Barn Flag

 Our Granary.....After.
 Folk Art Barn Flag.

 Before.

  We made the folk art barn flag ourselves.
From a piece of corrugated, galvanized steel.
I taped off the stripes and painted them, and my sweet hubby painted the star.
When all the paint was dry, I gave the entire flag a wash with brown glaze.

 Took a little team work to get the barn flag in place.

 Once it was positioned just right, Spencer and my sweet hubby screwed it into place using decking screws.

This little rock chuck watched our place to see what was going on.
She lives in the neighbors field.

Perhaps, because we put the folk art flag on our granary, it should be referred to as the granary flag .
But, then again... has anyone ever heard of a granary flag?

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for the way our family works together to get projects done.
What is important to one, is important to all, and we always work together.
~I'm grateful that we had a few rain showers last night. It will help me today, as
I continue to rake, level and prepare the courtyard in front of the granary.
~I'm grateful that my sweet hubby took me for a ride out to Pigeon Hollow road to look for
old bottles for the garden project that I'm working on. Man, does he ever have patience with me.

A day in the life of a country girl...

 Morning time.
My most favorite time to ride the trails.
We get up, put on the helmet, and glasses and gloves, and warm up the A.T.V's.
Hit the trails.
We live in a beautiful mountain valley, and the riding trails are mere minutes from home.

 Someone else is riding the trails today also.  A co-worker of my husband.
He has dogs and horses and he hunts mountain lions, and bear.

 Our little town is nestled in the valley of the mountains.
It's starting to green up.
A few more weeks, and all the scrub oak will green up as well.

 Back home from our ride... chores await us.
The garage needs work.
Old chippy paint needs to be scrapped off.
 Sanding done.
 Repairs made.
At one time, someone had cut a hole in the front of the garage.
My sweet hubby repaired it. 
A perfect backdrop for a new light.

 A galvanized barn light will be perfect.
Once the garage is repaired and painted, we will call our electrician to come and run new outlets and lights to the garage.
Looking forward to having a welcoming light on the garage.

 Just a few more repairs need to be made.
An old tree stump that grew up the W. side of the garage, and broke off some of the siding.
The tree is gone, the stump will be dug out, and repairs made to the siding.

 I took a few minutes to make up some burritos to stock the freezer with.
Beef, bean and cheese burritos, as well as breakfast burritos made with sausage , peppers, egg. and cheese.

Mixed up a batch of Double Chocolate Banana Bread also.
To die for.

Recipe:
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/3  C. vegetable oil
3 mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2  Cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350*
Spray bottom of loaf pan with non-stick spray

Beat sugar, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl at medium speed until combined.
Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a separate medium bowl; beat into banana mixture at low speed .... just until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool about 5 minutes or so. Remove from loaf pan and cool completely on wire rack.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for ice. How nice it is to go to the refrigerator and get some crushed ice to use in an ice pack on sore muscles.
~I'm grateful for kind, generous friends that stop by for a chat and a few laughs.
~I'm grateful for having the ability to enjoy our morning rides.

All around The Cottage....

 Rosemary sprigs.
I wanted to get a few more rosemary plants started to put in
pots around the cottage this summer.

We bought two huge rosemary plants at the nursery in St. George.
As you can see by the picture... their rosemary plants were already in bloom.
My hubby commented how he had never seen rosemary in bloom.
Generally, our rosemary never gets the chance to mature to the point of blossoming before cold weather hits, and it freezes the plant.

Believe me..I am going to stretch this rosemary just as far as I can.
I'm going to start more plants, make rosemary salt, dry some fresh rosemary sprigs, etc.. etc...
My daughter laughed at me, and told me that every summer when the rosemary will grow, the family already knows that everything will get a dose of rosemary.
I make no apologies... rosemary is my all time favorite herb.

 Beans sorted and rinsed. Ready to go into the electric pressure cooker.
It's my favorite way to cook beans. So quick and easy.
I'm going to make up some bean, beef and cheese burritos to re-stock the freezer.
We also stock the freezer with breakfast burritos made with natural sausage, eggs, and cheese, and peppers.
Having the freezer stocked with a variety of burritos certainly comes in handy.
Anyone can grab a burrito and go.

 It was nice to get a little reading in this weekend as well.
I picked this book up at the thrift store in St. George.
It's been a fun read so far.
I'm hoping that I'll be able to squeeze a lot of reading in this summer.
I used to make time for reading.... but, then life got busier, and busier.
Hoping to make a dent in my pile of books this summer.

 Enjoying the new wreath on the front door.
Still loving the charcoal gray color too.

The great idea .

Remember that I mentioned that I had a great idea when I was in St. George?

Well, everywhere we saw these great entry posts.

Not that entry posts are a new idea for me.

We've had them at our old houses before.

The thing I fell in love with about these entry posts, is the fact that they are painted a contrasting color to the fence.

Love it.

We've decided that we would like to have this same style of entry posts and contrasting fencing around our cottage.

I really love the fact that it's not matchy-matchy, and it really is

so attractive.

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful for the blue sky and sunshine today.

Makes me energized to work outside.

~I'm grateful that our youngest is about done with college for the year.

~I'm grateful that this just might be the week that we get the garage painted.

Bloomin' Desert

 Beautiful cactus blossoms.
Amazing to me that amid the somewhat harsh terrain of the desert, there is such absolute beauty.
Even if it is just for a little while.

 The white blossoms on these cactus will fade in just twenty four hours.
Gone, but not forgotten.

 My sweet hubby and I, ran away for a few days.
We visited beautiful St. George.
Celebrated our twenty fifth anniversary.
Relaxed, laughed, and did a lot of  "remember whens".

 It was wonderful to get away together.
To leave work, chores, and daily life behind, and enjoy new views,
 and sunshine.
How fortunate we were that the desert put on a Spring blossom
show for us.

 St. George temple.
How it stands out and shines in the red landscape.

 A really great nursery.
You know, I don't think I've EVER gone on a trip that I didn't track down a nursery, and spend  some time there.
I adore a great nursery.

 What a great building.
An old cotton mill.
It's so great that this old building can be enjoyed by people, and it makes a wonderful back-drop for a nursery.

Leaving St. George.
We'll go back.
It's really not too far of a drive.
We will probably wait for Fall, and the weather to cool down again.
In the meantime, we'll enjoy our valley weather beginning to warm.

I'll share a few more pictures of our trip later.... and I got the best idea while I was there.
I'll share that idea later too.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for my sweet hubby. He loves me eternally.
I'm the luckiest girl in the world.
~I'm grateful that my sweet hubby is so smart!
We had a mechanical problem with the car, and he was able to pull
into a parts store, buy new parts and right there in the parking lot he was able to fix our car, and
get us back to our vacation!  I was trying not to have a melt-down and he just kept grinnin' at me and telling my it was no big deal.
What a guy!

Rusty.......the good and the bad.

 Old homestead.
Look what caught my eye...
the rusty wire loop fence.

 I have long been a huge fan of the old wire loop fencing.
You can still buy it.
But it is tremendously expensive.
Much more that chain link, wood, or vinyl fencing.
Most of the old wire loop fencing that I've seen, has been a pretty standard pattern.

 This was the first time that I had ever seen this pattern of wire loop fencing.
I love the little wire looped circle at the top, and the way the finer gauge wire is woven between the sections.

 This is the pattern of wire loop fencing that is more commonly seen.
This roll of wire loop fencing is in the back of 'big green'.
We picked it up at the landfill.
For free.
With permission of course.
Rusty yes.... but the good kind of rust.

 An entire roll of wonderfully rusty wire loop fencing.
Just perfect.
I'm hoping that there is enough to go all the way around my garden boxes.
I'm wanting to have a beautiful potager's garden, with this gorgeous wire loop fencing around it.

 Bad rust.
A 'before' picture of one of our three corrals.
Far too rusty for corrals.

Brooke working on getting the corrals painted.
A pair of rubber disposable gloves, then a pair of cotton jersey work gloves over the top.
Dip palms of hands into five gallon bucket of paint.
Incredibly fast and effective painting of metal pole corrals!!
My thanks to my step father in law for this tip.
He has worked at the church farm for many, many years, and let us know that this is the way they do out at the church farm.

 Naturally, Rowdy supervised the project.
He managed to stay out of the way , and not get any paint on him.

Done.
The corrals look brand new!
Bad rust ... taken care of.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that we have had safety with us as we have had to travel up and down the
freeway several times this week.  Six hours or more of being on the freeway.
Safe and sound travel.
~I'm grateful that we were able to pick up our new trailer and A.T.V.'s without incident.
~I'm grateful that the good guys over at Gunnison Implements were able to give us 50% off
of motor cycle helmets for the whole family.

The Country life for me.....

 It's what living in the country is all about....
Old trucks.
Old barns.
Old houses.
No need to impress.
Just living and loving what you've got.

 Slow down... way down.
Enjoy the day.
What a charming little homestead this place is.
That old blue truck....perfect.
I couldn't love that old barn any more than I do.

 This cute cottage home.
Divine.
A porch that was made for sittin'.

 And.. last, but not least.. the most wonderful tree house ..ever.
Wonky and wonderful.

 Recycled goodies.

 Charming details.
I really wanted to share this little homestead/farm with you all.
It is in a small little neighboring town.
And, a delight to see.
The epitome of country living.

Also.. a picture ...much more 'up close and personal' of our West mountains.

Yes.. this is the life for me.
Slowed down.
Enjoying the simple things in life.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for my new little calling in the R.S.
I think it will really help me get to know more sisters and form new friendships.
~I'm grateful that Brooke had a job interview yesterday. A summer job would be a blessing for her... she will be able to save some money before continuing with her education in the Fall.
~I'm grateful that I noticed that the car was 'jiggling" as it went down the road. Thankful that my sweet hubby checked out my tire and found a split in it.
 New tires.
 Good.
Now, I won't worry when I need to drive somewhere.
p.s. Those tires were supposed to go 60,000 miles.. and haven't gone 30,000. Sheesh.. I feel like we just can't buy quality products any more.

Mellow Yellow...

 Yellow is one of those colors that comes to mind whenever I think of Springtime.
Waiting all winter long for the sun to really shine and warm the earth again.
Warming the soil in preparation for planting.
Warming the daffodil and tulip bulbs so that they will blossom.
All around The Cottage there are touches of mellow yellow.
Sitting next to the old stove, a vintage style tin with sunflowers on holds kitchen utensils.

 Reflecting in the mirror , dried soft yellow roses.
Just a touch of red... the color of valentines, and the day my sweet husband gave me these lovely roses.

 Above the kitchen window... a distressed soft yellow sign reminds me each and every day of the bounteous blessings our Father in heaven has blessed us with.

 Soft yellow paint on the walls in the dining room.
Recently, we painted the dining room and the living room this soft yellow color, installed crown moulding, and started painting all the trim clean white.
I still have more trim to finish painting.
No surprise... it takes me forever to get trim work done.

The same soft mellow yellow color on the walls of the living room.
The sun is moving across the sky to the west and shadows are beginning to gather in the living room, but somehow with that yellow paint on the walls, it still feels warm and welcoming.
The day seems to linger just a little longer.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for the beautiful sunshine, and the way it warms me physically and emotionally.
         I'm definitely  solar powered and love the feel of sunshine.
~I'm so grateful that our darling daughter is days away from graduating with her associates degree.
      She has served a mission, and earned an associates degree all in the matter of just two and a half years.
 Working so hard, and getting on the fast track program at B.Y.U. Idaho.
   What an amazing young woman she is! She's going to make a wonderful doctor!