Bertia lanhe

Barn Hop 24

Good Monday morning, friends! Welcome to the Homestead Barn Hop. Were in our last month of summer, squeezing in some vacations while the garden is growing and waiting on it to produce a few goodies. Like Ive mentioned before, our season is short and late compared to most. So while some of you saw your last home grown tomato in June, Im still waiting on mine!

While I was over at the coast camping, I popped in a couple of antique shops and found a few little goodies...

Since switching to cloth napkins, Ive kept an eye out for nice additions to our stash. Found four large high quality napkins for around $5 in perfect condition, too! Next was the flatware for 50 cents each. They were a bit tarnished, but cleaned up easily. I collect mismatched pieces for dining outdoors (and sometimes in doors!).



Next, I picked up this butter bell for 1/3 of its retail price. Not an antique, but very cute and something I needed.


I thought I was all done and headed to the check out when I spied this darling apron! In the antique store, no less!  The fabric was darling and I loved the overalls on top, so, it came home with me at the last moment.


So much for being good. But... I did stick to my philosophy of only purchasing USEFUL items that were also beautiful! Hope that counts for something.

I spent some time this week going over ideas for a shed or mini barn for the new goats, but Im having a hard time finding the right size barn for the footprint while still meeting all my requirements: stall space, an area for a small milking parlor, a bit of alfalfa storage, my husbands lawn mower (the riding size), and some gardening tools. I dont want building all over the property, so Im trying to get it all in one. Whew! Not easy for my location unless I want to spend some major money and move a lot of dirt.

The barn I would LIKE to have!

The best news of my summer? My daughter arrives home tomorrow from her 2.5 months overseas!! Oh, the joy in my heart! I can hardly wait to get to the airport and hug on her. Ill be wearing that apron all day Monday getting the house clean before she arrives. And treating her room to a deep cleaning so its all nice and ready for her.