on the ledge

I thought I'd share a few new spots at my mother's barn this week. You're always so appreciative, which adds to the fun! Every time she visits there's a little tweak or twist. As handy as my mother is with tools, she's been intimidated about striking a nail into the pristine walls of the only home she's ever owned. Her solution-  the ever popular ledge. With a narrow little shelf she can rotate her collection of art and highlight little curiosities at the same time. A blank wall in the bathroom was the perfect width for very special ledge-a prized artifact from the original barn. Charles Clapp, the gentleman who built the barn in 1880's, had his workshop in the upstairs right where my mother's bedroom is today. The picture below was taken when my then 7 year old son and I first laid  eyes upon the original structure. The barn was newly on the market and still stood perched on cement blocks.

I'll never forget climbing  the narrow winding staircase that used to be the only way up to the second floor. Swallows swooped in and out of the next room- the hay loft. The March sun was streaming in on a workbench and there were assorted shelves and ledges everywhere underneath the cherry paneled pitched ceiling. One narrow shelf was curiously riddled with holes. This enchanted little workshop, built over a hundred years before and then surely forgotten for many decades, was the space that captivated me most about the barn.  I knew my mother would feel the same way. Once the two of them met: the barn and my mother... magic truly happened. (If you're a new friend, you may want to visit the barn flickr set, here.) As you know, she transformed it entirely, but never once stopped respecting and honoring the original building. Charles' workbench was saved and now resides in the shed.

Here is the ledge dotted with holes that held his tools well over a century ago. An artifact, indeed. Here it is today!



Now, I'm wanting a little ledge of my own... a historic tale to go with it isn't necessary, but wouldn't that be nice.