finding history

This weekend, Don and his dad cleared out the big crawlspace under the kitchen, in preparation for the HVAC guys (who need to go in there to put a few ducts in). I was at the bead show the whole time, but Don made sure to save everything for me to photograph when I got home. We found some amazing family history -- everything from Don's dad's childhood homemade "go-kart" (pictured below) to the old family sauerkraut-making pot, plus some great old soda bottles ("Sun Spot: Bottled Sunshine"). There were also like six lawnmowers under there -- it was like a museum of lawn care, going from an ancient rotary mower all the way up to a more recent powered one. Anyway, if you're interested, photos are in the "stuff we found in our house set" on flickr.

historic property

At some point soon I'll do another local real estate roundup, for those of you who are interested in buying in our fairly undiscovered neighborhood (yay for below market pricing!). But while I was perusing the various Maryland listings, I came across one I am simply lusting after. This 24-acre historic estate in Monkton, MD was originally settled by Josiah Sparks (after whom I believe the town of Sparks, MD is named) in 1798. It's got this great house (six bedrooms!), a guest cottage, barn, and a whole bunch of other stuff -- and it's exactly the sort of place I'd love to own someday, where I'd have enough space to be really private, enough room for friends to come and stay whenever they wanted, a historic home to make my own, and near enough to civilization to not be totally isolated.


It's going up for auction (the previous owner has sadly passed away) on May 17th. I wish I could afford to bid.