Diana's 1825 Homestead and family memories

I was selected to be the Homesteader of the week and then Linda asked me to write something up about my place to share with the group.
I just wrote what I felt and what I could "see"

I see my grandma everywhere here.
She's cooking dinner.
She's canning at the sink.
She's at the old wringer washer.
She's outside picking off the bad bugs.
She's in her rocker crocheting or embroidering.
She's in her gardens weeding - she's weeds - she's weeds.

She just died in 1999 at the age of 98.
She still mowed her own lawn in her early eighties.
She was tough, yet she was kind.
She had many memories and stories of her joys
(children, marriage, friends...) and of her not
so joyous times ( being put into several foster
homes - some abusive; losing her first daughter
at 5 years old; outliving a son, a husband,
a grandson (my brother), and many friends.
She was sad to have outlived so many friends
and family members, but she did not give up
until her last few months. She was in so much pain
and was ready to go and await the resurrection.

I still see grandpa here too, although he died in 1976.
He's telling a joke.
He's pounding in a nail.
He's wearing his old red hat.
He's smoking that familiar stinky cigar.
He's sitting in his chair while I clip his toenails.
He's losing at Dominoes and he says "You're cheating" with a laugh.

I hope you all didn't mind me telling you why I love this place.
It reminds me of them and my brother.
I have great memories of all of us here.
It has always been my "home" and now it is officially my home.

As near as we can tell, this house was built in 1825.
My grandparents bought it in the early 40's.
It had no windows or doors and was clearly abused/neglected.
Grandpa worked at demolition of old buildings as well
as other odd jobs.
He would save the windows and doors... from those jobs
and use them in their house.
Grandma said that Grandpa made it as nice as he was able.
She also said that the front room and their bedroom used
to be the old front porch, but Grandpa closed it
in to give them more living space. On one of the
walls you can still see the square nails.
Also, the backroom (washroom) and the bathroom used
to be the old back porch.
There is a hand dug cellar probably 12 x 12 feet with
huge wooden beams and stones for its support.
There is an upstairs it's probably about 12 x 24 feet.
It is all insulated now, but I would love to know if
it was an open loft at on time.
I still use the 25-30 foot hand dug well for my water supply.
The surrounding area is swampy because of the nearby
springs and creek so, as long as I don't wash more than
2 loads of clothes a day, I never run out of water.

I have a little gift/antique shop in the front of the
house and I love it.
I am having too much fun making soaps and scouring
estate sales looking for vintage items and antiques
for my "Vintage and /or Handmade Items Room".

I have a ton of photos on my website of the shop,
the gardens, the pets...
http://www.dianascraft-antiqueshop.4t.com

I was featured on WFMJ TV channel 21 !
I was so nervous being on TV and being interviewed with the camera rolling.
They loved my 1820's house in Hubbard, Ohio - and more than that, Susan DeLeo really loved my all natural products and the vintage items too.

My hubby taped the segments from the TV for me so I will have them.
I looked terrible as I was so tongue-tied and the lights from the camera were about blinding - LOL
It was a few years ago, but I still get nervous when I remember it ;)
This interview helped to get my name out there.

BUT, I'm sure it would take much more than I could possibly do in money and time.
So, I am doing what I can here and there.

I want to restore some of it like putting in a fireplace/wood burner and getting rid of the awful aluminum siding that was put on in the back when folks didn't care much about preserving looks or historical integrity... .

I want to do these things while updating other things like discreetly adding solar panels on the roof, adding hidden electrical outlets and adding a deep well for washing clothes even in a drought.

I keep hoping that there will be local grants to help cover the costs of adding solar panels and having the electronics installed to convert the power into electricity and to store the extra power in batteries and whatever else is involved in this process.

I am trying to keep the look of the house in a cross between close to how Grandma and Grandpa had it and how it would have been when it was built.
A tough call for sure because I have no photos of the house before they bought it and I want it to be earth friendy too by saving energy and using what I have on hand like lots of trees for wood.

The photo here (and in that I use in many of my blogs and as my forum avatars...)is the walkway that I put in with a little help from my son and some from my Uncle Jim.
My walkway looks much better now as the Thyme I planted on both sides has filled in nicely. In the photo it was just starting to spread and I had a little more work to do on the stones and weeding... but you get the idea.
Eventhough my grandparents never had a walkway there, I thought it was appropriate and the front door seemed to be calling for one - it was so bare and looked lonely being just a door and two old stone steps.
Now it feels complete and welcoming.

February 2009, Since hubby is out of work now (laidoff for good) - I am hoping I can get my semi formal herb garden in this year.

I have several sections of the property already growing herbs and edible and/or healing flowers, but I still want and need more.

I have also been propagating my herbs so that I will have a bunch of plant "babies" all ready to go into my new organic herb garden.

I have had the area picked out for the last few years, but I just couldn't do it all by myself with my physical limitations.

Hopefully, I can get him to help at least a little bit so I can get in in this year.
I have been getting more and more orders for my products and really need to be able to grow more herbs and flowers to be able to keep up.

* Update, August 4, 2009 : Well, no progress with this yet - I'm still waiting for him to get started on this so I can get it ready for plants, but it is still just an empty spot - big sigh :(

This will also fit in very well with my own house as back then, the garden and the woods/fields were your doctor.

I do the same for my family. I make our own balms/salves and I use them on every sort of skin problem. I even make my own mouth rinse for minor sores and tooth problems.

* Update December 2009 - He went back to work after being off for 9 months and he did nothing for the house or the gardens.
Oh well, I am working even harder to get my business going well enough so that I can hire the help that I need around here.

Oh my goodness,

I almost felt like I was in Little House on the Prairie for a minute because I saw a whole famliy of coyotes in front of my neighbor's house.

I went down to get the mail at about 11:30am or 12 and heard a howling and I thought a poor dog must be in trouble in the woods so I listened for a minute and then heard some more terrible howling.
I thought maybe a dog got caught in a trap or something.
Then, I heard the woods right across from my house rustling and heard a bunch of noises and then I thought it must have been a man with his hunting dogs just practicing so I turned to go up my driveway to the house.
I got to the end of my walkway and saw 5 or 6 small German shepard like dark-almost black dogs running full speed out of the woods so I walked a little faster to my doorway and then turned to see and I saw a few more coming out of the woods.

A little while later, my neighbor saw a couple of them behind my house and in her garden area.

Here is more info about Coyotes in Ohio and Pa : http://www.canismajor.com/dog/coyote.html

I called 911 when I first saw them (and thought they were just dogs) this morning because a pack might go after a small child or someone's pets.
I don't know if the police ever came to see about this or not as none came to my door to ask me about it - I doubt it.

By the way, we also have a black bear who lives in our woods, but all he has done in the last few years is to know bird feeders over.

For books, videos, and some DVDs... see this great seller
Gypsy Queen Media at eCRATER
She will have over 5,000 listings when she gets the books in her current library of books listed - and she is always getting more books in too.

The Sword in the Stone (Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection) [VHS]
Release Date: 09/29/1993

Bambi [VHS]
Release Date: 02/04/1997

The Fox and the Hound (A Walt Disney Classic) [VHS]
Release Date: 03/01/1994

Alice In Wonderland (Walt Disney)

Auditor's Report: With Cases and Illustrations
by: J.Herman Brasseaux, Francis L. Miles

... that I want to design with my Grandparents and this old house full of memories in mind.

I'll keep you posted.

I have been doing some more thinking about this and have a few ideas.

I have a good idea of what herbs, flowers, spices, woods and resins... that I will be using for this perfume.
Now, I just some time to experiment and formulate to see what works and which blends I like the best.