Old Things....

Those of you who know me know that I like old things.... any old thing will do, but I do have a special weakness for old books.

This book is my absolute favorite book in my collection. I love knowing the story behind the old things that I have. We have several antiques, but this is the only one that I have that I know the story. Or at least....part of the story. Anderson's Fairy Tales are pretty awesome.

The Ugly Duckling
The Emperor's New Clothes
The Mermaid
The Rose Elf

Just to name a few.....

But what's even MORE awesome is that this book was my dad's. Before it was my dad's it belonged to my aunt (she wrote her name in pencil...Dad's is in green highlighter). Before that it belonged to my great aunts. It was given as a Christmas gift to them in 1923. How awesome.

Today I went exploring. The purpose was to get myself lost. I did a pretty good job of that. Thank goodness I eventually found a sign pointing back to Warrenton. I did have a gps in case I needed it, but it was all good!

On my travels I found quite a few old cemeteries (as a side note: every time I write the word cemetery I think of Dad). I hope to go exploring in them. Yes, I enjoy cemeteries, too. I wander around and try to find the really old graves (go figure), and I envision what happened to them so very long ago. The older the cemetery the better! Ahem: one reason why I love living in this part of the country.

I also love finding old, old houses. The ones that are dilapidated and no one lives in. I found quite a few of these as well. There are so many more of them in this part of the country than there are in the Midwest. I wonder the same questions as I do at cemeteries. What happened?

I like old buildings of all sorts, but the ones that are in good upkeep tell a story of love. The ones that are rundown...surely someone loved them.

Again, these I know the story behind. This is my great-grandparents house (with a couple of cousins in front). It sits on my Aunt's property. I love exploring inside it and imagining what it was like.
The second picture is an outhouse next to the house. Dum Dum must of had to go.... ;) These pictures are from a few years ago....

As I was exploring TODAY, like I said, I found quite a few old run-down houses and buildings. These pictures are from an old Mill I found. It had a pull-off so I was able to get out and take some pictures.

Pretty cool, huh?!

One of my annoyances about NC...... they put up all of these signs by the side of the road. How the heck am I supposed to READ them while I'm driving. For that matter, I can't even read them while I'm the passenger! TOO much information. NOT ENOUGH time. Phooey. I saw a LOT of these signs today. Hopefully one day I'll be able to take the time to get out and read them (aka: Dean is in the car with Sawyer and me). I like reading things....

I also saw quite a few old houses that had been clearly taken care of. These houses are VERY cool as well, but in a different way. Warrenton, NC, is FULL of them. love. Love. LOVE IT here!

Have I mentioned I like old things and history? Cause I do.

Hugs and Kisses from Norlina!