Things to smile about ....

Colors of Spring

New adventures this spring: sourdough.

Our daughter in law recently gave me a sourdough starter; of course I happily accepted her gift. 
In years past, I did all the Amish starter and sourdough starter things. 

I have changed the way that I do sourdough this time around.

I do not babysit it. 

 I neglect it in the refrigerator for days at a time.

I feed it periodically and use the 'discard for things like chocolate chip cookies, or blueberry pancakes, and even 'Everything but the bagel seaoning' crackers. 

Then, about once a week, I feed the poor neglected thing, and make bread.

Chocolate chip cookies... made with 'discard'

Sourdough Boule

Double chocolate sourdough 

April Fool's day storm... we ended up with an inch or so.

In a tall tree, vultures spread their wings to dry and warm themselves.

Sun setting over the mountains.

On our way home from our five hour shift at the temple, the sun was beginning to set and it was such a beautiful and peaceful sight. 

💗

Attitude of Gratitude:

~ Thankful for the morning sun. 

I've always been 'solar powered'!

~Warm bread coming out of the oven.

~A birthday celebratory luncheon for my husband with our family and our new Grandson.

 

~ All around the cottage ~

What a week... full of busy and good things, but jam-packed with many things.

We helped our daughter move. She is relocating from Salt Lake valley to Wyoming. She is fortunate enough to be able to telecommute, so she can work anywhere. 

In the meantime, before her new apartment in Wyoming will ready, she is staying with us and working.

It has given us an opportunity to spend time together and we've been enjoying her company.

On Sat. before Easter, we went for a drive up one of the canyons here and showed her this Pioneer era cabin. 

Everyone agreed that the cabin is located in a beautiful area, and the pioneers were men and women of courage and fortitude. 

I don't think I would have made it with a bunch of kids living in a teeny tiny cabin!

Springtime is bringing out the best in our chickens.

We are getting more eggs each day, and one day, we were surprised that we got 6 eggs from our 6 hens. Well, at least they were all trying to lay an egg a day....*smile*.

That is the tiniest egg I have ever seen in my life!

Chives are growing like crazy now, and so I whipped up some chive butter and froze for later use, as well as making some chive sea salt seasoning.

I also made some oven-roasted maple~cinnamon almonds, and some Smokehouse seasoned almonds.

We also made two batches of beef jerky.... one batch was old-fashioned and one batch was orange~teryaki.

It's nice when we are busy to be able to grab a homemade snack to take on the road with us.

Two years ago, we planted around a thousand springtime bulbs...daffodils, crocus, and tulips. They are beginning to blossom and flourish and as they have split, we are enjoying a plethora of spring blossoms.

    

Another ride and we had to slow down for this turkey on the road. 

I think it is a Royal Palm turkey and about 2 out of 3 times, he will be on the road at this location. 

Like many of you, we have had wild weather this spring. 

Winds have been especially fierce, and in the storm a few days ago the accompanying winds snapped this pioneer- 

era pine tree right off. This is one of two old pines that were snapped off. 

The trees line two streets that are close to our subdivision, but not in our subdivision. The broken tree in the picture above narrowly missed a house.

This week, our pressurized irrigation will be turned on. 

In our subdivision, we are on farm shares of water, and not on city irrigation shares. 

The man that used to own this land, and farm it, retained the water shares and we pay the farm company for our water shares. 

We are not under any restrictions and should have plenty of water for this summer,

 unless things change.

We are getting our garden in shape for spring planting, my husband made a new run for the hens, and yesterday a neighbor was kind enough to bring their skid-steer over and load our trough planters for us, so that my husband didn't have to shovel dirt into them. 

Sure saved his back!

I'm dehydrating apples this weekend and working in my flower beds and borders and we are supposed to get a nice soaking rain this Friday. 

Spring is in full swing!

 

~ Heart Smiles & Daily Life ~

~Hello friends~

Can you believe we are nearly halfway through March? 

Time flies!

Another beautiful scene from one of our daily rides. 

We take a ride nearly every day, and more and more I find myself reflecting on how very blessed we are.

For some time we looked to move to St. George, and we never could find what we wanted there. 

We took our conundrum to the Lord, and that is how we came to live here in beautiful Southern Central Utah. 

Heart Smiles.....every day.

We enjoyed the last of 'the fruit guy's oranges.

 I reserved the peels in order to make more orange vinegar. 

Orange vinegar makes a great all-purpose cleaner.

A fun new kitchen gadget. 

I've made cheesy stuffed cornbread waffles and served them with chili.

We gave all of our kids a Stuffler for Christmas, and Santa brought one for my sweet husband and me. 

It's been fun making different stuffed waffles and trying out new combinations.

Nutella and strawberries is one of our daughter in laws favorites.

Barn quilts are quite the trend around here and have been for a bit. I have yet to make one, but it is on the list for a springtime project. I have all of the wood and the paint and as soon as it's warm enough to set up on the patio and paint, I'm going to get one made for our garden cottage.

The one above is on the front of a cute little cottage near us.

As always, I adore and seek out old houses. 

This house is in a neighboring town and the trim work is so beautiful on this house.

I always reflect on how happy the original homeowners must have been to build their dream home and of the heart smiles that would have been enjoyed... the pride of ownership and beautiful craftsmanship.

Finally, a big old heart smile.

Meet 'Baby Moosey'. Our sweet dog, Rowdy, is almost 14. He's a good old dog and sweet as can be. He has a collection of 'babies' and knows each one by name. 

He left Baby Moosey next to my nightstand, smiling up at me, and it warmed my heart and made me smile. I sure love that old dog of ours.

He's provided us with lots and lots of heart smiles.

Today, we will go to the packing place to pick up our son's beef order. 

Finish our rotational food storage prep. We have been putting grains, sugar, and other long-term storage items into mylar bags, then into 5-gallon buckets, and finally a gamma lid. 

Wishing you all heart smiles.

 

Rock Candy & Frokes

 Big Rock Candy Mountain, that is.
Have you ever been to Big Rock Candy Mountain?
Remember the song 'Big Rock Candy Mountain', by Harry McClintock?
His idea of a Hobo's dream life.

 ~ Big Rock Candy Mountain, is a short drive from where we live. The drive up the canyon is beautiful, and there is a beautiful river walkway/ bike path. 

On our drives, we often pick up a 'Froke'.... or a frozen coke to sip on.
One of our favorite summer time treats!

 How darling is this potting shed ~ or garden shed ~or she shed? 
This gal has decorated her shed is such a cute fashion, and it  makes one happy to see all of her cute collections.

 This is the kitchen table 'before', and below is a picture of the kitchen table 'after'. 
We gave our youngest son our very large kitchen table when we were packing and moving, thinking that we were going to St. George. 
We had a small drop leaf table to use in the interim, and planned on replacing our main dining room table with something permanent, once we were moved in and settled.

 We had kept the chairs from our original set because we really liked the style and quality, but the table was far too large for us. 
One day, while we were visiting friends, I mentioned how much I liked their single pedestal table and they told me that I could have it. 
I didn't feel right about taking it for free, so I made a trade with them. 
I had an old extra trunk ~ the wooden kind, and traded that old trunk for the table. 
Of course I painted the entire set a cottage white, and I love love the finished project. There is an extra leaf for the table so that we can quite comfortably seat 6~8, when it's more than just the two of us for meals.

 We managed to save three red twig dogwoods and transplanted them.
I spray painted all of my metal love hearts and placed them near the dogwoods.

 I'm loving the hutch in the entryway, where I can enjoy it every day.
 It's also great for extra storage!

 Kitchen hutch is right where we like it, and love that the bee ware dishes are so handy for dinner time.

 Lastly.. I've been styling the tops of the cupboards in the kitchen. 
Above the pantry, I have a 'Bakery' sign, and little mason jar lights that are on a convenient light switch.

My sweet husband is counting down...just about 7 months more, then he will retire.
He has put in more than 30 years in law enforcement, and he always tells me that he wants at least 30 years of retirement life in kind :)
My sweet husband is fourth generation LEO, and our boys are 5th generation LEO (law enforcement officers).

 We've been practicing for retirement...going to the lakes and ponds fishing, working in the yard and garden, taking trips, going for rides, etc..

I told him "we are going to be the best retirees ever!" 
We always have a blast together!

~This week:
  *Finishing the last bit of painting in my sweet husbands office, and getting it decorated and pictures and awards etc. hung up;one of his favorite pics of the unit he was over in the police academy.
*Planting the 'new to me' pussy willow tree.
*Working on the spot where the garden shed will go.
* Planting in our veggie garden.

~ All around the Cottage ~

 All around the cottage, I'm accomplishing a great deal. 
Since we moved here 10 months ago, to the date, I had this old cabinet in a rather large closet. 
It stored craft items, candles, etc.
Whilst it was wonderful for storage,in the closet, I missed having it where I could see it and enjoy it each day.
Therefore, I moved it into our entry way.
I have styled it this week, and I'll show pictures of that next time.

 We've had some phenomenal cloud formations. How lovely it is to sit on the front porch and enjoy the clouds moving across the mountains. 
Though, because of the winds and storms, sadly the viewing of the 'jumpers' is non~ existent at the present time.
{They'll be back soon, I'm sure.}

 Previously, we had a 2~car garage. Now we have a 4~car garage.
A double garage door, and a single on the front of the house, and a single on the side of the house.
To make things look nice, we opted for 3 planters, instead of 2 along the front.
 One placed at each end of the garages, and one placed in the middle.

 Our local Home Depot only had one planter that we loved, so we compromised and bought three planters that were all the same, and then I painted them a solid matte black.
 I've now planted up all the planters. I don't know about where you all are, but around here, annuals have been a bit hard to come by; at least a large variety of plants.

 We have transplanted three red twig dogwood shrubs to the east side of our yard. Previously the dogwoods were in a shady spot and up against a fence.
I do hope that they come out of their transplant shock and thrive in their new spot.
Red twig dogwoods need sun and they need to be able to stretch and grow. 

 Mother's day was wonderful, and I feel so completely loved and blessed!
Our kids made it so special for me and my husband pampered me thoroughly.
He did all the chef and top bottle washer duties and took me for a lovely ride around our country~side. 
Look at that amazing silo! I've never seen a silo that shape before!

 This cute silo has been transformed into a nice picnic, and sitting area. 
We'll have to be certain to go back by, and see the progress. 
So cute!

The above picture is an inspiration picture that I found on Pinterest. 
My sweet husband bought me a garden shed for Mother's day.
It is being custom built and hopefully delivered in within the next six weeks.
I am so thrilled!! 
It will be all white, with a white roof, and then once it is delivered and set up, my sweet husband will build a pergola on one side for me. 
He also bought me a small greenhouse {weeks ago} and that greenhouse will be set up near my new garden shed.

~This week:
> Planting, planting and more planting is going on.
Annuals and perennials both. I have tried to get my hands on some old favorite perennials but am finding that the selections in our area are pretty picked over and slim.
 Once the greenhouse is up, I shall start my own seeds and grow my own annuals and perennials.

> Painting. I've been painting the last two kitchen chairs. Of course with each day being full on windy, the chairs are sitting on the patio with a primer coat on waiting for the final coat of paint.
I painted our kitchen table and chairs and will show the before and afters soon.

> Pulling weeds and digging grass out of our borders. I do enjoy working in the yard, so much, but have learned a lesson this week... I must wear shoes. I literally have sun burned bottoms of my feet! 
Live and learn.

Gabion

Gabion fencing is one of my favorite styles of fencing.
Something so simple, yet useful and beautiful too.
There is a new development in town going in, and the land developers are using gabion fencing around the property.
It looks fantastic!

As we are preparring our garden area for summer crops, there are quite a few larger rocks, so I made up a couple of wire forms. 
We will have miniature gabions and I will use them for plant stands in the garden.

A simple gabion.. wire fencing, and rock fill.

Below is an inspiration picture.
I'll plant up a couple of summer pots and use the top of the gabions for plant stands.
Adding interest in the garden, and using what I have.

Pumpkins love Gelato

 Plant companions... a long held standard for gardening and growing happy plants
Must be true... because the pumpkin seeds that I started in previously used gelato containers, are doing great!
(perhaps this version of companion planting isn't exactly as those gardeners of old imagined..hee hee)
The seeds are germinating at a 100% rate, with no loss of seeds.

 The seeds are from Baker Creek, and must be nearly 7, or 8 years old.
Hurrah for heirloom seeds!

 To get seeds started, I created a mini greenhouse on a folding table in our dining area. 
Cut down foam cups placed in smaller, clear storage containers.

 The zone that we are in now is a zone 7. Previously, I had learned to grow a garden in zone 5a. 
In fact, the local nursery owner told me last fall when we purchased new trees from him that we would have to water our trees in the winter. Once a month, dump a 5 gallon pail of water on them, so that the roots didn't dry out.

 Our daughter jokingly refers to our new town as the St. George addition. 
You see, we are just 2 hrs. from St. George, but our climate is more temperate. Not as hot in the summer as St. George, but not nearly as cold and snowy as our previous town.
In fact, our new home town is called "Little Green Valley"
Also, homes and land are still affordable around here, and if you want to park an RV, no problem.
(we had the hardest time finding a home to buy, or build in St. George that we could park our RV at our own home, without renting additional storage space)

 Our home was built in 2007, and faces East.
The morning sun had discolored part of the trim around 3 of the 4 garages.

 After a fresh coat of paint, the trim looks great. 
Quick maintenance project, with a big impact.

 Both the double garage door, and one of the single garage door trims are looking a whole lot better. 
The fourth car garage door doesn't get direct sun exposure and so there isn't any discoloration on the trim, therefore I didn't paint the trim on that door.

As I've been staying at home and getting projects done, I decided that I needed a creative project, so I went into my stash of silk flowers and put together a spring wreath for the front door. 

I also have a pretty big stash of ribbon, so that came in handy as well.

Until next time, stay well, and enjoy this glorious springtime season!