Huh?

This really takes the biscuit when it comes to absurd Google searches that make people find your blog. Today someone in a New England State clicked through for a full nine seconds after Googling;

"Perfect Asshole measurement and pictures."

I hope they found what they were looking for and in case you come back for a second peek, I'm 5'8" tall and my picture is in the upper right side of this blog page!

Finally I've become perfect at something ....

I think this out does "Amish Sex Toy" any day!

Up on the Roof!

The weather has been nice lately and I haven't done a whole lot of work on this place. I took the camera with me to the roof and took these pictures.







Then there is the picture of my roof complete with ribbon banding. I was feeling artistic when I did this. You can't see it from the street though.



Then there is the chimney that I still have to re-build and finish lining.




The pile of bricks from the aforementioned chimney. These have been here for several years!




Finally, the way back into the house. It's a good job I'm a skinny guy!

Insect Oasis

We took a day off and went for a short walk yesterday near one of our local museums. Besides the fornicating beetles;



the damsel flies



and bugs of unknown classification



we spied this;



Obviously it was a resting place of some kind. Complete with park bench. It has a sign on it



You would think that a place for wayward monarchs would be more ... well .... palatial?

Bathroom Accessories.

Do you all remember the "Steampunk Bathroom"? This is really a small powder room that I installed under the main stairs. It became "Steampunked" out of necessity due to having restrictive clearances around the sink and water supply to the sink. Some local folks have viewed the room and think it is quite cool and very unique. Well, accessories for such a room are not easy to come by. You have to be creative and take a second look at stuff hoarded away in your basement before you throw it out.
For example, a toilet roll holder;



One of the problems with such a small room is .... well lets face it, odor. We all know that my sh*t doesn't stink but after extra helpings of baked beans at a picnic it can turn a little sour .... sometimes. The obvious solution is to put a vent in the room except the only place to vent to is the basement. Since I am the one who frequents the basement most, I am not in favor of this idea. Especially if someone else ate extra helpings of the same baked beans!
I found an old air filter while boxing up items from the basement of the resident house and in a dull moment I dismantled it into all of the primary components which include a carbon filter. Then for several weeks I have planned and sketched ideas on how to incorporate the components into a Victorian looking shell and mount it on the wall behind the toilet. Before I drywalled the room I ran some electric cable from a second switch to the space behind the toilet bowl to accommodate power to whatever solution I would devise in the future. Since the future is now, all that I need to do is cut a hole in the drywall, retrieve the cable and insert an electrical box and a socket. It is always good to plan for the unexpected.

Last week I stopped at a local thrift shop to buy some trousers (I never buy new trousers because they ultimately end up as work clothes) and wandered around the store where I found, for the grand sum of 99 cents, a wood microscope case. So, I have been tinkering with things for the last few days and I even had to get out my shellac and play with it. I'm sure that it will become more interesting to look at in time (I want to put a barometer on it) and I have this thermometer to attach unless I find one more aesthetic but that is for another future moment ....



So I now present the proto-type dual action, two speed "Atmospheric Incandescent Radiometric Flatulence Infiltration Level Temperature Expulsion Regulator." (AIR FILTER)

Join the club!

Thought this was funny. I was checking my sitemeter stats tonight and noticed that someone found this site by doing a Google search for the following;

"i bought an old historical house but needs alot work and i don't have the money to fix it up."

You are not alone. Join the club!

Budding Photographer in the House

Elizabeth has managed to figure out how the digital camera works and has been running around the house taking pictures. Her subject matter is rather limited though. First there are the cats that would co-operate;



There are LOTS of these. Then there is the cat that wouldn't co-operate:



There are several more like this from the same angle but she succumbed to the attention with a little persuasion;


The view from the front door;



Then there is the high shot looking down;



The low shot looking up;



The experimental focus shot;



and finally the important people in her life statement!

The Best Treasure Find Yet!

You would think that after seven years we would have found everything we were going to find, Well, there was one little section on the third floor where I had not removed the drywall that was put up in the 1960s when the attic was turned into an apartment. It was a closet when we acquired the place and I had left a small strip of drywall and base molding in place along a section of the brick exterior wall that included a part of the bay section that was added between 1887 and 1890. Tonight, when I pulled the strip of drywall away it exposed a "hole" in the brick wall where some five bricks had fallen into the floor cavity below. After pulling the bricks out of the floor I stuck my arm under the floor boards and groped around to see if I could feel anything under there. I pulled out several things. The first being a stovepipe wall ring. Then a bent piece of metal that was the face of a mantle clock at one time. Then there were these;



Two bottles and a bow tie. The bow tie is a primative form of clip on tie. The large bottle is old. The glass has bubbles in it and the hand carved, hollowed out stopper is attached with a string. The small bottle has a label on the front that says "Sour Mash. From John Deis" who owned a liquor store on Wayne Ave in the 1880s. The back has the following molded into it;
A.J. Schiml Apothecary 38 Xenia Ave Dayton Ohio. Sour Mash is sipping whiskey.
I pulled up a floor board to see if there was anything else and found what appears to be a glass oil lamp chimney that is cracked and missing a large piece of glass. It has "Ohio Tubular" imprinted on it.
What is really neat is that these things were left here intentionally. Probably by people putting the flooring in. I guess times were tough or they just weren't being considerate because both bottles were empty! Bastards ......