03.28.07
The Little Things Matter, Like A Hand Painted Bathroom Sink
Not having running water, or even a sink in the bathroom for several weeks, made me appreciate what life was like in this house when it was first built in 1821. At that time, the “facilities” consisted of an outhouse that overhung the “gully,” teetering on the edge of it. Right beside the structure were two hen houses. When I first lived here, there were chickens and yes, a rooster - a very loud rooster whose job it was to be an alarm clock, the minute the sun started rising in the east.
Our bathroom downstairs is the smallest room in the house. I always imagined it to have been used as a birthing room, although I have no knowledge of children having been born here to previous owners of the house. All I know is that we are the fourth couple to have lived here, in almost two centuries. The bathroom used to have a door that led outside. The area is now a window. The well is located on that side of the house, so it must have been handy to exit from that room.
One day, in recent memory, Jim took one look at the bathroom and decided to make some changes. He went to the lumber store and bought whatever boards he needed to build a new cabinet for the sink. He recycled a cabinet door that was in the cellar and cleaned up a closing mechanism that says “1871,” on the underside. Then, we went to a pottery place and purchased a sink with Chickadees on pine boughs painted inside it.
In the meantime, there were many trips to buy plumbing parts, the kind of special stain he wanted for the wood, plumber’s “goop,” etc. Home Depot is to him as Keepsake Quilting is to me. Fun to browse, think, and plan!
Hand painted pottery - bathroom sink by Sharon Oliver of Granite Lake Stoneware, 544 Granite Lake Rd., Munsonville, NH 03457 (603) 847-9908.
Of course, the potter also had a Chickadee liquid soap dispenser, and a Chickadee bar soap holder. Both were irresistible. I remembered that I had stitched Chickadees on a bird feeder, and Pansies, in Crewel Embroidery, on a hand-painted background, so I retrieved that framed piece from a closet where it had been staying ever since we “made over the bedroom,” about a year ago. That piece is enough to convince anyone that we really, really like birds!
There is more work to be done! Jim wants to add new hardware to the cast iron bathtub, including a spray nozzle. He also plans to replace some of the hardwood floor boards. In the meantime, there is yard raking to do, and more work, as spring and summer chores kick into place. He is so hopeful that we shall have no more snow, he moved the snowblower from the summer porch to the cellar.
Running water in a sink…such a little thing. A more aesthetic rest room…so much work to create, yet pleasing when done. This old house is one that gives us so much to do, but at the same time, provides so much enjoyment.
For now, I’m smiling, ear to ear, admiring the results of Jim’s “Yankee Ingenuity” and know-how. If we had to pay someone to take care of all of the details that this ark requires, we could never afford to live here. We have both made up our minds to work hard. We are happy!
Best wishes,
Patricia
