The Rustic Lil' Porch-- Museum and Giftshop

 

 Once upon a time, I got a dream. We saw this cute little place beside the road that said, Swiss Bakery. We stopped by, and there was this little shack with a few shelves and just a few items to sell. But I loved it. It was rustic. It was on someone's farm. It was totally doable. And so a dream was born. I started looking around for a small shack to buy. Found one for $500 Bze. Not bad.The children and myself started renovating it. or rather, derenovating it to make it look more original. Today, this is what it turned into! It is not complete as the porch is not there yet, but it already has a name; The Rustic Lil' Porch. It is my place to 'get away' :), to make into a restaurant for our family, have tea parties and to showcase all my antiques. I love it!!!

Come for a tour!

 Hello!

 

 My western items went on the door. (click on the photo to enlarge and read notice ;)

 The old milking stool that we used on our farm back in the day. I salvaged it a few years ago.

 An old encyclopedia set Joseph likes to read in. It replaces google...well kind of :)

 This washboard belonged to my Grandma. It was the way she washed her family's clothing. My, how thankful I am for my automatic washers. And for this washboard.

 This stove was built by my step-Grandfather.

My tin collection. Some have made it all the way from Canada as you can see if you look closely.

 

 my treasured sarsaparilla medicine bottle comes from Tennessee.

 Our collection of liscense plates.

 The lantern chimney is an old one that has the bat on it if you look closely.

 These crates have gone out of use but I found a few from a farmer not too long ago. It works well for this lamp that I like to light at nights.

 A candle in a cut glass bottle.

 old gallon jar...

 My upcycled wire basket.

 More bottles and oil lamps.

 An old typewriter. Jessica loves to type on it and it is used for playing school.

 One old trunk holds old quilts and sewing supplies, and old hair clipper and more...

 Here is a vintage sewing machine stand that I turned into a table. Yep, that's the potty down there. The can in the bowl is a cream can that comes from Winnipeg years ago, but the bowl I purchased here. I thought it resembled a washbowl and pitcher set.

 Another trunk holds old books. I collect them at yard sales, and most are out of the boxes marked 'free'.

 The old lantern used to be my Grandparents. Must have lit many a dark night doing chores...the egg basket is one that Daniel's uncle gladly gave me when he found out I was interested in it... :) 

 This baby is one that my Grandmother used to have a long time ago. Precious doll.

 Hankies. also retrieved from a 'free' box.

 My bottle collection. It is not growing very fast in Belize but I have some special ones from TN here as well. I will gladly accept more from anywhere... :)

 Our old ice cream maker that we still use. My meat grinder is over 100 years old!

 Here is the pantry shelf that used to be my Grandma's. She stored food in it. It used to have a screen door that does not exist anymore.

 An old bowl used on Grandparents farm for hog-butchering. I remember those days. Boy did my brothers and I have fun creeping up on those hawgs and scaring the daylights out of them unsuspectingly. But when the uncles held a severed hoghead in front of my face it wasn't that much fun anymore...mean uncles...

 Some decorated jars.

One of my Grandmother's rag rugs.

Here is the giftshop part. It does not hold much yet. I do not expect to make a living on a giftshop, but I think it gives the place a unique and complete feeling. I wanted to do something that will involve the children. We hope to add items like lanterns made of cut glass, painted jars, Victorian picture cards, and other crafts that the children and me make as time allows, which is not much at this time!

(Here you see some bluggar butter which is my own creation and probably not heard of before...)We will put up in-season jams, or wine made from Belizean fruits. Embroidered hankies or footstools are on the list as well, as are a few more items I really enjoy making but don't have much personal use for ourselves.            

 Once I turned this museum into a restaurant already. I made a southern style meal and served it in lamplight. Everyone loved it! We shall do it again soon...and often, I hope.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my Rustic Lil Porch Museum. 

 Come again!