Last Evening before V-Day

Hi. This is the last evening before V-Day. We were over in Petrolia, Ontario and picked up a very nice wash basin and pitcher for $20. We also bought an old iron for clothes. It needs a handle and we hope to pick some more irons of various sizes. We are also looking to get lots of enamal ware, tinware and cast iron ware since these were the "plastics" and "teflon" of the day. China dinner ware we have aplenty but we only have modern cookware, buckets, pails, containers and such.

On our drive through the country side we came across some old abandoned houses, on of them had an ice house. It was built with very thick walls and a low cieling, maybe 7 feet maximum (about 2.1 m for you metric types). This is a well insulated room built back into a hill with two doors in series. Open the first door to enter and promptly close it, then open the second door and enter the ice house proper. The two door system provides isolation from the outside air in summer and a very good deterent to assorted marauding hungry animals. The only hydro used is that which powers the electric tools used to build it. After that, line it with ice and fill it with food and Bob's your uncle.

One of the major projects we have ahead of us is creating food storage spaces similar to those used in 1865. We'll need a cold pantry, an ice house (the freezer of the day) and a root cellar. All of these things are low tech, low energy solutions to food preservation. They'll work even when the hydro is off which is something modern appliances won't do. Something to keep in mind, especially with the price of hydro rising like it is.

Tomorrow we begin our journey to living in 1865, we will also celebrate our first wedding anniversary. So we have two things to enjoy, our journey in 1865 living and the second year of marriage. I love you Maggie, with all my heart.

Thanks,
Ken