| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 4:58:44 PM
We are in the last stages of completing our farm house addition. I asked the contractor to leave the newel post cap off so I can place a house blessing and some photos of us in there.
I know the house will someday belong to someone else and want to leave something of us in it. this is what I have so far.
House Blessing
Wine for health
Salt for wealth
Baby shoe for fertility
Bread for friendship
fire for longevity
May this house bless you, and you it.
We hope you love it as much as we do and that you pass many happy years within these walls.
We will put a tiny ( think airplane size) bottle of wine, small bag of salt, baby shoe, recipe for bread and a box of matches in the cavity of the post.
I would love for you ladies to participate with us. Any ideas on what I could add? Objects or language change ideas would be appreciated!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 2:43:43 PM
Thank you everyone for your ideas and support! I am embroidering the word Salt on a piece of muslin to make the bag for the salt right now.
Thanks again!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| Beverley |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 2:29:53 PM
how cool!!! the idea is a great one..
Folks will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog....Charles F. Doran
beverley baggett
Beverley with an extra E...
https://sites.google.com/site/bevsdoggies/
http://bevsdoggies.blogspot.com/ |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 10:26:31 AM
Exactly Sarah! I'll put in all I know of the history and that goes back to 1869! One family owned all the land for miles. The oldest house was on the property down the road and ours was his daughters and husbands land. Our cistern on the old farmhouse on our property has 1869 and the initials J. W. G. There is still family in the area I have talked with. The people who owned the property before me live about 2 miles away. He is a very old man now and was raised in the old farmhouse. His son lives on the other side of our farm! It is the south!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| OwnSelf |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 09:56:10 AM
From a house geneology standpoint, anything you can add about the history of the house would be good to add. At the very least, record when you purchased it and the prior owner's name. And maybe any major changes you made to it?
I am thinking of it as sort of like labeling an antique quilt that you did not make. You put yourself as the owner of the quilt, when/how you got it, and if you did any repairs to it.
Let go or be dragged |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 09:06:10 AM
I have another idea. I think I will video the house and grounds and tell "them" all about the story of the land and house. I can put that on a memory stick for them.
This is so much fun!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| BalancingAct |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 08:59:53 AM
Here's a laugh. My DH and I have been remodeling. Instead of finding all these cool things listed on this thread, we have found a very old broom in the crawl space and a vintage, empty whiskey bottle in the wall. Of course, we put the items back so that in another 50 years someone else can have the fun of "finding" them! LOL!
Farmgirl Sister #2851 -"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| Joey |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 08:18:18 AM
Connie, what a wonderful thing to do. So much personal history that someone else will treasure someday. Everyones suggestions were so good. I especially like the house blessing. How very awesome and kind of you to do this for some future generation.
Nini, it sounds as if your house is coming together. Farmgirls put so much love in their home. I know what you mean about missing a house. My grandparents had a big (5 bedroom) old Victorian with an acre of property in the city. That house was part of my heart. I cried for weeks when my aunts finally sold it to move to a smaller place. I seriously considered buying it (but then wouldn't have been able to afford a burnt out light bulb!) and realized I still had all the memories. I took pics and a video before it sold. The new owners changed it into small apts for college students and now I don't miss it. What I miss is the lilly-of-the-valley and irises my Nana had planted when they first moved in-60 yrs ago now-and if I'd have known they were going to pull all the plants out I would have taken them.
Many blessings on all of you remodeling folks. Hugs, Joey
Well behaved women rarely make history. |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 28 2011 : 05:48:25 AM
WE have beautiful woodwork to Nini. There is no way to reproduce it now for a new home. That is what I will miss the most about this house. That and the high ceilings. We are lucky enough to have a huge yard. The next owners could have a nice garden if they choose to. We grew tomatoes last year and the soil here is fabulous!
The stained glass here was removed by a previous owner. We were lucky enough to track down 4 panels that went in the turret. We fell in love with them and have decided to take them with us. I feel a bit guilty about that but justify it by not being the one that removed them. We hung them by hook and eye in the windows while we are here and will use them in our sunroom windows at the farm.
Bloom where you are planted but remember you never know when you could get transplanted!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 10:09:27 PM
How awesome is that, Connie? You really have found a whole bunch of great keepsakes! How exciting! I would be thrilled to find such treasures! I can surely understand why your heart is moved to leave a little bit of your own history and nostalgia. Home is a special place. We can't take it with us, but we sure can leave a little bit of the love behind for others to enjoy! That is so awesome!
Your home sounds like a wonderful place! It's history must be incredible!
We live in the city, too. We have a big old Victorian with a teeny tiny yard... the house is lovely and spacious and charming with lots of stained glass and fancy woodwork, but is in a constant state of repair and renovation. Sometimes I wonder if it will ever be what we dreamed of it becoming when we purchased it, but we're chipping away at it, and everything we have done has turned out really nice. The yard? Well, we make the best of it. There's enough room for a pool and a couple of raised vegetable beds, so I'm a happy farmgirl at heart. :) I really would love to live in an old farmhouse, though. About ten years ago, my aunt and uncle were selling their farm in Rhode Island and offered it to us for the balance of the mortgage. I was DYING! DYING, I tell you! At the time, however, the economy up there was really bad (although not as bad as today), and my husband just couldn't risk leaving his job here. I cried many nights over it - I really loved that old house! SO many happy memories there - it was one of my favorite places to be as a child! I really, really wanted it to stay in the family - to be OURS, especially!!! But the timing just wasn't right, and thankfully they were blessed to have found a buyer. I still long for it, though. Oh, well. I haven't given up my dream, but I do know my city-boy husband will need a LOT of coaxing and sound reasoning before he'll ever move out to the country. Until then, I'm just enjoying the charm of this lovely old home of ours, and making do with my little slice of enchanted backyard Heaven! :)
Have fun making your keepsake gift!
Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 6:18:44 PM
Nini- Sound like you have a home like the one we are in now. We restored it to its former glory. Tons of work, sweat and some tears later it was worth it. It will be a grand home for someone. Only problem is that it is in the city. We are looking so forward to getting back to the country!
The best thing we found was an indian spearhead in the dirt of the cellar floor. It was perfect! We also found newspapers in the walls, layer after layer of wall paper, ( that was like time travel stopping off every decade), old shoes and shoe lasts, school work of some children, bottles, lead toy soldiers, marbles, some old glass syringes and a board in the floor that slides to reveal a cubby hole that is rumored to be a hiding place for jewelry during the civil war. There are also thumb prints in the bricks in the basement. I've been told the slaves used to do that when they made brick.
I guess my desire to leave something came form all that!
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| CMac |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 6:04:57 PM
Thanks so much everyone! In will go a family picture in front of the house, the front page of the local paper the day we finish, if I can find it online the census info for our area and a little info about who we are.
We have a photo of the original owners in front of the victorian we are living in while building. The family were founding families of the town so we found it at the historical society. It is something we show everyone that visits the home. It is framed on the piano in place of pride. It is what gave me the idea. We have so many questions about who they really were. What they enjoyed, their pastimes and their loves and losses.
I plan to carve a note on the back of a cabinet door to tell them where the treasure is and to invite future owners to add their pictures. Hopefully the chain will be unbroken for many years.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
| Ninibini |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 6:04:55 PM
Connie! That is SUCH a sweet thing to do! I LOVE IT!!!
The only one I know is the one we do when loved ones marry... In a basket we place:
Wine, so that joy and prosperity will reign forever.
Bread, so the home may never know hunger.
Salt, that life may always have flavor.
Rice, for a lifetime full of blessing.
(The rice is an ancient symbol of fertility.)
It looks like you've got those covered already, though!
I just love that you're doing this! I think we're going to have to do something similar in this old house of ours, too! Someone in our home's past had left old books, newspaper articles and a photograph under the crawl space beneath our front porch, along with some glass bottles and mini statues of St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary... When we touched the paper items, they literally disintegrated in our hands! SO heartbreaking! I SO would have loved to know what they wanted to share with us. Now it's forever a mystery! We do not know the significance of the statuette of Mary, however we have been told that the statuette of St. Joseph was probably left there with the hope of blessing of the sale of the home. The only thing we can guess about the bottles is that they had something to do with the glass industry that once made our town famous. As a matter of fact, we were told that our home was once owned by the factory's Vice President, which would explain all of the intricate stained glass gracing her window spaces. Unfortunately, we haven't had opportunity to research the home yet... Some day!!!
In our newell post, someone had left the original receipt for the carpentry materials for all the intricate woodwork in our home - THAT was a pretty neat find!!!
Another really cool thing we found was when we were stripping wallpaper - the original plasterer autographed and dated the wall! We were able to find a little bit out about him through neighbors. Another clue to our dear lady's history!
At a local resale shop, we even found an OLD picture of our house prior to paved roads. It was SO neat to see what it - and the neighborhood - originally looked like!
The more we work on our home (and oh my do we have work to do!), the more we find neat little clues about her hidden past behind walls, under boards, etc. It's kind of like a treasure hunt; we are SO excited whenever we find something new! Somehow unveiling all of her treasure makes our home come more alive - she is more like a sweet, dignified old lady much deserving of respect and tlc, rather than simply an old, time-worn house that has seen better days. As her mysteries unfold, her tales transport us back to the days of her youth, and help us to understand her rich heritage and position in the community. She's a dear, lovely lady indeed - and we hope to one day restore her beauty and record her history so that future generations will appreciate her even more than we do!
So, as you can see from our personal experience, Connie, your gift of the past to the future will one day become a true treasure! That is SUCH a wonderful thing you are doing!!! Kudos to you!!!
Hugs -
Nini
God gave us two hands... one to help ourselves, and one to help others!
Farmgirl Sister #1974 |
| embchicken |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 5:45:34 PM
Combining evryone's ideas - a family picture in front of your house. A friend of mine has been restoring a 100+ year old farmhouse and just found a picture of the family in front of his house from about 1892! It was so very neat to see!
~ Elaine
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi
Farmgirl sister #2822
http://embchicken.blogspot.com
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| ChickieMama |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 5:41:17 PM
A family picture! Very cool idea that you are doing!
Farmgirl Sister#2808
"Happy Hens make Happy Eggs"
http://lazyjoranch.blogspot.com
http://etsy.com/shop/lazyjoranch
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| laurentany |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 5:40:58 PM
How about some photos of the outside of the house and/ or what the "neighborhood" or town looks like. A current newspaper clipping etc?
I think this is a wonderful idea! How lucky the people will be 100 or 200 years from now to find this treasure! Really cool!
Farmgirl Smiles,
~Laurie
"Little Hen House on the Island"
Farmgirl Sister#1403
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.. |
| oldbittyhen |
Posted - Apr 27 2011 : 5:16:19 PM
your favorite quote, a little family history, any land history... |
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