us through the tough stuff.
My favorite thought : When life gets too hard to stand...... kneel.
We can always pray for guidence and comfort.

I had to learn to read backwards, and a little upside-down.

2011-09-23T09:34:00.002-06:00

I bought this cool Lane cedar chest at a yard sale.

It cost me all of $5.00.
I wasn't looking for a cedar chest, but for $5.00, I couldn't leave it there.
If you have an old house, then you know that there is always a need for more storage.
I knew that I could use this chest for storage and the price couldn't be beat.
It was covered in cobwebs and dust..... but overall the condition was pretty good.
At first, I was thinking that if the condition was too shabby, that I could always give it a sanding and paint it.
Once I had it unloaded, and on the patio, I could see that it was actually in a lot better shape than it had first appeared to be in.
I cleaned it with some wood cleaner / wood preservative, and it came out beautifully!
No way am I going to paint this beauty.

These numbers are stamped into the wood , on the bottom of the cedar chest.
I did a little research, and found out that in order to date a Lane cedar chest, you have to read the serial number backward.
So ... 245010 becomes 01/05/42 .
Yes ...1942!
The production date of my cedar chest.

Made in Altavista Virginia.
The original Lane furniture factory location.
The Lane co. was started in Altavista VA, in 1912.

From the bit of research that I've done, I estimate the original price of this cedar chest to have been around $39.00 to $49.00.
Sixty nine years ago, that was a lot of money.

Inside my cedar chest, there is a small piece of paper that reads, 'Wedding dresser.'
I remember when all girls would put together a 'hope chest', or 'wedding chest.'

For me, this $5.00 Lane cedar chest, has become a treasure.
I will not be painting it, or altering it.
I will keep it in it's original condition.
A blast from the past.
I imagine the girl that at one time received the chest new, and lovingly placed items inside the chest for her future home and family.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am grateful for a good nights sleep.
~I'm grateful for sweet friends that come for a visit, and to say 'Hi.'
~I'm grateful for new friends
~I'm grateful to be able to get a little more prepared each day for the coming winter.

Take me to the cemetery in a buckboard wagon.

2011-09-20T12:43:00.002-06:00

Saturday.....small town life. A funeral of a community member.
His casket was loaded into a buckboard wagon.
A step back in time.
When life, and death, was simpler.
Without fan-fare.
Just doing what we came to do.

The casket was simple.
A pine box, with hand carved wooden handles.
The casket spray was simple too.
Sage brush, with a few sunflowers .

Down Main street.
One last ride.
Everyone stopped.....heads bowed in respect.

Pallbearers followed.

When I die, load me in a pine box, set sunflowers on my casket, and load me in a buckboard.
Drive me down Main Street, one last time.

(My next door neighbor runs mule teams. He offers his mule teams and wagons free of charge for funerals.)

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful and feel so blessed to live in our small town.

And the winner of the giveaway is...........

2011-09-17T07:56:00.004-06:00

Carla....from carla-cosmogirl.blogspot.com/ .
Congratulations!!
Carla, send me an email, with your address, and I will get your goodies sent off to you .

Thanks to everyone who participated! I had so much fun doing this giveaway, that I want to do another one in the near future.

Time's running out.....

2011-09-14T12:21:00.001-06:00

The date is fast approaching.
Giveaway deadline is Friday.
Soon... someone will be getting some giveaway goodies in the mail.
Enter soon, if you already haven't. See previous post for instructions.

~Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful that we could drop stuff off at the D.I. trailer in the church parking lot.
Yippee.... less stuff to worry about.. to clean ...and to store!

You can win these Fall Giveaway Goodies!

2011-09-09T08:39:00.001-06:00

You could receive these giveaway goodies!
Just in time for Fall.
Warm colors. Country colors.
Golden yellows, rich reds, and gorgeous greens.
You will receive, a cookbook journal from Paula Deen.
A Welcome Fall plaque that is approximately 13"x5".

A set of beautiful dish towels..... generous in size.... approximately 16"x 25". The colors are beautiful and so perfect for Fall.

You will also receive a set of 3 homemade dish cloths.
Beautiful and practical.

All you need to do to receive these giveaway goodies is :
#1 Leave me a comment.
#2 Follow my blog...... add your name to the 'Cottage Minded Folks' box , found on the right side of my blog.
The giveaway opportunity will be open until September 16th.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for the cool crisp mornings that we are having. Makes me want to get up , light a candle and bake bread. How wonderful this season is!
~I'm grateful to be living in my wonderful little town. Kind, friendly people.
~I'm grateful for wonderful neighbors too!

Treasures.

2011-09-05T17:49:00.002-06:00

We had a great week and weekend.

It started last week, on Wednesday, when my daughter and I decided to have a

'girls day'.

We went shopping at our favorite stores, and out to eat lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.

We found these wonderful 'treasures' at our favorite thrift store.

The tin box and the French bucket have a warm color.

They are going to provide some additional storage in the bathroom, and look great too!

I also found these great pillow shams. The perfect colors. Warm and cozy.
I also found the warm yellow king sized blanket. It's so soft and I love the warm yellow color.
Total bed make-over for just a few dollars. I won't feel too bad when I have to put on the winter quilts and tuck these bed linens into a blanket trunk in a few weeks. I love finding quilts and pillow shams at the thrift store, or at a yard sale. It sure saves money, and I get lots of different looks for the same price as buying a new set. And I love to combine my different finds into a great look!

I also found some pint and half pint canning jars. Yippee! They will be so nice to fill with apricot-pineapple jam. Even better...... apple butter.

We went to a few yard sales on Saturday. I found this really beautiful blue spatter-ware enameled platter. It's a great size, and I am happy to add it to my platter collection.
I also snagged a few baskets, and some raffia. Perfect timing to come across the raffia.
Fall decorating is under way, and I have some plans for that raffia.

Bought some beautiful books too.
One of them has the most delicious looking canning recipes in. There is a recipe for
pear chutney that I am anxious to try. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Like always, the week and the weekend seemed to go by in a blur. The days are getting shorter, I'm afraid. I am enjoying the last of our sunflowers, and the last of the garden.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for this time in my life.
Life is truly a miracle and I feel my Heavenly Fathers blessings every day.
~I am grateful to be getting my freezer filled, a little at a time.
I've been working on baking and freezing banana bread, zucchini bread , and green beans out of the garden.

Picking apples, Capitol Reef, and Homemade Apple Butter.

2011-08-30T05:22:00.009-06:00

6:00 am - Saturday.

Hubby wakes everyone up.

We pack a picnic lunch.

Surprise road trip.

We head down to Capitol Reef National Park.

We pick fruit in Fruita every Fall; inside the park.

This year, due to the colder and wetter weather that we've had, we really didn't think that the apples would be on yet. According to the guide, there was supposed to be Peaches, and Pears to pick . Only, this year was different. The park guide told us that they will open the peach and pear orchards in Sept.

Who woulda thunk that apples would be ready? Usually, the apples are ready to pick in Sept. through October.

But, there they were. Two orchards had apples that were ready to be picked.

We didn't pick a ton of apples. Just a few bags full. I wanted enough to eat fresh apples, and to make apple butter.

Sure is a pretty setting for picking fruit.

These fruit trees are very old, and the park preserves the trees and maintains the orchards year round with the historic cultural irrigation practices, pruning, mowing, pest management, planting, mapping and grafting.

I'm sure that my grandchildren will be able to pick fruit in Fruita one day too.

I made apple butter with the apples that we picked.

It turned out delicious and was so easy to make.

Made it in the slow cooker. You can just imagine how delicious those apples and cinnamon bubbling away made the house smell.

Slow cooker Apple Butter:

4 qts. finely chopped tart apples

2 3/4 Cups sugar

2 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1- Pour apples into slow cooker.

2- drizzle lemon juice over apples.

3- Combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over apples.

4- Cover. Cook on High 3 hours, stirring well with a large spoon every hour.

Reduce heat to Low and cook 10-12 hours, until butter becomes thick and dark in color. Stir occasionally with a strong wire whisk or mash and stir with potato masher for smooth butter.

5- Freeze or pour into sterilized jars and seal.

Makes truly delicious apple butter. The recipe reads that this will make 6-10 pints apple butter, however, I found that it made about 4 1/2 pints.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful to be working on my food storage .... still.

Double chocolate zucchini bread......a family favorite.

2011-08-24T13:45:00.007-06:00

It's that time of year again. Zucchini, zucchini, and more zucchini.

Everyones garden is producing wonderful zucchini squash.

We love it.

Still..... we don't leave our windows down, or the car doors unlocked whenever we go to the post office. Not taking the chance of a drive by zucchini drop.

I know people that cruise the grocery store parking lots, post office and church parking lots.....all to 'share' their bounty .

This recipe is one that we've had for years. Chocolate is a big deal at our house, and I had to find a way to use all that extra zucchini!

Combine in a large bowl:

3 cups all purpose flour

1/4 C. cocoa

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

In mixer combine;

2 cups of sugar

3 eggs

Beat together until fluffy and creamy.

Add to egg and sugar mixture:

1 C. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanillaStir in:

2 Cups of shredded zucchini. (We grow and use the heirloom variety 'Butter stick', that's why my zucchini is yellow)

Combine moist and dry ingredients together--- stir until just combined.

Add:

1 C. Chocolate chips

1 C. chopped nuts (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease 2- 9x5" pans.

Bake for 55-60 minutes , or until zucchini bread tests done.

We bake up a couple batches at a time. Cool the bread, slice and wrap in waxed paper then freeze in freezer bags. I pack it in my sweet husbands lunch. Gets me a gold star... every time !

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful for a good nights sleep. Amazed at how wonderful the entire world appears when I'm not sleep deprived.

~I'm grateful for getting two apple trees planted, and four cotoneasters.

~I'm grateful for a sweet friend that has offered to divide and share her perennials with us.

It's mine !

2011-08-22T16:05:00.001-06:00

No pictures...sorry.
But... we got the super cool vintage Wedgewood stove !
It's currently under a couple of tarps and in storage.
I need to have a gas line run to the kitchen.
Yep.. it's a little like putting the cart before the horse.
But... this cart is super cool !

Just what my kitchen needs.....

2011-08-17T08:49:00.002-06:00

I've been on the lookout for a vintage stove for our kitchen.

It's just what our kitchen needs.

I'm going today to look at a 1950's Wedgewood

Wish me luck.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful for my little garden and the grow boxes that we made. So far, I have been able to harvest a few squash and beans. Not to shabby considering that we were not able to get our grow boxes built, or plants in until July!

Change

2011-08-15T10:44:00.007-06:00

Change is in the air.

You can feel it.

You can tell a difference.

The morning air is a little crisper, and then, you see the leaves slowly changing.

Just a few.

Their summer green is fading, and they are putting on their fall coats of yellow, orange, and red.

Just a few more weeks at the cabins.

This cabin is old school, and it is my favorite cabin. We pass this cabin each time we take Spencer back up to work on the mountain.

I love it!

We had a wonderful thunderstorm last night.

It's always a special treat to drive up the canyon right after a thunderstorm.

Everything is so clean and green, and I love to see the clouds dancing in the mountain tops.

Looking back down the mountain on the road we just drove up on. Believe it or not, it is a two lane paved road. Looks so tiny from on the top of the mountain. I can see the sun rising over the mountains. The clouds start to lift and burn off and the valley is bathed in sunlight.

I feel so blessed that we've had this opportunity to make this beautiful mountain drive several times a week.

This is Spencer's last week at the school district camp. He will begin his leave of absence, and next summer begin working on the mountain again.

Spencer starts college next Monday. Everyone is gearing up for 'back to school' time.

We canners are canning summers goodness; hoping to capture that delicious taste of summer in our canning jars to have a taste of in the cold winter.

We canned apricot-pineapple jam this past weekend.

Some of our apricot-pinapple jam will be used to make that crock pot apricot chicken.

We are planning a trip to pick more fruit.... to fill more jars.

Yes... change is in the air.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful that I have a wonderful, loving hubby who totally 'gets' me. He is activly looking for my latest want. I have a desire for an item, and it is really old.... like 1950's... and he is on the hunt of find the item for me. He's awesome! He didn't even roll his eyes when I told him what I wanted to do. He just listened and said, "Cool."

~I'm grateful for the rain and thunderstorm that we had last night. It really poured, and watered everything . Awesome.

Simple Laughter, and Simple Food.

2011-08-12T09:42:00.004-06:00

A cowboy strode into the cafe and yelled, "Who's the wise guy who painted my horse yellow?"

There was total silence in the cafe.

"Show yourself if you dare,' challenged the cowboy.

A 7-foot , mean -looking character got up from a table and looked down at the much shorter cowboy.

"I did it," he said coolly. "What did you want to tell me?"

The cowboy swallowed hard. " I thought you'd like to know," he said, " that the first coat is dry."

I made a simple supper of pan fried potatoes and onions.

Have you ever tried fried potatoes with peach or apricot jam on them?

I know, it sounds strange, but trust me ---it's delicious!

I also made some ciabatta bread. Heavenly.

Life is great! I feel better than I have felt in a very long time. I have been feeling so overwhelmed by the events of the past year. Everything has been so discombobulated and there has been so much on our plate. Finally, this morning , I woke up with that feeling in my heart that the old me is back! Yippee!!

I am looking forward to getting renovation projects finished up. Those projects are not feeling so overwhelming or like such drudgery now. This little house is going to be awesome when we get it done!

~Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful that the blahs have left, and that I feel so rejuvenated and blessed more than ever.

~I'm grateful at nighttime to see all the twinkling stars!

~I'm grateful to be my old self again......finally.

Reception

2011-08-10T10:50:00.009-06:00

The Old Rock Church.

Historic, built by pioneers and beautiful.

A great place to hold the reception.

We had a few strangers come in when we were setting up. They wanted to see inside this gorgeous building. Can't blame them.

Entering the reception...... we had shepherd hooks lining the walkway, and mason jars filled with sunflowers.

The beautiful couple arriving at their reception.

Once again, I am in awe of Lorena's gorgeous dress.

We served brownie fudge sundaes. Delicious !

A glimpse of some of the table centerpieces. Sunflowers, candles, etc.. A few of the tables had birdhouses decorated with sunflowers on them.

We constructed a backdrop using three antique doors, and swags of tulle, and a grapevine garland with sunflowers and twinkle lights. It turned out so cute!

The reception was on the one month anniversary of the day that Lorena arrived in the United States... what a whirlwind, busy, happy and blessed month !

Ahhh... the beautiful bride, and handsome groom.

Wedding done----- check

Reception done---- check.

Mom and Dad relaxing----- working on it.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful for all the wonderful friends and family that have supported our family.

We have been so blessed!

~I'm grateful to have passed this milestone, and still have a few hairs on my head.

***Many, many thanks to all of you that helped us keep our heads above water.... you know who you are, and we love you tons!

Summer Storms. Wood on the chopping block. Peaches in the pot.

2011-08-02T09:32:00.012-06:00

Looking over the neighbors farm. Summer rain storms.

The clouds sunk low on the mountains.

No complaints here.
I am grateful for the rain.
It has been a blessing not to have to worry about getting the garden watered or the lawns.

Of course.... there is that added bonus of the smell of fresh falling rain, and the smell of the mountains that comes on the breezes of the storms.
A little pine, a little sage, and the smell of the dirt. Love it!

For what ever reason... Rowdy found a comfy spot to watch the summer rain storms.
He jumps up on the ledge of the porch, tucks underneath of the hanging baskets and watches the lightening and thunder and rain.
Probably makes him feel cozy and safe.

My sweet husband spent a lot of his time on his days off stacking wood.

The wood is from all the trees that we've cut down.

Saturday morning, a co-worker of my husband showed up with his wood splitter and started splitting wood
We weren't even home at the time! Super nice guy.

He split the wood, and Spencer replenished his wood splitting pile and my sweet husband started getting it all stacked.

All in all.... we ended up with close to six cords of wood.
Naturally, it will have to season a while before it can be used.
Sure is a good feeling seeing that wood pile grow !

Peach jam in the pot.

Brooke and I made a couple of batches of peach jam.

No... the peaches aren't coming on in our area yet, but we ordered some peaches through Bountiful Baskets.

Gave us enough peaches to make 12 jars of delicious peach jam.

Feels awesome to be canning again, and to be getting the fruit room replenished. Store room, fruit room, food storage room.... whatever you want to call it .

Wonderful to see those glistening jars of summer goodness all lined up on the shelf !

Attitude of gratitude:

~I feel so grateful to be getting a few things done for Fall.

I feel so much better prepared to be getting a little bit of canning done, and of course the wood split and stacked.

~I'm grateful that we are in the home stretch of getting the reception done.

After it's over..... I'm running away!

A supercalifragilisticexpeialidocious month around the cottage.

2011-07-28T15:30:00.011-06:00

What a wonderful, busy, happy month July has been. More goings-on than you can shake a stick at. Of course there was the wedding.

We did a lot of stuff this month...... and here's the wrap up.... in no particular order.

The happily ever-after couple.

Cole and Lorena were married and sealed in the Salt Lake LDS temple.

Lorena and her mother and grandmother made her gorgeous dress. Finished by Lorena just hours before we left for Salt Lake.

All of her family is in Brazil, and was unable to attend the wedding. We made certain to take a lot of pictures so that they could see how gorgeous she looked in her dress.

Step by step, and side by side...... they begin their future together.

We are now finishing up the final preparations for their reception. It will be country, and old-fashioned with sunflowers and daisies.

Because Lorena got here just days before the wedding, we decided to wait until a few weeks later to have the reception.

Cole looked pretty dapper in his vintage tuxedo. Lorena was breathtakingly beautiful. May they always be as happy and as in love as they are now.

We also had two huge trees cut down this month. The gargantuan pine tree. Yup... lost my pine tree, but I am happy to report that we greatly increased our winter wood supply.

We also, sadly had to cut down the box elder. Yep--- I lost my tire swing tree. That poor old tree was so sick and diseased that it was hollow down the entire center of the tree. We lost some huge limbs on it this past January, and I am certain that we would have lost more limbs this coming winter .

We were a bit sad to see both trees go, but they had both outlived their usefulness as shade trees and will now be wonderful firewood to help heat our home in the winter.

No worries...... we will be planting more trees to take their places.

We were able to hit a yard sale this month. Just one.... but it was a good one for us.

We were able to buy a giant eight foot by six foot flag to hang above the hay barn. I also bought these great Terra-cotta pots. Four in all. They will look great in the garden room of the barn sitting on my home-made potting table. I may even plant a few herbs in them for the summer.

Spencer's boss gave him his very own ' Tin Can Cottage'. He's pretty happy about it, and has big plans to fix it up. It is pretty cute inside, with a 1950 aqua stove and refrigerator. He has some pretty cool blue fabric to have cushion covers re-upholstered with. I know Spencer, and when he's done fixing it up it will be super cool.

He calls his camp trailer 'Hob Knob'.

Grin.

We were able to take a little rid one morning, and I saw this adorable daisy wagon. Aw.... now I need one of these old wagons.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful for so many things.... my cup runneth over.

~I'm grateful for a wonderful family, and amazing friends that call with offers of help and just to let me vent and help me figure out how to do this wedding thing. It's been so wonderful to have everyones support. I mean it! There is NO WAY that we could do this alone.

~I'm grateful that our Brooke is home..... she will be doing her courses online this fall to finish up her degree, and will be home. Awesome!

She makes me laugh, and reminds me that I'm only human and a pretty dull one at that :)

Wedding countdown...eight days and counting.

2011-07-09T20:37:00.002-06:00

Cole and Lorena are getting closer every second to being Mr. and Mrs.

and.... our family tree is growing; gaining a daughter in law.

The will be sealed in the Salt Lake temple ..... for time and eternity.

Taken a break...............

2011-07-07T07:46:00.005-06:00

Just taken a bit of a summer break ....

isn't that what summer is all about ?!

We are getting projects done, spending time together, and having a blast.

We are also getting ready for our son's wedding. Cole is getting married, and even though we have had to change the date 5 times, Lorena is finally here from Brazil, ( she arrived yesterday afternoon, after more than a 24 hour flight) and the date is set for the 18Th in the Salt Lake City temple.

We will be having a small family reception. Date is still not set for that ...... good grief!

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful that we are getting a lot of projects done.

~I'm grateful that we are getting closer and closer to getting done with the wedding too :)

70% Off sale, rain and salamaders

2011-06-30T16:24:00.008-06:00

Our local garden center had a huge sale.
70% off all plants. Shrubs , annuals, perennials.
The garden center had decided that with the warm, warm weather that we have been having, and the winds, that they didn't want to put the time and effort into keeping everything watered anymore this season.

We bought quite a few plants.

A couple of red twig dogwood shrubs and quite a few herbs, and tons of perennials

At 70% off, we couldn't pass up that kind of a deal.

There are a few annuals that I bought just to help refresh our summer containers. Also, we still need to plant the window box that we built for my husband for Fathers Day.

And, it's been raining.
I mean, pouring.
Which of course is great for all the plants, and the gardens and crops. It just poured and poured for the past two days. Bumped the power off for a few hours also. Last night, when my hubby went out to check the yard after the last torrential downpour and the wind, he called me to come and see what was just outside .. right by the bottom of the back porch.

Salamanders.

Four of them to be exact. I remember when we lived in Arizona, and we would have the monsoons, it would bring out these huge desert toads.

I'm thinking that the monsoon like rains that we have had for the past two days, brought out these salamanders.

But.... where are they the rest of the time??

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful to have a wonderful husband that can make anything and is a super handy-man.

The next few weeks, he's going to take some time off to get a lot of projects crossed off of our list.

I'm certain that he will get a lot of fishing in too!

~I'm grateful to be able to call our kids every day. I missed that when they were on their missions! It's awfully nice to hear their voices and to see how their days went.

S~W~E~E~T !

2011-06-28T05:14:00.012-06:00

Not too long ago, my blog friend Julie, Country Girl at Heart (link from my side-bar)
asked me if I would want to do a swap with her. Of course, I did!
So, on the first day of Summer, we sent our respective swaps off in the mail.
This is one of the gorgeous stitchery items that she made me and sent to me.
So sweet!

Receiving her swap was a sweet treat, and a wonderful way to begin my weekend. Sweet little watering cans. Sweet addition to my plants. Absolutely adorable banner/runner. I am going to have my sweet husband rig me up a dowel and a hook so that I can hang this sweet stitchery on my door. Trust me, this picture cannot do this sweet stitchery justice.
It is absolutely gorgeous ! And, huge! It is the same size as the top of my blanket trunk. More sweet swap gifts. One of the best parts of this swap, was that everything that Julie sent to me, is so summery, and Americana. Just exactly what I've been needing!! I've been wanting to decorate for the season and for July, but a lot of our decorating stuff is still in a box somewhere.
Sure lifted my spirits to receive all these wonderful gifts, and it has really inspired me to get decorating again. So--- sending out a huge thanks to Julie for her sweet gifts !!Also... this past weekend, we got the garden planted! SWEET ! As you can see, the beans were starting to sprout. We soaked them, according to the planting directions, and they started to sprout. I hope it's a sign of good things to come, as far as the garden growing and thriving. Coreopsis. This variety is called 'Jethro Tull'.
Coreopsis always reminds me of my hubby's grandma Evans. It was her favorite flower, and one of the first garden flowers that I ever planted.
She was an awesome gardener, and loved her flowers!
One day, when our kids were just knee high to a grasshopper, she knocked on our front door, holding a flat of coreopsis. I will always remember her sweet present, and love of flowers and gardening.
Grandma Evans gave me such great gardening advice. I can remember 20 years ago, her telling me that 'One can never have too many trees. Plant, plant, plant trees.'
Sweet advice that I still follow.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am grateful for the sunny days that we are blessed with. These sunny days are helping us to grow our gardens and crops.
~I am grateful to be getting things crossed off of our long, long, list! Progress = happy Kerin.
~I'm grateful for Sundays. After church, I feel re-charged and ready for a better week. Grateful for all the many, many blessings that have been bestowed upon me and my family.

Wonderful weekend work plans

2011-06-24T07:12:00.007-06:00

There are those people that will be spending their weekend by the pool.
Improving their tans.
Sure, maybe a few people will be at the lake, or taking a weekend trip to a fabulous destination. Golf? Tennis? Mountain biking?
Great ! Hope they have fun!
For me.... the weekend will be wonderful. I will be planting the garden. Finally.
I'll be doing a bit of painting too.

This wall was one of the walls that needed to be re-built. After we chiseled off the stone, and removed the metal lathe, the wall had suffered considerable damage.
Once the wall was re-built , and the 'Old World' texture applied, primer and paint, all that remained was to get the trim work replaced.Yesterday, my sweet husband and I, cut and replaced the trim work, and got the primer painted on.
So, this weekend, I'll get the trim painted. In addition to painting the trim, I need to work on painting the exterior trim, and the front door, and the back door.
Paint some window trim, etc... etc... etc.... Thankfully, J.W moved the tons, and tons of gravel around for us.
We are so grateful!
Sure saved us about a hundred hours of back breaking work.
I'm wonderfully blessed to be able to work on our cottage and gardens.
For me, it is a wonderful way to spend the weekend.
Work = progress.
So, if you want to spend a wonderful weekend working, come on by. Bring a shovel, or rake, and a paintbrush.
We'll take a few breaks, eat a few Popsicles, and have a BBQ.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful to have plenty of irrigation water for this summer.

~I'm grateful for the 'crock-pot'.... sure makes getting a meal on the table easy. Especially during these busy, busy summer month. Tonight, I'll be using my slow cooked BBQ pork recipe, and substituting chicken. That way, everyone can grab a roll, some BBQ chicken and some salad. Easy dinner----done.

Weekend at my country home

2011-06-20T11:02:00.019-06:00

The sun sets on a wonderful weekend at my country home.
After a fierce storm, beginning Saturday night, and continuing into Sunday evening, we were treated to an absolutely beautiful sunset. Around 9:15 pm on Sunday, these guys showed up.
They knocked on the door , and told us that we would be without power for a while.
There was a line that had shorted out on the neighbors main power pole, and they were going to replace it.The shorted-out line didn't effect our home, but they were going to be shutting off all the power in 3 different lines to make the repair. I was so grateful that they let us know.... that way, we had a chance to un-plug the computer and other electronics.I lit some candles. Spencer was reading my 1930's copy of 'Moby Dick'.
While he read by candlelight, I took the camera and captured some amazing, and beautiful pictures of the sunset.The sun going down over the West mountains.
Another look towards the West.Incredible! The sky looked like molten lava. The reflection of the sunset created some beautifully colored skies on the East side of town also. This is the view looking East from our front yard.
In a lot of ways, having the power out for a bit , really was a blessing.
I am so happy that I got to witness such an incredible sunset.
A perfect ending to Fathers Day.I made these sticky buns for my sweet husband for Fathers Day.
Buns:
2 1/4 cups very warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 white cake mix
5 cups flour
Filling:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze:
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup chopped nuts
Mix water and yeast together with a whisk in a large bowl. Whisk cake mix into yeast water. Stir in flour, one cup at a time. Let dough stand in bowl in a draft-free place 45 minutes. Knead enough to punch down and roll to an 18X10- inch rectangle. Add small amount of flour if needed during process.
Spread 2 tablespoons butter over rolled-out dough with pastry brush. Sprinkle sugar then cinnamon evenly over dough. Roll up dough beginning at widest end. Cut dough into 15 rolls.
Pour 1/2 cup melted butter into a 9X13-inch pan. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over butter. Evenly distribute nuts over brown sugar. Place rolls in pan on brown sugar mixture. Let dough rise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees20-23 minutes. Or until golden brown and center rolls are cooked completely.
Invert hot rolls onto a platter. Makes 15 sticky buns.

I really loved these rolls. The next time that I make them, I will make a few changes.
First of all, I will double the amount of glaze. Needs to be more 'sticky'!
Secondly, I will cook the rolls until they are a bit more golden brown, to insure that the center rolls are completely cooked through.
Spencer helped me make a cool planter box for my sweet husband as a surprise Fathers Day gift.
We recycled two of the old windows that we had replaced when we were renovating. We also recycled a section of an old broken door, and we fashioned shutters out of it.
And for the planter box, we used an old ammo box that our sweet friends had gifted to us.
We left the old hardware on the door, and left all of the old paint on everything. I sealed the entire planter with satin poly to seal it and preserve it.
My sweet husband loves this planter! He thinks it's so cool!
What a great Fathers Day gift!Over the weekend, we also worked on the raised garden boxes for our vegetable garden. We just need to amend the soil a bit more, and then plant our heirloom seeds. By the end of this week, I hope to have our garden officially planted.Finally, early this morning. I took Spencer back up the mountain to go to work. Everything is greening up, and the views in the canyon are gorgeous.
Back to work. Spencer works on this mountain. Yeah... I know, I'm jealous too! And, Spencer will get lulled to sleep by the sounds of the train, loading it's cars with coal to pull down off the mountain. So goes another weekend at our country home.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with this beautiful life. Even the trials and tribulations; for they give me experience and strengthen me.

~I'm grateful for my sweet husband, and the wonderful father that he is to our children. He makes sacrifices daily for them, to do everything to ensure their happiness and health.

All around the cottage.....

2011-06-17T10:07:00.013-06:00

Watching the 'traffic ' on main street.

Rowdy and I spent a few warm summer afternoons, sitting on the front porch, just watching the world go by. And watching the sheep graze on grass across the street. This is the house that is the subject of the painting titled "Sheep house", for obvious reasons.
Last Friday, my sweet hubby and I went 'rock shopping.'

For the crushed boulder kinds of rocks, not the sparkly, girls best friend kinds of rock.

Who knew that there were so many kinds of rocks.

Color variations, size variations, washed, un-washed... etc.. etc..

One thing I knew for certain, is that I wanted a softer colored rock than the traditional gray crushed rock. And, I also knew for certain that I wanted a smaller size.

This is what we ended up with.

It's 1'' rock, and the company that we ordered it from , calls it 'red rock', although in my opinion, it's more tan colored.

Delivery went pretty smooth and was pretty quick.

The driver was kind enough to put half the load in one location for us, and the other half in another location.

We had to wait a few days after ordering the rock, because there is an actual 'waiting list' for this color and size of rock.

We will need to order some more eventually, and hopefully, the company will be caught up with their waiting list.

This color of rock comes from a location in Utah called "Freedom."

This is a holding bed. We needed a place to put flowers and plants until they can get incorporated into the landscaping.
Our sweet friends called us and asked us if we would like some irises.
Of course!
I love to get divisions, and cuttings of plants!
What a sunny color this iris is.
This is a very striking iris. I think all of the irises will be gorgeous planted along our fence. The fence has yet to be built...... that is the reason for the holding bed.
Our plan is to get it built before the end of next month.

Finally..... the sun sets on another busy, yet productive week at the cottage.
We are truly blessed.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for the R. family and their thoughtfulness and kindness to our family. It's awesome to have such wonderful, loyal, friends!
~I'm grateful that we found our box of seeds. I had packed it away safely for the move, and now I've found it!
My sweet husband put in 4 awesome grow boxes, and now, we can get them planted!!!

A look back to 1918

2011-06-14T10:52:00.012-06:00

1918--- The year that our home was built.
I wondered what life was like around that time. Milk was delivered.
If you didn't have your own cow.
And, it came by milk wagon.

You could order your home from Sears.

There were lots and lots of designs that you could pick.

And even though the homes weren't nearly as expensive as they are these days, the average national salary was just $1,144.oo.Maybe you would buy a shiny new tractor for the farm.

And gas....... it was only .o8 cents a gallon. WOW!
The president of the United States was Woodrow Wilson
Fashion was modest. Women wore dresses.

Work dresses, and church dresses. Lots of kids wore overalls.

My grandma was born in 1911, and she often told us of when they were young, they would get two pair of overalls in the fall and a pair of shoes. The overalls would have to last them all year, and they went barefoot in the summer. Dresses were sewn from calico fabric, or re-made from mothers old dresses.And pie..... often served on Sunday. The days when pie wasn't considered 'junk food'.

Certainly a simpler time. I am grateful for the many convenience's of today's life style.
Although I can't help but yearn for those simpler days.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am grateful for prayer. It guides my days and comforts me.
~I am grateful for getting little projects around home done. There are so many, and at times, I feel overwhelmed. I am grateful that my sweet husband keeps working away at the to-do list.
~I am grateful for our humble little cottage home.

One mans trash

2011-06-13T10:00:00.011-06:00

Is another mans treasure.
Or in this case...... another woman's.
(After: close up of hardware)
Out and about going to yard sales on Saturday, we ran across this old dresser.
You've all seen these dressers.
Blah.
Outdated.
But with a bit of elbow grease, and paint that I already had on hand. I was able to transform this dresser into a treasure.
Honestly, my husband was a bit sceptical.
He didn't like the 'heavy hardware.'
I knew that with a little spray paint, the hardware would turn out fantastic.

(After: close up of drawer pulls)
Believe me.... he's impressed.
He is very happy with how the dresser turned out, and one of his favorite things about it, is the hardware. I'll admit..... it was a bit 'heavy' feeling. Less than one can of 'Krylon Brushed Nickle' spray paint later, the hardware feels more elegant.One last look at the 'before'. Notice however, that the drawers are dove-tailed, and solid wood.
No particle board.
Made to last.

Finished . Clean and country with a bit of elegance. Nine.... yes NINE drawers of wonderful, fantastic storage! I am always on the look out for more storage. The best part........ (drum roll please...) this dresser cost me $5.00. Yep five smacker-roos.I also got the matching huge mirror for another $5.00. Ten bucks. Now that's what I call a treasure.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful that I have an inherent ability to be frugal. Even when members of my own family are sceptical...... I have an ability to see how awesome something can be. If I didn't, we certainly wouldn't have bought this old house :)
~I'm grateful that I was also able to score a huge, like new, evaporative cooler. I think that for our house size, we will have to leave it turned on low all summer. Unless, we want to make ice cream in front of it. Oh... I found it on-line in the local area. Awesome!
~I am so grateful that we were able to get out very leaky pressurized irrigation line fixed. Our water master came and replaced all the parts and put in a new valve for us....etc. At no cost to us. He told us that since we are new in town, that he would be happy to get it up and running for us. We have an amazing community. Amazing.

Scary

2011-06-09T17:04:00.004-06:00

Someones under there: Little Johnny was in his bedroom playing with his toy tractor when his mother walked in.
"Mom, doesn't it say in the Bible that man was made out of dust?" he asked
"Yes," replied his mom.
"Is is also true that when we die, we go back to dust?" he inquired.
"Yes, " said his mom again. "Why do you ask?"
Because I was looking under the bed, "Johnny answered, " and there's someone under there either coming or going."

Just a little humor to start the upcoming weekend out with a smile.
Also.... true confession........ there's either somebody coming or going under my bed, and couches, and desk too.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for being able to get a good nights sleep last night. It is so rare that I get a good nights sleep.
~I'm grateful for my sweet husband taking me out to dinner. Hello.... love a good sandwich, especially when it's a warm summer night, and I don't feel much like cooking.

Proof Positive

2011-06-06T21:34:00.009-06:00

Finally.
It's beginning to feel like that time of year.
Planting season.
Gardening season.
Flowers blooming.
Cows grazing.
Those days when I can just mosey about.
Putter-butt around.
Take an evening drive and watch the sun dip behind the mountains.

Herbs planted in the old watering trough.
Chocolate mint.......tucked inside a shard of the old terra-cotta irrigation pipe. Excavated when a tree was removed.
Lemon balm. To be placed near the front door entrance.
Sage. Lovely, comforting sage. A bitty sage plant tucked into an old galvanized pail. Awaiting a more permanent home.The lilacs in bloom. The most heavenly scent. Cut bunches fill the cottage with their wonderful perfume.Delighted with the white lilac bush. Although I wished for an old fashioned 'Abe Lincoln,' I will be quite happily content with the lilacs that we have.
Apple blossoms. Summer dahlia. Brightening up the planter box that Spencer made for me. Perfect. Proof positive that summer is here. Oh.. it doesn't matter to me that it's not 'officially' summer quite yet. The sun shinning and flowers blooming.... for me, it's proof positive that summer has started. I'm a sunshine girl. Need sun, love sun, and I am ever so grateful that sunny days are here again.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I am so grateful for the blisters on my hands. Proof positive that digging in the dirt time is here again! I will be grateful that I can work in the yard. Plan the gardens, and cultivate the ground.

~I am grateful for a sweet husband that holds my hand when we go for a ride, or just run a few errands, or grocery shop. I am grateful for his love.

~I am grateful for the sweet sister in church that spoke to me about how simple prayers can be..... but so powerful spoken from the heart. She also gave me the best tips on getting these weathered hands of mine to look and feel soft again. I need to go see our friend Joe's wife. Lee has some 'magic' hand balm I am told.

Summers past.

2011-06-03T08:46:00.006-06:00

1944
Smokey the bear is introduced.
"Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.'
I remember the preventing forest fires assembly in school.... always just before summer vacation started.

Woodsy the owl campaign. Introduced in 1970... on the first Earth day.
Once again.... just before we got out of school for summer vacation... Woodsy the owl would pay a visit to the school.

Summer vacation has started. Just a few reminders of summers past.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful for the beginning of summer. Good memories of summers past.

Looking forward to making some great new memories this summer !

Digging in the dirt.

2011-06-02T09:44:00.007-06:00

Farm Chores.
Like any farm, big or small, old or new, our farm chores need to be done.
Especially considering how the previous owners of our farm had woefully neglected home and farm chores for years and years.My sweet husband's step-dad brought the backhoe and got to work.
Getting the land cleaned up and graded properly.
Our entire little city is built on the foothills of the mountains.....so everything slopes to some degree.
We just had to get all the slopes going the right way.
And, we need a clean slate in which to continue our landscape plans with.
Bob graded and cleaned up all around the barns and the corrals.
He moved tons of dirt and graded the slope correctly.
Looking towards the East. You can get a postage stamp view of our farm and cottage home.
Even though, from this view, you can't see the garage, Bob graded all around the garage so that we can have gravel put down. Funny how a little thing like having gravel makes us happy.
No more muddy drive way, or parking spots. Yippee!
From the guys calculations ..... they figured out that we will need about 4 dump truck fulls of gravel.
But, I get to pick it out.
I swear.... I will have 1/2 to 1 inch max. size. I abhor that huge 2 and 3 inch gravel. Walking on it is bound to turn your ankle.
I speak from experience.

Bob also helps to run the church farm, and gave us the best tip on getting the corrals painted!

He told us to put on rubber gloves, then a cotton work glove over the top. Dip our hands in the paint and rub the paint on the metal corral poles.

Excellent idea!

He told us that it is the way that the corrals are painted at the church farm, and that it goes really fast, and looks really nice.

Believe me, I am certain that it will go much faster than rolling the paint or using paint brushes.

Plus, I think the bonus will be that we will be able to get a nice even coat of paint on all of the corrals.

Just another farm chore, for another day.

In addition to moving dirt and grading, Bob removed quite a few tree stumps for us. Certainly a back saver!
One of the tree stumps was wedged in the ground on the west side of the garage, and I was concerned that it would come out , but bring a few boards off the garage with it. Nope. Bob was able to get the entire stump out and no damage was done to the garage.
Of course, there are a few boards that need to be repaired on the garage where the tree had grown originally and forced a few boards off.
Now, why don' t people think about how big a tree is going to get before they plant it ??!!
It's a head scratcher!
None..... and I mean NONE of the trees around this place have been planted in good locations.
They are all too close to the house, the barns, the garage, etc... etc...
Cuckoo!
Well, we never have a shortage of projects around here, that's for certain.
My personal goal is to have everything completed . I really don't want projects that are half done.
So... we'll keep plugging away.
We have two courtyards that we are trying to get ready to put in. I'll post pictures , once they are done.
Hoping that it won't be forever away.

Attitude of gratitude:
~ Of course I am so grateful that Bob and Ed brought the backhoe and did all the excavating for us. It would have taken us forever and forever to do all that earth moving with a shovel and a wheelbarrow.
~I'm grateful for my sweet friend R. Loved having a visit from her. She makes me laugh... and I told her, she needs to write a book.
~I'm grateful for all the well wishes that I have received..... I really hate being sick. I swear, if there was some kind of medal for being the worst sick person ever, I would have it! I'm such a baby~~~~ I so hate feeling anything but peachy!

Dream Job.

2011-05-31T15:16:00.005-06:00

This is where Spencer will be working all summer long.
What a dream job! It's an educational camp for students.

This is where Spencer will be living. In the 'tin can cottage.'
It's all hooked up with electricity, and propane, and he has a nice bathroom with a nice shower near by. He also has nice laundry facilities that he can use. All in all...... it's a pretty sweet set up!
He is doing maintenance/custodial duties. He mows the lawns, cuts down trees (poor kid can't get away from all the tree cutting ), and he is using a back hoe ... etc..
It is a dream job. I would have loved to have a job like this, when I was his age !
Spencer's job is up , and over this canyon. It is very steep, with an 8% grade. These are the pictures from the day that we took up to work.
As you can see.. the canyon is still snowy, and the day that we towed the 'tin can cottage' up there for him, it was raining, and snowing at the top of the canyon. I was nervous , to say the least.
Also, there are parts of the road that are sliding, and there are places all along the road that have had rock slides.
We said our prayers and headed up.
Slowly but surely.
We made it safe and sound.
This is a picture of the same canyon.
I took this picture coming down out of the canyon yesterday.
We had picked Spencer up for the long weekend, and then yesterday morning we took him back to work .
What a beautiful commute!
He's not too far from home.
It only takes us about 35 minutes or so to go and pick him up.
When the weather is nice, it is a beautiful drive, and very enjoyable.
Like I said..... Spencer's got a dream job!

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful for my amazing and wonderful husband. I have been feeling under the weather lately, and fighting a yucky virus. He has jumped in and cooked , and cleaned, and got the errands done, etc.. etc.. everything that needed to be done, he did it for me. What a wonderful man! I am the luckiest wife in the world!
~I'm grateful that Spencer has this wonderful job, and can save money for school in the fall ! Truly a blessing!!
~I'm grateful that B. and B. brought Bridger to see 'mama Kerin', and that they brought Sunny too. It was fun to see all of them and have a great visit !

Weekend at the cottage.

2011-05-23T11:06:00.011-06:00

Weekend around the cottage goes a little something like this :

Drove over and picked up the china hutch from storage.
I finally found the perfect place to put the china hutch in our new cottage.
It only took me two months to figure it out.
We also picked up my boxes of Jadeite.
Brought home the hutch, set it in place and filled it with a few of my favorite things.... Jadeite, and old canning jars.
Made some treats for my sweet husband and son.
Decadent Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Cookie layers:
1 white cake mix
1/2 C. flour
2 eggs
1/3 C. vegetable oil
3/4 C. chocolate chips
Cream Cheese Layer:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C. sugar
1 egg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With a spoon, mix cake mix, flour, eggs, and oil together. Stir in chocolate chips. Press half of dough into a greased 8x8-inch pan.
In separate bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, and egg together until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture over bottom layer. Crumble remaining cookie dough evenly over top. Bake 24-28 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.
Deliciously decadent. In all honesty, ours didn't quite make it to the cooling stage. Everyone wanted to have a piece while it was still warm.
Gooey and sweet. Baked up some homemade bread.
I finally got around to mixing up and baking up bread. It has been months and months of living out of boxes and with only the bare necessities. Finally, broke out the bread machine.....which I put all my ingredients in and let the machine do the kneading. Then, I place the finished bread dough in my bread pans to bake. This time, I added some 10 grain cereal to the dough. Just to bump up the nutrition a bit.

My Daily Bread Recipe:
Add to bread machine .. in order.

1 2/3 C. warm water

1/3 C. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 TBSP. lemon juice

3 TBSP. +1 1/2 tsp. oil

4-5 C. fresh ground wheat. Or white flour, or combination. Also can add oatmeal, 10 grain cereal etc. to make up the 4-5 Cups of flour.

1 TBSP. yeast.

Set machine to dough cycle. When raised, divide dough into two balls. Form loaves, place in greased bread pans. Let raise about 40 minutes. I place mine in the oven with a dish of hot water on the oven rack under the bread pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25- 30 minutes. Also this weekend....I dreamt and planned gardens. As soon as the warm weather sticks, and all of these storms move out of the area..... I'll be back to working on the gardens.

There you have it.

A cozy, happy weekend at our cottage. Hope where ever you are, and what ever you did....that your weekend was just as wonderful.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm grateful to have Spencer's help with getting some things re-arranged. Thanks to Spencer, we can now get our kitchen table and chairs out of storage. It will be so wonderful to have a place for everyone to sit together for dinner. I can hardly wait.

~I'm grateful for my inner bargain hunter, thrifty self. I have designed a plan to fill a space at the end of our kitchen cabinets with a custom built in cabinet. Now.... just have to buy a few supplies at the lumber store... and get it built.

Gates and barns....... two of my favorite things.

2011-05-20T12:50:00.010-06:00

Just drive around our little city,
and you will see amazing gates and terrific barns.
You see, we happen to live in a place that still uses barns, and as for the gates..... who doesn't appreciate a welcoming gate?
This gate is amazing! I'm not a welder.....but from my take on this gate, it appears to have been welded up from old metal wheels or gears, and horseshoes. All in the fanciful tone of a garden of flowers. What do you think this gate is made from ??
Seriously, I think I need to be on the look out for some great metal wheels/gears and a bunch of horseshoes.
I love the double----yes DOUBLE entry posts on this gate. And , of course, the counter weight is pretty cool too. This is one of those picket gates and fences that make me think of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Beautifully crafted twisty metal entry posts and a beautiful entry gate.
I really love the sweet touch of hanging a welcoming wreath on the gate.
A very warm 'welcome' , indeed.

Look on the far left side of this pasture gate, and you will see a box loosely constructed from wood, and filled with rocks. Great counter-weight !
I love the 'make-do' attitude of this gate.
Practical and purposeful. A newer barn in town. Constructed in the design of days gone by.
As for the green and red paint...... it is a theme repeated, and repeated in this little city.
Pioneer colors.
Happy colors.
A stately old barn.
I would LOVE this barn.
Then , I could throw a party and host a barn dance.
Another newer barn. Still, constructed to be old fashioned in design.

'If it ain't broke..........'
Small, but user friendly barn. OK... the red color is great, but how nice to add the white shutters. A small , but charming detail. Oh ,the times that this barn has seen. The families, the snow storms, the harvests. Hope it stands forever. And, as long as it stands, I will drive by and smile, and thank the old barn .... for it lifts my heart to see this great old barn, and always, but , always makes me smile. Where ever we go.... I will be on the look out for gates and barns. Utilitarian things that hold so much beauty.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I am grateful for the rain. It worries me that there will be flooding, but I am grateful that we will have enough water for the summer and into the fall. Plus , it's been pretty great not to have to worry about watering all the lawn seed that we put down.

~I'm grateful to be baking bread again. I know... it's a little thing. But, it has been months and months of living out of boxes, and being in limbo, and today.....ta-da.... homemade bread fresh from the oven!