Day 57 (6 days left)

What a journey this has been!! And what a week... we're getting pretty worn out (Mike has lost is mind I'm pretty certain although it does make for some hilarious moments). However, we are getting more excited with every moment that a final touch or detail comes together and it looks that much more finished! All that's left is two rooms of baseboards to paint and most of the window trim to paint. Should be done tomorrow and ready to start thinking about hanging artwork.

The artwork from both our guest artists is now here and Lina comes on Monday to set up the boutique with her wonderful Fair Trade products by Hearts and Crafts. We are very excited to see what she has for us!!

This is a quick post because dinner is almost ready and we've been at it since 7am as usual. So enjoy the pictures of the progress and keep an eye out for pictures of the finished gallery soon!!!

Goodnight all!

~Kelly

We're in the home stretch!!!

TWO WEEKS LEFT!!!

 What a busy week it's been... but things are really starting to come together!


The third coat of stain on the floor is currently drying. It's amazing how long it takes for this stuff to dry. By the time we get the varnish on it's definitely going to be longer than we anticipated for the floor. However, it has been GLORIOUS weather up here in Tobermory for the last few days so we've been busy outside on the exterior of the property and working on the garden.












Remember this sign??? It was a memorable day when the sign on the front of the gallery and the road sign came down but now it's all back up again...

(Look at that snow... thank goodness spring is finally here.)











And voila! The new signage for the front of the gallery!!!

And remember this moment...?

And our new road sign!

We have spent so many months thinking about this process and now that it's underway and nearly complete we are counting the days till we open the doors. WetRock Studios will be open Saturday, May 18th for the May long weekend (Sat, Sun, Mon). If you're in town stop by and check it out!

Next week will involve a lot of painting and finishing touches but we're in the home stretch now!!!

Everyone enjoy the sunshine!!!!

Day 39 - NEW SIGN!

There was one day, back in December I believe, where I started playing with ideas for the logo and sign design. Today was the day all the planning, design, and hard work came to fruition.

And what a day we've had... Sun, rain, and snow.

The day started with a few finishing touches to the framework. Jed (Concept Signs) arrived and the sun was mostly shining as we unloaded and laid out our game plan. Jed and Mike did the majority of the work on the first half of the sign and I documented the experience with my camera. Unfortunately, Jed had to leave as he had a vacation to start in an unmentionably warm destination.

 

 

 

We had a quick lunch and decided to get right back at it... well, now the weather had turned to rain and quickly turned to big, fat, wet snowflakes. But we persisted.... soaked and chilled to the bone we climbed our scaffolding, drilled and screwed the sign parts into place until everything was done.

Then the sun came out....... but of course... good time to bail Jed!

 

And VOILA!

Now for the signage on the front of the gallery and a bunch of work still to be done on the interior. I plan on staying warm for the rest of the evening and not eating dinner at 9:30 like most nights this week. We have three glorious days ahead of us to plug away on the renovations.

We will be open for May long weekend so if you're in Tobermory stop in and check us out!!!

Day 31/32 - Back on track

So I figured out what day into this process where at and it's a little scary. Although Mike and I feel we're on track everything is going to be happening quickly in the next few weeks to meet our deadline.

Before....

Yesterday was a decent day and after spending the morning inside working I decided to get into the garden. Rolling up my sleeves I staked out the expansion, edged it all, then broke out the tiller to work it all up. Apparently small tillers do not like landscape material, extension chords, or large hidden roots. My knife was my best friend (obviously not for the extension chord, which survived with a little electrical tape). The bed is expanded, the raised bed frames are in place, and I have the plan for what is going where. I'm still waiting for my dirt....

Aerial view of the garden from the front deck.

After.

As soon as the snow melted these beauties started coming up!

The patch of garlic has been growing for a while now. It was planted in November.

Today however, was a miserable day of rain and thunderstorms. Yesterday we picked up the HardiBoard that will be used as a backing for the sign. We cut that down to size last night when Mike got home from work and this morning I primed them. It would have been fine except that damn paint roller wouldn't stay on the handle... cursed thing... now I understand why Mike was hollering a couple nights ago downstairs. This afternoon I've been in front of the computer working on the rack cards and generally just getting things in order.

Concrete dust... yum.

The HardiBoard... ready for priming.

Our trusted supervisory staff.... on break.

In a couple weeks the new signage will be up!

With all the work we've been doing we still have a ways to go. Mike's home... time to get back at it!

Kelly

Kelly kills the columns

After much anguish and frustration kelly has completed the pillars.  :-)

Day ???.... I don't even know anymore....

I'll figure out what day we're on another day... My brain hurts from the work that I've been doing down there. The posts from hell have consumed my days and my dreams... stripping the plaster off them has been hell. I would rather have mucked a thousand stalls than to have done what I just accomplished. I know, it sounds silly. But you all have no idea. However... they are done!!! On to more tedious and mind numbing reno jobs :-)

The gallery is starting to take shape. Mike has been putting on some primer and we can start painting any time now. Today was beautiful. Finally a day above 10 degrees and the sun was out. I wanted to play in the garden but there's not much to do until my triple mix arrives next week. Then it will be wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt moved to the raised beds. I can't wait to plant!!!

We are excited about the artists we're working with to display with us over the summer and hope to announce them soon!

Dinner is almost done so this is a quick post.... till next time everyone!!!

Kelly

These are the pillars from hell.....

Apparently the cursing was that the roller kept falling off the handle...

Day 18 - Garden inspirations...

Ok, so I know the garden doesn't have anything to do with the renovations on the Gallery. However, it did lift our spirits to listen to tunes in the backyard and swing the hammer to build four (very sturdy) raised beds. It's going to take a lot of soil to fill these suckers but they look amazing and I can't wait to finish putting the garden together. The weather was not much more co-operative today... we did have a bit of rain and a bit of snow, but we pushed through and got the job done.

Mike is working on the supports for the sign right now with the assistance of Luke and Adam (friends of ours that work up here too). They showed up as a surprise and what a great one! It just serves as a reminder about how close summer really is despite the cold and miserable weather.  Dinner is on the stove (slight adjustments for the boys showing up) and it will be good to visit with them.

 

Tomorrow we're back to Collingwood for my Blue Mountain staff party so no work on the gallery or garden tomorrow. That's ok... it's supposed to be rain again :-( Might as well get dressed up and have dinner with friends!

Goodnight all!

Kelly