Part of my mandate in getting my house as off-the-grid as possible, is to find ways to do things that don't require electricity to begin with. I find myself fascinated by the lives of the settlers and how they managed when electricity wasn't available and with no stores nearby to buy the basics. I have been keeping my eye out for hand operated gadgets and collecting them as I go along. Here are just some of my finds this summer....
A hand operated pasta maker,worth considerably more than I paid for it!
A butter churn
Along with vintage kitchen utensils I have refinished and installed a 1950's steel kitchen sink unit
Added a bead board style kitchen island with a vintage plate stand
I had to get oven mitts
which thankfully I only had to pay $1.99 each for as opposed to the original price tag of $37.98!!!!
For my NEW WOOD STOVE!!
Isn't she a beauty?
My grandmother ,whom I lived with for a few years, had one just like this and I have missed it so much. I was thrilled when I found this one, it was the perfect finish to this room!
Here are some of the vintage cooking utensils I have collected for it. Old cast iron pans, an old metal trivet, the mesh rectangle is a toaster
The top warming shelf has some small oil lamps and another treasure from the store Pieces, this super- cute, whale weathervane
I have a bunch of other vintage objects that I found after I had done this post so will save those for another day. Here is a sneak peak into the direction I am going with my dining room.
This beautiful antique Asian altar will be joining the Asian buffet in the dining room once I have some walls built
And to finish off today's post here are my flowers in the kitchen window box now in full bloom.
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Love it! Can you use that beautiful stove? I was thrilled to see your toaster. You see I bought one of those strange wire things, but had no idea what it was. Thanks for solving the mystery. I really enjoy your posts, and love following you on your journey.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely love the woodburning oven and all your kitchen things. Wish I could get hold of things like that x
ReplyDeleteThat item you have indicating it is for grinding flour is called a food mill. I don't know about flour, but it is great for mashing potatoes or using for apple sauce. I cut up my apples with peel and cook it up and then dump and use the mill to separate the peel out.
ReplyDeleteI have several boxes of things from my grandmother's kitchen. There is a meat grinder much like the one in your picture. I can remember my dad using it to make salami. I love the wood stove. I would love to have one, but my heating wood stove has served me well when I don't want to crank up the propane one. We just repainted the top that was getting pretty rusty after all the water we boil for washing and dishes. - Margy
ReplyDeleteIt's been a while since I've stopped by! I love what you've done!!! Everything is lovely. I have several items of my grandmothers, as well as several of my great-grandmothers! Some I use, some I display, and some is stored away waiting for the right place to shine! Thanks for walking us though your wonderful renovation of your float home! Though, I must ask what has become of the lovely cottage where you used to live??? The lovely, though not quite as small cottage I used to live in has had many folks there since I left it. I miss it--sometimes I want to rent it back as a shop, as it is zoned mixed-use, but alas, I never do!
ReplyDeleteHi Mikey, thanks for your comments. My little cottage as such was actually just a room under the porch of a heritage house. The picture I used on my blog Wyldestone Cottage was a random picture I took in England of a cute old farmhouse, so Wyldestone Cottage was more of a frame of mind than an actual place. Now that I have the floathome my "cottage" has become an "ark".
ReplyDeleteJust checking back in Rhianna. We just finished our kitchen renovation. It isn't a cut as yours, but with a new fridge and stove a lot handier for me. Hope all is going well on the ark. - Margy
ReplyDeleteYou have alot of nice goodies there Rhianna. I love that old stove. I have never used one, but it would be kinda cool to try out sometime.
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