Hiatus

It had been over three weeks since we had last said goodbye to the Church, unplugged the wax melter and shut off the lights. Three weeks of December bustle, of Christmas parties, Church events, and seeing family and friends. Three weeks of shopping and eating and making merry. It seemed like a long time, and we worried about the Church. But the Church is so snug now with its new insulation, drywall and excellent Geothermal furnace that everything looked exactly as we had left it. Well, almost everything...

OOPS!

We were babysitting two plants from Rybak's Ice Cream store for the winter, but they cannot live on sunlight alone. They do need water...

The Blue Hydrangeas made it - but they are fake...

I even left them on the Robo-Saw with its awesome swinging arm and a few bottles of water, but apparently the saw drank the water and left the plants to fend for themselves. 

Now that the church is comfy-cozy with its spray foamed long underwear on, the windows are the only weak link. So it was the windows that we worked on. I didn't snap any pix of the work because (as if it wasn't evident) sanding and caulking windows isn't very glamorous, nor is it adrenalin-producing. (Really I just forgot...)
I did manage to sneak a picture of Mike working on the trim between the ceiling and the drywall. There is a bit of a gap there and the trim will fill that nicely. But again, it's not super sexy work, though he did his best to make a nice pose...

Nice form, Grindstone Mike! 

We did have a leisurely week off in the Thumb, and some of the time was spent just nesting with the critters.

"Could you bring me my fez and slippers, please? Yes, all four slippers!"

I don't know if it was all the extra sleep I got, but I started daydreaming about the bathroom ceiling. 

An Empty Canvas

So I searched for ideas...

Hmm... classic but a little pretentious?

Uh, no.

This should have been at Graceland! 

Well, perhaps we'll just stick with something more tasteful, like this for example:

Is that a cumuloNIMBUS cloud?

Or maybe something artsy:

We call it "Pearls and Paint Chips"

I call it ugly. What do you say, Iggy? Pass or Fail?

ZzzzzFailzzzzzzz!

Maybe we could get a giant print of this picture for the ceiling: 

"Ah what's that lovely aroma?"

OK, maybe not. But something must go on the ceiling. Can't wait to see what we come up with!

Shop with your Eyes, Buy with your Heart.

While we are waiting for time to replenish our coffers and our energy, we did a little window shopping. Bay City was our mall, and Antiques were our eye candy.

Quatrefoil Quteness!

Want! And also...

Shiny, pretty tiles.

Want badly! Loads of gorgeous tile. But where would it ever fit? What would we do with it? We pondered and had great discourse on the subject, with no resolution other than, "If it's meant to be, it will be."

Translation: No More Impulse Buying!

But we did put some money down on a great, and needed purchase.

Emptied out, of course.

Miles and miles of counters. Glass counters, with glass shelves and mirrors, and it's LIT. In great shape. A little 80's for my taste, but imagine the burgundy base covered in a rich wood and lovely rich fabric covers inside the cases. And imagine it in the Church! Yes!

Meanwhile, back at the Church, things were beginning to be a little oppressive. Too much stuff. How will we have room for the new stuff if we have all this old stuff?

I'm sensing a pattern here...

So we went on a Arma-get-your-clean-on. It's a continual battle, and it required the rental of a storage space, but so be it.

It's Work-ways. Ready for work!

We both know our tendency towards clutter, and awareness is the first step towards fixing it, but shopping with your eyes isn't quite as much fun as shopping with your paycheck. However, when the paycheck has already gone into heat, and light, and buying storage space for things already purchased with the paycheck, the reality of the vicious cycle hits you in the face. We can and will do better!

So we have been turning our eyes inward. I have been making a new rug, and Mike has been lovingly cleaning up his easel, in preparation for new work.

LOVE this easel. 

Preparation is part of the path.

Everything is as it should be, and this is the time to be quiet, to listen for God's voice, and to follow instructions. We aren't in charge!

Who made this? 

Board, but not Bored

So besides the furnace ouster last weekend, we also kept ourselves from being "board"...

Using old electric cords to bundle ceiling planks

by cleaning up the sanctuary, but not before trying out the art in the new venue. 

This is gonna be good...

Off with the carpet!

Well those wires are a hot mess...

Sharing the vision with daughter Eva...

....pretty sure these aren't "hot"...

...pretty sure this piano's dead...

...pretty sure this church is going to be awesome...

Friend Duane was up with more freshly turned bowls and a check for the barn...

Coming soon to Grindstone City...Duane's Wood Shop!

The Ascetic

The art looks great, with or without the finished gallery. I'm so lucky to have such beautiful art  hanging up around my house. I think some people shy away from art because they are unsure of how to react- or how to think or what to say about it. But painting, like music, dance, and other arts, can touch something in you that doesn't need thoughts or words. This hand of an Indian ascetic, holding the prayer beads, buried in the sand, is such a vision of hope and devotion to me that it just touches me every time I look at it.

I'm sure that's what these two were discussing...

...furnace needs to go...

So that's the other part of the weekend. Family fun with Eva and Jack her boyfriend, Pat and Duane, and of course, the Don, Paul Fisher. 

The Don poses...

St. Michael and his seraphim

Friends and Neighbors

Who's that sneaking around back, hooking up... ELECTRICITY???  Power? Lights? All that comes with the modern age?

Far out! Electricity is surely on the checklist. Light, heat, and TUNES!

But nature is still in charge. Look at the beautiful art it makes on the INSIDE of the window!

 

Friends and soon to be neighbors were up to help with demolition. Thanks so much, Duane and Pat. They will be Grindstone Corners neighbors soon! 

Pat taking off molding

Duane helping to de-nail lumber

Another building that needs love!

The Barn Door is ...closed for now! But not for ever...Pat and Duane are going to bring it back to life. A Wood Shop. Wood, metal, stone.

Can cute get any, gosh, cuter?

So work progresses, even at night now. The ceiling tiles were held up by piles and piles of very nice, very expensive lumber! 

$5-$6 a piece! American!

Wood chair!

Happy Church!

New Friends and Neighbors across the street are renovating Captain Peer's place, but it's not mine to reveal: 

The Old Peer Building

It's going to be awesome, though, and I can't wait till it opens! Ice Cream, candy, and toys! Just for starters...

Meanwhile,  back to work...

I know how to use a hammer.