Living in a Schoolhouse

Probably about 40 years ago, it wouldn't have cost much to purchase an old schoolhouse. Some people remodel them so that they're nearly unrecognizable as a schoolhouse. Others don't.  I think many of them had windows mostly along one side, with the north (cold) side being windowless.

Mr. Cranberry disagrees with me on this. He thinks the windows were usually on the north or east side so that there wouldn't be light glare on students' texts or papers. On the other hand, I would have thought they would be on the south side of the building to help heat up the room in the wintertime.

So if anyone out there remembers the old country schoolhouse, do you want to weigh in with your guess or opinion about where the windows were located? Feel free, especially if you agree with me. ;-)

I took this photo from a distance last week. I love the reddish orange steel roof on the old red brick schoolhouse.

Of course, if I were to buy an old schoolhouse to live in, I wouldn't want to remodel it much, except maybe to put in a loft because the ceilings are so high you'd have room to do that. And just think of all the blackboards I would have! Oh, that's right. I do have lots of blackboards. Mr. Cranberry does asbestos removal before demolition, and he's brought home many black slate boards over the years. I can't bear to see them thrown out. That's why we're taking another bunch of them to Cashton for the Amish schools next spring.

Oh look! There's a blackboard in my kitchen!

Have you ever wanted to live in an old schoolhouse? I do realize it's possible that I'm the only person in blogland who has always dreamed about doing that. That's okay. I have a library table, chalkboards, and lots of vintage books. I guess that's good enough. Besides, I'm getting too lazy to move.

Below are a couple pics of the old country school I attended in grades 1-2. It looked better back then. :-)  It was torn down just last week. Glad I took these photos last year.

 Woodside School, Barron County, WI

***

Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps!

Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

'Lemon Verbena'

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties:  Amaze Me Monday and Inspiration Monday and Mosaic Monday and The Barn Collective and    Treasure Box Tuesday and Vintage Bliss Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesdays at our Home and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Vintage Inspiration Wednesday and Ivy and Elephants Wednesday and Adorned From Above  and Artsy Corner Thursday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Every Room in the House Friday Noon and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters

Vintage Children's Books

I know that many of you like vintage books. There seems to be something comforting about the look and feel of those old hardcovers  with their color plates and quality binding.

Having homeschooled for many years, I managed to acquire quite a collection of old children's readers, history books, storybooks, science books, and many books that have titles like, 'Stories Far and Near' or 'Tales of Long Ago.'

Looks just like my husband, doesn't it!

(see THIS POST)

Isn't this a sweet illustration for the cover!

With enough books of England thrown in

and some chocolates to sustain me as I read

Does this mean that I wouldn't tolerate the newfangled Kindle? Not a bit.
I keep my Kindle at my bedside.

So how about you? Are you a book collector? Do you have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to cut up a book to make some craft out of it?

***

Happy Birthday to Angela. :-)

***

Buy Any 5 or More, Get One FREE

'English Rose'

(a combination of fragrances reminiscent of the English country garden)

Natural, Handcrafted Vegan Soap

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop 

This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and   Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

Vintage Childcraft Books - Then and ... Then

 Childcraft, 1949 edition

When I was a child, we had a set of Childcraft books which were published in 1949, like the ones above. I don't know what happened to them, but I do know that by the time we kids had passed from childhood, they were well worn and most likely falling apart, especially Volumes One and Two.

Years passed. I grew up. I got married and had children.

When our last daughter was born, the ladies of the church held a baby shower for me. It was wonderful. We received many beautiful outfits for our new little girl. Some were for the newborn, some to be worn later when she was a size 24 mo. or so. They were all lovely, lovely gifts.

What I didn't know is that two of the women had conspired to find me a set of the 1949 Childcraft, like I had had when I was a little girl. It was the last gift to be given. After all the other gifts had been opened, a large box was dragged out of the bedroom and into the living room. I had no idea what it contained. This is starting to sound like a fairy tale, isn't it. Enter the jealous fairy who foretells of horrid things to take place in my future...

UNfortunately, when I opened the box, I couldn't suppress my surprise and delight at seeing those Childcraft books. They were beautiful, and in great condition. Technically, I suppose the first few volumes were in 'good' condition. I opened them to look through to all the favorite stories I'd known as a kid.  All the beautiful baby clothes lying about were nearly forgotten in this moment of excitement. (Actually, not much has changed in that department. Books always seem way more exciting than clothes.)

Looking back on it, I wish I hadn't made quite the fuss I did over the Childcraft set, but really...it was an extraordinary gift and obviously, someone knew that I'd been trying to track down that 1949 set.

  I could recite so many of the poems from those books, including 'Eletelephony.' (Still can, by the way.)

And then there was 'The Highwayman.' LOVED IT.

Just look at the beautiful artwork in that 1949 edition of Childcraft. It was enchanting!

Here's what Childcraft had looked like in the 1970s (above)

B.O.R.I.N.G.

 Yes, this was the same era as flocked wallpaper, plaid pants, and lots of orange and brown. Maybe that explains the mindset that compiled the artwork for these books. It was sterile and ugly. It had no soul.

Just take a look at the difference between the artwork of the late '40s and the '70s. It's really sad, isn't it!

And here's a little grandson, another generation enjoying 'The Sugar Plum Tree' from the old set of Childcraft, the 1949 edition. They're still residing on the bookshelves in the living room.

Do you have any books you loved as a child? Do you still have them? Have you been on a search for them and still not found them?  My best source for used books has been Abebooks.com. (or you might try the ladies in the church.) :-)

Do you love to browse used bookstores? When we visited our daughter and son-in-law in Texas, they took us to HalfPrice Books in Dallas. What a treat!!!

Don't miss our Father's Day Special

On now through June 16

at 

Homemade Soap'n'Such

Barely There
All-Natural Handcrafted Soap
...and many more.
Check it out! 

 You'll find me at These Linky Parties:
Mop it Up Monday and French Obsession and  Skip to My Lou and Bedazzle Me Monday and  What's in the Gunny Sack and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Made By You Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Cozy Home Scenes and  Get Your Craft On and Tip Me Tuesday and Maiden d'Shade and  Inspiration Board and  Your Home Cozy and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and  Made from Scratch Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Two Maids a Baking and What's Cookin' Wednesday and Exodus 35 and DJs Sugar Shack and  Cast Party Wednesday and The Shady Porch and   We Did it Wednesday  and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Link it Up Thursday and Crafty Friday (Thursday) and Petals to Picots and  Threading Your Way and Lisa's Gluten-Free Blog and Favorite Things Friday and I'm Lovin' it Friday and It's a Hodgepodge Friday  and Creative Bloggers and  Serenity Saturday and Overflowing With Creativity and  Home and Family Friday