I’m driving up the seacoast this morning, listening the The Morning BUZZ as I usually do. They mentioned they had a “street-legal” Indy car in the station parking lot, and it would only be there for a couple of minutes. I drive right past the station on my way to work, so I went to check it out.
Laura (from The BUZZ) got to go for a ride in this thing. It’s unreal. I expected a sports car, sort of beefed up to look like an Indy car… but no.. this is the real deal!
Check this sucker out;
I’ve had some people email me questions about my basement project. Specifically, how I decided to frame walls over a stone wall foundation. Well the project is not complete yet, but I have at least one room that is 95% finished. I wanted to post a couple pictures and explain what I did. So far, I’m very pleased with the results. It took a long time, but it was primarily me doing all the work (occasional help from friends) when I could find time.
First off, when I bought the house the basement was a completely open chamber. It had a semi-finished ceiling, but otherwise no walls, outlets or anything. It was cold, dingy, and full of cobwebs. When we looked at the property, I saw through it – and knew I could make something of it.
Pic 1 (Above) – The basement just before we purchased. It’s a blurry picture (cam phone), but I think it gets across the basic feel and layout. The window in the near-center of the room is important, use that as reference.
This is super cool. The Blue Angels are performing at an airshow this weekend in New Hampshire. Well, for the last couple of days they have been practicing right over my office. I don’t mean “near” my office – I work a third of a mile from the airstrip – they are directly overhead! I sat in the parking lot for a while and watched them doing all those signature stunts and crazy formations.
Here are some shots (click to enlarge):
This map came out of the attic of a 19th century farmhouse. I personally found it, under a ton of other crap. It was under an eve, and probably not handled in decades. The quality is obviously not great, but the map itself is super-cool.
Growing up working on one of the oldest farms in America (run by the same family since the 1680s), my interest in local history was definitely the cause of some long-winded conversations with some of the old-timers. The farm was located adjacent to Maudslay State Park in Newburyport. In fact, the park itself used to be part of the farm before it was sold off to the Moseley family (Originally spelled Maudesleigh) around the turn of the century (1900s).
One bit of local history that always really interested me was the “Moulton Castle” that used to sit on what is now called “Castle Hill” in Maudslay State Park. To sum up, Henry Moulton was this civil war soldier. After the war, he came back and built a very real castle in Newburyport. I’ve known about it since I was a teenager, but every time I tell someone about it I always get the same response; “Yeah, right. A castle in Newburyport…”
A number of weeks ago I noticed a little lump on my tongue. Actually, I noticed a little lump inside my tongue – on the right side, near the tip. It didn’t seem to give me any pain. It was just a small, hard lump that I could roll around between my teeth. It felt like a frozen pea, or kernel of corn embedded inside the flesh of my tongue.
Perhaps it was fear of knowing what it was (or could be), or perhaps it was just ignorance, but I didn’t tell anyone about it for nearly a month. I figured it was a swollen something or other and would simply sort itself out. As it turns out, not so much. In fact, it slowly started to grow and discolor. It was obvious that I needed to have it looked at.
I bolted out of work at 10am for a visit with my primary. By 1pm, I had met with three doctors (two surgeons) and was scheduled for the “first available” surgery at the hospital. Needless to say I’m a little overwhelmed by it all. I mean, I’ve never needed any sort of surgery beyond my wisdom teeth, and now I was to have a section of my tongue removed as soon as possible. Eff that. I mean, I thought for sure he would tell me to put ice on it, take some Advil, and stop being such a baby.
Everything is happening so fast now, and I’m still a little freaked out by the whole thing. Actually, I’m a lot freaked out (as you can probably imagine). Talking with the doctor didn’t help much either. He talked at me in matter-of-fact, professional tones and used phrases like “probably benign,” and “remove the surrounding tongue tissue,” and best of all – “be aware, tongue procedures are among the bloodiest.” It felt like a joke – until I signed the paper giving him permission to operate on me and remove the necessary tissue.
I just acquired this from close (and slightly mental) friend of mine. He is dealing with some family estate items and gave it to me because he knew I really liked it. I’ve been a big antique roadshow fan for years, and anyone that has seen that show has heard of the infamous “card table” that turned out being one of the highest valued pieces they had.
Now, I’m not claiming this is one of them. The thing is, my friend said the appraiser took a quick look at it, got “very” interested. She said it was most likely an authentic late 1700s antique table. I know a little about these things, but not enough to claim I have anything extraordinary. I’m not sure I would sell it even so, I really like how it looks and would want to keep it in the family.
I can say with certainty, this came out an authentic 18th century Newburyport farmhouse. It was a farmhouse on a local farm run by the same family since 1683. The house is literally a museum of authentic, pristine colonial and federal relics. This table was just one of three similar tables my friend has.