Pictures of the past

As we come to a close on the summer months we tend to reflect on the season filled with vacations, family fun, the smell of the ocean breeze, BBQ's, swimming, fishing and of course all the wonderful flavors of ice cream we tried to assist us with keeping cool (or so we say!).

I have reflected on all of these things, but I also have some other unique memories of this summer.  The gardens were all in full bloom here at the Clough house.  We did a lot of work on the side yard, the front of the house, and started in the backyard as well where the old shed was removed.  The flowers and plants we discovered and were lucky enough to enjoy were incredible.  Roses, pinks, lillies, Lupin, columbine, and so many more that it would take a life time to list them all.  The snowball tree at the end of the driveway was one of my favorite surprises and I also enjoyed the number of flowers and plants that I have yet to identify as well.

Inside the home we have been slowly working on the Kitchen.  This will be a project that will take some time as we are carefully stripping the tiles and scraping and sanding the wood floor that we found underneath.  In a future post I will show pictures of the progress, but for now that has become the largest project. 

We also have been incredibly lucky to have been in contact with David Johnson.  His parents originally purchased the Clough house back in the 1950's.  The home was in terrible condition to say the least when they bought it and they began the daunting task of restoring it.  David has been kind enough to share diaries that his mother, Elizabeth Johnson, kept while working and living in the house.  She even had a diary about the grounds around the Clough house and all it the beautiful flowers and plants that I spoke of earlier in this post.  Her diaries were an amazing treasure to have as they helped us to piece together so much about our fantastic home.  Best of all are the pictures.  David has shared his family pictues of the home as they found it and through the years.  How amazing it was to receive those pictures and to see the pictures of the past.  Not only are we able to see how far along the house has already come in the 60+ years the Johnson family owned it, but we also see the incredible undertaking of what they accomplished when they brought the house back to life.  The pictures are treasures for us to have and we have learned so much just by looking through each one.

We are proud to continue with the efforts of restoring and caring for this house with so much character and history.  Please take a moment to view some of the pictures yourself so that you may also appreciate them.  A heartfelt "Thank You!" goes out to Mr. David Johnson for the pictures, diaries and all of the wonderful information he has shared about the house with us!