~ 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.

 

Harvest Homestead

Natural hot springs... we ride up to the hot springs, dip our feet in and enjoy the view of the valley as the sun rises.

Dried yarrow. 

Over the summer, I harvested our yarrow, dried it, and stored it in jars.

 I made a batch of yarrow balm and added essential cedar oil, and it is a really lovely balm for tired, dry hands and feet. 

My little Garden Cottage.

This picture is from the summertime, obviously, but I wanted to share my little Garden Cottage with you.

My sweet husband ordered it and had it built for me, then he customized it further by adding the sweet little pergola onto the front, and placing the old, shot-up galvanized cupola on the top. I've been packing that old cupola around for years!

Years ago, I saw it lying in a field and fell in love with it. My sweet husband tracked down the owner of the field, after many months, and was able to secure that old piece of cupola good junk for me!

 Where I store all my gardening treasures.... pots, soil, tools, etc.

 

And a final thought of encouragement: