Day 17 - Progress interrupted by....

SNOW!

Seriously... a decent day of mostly sun... We went down to Timbermart and bought the lumber for the raised beds. Awesome. I can't wait to build the beds (hopefully tomorrow) and get things rolling. We even got the materials for hoop houses on two of the beds so I'm hoping to get some greens started before the typical growing season. With the amount of vegetables we're getting from the store it will be so great to be harvesting everything from our own yard again.

Tobermory is starting to buzz... business owners are coming back to town to set up, shops are opening, and the steady hum of traffic along the highway out front is starting back up. All the signs of summer approaching. We worked hard this afternoon erecting the new posts for the new sign.

Then it got chilly... very chilly... then the dreaded white stuff started falling from the sky. I tried denial. I tried closing my eyes. But no... it really is snowing again. Will summer never come?

I hope for a nicer day tomorrow so we can finish the frame for the sign and get the raised beds built.


Cross your fingers for us!




It's still snowing as I write this... and it's accumulating. I'm glad it's Mike that will man the BBQ!!!


~Kelly

Day 13/14 - Mother Nature has a messed up sense of humour....

Day 13 

Ok ok... I know everyone's been complaining over and over about the unpredictable spring weather (or winter weather, not sure anymore). All I have to say is it's a good thing I haven't switched my Smart Car's winter tires out yet for its less reliable all purpose "summer" tires. I headed down to Grand Bend's Lambton Heritage Museum to pick up the artwork from the last show. This is a four hour trip from Tobermory only to turn around to four hours home. Much of the drive was lovely, sunny, windy... except between Sauble Beach and Kincardine... the wrath of winter was still upon me. Snow squalls, zero visibility, slippery roads, stupid drivers... you get the picture. Once I exited this winter vortex the drive continued on... gorgeous with NO SNOW!

 Entering the storm....

Here I'm thinking... ahh... that wasn't so bad...

NOT!  White out squalls for the next 40km

I see blue sky!!

I remember thinking... "Ahhh, where am I?"

Rinse and Repeat... only slightly better on the drive home. Needless to say me and my trusty miniature sized vehicle made it home with the artwork in one piece! I even avoided a kamikaze group of deer with no sense of self preservation. Again my car can go from 90km to 0km in less than 20 feet.... that's twice in 24 hours... it must be spring.

On a side note.... I got to see my two furry friends at Quinn and Erin's place in Bayfield while dropping off some artwork for them and picking up Huron Horizon. They were my welcoming committee when I got there... too cute.

 Day 14

Today is an office day... all the little things that must be done in organizing the rebirth of the gallery. None too exciting. (Office work doesn't include power tools)

Although it is cold outside the sun is shining brightly and I may just have to spend a few hours in the garden moving rocks. The cold weather will not dampen my anticipation of spring!!!

Till later....

Kelly

Day 11 - Vacation's over....

Ok so it's day 11... have we accomplished a ton yet... no... are we motivated... yes! Mostly because the garden is melting and spring is whispering it's sweet bird songs in the morning.

A great weekend away with family for Easter but now it's back to the grind. We returned home about 4pm today (after dropping my horse off at the farm) and went straight to work in the gallery. Mike's still down there as I'm getting dinner ready. He attacked the concrete on the road sign so the new posts will go up soon. Then we attacked the inside... scraping damaged ceilings and mudding... Mike already had a sore neck and mine is going to end up the same way!

 

Happy Easter to all!!!

Kelly & Mike

Day 6 - Spring is coming!

Well it's Day 6...

After a weekend away we got back to work... or should I say I got back to work(on the gallery at least). Mike has work at a different location so he assigns me jobs to do while he's gone and I do them. Well, it involves using power tools and making lots of noise so I'm okay with that! I've pulled down the window and door trim (another thing Mike built to last!), all nails are out of the walls, electrical plates are off, most 'stuff' is out of the way... little jobs that must be done before the painting and big jobs can begin. I can't wait for Mike to be in there with me and things to be rolling along.

What a difference a few days make! When we left there was still lots of snow on the ground... now it is melting like crazy. Playa continued her duties of supervising the operation.


Tonight feels like a lazy night... dinner's on the stove and the couch is calling to enjoy a movie.

Fingers crossed tomorrow is as lovely as today was!

Kelly

Day 2 - Blank Canvas

This morning Mike and I had separate missions... Mike was off looking at a job site and I had a mission to find a place for my horse to move to up here. Both missions were successful!



Today's gallery project was to get everything off the walls and out of the way so that we had our 'blank canvas' to start working. There is still 'stuff' all over but the important things (obviously the paintings) are all moved to a safe spot and the large furniture is mostly out of the way. The rest of the small stuff will find itself out of the way soon enough.

Mike and I are off to Barrie to visit family and friends for the weekend. We will be saying goodbye to the Silverado rental truck which has served us so very well in moving all this stuff around.

Monday will bring a new energy to hunker down for the week and get work done. But for now it's Friday, the sun is shining, and we may just take the dog out for a
W-A-L-K at the beach.


We wish everyone a great weekend!!!

Mike & Kelly

Day 1 - Goodbye Apollo

 Today marked Day 1 of the gallery renovations. After making the purchase of materials yesterday in Owen Sound, Mike and I were inspired to brave the cold weather and snowfall this morning to start taking down the gallery signage. By the time we got to taking down the road sign the sun was shining upon us and warmed our backs... although it was soaking our boots with the melting snow!

Mike had definitely built the road sign to last... basically to survive Armageddon! Needless to say as I write this post he's still trying to chip off the cement blocks at the base of the pillars.

So tonight as we say goodbye to Apollo Art Productions we say hello to the beginning of a new era with WetRock Studios. The new sign is a few weeks away (stay tuned).

Timber!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of work... but ok... maybe we had a little fun using some power tools and ripping stuff apart. As usual... Playa supervised.

Till tomorrow...

WetRock Studios Construction Begins!!!

Mike and I went down to Owen Sound today to drop off the truck for repairs. Since the insurance company was wonderful enough to make sure we were well taken care of with a 2012 Chevy Silverado, we thought it prudent to use our new rental truck to hit up the Home Hardware store and start to peg off the shopping list for construction materials. Needless to say we have purchased enough materials to keep us busy for a couple weeks. The exterior sign will see a facelift, windows need reframing, baseboards need refinishing, sculpture stands need building... the list goes on and on... (we even picked up some materials for the garden...)


We are very excited to see everything start to come together and we'll be posting the changes as we move along. We are anxious for spring to come and eventually the summer months that bring friends, family, and new visitors to town!!

Mike is anxious to get started so we'll see what changes tomorrow might bring....


Kelly