Shop Update 9/24/10

As we near the really and truly official opening date I want to write a longer update than usual. I know it's not good to write such a long post, but I've been asked quite often lately "when are you opening?" and when I say, "I don't know", I can see the question on their polite faces..."what the heck have you been doing for a year?"

Well, first off, for the last month, I've been incredibly busy sorting through lots of boxes, trying not to breathe in too much mildew and dust, cleaning lots of glass, china and pottery, clothing and linens, and then researching what I've found. I do this trying also to keep some balance in my already busy life with family, animals, and maintaining a home, farm, business and hopefully a handful of good friends.

On September 16th last year I started this blog to document the process of this endeavor and then in October we had the trailer pulled in here to start unloading. Remember how full it was? I believe this stuff was stored in there 15 years before it came here. From what I can tell from some papers I found the house was condemned by the city in 1994 and it must have been in horrible condition judging from the looks of some of the things. As I've gone through the boxes and drawers and found squirrel nests in with the clothing or water damaged things it makes me think of how Jackie O's rich cousins lived with cats and raccoons in the delapidated house in the Hamptons after the money ran out. Remember that story?

That's an entire estate...you can't even see the furniture against the walls.

So...Our plan was to work on that during the winter after Rick's workshop was finished and use that space as a staging area while we sorted and priced and repaired or painted things. We would be ready to open our doors in May...or so we thought. Those of you that have followed along for this last year know already that our plans were worthless! Rick didn't have any walls up on his shop until April of this year because of all the snow and rain and then he's had such a heavy work schedule putting in sometimes more than 60 hours a week, that it's taken until recently to get his shop finished much less get moved into the store.

So, for the last month, I've been spending my days digging through boxes and sorting things according to what I should do with them.. 1) for the shop, 2) donate, 3) ebay, and 4) Trash...yes, with a capital T. Tons of trash.

We've already hauled one pick up load to the dump and the next one will have to go on the dump trailer.

These folks saved everything. Broken things, pieces and parts of things, every piece of mail that came into the house since the 1940's, greeting cards, letters, bills, receipts, clothing, shoes, newspapers, magazines, notes written on  everything from old envelopes to cereal boxes, bread bags full of miscellaneous goodies,...lots of good stuff...depression glass, pottery, furniture, glassware, china, old radios and vinegar bottles, blue canning jars...I could go on...I can't just look in a box and decide if it's junk and chunk the whole thing. I have to literally pick through every piece of paper or article of mildewed clothing to make sure I don't miss anything. I've found many a treasure so far, and 14 cents. So you see there is much to sort through and all dusty and stinky. Claritin is once again a staple item on my weekly shopping list

An emptier trailer today

Rows of  sorted boxes ready for Goodwill and Ebay...this is where our firewood usually stacks up.

 Glad it's not cold yet!

 

My fire barrel for all the packing paper, worthless grocery lists, directions, etc...and Rick's finished workshop there in the background. Yay!

I will have to say reading some the letters I've found has been fascinating. I haven't read them all by any means, that would take months...literally. I read enough to learn way more about this family than I should have...even read one yesterday that said "burn my letters, I don't want anyone else reading them" ...and so I did.

From the letters I've learned much about family life during the Great Depression through the recession of the 1970's. I want to do a post on the letters sometime when I have my thoughts together a little better. It is so interesting to compare lives. I will say what stood out the most is that women have always thought they had too much to do. In nearly everything I've read written by a women, it begins...I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write or it's past my bedtime but I wanted to get this written today...because I have just been so busy with_____________.

So to you that have asked or to you that have wondered...I've been just been so busy with....

Tornado? No, just  organized chaos.

You know I would have to have a section for advertising tins, boxes and bottles...and most of them will be in this very cool fruit crate case piece I found in the trailer.

Wonderful Marsh Cabinet...I need a porcelain top...anyone?

Another sweet kitchen cabinet

When we are finished going through every last item in this trailer I think we can officially call ourselves "Pickers". Although we didn't have to ride though the countryside to find all this stuff we've picked through our share of snake skins, rat droppings, squirrel nests and spider webs. In my opinion that makes us official!

On Monday I will begin showcasing a few of my favorite finds. I hope you'll stop back by then.