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!

Enamored..

 I have become enamored with deep charcoal colored paint. Completely gaga.
For quite a while, I've been looking at ReStore for charcoal or black paint.
Never had any luck..... until about 2 weeks ago.
Then, I scored two - five gallon buckets.
 Delight.
As soon as we had a day with temperatures above freezing... I painted all the exterior doors this gorgeous charcoal color.
Made a basket filled with daisies and ivy, and happily hung it on the door.

 I need to put another coat of paint on the doors, and razor around the glass.
As you can tell, the charcoal color has a lot of green undertones.
Perfect.
Spencer took the pictures for me.
I had to laugh.... every picture he takes is slightly askew.
I wonder if his right leg is shorter than his left leg?!

 Speaking of Spencer...
He has been putting in hours and hours of practice on the bagpipes.
He has offered to play at funerals for free, and the phone is ringing off the hook.
He has also been asked by a local mortuary to play for funeral that they have.
He plays beautifully, and enjoys it so much.

Bountiful Baskets was this past Saturday morning.
Everyone here forgot all about it, and slept in.
At 7:00 am.. the doorbell rang, and one of the volunteers delivered our produce.
So thoughtful.
Now, I need to ripen the pears and make something with them.
Any ideas?
Maybe I'll end up making a few jars of pear butter.