Lagniappe

First off, a couple of pictures of the nifty old safe left behind in our basement, probably by several previous owners, surely immobile, and containing nothing but the key and an old advertisement for a coal company.

The outside of the safe door.

The innards.

Also in the basement, the last remaining item from the kitchen that was apparently down there, what appears to be the copper kettle for heating water , with a little oven underneath for providing the actual heat. (A Victorian washing machine, perhaps, as suggested by one of our friends? There is certainly a space next to it where a stove might have once been set.)

Just outside this basement space, there is further evidence of the kitchen: an old, filled-in well.

Under the wallpaper in the back parlor, we discovered -- with a clue from the previous owners -- an incomplete fresco of what may have been the first lady of the house, done by her... nephew or something, who was a fresco painter.

And under the horrible carpet in the front parlor, we discovered the most amazing parquet-pattern floor.

As we go, I'll try to add more photos of the nifty things we've found. There's also the antique sewing machine found stored in the basement kitchen area and the rack of wine bottles in the wine cellar, for instance.