The kitchen, like most rooms in the house, looks like a bomb went off in it. The ceiling is gone. There are holes in the walls. There are dangling wires.

However, I have an odd way of seeing things. My eyes do not really see all the damage. Rather, my eyes see:

• Wow! Most of the original wainscoting is intact!
• Wow! Most of the original trim is intact!
• Wow! The original windows are intact!

And so on.

While there is much damage, from a historical perspective, much is intact.

Ross happy.

 

Since buying the house in 2014, while it looks like the kitchen has not been touched, this is not actually accurate:

• The original wood floor has been revealed under numerous layers of linoleum and vinyl!
• The location of the original gas/electric sconces have been revealed!
• The original colors and finishes have been ascertained!
• The windows in the kitchen, and adjacent main pantry and servant’s hall, have all been restored!
• The original location of the sink has, likely, been ascertained!
• A lost dumbwaiter has been discovered!
• A lost laundry chute has been discovered!
• A lost annunciator has been discovered!
• A lost speaking tube has been discovered!
• In the main pantry, parts of the original cabinets had been removed. These parts were tracked down and returned to the house! In addition, some lost parts have been recreated!
• The original door between the butler’s pantry and kitchen was missing. This was discovered elsewhere in the house and returned to its original location!
• The original door to the main pantry had long ago been removed, and then left the house. The door has been returned to the house!
• On the east side, the wall where the door and window were had sunk. And was sinking, as there was no support under. In 2014 the wall was jacked up, and a “monster wall” erected under (in the basement)! The monster wall should have been there from day 1.
• The south wall was totally demolished and rebuilt in 2014! It had been destroyed by water and termites. The cause of this has also been fixed!
• The missing trim for the huge double south window was found in the basement!
• I have stored away the perfect period-correct gas/electric ceiling pendant for the room, and two perfect period-correct gas/electric sconces for the room. The fixture are very plain, as they would have bene in 1894.

In short, when standing in the kitchen today, it appears that nothing has changed since 2014. But much has changed. For the better.

And, the other day, a micro change happened which has generated some pleasure inside me.

 

 

 

The curtain was possibly from the 1970s. It was dirty and shabby. I have thought numerous times to remove it but it offered a modicum of privacy. The other day though I realized how absurd the was. To the left is a HUGE window with no curtain. And the wall to the right has a HUGE double south window with no curtain.

I smiled upon realizing the absurdity of my rational.

And yanked down the curtain.

Since then, every time I enter the ruin of the kitchen, I am startled by how much better the room…feels. Yes, it is still a wreck. But the windows sparkle. And I now know soooooooo much about the room, knowledge which was nonexistent in 2014.

And, too, once again, while there is much wrong with the world, in a small town in Kansas, something is just a tiny bit better.