By Steve Harris

Steve and Susie Harris are innkeepers at Anna V’s Bed & Breakfast in Lanesboro, the Bed & Breakfast capital of Minnesota.

Two years ago I wrote an article in The Old Times called “Oops, I Married a Junker.” Susie and I were married in November, 2008, and honeymooned not in Hawaii or Bermuda, but in Red Wing, where we visited thrift shops and antique stores.

Yes, I married a junker.

I wasn’t complaining. Susie helped me discover new worlds of treasure-hunting fun. But things went to a new level. I soon learned that my junker-sweetheart had bigger dreams. “Oops, I Married a Junker” who wanted to run a Bed & Breakfast.

Yikes.

I’ll spare the details, but…Susie and I are now innkeepers at a beautiful B & B in Lanesboro, Minnesota, an hour south of Rochester. We’ve been a year now. It’s been a fantastic experience.

We’re finding that the junker lifestyle dovetails nicely with inn keeping; we’re also learning a lesson that other treasure hunters—who may never set foot inside a B & B—may appreciate as well.

Here ‘tis: use what you find. Don’t just get stuff to add to already too-large piles of stuff. Incorporate your finds into everyday life. If you love old dishes and find a beautiful set, eat off them. If you discover an old lamp that turns you on, put it on a table and turn it on. If you buy old jewelry that puts a sparkle in your eye, wear it and share that sparkle. Don’t just be a collector—be a connector.

Susie had collected for years. When we moved to Anna V’s B & B she searched her closets and storage bins for items to accent our 1908 Queen Anne Victorian home. Vintage linen tablecloths emerged from plastic tubs to grace the dining room table. 1940’s hat boxes now help decorate a bedroom. A pair of women’s high-top leather shoes from the ‘20s adds a touch of Victorian elegance to the Ladies Parlor. A curved glass curio cabinet went from storage shed to dining nook.

The idea of using what we find at garage sales makes us better shoppers, too. We now ask, “How are we going to use this?” before reaching for our wallets. That makes sense–and saves money.

Susie recently found an old Sheffield silver on copper 10” coffee pot with an ebony handle at an estate sale Cost: $3. Before…buy it and put it in a closet. Now… buy it, and serve hot chocolate on a snowy Minnesota winter night.

The combo junker/B& B lifestyle can collide, however. One Saturday morning I was in the kitchen, mere minutes away from our 8:30 breakfast, when I suddenly realized I was alone. Susie, chief cook in that kitchen, had disappeared. As I filled water glasses, a cold sweat formed on my forehead.

I looked out the kitchen window and noticed a group of people gathering at a home two blocks away. Uh-oh. Garage Sale. Had Susie seen it? Oh, she wouldn’t, would she? Yup, there she was, browsing away. She’d seen it all right, and had zipped out the back door quicker than I could ask “what’s gettin’ stuffed in the French Toast today?”

Not to worry, Susie had it under control. With at least thirty seconds to spare, she was back in the kitchen serving up breakfast. She was smiling, too, because at the sale she found a set of Bellogia Noritake dishes for $20. A very pretty set of dishes, in fact, that we now use at least once a week.

I married a junker who now runs a B & B. The fun continues.

(Steve and Susie Harris are innkeepers at Anna V’s Bed & Breakfast in Lanesboro, the Bed & Breakfast capital of Minnesota. Susie is also an antique dealer at Garage Sale Antiques in Lincoln and at Generations of Harmony in Harmony. For more information visit www.annavbb.com. Junkers always welcome!)