~Grüne Acres~: 2008

Losing an Old Friend

This was the Grand native pecan tree next to our house.

It was estimated to be near 150 years old

and was the best tree on the property.

The neighbors say that it took a direct

lightning strike several years before we bought the place.

Apparently the damage was greater than it showed,

and the tree and been dying for some time.

It split open down the main trunk

and laid a giant limb across the yard in front of the house.

This left the rest of the dying tree dangling several

more very large limbs over the roof.

We had to have a tree removal company come

and take it down - a very sad day.

We are thankful that we had no damage

to the house and hope to plant another tree soon.

Putting in the Pond (in Ten Easy Steps)

Step one: Get a pasture or a field and pick out a nice spot to dig.

Step two: Get a dozer of qualified size and one that comes

with a qualified dozer operator.

Step three: Start digging.

Step four: More digging.

Step five: Measure the hole and make sure it

is deep enough.

Step six: Wait for rain.

Step seven: Wait for more rain.

Step eight: Go buy some fish....

..... lots of fish.

Step nine: Put fish in pond.

Step ten: Enjoy!

We are having a great time with the pond -

since it is been added we have also noticed

the other creatures that come

to enjoy it as well. We have resident

frogs, toads, turtles, dragonflies, herons,

egrets, coots, raccoons, dear, coyotes and....

did I mention the snakes?

Moving Into the New Workshop

This is the tool shed behind the house -

It has been my temporary workshop for the last year.

Moving day started Feb 15, 2008 -

and will continue....

It took most of two days to unpack the glass.

It was great to have all of this space - time to get to work.

This is my new light table. New equipment and work areas will be added

as budget and time permits, but the shop is on its way!

Creating the Studio/Workshop Interior - phase three and 1/2

Ater the cabinets and counters we moved on to the light fixtures and plumbing.

By now it is mid January and the trim work around the doors and windows are completed.

We installed pine laminate in my office to match the cabinets and carpet in the main studio area.

The carpet installers came February 13-14 and they were the last contractor on the schedule. Time to move in and finish the detail work!!

Creating the Studio/Workshop Interior - phase three

Time to start painting and getting the interior finished out. After drywall the carpenters showed up to finish out the cabinets, workbenches and shelves.

We installed pine cabinets with laminate countertops for more storage.

D.O.G. likes to hang out in the studio and inspect all of the work - he really likes the new space.

Creating the Studio/Workshop Interior - phase two

After the doors go up we had the sheetrock team and drywall mud experts come in and do their stuff - they had the place covered up, floated and taped within two weeks - by now it's mid December and the weather outside is cold and wet. We set up space heaters for the workers and to help the paint dry. The drywall really brought the view of the space to reality - we are so excited!!

These guys make it look way too easy - we really appreciated thier hard work.

Creating the Studio/Workshop Interior - phase one

After transforming the exterior of the workshop - we moved to the interior and began the work to turn this once garage/barn into a glass art studio.

The original owner was the driver for the Pearl Beer Distributor and this building was originally used to park and store the Pearl Beer Trucks.

We divided the space into three areas: first is a two car garage space that has Robbie's work benches, tools and wood working equipment, the second is an office space for me and my glass design work, the third is the actual glass art studio and work space.

After the space was divided, we began the reinforcing of the original walls and adding doors and windows to bring in more natural light.

After the studs and windows we started on the electrical phase - we added a 200 amp service for all of the power requirements and with all of the outlets and breakers we must have 2 miles of wiring - it is everywhere, but you can never have too much power!!