Ramblings
New Purposes
Way back in '97 when we bought 173, there were a few things left in the house by the Moshers, the one and only previous owners. In view of the fact that one of the granddaughters is one of my dearest friends, and also due to me being a bit of a sentimentalist, I've endeavored, as much as I could, to incorporate things left behind into the current iteration of good ol' 173 (even down to what we call the house!). This is the story of just a few of those things. Let's get into it!
Front Porch Chair
One thing the Moshers left behind was what could only be an old, traditional Windsor-style kitchen chair. Not the table, not a set of chairs...just one chair - perfect! It was painted yellow at the time and looked well-used, so when the porch was originally re-done, I painted it a flat red just to add a little pop of color to the porch.
At first that chair sat in the basement for a couple years. Then, with the porch remodels, it found a spot next to the porch door, where it remains today. With the most recent remodel I changed it up to white and green.
To repurpose an old thought, idea or memory to a new purpose is the height of creativity. - Steve Supple
The Oil Can
Okay, let's face it - there's really nothing exciting about an oil can. I mean, there are all kinds of these cans, pumpers with rigid or flexible spouts, oil cans that pour, spring bottom oil cans, and oil cans that I have no idea as to what they're called. Nonetheless, there's really nothing exciting about them.
But this can is a little special in that it was an inheritance from the Moshers. It looked as you would expect an oil can to look - dirty and a little...oily. So, in 2021 I cleaned it up, Bondo'ed the dings, primed and painted it. It's still in use in the workshop.
The Catcher's Mask
And here's an understated little artifact that was left behind in the basement and remains a treasured piece...an old catcher's mask. I was a catcher back in the day, so it just kinda wriggled its way into my heart. Come to think of it, that hook was inherited too. I know that because I have never bought one, and I put it on the ol' rustic book case when I built it, and the mask has been there since!
The Back Porch Mirror
The porch has always been the mud room at 173 since we became the inhabitants, and likely throughout it's history. And as we were nearing the completion of the back porch remodel, the mud room aspect really began to take shape. But we needed a place to hang coats when we came in from the rain, or our hats in the summer, and to top it off - that blank wall just kept staring at me!
Once the wall was ready, all that was left was a mirror. It turns out that I had an old cabinet door inherited from the Mosher's stored in my workshop. I think the wood was cherry and it even still had the hinges on it. So I cleaned it up, went down to Dave's Glass to have a piece of mirror cut and - et voila! 173 had a mirror in the mud room, on the porch!
Here's a nice little context shot of the back porch...
The Simple Kitchen Shelf
When we first bought 173 back in '97, one of the first things we did was paint the kitchen, of course it really needed much more than that but back then there just wasn't the money. But I had gotten a Craftsman router and I was dying to use it. And when we moved in we inherited a small collection of old metal shelf brackets. So I chose these two...
I cleaned them up, sanded, then painted them Hunter Green to match the kitchen table.
Then I made the shelf and used the freshly painted, inherited brackets, and that shelf hangs above the table to this day!
A few tools inherited from colleague's grandfather
✤ 1884 Stanley #7 Plane Restoration - Feb 2023
✤ Vintage Lakeside Saw Restoration - Jan 2023
✤ Bridgeport Tomahawk Jr. Crate Tool Cleanup - Jan 2023
✤ Vintage Tool Haul! - Oct 2022
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And one from Dad: 1929 Rigid Pipe Wrench Restoration
The Plant Stand
Finally, we have this plant stand inherited from Mosher - the granddaughter of the family from whom we bought the house, and a dear friend. I remember the first time I saw this stand when Mosher had a tiny little basement apartment. When she married and moved away (booooo), she gave me this stand, I'm thinking I must have commented on it at some point in that basement. If I remember correctly, when I took possession there were a few water marks on it, the rest of the damage was me.
After all the work on the dining room back in 2018-19, I really wanted to re-stain the stand, but I thought it might look best if it matched the new dining room table and the hutch. Anytime you choose to paint an antique it stings a bit, but..... Anyway, the decision was made. As with the table and hutch, the color was Valspar's Polar Star. You can glimpse of the stand to the right of the radiator cover.
And that's our post. This just represents a few of the things inherited from the Moshers. Perhaps I'll post another one of these and maybe about things inherited from others too. Anyway, thanks for stopping by - see ya' next time!
