I am reaching out with a house update and a need for some help.
First off, things are cranking right along in the basement. All the walls have been framed in, all the plumbing and electrical have been roughed in, the bathroom fixtures have arrived.
Did you know that toilets come in a toilet shaped cardboard box? Neither did I. I'm delighted to add it to the list of new discoveries.
Nearly every day Charming Suitor and I go downstairs to look at the bathtub-to-be. Our current bathtub is more of a bathpuddle. It is a 1978 corner tub, an oval that is about a foot deep and two and a half feet long, so effectively, a really good place to soak your butt, the backs of your thighs, and two inches of lower back. The future tub is 6 feet long by three feet wide by 22 inches deep. A SOAKER. In which you can actually soak all of you. We are counting days.
Now that we can see the skeleton of the walls, it really feels like things are happening. My dad, who has been enjoying our tales of some of the things we have been finding inside the walls as we demo made a great suggestion. We should plant some things in some of the walls so that in another hundred years when another family is making the place their own, they will have a little bit of a record of us.
Not a time capsule, per se, all neat and in a convenient container. Nope, we are talking about flotsam and jetsam, simply put inside the occasional nook or cranny, to get dusty and age worn and maybe tell someone in the future who we were.
Which is a very cool idea. And one that I thought you all would be great to help with!
So...in the spirit of holiday giving, I have prizes! The top five suggestions of cool things that CS and I could plant here and there in hidey holes for future generations will all get a gift copy of my digital cookbook, Big Delicious Life.
And our number one favorite suggestion will also get a signed advanced copy of my new novel Recipe for Disaster. Since the heroine of Recipe for Disaster is living in the half-finished ruin of the house she is renovating, and something she finds in a wall literally changes the course of her life, it seemed appropriate.
So, please make your suggestions in the comments by 11:49PM Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Morning, I will announce the winners like a little giftie in your stockings.
Please note...we are not looking to spend a lot of money, and anything that is technology will be WAY defunct by the time anyone might find it, so please keep your suggestions to things you think would tell someone something about us, or about the time in which we live, and isn't going to cost us a fortune!
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
What a fun idea! My ideas are kind of obvious...you could leave the front page of a newspaper (the recent headlines on Cuba are pretty big news) or leave a few coins that have the year clearly marked.
ReplyDeletePictures of you abd CS, a favorite recipe, pictures of the house prior to renovation, or a copy of the remodel blueprints.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Amy
Deletei would put a small toy that represents something that is popular today. I know you said to keep it on the low tech side but you could also buy one of those photo keychains that allows you to record a short message. the battery might last 100 years if you don't use it.
ReplyDeleteA copy of one of your books is an obvious great idea! Another is a fun twist on something my mom has done when we moved growing up. She left one penny, heads up, in each room of our old house to bring good luck/vibes/whatever you prefer to call it. (Whether you go for the 'luck' that a heads up penny brings or not, it's kind of a cool gesture). A single penny is pretty small to leave inside a wall, but if you found something fun to keep it in that could be something good to leave.
ReplyDeleteArgh--comment got eaten. Hopefully not double posting.
ReplyDeleteAssuming CS does not want to leave a bottle of wine from his collection...a box with your favorite recipes and wine pairings would be a great reflection of both of you. For an added bonus you could throw in some hosting tips and tricks. (I'm envisioning the recipe box every grandma has filled with a mix of note cards of all the beloved family favorites.)
Happy holidays!!
A wine bottle/champagne bottle of your favorite vintage or perhaps the first one you drink in a specific room after it's finished. Since it's you, I think maybe a Bears item, like a hat or a ticket stub. A letter to future owners about your history with the house.
ReplyDeleteWhen my parents sold their house last summer, we wanted to do something similar, but a bit more personal. My dad took a permanent marker and went downstairs to the basement, where the staircase was exposed a bit, and wrote:
ReplyDeleteOur last name
Our first names
The date they moved in - the date they moved out
It's a cute way to make your mark on the house you put so much love, blood, sweat and tears into. I'll DM you a photo on Twitter... he wrote it obscenely large, it's hilarious :)
Before and after pictures of the renovation would be cool. Or perhaps a copy of a favorite kitchen gadget and corkscrew, packaged with the label of a favorite bottle of wine.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you have found meaningful to find from 100 years ago? Pictures, not only of the house, but of the neighborhood too. Maybe a small notebook with some musings about the house, neighborhood, and city from this year....sort of a love letter to the future, since your house is a labor of love. Also, inexpensive knick-knacks from the local tourist store (Chicago themed). Check the historical society for any book written about your neighborhood. A small framed photo (in archive glass) of the house. Just little things to delight the future. But don't forget pictures of the outside....because trees grow and the neighborhood changes so much in decades.
ReplyDeleteWrap in today's paper and stash a modern-style meat thermometer in the kitchen-est nook with your names hand-written on the paper.
ReplyDeleteA nice silver(?) spoon wrapped in a printed-off recipe of one of yours and Charming's favorite meal - with a hand-written note explaining it and signing your names and the date.
Menus from your favorite neighborhood take-out places. A printed copy of this blog post. Local map with handwritten notes of your places of interest.
ReplyDeleteSince cs is such a connoisseur of wine I think a bottle of your favorite wine with a copy of your book would be an amazing gift to the future.
ReplyDeleteA single love letter from CS to you. That would be the thing I'd hope I'd find. It's so romantic!
ReplyDeleteI have friends that put a fake skeleton in their walls. Along with a note that assured them it was fake. :)
ReplyDeleteUr books of course. Favorite recipes. One of ur wedding invitations. Pictures of the house before and during renovations. So many choices.
ReplyDeleteYou could leave a picture of the two of you in front of the house! A favorite recipe - $20 bill signed by you. Signed copy of one of your books. Copy of a favorite quote. Photo album with before and after the reno pics
ReplyDeleteplace a copy of original floor plan and new one; friends from Cuba went back to their family hotel and I had the privilege of being with them when they showed old photos and original floor plans to the current owners. Very emotional for all!!
ReplyDeleteYour recipes, of course!
ReplyDeleteIf you're up for leaving extra, layouts/blueprints of the before and after of your renovation! They'd get a kick out of seeing your multi-unit before you transformed it?
I would leave a POLAROID (or whatever equivaletn camera and pics) of the two of you in front hte house, some pics of the interior of hte house before and after, AND a camera and film (polaroid or whatever the equivalewnt) so they could take their own photos to leave. I'd bury this stuff in a wall, or under a floorboard in a "safe". And i'd leave a WRITTEN DIARY, about your story, and how you met charming suitor and how you rrenovated the house. VERY LOW tech the diary, and sort of "old school" the polaroid and film. Love you guys.>Merry Christmas. I'm doing "your" ham on xmas day. LOL
ReplyDeleteOne of your own books of course! Besides that though, pictures of the remodel would be cool so they could really appreciate the history of the place and what went into it.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
My husband votes for a Twinkie. How about a love letter from you two, to your home? Detailing your hopes and dreams for the future and reminiscing about the past.
ReplyDeleteFirst comment got eaten as well so sorry if this is a repost. But i would write a "day in the life of" diary entry (including mundane stuff like making your cup of coffee with your keurig because silly little things like that change over time), story of how you met and the day you first saw your now beloved home and put it all in a fav coffee can or wine bottle a la message in a bottle.
ReplyDeleteSigned and sealed copies of your books to date, a bottle of Glenmoragie and two glasses. When I start my kitchen remodel in a couple of years I know I would love to find something like that in my walls.
ReplyDeleteI'm commenting before I read anyone else's comments so please forgive me if I am repeating....
ReplyDeleteYou should laminate a photo of you & CS with a short story about how you two met.
A collage of all of your book covers would tell the story of your career, passion for food, and love.
ReplyDeleteYou should put something kitchen related in there. A small appliance, a whisk or potato ricer. Along with it, you can attach something that tells what it is used for, since I'm sure they'll be redesigned and renamed by then!
ReplyDeleteLate to the game and I'm sure I have similar answers to those above. However, I think any of the following would be outstanding:
ReplyDeletea copy of one of your books, a few handwritten recipes, a kitchen tool or two, a wine bottle, and/or some trinket that you've found thus far in your walls. Also some kitchsy holiday items (perhaps a few for Christmas and a few for Hanukkah?).
laminated before pics of the house, silicon mini spatula, glass jar of your favorite herb with recipe.
ReplyDeleteA scrapbook with pictures of the house pre and post construction as well as a short narrative about the history. I'd include some pictures of you guys and your friends and share some fun moments at the house…. or you are looking to drive the new residents crazy, you can plant a treasure map and make them think you were jewel thief's and left your big stash is buried in the walls for safe keeping. My favorite find in my walls was an empty can of beer
ReplyDeleteRecipes that you have enjoyed there or written there!
ReplyDeletemy grandma left handwritten notes on things for me...then she wrapped them up in a lot of tissue paper. I love the idea of a picture of you two in the house. And a little story about how you ended up there and how much happiness and joy and sense of home you found there. Maybe put it on an old sentimental dish or in a glass and wrap it up nice and tight....
ReplyDelete