Merry Christmas!

Gardenland Express at Missouri Botanical Garden.

Bad Mansard HQ.  I usually hang white pine roping on the fence.  It wasn't available this year, so it's boxwood roping which I think I like better. 

A gorgeous handmade Christmas card.  I receive exactly one (1!) handmade Christmas card per year.  Love the attention to detail of the roof.

Merry Christmas from my mansard (and other cute Christmassy mansards) to yours.

Iron County Courthouse

This is one of the oldest courthouses in Missouri built in 1858.  The inside doesn't quite match the outside. 

5 blocks in downtown St. Louis, MO

Wainwright building.

What I still call the "Famous Barr garage.".

I counted 27 construction vehicles the other day while walking from my office to court in the Wainwright Building.  That walk, by the way, is only 5 blocks.  Here are some pictures of the daily dodge through construction.  Not complaining.  It's good!

7th Street between Pine and Locust.  Big project at Union Trust building becoming a boutique hotel.  I used to work in that building; it will be an amazing hotel.

Locust Street near MX project. 

Broadway and Locust.  I also used to work in the red brick building with the "leg".

Another mess on Broadway.  Looks like Federal Reserve is doing some upgrades.  

thank goodness for neighbors!

Thank you to my neighbors Kent and Maria for:  1.  watering our flowers while we were on vacation.  2.  sending me a terrific Bowling Green, KY mansard  and 3.  being all around awesome.  Thanks guys!

June household mini-projects

This is the second floor kids' bathroom.  When I was pregnant in 2005, I decided it should be painted a very, very blue.  John hated it.  It took me about 1 year to admit he was right and also hate the color, and another 12 years to finally change it.  We added wood to the mirror, changed the hardware/faucet/lights and re-painted the vanity.  Much better!

We also cleaned out the shower area of the first floor bathroom.  It had served as a closet for 4+ years.

cleaned this light fixture - it had only been 16 years

The "bar".  we'd like a new one, but int he meantime, new paint will have to do.

the lirope I planted in this shady strip died over the winter.  Replanted.  Fingers crossed.

the start of my hot & dry rock garden.  There are giant tree roots, gas line and water line running under this bed, so these plants made sense.  

someone left an offering to the dumpster gods

cat perched on dumpster - probably looking for mice.

painted the front door- brought in a painted for this job.  It took him 4 days, which means it would have taken John and me a month and we would have messed it up.

Springfield, MO

I had to be in court in Springfield, MO and saw this double-trouble mansard complex on Sunshine Street. 

Muegge Road Beauty

Cyc sports take us to all sorts of places.  Gus had a game at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in St. Charles county.  St. Elizabeth, by the way, was the first native born American to be canonized.  She is also the patron saint of in-law problems- who knew there was one!  Anyway, I'd seen this little bleu bebe on Muegge Road on my way back to St. Louis from the St. Charles DWC.  But it's a busy stretch of road and hard to slow down.  Gus helped me with the picture.  Finally.

Missouri mansard for sale!

check out this mansard!  It's an apartment unit in Marthasville.  It's French blue.  It has a sweet roof.  Yours for $174,900

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1004-E-Main-St_Marthasville_MO_63090_M77652-88477?view=qv#photo7

Thanks to the keen eye of KZ for locating this beaut.

New Zealand mansards

Dunedin, NZ

Picton, NZ

Check these mansard roofs out.  Thanks again, Richard.  It looks like an amazing trip.