~ 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!

 

All Around the Cottage......

 All around the cottage...daily life, and preparing for Christmas.
I went to a little shop, looking for a unique gift.
I found a few unique, and wonderful gifts.
I also found a beautiful, heavy framed mirror.
After the holidays are over, I'm going to re-paint, and re-decorate the bathroom, and this mirror will be perfect.
Love when a plan comes together.
I also have a new tube for the bike tire.
I think I waited a little to long to repair the tire though... we ended up with quite a few inches of new snow.
Also, temperatures.... are just downright cold!
Winter officially starts tomorrow, and we're certainly  having winter  like weather.

 "The Girls" have been laying beautiful brown eggs.
Today, we'll be cracking eggs, and doing some Christmas baking.

Like every Christmas season, we are baking up a storm, and making treats.
Chex mix, Cinnamon baked nuts, fudge, and gingerbread cookies, dipped in chocolate.

Hope all your holiday plans are going well, and you are enjoying the magic of the season.
Wishing you, happy baking, candy making, gift wrapping, Christmas carol singing, craft making, and most of all.... enjoying that warm feeling that comes with remembering the reason for the season.... our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful for the power of prayer.  A few nights ago, around midnight, I was waiting for our son to get home from work. The snow was coming down hard, and visibility was practically non-existent.  I felt prompted to kneel down and to offer a prayer on his behalf.
I prayed for his safety.
A few minutes later, he arrived home .. safe and sound.
He told me that just outside of town, the roads were super slick with snow and ice, and suddenly in the middle of the road, there were two deer. He knew that he could not stop in time. He heard a still small voice , tell him to honk the horn. He did... over and over again.  Suddenly, the deer ran off and he slid right by on the road, where the deer had been standing.
He didn't hit the deer, or run off the road.
When he got home, I told him that at that moment, I had been praying for his safe return. He felt the power of my prayers, and he told me "mom, I know that your prayers helped me."
How very grateful I am for the power of prayer, and for the blessings that our Heavenly Father blesses us with...... each and every single day.

*Just a little side note: generally speaking.. deer do not run off when you honk your horn.  They will freeze and stand there just looking at you.

Reasons to Smile....

 Reason number one.
Red barn, and old farm equipment.
Picture taken in Midway.

 Reason number two.
I finally finished the hutch that my friend K. gave to me.
I really love how it turned out.

 Reason number three.
We are now down to seven 'girls', from twelve.
We sold five of the 'girls' this week.
I really only wanted six 'girls'.
But, seven 'girls' are OK too.

Because of reason number four.
Poor Grace.
We just couldn't bear to part with her..

She's such a character, and has such determination.
She eats up-side down.

She jumps up on the feeder, and turns her head up-side down and scoops the food into her mouth.
It's the only way that she can eat.

She's keeping up with the other 'girls', and I hope that she's a great layer!
Her beak is becoming a bit more twisted and bent, and the bottom part of her beak is growing longer.
Poor Grace.

One of our 'girls' is becoming quite 'nesty'.
We've had the 'girls' since early June, and so I imagine, that they are getting ready to start laying.


Attitude of Gratitude:
~I'm grateful for a warm and cozy home, and my heart and prayers go out to those that are not so fortunate at this time. Especially those that have been affected by 'Sandy'.
~I'm grateful for sweet friends that give me a call on the phone, or stop by for warm visits.
I so appreciate them and their kindness. How nice to hear the doorbell, and see a smiling, friendly face.
I received a phone call from a dear friend this week, she uses a translator, because she's deaf.
The best news from her... her oldest daughter is getting married in December.

Depression Glass

 Depression glass.
Three darling little plates, one pitcher, two cups, and a small cream pitcher.
Found them all at a yard sale.

 I just couldn't pass them up.
The lady told me that they once belonged to her grandmother, and she was torn about selling them, but she really didn't have room to display them, or store them anymore.
I'm not certain if they are truly Depression glass, or if they are reproductions... either way, they are so darling.  And, the price was right.
I just had to buy them.

 She also sold me this egg basket.
Love the red color, and even though, we will probably never have enough eggs to fill it, we are certainly going to put it out in the coop and enjoy it!

 Old milk bottles.
Another yard sale find.
As were the ceramic eggs, and the cheese tin.

 My butterfly house.
Spencer made this for me, quite a few years ago.
It needed a paint job, and then he will get it installed on the pole, and placed in the flower bed.
I am painting it golden yellow, with a brick red roof.
I wonder if butterflies like yellow and red.

 Another old cupboard door project.
I just wanted to make a 'Welcome" sign to hang on the porch.
I made it so that I can change out the little wreath to match the season.

Jack O' Lantern.
Little ceramic pumpkin pot.
He was a yard sale find too.
He has such a quizzical expression on his face.
Worry? Humor?
I'm not certain.
But, he's cute!

I am getting a lot of my project and organization list done.
Slowly, but surely.
I have taken time out for fun.
 Yard sales. Shopping trips. Rides in the mountains.
Balancing out the work with the fun.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for a gardening friend gifting me with dozens of chive plants.
We will plant them under our apple trees. It is said that they will keep deer away. So far, we have found that it works really well.
~I'm grateful for an up-coming luncheon with some women friends . Old friends and new friends.
~I'm grateful my rice bags... yep... they help me feel pretty toasty on these cold mornings.  I think it may be time to take the cooler out, and store it until next summer.

Cooking with fire.. getting stuff done.

 Yep..
I'm cooking with fire.
Literally, and figuratively speaking.
Using our vintage Wedgewood range, I'm cooking up filling for homemade hot pockets.
I'm making Chili-Cheese hot pockets.
Another item to fill the freezer.
 Working on that Fall list.
I found a great inspirational post about homemade hot pockets here:
http://www.faithfilledfoodformoms.com/easy-homemade-hot-pockets/

 Also.. I'm making up a couple dozen Homemade Breakfast Burritos for the freezer.
Our family loves them.
Super quick to grab and go, especially for Spencer as he heads out the door to classes.
His college is about 10 miles away.

 And.. thanks tons for all the suggested names for our crooked beaked hen.
It was unanimous.. we named her Grace.
One of the reasons is in the movie "The Long Long Trailer" , Lucy and Desi go to visit her family, and Lucy comments on her poor old maid of a cousin.  'Poor Grace'. Makes us laugh, every time.
So, Grace, or Poor Grace it is.

Have you seen "The Long, Long Trailer"?
Hilarious.
I can so see me having ideas like Lucy.

I'm certain that I've given my sweet husband a look like this.

So..

I'm busy; cooking, freezing, cleaning and organizing.
I've already re-arranged the living room and the dining room.
Done some painting .... doors and trim , of course.
Planned some crafts.
Etc.. etc..

Plus.. I'm thinking a lot about one of my favorite Halloween movies.

"Ichabod". ..  the Disney version.

A classic favorite.

I don't like creepy movies, but I love "who done it" movies, like "Rear Window", and the movie "Clue" is always fun to watch.

"Hocus Pocus" is another family favorite.

My all time favorite Fall movie is "Summer Magic".... after all, the movie ends with a great Fall party in the old barn.

 

Hope you're all having a great week, and hope you have a great weekend.

 

Do you have a favorite Fall or Halloween movie?

 

 

Attitude of gratitude:

~I'm so grateful for the downpour of rain that we received last night.

Everything smells so clean and fresh this morning, and the lawns greened up quite a bit.

~I'm grateful for a cozy home.

~I'm grateful for the beautiful candle sticks that my Dad made for me.

They are on our dining room table, to enjoy each day.

Wish he were still here. How I miss him.



All around The Cottage..

 A crooked smile.
Amazing.
She is one of our new hens that we received in June.
When it looked like her beak was growing crooked, we had her beak clipped.
It's supposed to help.
It didn't.
Her beak just keep growing as crooked as can be.

 We decided that perhaps, she might have to be a meat chicken, and become Sunday dinner.
We watched her, and made certain that she was growing at the same rate as the other chicks.
Watched all the chicks to make certain that she wasn't being singled out, and picked on.

In fact.. she's doing terrific.
She's the same size as the other chickens, perhaps just a tad larger.
She has figured out how to deal with her disability just fine.
She eats mash, drinks water, and is able to eat fresh veggies just fine.
The final decision: she'll probably be a great egg layer.
Besides, she adds personality to the barn.
What name would you give her?? Let me know.

Giant pumpkins growing in the pumpkin patch.
This is a variety that is supposed to reach at least 100 pounds.
They are all well on their way to reaching that weight.

Spencer estimates that they are in the 60 pound to 75 pound range at this time.
It seems that we have about four of them. 
Although, with the vines sprawling everywhere, it's a bit hard to tell for sure.

We also have some 'Jack O' Lantern ' pumpkins.
I guess that there are about a dozen or so of them growing.
The nights are getting cooler.. but I think we need a few more weeks of hot weather during the daytime in order for all the pumpkins to reach maturity.

Amazing to me that such a huge pumpkin grows from such a dainty flower.



We've been working on the courtyard.

The area between the garage, granary and barn and patio will be a wonderful courtyard.

We had a smaller patio poured in the courtyard when they poured the front walkway.

It's about 10x10 and we have an old swing that we are renovating to place on that patio.

We have planted all perennials and a drip line will water everything.





We still have a lot to do to finish up the courtyard.
We still need to rototill some of the ground, paint the fence, build a porch on the granary, and re-install the doorway where it was originally...facing the courtyard.
Plant a lot more perennials, and lay down week block cloth and spread more pea gravel.
Also, the swing needs to be completely dismantled, and boards replaced, and the whole swing painted.
Then .. I'm sure that this will be one of our favorite places to be.
Where it's quiet,and we can enjoy the view of the homestead.
A lot of reading and star gazing will be done in the courtyard.
A bit of singing too.

**To see what else we've been up to.. feel free to visit my other blog... "Cottage On Main"

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for a long conversation with a dear friend yesterday.
She is taking care of her husband, while he battles cancer. It was so nice to visit with her, and hear her pour out her emotions. She's really like my sister, and I am so grateful for her.
~I'm grateful that Spencer and my sweet husband were able to go fishing yesterday. They caught some dandy sized fish. Perfect for a late summer meal on the patio. Love grilled trout , with lemon and butter.
~I'm grateful that all of our kids are loving school. They are pursuing their educations and goals.

Harvey, The Girls, & Mr. Satterwhite

 Harvey.
To be exact, he's actually Harvey 2.
And, he's old.
Older than dirt.
Almost.

 However... he still dehydrates food like a champ.
I had my sweet husband, dig through storage, and find Harvey.
We scrubbed him up, and plugged him in.
Even after all these years, he still is a workhorse of a dehydrator.

 My dad gave me this dehydrator, about 20 years ago; and that was after he and mom had used it for about 20 years also.
I tried to look this brand and model up on the Internet, and couldn't find out much.
I would really like to buy another one.... either as a back up, or to have an extra one running during the Fall.
No such luck. They are not made anymore, and haven't been made since the late 60' s  or early 70's.
Shoot and bagooties!
Honestly the best food dehydrator ... ever.
With a fan, and temperature controls, it makes dehydrating fruit, veggies, and making jerky a snap.

 A week ago Monday, 'The Girls' were delivered.
We shared an order with a friend of my husbands.
Fifty chicks. 
We only bought 12 hens.... but  all the chicks were delivered to us.
We picked out our 12 chicks, and took the rest to the friend.
25 of his are roosters.
Yikes.
He has a big ol' farm and will add the 25 roosters to the 50 or so chickens that he currently has.

 We also went to Satterwhite's lumber mill.
It's a great place to get lumber locally, and the prices are terrific.

 Of course, I noticed the cute flower hanger.
I'll have to add this to the 'would like to make' list.

 Satterwhite's has a scrap pile.
A lot of people buy wood out of the scrap pile for projects, and as winter gets closer, they stock up on the scrap wood for firewood.

 We needed some lumber for a partition fence, and we also found the most perfect log for my bottle tree.
By the time we finished loading the truck to the top of the truck bed with lumber and paying for it, all in all we only spent about $20.00.
A fraction of the cost that this much lumber would have cost us at the hardware store.
And, we never would have found the log with which we are making the bottle tree out of.
It is about 8 feet long, and 18 inches in diameter.
Should make a dandy bottle tree.

The little barn is getting a new roof now.
It's incredible to me, that after all these years, there is only one layer of shake shingles on that barn!
My sweet hubby has worked 72 hours in the last 6 days, and so progress on the barn roof has been a bit slow.
He's hoping to get a lot of work completed on it in the next few days.
New sheeting will have to be put down on the old one-bys and then the metal roof can be put on.
If I'm M.I.A. for a bit, you'll know why.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful for getting our first squash blossom.
I'm going to baby, and appreciate that first squash like no other. Considering all the freezes that we've endured, it's nothing short of a miracle that we even have squash plants left in the garden.
~I'm grateful for all the over-time that my sweet hubby has been able to work.
Sure, it's hard to have him gone from home so much, but the over-time pay will come in so handy to really get some homestead projects done this summer.