The final weeks before opening

We're open!

I'll be updating the blog as soon as I can, but meanwhile check us out on Facebook and our website!

The Floor

One of the things that make the church special is the floor. Such a simple thing, a floor. You stand on it, you walk on it, you track mud across it, it holds you up. If there were no floor, you would not feel weight!

Weight = physics!

Not to get too nerdy, but floors are important. So let's get busy making the floor look better.

Some of the floor had to be patched due to nature's fury. Nature was let in through a hole in the roof years ago. 

Fixing Nature's Wrath.

In order to smooth things out and marry all the floor boards together, we got a sander from Menards. This was the granddaddy of all sanders.

Granddad means business!

Let's see the business end of this monster…

We mean you no harm!

But it was rented to discipline the floor. And discipline it did. The floor- and ME! 

mmm HMMM! 

Yes, the memory of  nearly vapor-locking the last time we sanded is fresh in our memories, but this time should be the last time, and we have a monster three disc sander to help. So let's get to it. Unfortunately, there were places that required the belt sander. The benefit of the belt sander is that it is really powerful. The downside of the belt sander is that it really tears your abdominal muscles up when you use it. But maybe that's a benefit…

Better than an Ab-roller!

And then there's the aerobic benefit of breathing through the mask…oh how I grew to love the mask. 

Smells like…nothing!

Before you knew it, the floors were smooth. Smoothish. Kinda smooth. Omigosh they are from the 1880's! They are distressed! But distressed is in vogue, so we're all set. 

Vogue?

Next comes the fun part. 

We had to polyurethane it.

Wow!

What a difference a little bit of chemicals can make. 

My turn.

 We did it in turns. It "turns" out that Mike did most of the turns on the first coat, but I did all the turns on the second coat since he had to go back to work. 

Vive la difference!

Oh wow! It was surprisingly athletic! Quite a workout.

Can you just smell the difference?

The smell lingered…

But it was a way better smell than the smell when we first walked into the place 3.5 years ago. Progress, not perfection. And some people like the smell of freshly poly-ed wood.

and some people sniff glue…

Well, it was all worth it, I think.

ahh!

And so! The floor that will hold you up AND look nice! 

At last!

Happy Birthday!

I turned 48 on Friday, May 15th, and I will tell you about the most exciting birthday I've had in a long time!

How sweet!

But not because of the cake, though it was sweet and thoughtful! It was about the Window!
The last time we saw the quatrefoil window , the frame was remade. Meanwhile, glass artist extraordinaire Tom Newton had been plotting and planning the glass art for the window.

Shadowed in Mystery!

???...

Today was the day. The window was to arrive, and installation was to begin!

But let's go back in time...on May 15, 1967, a young woman named Carolyn (Ma!) was giving birth to a 10 pound baby. That was me. Sorry, Ma.  Fast forward 48 years, and that baby now weighs 133 pounds and now a project taking nearly four years and much of her resources to gestate is finally coming to fruition. But, as with any good thing, its beauty is from the Grace of God and the reflection of him in the people around us. Tom and Sandie are such reflections.

Here's Sandie putting the clear glass down on the outside.

It fits!

Next comes the artwork.

The little sticker says, "Made In Germany"

The glass is pre-war WW2 german glass the Tom acquired in a business deal. The clear glass goes on the outside, the precious colored glass on the inside. I was honored when he noticed the glazing I had done on the Church windows and asked if I'd like to help glaze this window. Yes please!
So here's the process:

Outer Pieces

Next:

Inner Circle piece

And altogether:

Ahhhhhhh!

And so. The little pieces of tape help align the glass pieces. The tacks (unseen) hold the glass in, and the glazing seals the whole bit.

Tom and Sandie cleaned it up and got it ready for the install. 

They clean it with a fine powder that takes all the fingerprints off!

The install was a feat of engineering. The chief engineer this day happened to be our electrician, Dave Schramski. It was a perfect example of teamwork. Dave had an idea, and we all wanted someone with a good idea to tell us how to get this work of art up a ladder without breaking it!

A frame was built! 

That's Schramski on the faaaar right...

The window was laid in...

Careful there!

And then wrapped for uber protection aloft. 

Are we mailing this to Hong Kong?

No, just trying to get it safely to the window opening..

It's not a hauling project without ropes!

So two men were carrying it up the ladder, and Mike and I were on the ropes pulling it up. It went quite smoothy, but I couldn't take pictures since I had promised to have both hands on the rope! Luckily Sandie did and was kind enough to send them to me. But I do believe Kind is Sandie's middle name!

Upsy-daisy!

Up it went in its cocoon, and Chief Shramski went out on the ladder to make sure the window didn't get pushed through to the ground. ( I still have shocking memories of having pushed an air conditioner out a second story window trying to install it!)

He didn't like it when a gust of wind pushed the door against the ladder…

Inside, the boys had to loft the window into place. 

Careful!

And of course, final adjustments must be made!

Rotate Counterclockwise. No, that's Clockwise to you!

It was a logistical puzzle. But we did it, and the window was installed. All that remained was for nature to light it up!

And, of course, nature showed up for the job!

What do you think?

It's in!

And so, God said, let there be light!

Let There Be Light!

Happy birthday, Glorious Window! 

Yes! 

Backyard Building

The Back Door!

Something's going on with the back of the church.

Lots of room…for improvement!

As we get closer to opening day, it is imperative(!) that we have more space. All of the equipment and tools we've needed for renovation must be stored elsewhere when the final transformation of the building into an Art Gallery happens.

Space! 

Space in the form of a storage/workspace.
First comes the cement floor, so smooth and shiny!

No, we didn't put our initials in it!

Then comes the roof joists.

Kinda artsy!

It was a ceaselessly foggy day.

This man is excited about the progress!

WE'RE GETTING SPACE!!

It's a very exciting development for us. This stuff has to go somewhere!

Ack!

Guest Workers

Got Grit?

Here you see the gritty grin of a person sanding beautiful wood. Cherry, at this moment. Every piece of wood you are about to see came from a tree. I say this because it has never been so real to me before. Such a simple idea, yet so much work! Trees are not smooth, nor are they beveled or cut to size. That all had to be done piece by piece. Not complainin'. Just es'planin'!

At the end of March, we had some guest-workers. Meet Vickie and Kevin.  C'mon, let's get busy!

There's Kevin, helping plane some wood.

Planin', not complainin'!

 The Altar piece has been the center of attention for some weeks, but other jobs are calling. Here's Vickie getting gritty with the antique light fixtures. Go Vickie!

Scrubbing

Lights Before...

And after. Viva La Difference!

And we sent Kevin to the corner...to sand the floors.

You've been very very bad!

But the floors look very, very good!

Scrubbing

Meanwhile more vertical action on the Altar Piece.

Evening Light

We had a nice visit with Kevin and Vickie, but the weekend came to a close and the Altar Piece was still not done.

Thanks, guest workers! See you in a few weeks!