March 14th, Wednesday – I Want Your Blood!

Yes, blood wanted.  Not a lot, but just enough.  Not from both of us, but only from one of us.  However, I’m getting ahead of myself.  Last night we resolved we were going to get up and out at the crack of dawn.  Well, we got up, but dawn had already come and gone; and, we got out, not quite in the timely fashion we thought we would but hey we’re retired so no issue!

Today we had places to go and things to see.  First things first, Barbara needed to get some blood work done.  So our first trip was to her doctor’s office in Brookville.

Poor Barbara the nurse in the office was definitely out of practice taking blood and my wife paid the price.  Several tries and enough was enough, the nurse simply told her, “I’m sorry I can’t seem to do it”.  Ouch!

But all was not lost for we had a plan “B” up our sleeves.  Leaving the doctor’s office we

traveled to the local Quest lab in Brooksville.  Success!  Twenty minutes later the deed was done.  The difference between someone who draws blood on occasion and those who do it all the time.

By now, we were both as hungry as could be.  Guess what was right around the corner ?

Trust me when I say you have not had breakfast until you’ve had breakfast here.  The food is the best there is and if you leave the table hungry then it’s because you haven’t finished your meal.  There is always enough and then some to take home.

Now with the nastiness of the morning out-of-the-way and tummies full it was time to go exploring.  Barbara had been doing some more research and found a really neat place

This seven gable, 14 room three-story “Painted Lady” Victorian Era home is perched on top of a hill overlooking the city of Brooksville and has over 11,000 artifacts on display.  Add to that the fact that it is a certified haunted house!  Honestly, it has been featured on numerous paranormal TV shows and written up in many books and magazines that deal with ghosts and haunted houses.  So let’s go on a tour, beginning with the parlor as you walk in which has in it a rather odd-looking desk.  Though it is hard to see in this picture, the desk has

a mirror underneath it.  Why?  Because as the lady of the house was descending the stairs toward the parlor she was able to check her petticoats in the mirror to make sure they were adjusted properly.  In the parlor, on display, were many items but this one caught my eye immediately it was called a courting candle.  The idea being that when the

young man entered the parlor to visit his lady friend the candle would be lit.  When it burnt down to the holder it was time for him to go.  Of course, if dad didn’t like the young man to begin with he would often stick a stubby half burnt candle in the holder so as to get rid of the young man much quicker!

Below is a picture of a typical rug of the period which would be on the parlor floor as well as other rooms in the house.

This is a picture of the table when it was set in preparation for entertaining guests

Here is a picture of a working Edison Amberola phonograph.  Edison began mass-producing cylinder phonographs in the late 1890s. These machines employed a wax record that played for a duration of two minutes.  Those cylinders were later replaced with ones that would play for a little over four minutes.

In the era in which this house was built, the city of Brooksville taxed homeowners on three primary household features:

• the number of chimneys;
• the number of stairs inside the house
• the number of closets the house had

that being the case this home rather than having separate fireplaces on main walls in each room had them back to back throughout the house

the stairs to the upstairs rooms were on the outside of the house and there were next to no closets in the whole house!  Following are some other pictures from our tour.  This is a working music box from the 1800’s

A typical adult bed that might be filled with straw, cotton, or even moss from the trees outside

A teaching book, sail cloth to which pictures had been pasted

A childs doll, this one is unique in that it’s limbs and eyes actually move

A four poster bed for an adult

Some typical men’s clothing, note the white slip to the right, yes, that is for a man!

Lady’s period accessories

The kitchen of the house, how about that study table in the center of the room.

The typical stove of that day and age, would sure hate to have to move it!

Here is a picture of an early refrigerator.  You put the ice in the top, it melted and the cold water ran down a tube and around the actual box on the bottom to keep items inside cold

Some pictures of the doctor’s office that at one time was part of the house.

 

There are so many more pictures to share but time and space do not permit.  If you ever have occasion to be in Brooksville, with some time on your hands, I encourage you to take the tour of the house.  It is a delightful way to spend a couple of hours.

Blood work finished, tour over it was time to turn our wheels toward home.  Once there we spent time inside doing various odds and ends that needed to get done.  All in all it was a full day from beginning to end.

Now the day is over, the sun has long since gone down and night is all around us.  Today was a most enjoyable day for us.  We were able to do something new.  We were able to do it together.  We hope you had an enjoyable day as well.  If not, then tomorrow make it a great day.  Start tomorrow with a smile.  Begin it with the intent of making it a great day.  During the day do something that will make the world a better place for yourself and for those around you.

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.  Thanks again for sharing our day with us.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before.