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.

Next weekend....rain or shine

Yesterday morning on my way to work on the farm sale, I had to pull over and pick a bouquet of wildflowers. They don't get any prettier than these. While waiting for the guys to show up, I grabbed a few outside things and took this photo: an old tractor seat with weathered blue paint, a purple aluminum pitcher, hanging drying baskets from one of the local copper mines, and a pair of iron wheels. The flowers are in an old coffee jar and sitting on the best potting bench ever. Actually, it's an old iron workbench (probably from one of the mines) with a couple of shelves on top. It's absolutely solid and you'd never have to worry about maintenance, though it will take a couple of strong guys to move it. I hope one of them is my husband.

The sale will be the first weekend in August. We're a couple of weeks behind schedule and not because we've been slacking; it's just that digging in the outbuildings is so addictive.

52 FLEA: 700th Post Give Back with Cabbages and Roses

You can't blame a girl for trying to win some beautiful fabric, can you? Actually, I was sucked in by the delectable strawberry and confectioner's sugar delicacies.

52 FLEA: 700th Post Give Back with Cabbages and Roses

Farm Estate Sale

Here are some pictures of the farm sale I was telling you about. I'm hoping it will be ready in mid-July. Please excuse the photos. They were taken late in the day, and the lighting wasn't the greatest. The house is kind of dark to begin with. Believe it or not, there is only one outlet in the living room, and it doesn't work. Guess I won't be able to vacuum.....I'm heartbroken ;-)

This is one of two pantries. I'm not totally finished sorting or marking, but you can kind of get the feel of the place, right?

 The wall cabinet is actually oak and has been painted white. It's really cute with original fifties shelf paper.

This old stepback cupboard is full of crocks and depression glass.

There are about thirty more local milk bottles in the basement, as well as blue Ball jars. 

I'll post more pictures as time allows. Tomorrow we'll be working in the outbuildings if it doesn't rain.

Greetings from the Copper Country

Hello. My name is Diane and this is my first blog. I have been inspired by so many wonderful blogs that I just had to try it myself.

I feel fortunate to live in a very special place called the Keweenaw Peninsula. It's located in the far western portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is mainly forestland dotted with small inland lakes and streams and surrounded by Lake Superior. Around the turn of the century (the one prior to Y2K), the area was booming and considered to be the copper mining capital of the world. Yes, the world. Now that the mines are closed, it's mostly mining ruins and small towns, though the landscape is still rugged, wild, and incredibly beautiful. Living here is not for the faint of heart, however; winter lasts a solid six months of the year, and the nearest Starbucks is 90 miles away. The locals say we have two seasons: winter and rough sledding.

I live with my husband on a 60-acre hobby farm with a half-dozen outbuildings and a big red barn that was built in the thirties. A pretty trout stream meanders through our lower field. I love all things old and nature's gifts (with the exception of cluster flies and mosquitoes, perhaps).

I hope you'll visit again.