A Tale of Two Emotions
My day began.
I felt filled with dread and fear.
The entire planet is experiencing something profound and alarming.
People I know have lost their jobs and are weeks away from financial ruin.
People are sick across the globe. People are dying across the globe.
And none of us know when the horror will subside or end.
None of us.
My afternoon ended.
I felt filled with joy.
I felt filled with relief.
I felt a surge of accomplishment.
For, an overwhelming task had been, at last, at long last, completed.
Wanna see? Scroll way down…
The re-shingling of the south facade is complete.
While typing the above caption I started crying.
Because:
- My joy is so great at finishing this monumental task, a task which had my 63-year-old body clambering across scaffolding for 18 months. A task which often seemed never ending.
- While I have ached for this day, ached, I would never have predicted that the day would arrive simultaneous with dread and fear. Global dread and fear.
So, I am ecstatic. I am terrified.
3/21/2020.
And I wrap all of you in a virtual embrace.
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Beautifully done Ross! What is the green paint color around the windows?
Are those two sweet kitties yours? My daughter, (who is a 70yr old cat lady trapped in a 9 yr olds body) NEEDS to know their names!?
Stay well! ❤️
Jill!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alas, those are two internet kitties!
I am soooo thrilled for you! Every step of the way take a step back and enjoy what you have accomplished! And know that the chaos we are currently experiencing will end and we will move on-changed but hopefully stronger and wiser in the end.
We are simultaneously happy with you and filled with the same dread for the world. You just keep on bringing back beauty, the world needs it now more than ever. Hugs to you.
This was the dearest, most heartwarming post Ross!
I am so very happy about this monumental completion, of shingling on south facade!!
Joyous, raucous applause and standing ovation from all your adoring bloggers!!! Envision 100’s of us virtually applauding, as if we all were standing below and around the scaffolding!!!
Sandra! You’re making me cry again!
You are such a dear person Ross!
We all love you and all that you do!
You are making the world a better place through all your hard & exacting work!
Cross House is one historic house and you are restoring her to new glory!
It starts with one person doing amazing things and multiples…
Live you, Ross
Bravo, good sir, bravo!
Aaaaaaaah!!!!!😄 They say a picture is worth a THOUSAND words!! And this one is! Hallelujah, Ross!! What a relief for you! It is SO wonderful to see that darned area finished! Hats off to you!
Greetings from New Rochelle, from New York’s first “Containment Zone,” where I live. And I am sending good news because we got news this evening that the number of cases here have slowed. Governor Cuomo thinks the Containment Zone helped.
Thank you, thank you, thank you dear Ross for helping me and so many others get through this frightening time, with images and diversions about Cross House, the Octagon Room, the wonderful settee, the lighting, and your so enjoyable writing.
Congratulations on achieving this goal.
Thank you for both pictures, but especially thank you for that picture of the hugging kitties. That really gave me hope.
Hugs to you…
Karen
And hugs to you, Karen!
Congratulations Ross. An amazing accomplishment. Stay safe and well.
*Applauds*
*Hugs you back*
I am one of many standing on the ground looking up at your work and yelling and clapping and whistling. What a great accomplishment. After painting pick an area that you can zip through to make yourself feel even better.
I understand your fear and dread. I work in a distribution wharehouse of food and candy. We are considered “essential”. (I’m in PA) Inside the wharehouse there is no such thing as social distancing. If I don’t get it, it will be a miracle. And we are not getting any extra pay except for longer hours. And my company is owned by Warren Buffett.
So, yes, I understand your fear and dread and anxiety. But this will end and life will go on. The sun will rise and set. The grass will grow and kids will play. And Ross will finish the exterior of the magnificent Cross House.
All my love to you Ross for helping us get through!
You are an INSPIRATION!!!!!!!!!!!!
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With all of the negative energy swirling around the world, your persistence keeps me inching along on my own projects, rather than lying in bed with the covers pulled over my head. You make me feel less fearful.
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Whenever you post your thoughts, it makes me feel like I am not alone. Although we have never met, I feel that I have a friend and kindred spirit out there. It makes me think that the baby steps that I take matter.
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Every time I check my e-mail, I look first to see if there is one from Restoring Ross, and read that one before the others.
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Your honesty inspires my trust, making me think things can get better in the world. With you out there, I find it easier to believe that there are people left with integrity. You, with your posts, remind me that the negative stuff is just a part of what is going on out there, so please keep posting as often as possible!
Same.
You are very kind, Stewart. Thank you.
You are welcome, although I didn’t write it to be kind. So often different people see different things as the truth. I wrote my truth.
Congratulations Ross! I am constantly impressed by how much you manage to do. That house is very lucky to have found you.
Hallelujah! Well done. Persistence in the face of a daunting task is what will save all of us in this troubling time.
Wow. Congratulations! This is an extraordinary feat of preservation on your part.
Things are indeed grim, but we’re allowed to celebrate. Just, y’know, not too close…
Congratulations!!!!! The Cross house thanks you, I can hear her from here.
This is an occasion to celebrate! What a milestone on this project! As for dread, it’s my companion as well. I’m in California, living under lockdown in the midst of a large cluster. However, I am inspired by you, Ross. Inch by inch you have done this part of your work. Everything can be restored.
Ross, you are an amazing man doing an amazing job. We are so proud of you and your accomplishments . New Jersey is now in self containment, so instead of bemoaning our situation we’ve decided to inch our way with some needed house improvements, inside and out. You are an inspiration. Thank you.
Congratulations! Gorgeous!!
As always, that third floor entrance and the prior iron staircase blows my mind!
YES!!! This milestone may only be eclipsed by the day you eventually move in to the Cross House.
What a wonderful difference this has made! It does my heart good – a little ray of light in the encroaching darkness – to see the house improving day by day. Congratulations! Well done my virtual friend!
What a splendid difference this one piece of this one facade makes. The before and after is beautifully ginormous.
Bravo, Ross!! I second everyone’s comments, and I hope you realize how much WE needed to see this too…
Beautifully done, Ross. It is a ray of sunshine when we need it. (But then you are 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 spreading sunshine, you dear man!)
BTW, would it be possible to get an ‘After’ photo to go with the ‘Before’ you showed us on November 27, 2019? Maybe just before you take down the scaffolding, please?
Big virtual embrace back! Just as others have said, your blog is a wonderful respite from what is going on in the world right now. When I read Sandra’s comment about all of us standing below and clapping, I could almost hear it. It’s so true though. We are all cheering you on. Thank you for being a beacon of light in these dark times!
Thankfully I am able to work from home right now. Our Governor is getting ready to go LIVE again. We are about to find out if WV will be shut down…
Illinois has been on “Shelter-In-Place” status since 5PM Saturday, although you would not know it by the number of people blatantly running around…even more disturbing are all of the people throwing up the number of new cases in the 48 hours since the order took effect; they lack the sense to understand that those new cases were exposed a week or more ago, that we will not see the results of the order until the number of new cases starts declining in a week or two.
Exactly, Mike. That’s the huge difference between this and the flu. A person can have this without symptoms for a while and be spreading it. The only way to flatten the infamous curve is by keeping people away from each other for an extended period of time. As of 8 pm tonight, all non-life-sustaining business must close in WV. We had our first community spread case show up in a nursing home. I truly hope this doesn’t become another story like the one in Washington. 🙁
Then it sounds as if WV is ahead of Illinois. Our state’s definition of “essential” businesses is quite broad; about the only businesses I see closing are the barber/beauty shops and video stores. If a liquor store sells snacks, then they are technically a grocery store, and exempt. Car dealerships? Exempt. Home improvement stores? Packed with people. My great-grandparents lost two children to the Spanish flu in 1919, and I have no doubt what they would say about the way that people are behaving today. Take care, Amanda!
You too, Mike! (and everyone!)
I lost a child to pulmonary edema and hemorrhage following a surgery when she was 17, and my youngest (18 yrs) has mild asthma. I am naturally very concerned about this virus that attacks the lungs.
This blog is truly a wonderful respite from the fear and anxiety of the unknown. It’s a reminder to continue looking for the beauty around us. It really does exist. 🙂
I’ve followed you for some time but have never posted a comment but the finishing of the 18 month project deserves recognition…..KUDOS!!! Your dedication to Cross House and accurate historical restoration is an inspiration to many of us.
I continue my cheer:
Stronger than steel
Hotter than the sun
Our man Ross
can get the job done!
And you did.
In the midst of all this, and being a Nurse-Midwife/Nurse Practitioner, I look for the resilient and the inspirational. They are all around me and sometimes not always where we think. Who would have thought a restoration guy living in Kansas writing a blog about restoring a house would become one of my resilient and inspirational people? I found you accidentally – or not accidentally – at a time when I needed a new perspective on a lot of things, new ideas, new ways of seeing things, new ways of thinking about old things. And all of that has now added up to to a new goal, a new plan for building a new old house because all the old houses where I live are unaffordable. I was stuck and a bit miserable. Because of you I have become unstuck and I have something beautiful to look forward to. My plans are now on the back burner but I still have them. I still have my new dream and something wonderful to plan for. So within this darkness there is still light. Thank you Ross for lighting up mine 🙂
This exquisitely beautiful old lady lives again because of you. Houses of this era were so welcoming and gracious. It is a work of art all by itself and your efforts will keep it around for years to come so others will know and remember the history. I admire your dedication and perseverance.
I grew up in New Jersey in an area of lovely old Victorians and many Craftsman style homes. My great -grandfather was an architect and builder who built several of them in the very early 1900’s. My father grew up in a Craftsman that his father built (I LOVED that house!) and my childhood home was a pretty house – not quite Craftsman but with many Craftsman touches. Both houses had to be sold many years ago and I haven’t seen either in many, many years but I know they’re still standing – they were very well built.
Stay healthy and keep going, it’s worth it.
(And I understand what you say about a 63 year body, but you’re doing great! My 70 year old bones wish they could do what you do!)
I found your site for the first time tonight. I too have always loved old homes and wanted to restore them. I have been reading through some of your blogs and enjoy your style of writing, which seems to be a truth mixed with humor. I admire your hard work, persistence, perseverance and dedication. As a cat lady I too loved the cat photo, and probably uttered the same “ooohhhhh, how cute” as others that saw it. I’m in Los Angeles and we are in “shelter in Place” mode which is ok for me as a 63 year old Lady but it is driving my hard working, on the go 34 year old daughter crazy. We have been working on her 1938 Spanish style home. Painting and scraping off old loose stucco which we will replace and paint. When she bought this home four and a half years ago it had an updated kitchen and bathroom that was not keeping with the Spanish style of the home. However they did keep the arched doorways and beautiful beams with corbels in the living room. The best feature is the original fireplace and tile work. Congratulations on finishing this current project.