Nine years have elapsed since I purchased the Cross House. I have yet to spend a night in it. Had some tarot reader predicted this I would have laughed. Impossible! Yet, here I am in year #10 with nary a sleep-over. The house was not livable when I purchased it: no heat and no plumbing….

Pour a glass of wine. Fasten your seatbelt. Scroll down…                                                     I am gobsmacked by the visual impact of the new Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper. I needed less than a…

          The door trim has a history. Beginning bottom left: This plinth block (and its mate, right) are now in their third location in the house. They were originally from the second floor as they retain their ‘oak’ faux bois finish. During the 1929 alterations to the house (to convert it…

With my minivan repaired, today I returned to Kansas City to pick up the pair of slipper chairs Maria graciously held for me. They proved LARGE, which delighted me, as small-scale furnishings get eaten by the vast scale of the vast house.              

In 2016 I did a post about the attic of the Cross house. It was a mess.               For the first time in a very long time the attic is tidy. There are no more small dead animals. No more broken nuts dragged in by squirrels. No more animal…

2022 has been a wild ride. The dramatic personal event was a health crisis. With my brand-new Medicare (thanks, Democrats!), I was able to have a ton of tests and procedures without bankrupting me. So far, nothing terrifying has been discovered other than the terrifying blood clots in my right leg and lungs. While this…

2022 started with intensity. 2022 ended…quietly. In January I was working full tilt on the carriage house, as I had been for the latter part of 2021. Then…rather unexpectedly…all this work hit a brick wall and in March I resumed work on the Big House. Justin and I walked through the cold, seemingly long-abandoned rooms…

                        I am uncertain how to proceed. I might finish the walls As Intended. But using some unexpected wallpaper between the gold borders has captured my special attention. The paper though needs to complement the frieze and ceiling, no easy task.     Well,…