~ Things that make me smile ~

 The meadow is greening up.
The trees are beginning to leaf out and the last of the snow across the mountain tops is melting.
Spring is here! 
Warmer temperatures are here to stay for a few months and that makes me smile.

 Deer grazing on the foothills...

 and the elk are grazing in the pastures.

 The birds make me smile.
They have quite a routine down.
They hop onto the edge of the bird~feeder, knock the seed on the ground, then all their friends swoop onto the ground and feast on the fallen seed.

 Rogue rooster. Pheasant rooster out touring the neighborhood. 
Seemingly dancing through the green grass. 
Yep. 
Makes me smile!

 Pigweed makes me smile { the purple stuff is what I call pigweed. 
Purple weeds = Pigweed, and Yellow weeds = Spurge weed. 

It matters little if I have correctly identified the weeds, the fact that the weeds are growing is enough to make me smile. 
The color is beautiful in the meadow and I'm smiling to know that the growing season is here once again.

 The flower beds and borders are alive with color.

The skies are alive with color as well.

All is well. 
Spring has returned.
Flower are blooming, trees are leafing out, and the grass is growing. 
It makes me happy and makes me smile.

*Update on the house sale"
All is well on that front too.  So far everything is falling into place. 
We have begun to pack and sort the last of the items that need to be sorted through. 
My goodness, gracious, but we have accumulated a lot in 32 yrs.!!
Downsizing is a challenge, but the reward I think will be worth the efforts.

~Attitude of Gratitude:
 I have so many things to be grateful for...
Feeling grateful that our daughter~in~love and Grand are safe after a fender bender this last weekend. 
~Thankful for a husband that is my rock! 
Whenever I feel overwhelmed and unsure about my abilities to do things that are challenging, he reminds me of my strength and he gives me encouragement. He prays for me, and I am grateful for that.

~Whistle while you work~

 Fall energizes me; nearly as much as springtime does.
I've been working away. 
Getting things organized, cleaning everything, and paring down.
I cleaned out the deep freezers. 
With just the two of us at home, there isn't any need for us to have two deep freezers. My goal is to plan our menus and meals out of what is currently in our freezers and pantries. 
I hope to only use what we have on hand, and eventually unplug at least one of the freezers.
Getting used to cooking smaller amounts is a challenge for me.

 We put chicken wire and stakes around some of our more vulnerable trees and shrubs, as the deer are moving into the yards, and they can really damage shrubs and trees.

Spending my days cleaning out my office. Wow, have I ever accumulated a ton of stuff!
I'm cleaning out scrapbooking supplies, and stamping supplies, fabric, etc. 
I even disassembled the desk~top computer. I don't think I've even turned that computer on in two years. I will put it away, but the odds of getting rid of it all together are high. I have used a laptop for years now.  I hope to get everything boxed up and ready to donate by weeks end.
We also gave our large dining table to our youngest son and his wife. 
We are working on downsizing our stuff and simplifying!
The next project on my list is to paint and put up wainscot in the den. 
Love being busy fluffing our nest! It puts a smile in my heart to have everything organized and neat and tidy.

 "I've decided life is too fragile to finish a book I dislike just because it costs sixteen dollars and ninety-five cents and everyone else loved it, or eat a fried egg with a broken yolk (which I hate) when the dog would leap over the St. Louis Arch for it".
                           ~ Erma Bombeck 

Attitude of gratitude:
~Thankful for my amazing and sweet husband. I celebrated a birthday this past week, and he took me on not only one, but two road trips! 
We shopped and went to lunch at favourite places. 
~Grateful for prayers answered. Prayers have been said on behalf of friends that have had trials and tribulations and prayers have been answered and those friends have been greatly blessed. I am so grateful for a loving Father in heaven!!

~* Autumn Blessings *~

 There is no other time of the year I love more..... for me, Autumn is the finest season of all.
The crisp morning, and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, rain storms, and thunder.
A cup of cocoa while sitting next to the fireplace. The smell of woodsmoke in the air, cozy blankets to cuddle under.
Crispy~crunchy leaves to walk through, football games to cheer to, and warm bowls of soup.
The list goes on and on... all things wonderful about autumn.

 Slowly, I've been breaking out the autumn decor.
Little bits here and there, and most can stay out throughout the autumn season.
Gourds, and twinkle lights.
Chalkboard signs......

Faux berries, and candles.
A wee corn husk basket...

 More candles, and a flickering candlestick.

 The picture stays up year round.. a tribute to my favorite season, it depicts a harvest season in a small mountain village... quite like the area that we live in, actually.
Colors of gold, and yellows, and crimsons.

 In the kitchen, a large galvanized tray holds a 'blessings' platter, a small lantern, and a pitcher full of glorious green faux hydrangeas.

 On the range, a new pumpkin.; porcelain covered cast iron pot.
 I've wanted one like this for ever...... one day while perusing Wal Mart, I spied this lovely thing, and promptly bought it.
I think it will stay on the top of the range for many weeks to come. Of course I'll cook in it!
Thinking about chili, chicken and dumplings, cowboy casserole, beef and barley soup....etc..etc.

 A beautiful metal pumpkin sits front and center on the buffet in the dining area of the kitchen.
A small bunch of faux bittersweet tumbles out of a grapevine basket.

 On the windowsill, little acorns...... found on a morning walk recently.
The 'Fresh Eggs' sign is a recent yard sale purchase, and sits next to a brown spatter ware pitcher, also a yard sale find.

 In the living room, on the blanket hutch a small bowl of 'ancient' coins, and two aged brass candlesticks.
The candlesticks and the coins were a recent purchase, found at a thrift store in Santa Fe.
They always will be a warm memory of a great trip with my sweet husband.

While I can't authenticate the age of the coins that I was told are 'ancient', I still love their patina and their shape, and they are certainly a topic of conversation.

 The last of the flowers fill a few vases around the house.
Lovely colors of gold and pinks and salmon.

Little birds flock to the last of the sunflowers and enjoy the last of the warm days.
*my sweet husband took this picture.

 Another picture that my sweetheart took.
What a sweet little bird.

 One more picture that my hubby took.... I do love this one, so much. I love that little bird perched on a dry sunflower. A perfect Autumn photo.

 Deer in the meadow.... grazing.
I love to see the deer, but I am dreading when they move into the yard and start munching on our plants.

The elk, higher in the meadow.
The elk are in the rut now, and bugling can be heard at all times of the day, and sometimes at night.
The elk farmer has already trimmed their antlers so that they don't hurt each other.

 The time to be happy is now.... absolutely!
Autumn is an especially happy time for me.
Hope you are all enjoying this wonderful time of year.
So, have you tried the "Pumpkin Spice" Lindt truffles?
Or the Pumpkin Butter that you can buy at Trader Joes?

~Attitude of gratitude
~Grateful for good health.
~Grateful for a wonderful husband and great kids!
~Feeling thankful that the lawns have dried out from last weeks storms and I can get the mowing done. I have always enjoyed mowing the lawns, and I'm grateful that I have the good health that allows me to do it.

~ New year... new opportunities! ~

 Hello friends,
Can you believe how quickly the new year is approaching?
Never in all my years, can I remember a year that has gone by as quickly as this past year.
Maybe it's getting older..... I've often heard that as we age, time goes by faster.
Hmmmm.... it's something to consider ....
I have big plans for the coming year.

 In years past I've tentativly made 'New Years' plans, or resolutions, whatever term you want to use.
But, last year I put 8 strips of paper rolled up in a tiny little bottle.
Eight resolutions for the new year.
A few days ago, I took the cork out of that tiny little bottle and I read over my goals for this past year.
Happily, I accomplished each of my eight goals!
Maybe there was a little genie magic in that little bottle!
 What ever it was, having that little bottle filled with those slips of paper was just the reminder and just the motivation that I needed to work on my goals this last year.
Guess what? Tommorrow night, I'm going to write down some new goals for the coming year on little strips of paper and put those little written reminders in my teeny little bottle.
  Just a little reminder in the coming year of the things I want to work on.

 Also, I took a few minutes and downloaded some pictures off of my little camera:
* Deer in the meadow. They are still digging through the snow and munching on a few of the pumpkins left over from Halloween.

 *Pictures snapped on the way back home from Santa Fe.
In the Monument Valley area of Utah.
Gorgeous red rocks.

 * Near Moab Utah.
Love the turquoise color of these rocks.

*Hole in the rock.
Gosh... we should have stopped.
I saw a sign here advertising  ~ Camel Rides.
Oh well.... maybe next time.

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!
Hope that this one is the best New Year yet.

~Reasons to smile today...
~The days are getting longer now, and that means more sunshine each day!  Perfect for a girl like me that is 'solar powered'!
~ Having my sweet husband home for a few weeks. Nothing better than spending time with my best friend and sweetheart!
~Buying paint and trim... getting an office and the family room re~painted and decorated. Love the fresh clean feel of a newly painted space :)

~A new view ~

 Things are looking a little different here at Mill Hill Meadow.
I have a stash of old windows in the garden shed, and now that the weather is cold and blustery, and it's too cold to work outside, I've been working inside.

 I've been bringing in my old windows, one at a time, and cleaning and sealing them, and most importantly ... decorating with them.

 Many of them are really in bad condition, and very old.
We bought most of them at one yard sale this past summer. We were told that they were out of an old city building in a near~by town.
Some of them look to be from the 1930~40's, but a few of them look to be even older.
Wavy glass and all.
The above window has 9 panes. As I was cleaning it, 2 of the panes just dropped out. So, each and every pane had to be caulked in with clear caulk and stabilized. As you can see, almost no paint remained on frame.
I painted the frame a soft sage green color with chalk paint and sealed it with varnish.

 Here you can see the finished old window frame, hanging in the living room.
I love it!! And, our family loves it. My sweet husband loves it, and he loves the character and the history of the window too.
He even loves that I didn't try to replace the two cracked window panes, and instead I just stabilized the panes and left them cracked.
Oh, and that 'new' green~gold chair? It's a find too! We bought two matching chairs second hand from an estate sale. The upholstery is in new condition, and the chairs are very well built, and very comfortable.
Perhaps we will have them re~upholstered..... perhaps not.

 Another old window. This one hangs in the laundry room, and is the same window that shows the close up in the very first picture on this post. This window was scrubbed and then sealed with varnish. I like the old paint, and the old patina on this window.

 A little glimpse at the t.v stand.
I painted it a beautiful yellow color. Goes so well with our 'new' chairs and 'new' windows.

 These doors at Gardner Village were the inspiration for the color I wanted on the t.v. stand, and on the blanket chest. The blanket chest that used to be painted white {4th picture in post} is now the same yellow as the t.v. stand.
That yellow reminds me of marigolds in the summer. Loving it!!

 The early morning view from our motel room in St. George.
Brooke and I went to "Time Out for Women" in St. George at the first of the month.
It was a wonderful event, and a super fun weekend! We enjoyed the presenters, then we shopped, and went out to eat, etc..
So fun to get away to a warmer city, and have a girls weekend!

 Speaking of 'girls weekend', last weekend we had Girls Craft Weekend.
It is something that a few friends and I have begun to do every other month.
We get together, and all of us bring a craft or two plus the supplies to do the craft, and we all spend the day crafting together. One of my crafts that I shared was wood blocks painted with snowflakes on them.
I found the craft on Pinterest.
All together, we each did eight crafts, and we had a lovely lunch, and lovely gift bags provided by two of our friends.
Our next Girls Craft Day will be in January.  I'm really looking forward to it!

 A new view : Snow.
It's official.. winter has come to our area. It has snowed several times, and the temperatures have fallen.
The picture above shows the last snow storm that we had. Huge, fluffy flakes of snow fell, and covered everything in a blanket of white.

 Oh, and one day, as I let Rowdy out to go potty, I looked across the meadow and noticed that someone is building a big new home.
I just noticed it, although clearly they've been building it for some time!

 And, look who stopped by for lunch!
The view outside our windows always includes the mountains and the meadows, and once in a while the deer.
Now that there is snow on the ground, we see a great deal more of the deer.

They found the left over pumpkins from Halloween, and have been munching away.
There are still quite a few pumpkin and squash left, so I imagine that this will be my view for a few more weeks.

What ever your view is, or whom ever you share your view with, here's wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving and a week filled with blessings and goodness.


~Attitude of gratitude :
* Feeling grateful that the phone call that came just after 5:00 am this morning was a phone call that wasn't from any of our kids. You know when the phone rings at that time of morning, your heart turns a bit cold... as it is usually bad news.
Thankfully, it was a co~worker of my husbands that had broke down in town and needed a ride to work. OK. That is do~able.
*Feeling so grateful that our son and his wife will be able to spend Christmas day with us! Previously, he had to work on Christmas, and wouldn't be able to come until the day after. He switched schedules, and now they will be here on Christmas... yahoo!!
* Grateful that most of our family will be here for Thanksgiving. We are a small group, but we always have such fun together, and make warm and happy memories.
*Thankful for our beautiful home. It sure makes me happy 'fluffing' our nest, especially when it's too cold to be outside. This is the time of year when I do my painting, cleaning, organizing, crafting, sewing, baking, cooking, etc.....