Stepping Back In Time Part 1 (The Restoration)

( You may click on the photo's to enlarge)

In the little town near where we live

there is a wonderful old store

and stepping across its

threshold

is like stepping back in time.

It's called

The Old Hardware Store

and it has been in operation since

1885.

This old store is filled with antiques

and other items and is a furniture/home restorers delight. You can find genuine antique hardware for house or furniture and every kind of hardware in between!

There are things in here that Maragret is still discovering

or trying to figure out what it is.

 It's an amazine place to visit.

The old store in 1925

Today

The store is owned by Margaret Kraisinger.

Margaret and her husband Gary bought the building

in 1998.

The store was closed for 1 year while they did an

extensive restoration and then re-opened

in 1999. Margaret and Gary are

still restoring things

as they go.  

Before restoration

Thick layers of enamel paint covered the beautiful old

original oak cabinets bins and drawers which

had to be removed and in some cases the

wood had to be bleached before it

was stained and protected.

There are 5 individual units

that can be changed

around on this

wall alone!

Before (see the ceiling?)

After

 (42 feet of hardware cabinets-360 drawers)

See the hanging ladder?

It was re-hung after at least 40 years.

The other original fixtures such as the scales

nail bin, counters, signs and most of the show cases

have been in the store for around 75 years.

Did you notice that ceiling?

It's original.

The limestone building was built in 1879 after a fire burned down many of the wood frame buildings on Main Street. It survived the 1910 tornado and several severe floods.

Shortly after 1902-1907 the first owners had the heavy

tin ceiling installed.

Originally from the two medallions hung gas lamps.

The old fans were added during the restoration.

Over the years the ceiling was painted white but

Margaret was able to find spots of the old paint colors

and tried to match the colors as closly as possible.

They did a wonderful job!

There are two rooms behind this room, one is the

old office which still contains the original safe and bookkeepers desk.

There are even two hats hanging under the window

that belonged to one of the former owners.

I stopped by the store to take a few pictures for my blog last week and only meant to stay long enough to

take pictures and talk to Margaret for

a few minutes...I think I was

there for a couple of

hours!

There is just

so much to see

and Margaret is a wealth of

information. If you are ever in the  area

you should stop in and visit The Old Hardware Store.

I bet your husband wouldn't say no!

If you're restoring a piece of furniture or your home

and you're needing some original hardware...this is the place to go to.

You can visit THE OLD HARDWARE STORE at 

208 Main Street

Halstead Kansas 67056

or call her at

877-731-1188 (toll free)

In part 2 I'll show you some of the neat things Margaret

has for sale.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Maura :)



Changes In The Air

( You can click on the photo's to enlarge)

I like 'change'.

That is ...depending on what it is.

When it comes to decorating my house I enjoy changing things up a bit. Adding something here or there or

taking something away.

Change can be fun.

However...there are some changes that I don't like.

There is a road to the north of us that I love to travel.

It is a narrow road that has neat little bends in it where there are lots of tree's and a creek and a few windmills

and even some cattle at times.

It's the perfect road to take a walk

and just enjoy the peace and

quiet of the country.

This spring this peaceful little road started to see

some changes. They started bringing in gravel

at the corner of this road and the one we live

on. We started to see large equipment digging

a hole and then a huge pipe was installed.

See that large tank in the background?

They erected that this summer a couple of miles from us.

And it's right down the road from my favorite little corner.

This tank will eventually be filled with water after the large pipes are laid from here to Wichita and from there

to a salt mine that is about 25 miles from us.

This spot seems to be the middle point.

It seems that the salt from this old mine is seeping into the ground water and working it's way to the city. 

They figure that they can fill the tank with clean water and then flush the water down into the water table hoping that the salt will be washed back towards the mine. I hope it works...but in the meantime

the beautiful landscape around us is being changed. 

Forever. 

If you look closely at this picture you can see the

little orange flags in the left corner.

The large pipes will likely be laid somewhere through this intersection and all the way down

this road heading towards

our corner and beyond...to the salt mine.

My sweet little spot may be changed forever.

I noticed the other day when I drove through here after

I took these photo's that the cattle are gone.

I'm very grateful that I took these

when I did. 

This little fellow was trying to get a drink.

He quit when he saw us coming towards him.

But I did manage to get this shot.

See the little milk bubbles?

Watching the changes to this little peice of

country landscape

has made me realize again the importance

of taking photo's.

DO IT!

Don't wait for 'next time'.

You may never get that oportunity again.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day.

Maura :)



Country Cottage Style

Home and Garden

I love country cottage style.

I love it not only because we live in the country... in a farm cottage...on a farm... but because it is such a warm and comfortable style

that suits us.

                                    It seems to fit into just about any  

lifestyle whether you live in the city

a small town or the country.

Country Living

It's the kind of decorating style that makes you

feel at home as soon as you enter the house.

House To Home UK

It's nostalgia.

Home and Garden

It seems to recall a more slower paced

kind of life where the family

comes home to a home cooked

meal and sits around the

table and talks about

the events of

the day.

And visitors

are encouraged to

pull up a chair while another

plate is brought to the table.

Country Living

Cottge Living

A country cottage kitchen is one that is comfortable to work in. It's unpretentious. It's a kitchen where you

feel like getting your hands in flour

and kneading dough.

It's the smell of home made bread baking in the oven

and fresh chocolate chip cookies waiting

in the cookie jar.

A country cottage home is a place where you can put

your feet up and relax after a good meal on 

a cozy couch or chair and talk

about your day or just

read a good

book.

Country Living

Country Living

This style of home is cozy and unassuming.

It's a home that combines the past with the present and shows our love of family and what's important to us.

So enjoy expressing your personality and showing what the

definition of home means to you.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Maura :)

Buzzing In The Corn Crib

We have a corn crib. One day we hope to restore it.

Unfortunately our plans have been on hold ever since moving to the farm a year ago last June.

The reason?

BEES. 

We knew the bees were living in the wall of the building but weren't about to try and evict them.

We want the bees to stay around but we would really like our building back.

Last February on a very cold day DH sawed out part of the inner wall to see what was in there. He came across this...

( You can click on the pictures to enlarge them )

He saw no live bees.

He asked me to come out and take a picture of the comb and since it was winter I knew there would be no problem with the bees if there were any.

I'm afraid of bees.

As I got closer to the hive to take a picture I thought I could hear a buzzing sound. DH who has severe hearing loss could not hear anything. I put my head up against the wall that hadn't been taken apart and sure enough there was a distinct buzzing.

DH proceeded to cut more of the wall out

and this is what he found...

We decided to just leave them until he made a hive for them and then we'd move them but we just

had too many other things to do around

the farm so we just left them alone.

A couple of days ago DH came into the house and asked to use my camera. He didn't say what he was doing but he came back and said..."put this on your blog"!

I uploaded the pictures to my computer

and this is what I saw.

I couldn't believe it!

This was a warm day and those bees didn't even fly when Keith climbed up into the crib.

And look at the size of that honey comb!

This thing is about 3 layers thick

and if you look closely you can see honey seeping

out between the boards!

We have no idea of how big this hive is but you can see

the honey and bees in the cracks in about a 3 foot wide area and I have NO idea how far up into the wall it goes.

This summer I saw bees swarming around the top of the corn crib door and also around the peak of the building so I'm sure the hive is way bigger than we think.

So...I guess we won't be restoring the old place

for a while....but I think maybe we should start

reading up on becoming bee keepers!

What do you think?

Enjoy your weekend.

Maura :)

Vintage Style Country Garden

This past Sunday Hubby and I headed over to his brother Perry and his wife Donna's little farm in the country.

They live in a sweet little house that was once a

school house back in the late 1800's.

There wasn't much done to the farm as far as gardening

goes so Donna had to start from scratch.

She had been collecting old items

for her garden in the city

so had a few

things

to place around

her designated garden area.

She has since added to her collection of 'garden art'

in the +2 years they have lived there.

It's a sweet little garden and

I hope you'll enjoy taking

a little look

around.

You

can enlarge

the mosaic if you wish.

I love this mailbox

Donna collects old stoves

They found this old washing machine at an auction

Love this

Isn't this the sweetest little garden shed.

And I LOVE this screened door!

I hope you've enjoyed visiting Donna's

garden with me. I'll probably

be back taking more

pictures as she

adds to

her

collection.

Thanks for the photo 'op' Donna!

I'm going to attempt to join Sue at

A Very Cherry World

for Rednesday Wednesday so I hope you pop on over to visit her and all the other fellow Bloggers who have joined in.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Maura :)