Hours

 Spending the hours in my day soaking up the last of the warm weather and sunshiney days.
 Enjoying our mountain views...

 Summer flowers in the garden...

 Orange flowers are a bright spot and heralding some good things about Fall ~ including Fall color schemes.

 The second time around for Chilies. 
The market that inadvertently gave us HOT chilies, replaced them with mild chilies. 
My sweet husband roasted them himself this time. 
Propane torch and fire bowl = the perfect way to roast chilies. Just a few hours worth of work and the freezer is stocked up with roasted chilies.

  A few hours driving around our sweet countryside and taking pictures. 
Going for a drive is one of our favorite things to do.
Above is a section of an old, old, Pea factory. 
My grandmother worked there as a teenager. 
She was born in 1909, so you know this place is quite old. 
   As long as I've seen this old building it's been boarded up.
I like to imagine how it must have been when it was in use.

 The beautiful Manti temple. 
We recently finished serving a mission at the temple. 
We were the coordinators of the baptistry.

One of my favorite old barns.

We live in the country.
Sometimes to kill a few hours, we take a ride around and enjoy the scenery. 
As the weather turns to winter,  the roads will get worse and make it hard to get out for a few hours and take a ride. 
So for now, I'm enjoying these hours.

How I've spent a few hours this week:
 ~Canning sweet and sour sauce.
~Freezing browned and seasoned hamburger.
~Watering and deadheading late summer flowers.
~ Adding some Fall decor to the front porch and all around the house.
~Shampooing carpets as we are getting a delivery of new recliners this week.

Attitude of Gratitude:
 ~ I'm so thankful that I noticed that the water heater is leaking. We bought a new water heater and we'll get it put in this week. So thankful that it's still nice weather and that we didn't have a major problem because of the water heater conking out.
~Grateful for cool mornings!
 I feel so energized and motivated with the mornings being nice and cool.
It may just be a few hours of coolness, but I love it and it sure sets the tone for a productive and happy day!

Bring Back: Family dinner time

Homespun philosophy: Through stormy weather, we'll all stick together

Barn renovation...before, and during.

 Our little brick barn is looking great!
We've been spending endless hours getting it cleaned out, re-built, and re-roofed.

 We've been working on the barn, along with about a million other projects since we first moved to this homestead in March of 2011.
Spencer above, with face mask on to protect his lungs from decades of dust and dirt.
Cleaning out more of the old hay from the barn loft. This picture was taken last Fall.
There was so much to do, to save the old brick homestead barn.
Look at the dust fly.

Also last Fall..    

Working on re-building the North wall that was completely blown out.
We knew that the wall and the roof would not survive another winter of deep snow.
So, the wall was completely re-built.. right down to the foundation timbers.
The roof was tarped to keep it as weather resistant as possible until we could re-roof it this Spring.

Before picture of the North wall.
In this picture, you can also see how deteriorated the roof of the barn was.

 A before picture of the South barn wall. You can see a glimpse of the brick interior of the barn.
In the far right of the inside wall, the brick is adobe.  The rest of the East wall and West wall are fired brick.
In this picture, you can also see , that originally, the barn had canvas covered windows that slid up and down. Completely deteriorated .

After: the same barn wall after it was re-built.
You can also see the new galvanized metal roof.

 A new partition wall was built on the inside of the barn.
A separation between 'the girls' new home, and the remainder of the barn that is destined to be my gardening room.

'The girls' get out of their brooder, and into their new home.
They are quite pleased with their new home.
Hopefully by the end of this weekend, they will have their new nesting boxes and roosts installed.
By Fall, we hope to have the following done on the barn :
~An enclosed outdoor run built for 'the girls'.
~New flip up windows made from corrugated fiberglass panels ... the windows will protect 'the girls' during the cold winter months.
~The remainder of the barn floor scraped, landscape fabric installed and 3-4 inches of pea gravel.
~Tool rack made and installed for all my gardening tools.
~A new potting bench made for my gardening area

Side by side pictures ,a dramatic difference.  So much work has gone into renovating the old brick homestead barn.

It would have been easier to tear it down, and start over.    Less blood, sweat and tears.

 Definitely less money.

However, we have a real desire to preserve things when we can, to not waste, to not be so eager to get rid of the old.

There's a history here. It can not be duplicated.

*The rest of this week, and weekend are being dedicated to hauling off debris from the sidewalk renovation. B.T.W... totally LOVE my new curved sidewalk with it's gentle, welcoming bend.

*Re-roofing the garage.  Almost 1/2 the shingles have been striped off. 

*Lots, and lots, and lots of trips to the landfill to clear away the pile of yard and construction debris that has accumulated on the West side of the barn.

*Squeeze in a date ...maybe to the drive-in with my honey.

Attitude of gratitude:

~ I am so grateful that I was blessed enough to have such a wonderful, remarkable, talented, creative, compassionate father. He taught me so much. He instilled in me a passion for learning new things, saving old things, and being grateful for all things. Even trials. He taught me that the trials in my life were opportunities to increase my faith and testimony, and to bless the lives of those around me, by setting an example and letting others be of service to you and receiving the blessings for their service.

He also taught me that it is impossible to feel sorry for myself when I was anxiously engaged in service for others.  One of the greatest lessons in my life.

When I start feeling sorry for myself,  I know that it's time to get busy helping someone else.

~I'm grateful for my wonderful family. They might not always see my vision, but they are more than willing and able to help my achieve it.

I KNOW that more times than once, they have hoped and prayed that I would find a new house.

Still, they put on a smile, and walk with me through the dust, dirt, and blood.

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.

Summer time at The Cottage

 Summer has begun.
Time for us to work on that "Summer Time Bucket List ".
  Filling the warm, sunny days with fun, laughter and making memories.

We've been able to cross off a few things on the 'Summer Bucket List'.
~Going to the zoo.. check.

 How cute is he?
I think if I gave him a name, it would be 'Pepper'.. because of the black flecks on his nose.

 The white Rhino.  What an impressive creature.
His name?
I think it would have to be 'Blade'.

 Serious cuteness here.
His name would have to be 'Merlin'.

One of the cutest things that we saw at the zoo, was this vintage bike.
Love it.
It has been about 10 or 12 years since we last visited the zoo.
When our kids were a lot younger.
 It was much easier and more fun to go this time.
No one's legs got too tired, and there weren't 1000 potty breaks.
We packed a lunch, and after we had visited the zoo, we went to Liberty Park to have a picnic and people watch.
Yet, another zoo.......hee, hee.

We've also checked off ~'Car Show' from the list.
The 'Rat Fink Reunion' car show is in Manti each year, and they always have an awesome car show.
http://www.ratfink.com/rat-fink-reunion.php  Click on the link to find out more about the 'Rat Fink Reunion'.

Sure would be fun to have one of these old cars or trucks .
I would have to have a truck.
 Love those old trucks.
I remember my parents had a 1957 Chevy pickup.
It was blue.
My mom used to curse the fact that it didn't have power steering.
Wish we still had it..

One thing that is not on our 'Summer Bucket List' , but needed to be done was to replant the garden.
Again.
It's froze three times now.
Hopefully the crazy weather that we've had is over.
We can get the garden growing now.

We even had to re-plant a few of the herbs.
The freeze didn't get them because we covered them, but the winds blew them all over and
and about half of them didn't survive.

So, now that Summer is here, we plan on getting a lot of projects done on our "Overwhelmingly long List", and of course we will work on our 'Summer Bucket List'.
Enjoying the warm weather and sunshine.
Hope you are having fun working on your "Summer Bucket List'  also.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm grateful that Brooke and my sweet husband were able to get the new door put in the west side of the granary. I'm looking forward to getting the new door installed on the east side now, and restoring the original front.
~I'm grateful that my sweet husband and I were able to go on a long ATV ride with some friends.
~I'm grateful that we were able to rescue a lost hunting dog that had been stuck in the mountains for weeks, and weeks.  The dog had given up, laid down and ants were crawling all over him and biting him.  We brought him down off the mountain on our ATV and took him to the animal control officer.
He was able to get the poor little dog to eat and drink and regain his health so that he could walk again. His owner was so glad to get him back, and we found out that the dog is a very valuable dog, and is used for hunting bear.
I'm just so grateful that we found him, and that he's OK.



So it begins....

                                 (picture from last summer.. winding road past Electric Lake)
Winding canyon roads.
Pine trees, lakes, and wildlife.

Clear Creek is starting the summer season.
That means that Spencer is back to work.
He finished up his college semester, packed up his gear, and his bagpipes.
For the next few weeks, he will be staying in the administrators room.. referred to as the ' Princess Room'.
Queen size bed, wi-fi, attached bathroom.  Yep.. the name fits.

                                              (picture from last summer... coal train)
In a few weeks, we will be towing the 'Tin Can Cottage' up there for him to live in for the rest of the summer.
He has his own 'Tin Can', so if he gets it ready in time, he'll take that.

Over the weekend.. Spencer was kind enough to help me get the last section of the garage painted.
He and Brooke scraped the loose paint off and sanded it.

Then.. I made him change into his "Huckleberry Finn" painting clothes, and he and Brooke got the painting done.
We still need to replace and trim out the window.
Still... so much better than it was.
Off to the left, you can see the granary. 
We are putting a door in the granary, and a porch on that side.
The area between the granary and garage will become a beautiful courtyard.

There is a little town and a big lake about 1/2 mile from the school district camp.
Scofield town, and Scofield Reservoir.
You can read about the worst mining disaster that ever happened in Utah
.Click on link below:
http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/mining_and_railroads/thescofieldminedisasterin1900wasutahsworst.html
It happened in the town of Scofield.

Hoping to get some fishing in at Scofield reservoir this summer.

Dinner time for this eagle.
As bald eagles do not get their white head feathers until they are at least five years old, I'm not certain if this was a bald eagle or a golden eagle.

Dinner was interrupted by some very rude people taking his picture.
Off he flew.

Waiting patiently until the intruders are gone.

Spencer LOVES working at the summer camp.
He cuts down trees, keeps the generator, and water tanks going.
Mows and trims the lawns.
Keeps the rope course maintained, and fire pits cleaned and stocked for night time bon-fires.
What ever the camp needs.. he does.

We love the ride to and from camp, through the mountains,
and past the lakes.
The most wonderful commute ever.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful that Spencer has his summer job. So grateful that the school district budgeted the funds to retain him.
~I'm grateful for church on Sunday, and for fast and testimony meeting.
It's always so up-lifting to hear others testimonies, and hear their gratitude for the blessings in their live.
~I'm grateful that we were able to get so many things accomplished over the weekend.
Feels more and more like our 'Forever Home'.

A day in the life of a country girl...

 Morning time.
My most favorite time to ride the trails.
We get up, put on the helmet, and glasses and gloves, and warm up the A.T.V's.
Hit the trails.
We live in a beautiful mountain valley, and the riding trails are mere minutes from home.

 Someone else is riding the trails today also.  A co-worker of my husband.
He has dogs and horses and he hunts mountain lions, and bear.

 Our little town is nestled in the valley of the mountains.
It's starting to green up.
A few more weeks, and all the scrub oak will green up as well.

 Back home from our ride... chores await us.
The garage needs work.
Old chippy paint needs to be scrapped off.
 Sanding done.
 Repairs made.
At one time, someone had cut a hole in the front of the garage.
My sweet hubby repaired it. 
A perfect backdrop for a new light.

 A galvanized barn light will be perfect.
Once the garage is repaired and painted, we will call our electrician to come and run new outlets and lights to the garage.
Looking forward to having a welcoming light on the garage.

 Just a few more repairs need to be made.
An old tree stump that grew up the W. side of the garage, and broke off some of the siding.
The tree is gone, the stump will be dug out, and repairs made to the siding.

 I took a few minutes to make up some burritos to stock the freezer with.
Beef, bean and cheese burritos, as well as breakfast burritos made with sausage , peppers, egg. and cheese.

Mixed up a batch of Double Chocolate Banana Bread also.
To die for.

Recipe:
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
1/3  C. vegetable oil
3 mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2  Cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350*
Spray bottom of loaf pan with non-stick spray

Beat sugar, eggs and oil in large mixing bowl at medium speed until combined.
Beat in banana and vanilla at low speed.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a separate medium bowl; beat into banana mixture at low speed .... just until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool about 5 minutes or so. Remove from loaf pan and cool completely on wire rack.


Attitude of gratitude:
~I'm so grateful for ice. How nice it is to go to the refrigerator and get some crushed ice to use in an ice pack on sore muscles.
~I'm grateful for kind, generous friends that stop by for a chat and a few laughs.
~I'm grateful for having the ability to enjoy our morning rides.