Three more reasons why I love Goodwill

How did they know that I have been looking for barn lights? It must be my lucky day! My husband says they are not for exterior use, but I surely can find a place for them in the new garage or the barn. The two smaller ones are in super condition, nearly perfect. The larger light has a chip that won't bother me. I'll turn it toward the wall. The smaller lights are made by Goodrich, the same company that makes the Barn Light Electric gooseneck lamps that I plan to order and cost about $300 each. The larger light's label says Quad.

I regularly shop our local Goodwill because I never know what I'll find and because I hate paying full price for anything if I can avoid it.  Lately, the bargains have been far and few between. All our store's knick-knacks are priced at $2.49 each. Some will still have a 25 cent garage sale sticker or a Dollar Store tag on them. What in the world are they thinking?

Guess how much these lights set me back? Give up? OK, have a look.....just click on the picture.

I am one happy camper! Three vintage barn lights for $6. Yes!

I know what you did last summer

In between my IT job, teaching a university ESL course, and a recently vacated rental....we've been building this. Let me tell you I would rather have a root canal than build. I absolutely HATE it. My husband and I built a new house in the late eighties and I was sick every day for three months. Morning sickness on steroids. This building was a close second.

It started out as a 30 x 40 metal building but once it was framed in and I saw my 16 x 40 storage loft, things changed. The metal siding turned into cedar shake on the gable ends and clapboard on the sides. This is called building 'on-the-fly'. I don't recommend it.

Alas, here she is.....TA DA....the tractor building! Tomorrow, weather permitting, I finish staining and the Hormann garage doors (engineered in Germany, made in the U.S.A.) will be installed on Wednesday. All the doors have windows to let in as much natural light as possible.

Am I relaxed yet?  Nope. I still need to pick out light fixtures (for starters: Made in America Barn Light Electric gooseneck fixtures over each front bay) and, honestly, I have no idea what color to order because I don't know what the cedar will look like in the spring. All wood has all been finished with Cabot Bleaching Oil, a popular stain used on the East Coast. Within 6 - 12 months it's supposed to turn to a light gray/driftwood color, but I really have no idea how it will look after a Copper Country winter. I'm leaning toward the green lights because, well, it's a tractor building. I am, however, open to suggestions.

Anyway, thanks to my talented and patient brother (Bob the Builder from San Francisco), this is the new addition to our farm.

Sometime between now and Tuesday (when my brother returns to finish up and spend a few days at camp with our family), I foresee a trip to Marquette for a service door lockset. A result of living in this particular rural area is that it's two hours to the nearest Lowes or Home Depot. Not complainin', just sayin'.

My new Words of Wisdom: Done is Better than Perfect.