Exciting isn't it.
But, in all honesty, I like old crap, always have. Actually, I should say that I like best old crap when it has a family connection. But any old crap will do...
This is an old lamp that I rescued from Grandma and Grandpa's house. It's a reading lamp instead of just a regular old oil lamp. It has a round wick and a metal flame diffuser. I guess it was supposed to be better for reading than just a regular old lamp. To be hones though, I can't tell that it puts out any more light than a regular oil lamp. And, yes, I've used this lamp. We used it on Christmas Eve when the electricity went out. This lamp sat for 30 years on a window sill in Grandma's laundry room--which we called "The Back Porch". (It was called that because once upon a time, it was the Back Porch. It had been enclosed long before G&G moved there, but it kept that name. Tradition, don' cha' know.)Anyway, this sad little lamp sat there for years and years collecting dust. I was just going to toss it but when I looked at the bottom of the lamp, I discovered it was labeled with a name....
Mrs. Newby.
Mrs. Newby had been a friend of my Great Grandmother Miller and was also one of Grandma's friends. This had evidently been her lamp, and because of those ties...I kept it.
I got online, and looked up the model and searched for a new chimney and mantle. It's chimney is bigger than that of most oil lamps, so I had to special order it. I then discovered that I also needed a little flat metal disk to go on the "diffuser". I found it online too. Once I cleaned up the lamp and got the parts I needed, it worked just like new. (I'm guessing that it was moved out to the porch when Grandma and Grandpa couldn't find a new chimney or mantle.)
It's not at all valuable--except to me for those family ties. And, it's valuable for the light it can provide when we lose power, and it just looks good sitting on top of my kitchen cabinets!
On the wall behind the lamp is some old wooden mallet (or is it a pestle?) and an old jar opener. In front of this lamp sits an old copper Coleman lamp funnel. We found it out on the Hill in a pack rat's nest that was in the old coal shed/milk house. The bottle is an old ink bottle that I found out at the Farm.
This is an old waffle iron. Cast iron. (Forgive the dust. Sheesh, you'd think someone at my house would clean occasionally!) The Waffle iron lived in the cellar. It was pretty nasty, but seeing that it was cast iron, I wasn't about to just toss it. It's for a wood burning stove. The base sits on the stove top and the waffle iron is elevated about an 1.5 inches. It flips and rotates so you can cook both sides. (Looks like I need to re-season it, because the rust is showing right along with the dust.) I don't know if the waffle iron was Grandma's or if it was Aunt Flo's, but it's mine now...and that's all that matters, right?
This last shot (today) is of the the window that's above the sink. (Notice my curtains that I made myself without a pattern. Proof that sometimes, I do actually sew.) Anyway, I hung up more old crap up there. There's an old biscuit cutter that doubled as a donut cutter (except we accidentally threw away the "hole" cutter part.) There's an old meat tenderizer, that's actually rather dangerous looking--think tomahawk with serrated edges.) Behind the light is Grandma's French Fry cutter. Then a little tin zester and finally a tin funnel. All were Grandma's and all now live in my kitchen where we can see them and enjoy them every day.Hope you enjoy looking at some of my old crap. Believe me, I've got lots more to share!
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