2014! and Love News

This is a bit of a love letter to 2014. It was a busy year! But a lovely one. And only good things to come in 2015.

Love is Patient, Love is Kind...

Love is a doggie named Thomas!

The Church will be open by June. How do we know?
How could we possibly be open in 5! Five! 5! months?
With a punch list a country mile long?
Because we have a wedding to get ready for!
Coming in June: a June Wedding. The daughter of a close friend wants to be wed in the old country Church, and it will be our excitement and pleasure to prepare the aisles.
Hey everyone, grab a tool and let's get bizzy!

This'll do!

With the exception of the water tanks going in the floor, most of the very large objectives have been met.

Let's review: 2014 started out with good cheer and lots of ambition.

Happy New Year!

It was also one of the most brutal winters I can ever remember. 

Frosted window panes.

Sub zero temps, snow snow snow. Six snow days from school, three of them at the end of Christmas break. We hunkered down.

Some members of the household are permanently hunkered down!

Luckily the geothermal heating system made the Church snug for comfortable working.
So we did trim work. That meant caulk, and lots of it.

Caulk Love!

"I'm in a tight spot"

There was lots for everyone to do.

We hit it hard almost every weekend.

Painting the ceiling…

Sanding the floors…

This one about did us in. We didn't plan it this way, but after the big sanding effort, we took a bit of hiatus. We still worked, but the giant exhausting efforts were put on hold for the rest of the summer…

We did have visitors and fun. Speaking of the upcoming nuptials, here are the parents of the bride checking out the status of the church. 

We'll have her in ship shape, no worries, mateys! (Ignore the mess!) (arrr…)

We also worked on other projects back in our home and our cottage. Projects to make the rest of our life away from the Church a little nicer.

When we bought our house in Royal Oak, the entire place was paneled and featured dropped ceilings. We gutted, drywalled and painted the entire place with one exception: there was one room that didn't get the treatment. That was 12 years ago. 

We kind of dug the panelling, at least enough to keep it for 12 years. Plus it was a spare room, and we used it as a walk in closet. 

Groovy, yah?

Not really, so … grab the primer and paint, time to get busy!

Lavendar Love!

"Little" projects like this don't seem to phase us much after working on the Church. We are a pretty well oiled machine. 

We also did major reno work on our backyard in Royal Oak. 

Blech

And the front yard too! 

Watch yer step!

What a mess things were for a while. But we have learned that things always look the worst right before they look better! Ha! 

And the back!

Meanwhile, back in Grindstone City, new road was being laid down. What a difference it makes. 

Asphalt Love!  

Trees were planted as well. Some day they will be mighty. Right now they are mini!

Maple Love

Meanwhile, on the human front, there were patent awards given out.

Number 4  and counting…

Graduations accomplished 

My cousin, the Vet!

And weddings held

Sweetest couple ever: Uncle Joe and Lori

Whew! What a year. 

Of course there was more, but I'm behind in my posts, so onward, 2015! And we'll see more such celebrations and renovations, to be sure.

White Church Gallery Love!

Life is Good!

And that covers it all! 

It's the weekend and I'm at the church! Can you interpret my mood? I'm ready to roll!

The last time we closed the story book, we had a few pages left to go in the chapter on the ceiling.

I see a vase...or the profile of a lady! 

That's silly. It's just a good afternoon's worth of work! So we drove up to Grindstone to get busy!

It's now the end of March. Spring has officially started, and Earth's Northern Hemisphere (us!) is now in position to lean toward the Sun.

According to my astronomy book, that should mean nicer weather, but here's what we drove up to this particular young spring weekend...

Are my eyes out of focus or am I snow blind?

And this!

Looks like a date with Messieur Chauvelin! (That's French for Mr. Shoveling...)

 There is really nothing to make you feel better when you get loads of snow in late March. Especially after the brutal winter we've experienced. So I put on my "Life is Good" shirt and Mike and I hit the primer!

Sometimes it's hard to get started...

Contemplatin'

C'mon Grindstone Mike! It's just a short climb onto the scaffolding...

Not so bad when you keep it in perspective!

We'll be done before you know it!

So long, ugly beige!

I know this looks like a state, but I can't remember which one...

How about the state of being unfinished...?

Ooh, we can almost taste it!

Maybe we should keep our mouths closed when we paint?

We're on the homestretch, almost there, but we called the game. We had guests, and we were pooped!

Friends Kevin and Vickie, up for a visit. 

We're hoping that they stick around more permanently! They're contemplating!

Life is Good! 

We love our little corner of the Thumb of Michigan, and the more good people that find this place, the nicer it is for us all! Come on up, y'all! Get some Thumb under your...err... thumb! Or under your skin! 

Men at Work!

February has fled, leaving nothing but cold and snow in its wake. March is here, bringing cold air and snow. What the what? But that doesn't slow down progress at the White Church Gallery.

That's why God made boots! 

As predicted, weekend events back home prevented my journey to the Church, but apparently my awesome husband anointed himself court photographer in my absence. He usually shuns the camera, but either he doesn't think I believe he really works when he's there alone, or he secretly enjoys taking pictures of progress! I think it's a little of both...

I do believe he works, because he is very passionate about whatever he does. And he's a very hard worker. Plus...I knew he wouldn't be alone. Thanks to "Captain" Ron Picard, the mammoth job of painting the ceiling was nearly accomplished! So let's see what the boys were up to! 

Ron Picard rolling the ceiling with Kilz!

Ahem, court photographer, is this the first one you took? Looks like you're halfway through! Ha Ha- it's looking good! 

We thought about spraying the paint on, but the first coat needs the attention hand rolling could only give. Hence the circus act these two performed on a system of scaffolding and ladders. Go boys, go! 

Check out the scaffolding-ladder system!

Is he really on his tippy toes? 

Yep, he is! He's a pro! And so it went. 

And just to prove he was rolling too, look what I found on the camera!

I recognize those paint splatters on your glasses! My hero!

And so, here are the results of their hard work. 

View to the front door

Wow. What a difference. Now the cracks look fine. When we had finished the ceiling over the "attic" I thought the cracks made it look dirty, but now it looks great! 

Nice!

Cool- the white ceiling really picks up colors! We were pondering what color we'd paint the ceiling, but we're in love with the lightness of the ceiling, so we'll go with something a shade or two creamier and less blinding softer than stark white. 

Quittin' time!

Looks like there's just a little bit left to prime. Then we can spray the color coat on. 

The next morning, Grindstone Mike went back for some daylight pix- I love it! Nice job, Reluctant Court Photographer!

Early morning light

Yay Kilz!

Oh ho- Mr. Reluctant Photographer shows his true artist colors. Look what else I found on the camera!

Port Austin, looking at the breakwall.

Port Austin, with the Lighthouse in the distance

Port Austin Lighthouse, from Bird Creek Park

Nice work, Mike. I guess someone just earned himself a new job! (As if he didn't have enough to do!)

Hopefully I can help out in the next few weeks, if I can break away from other commitments. Meanwhile, thanks Captain Ron for all your hard work, and thanks, Grindstone Mike, for being you! 

The Light Fantastic

It's been a year...since the last Polka Fest. Hard to believe, but here it is, the end of September, and the red and white lights are up again!

Can't dance without lights! 

And the usual suspects are up to the usual hijinks.

Three Stooges? 

I think one of the best parts of this whole church project has been getting to know many of the people of the Tip of the Thumb.

Their blood is red and their skin is white, well, maybe translucent, (they are descended from Poles) but their hearts are true blue! The guy on the left wired the church like it was a WW 2 submarine. Let me show you!

Wires in the bathroom...

Wires in the office... 

Pretty, pretty wires everywhere!

If you want to light a church, you have to use some wire!  Mr. Shramski is a pro. He and his partner Dale spent many an hour in their "spare time" laying hundreds, nay thousands of feet of wire and conduit in the church, after drilling hole after hole right through the studs. The work is hard and expertise is needed, but luckily this community has great people like them to do this kind of work. 

We will be very happy to see the last of the temp lights. They have served us well, but it's time to have some permanent lighting. 

All things Bright, but not Beautiful!

As the wire goes in, the walls must be prepped for the spray foam. Coming soon: insulation! Stay tuned as the church gets an inner hug from a plastic blanket!

a plasket wha?

(BTW, the polka fest was FUN!)

The Prills break a leg!

Dancing in our seats!