No More Floor

I finished pulling up the floorboards in the croft-house last week, all except a narrow walkway along the middle length.

While pulling up the section of floor over what would have originally been the living room, I found that the underside of the boards were white-washed except where they were nailed onto the joists, meaning that the second story floor used to be the first story ceiling — in Canadian terms, that is.  In UK terms, the first story floor was the ground floor ceiling.  (That’s right.  Over here, the elevator buttons read: G, 1, 2, 3…  It makes no sense to me, but neither does the inside lane of a round-about being called the outside lane.  Caused a few fights between Graeme and me, that one did, during my driving lessons phase.)

I am really enjoying finding little quirks about the house that have been hidden for goodness knows how many years.  First there were the feedbags, and now the whitewash.  Another one is a wee fireplace on the South wall of the second story that was hidden behind these wall-boards (picture to come later).

What intrigues me about the underside of the floorboards, is that some of them were lined with newspaper and then nailed down.  Were some of the floorboards originally wall boards?  Why else would newspaper be glued to the board?  Why put all that work into something and then hide it? I’ll never know, I guess.  I do wish there was a date visible on the newsprint to help me with the timeline of the house, but no luck there.  An answer never did come back from the feed company about the likely date of the feedbags, so I keep hoping for something else that will help me nail things down in time.

 

 

Lost Moments

Oooo…this could go in so many different directions.  I can hear you thinking: is she going to walk down maudlin lane and write about no longer being close enough to home to share in those special family times like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Charlie’s new haircut? Or maybe she’s going to tell one of her funny I lost my wallet/purse/keys/your small child stories.

Well, you’re wrong.  (Except for Shawna…and Tanya.  I’m pretty sure they’ve guessed this one right)

This is all about my amazing ability to become lost in my own back yard even though I have a map and stop to look at it every five minutes when I’m driving somehwere moments.  And this moment, rather than leading me to a nice “woodland walk”, as promised by the brochure I had picked up (a brochure whose directions left much to be desired, I might add), meant that I found this:

This being Castle Drum.  It’s just a whole load of fairy-tale-awesome, isn’t it, my North American friends, whose young and upstart countries boast nothing like this.   No.  I’m sorry, but the Disney castle, Parliament Hill, and Casa Loma do not count.  Why?  Because they’re young – and the Disney castle is cheating, pure and simple.  (Make what you will of that statement!) Castle Drum, on the other hand, isn’t young.  The large, square tower you see is the oldest intact tower in Scotland and has been dated back to the 1200′s.  Also, it was home to one family for over 600 years.  (The history of the castle can be found here.)  It and another — not kidding — dozen-or-so castles are within a 40 minute drive of my house.  (In other words, there’ll be plenty more ‘lost moments’ like this one, I’m sure.)

And this, my friends, is Charlie:

Charlie

 

Cool Find

Remember this post? Remember my comment about the first layer of wallpaper being canvas? Well, it wasn’t all canvas. Not only were several flannel sheets (with a pale pink stripe) used, but I also found a feedbag and two semolina sacks. I’ve emailed the feedbag company, which is now BOCM Pauls, told them where I found the feedbag and asked them if they could date it for me. The company have graciously agreed to give it a try. What they were able to tell me right away was that the bag is definitely pre-1971, because in 1971 BOCM merged with R Silcock and Sons to become BOCM Silcock. As for the semolina bag, I don’t think the company currently exists, as I can’t find it on the net. A colleague is asking her 90 year old mother what she remembers, though. I’ll keep y’all updated as the drama unfolds.

 

What to Say?

I’ve been at a bit of a loss about what to write. We’ve been at the croft a week now and we’ve been getting small odd-jobs done (like cleaning and re-painting an old dresser (a.k.a., chest of drawers) found in the byre), and even some big ones (for instance, the container arrived today (and I’m a bit miffed that I didn’t take any pictures of it being unloaded off the transport (a.k.a., lorry))). (Wow, I’ve never actually ended a sentence with three parenthesis before. I’m impressed, if I do say so myself.) Perhaps it’s because there has been nothing to rant about. So, instead, I’ll post a few more pictures.

You’ve all seen my Fantastic Find #1, but how about these other cool — but not quite as cool — finds:

Bike #1

Bike #2

Bike #3

If anyone could tell me anything about Bike #3, I would be much obliged — it’s such a funny looking thing. And notice the door behind the funny bike? I thought it hailed from the ’70s because of that yellow, patterned glass, but I have been told that if it was truly from the ’70s, the pattern would be bigger, so what I am looking at is a door from the ’50s. Either way, it’s going in the house when we build it, although it’s a shame that bottom pane is broken becuase I can’t picture us ever finding replacement glass that matches. Okay, I know: why would I want to make it match when it’s sooooo very ugly? You just have to see it in person. It has character.

There are about three other doors which seem to be in perfectly good shape (albiet in need of a good wash), which I also have my eye on. However, the other door that is definitely going to make it into the new house is the main door into the croft. Check out the glass:

Okay. Don’t check out the glass. I’ve just discovered the pic is on the other computer. I promise I’ll post it next time.

 

Fantastic Find #1

This past January, when I was valiantly trying to subdue what was surely a wild triffid (okay it was a snowberry bush, but it had been running rampant for the past 15 years, had taken over the yard, and it really had it out for me) when I literally stumbled across this brilliant find:

For those of you not in-the-know (i.e., probably all of my Canadian friends and family), what you are looking at is a Belfast sink! It’s glorious. It’s in perfect nick. It’s large enough to bathe small children in…and it’s all mine. What makes me love this sink even more than having found it in the garden (which is pretty damn cool, you must admit), is that the stamp on its bottom says it was made in 1933 (on the 9th of June, to be precise). This sink has been hanging around since the Great Depression. I’m also pretty sure that’s a lead seal attached to the drain. Strange that you don’t see those around any more, hmmm….?

On another note, I’ve discovered that if your are creative and crafty and want to be on the net, your name must have to be Michelle, because I’ve found another one. And how cool are her crayon thingies? What a great gift for a kid — and some adults I know. And if I were a mom, I would derfinitly want one of her Ultra Chic Diaper Bags. Heck, I’m not a mom and I still want one. You could fit a lot of groceries in those bags and still look hip. (Am I allowed to say ‘hip’, or am I showing my age?)

I have also come across this blog which brought me to this book called This Place in the Snow, by Rebecca Bond. How great are the illustrations? Here’s an example for those of you who don’t feel like clicking on links:

And last, but not least, I have discovered, that — if you like — I can set things up so that you receive an email every time I post something new. Let me know if you’re interested.