Now it's day three of my trip to New Hampshire ...
Idyllic weather, early morning dew... off we go to Aunt Kathy's house. We'd already called Aunt Kathy to ask if she would mind if we snooped around her old shed for treasures. Not gold coins,
real treasures like rusty tools, wooden boxes, metal bits and the remains of a shoe shop. The shed is leaning now and probably won't survive too many more New Hampshire winters so now is the time to rescue anything possible and I of course am happy to volunteer for the 'New England Pickers' job.
Our first stop is Aunt Kathy's kitchen, the quintessential New England country kitchen full of the aroma of rising dough and cinnamon. This morning she is making homemade fritters and cinnamon buns. Now you have to understand that when you are away from home none of the rules apply and calories do not exist. So with that in mind and a dish of pure maple syrup in hand, we dive into these fluffy still warm delights with vigor. Of course it starts out with 'Oh, I'll just try one, have to be good you know.", to "Well, maybe just one more.. a small one." and "Oh gee, I still have some syrup left, I need something to clean it up with."
It's a good thing the cinnamon buns were still rising or we never would have made it to the shed. As it was we were walking Pillsbury Dough
Boys Girls trodding off through the field. Once there, peeking through the window, the adrenalin kicked in and we were ready to dive in. I should clarify, 'we' is me and my daughter, who in the past would 'ew' at anything relating to getting dirty and who now sees 'junk' in a whole new light. She's already an accomplished jewelry designer (
Mystikal1981) but I see her one day creating her own assemblages from found objects.
Unfortunately I got so caught up with the search that I neglected to photograph the inside of the shed. There are still amazing old free standing tools with beautiful ornate cast iron wheels and gears, tiny cupboards and drawers and still more things in the loft. The only picture I have from inside is of a spider web that was glistening in the sun.
You can barely see it in the picture, but it was quite pretty. I don't like to think about who occupies that perfectly geometric home, I just admire the workmanship from afar.
After a whole lot of precarious climbing, digging, sneezing and lugging we came away with some very inspirational pieces, my favorites being the little wooden boxes. Here's just a few of the things that we brought out of the shed:
Gorgeous patinas, old labels, lots of rusty bits.... a little piece of heaven.. studio heaven that is.
Now I want to know what's in the other shed!
I can't think of anything more fun than rummaging through an old barn or shed with my daughter... unless it's the next day when we head out to.....
Happy treasure hunting!
Best... Canace
p.s. Stopped by Kathy's that evening to say hello, left with a
whole pan of homemade cinnamon buns!
