The Cross House

          A CAUTIONARY NOTE: I mentioned linseed oil. This is rubbed in with a paper towel. Then the towel is taken outside and burned. NEVER put an oil-soaked cloth (or cloth soaked with wood stain) in a trash can in the kitchen. The cloth will later ignite and BURN YOUR HOUSE…

  I started this blog two years ago. Plus one month. It seems I forgot my own anniversary! When I started the site I expected to have a few hundred people view the site every month. I mean, how much traffic would a blog about some old house in Emporia, Kansas, get? Now, twenty-five months later?…

                                                              THE BACKGROUND STORY: I was driving into Emporia to have an 11:30 lunch with David, who is a reader of this blog. Five minutes…

    As I have written previously, I never really noticed the “diamond brooch” before. I knew it was there, of course, but with SO much going on with the house, it just did not jump out at me. It does now. I stare at this architectural ensemble in wonder and appreciation. And joy overflows…

I have been doing a lot of posts about painting the exterior of the Cross House. On occasion, I have to remind myself why I am having my fifty-nine-year-old body climb up/down three stories to paint a massive 122-year-old house? This is insane, actually. But…but…there is no better way for me to acquaint myself with…

Every day, pretty much, something gets better about the Cross House. Yesterday, a window sash was restored. It contains a stained-glass panel, which was restored last month. But the sash itself needed to be restored. The side of the sash facing outside was stripped of its old paint, and then 0000 steel wool was used…

                I doubt I will ever discover an answer to this 122-year-old mystery. What was built would have cost less than what was drawn. But, the savings would have been negligible in the end. However, there are other areas where the detailing on the exterior became simpler:  …

  I love reading old house blogs, and already have bookmarked six of the eight blogs Elizabeth recommends. I did not know about the Chateau de Gudanes Restoration and A Farmhouse Reborn, so look forward to digging into these blogs. It is a honor (and thrill!) to have Elizabeth include the Cross House on her select list….

  Of course, I sent the drawing to my favorite people on earth, the WF Norman Company. But…but…they no longer make weathervanes, as people can now buy them for $69.99 from China. Oh. However, they suggested a company in California which should be able to make the above for me. And I, forthwith, sent them…

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