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Monday, November 22, 2010

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 :)





Friday, November 19, 2010

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 :)





Monday, November 15, 2010

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 :)





Friday, November 12, 2010

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 :)


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

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
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 :)

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