Krasnesky Manor for Wayward Cats

09/07/2025

Sporting Kansas City game starts in four hours!!!
You know what to do!
Boop the Snoot for a Sporting KC win!!!

09/07/2025

Robin and I have decided to incorporate the “Laundry Basket Principle” into all areas of our lives. Just like piling clean laundry up in baskets saves you all of that time you would have wasted in folding it and putting it away, in the same way, piling all of your food up on your table instead of organizing it in the pantry saves time and also makes it much easier to access.

Okay. Just kidding, obviously.

We had to completely empty out the pantry and the servant’s hall so that we can have the floors in those areas redone.

Big headache today, but will be worth it in the long run.

09/06/2025

And yes, there are cats at Petfest 2025!!!
You still have an hour to come down and see us!

09/06/2025

This is Blanca!!

Blanca is available for adoption here at Petfest 2025!
She is eleven years old and was a shelter surrender.
Blancs is a certified emotional support animal who needs some support of her own right now.
Comr down and meet her!

09/06/2025

Silent Auction is underway at Petfest 2025!

It is worth driving down here just to get your name on one of these lists!
Whiskey
Gift certificates
Pet care
Pillows
KU stuff
Chiefs stuff

There are about thirty baskets here to bid on so come down now and bid!!

09/06/2025

09/06/2025

We are so close—so very close to completion on the Manor’s facelift (aka The Big Paint Project of 2024-2025).

So. Close.

One of the final details was replacing the wonderful old porch swing that had lived a full and glorious life but was now beyond repair.

So we reached out to Mike Worthy, master carpenter, friend of the Manor, and all around good guy.

If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll recognize Mike. He’s the Magical Carpenter that saved the Manor’s front porch from falling off. Literally.
Mike essentially dismantled and rebuilt this old girl’s grand porch. What he could not salvage, he created.

He’s also the guy responsible for replacing all the rotten fascia and soffits, repairing the flooring and railings on the breakfast porch, the pickets on the south porch, the balconies’ railings, and—particularly special to me—replacing the missing arch in the north east balcony. (It had been missing for at least 80 years.)

When Mike isn’t busy saving grand old Victorian ladies, he makes furniture, specializing in Adirondack chairs.
Except—Mike’s Adirondack chairs are actually comfortable—because he tweaks the traditional design so they’re nicer to get in and out of. IYKYK.
(*You can see more examples of Mike’s work in the photos.)

Mike also makes swings, like this one. Made to order, our new swing is cedar, sealed as is, in its natural state, rather than painted, because—well, it’s cedar.

Finished many weeks ago, Mike brought our swing home today as the big paint project nears completion.

While the new swing replaces the old one in a very practical way, this swing was always intended as a dedication to a very special friend.

This is Mary’s Swing.
Fairy Godmother to the Manor.

Mary is a very private person, so I won’t go into details about who she is or why she’s special.

It’s a secret.

She knows who she is and why she’s so very special to us.

Mary’s spirit is woven into our grand girl’s fabric. She is as much a part of the Manor’s history as we are. She will always have a seat here on the Manor’s grand porch.

09/05/2025

Hey! Guess who is going to be emcee at the event tomorrow?!
Come see us.
3-6, Haymarket Square. Downtown Leavenworth!

09/05/2025

Build a world that butterflies want to live in and you’ll see more butterflies than if you expend all of your energy chasing them.

09/05/2025

Old Bridge Blues

Robin and I had the privilege of attending the Morgan Freeman Symphonic Blues Experience at the Kauffman Center on Wednesday and it was one of the most incredible performances I have ever experienced. When I got home, I told Grayby about it. As a poet, Grayby is a huge blues fan and we stayed up for hours talking about Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters and Schoolboy Barton (from August Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle").

We talked about the Great Migration, and how blues became one of the foundational pieces for all of our modern music today. He told me that feral cats know more than most people do about the blues, because blues isn't just about suffering, as some people believe. It's about being able to hear the anguish of your own soul and sing it in a way that resonates with the pain that others feel, and somehow, in combining the two, you lessen them both.

Grayby wrote a lot of blues songs during his time outside, and he asked me to share this one with you all today. Here is Grayby's "Old Bridge Blues."


Old Bridge Blues

I went to see the payman
To get my weekly pay.
But he said there was no money
And my job had gone away.
I told him he still owed me,
But the payman shook his head,
"There's no money here to pay you.
You'll have to cross the bridge instead."

But that old bridge
There's only one bridge out of town,
And it's been closed off for years now.
There ain't no other bridge around.

I told my girl they let me go
And my money was all gone.
I told her that I needed love
But she said that we were done.
She said, " I need those dollars
If you wanna be with me.
I suggest you go across that bridge
If you're looking for something free.

But that old bridge
It's shut down and my girl knows
It's the only way across the river
That old bridge is always closed.

I walked into the church
And grabbed the preacher's hand.
I said, "Pray for me preacher
I'm a wayward, desperate man."
The preacher said, "My son
If you've got no offering for my plate,
I suggest you cross the bridge to pray,
'cuz on this side they have no weight."

But that old bridge
That old bridge has been shut down.
And until they open up that bridge
I guess I'm stuck here in this town.

Grayby, 2014

Ground Zero Blues Club
Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

09/04/2025

"If you ever want to know who has the most to lose if you become strong, simply listen for the ones that tell you how weak you are with the loudest and most persistent voices." – No Tail

(No Tail, 2008-2024)

09/03/2025

How It Started/How It’s Going

Thirteen months into our four month project, but what a transformation! Worth every minute! (Mostly. There were some moments…)

In August of 2024, we began the exterior restoration and repainting. The majority of the project was expected to be done by Christmas of 2024, with a few elements probably needing to be finished up in the Spring of 2025.

Then we discovered the rotted pillars.

Life happens. It’s not about the rot we encounter. It’s about accepting that you have choices when you encounter rot. You can ignore it or hide it and pretend things aren’t going to collapse, but that only works until it actually does collapse.

You can quit and let the rot be someone else’s problem.

Or you can roll up your sleeves and put in the work.

You can still whine about it,of course. You can cry about how unfair it is, or how it wasn’t what you planned, or how you didn’t cause the problem so someone else should fix it. That’s totally fine. Whine. Complain. Cry. Swear a little. As long as you’re working while you do it.

We’re still not done. Far from it. There is much work remaining, but we are getting close to this part of this project being finished.

We hope that whatever you are passionate about is worth the tears and the complaining and the sweating.

And we hope it turns out as beautiful as The Manor is turning out.
Swann Painting Leavenworth, Kansas