In with the Old and Out with the New

I know….that’s backwards. Except not in my case recently.

I’ve been discovering many vintage treasures on our new property in the woods. Rummaging through the old shed I found some seemingly useless items. Long since discarded hinges, door handles, springs, and such began to speak to me. I knew I could re-purpose them into something fun, so I made a collage to hang on the wall of the cabin. I like to look at it and wonder how many squeaks the hinges made in their day, or how many hands had yanked on the worn handles.

Then I unearthed a much larger treasure.

This poor rusted pot belly box stove still has a certain beauty. Although my husband wasn’t feeling the love when I made him drag it out from under a pile of junk in the shed. A little wire brushing and ash removal and it was ready to add some charm to our bunk house. Not useful in the way it was made for, but such a great piece of the history of our cabin property. I can’t help but fantasize about how many nuggets of coal were burned in it to keep the people living there warm, or how many pots of coffee perked on top.

We have recently uncovered documentation that reveals all the previous owners and some delightful information about the immediate area since the cabin was built in 1912. Makes my old treasures even more fascinating to me. They can still bring joy after all these years.

We are doing our best to keep the charm of the cabin by not adding too much “new”.

I try to do the same with my writing. Writing historical novels feeds my passion for finding old things to bring back to life.

What about you? Do you consider old treasures to be junk, or can you see the beauty in them?

Keep reaching!

Jan