A Quiet Day in a Surreal Time
Every day I leave the house I live in alone (save for 2,487 cats), drive alone to the Cross House, and spend the afternoon working alone in an almost 9,000 square foot house.
Twice a week I have to go to the grocery store. Except for TP, I have been able to buy pretty much everything I need. I stay clear of people in the store and the store has put up Plexiglass shields to separate the cashiers from customers.
As bad as things are now I fully expect things to get much much much worse. I am stunned how much reality has been upturned in less than 30 days. I fondly recall that far, far, far away time when I was buying fabulous oak 1890s bedroom sets and planning for a gorgeous AirBnB suite. Today, this just seems unimaginable as I can no longer envision people staying in the Cross House and as I can no longer spend money as my sales have vanished. When will sales resume? I do not know and nor does anybody.
So…yikes.
Hiding in a dark corner, while an appealing idea, does not really seem like a good plan (yet) so I just continue my old routine. In the morning I work on restoring vintage lights and then list them for sale with the hope that in some faraway future people will think: Oh! I must have that fabulous 1930s pendant for my dining room! You know, as happened in the good ol’ days (like early March). In the afternoon I venture to the big house to make it ever better, an endeavor which is always fulfilling. In the evenings I work on more old lights and get more listed for sale. Very late in the day I break out some wine and watch part of a classic movie or Youtube videos (last night I spent 40 minutes watching Jack Benny clips.)
So…during a global upheaval, I am defaulting to routine.
Today, I arrived at the Cross House with plans to reinstall the restored stained-glass window to the west vestibule, the one above the main doors that has 526 in blue glass. But, the black paint on the sash had not fully dried yet. So…what else to do? The next project is the repointing of the north chimney but essential supplies have not yet been delivered.
As I stood on the main porch pondering this I noticed that the windows were dirty. Oh, the horror. I have previously written about how much I value clean windows and the huge difference they make in how any house looks. The windows under the porch roof get particularly dirty as rain never washes them. So, I grabbed a ladder and towels and Windex and went to work. Then I filled a bucket with hot water and washed the sills because, as you surely concur, it is quite the scandal to have dirty sills.
I stepped back. And realized that the tension I had been experiencing all day had dissipated. A bit.
Walking to the sidewalk to admire the now gleaming windows I was shocked—shocked!—to realize that the third-floor windows had streaks of bird poo on them. Oh, the horror!
These windows are not easily accessed but I realized that the offending streaks were inside the house. This is because birds regularly find a way in. I have no idea how and every day when I get to the house I trek up to the third floor to see if any bird(s) is trapped. I even keep bowls of birdseed and water out to nourish any trapped birdies.
What happened though is that any trapped birds flail against the windows to escape and in the process they leave…deposits on the glass and sills and adjacent flooring. This, thus, was my new task. I Windexed all the glass and all the sills, waited a bit, and then began cleaning. When this was done I dragged up a bucket of water and mop and went to work on the floor.
I stepped back. And realized that my tension level had dissipated a bit more.
Returning to the kitchen I saw that the table in the servants hall had a dusty top. Oh, the horror. It was soon gleaming.
And for another hour I went through the house doing more minor cleaning jobs. And my tension level dissipated a bit more.
I am back at home now, After this is posted I will begin working on restoring another vintage light and in a few hours will list it for sale with the desperate hope that one day people will be OK about spending money on beauty. I will avoid reading any news about more illness and more death and more horror but will nonetheless go to bed terrified to wake up eight hours later to what I know will be an even worse reality.
The one salve on my tension is that billions of people across the globe are feeling/experiencing the same thing, and that this common dynamic might somehow, somehow, mitigate things. Somehow.
While I live alone, and spend most of my days alone, right now I know three things quite powerfully:
I am not alone. You are not alone. We are not alone.
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Darling Ross. Thank you. Your words make me feel less alone x
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keep_Calm_and_Carry_On#/media/File:Keep-calm-and-carry-on-scan.jpg
There is going to be a world wide fast this Good Friday, in regards to Coronavirus. Anyone is welcome to join, regardless of beliefs.
We will be fasting here in Mississippi 😊
Bless you Ross!
Peace and solace be with you and everyone else on the planet!
Hugs!
Arms around you virtually.
I am recently envious of your bidet.
Showers work well, too!
I think that in times of high anxiety and dread, being able to DO something positive, no matter how small, helps us to regain some balance. I think all across the country people are cleaning closets and windows and sweeping cobwebs and accumulated dust. We will emerge from this time better for our collective efforts to make things cleaner and more organized, and more grateful for those little things we can do. Everyday that I hear from you brightens my mood. Thank you for taking time to post your thoughts. I am always inspired and more motivated to continue doing.
This is a very dark time in history; we don’t know what the coming weeks and months will bring. We worry about what we don’t know, and feel powerless knowing that some things are beyond our control. What we can do is help each other through the darkness; every good deed, each smile, every kind word is another candle in the darkness. Thank you for continuing to post here Ross, and for providing this blog; what started five years ago as a few people interested in guy who is restoring an old house has become a group of friends, and I am thankful for you all.
“The one salve on my tension is that billions of people across the globe are feeling/experiencing the same thing, and that this common dynamic might somehow, somehow, mitigate things. Somehow.” Why is this so true? I don’t know but it is. It makes all the difference that everyone on the planet is going through this together. As I am home with four teens during this time, I think of it like this: Back in the old days (I don’t think they do this anymore) when a teen got mono, they had to stay home and miss out on everything for possibly months. It was hell for them. But right now, the teens are not MISSING OUT because all their friends are in the same boat, so they are relatively cheerful. Thank God.
I live with two roommates in a 99-year-old townhouse and we’ve been doing the same minor cleaning and baby projects that you’ve been up to! Yesterday we made removable window screens and rebuilt the raised bed garden. I’m prepared to fight my landlord to the death if he tries to take out our original windows – you’ve taught me that with some TLC they’re just as good as (if not better) than what we can muster up today. Our house has more life than she’s had in a while because of what I’ve learned from watching you!
I am coping the same way: routine and small projects. In the mornings I work in the old abandoned formal garden, weeding and planting. Then I eat breakfast and then go to the studio to work on the next mosaic project.
I try to keep it in perspective: what I can control, what I can’t. I’m thankful for all I have. My friends and I keep in touch via phone.
I’m very thankful for your blog and your bringing us along on your journey to return the CRoss house to greatness. I so look forward to each post. Thank you!! It’s a little island of sanity in a world gone mad.
Thank you, Ross, for sharing your thoughts with the wider world. They’ve been so helpful to me since I started working from home. Beauty, kindness, and persistence are more important than ever.
I want to mirror everyone’s words here. Thank you Ross for your erudite blog! The love and care you have and are putting into this shell of old wood, glass and bricks is turning it from a mere sum of parts back to a well loved home! Living vicariously through your thoughtfully expressed words and pictures is truly a blessing! I came across your blog BECAUSE I am stuck at home and was looking up things I love.
I wanted to also give you some hope. I am, by God’s power, the survivor of a 2nd massive stroke 15 years ago. His fingerprints are on the arteries in my head, which He revealed to me a year later in a doctor’s office while the doctor was showing me the Xray. I was dumbfounded. I stand in awe of Him. He is ever present, loving, and extends His mercy at all times. So, I just wanted to mirror what you said– No, We are NOT alone. I thank Him that I found your blog! I get such a kick out of reading it! Your writing style and passion are awesome! You truly brighten my day!
I had scheduled work on my house with different professional folks but my family and I are now doing this work. At 75-years-old, and much of the time in a wheelchair, I am painting my two front side iron handrails and my two curved hand bent wrought iron front doors (doors were made in 1955). I may not be able to paint at top of the doors but more than half way up will be me.
And I must tell you even though I am really, really tired it feels great to do these things myself.
It has been a very long time that I have worked on my house as I did in my early days here. When I crawled on hands and knees across the porch to reach the top step, to sit next to the handrail, I smiled saying I can do this.
I never dreamed I could do this but it is happening….and it does bring a feeling of peace….I understand what Ross is talking about with his Cross House work. In 1968 (I think it was), I was so sick with the Hong Kong flu. Millions died. With Spanish flu in 1918 50+ million died. I hope this time of illness will soon pass.
I am amazed at the huge number or people walking past my house, as I sit watching them from my front porch, stopping to ask if they can do anything for me or do I need groceries or any thing. My ramp is long gone so all they see is old me with grey hair.
I think in the big picture we are all going to be more than ok and be better, kinder people. I know it is hard living in these times but when has life been easy?
I raise my glass to you Tura! Cheers!! 🥂
Thank you, Tura, for your wonderful, engaging comment.
Hang in there… this too shall pass. Both my son and I are laid off. So a project I never thought I’d ever complete has begun. We are remodeling the second floor. Stripping the woodwork, which we found is cherry! pulling up carpet to find beautiful pine? floors. And will be repairing plaster walls. I never, ever thought I would have the time to do this type of project. I really, really wish you had ‘how to’ tutorials on Youtube!
I absolutely love this house! Bravo! There is a house in Kinsley that I have had my eye on for years!