Spring Treasure Hunting...

Last weekend, my husband donned his work clothes and a face mask to explore the far reaches of our wood shed. Built during the Gold Rush, the small cabin was likely home to a miner or two in Atlin, BC. It was the only part of our property that we hadn't yet explored, and it yielded a few treasures!

Rummaging through an old crate...

Goodyear Rubber Co fire extinguisher, circa 1872!

Colourful gas can.

Wringer washer. 

Dairy cream jugs, curtain rod with brass rings, broken rocking chair... And a lot of junk!

It was pretty mousy in that wood shed. We took 3 trailer loads to the dump, and kept the good stuff to clean up and use. 

Lots more coming on the blog. It'll be my first summer off in many years, so I am looking forward to our projects at the Little Blue House!

Bay Window Panels are Done!

We chose colours for the exterior of the LBH a while back... We were going to paint last summer & then we kinda got lazy. So we didn't paint the house. We actually sat around and drank beer. 

However, we designed decorative panels to go under each leaded glass window in our "bay window room," facing First Street in Atlin. Then our trusty carpenter built them for us! He installed them last week, and they look amazing!

It gives you an idea of what the LBH will look like when the rest of the house is painted. At least then it'll be finished on the outside, right? That is our major project for this summer. It'd be great if we could build a small balcony for the front door, too...

We are very happy with how the panels look. Way to go, Rick! Thank you!

Dr. Kilmer's Swamp Root

View from parlour bay window,

July 2015

Old Cafe - Noir

Our eldest child wants to buy the old cafe in Atlin. It's near our LBH, so we look at it all the time. I think it's a fascinating structure, leaning with age, and certainly inhabited by bats and other rodents.

I don't imagine anyone can save it now, but it's fun to dream a little bit. We peek inside through gaps in the boarded up windows, examining the dusty counters, doorways, stairwell and other cafe remnants.

I've written about it before, here.

Although I believe the old cafe is a cheerful building, here is a darker look:

Old Cafe - Noir