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!

Phase 2 - Landscaping Dreams

Well, we're not yet quite finished with Phase 1, but my work is done (hand-dipping 14 bundles of cedar shakes and hand-brushing rough-sawn cedar to the tune of about $1,000 worth of stain).

If the weather holds out, we'll transplant a white pine on the corner and in the spring I'll plant Sea Green Junipers and native grasses, perhaps lay a sandstone pathway around the perimeter. I envision a mass of black-eyed Susans for fall color. We can't do anything until the excavator comes back to put gravel in front of the doors and run the floor drains off the side of the hill. Next week, hopefully.

Yesterday, I hustled (against the weather) and put a coat of Benjamin Moore Benwood Clear Acrylic finish on the inside of the window moldings. It is water-based and doesn't yellow like shellac or varnish. I have been using it for years on pine trim and normally put on  2-3 coats, but I'm afraid the next coats will have to wait until spring. It's entirely possible that we may not see another day above 50 degrees.

The weather is changing fast. Our wet 50 degrees feels like 30. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, and I noticed on my way home from work that the Houghton Country Road Commission had come through and placed their long, whip 'markers' for the snowplows. Ugh. That means snow flurries can't be far behind.

My plan for the weekend, if weather permits, is to start moving furniture from the 'real' garage- the one we haven't been able to park a car in for three years-into the loft of the new building. Next year, I hope she gets a makeover. It will be my new workshop/junkshop/staging area. To all: have a sweet weekend!

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.