[Willow] found a perfect spot by the window where she could see the Washington Monument…[She] watched carefully. Everyone seemed to have somewhere important to go.
But where? Willow decided it was time to do some more exploring.
from Willow the White House Cat
written by Jill Biden with Alyssa Satin Capucilli
illustrated by Kate Berube
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024
Our house is old, built at the very beginning of the last century. The kitchen sits in the center of our house, a cozy place and a metaphor for the center of our family life.
I used to affectionately call it my “cave kitchen.” Not even one window. Not over the sink, not overlooking the backyard, no room for a table. I could not work in there without turning on the light first, even in the middle of a sunny, summer day.
Several years ago, my husband and I decided to remodel.
Our fix involved removing a supporting beam in the ceiling and the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the sun porch. We replaced the beam and incorporated the porch, with its three beautiful walls of windows, into the new kitchen.
Now it’s bright, roomy (enough), and well-designed with input from Nancy Drew (yes, that’s really her name), a talented interior designer.
Remodeling a house is not a small deal. It’s disruptive, messy, and can be expensive. That’s why when I heard that a ballroom would be added to the White House, I was surprised. When I heard it would not disrupt the original structure, I was skeptical. When I saw the devastated structure, I was sad and angry. I still am.
Construction of the White House began in October, 1792. President George Washington chose the site and oversaw the work, but the building wasn’t complete enough to live in until John Adams swore his own oath of Presidency to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He and his wife Abigail were the first First Family to live there.
Since 1800 when they moved in, changes have been made to suit the tastes and requirements of our various presidents.
After the War of 1812 when British forces burnt the exterior, and fire caused severe damage to the interior, James Hoban, the original architect was called back to lead the reconstruction and bring the building back to its original design.
In 1824, Hoban designed the portico to “enhance the building’s aesthetic and provide a grand entrance facing the Potomac River.” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/)
Theodore Roosevelt replaced the 19th century greenhouses with the West Wing and added a colonial garden and terrace that became part of the East Wing. And in 1913, First Lady Ellen Wilson oversaw the transformation further to complete the formal and elegant Rose Garden (which now is a paved-over patio to eliminate the “problem” of wet grass).
FDR expanded the West Wing and added a swimming pool. In 1942, he constructed the East Wing “for additional staff and wartime security, which included a bomb shelter.”
A total interior re-do by Harry Truman (1948 - 1952) provided the first family the Truman Balcony, its own private outdoor space and “enhanced the building’s aesthetic” again.
In 1970, Nixon turned the swimming pool into the presidential briefing room and had enough space to include a bowling alley.
Following Nixon’s, tenure, the official site (www.WhiteHouse.gov/about) is a deplorable and disgusting screed of revisionist history. I had to look away.
Contrary to the official statement on the White House website, the ballroom will NOT stand apart from the main structure. The East Wing has already been demolished without proper permitting. Any improvements or changes to the “peoples’ house” must be submitted to the NCPC (National Capital Planning Commission). An official from the Commission added that it “does not require permits for demolition, only for vertical construction.” And that plans will be submitted at “the appropriate time.” No plans have been submitted as of this writing.
According to AP (Associated Press), Will Scharf, Trump’s appointed chair of the Commission, “the ballroom project did not require the panel’s approval for construction to begin.”
Included in the former East Wing were the first lady’s office and the social secretary’s office, and the visitors office. These offices were relocated. The main visitor’s entrance was also part of the former East Wing. The demolition and the Government shutdown closed all visitation for three months.
No visitors were allowed into the White House until today. (12/2/25)
According to NPR, Melania selected decorations to “honor the heart of America.” But “wreaths with red bows, … Christmas trees, …garland,…strands of light, over 25,000 feet of ribbon and 2,800 gold stars” sound like a lot of the hearts of many Americans were left out.
The tour route is much smaller than in years past, too.
From the same NPR article, “[a] large golden curtain covers what Trump has described as a ‘knock out wall,’ that will lead to the massive ballroom he plans to build where the East Wing once stood.”
Lest anyone think the $200,000-350,000 ballroom is the only project Trump is doing to our public domain besides paving the Rose Garden, “the Oval Office is now gilded from floor to ceiling. And the Lincoln bathroom in the residence also got a major makeover featuring a whole lot of marble.”
Who is paying for all this, you might ask. Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, Comcast and Meta are some donors. Scroll down to find the whole alphabetical list published by CNN on October 23, 2025.
Most of the public does not approve or even like these changes. But blowing up Venezuelan boats and serving a “Putin-approved plan” to Ukrainians and finding out what Trump wants to keep hidden in the Epstein files also require our attention.
Meanwhile, our kitchen is still in the center of our small house and our lives, but now it includes the North Wing. Today the lawn outside our kitchen windows is covered in fresh snow. We have no plans to pave it. Ever.
I’m listening to The Widow by John Grisham (Doubleday, 2025). I haven’t read any of his work lately but this one is typical Grisham: full of engrossing and flawed characters. Plenty of twists are keeping me questioning everyone’s motives.
Be curious! (and creative)
But where? Willow decided it was time to do some more exploring.
from Willow the White House Cat
written by Jill Biden with Alyssa Satin Capucilli
illustrated by Kate Berube
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024
Our house is old, built at the very beginning of the last century. The kitchen sits in the center of our house, a cozy place and a metaphor for the center of our family life.
I used to affectionately call it my “cave kitchen.” Not even one window. Not over the sink, not overlooking the backyard, no room for a table. I could not work in there without turning on the light first, even in the middle of a sunny, summer day.
Several years ago, my husband and I decided to remodel.
Our fix involved removing a supporting beam in the ceiling and the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and the sun porch. We replaced the beam and incorporated the porch, with its three beautiful walls of windows, into the new kitchen.
Now it’s bright, roomy (enough), and well-designed with input from Nancy Drew (yes, that’s really her name), a talented interior designer.
Remodeling a house is not a small deal. It’s disruptive, messy, and can be expensive. That’s why when I heard that a ballroom would be added to the White House, I was surprised. When I heard it would not disrupt the original structure, I was skeptical. When I saw the devastated structure, I was sad and angry. I still am.
Construction of the White House began in October, 1792. President George Washington chose the site and oversaw the work, but the building wasn’t complete enough to live in until John Adams swore his own oath of Presidency to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He and his wife Abigail were the first First Family to live there.
Since 1800 when they moved in, changes have been made to suit the tastes and requirements of our various presidents.
After the War of 1812 when British forces burnt the exterior, and fire caused severe damage to the interior, James Hoban, the original architect was called back to lead the reconstruction and bring the building back to its original design.
In 1824, Hoban designed the portico to “enhance the building’s aesthetic and provide a grand entrance facing the Potomac River.” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/)
Theodore Roosevelt replaced the 19th century greenhouses with the West Wing and added a colonial garden and terrace that became part of the East Wing. And in 1913, First Lady Ellen Wilson oversaw the transformation further to complete the formal and elegant Rose Garden (which now is a paved-over patio to eliminate the “problem” of wet grass).
FDR expanded the West Wing and added a swimming pool. In 1942, he constructed the East Wing “for additional staff and wartime security, which included a bomb shelter.”
A total interior re-do by Harry Truman (1948 - 1952) provided the first family the Truman Balcony, its own private outdoor space and “enhanced the building’s aesthetic” again.
In 1970, Nixon turned the swimming pool into the presidential briefing room and had enough space to include a bowling alley.
Following Nixon’s, tenure, the official site (www.WhiteHouse.gov/about) is a deplorable and disgusting screed of revisionist history. I had to look away.
Contrary to the official statement on the White House website, the ballroom will NOT stand apart from the main structure. The East Wing has already been demolished without proper permitting. Any improvements or changes to the “peoples’ house” must be submitted to the NCPC (National Capital Planning Commission). An official from the Commission added that it “does not require permits for demolition, only for vertical construction.” And that plans will be submitted at “the appropriate time.” No plans have been submitted as of this writing.
According to AP (Associated Press), Will Scharf, Trump’s appointed chair of the Commission, “the ballroom project did not require the panel’s approval for construction to begin.”
Included in the former East Wing were the first lady’s office and the social secretary’s office, and the visitors office. These offices were relocated. The main visitor’s entrance was also part of the former East Wing. The demolition and the Government shutdown closed all visitation for three months.
No visitors were allowed into the White House until today. (12/2/25)
According to NPR, Melania selected decorations to “honor the heart of America.” But “wreaths with red bows, … Christmas trees, …garland,…strands of light, over 25,000 feet of ribbon and 2,800 gold stars” sound like a lot of the hearts of many Americans were left out.
The tour route is much smaller than in years past, too.
From the same NPR article, “[a] large golden curtain covers what Trump has described as a ‘knock out wall,’ that will lead to the massive ballroom he plans to build where the East Wing once stood.”
Lest anyone think the $200,000-350,000 ballroom is the only project Trump is doing to our public domain besides paving the Rose Garden, “the Oval Office is now gilded from floor to ceiling. And the Lincoln bathroom in the residence also got a major makeover featuring a whole lot of marble.”
Who is paying for all this, you might ask. Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Google, Coinbase, Comcast and Meta are some donors. Scroll down to find the whole alphabetical list published by CNN on October 23, 2025.
Most of the public does not approve or even like these changes. But blowing up Venezuelan boats and serving a “Putin-approved plan” to Ukrainians and finding out what Trump wants to keep hidden in the Epstein files also require our attention.
Meanwhile, our kitchen is still in the center of our small house and our lives, but now it includes the North Wing. Today the lawn outside our kitchen windows is covered in fresh snow. We have no plans to pave it. Ever.
I’m listening to The Widow by John Grisham (Doubleday, 2025). I haven’t read any of his work lately but this one is typical Grisham: full of engrossing and flawed characters. Plenty of twists are keeping me questioning everyone’s motives.
Be curious! (and creative)
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