October-December 2019

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Going Postal

A new and glamorous mailbox was always on my wish list, a low priority until we realized we were probably making the mail man/lady crazy because our old box was always full due to us being away so much.  I've been looking for a large antique mailbox but never had any luck so I bought one new.

Pete built a pedestal for it with bricks we've collected from the yard and bricked up fireplaces.

 The concrete slabs were bought at the local hardware store. 

This qualifies as one of those, "Oh wow, its really coming together" photographs.

As much as I'm irritated by Facebook, every once in a while it has its use. Pete posted this- a call for paper correspondence

We got so many great Halloween cards, it brings back memories of a pre-internet universe!

I've never seen this before, a letter formatted like a telegram. 

I visited the grave of Samuel Morse over the summer, the man who developed morse code and invented the single wire telegraph system. He was tragically influenced by the death of his wife, who died unexpectedly in Connecticut when he was working in Washington, DC. He was informed via a letter from his father-in-law that was received too late for him to make it to her funeral. This experience was the seed that inspired him to develop a way to correspond faster than letters. She died in 1825, ten years before the first train on the Northeast Corridor was built. So I guess that letter was delivered via horse.

I was NOT expecting a hand drawn portrait of us and the house. Holy crap! A bat, the Packard, and our house- its all there! Thank you Richard and Remy!

Burning the midnight natural gas

Growing up in suburban New York, our house and all the houses in my neighborhood had cast iron radiators. I associate them with coziness and comfort, it was always nice to lean on a warm radiator after coming in from a cold day.

I don't know when radiators fell out of favor, but most new construction has forced air heat.

This seems ok for smaller houses, but for our local friend in an old house with no insulation, tall ceilings, and crappy windows, her forced air system seems almost useless. Installing radiator heat for our house, either via steam or hot water, was a no brainer.

I made way too many calls looking for someone to install the boiler and a few radiators to start the process and enable us to keep the water on throughout the winter. Most HVAC plumbers don't install hydronic (hot water) heating systems. I called 65 companies over six days, most of the receptionists didn't  know what I was talking about.  My favorite conversation went like this:

Contractor: "Um, uh... I don't know, this job is going to be really complicated. It's gonna involve a lot of....."

Me: "Math? Will it involve a lot of math?"

Contractor: Well, uh, yes.

I managed to get appointments, so I overwhelmed Pete with ten contractor service calls in five days. Pete chose the guy he thought was the most competent of the bunch, the guy with the most detailed estimate. 

Full steam  hot water ahead on the USS boiler.  Although I have a very limited understanding of how this works, seeing the work in progress helped me understand why this job was so expensive. 

It wasn't explained to me why this device is named after the national dish of Mexico, but it will allow us to segment the heat distribution six ways, to keep less frequently used rooms cooler.

I'd been researching cast iron radiators casually for about a year. I found two companies in the U.S. that make them new, and one company that restores old ones. I contacted the restoration company for a price on a small wall mounted model for our half bathroom. Way more than we wanted to spend, Pete started researching how to restore them.

Getting these old monsters back to working condition is an insane amount of  physical work, but the good thing is they are pretty cheap second hand.  Except on Ebay. Ebay sellers price these way too high. Remember kids, just because its pretty and old doesn't mean you can get a lot of money for it. Pete purchased a few via Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.

The models with the intricate patterns molded into them get me pretty excited. I think this is where the phrase "sexy beast" originated.

I'm guessing this model was made specifically for churches.

Here's the wall mounted unit that was too expensive.

This company retrofits for steam, hot water, or electric. Pete did find a wall mounted radiator for sale on Facebook recently, but it was too big for what we need. 

Whoa......

These built in boxes are bread warmers, I would love love LOVE to have one of these in our kitchen, but they are pretty rare.

The giant radiator in the front bedroom was the first test subject for re-installation. We looked into paying our muscle trash man to carry it to the basement, he wanted $700. for the job, so Pete took the segments apart and attempted to reinstall it.

There are threaded rods that holds all the segments together on the top and bottom. 

 The next step was carefully chiseling it apart. 

It's common to see connecting nipples rusted out, depending on how much action the unit saw in its life time.

Unfortunately, after putting it back together in the basement Pete discovered it had a leak. 

These are so massive but brittle, and are at risk of cracking when pulled apart and moved. They are also susceptible to cracking when water freezes inside of them. At least we can make a few bucks for scrapping it. 

Discouraged but not defeated, Pete started working on the decorative models he bought second hand. 

Mmmmmm.....beautiful swirly details💕

Each segment got a bath, rinsing out years of rusty sediment.

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Pete bought a sand blaster, and MacGyvered a temporary cabinet for it. 

 Here's a detail; sandblasted and repainted with the relief details wire brushed to show contrast.

He was running out of time and wanted to get it installed, so here it is in the kitchen, partially painted. 

The second one was installed in the basement. Unpainted, because who cares, its the basement.

The heat in the basement will help solve the moisture/rust problems we've been experiencing from the start. Pete decided to insulate the basement to help keep the damp out and the heat in.

Someday we will get proper windows, until then they are sealed off with insulating foam boards.

"Don't lose consciousness from lack of fresh air, make sure you have some air flowing in there" I told him.

Pete cleaned up his work area, the garage workshop is far in the future, so he's using what he has. 

Pete's going for yet another level of shanty town chic with these heavy curtains tacked up in the "apartment"

  "It's really keeping the heat in" he boasted. I think he will be a bit depressed by the first slab of sheet rock that gets installed in the house. 

Guess where that fabric is going when the room is finished?

To me, its kinda feeling something like this:

Downspouting

One of the next tasks for the exterior after painting was installing new downspouts. Luckily, we were able to get them in black. I like that the house looks almost black in these photos!

For another level of gothic bling Pete designed these downspout bat brackets from aluminum.

It flies in the wind!

Pete was surprised when he realized had unwittingly duplicated the bat he had made for our wedding cake.

A very special guest!!

I was upset to have missed meeting Gigi, a woman who grew up in the house that I've been corresponding with pretty much since we bought it. She lives out of state and had some time to stop by to see our progress in person.

Say it ain't snow

The house looks good in any weather!

A very creepy Christmas

We also got quite a few Christmas cards sent to our new mailbox as well. As I am trying to respect everyone's privacy, I excluded any cards with family/children's photos on them. (except for the furry children) Thank you to the people who wrote us actual letters-on paper! 

Pete got enthusiastic and made ornaments to go with the Christmas cards he sent out. 

I was relieved to see the cards arrived intact and not smooshed! Well, at least this one made it....

Mail fail

Come on, just...put...the....mail...in...the....box. I know think you can do it!

Flora and fauna

We've seen skunks quite a bit in the past couple of years. Pete surprised a sleeping one when he pulled a sheet of plywood away from the house.  "His fur was so white, they are very clean." he said. We have yet to be sprayed on.

This guy looks like he's sneaking back inside after an all night bender.

Here's a spider in the basement saying hello.

Found in walls and under floors

These newspaper clippings from 1917 were found between stones in the foundation via the exterior basement staircase. The United States was just dipping its toe into WW1.

This is about the treaty that ended Russia's involvement in WW1.

Although a lot of this is cut off, it talks about airplanes in warfare, which must have felt pretty futuristic and apocalyptic at the time. The British spelling "aeroplane" is used, maybe "airplane" didn't exist at the time. 

Some noteworthy excerpts from this scrap of paper are:

"her naval eggs are in one basket"

"a concerted attack by a monster'

"the enthusiasts of air warfare"

"holds as Heligoland can be destroyed"

"sail over the point to be attacked"

"great height with remarkable accuracy"

"by the destruction of Germany"

"will be deprived of a powerful nation"

"Sail over the point to be attacked" is pretty interesting. It appears that the word "fly" was not yet used as a verb to describe air travel, and that planes were just compared to ships. 

Here's an ad for records-Victrola OR Columbia. "Records-for the new instrument" Are they referring to the victrola as the "instrument"? 

This now forgotten theater actress was pretty famous at the time. I found references to Wanda Ludlow in Newspapers from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and oddly, Kentucky. 

Oh, how witty

Thoroughly Acclaimed

"There's one evidence that the melting pot really exists"

"What now-?"

"A Russian gentleman sojourning in our midst pleading  Dementia Americana"

A Good Manager

"Seems a woman cant wear a gown more than three times with the same crowd."

"Ignore that rule, does she?"

"No, but when the limit is reached she breaks off with that crowd and starts in with an entirely new set."

No Help

"Why did you lose the case?"You had a lady witness who was right on the scene"

"Well, you never can tell about a witness. She testified she closed her eyes when the collision occurred"

"It is a young age. The new generation preserve their youthful freshness longer.  

"They do around here" declared the sage of Plunkvlle. "I have had that impressed on my every time they open their mouths."

The term "Dementia Americana" was first used in the murder trial of the Henry Thaw, who shot famous pervy architect Stamford White at the first Madison Square Garden in 1906. I don't understand the context of  Russia, I'm assuming it's something to do with the war. 

Plunkville? I found a few references but nothing that really explains its context.

Here's an editorial cartoon whose gag escapes me, due to part of the image missing. 

A few local ads for clothing. I love looking at the cost of coats, shoes, etc!

                               Inspirations

Illustrators, painters, graphic designers, etc can submit their own designs to Spoonflower, a company that produces custom wallpaper and fabric. Those artists can also sell their designs on the companies website and get a commission if a sale is made. All of their products are made in North Carolina.

It's a great business model on several levels, and I would need another ten houses to completely take advantage of all they have to offer.

                                        I especially like this feature, to show scale of the pattern.

                                                   

                                                     Here are some of my favorite illustrations.

New acquisitions

I purchased a few more things from my friend who is cleaning out her parents estate.

 I've seen a lot of these glass insulators in clear glass, but I've since learned they were made in green, blue, brown, and turquoise, yellow, purple, etc. There are some serious collectors out there, with regional clubs, conventions and books. Click here to see one mans very organized catalog of these, as well as information on fresnel glass for lighthouses, glass bricks, vault lighting, and other obscure industrial objects.

I got this phrenology head, I've never seen an original for sale, so his reproduction will do just fine! Popular in the 19th century, phrenology is the theory that different personality traits and functions of the human brain can be measured and identified by the shape and curvature of the skull. 

Out of all the reasons people stereotype others, this has to be the most ridiculous one. 

 Several carved wood parts, for future projects not yet determined.

This pretty mirror tray is gonna look great on my vanity someday!

Or course people didn't stop drinking tea in the jazz age, but I'd never thought about what tea pots would look like if produced in the 1920s and 30s. I dont know if these are silver, silver plated, or something cheaper, but I really appreciate the design.

We have decided to mount our kitchen counter tops to sideboard tables. I'm not sure how many we will use, but here is our first one. Full disclosure: we are stealing this idea from my dads friend. 

The Sterling Collection

This teasmade, a combined tea maker, light, and alarm clock, was mistaken for a time clock by both Pete and I. Missing parts include a light bulb, lamp shade for the top, and a metal pot that gets inserted into the three holed outlet in the back. 

Different designs were produced in Britain from the 1930s to the 1950s. I would love to find the missing parts and restore this model!

Here are a few other three-in-one tea makers.....

.......and here's the crazy lady that owns them all

You can read more about her and see highlights of her collection here.

Poetry Corner

Disclaimer: This dirty poetry was found in the house. I post one poem at the end of every entry.

I know how some of you find this literary tripe amusing; who am I to disappoint the readers of this blog?

The hand written note on the right says "too deep for Christians" Was this an attempt to self sensor?