The Cross House

So, y’all know that the 1894 Cross House had gas/electric combination lighting originally. I spent years looking for such a fixture for the kitchen. It prove kinda sorta easy to find fancy gas/electric fixtures for the parlor and bedrooms, but the 1894 kitchen fixture would have been very simple. And that proved a difficult hunt….

  The raison d’etre of the two side walls? They are shear walls to prevent the outer wall from being knocked down by the wind. They will have metal on both sides. The diagonal 2x4s are added strengthening. The outer edge of the pergola will be supported by two concrete block columns…      

      The turret bath is part of the new master suite: Entry foyer. Spa bathroom off the foyer. large walk-in closet with window off foyer. Bedroom, also off foyer. The new walk-in closet was the circa-1921 bathroom but its weight caused the very long living room joists to sag 5-inches. It seemed prudent…

  Also ongoing are layers of joint compound in the Carriage House foyer. Paint this week!  

    I purchased the materials in 2019. Thank goodness. The metal has been stored outside and developed a weird white coating: “White rust is a white, chalky substance that can form on the surface of zinc materials, like galvanized steel. White rust can form when zinc is exposed to hydrogen and oxygen. This combination…

    And….drum roll, please…guess what is next? THE CAT FENCE!!!!!!!! THE CAT FENCE!!!!!!!! THE CAT FENCE!!!!!!!!    

On my very long list of Vital Things To Do was to install the last two downspouts. The problem is that I had no 3-inch round spouts. The other day though the man who installed the new gutters on the Carriage House texted me: “Can you use these?” Attached was an image of 3-inch downspouts….

      Earlier, I had a 6-arm gas/electric chandelier in the entry but learned that it was parlor fixture rather than entry hall. Oh, the horror. In time I learned what entry hall fixtures of the period looked like and my purchase is a perfect match. The fixture is exactly what might have been…

In 2022 I removed the brick chimney above the Carriage House kitchen. The bricks above the roof got tossed to the ground. The bricks in the attic portion were left sitting on the floor of the attic. I do not like a messy attic. But how to get the bricks out? The only option seemed…

        This small group is of vital importance to me as we have one powerful thing in common: We are all intensely interested in politics, on the same page, communicate regularly, and live in Kansas. But, most of the group did not know the others existed. I loved the idea of these…