~Weekend at the cottage ~

 Hello friends!
What a wonderful weekend it was for us.
We enjoyed a cosy fire, and rainstorms, beautiful skies.
We watched General Conference. 
Messages filled with hope and faith. 
Seeking good things, and following the example that our Savior set for us.

 Along our walking path, we saw a sweet reminder chalked onto the sidewalk.

 Puppies ran up to a gate to great us. 
Awww... they are so cute! 
Golden retriever pups.

 As the rains increased, this sweet little bird found a natural umbrella and lunch as well. 
Clever bird! 

 The rains continued and the sunflower head sheltered the bird as he gathered and ate sunflower seeds.

 As the clouds moved across the mountains, a dusting of snow across the peaks is revealed.

 Fall leaves glow, and white snow makes for a beautiful scene.

This week, I am more resolved to seek the good.
Uplifting.
Smile more.
Show kindness to strangers.
Serve my family.
Bless my home and family each day. 
Serve.
Happy heart experiences.
Positivity.
It is easy to be dragged down by negativity. 
It takes courage and faith to see the positivity and the good and seek after these things. 

Attitude of gratitude:
~Feeling grateful for a loving husband. 
~Thankful for a cosy warm fireplace.
~Thankful that we finished the items on 'The List' in order to be ready for winter'
~Grateful for the rains that have soaked lawns, plants, and helped to fill reservoirs. 
~Thankful for a stack of great books to read as the weather turns cold, and I spend more time indoors. 

Weekend in pictures

 Labor Day weekend means it's Swiss Days in Midway Utah.
Tons of booths filled with crafts, food, etc. 
We went on the Friday before Labor Day. Hoping to avoid the majority of the crowds that jam into Swiss Days on the Saturday before Labor Day.
Nope. 
Guess everyone else had the same idea because it was shoulder to shoulder people.

 At the Midway store, called 'Everything in the Barn', there were beautiful displays of Fall goodies and even Christmas goodies.

 This 'Boo' sign was hugely popular, and this booth had a huge line around it. Folks waiting to buy their sign. 
I just couldn't bring myself to wait in line forever. 

 Tents and booths, and people galore. 
We did buy a few things: Honey, a Liz Lemon Swindle picture, and from the Midway Relief Society booth, a loaf of homemade cinnamon swirl bread that made the yummiest French toast.

 A beautiful old garage tucked back in the trees. Spied on the way back to our car. We parked in a field. Paid ten dollars, and was happy to have found a place to park at all!

 The town of Midway. Tucked into the mountains.
A beautiful old town, that is hugely popular now. 
Whereas it used to be a small farming community, it is now a place where multi-million dollar homes are built. You would be hard pressed to find an affordable home in Midway these days. 

 One of the bonuses to living in Midway is Deer Creek Reservoir. This is just a small glimpse of the lake.

 From a bygone time in Midway. A beautiful barn. Just past the barn, you can see a teeny bit of the lake.

 Back down the Provo Canyon... towards home.

Stopped by the Orchards Harmons to buy Hatch Green Chilies. The weekend of Labor Day, the market was roasting chilies. We bought a bushel of mild chilies.
Once home, we quickly assessed that the chilies were actually hot, not mild.
A phone call to the market and the produce manager apologized and promised us a credit next time we are there. 
   It might be a while before we return to the market, as it's over a hundred miles from where we live... one way.

Attitude of Gratitude:
~So thankful for my family. 
Our youngest son and his sweet wife were sealed in the temple yesterday. 
~Grateful for mild mornings that make it possible for my sweet husband and me to enjoy morning walks together. 
~ Thankful for safe travels. We love to go and see things. Lots of road trips and I'm always so grateful to be able to travel safely and return home safely.
~Grateful for laughter. A day without laughter is a day wasted.

~ All Around The Cottage , and naan revisited

 All around the cottage.... flowers on the kitchen table....

 sun shining through the windows.
It's a beautiful day here at Mill Hill Meadow.
We had a gorgeous, summer-y weekend, baking and rain showers, and putting in new plants.

 Do any of you long time readers remember my kitchen at the Cottage on Main?
Filled with lots of red, and gingham, and farmhouse touches.

 My kitchen {in any house that we've ever lived in}, is a place I love to spend time in.
 I love to be in my kitchen baking and cooking, with my family gathering.

The first time that I made naan, it was in the kitchen at Cottage on Main.
We love naan!
I've been making batches of naan here in the kitchen at Mill Hill Meadow.

 The recipe I am using now, is different than the recipe that I used at Cottage on Main.
That older recipe used yogurt, and this newer recipe does not.

Here's the new recipe for naan.....

Simple Naan :
1C. warm water
1/4 C. sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 T.  milk
2 t. salt
3 1/2 Cups flour
1 T. dry yeast
* Add ingredients in order listed above to bread making machine. When dough cycle is finished, divide dough into 12 equal balls and roll out into rounds.
Preheat oven to 500* degrees. Place large cookie sheet in oven, as the oven is preheating.
Place naan on preheated cookie sheet, in preheated oven, and bake naan on each side for about 3 minutes or so, or until done.
* Edited : I forgot to mention that when you bake the naan, your oven rack should be placed in the highest position in your oven. I make naan so frequently, that it is just something I do automatically, but if you've never made naan before, you might need to know this :)
I've modified the recipe to be made in my bread machine, but the recipe could also easily be made in a kitchen mixer, or by hand.  It is a really good recipe!
I've also made garlic/rosemary naan simply by adding granulated garlic and rosemary to the flour before adding all the other ingredients.
I've also made Maple Cinnamon naan, by replacing the sugar with 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, and decreasing the milk to 1 T. and adding 1 T. of ground cinnamon to the flour before mixing.
Maple Cinnamon naan is delicious warmed in the microwave then a smear of whipped cream cheese on top.
* Edited.. also, when making Maple ~ Cinnamon naan, cook naan at 475* degrees, instead of *500 degrees, because the maple syrup caramelizes at a lower temperature than sugar. Also keep a close eye on the baking process... it may not take as long as regular naan.

Attitude of gratitude:
~Feeling thankful for a cozy home. Feeling thankful for a home that is filled with family and good conversation, and good food.
~I'm grateful for the rain that we've been receiving. All of our new little shrubs, perennials, and annuals are doing so well this summer, and we are trying to establish new borders along the new fence so the rain is really a blessing.
~I'm SO grateful that our son, Spencer was with me this past week; I had a tire blow out and he was able to change the tire for me. Then, the spare started going flat as well..... it hadn't been used in years and so the bead on the tire wasn't sealed. I was able to get off the highway, and he aired up the spare and we continued home. Two new tires will be put on our Tahoe this week! I feel so blessed that we were safe and sound, and that we didn't wreck.

Amazing Autumn....

 Color blankets the mountains above town.
Clouds settling in.
Stormy weather.

 Rain, and rain, and more rain.
We were blessed with a wonderful Autumn rain storm.
The next morning... misty Fog.

Everything shrouded in the misty morning.

Storm clouds riding the sunset.

Pulling out the wool blankets.
I bought this blanket a few years ago at the thrift store.
The colors, Goldenrod, Chocolate, and Orange.
The price: $3.00

The surprise: The blanket manufacturer is featured in this months edition of Country Living.
Page 22... "Faribault Wool Blankets..."
The company is more than a century old.
I estimate that my blanket is more than 40 years old...
made sometime during the 1960's.

Warm glow of candle light, and candle warmers.

Yes.. Autumn is an amazing time.
My favorite season.

Attitude of gratitude:
~I am so grateful for Autumn blessings... falling leaves, crackling fires, hot chocolate... all of the things that make me feel so cozy, and turn our hearts to home.
~I'm so grateful that we were able to go visit our daughter . Even though she's all grown up, and away at college, we miss her so!
~I'm grateful for a wonderful, smart, capable, faithful husband. My best friend.
My partner in crime. My helper, dishwasher, fence-builder, chicken feeding, wood chopping, man.

Weekend at The Cottage

I started my weekend on Friday, in the kitchen.
Many weekends here at The Cottage begin and end in the kitchen.
The heart of our home.

I made a batch of granola.
The same recipe that I've been using for more than 20 years.
I added dried cherries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and sunflower seeds.

For dinner on Friday night, we made kabobs.
Brown sugar and pineapple, chicken kabobs.
We make a lot of kabobs and hobo dinners in the summer.

Saturday began with Bountiful Baskets.
If you have BB in your area and you haven't checked it out yet, I encourage you to do so.
For the cost, and the freshness of fruits and veggies, BB can't be beat.

I have a couple of bowls of fresh plums and apricots that I'm going to put in the food dehydrator today.

Our box gardens were doing fantastic.
We even got our first little pepper.

Sunday morning, we woke to this.
Frozen plants.

Saturday, our squash plants looked like this.

Sunday morning they looked like this.

All because of this: freezing temperatures.
The last time we checked the forecast, at 9:00 pm Sat. night, the temperatures were only supposed to get down in the low 40's.
Wrong.
Sunday morning the thermometer read 29 degrees fahrenheit.
Today, after I pinch back the damage on the plants, I'm going to see what plants can be saved, if any.
We have had the craziest weather this year.
If we have to re-plant the garden again, it will be for the fourth time.
We have started a lot of seeds, but who knows if our growing season is going to be long enough for the seeds to germinate and grow enough to get any harvest off of them?

Also, this past weekend, we picked up the metal roofing for the little barn and the garage.
We have had to re-build the North wall of the little barn, and add four support beams that the previous owners had cut out of the barn.
Now, we need to get it roofed, rebuild the south wall, and get it painted.
We are also going to level out the floor and add pea gravel.
The little barn will become half chicken coop, and half gardening shed.
Work, work, work.

Attitude of gratitude :
~I'm grateful for homemade maple syrup. Nothing like the smell of fresh maple syrup early in the morning. I'm off to make pancakes for Spencer before he has to go back up on the mountain for work this week.
~I'm so grateful that Craig gave us such a great deal on the metal for the roofs.
It's nice to have family that owns a metal building and roofing company.
Thanks Craig!
Also, a super big thanks for getting us the galvanized.
 It will be the perfect look for our homestead.
~I'm grateful for that old dehydrator that is still humming along after all these years.
Fired right up, after being in storage for almost 2 years, and for practically being an antique, it works like a charm.