OTHER COOL THINGS is the blog page where I go off topic. In other words, this is a page where I ramble about a wide variety of subjects which have nothing to do with the Cross House restoration or Emporia.
OTHER COOL THINGS is where I might suggest a great new restaurant. Or a movie I enjoyed, or book. Or a favored blog.
OTHER COOL THINGS may — fasten your seat belt — open discussions about dangerous subjects such politics or religion.
OTHER COOL THINGS will, in short, be a page where I ramble about anything which captures my special attention. Like, perhaps, a nice moment I had with my favorite cat Gilda.
I love comments, so please do not hesitate to toss your two cents in, even if you disagree with me.
My blog posts are below. Enjoy!
Gilda. My favorite ever cat.
Channelling Nancy Reagan
In my previous post, Brian asked two questions: “Did the second floor stair hall have a picture rail? If so, how was the arch in the middle of that hallway treated?” To answer the first question: Yes. The two-story stair hall had papered walls, a paper border (above the picture rail), and papered ceilings. Fragments of…
Continue ReadingBathroom Ponderings
In pondering the bathroom, I have been curious. Did the room originally have a picture rail? Most of the rooms in the house did, about 20-inches below the ceiling. This was common for the era. All the rails were removed, it seems, in 1950. But, their ghost outlines remain. The kitchen did not have picture…
Continue ReadingBeing Properly Introduced To The New Bathroom
So, y’all have been watching the creation of my master bath in the SE corner room, second floor, of the 1894 Cross House. The room was originally a blanket closet and, it seems, a servant’s room. The blanket closet was later removed, and for many decades the newly expanded room was a kitchen. When I…
Continue ReadingA Mystery Fragment!
The room was originally, I think, a servant’s bedroom. Is this the original paper to the room? Tantalizing!
Continue ReadingSnoot
In 2018, I did a post about when I became, officially, a Crazy Cat Person. You see, in quick succession, I took in 3 different litters of tiny kittens. A set of 5 were found in my garage, meowing plaintively. What had happened to their mommy? I never found her. Another set of 5 were…
Continue ReadingI’m In An Arch Mood
Wanna get excited? Scroll way down… The room now feels like two rooms: west and east. Of course, the room was divided in two originally, when the western portion was largely taken up…
Continue ReadingGray. The Return.
After I moved Limpy into my office, Gray stopped coming into the room for her nightly desk nuzzle time. With Limpy now moved to Florida, Gray finally figured out that nuzzle time is safe again. Last night:
Continue ReadingMore New…In The Bathroom
Originally, I had planned to have the arch rest on a “nib” wall, against the south window. The nib wall would have been where the vertical window trim was. Hence, the reason for the nib wall was to cover over where the trim was removed. All this was so the new dividing wall did…
Continue ReadingSomething New…In The Bathroom
I am planning to recreate the lost plaster in most of the rooms in the Cross House. But…in my bathroom, I made an executive decision, based on a lack of time and current low energy levels, to move forward on the room with…oh, dear…sheetrock. The plaster ceiling in the room was a mess. For years…
Continue ReadingRestoring…Quality
In my seven years of restoring the Cross House, and writing about the process, I have never directly articulated the following. When the house was built in 1894, it was a quality house. The 43 stained-glass windows, the fabulous Yale & Towne hardware, the stunning custom-designed column capitals, the beautifully carved main stair, all the…
Continue ReadingA Finished Grout
None of the shower images convey scale. The shower is really big! I cannot wait to use it! I might even have a shower party! Y’all are invited!
Continue ReadingA Limpy Update
Limpy has been spending his days in the yard, nestled in the tall grasses. He seemed to enjoy this. At dusk, I have been bringing him into my office, to spend the night. Weeks ago he made it clear that he did not like the ‘house’ I created for him across the room from where…
Continue ReadingMoving…Slowly
In my previous post, I detailed three things which have reduced my energy. For my whole life I have abounded with energy. So, it is weird feeling…reduced. It is like I was a 200W bulb, now dimmed to 20W. Still, one can accomplish things with but 20W. The other day, I met with Travis…
Continue ReadingA LIMPY UPDATE
I am quite thrilled…teary-eyed, actually…to report that the huge hole in Limpy’s neck has closed up! This means that the infection (a likely cat bite) has drained, and healing is fully underway. His entire neck and upper chest are now devoid of fur, and fresh pink skin is much in evidence. Based on experience, this…
Continue ReadingWhere Is Ross?
Some of you will have noticed that my posting about the Cross House has significantly diminished of late. That is because not much has been happening of late. Save the big push to get a working shower installed, and The Other Justin installing a new maple kitchen floor, it has all been…quiet. The is the…
Continue ReadingA Limpy Update
Limpy is on the mend, bite-wise. His neck wound grew ever-terrifying, and most of the surrounding hair fell out. But, the hole in the skin, which grew and grew, suddenly started shrinking and is now smaller than it was in the beginning. I expect that it will close up soon. Tomorrow, he will…
Continue ReadingA Shower…Is In The House
On the ever-shorter TO DO LIST of things required to get me living at the Cross House, a shower has been installed! I had planned to install the shower in the SW corner of the servant’s room (in the SE corner of the second floor). The shower pan though is huge: 5-feet x 5-feet. Slowly,…
Continue ReadingLimpy…as Cary Grant?
Young people have no idea who Cary Grant is. The actor, who died in 1986, was one one the most elegant and sophisticated of actors to grace the silver screen. Today, I wondered if Limpy is the reincarnation of Grant. Since his most recent…trauma…Limpy has been living in my office. He will likely live out…
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