It’s the Real Thing

  Wouldn’t it be grand if just sipping a bottle of Coke could solve the world’s problems?  I believed it back in the 70’s, and I think my grandmother did too. We often had a weekend dinner and sometimes a sleepover on Bard Avenue. The very first thing I did when I stepped into her little galley kitchen was grab a coke out of the fridge.   She was brand-faithful, meaning there were certain things she’de always have in her house, never switching brands.  Coke, Ivory Soap, Laughing Cow Cheese and Jean-Nate Body Splash were among them.

HISTORY: Coke was invented in 1886 by Doctor John Pemberton,  a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia. He concocted the Coca Cola formula in a three legged brass kettle in his backyard. The name was a suggestion given by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper Frank Robinson. Frank Robinson also had excellent penmanship. It was he who first scripted “Coca Cola” into the flowing letters which has become the famous logo of today.

Coca -Cola was first sold to the public at the soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta. Until 1905, the soft drink, marketed as a tonic, contained extracts of cocaine as well as the caffeine-rich kola nut. In 1887, another Atlanta pharmacist and businessman, Asa Candler bought the formula for Coca Cola from inventor John Pemberton for $2,300. By the late 1890s, Coca Cola was one of America’s most popular fountain drinks, largely due to Candler’s aggressive marketing of the product. With Asa Candler, now at the helm, the Coca Cola Company increased syrup sales by over 4000% between 1890 and 1900.

Advertising was an important factor in John Pemberton and Asa Candler’s success and by the turn of the century, the drink was sold across the United States and Canada. Around the same time, the company began selling syrup to independent bottling companies licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink industry is organized on this principle.
Until the 1960s, both small town and big city dwellers enjoyed carbonated beverages at the local soda fountain or ice cream saloon. Often housed in the drug store, the soda fountain counter served as a meeting place for people of all ages. Often combined with lunch counters, the soda fountain declined in popularity as commercial ice cream, bottled soft drinks, and fast food restaurants became popular.On April 23, 1985, the trade secret “New Coke” formula was released.
Today, products of the Coca Cola Company are consumed at the rate of more than one billion drinks per day. 
That’s nuts. But you know what?  To this day, I still have Coke in the house for whenever someone’s got a sour stomach. The bottom line is, even though it’s loaded with sugar and there is no nutritional value… it still really works as a tonic.  

This morning I went to Target for cleaning supplies and really unnecessary stuff  for This Old House. Out of the corner of my eye I caught the logo…

  This is why I love Target… $12.99 and you, too, can have a vintage Coca Cola Tee.   I’de like to submit this photo to Snappy Di, who periodically posts “What Boomers Are Wearing” pics… Diane, I’m ALMOST a boomer, just two years shy of it..and this is what I wear almost always.  A tee and worn jeans. These have rips and frays, much to my delight and my husband’s chagrin.

As for the concept of being brand-faithful, my grandmother had something. You can still find Coke, Ivory Soap, Jean Nate and Laughing Cow Cheese in your grocery story.  I’ll admit I went to the other side for a while, but I eventually came back to Coca Cola.

  Although it hasn’t done for ME what it apparently does for HER…..

Yesterday’s Treasures

 In the process of dismantling and reassembling This Old House we found many little treasures, some stashed for a 100 years or more in various parts of the house…

 This little bottle, no bigger than my thumb, was stashed up inside the keeping room fireplace on a tiny shelf. It still has a little cork stopper and contains what looks like gold flakes. These were typically sold by traveling snake oil salesmen many moons ago as an arthritis treatment among other things…

 Arrow heads and the remains of a pipe….
These are the pegs that held the frame, we used most of them when putting the frame back together…
A 1936 coin found in the stone walls out back…
Many old horse shoes found on the property….
These are two of the original wallpapers we found when removing toilets in the old house…
This one is bizarre…  The man has fallen from his horse into a ditch as the woman gallops away ….
Some 1940’s postcards and pamphlets also stashed in a fireplace shelf….

Wet Paint and Watermelon

  Have I ever mentioned how grateful I am that I am not asked to do any of the painting?  I’ll be honest and tell you it’s because I suck at it. I hate having to be so precise and I don’t want to be responsible if a drip, (more like 109 drips) get on something important perminantly. 
  Wayne’s crew is back to paint the remainder of the cabinetry, touch ups, the barn…
Dennis spent the day installing more of the cabinetry that he and Jeff created in their shop….
These are book shelves in the area between the mancave and the family room. The window seat in between  has storage for blankets and will have a comfortable cushion and vintage pillow or two.
My dining room light fixture hijacked removed from our current home and installed in This Old House….
The brick layers have already finished the front walk, patio in the backyard is half complete!….
 Neighbor dog Lulu showered Mike with the usual adoration today. We all love her, but she only has eyes for Mike.
 That tiny little line is lettuce, beans are already three inches tall… and look what I found at the grocery store…. we’ve  not had luck with watermelon in the past, guessing the soil isn’t sandy enough, but this variety is new to me, so I bought a few plants and we’ll see what comes of it.

Rewind to the Beginning

 Some of you have asked about the history of the house and how we came to own it.  If I hadn’t been so stupid  concerned about the few strange comments I got on the first blog, which documented everything from the very beginning (%#$@!)  there would be a host of information because I really did waste spend a lot of time documenting this journey.  Alas, the delete… it cannot be undone. I know this because I spent HOURS on the tech line with blogger and even blog2print, which I had downloaded my blog onto… to try to retrieve it. Gone, baby, gone. 

Anyway.    I’ll recap briefly now, and once the house is complete I will publish before and after photos of each room.

I moved to this state from Staten Island and lived on this very same country road with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins for four years while attending college and getting my stuff together.  I used to ride past This Old House frequently and it had me at “hello”.   Little did I know I would one day call it home. It took us two attempts, alot of frustration and five years to buy it, long story short it finally became a reality a year and a half ago.

 The house was originally built for a Deacon of the Congregational Church in the 1830’s, completed in 1835. The Deacon carved his name in one of the supporting beams of the roof and it is now displayed with lighting in my daughter’s bedroom ceiling, it’s original place.   We found his original headstone on the property, and he rests in an old cemetery up the road from the house with a newer headstone – added when his wife passed away some years later.  When we purchased the house it was no longer liveable. The building inspecter said he wouldn’t be able to give us  a C of O.   The house sat right on the road, so  we made the decision to move it back about 40 feet on a new foundation using the old stones from the original foundation and walls on the property.   There was an addition and greenhouse dating  back to the 1940’s which we removed.  Then Mike bought an already dismantled 1800’s federal from Jeff Klausen as well… using that house ( aka the Chester house) as a family room/loft addition. What you see now  is really two old houses joined at the hip.

  Below are some of the “before pictures….  we had already done extensive brush clearing to make the fields in the back visible.  You can see the old dog kennel-apartment-garage and chicken coop on the right.  Those buildings had no historical or architectural significance and were in need of  much repair. It was determined that it would be cheaper to take them down and make a smaller structure instead.

The greenhouse was dismantled and sold to a neighbor… it housed an eery cement pool which had to be dug up.
 
Here you can see the old addition more clearly. This has been replaced with the Chester house (the family room/loft with the huge arch window)

Walk This Way

  We’ve got a crew here this week putting in the brick walkways and patio in the back…they work with lightning speed, I’m amazed. 

Jeff Klausen is back on the job installing cabinets he made at the shop, beautiful craftsmanship.  This one will hold glasses and have a counter underneath… located between the kitchen area of the ‘keeping room” and the dining room table area.

This corner cabinet is now located in Mike’s office, or what used to be the parlor.
The stairs are near completion…
Front of the bar in the loft sided with old barn wood….
Behind the bar…. Pool table will be in the back left corner of this picture…

What side are you on?

 A bunch of us were goofing off  gathered at the shop  recently and somehow we got to talking about beds, and which side of the bed we sleep on and why.  One of us  (you know who you are)   said  “I don’t have a side. We just fall asleep on whatever random side of the bed we end up on that night.”   I’m sure the collective GASP  was audible at the hardware store up the road.   NO SIDE? 

 I don’t know about you, but I gotta have my side. The right side if you’re facing the bed. And there’s a reason!  I sleep on my left side, facing out.  I need air.  As much as cuddling is good and great and necessary,  I need my air, free and clear of his – because  if I’m facing him he sucks all the air out of my space.  If  I’m sleeping alone when away on a trip?  I’m still on my side of the bed, can’t seem to bring myself to use the whole space and sleep in the middle.

  Another member of our group sleeps in a full size bed with her husband, always has. (as in twin, full, queen, king).   Another collective GASP.  They are average sized people and they have a very happy marriage (apparently!) and they are perfectly happy to be every-inch-up-against-each-other when they sleep.  Awesome!    But… what about the air?

 I also like to have a window nearby, preferably open.  If we’re on vacation  in a motel room or staying at someone’s house and my usual side of the bed is up against a solid wall, it isn’t gonna work.

The bedding here looks so luxurious and comfortable…

Donald Trump slept here….
This one’s for Carol Ann and I bet Jeanne would like it too…..
Ok, maybe alittle too much air….
You can actually buy this Croc bed for your dog…google it!

 So… what side are YOU on?

100 year old mystery SOLVED!!!

 Many thanks to Connie of Hartwood Roses for figuring out what our mystery 100 year old plants are…  funny that in 20 years I could not solve the issue, and I threw it out to my blog friends and had an answer in like, 20 minutes.  I googled the name and the photos are identical to my plants. 

 ” Aspidistra (Cast Iron plant) It was a very popular house plant in the 19th and early 20th century.”      Very fitting for This Old House   🙂

 Thank you to Tina Eudora of One Wild Swan  for the following information:   If your photos are correct it also looks like there might be some spider mite damage (tiny specks of color loss). When I have had Dracena they are a plant that is susceptible to spider mites (little buggers)and if you see a slight webby looking stuff on the undersides of the leaves and teensy tiny specks moving really slow, that would be them. Best solution is to mix a new spray bottle filled with water and about 1/4 to a half 1/2 teas. liquid dish soap. With the mixture in the spray bottle, spray the leaves (it won’t damage them) or wipe the leaves with the solution and a soft towel. Spraying is best though as some of the solution will drip down into the base of the leaves where some of the mites or their eggs might be hiding.


See previous post for photos ….

100 years old

 For the past twenty years I have carried the nerve-wracking responsibility had the great pleasure of keeping my great-grandmother’s engagement gift plants alive.  These two plants lived in her apartment on Staten Island, then at my grandmother’s house for many years… they moved to Connecticut with my Aunt, who I lived with for four years while I went to college and started my “adult life”.  When I got married, they came to live with me. (gasp!)    I have no idea what they are, and my Aunt and grandmother couldn’t identify them either.  They have no blossoms like the smaller peace plants in front of them… any of you green-thumbs out there have a clue?   We’ve just moved them to the front porch of this old house, where they will stay until early fall, moving inside when the nights get too cool.
This is what my family’s refrigerator looks like before we “live” out of it. 
The barn/garage siding is almost done, painted a dark brown, as was the original.

One Step at a Time

  The stairs in the family room heading up to the loft should be completed by today…

Uh…. Houston, we have a problem.
Snappy Di , the Blue Ridge Gal created this signature for me. I saw hers and complimented her on it
 (OK,  I said “I WANT ONE!” ),  and within hours I had many of my own to choose from.  You see, that’s what I love about blogging… all the awesome people I have met, the friendship, sometimes the comiserating, the laughs, the creativity.    Thank you Diane –

Wagon Wheel

 Now that the stonework is complete (Thank you Steven Seely, awesome work)  on the familyroom/loft fireplace, the wagonwheel chandelier has been installed. I think this is one of my favorite features in the house… funny that it brings out two completely different reactions…visitors either love it or they hate it.  

  Next is completion of the wood floors in both the family room and the loft/pool table area and then stain and  tung oil throughout the house.  Still aiming for a July 1st move-in date… it’s getting hairy.

This is the backside upstairs side of the fireplace, a bar will be to the left and couches and TV to right…
Pool table here…..
Mancave is now closed in, no more side entrance for bringing “stuff” in….
And these are my new washer and dryer.  The old ones were so old they have rust around the rim, I’m not kidding.  These are stackers and will go in the hallway laundry closet in the background of this pic.
My husband is the one who gets all excited about appliances… all I care about is that they work….and the absence of rust is always desirable.