Things we found in the ceiling.

People keep telling us that if we want new ceilings, we should just drywall over plaster so as to avoid the huge mess of tearing down the plaster.  This wouldn't work for us because 1.) they're still hiding knob-and-tube wiring and 2.) SOMEONE (whose name may or not rhyme with Jabe Smirkins) smeared that disgusting popcorn garbage all over them at some point before June 17, 2005. I have at least two problems with popcorn ceilings: 1.) they collect cobwebs like crazy and are impossible to clean and 2.) two of my numerous aunts shared an apartment when they were in college.  I went to visit them when I was about 4.  I had a perfectly good helium-filled balloon.  I let it go.  It rose like helium balloons are supposed to do.  Their popcorn ceiling killed it.  I have never forgiven them (the ceilings, not the aunts) since.

So you see, I deserve revenge.

We figured it was about time to take down the ceiling in the new entry, seeing how you're supposed to drywall ceilings before walls and our exterior wall in that room has had exposed insulation for nearly a year (hey, it only took us 7 months to get clapboards on the outside.)  So we did.  It's always exciting to expose your house's innards because you never know what you're going to find.  This time, we made out like bandits.  

Some people find things like a million Confederate dollars shoved in their walls.  Well, who needs that stuff when you've got what we found?

We've got three babies - or maybe one baby at three different ages?

Love the bow, and the smirk

Believe it or not, the photo (or whatever you would have called it then), reads "Centennial Exhibition" on the left and "Philadelphia 1876" on the right.  On the back, it says it's a photo (?) of the "Art Annex, Italian Department" of this international exhibition.

Love the following photo (copyright Melander & Bro., 1876).  It's called "Last in bed, put out the light."
  

And here are other really useful things.  A Christmas stamp, a piece of paper that someone must have picked out of a watch, a button, and a paper doll hat.  We also got two beads and a shoelace.

Not sure why anyone would cut out the words "whole wheat" from a flour bag - or why you would need to handle whole wheat with care (look carefully underneath the words.)

You just don't get customer service like this anymore, or companies admitting that their new product "is so vastly better than the old one."  Thanks, Thayer and Chandler.









That stuff is all just from one of our smaller rooms!  I bet whatever comes out of the living room will be even more interesting.