July Flooding

Compared to neighbors around Quincy and other towns in the Boston area, we fared pretty well in the storms early this summer, but we still got a little water in the basement, and some ponding in the backyard.

Our man-made pond:

Where it leaks in the basement...luckily it dries quickly. This is about as bad as it got, but within a day or two it's dry again.

The Workshop

Tim has begun building a boat. It's a kit boat and is shipped in various puzzle pieces that get glued together (with a very strong epoxy). One day it will be a Northeaster Dory like the one we tried out at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival:

and here she is in parts....

clamptastic

Cleaning Out the Museum Archives

This was an important day. We had started to try to organize the basement. It was and is going to be an ongoing battle. However, on this day Tim tackled two areas of the basement that had previously been boarded up for a preserve cellar and coal bins. Taking out a few wooden walls really opened up the basement and allowed for organization and storage space...along with a few more basement discoveries....

PRESERVE CELLAR

ancient crates moved into the sunlight.

Red Label Golden Kernel Bantam Corn from S.S. Pierce company in Boston.

South facing window into the preserves archive.

the cellar wall coming down and letting in light.

Blue Diamond hood River Pears.

The priceless preserves.

Spring Water?

lock from 1914

the uncovered preserves:
Rhubarb, no sugar?, 1943; Cherries, 1942; Applesauce, 8/43; Watermelon Pickle 9/69

Apple Sauce Cinnamin 8/42; Rhubarb, 1943; -; Beans 8/20/43, Rinse + cook

Pear Harlequin Mincemeat, 10/23/43; Cherries, 1939 (the oldest jar); Spanish Pickle, 10/63

Jar originally filled with Mrs. Chapin's Mayonnaise from Boston, Mass.

Ball Sure Seal Jar; Double Safety Jar, and Mrs. Chapins

Watermelon Pickle, 9/69; Garden Special, 10/58; Chili Sauce, 9/77; Spanish Pickle, 10/63

Atlas EZ Seal jar with green beans.

COAL BINS

the new boiler and hot water heater are in one bin, old house windows in another...

...and the wall comes down

one of the old storm windows, with one pane able to open.

usable space!

in pencil, and initially gone unnoticed, there are dates with amounts of coal burned and comments on severity of the winter.

old box for a seventeen inch flat TV, that apparently came with a handle for transportation...

the Lyfords were the owners of the house before the previous owners.

Directions for using our old boiler and others...

Even More Basement Discoveries

jug found in basement pantry

an assortment of pantry items: Daisy Brand Jar Rubbers, Satina Ironing Aid, Merck pH tester, Blem which treats white stains and scratches on furniture, Kiwi black boot polish and Nugget bright red shoe polish

Night in the Basement

old jars of preserves. the pear harlequin mincemeat is on the right.

check out the date on these cherries! 1939 is the oldest date we have gotten close enough to find.

crate the preserves are in

red paint?

old chest freezer. has already been checked for bodies.

instructions for using the old boiler

old newspapers from the 80s