Tag: Old Stuff

Seems like yesterday

 Maah preshus baybeee started his sophmore year in HS today. 
 Holy crap. How can that be.
What does Steve Perry have to do with it? 
Well, here’s how it went. 
The rising son came home with a list of stuff he needed from Staples,
 like.. TODAY.
So I hopped in my faithful mom mobile and off I went for said supplies.
In the car, alone, I like to find a good song and sing my heart out.
If I did this with people nearby they’d run for cover.
A few channel hops and Steve Perry and Oh, Sherry came blasting out, 
 immediately transporting me back in time.
Funny how a song can do that…. 
make you feel for a few moments almost exactly as you did
way back then… 
Your first car, (pinto) a boyfriend who might or might not be the one  (wasn’t)
the windows rolled down and your long hair flowing..
the whole world your oyster,  possibilities endless.
….TIME seemed endless. 
I caught a piece of that today, on my way to Staples,  I did.
Thanks, Steve Perry, once again.

I don’t know if I ever really got over that crush.
 

Maybe Kate sat here….

 Look what I found at a vintage shop in Westbrook, called Not Just A Crock.
I fell in love with the chipped light blue chair
with brown velvet and embroidery.
I was told it came from the beach cottage right next to Kate’s
in Fenwick, Old Saybrook.  The cottage’s family of many decades was moving
 and there was age-old furniture throughout the house that no one wanted.
This chair was among them. 
Just think!.. this was Ms. Hepburn’s
 neighbor for many years!
Maybe she DID sit here….  

 This pillow came with it.. it smells of musty old beach cottage.

 I sanded down the flaking paint and cleaned it up just a bit.
I think I  like it just the way it is.

 

I didn’t NEED it…

.. but for $25. at a nearby vintage junk emporium, what a find!  I love it.  An old print, glued onto a black painted board back, now hanging in my agriculture inspired bedroom…

 Look at that sweet face ~
I believe this is a Dairy cow of the Jersey Variety.
This is why there can be no beef cows on the property.
The Man has suggested it.  
I could never eat them.

Jell-O 10 cents

 Mrs. N. in the log cabin on the hill gave me two bags full of old cookbooks, both hardcover and pamphlet style… a goldmine of old recipes, I just love them.   Some date back to the very early 1900’s…and I got a kick out of the style of the advertising and some of the recipes of  ye olde days.

From 1951…

 From 1933…

“Magic” would be the word if everyone in my family
was dressed this special …..
My grandmother dressed this way daily, with an apron during cooking too.
Imagine that.
 
This stuff just doesn’t look appetizing…
Nor does this… THRIFTY SALAD
Let’s see… Lemon Jello with sliced tomatoes, peas, SALMON??…
on a bed of lettuce.
*GAG*
 Jell-O published these adorable pamphlets dated 1916 & 1917… I love the artwork,
 and the ads with stories included are just …so……..um… 1916 & 1917.
See for yourself…

“Though the honeymoon  is not yet over and everything she does is still perfect,
the young housewife who is no cook has gone through a period of awful
trepidation while preparing that first dessert.  She didn’t know, as all experienced
housewives do, that she couldn’t go wrong with Jell-O. “

 If I had only known, I would have started with Jell-O.

Some new old finds and Mrs. N. throws a wrench in it

  I did some more junk hunting yesterday – Ever since we started restoring the old mantles in This Old House, we’ve talked about that antique clock we’re gonna have there some day.  Mike even went so far as to have a plug installed at the top center of the mantle so we could plug something in if we needed to.  I found a glorious thing when having my watch repaired… a 1930 Sessions mantle clock that has been fitted with a quartz setting, so.. no winding every seven days. Everything on the outside of the clock is original.. face, hands, beautiful woodwork.  Just the guts have been updated.

 I also found this for $28…  An oil painting with initials and the year 1895 in the left hand corner. 
I just love this horses soft expression.
 
The picture to the left is an old horse shoe we found on this property
The middle photo is of Clove Lake Stables on Staten Island
where I learned how to ride.
The picture was taken when it was about to be torn down for development.

I found this horse last week at a local basketweavers shop on Route 1 – an old shack/corncrib with
two lovely elderly ladies who’ve done most of the weaving. The horse was tucked away under a display table and covered in dust and what looked like garden dirt. 
 I believe he’s made of marble or alabaster – weighing about 25 lbs.

 Tonight our wonderful neighbor up on the hill, Mrs. N –  stopped by to tell us about her Florida trip.  She never comes empty-handed…this time her offerings were downright sinful. 

 Now I’ve been attempting to lose this 15 lb. spare tire I have acquired because T-shirt season is just around the corner and there will be no hiding underneath those layers.  
The last 24 hours have been uneventful. 

Until.
Enter Mrs. N with heavenly homemade sweetrolls and chocolate pudding with the works.

I have already inhaled two sweetrolls and that pudding is calling me
even though I tucked it behind the milk and OJ and shut off the kitchen light. 

Brooklyn Restoration Supply (here’s a coop for the files)

 

  To all my fellow junk hunters…. if you live within a few hours drive of Brooklyn, CT and you love yesterday’s architectural treasures as much as we do… you must stop by and visit Rudy’s place one of these days at 12 Gorman Road, a quiet road off of Route 6, easy access from I-395. 


 At 81 years young – Rudy has owned and operated Brooklyn Restoration Supply for 45 years, now accompanied by his son. Made of several large chicken coops (as in HUGE)  and absolutely packed with old house parts, the place and the man are legendary among old house owners, antique collectors,  restoration experts and contractors.  

 As Rudy held his pipe in hand, I asked him what the secret is to living a long and productive life..

 He said … “It’s real simple.  Keep working. My mother helped me farm this land into her 90’s.”   I said… “Did you eat healthy foods fresh off the farm most of the time?”  and he said “Heck no. My mother couldn’t break me, and my wife couldn’t break me.”

OK then!…

This is why most people just call him “Rudy”…

  Rudy is successful for a few reasons, one of which is the fact that he knows how to get his money.  He’ll bargain with you just so much, and here you see Mike doing that slow dance.

  He bought a series of old glass paned doors that will serve as the panels of the greenhouse..
… Stay tuned…

  And these…. are what I came home with.
The milk can was $10.

The urns… well never mind. 
 Rudy saw me coming, that’s for sure. 
I’m guessing it was the salivating that gave me away
as I stood pondering their rusty awesomeness 


 

Woodbury, CT

  I’m not supposed to be sitting at my computer today.  No.. I was supposed to be at a Boston College basketball game taking photos of our Roba Dolce girl, Shayna shooting hoops at half time. For every basket she made in today, $50. is donated to Special Olympics. (she went 15 for 17 from the foul line – You Go Girl!)   I’m not there today because I’m allergic to my house! Actually, the dust mites in it.  My eyes look like Evander Holyfield and I went two rounds (as if I’d last two seconds!).  I spared the good people of Boston from the site of me today.

  Instead, Mike took pity on me and we went for a ride in the rain to the town of Woodbury, a main stop on the New England antiques trail.   We had lunch at the Curtis House, Connecticuts oldest Inn, dated before 1735. 

Him:   Want to wear my sunglasses in the restaurant?
Me:    Do I look THAT BAD??
Him:   Oh.. well, I’m just saying ..you know… if you WANT to… um, just..sayin.

I don’t know, what’s worse – looking all allergy-eyed or like Michael Jackson in a dark restaurant on a rainy day.  I went without the  MJ look.  Maybe I should have tried it.

The town of Woodbury has a church on every corner and the architecture is stunning everywhere you look…

 

This house is abandoned.  Can you imagine?  I see an artisans commune, don’t you?

Love this truck.   
Since I braved the restaurant with my Rocky Marciano eyes, I decided it was
OK to venture in to Main Street Antiques and scare the good folks of that establishment too.
They have a greenhouse with a Koi pond as well as antique garden decor.
The earthy moist smell was heavenly.

    Old quilts have always been a favorite of mine. I’ve been looking for one that doesn’t cost a fortune for years, and today I finally found it!… $60. and it looks to be authentically hand-stiched, still sturdy enough to
take the wear and tear of the family room.

   

Oldest Stone House in New England

I had errands to run in Guilford today – the town we were married in and had our first house and child. I love the historic green, the wonderful old homes and the great shops in this shoreline town and sometimes I wish we had stayed.  Plus, it’s right along the water, who could ask for more?

 I took pictures of the oldest stone house in New England – built in 1639 under the direction of Henry Whitfield, a practicing reverend from England who also served as one of the founders of the town.  Background history for the house possibly suggests it was built with the help of local Native American inhabitants who assisted in the transport of fieldstone from a local quarry. Archaeological excavations on the grounds revealed  many artifacts as well as the remains of a temporary or seasonal structure occupied by Native Americans, or possibly the Whitfield family until the stone structure was built.

This is the Henry Whitfield house and museum, just down the road from the town green.

These two interior shots I found on the web – the house is closed for winter but can be toured in spring….

 Below is a stark contrast in housing just two blocks over from the Henry Whitfield House..
A condo complex! We’ve always called it the spaceship…how cool is that!
Or weird.
Well.. both.
 The Red Shack on the Guilford Harbor – I don’t know the history, but always wondered what it was supposed to be used for, other than catching high tide at a bad angle.  Probably why it’s abandoned.

 The first Good News story has been published on Roba Dolce’s new blog…
check it out if you have a minute, and tell them your story if you have someone you’de like to nominate!