And a BIG Loss

Yesterday, Washington County Land Use dropped a bombshell on us.  They will not release the Building Permits until we have all the conditions met, including having a production winery on the property.  We weren’t planning on producing wine for over a year or more because of the capital outlay and building modifications required.  Not sure where to go from here.  And oh yeah, that green sheet from Clean Water Services; that was a mistake.  Our property is out of their jurisdiction; another run-around.

Some Wins

 

plumhill-grand-opening-flyer

Still no building permits but we did have some wins yesterday.  I needed them.  First, we got our wine labels, so we will be labeling bottles this weekend.  I picked up the wax to dip the bottles in (in lieu of capsules); 30 pounds worth (another $200).  We also got our stools for the two wine barrel tables in front of the windows.  The picture above is my husband assembling the stool.  We also contracted with a concrete guy to do the ramp and steps.  He may start as early as today.  Jerry, our friend and graphics designer made up a flyer for our opening (link above; ignore the dates).  And lastly, Al finished the planter boxes for the chicken coup windows.  Picture to follow after I take one.

General Update 2

Well, no building permits yet.  I know you’re probably not surprised; were laughing at me when I was so optimistic.  But I’m disappointed.  It seems we need a “green sheet” from Clean Water Services.  I have no idea what a “green sheet” is, but I’ll get one.  Unfortunately, that takes 5 business days.  Also, Land Use has to give us a final sign-off.  I’m not sure what that is either, since we have “conditional” land use and can’t get the conditions removed without the completion of the building, which, you guessed it, requires building permits.  Do you see a vicious circle here?  We also didn’t get our labels yesterday either.  And as for the bathroom sink bowl, it cracked while being put in the cooling kiln.  Another attempt will happen on Thursday.  I need a win!  Since I have no winery pictures, I’m including a picture of one of my cats, Sinatra.

General Status

We are supposed to get our building permits today.  If so and everything goes as planned, we should be open in September.  We are also supposed to get our labels this week, and have wine to sell shortly thereafter.  We are still planning to be at 1st Wednesday on July 2 at Tip Top Spa in Forest Grove.

Dust, dust, and more dust and Glass Bowl 2

You’re probably tired of hearing about the kitchen cabinets.  But they are alot of work and taking forever.  If RJ was doing the blog, he would be writing about mowing because it is also alot of work and takes alot of time.  I got all the molding on the doors and drawers.  I did not like doing the small drawers because the piece of molding was only 8 inches long.  It is too unsafe to cut it and hold it with your fingers.  I figured that out when the wood I was cutting kicked back and hit my finger.  It is hard to hold a small piece with a wood pushing stick, but that’s what I had to do.  But they’re done and I have all 10 fingers and thumbs.  But to the dust.  I have never seen so much dust as when I started sanding the kitchen cabinets inside and out.  after on 30 minutes of sanding, there was 1/4″ of dust on every horizontal surface.  My eyes, ears and nose along with my clothes were full of dust.  Dirty job for sure.  I started painting some of the cabinets and just to give my nose and eyes a break.  I definately need to use a roller instead of a brush.  And I have called in reinforcements because this will take me forever by myself.

Sunday, RJ and I spent the day at Dave Johnson’s glass blowing studio.  He had a bunch of glass blowing friends from all over the world because of a recent convention.  He wanted to tackle our bowl again while he had “young” help.  The first one looked like it would be perfect until it fell off the rod.  It didn’t break but it was ruined none-the-less.  Within a half hour, it shattered because it cooled too fast.  The picture is what was left.  (Something is wrong with WordPress so picture will be added when possible).  We saved a scrap for prosperity.  But Dave was not going to be overcome by this, so he took another stab and I think we have a bowl.  We’ll know today after it cools.  In addition to Dave, I want to thank Evan, Evan and Evan (yes, 3 Evans), Sara and Dan for all their hard and hot work.  These are some of Dave’s glass blowing friends, most from Hawaii.

A Small Update including Tractor

I worked for a few hours at the winery yesterday.  I got the rest of the kitchen cabinets doors and drawers sanded and got some trim put on.  I am halfway done with the trim (picture below).  I hope to finish that today and start the primer.  I also had a new experience yesterday.  I drove the tractor.  RJ bought a gas tank and frame and I had to help him get the tank mounted.  Since I wasn’t strong enough to push it, I had to back up the tractor.  It was fun.  I think I need to get more experience on the tractor.

Glasses and Kitchen Cabinets

We took a couple of days of R&R this weekend.  We went with Henry and Joyce to Bonneville Hot Springs, doing a little wine tasting on the way.  We left Sunday morning with our first stop in The Dalles for lunch at a great little bistro.  Then did some wine tasting at Erin Glen followed by more wine tasting at Hood River.  We had a good time and good wine at MOST of the wineries.  Guess which one we will remember the most, the one where our experience was not so pleasant (a marketing lesson for sure).  Next we went to the hotel, checked in and had wine and cheese on the deck of H&J’s room.  We went to dinner at the hotel and had a fabulous meal.  We got excellent treatment from the staff.  Would definately go there again.  Monday morning, we all had spa treatments before heading for lunch at the Big River Grill in Stevenson.  A great meal as usual.  But now we are back to reality and working on the winery.  We got our glasses today and are very pleased with how they turned out.  Pictures above.  I also wanted to include a picture of the kitchen cabinet door to show you how it is coming.  Thank you Joyce for working on the crown molding and mantel, getting that “trimmed out.”  We also met a fun couple who is making tables and chairs from barrel staves.  Although RJ was planning on making two tables for the tasting room from barrels, we are running out of time and want to help these folks out, so we are contracting with them for three tables, 2 short for in front of the picture windows and 1 tall for  bar table.  We will also be carrying their furniture in our tasting room on consignment.

Painting

If this project has taught me anything, it has taught me about painting, mostly to not be afraid of it, be patient and be willing to try things.  When I was planning the tasting room decor’, I knew I wanted Tuscan, so I was thinking mustard with texture on two main walls, terra cotta on two walls and olive green on the trim.  Fortunately, I came to my senses with the help from a friend.  While in Australia, we visited a friend of Di’s and she has the mustard color in her family room with white trim and it looked great, so when I got home, I decided to keep the white trim and paint the terra cotta on only one wall and I love the look.  So what happened to the olive green?  I was going to put that in the kitchen; two shades, lighter for the bead board under the counters and darker on the walls.  The cabinets were to be painted off-white with a distressed finish and light stain.  I really struggled with the paint colors even calling in reinforcements from my friend AJ.  I had a half dozen paint strips, more than 25 colors to choose from and every green was either too gray and would dull the room or too bright and springy and wouldn’t go with the Tuscan feel.  As for the distressed cabinets; didn’t do anything for me.  I painted a couple of sample doors and what a disappointment.  It took three coats of paint to get a smooth, even, finish.  I don’t have the time or energy for three coats of everything.   And the distressing just made them look worn, not stylish.  AJ told me she thought the Ralph Lauren paint would cover much better than Behr.  The very helpful lady at Home Depot didn’t agree but did say a primer would make a big difference.  At that same visit, with the help of RJ, I got out more paint strips and pamphlets, hoping to find a combination that I liked.  RJ found it.  A peachy, yellow paint (like a pale terra cotta) on the main walls and light olive green on the bead board and maybe the soffets (how do you spell it).  As for the cabinets, I’m hoping for one coat of primer and one coat of paint without the distressing.  And the counter tops will be a cultured marble with touches of olive green.  This decor’ should be bright and cheery, yet coordinate with the Tuscan feel of the tasting room.  Hopefully, pictures to follow soon.

Shelves and Sanding

Today we got the floating shelves up above the mantel.  Picture above.  That was a little more of challenge than I had planned because of the measuring and leveling, but I think we did a good job.  RJ also got all the bulbs in the lights ($150 worth), also not a trivial task.  His biggest challenge today was taking the 1 ton dump truck full of 3-1/2 tons of garbage (no, I am not kidding) to the dump.  The clutch tends to go out on this truck and it doesn’t like to start.  Steering with the front wheels off the ground is not a walk in the park either.  RJ was afraid to tackle this on his own, so he took his buddy Al.  Al prayed the whole way (again, not kidding).  They made it, but that is the last use of this truck for us.  My project for the day was continued work on the kitchen cabinets.  I got about 2/3, maybe 3/4 of the drawers and doors sanded and some more hardware removed.  Sanding takes a tole on my hands (I use a palm sander), to say nothing about the sand in my hair, nose and eyes.  Mask, I don’t need no stinking mask (or safety glasses for that matter).  Anyway,  I made good progress and RJ showed me how to cut the molding and mount it using a brad nailer.  Tomorrow I am on my own while he picks up 1500 posts.  The picture is my sample, to be painted tomorrow.

Even When We’re Not There

I’ve think you’ve gathered that even if we’re not at the winery, things are moving along.  Yesterday, RJ finished the last cabinet for under the bar in the tasting room.  That’s a BIG DEAL!  I’ve been working on getting us committed (not in the nut house, although that’s a consideration) and ready to do 1st Wednesday in Forest Grove.   See the link to the right.  Our labels are in process and should be ready on the 24th.  So in 7 days, we just have to get the wine delivered (and find a place to store it) and get it labeled.  Hopefully, our glasses will be here.  I’ve had a little bit of a diversion.  I’m trying to sell some of my craft supplies, collectibles and homemade items.  I sold some to AJ for her store, including furniture which I will never get around to refinish.  It was hard to let these pieces go, because I’ve had some dreams.  It’s kind of like “the end of an era” for me.  Also, gave away some supplies to somebody who could use them worse than me.  And I listed a few things (more to follow) on www.etsy.com.  (See pictures above.)  I figure a little revenue couldn’t hurt.  Speaking of “the end of an era”, RJ has listed his Bellanca airplane on several airplane sites.  That will be a tough one for both of us, but especially RJ.  I am sorry he has to do that, but it does make sense since he hasn’t flown it for years.  Today I will be working on cabinets all day.  RJ is going to attempt driving the dump truck to the dump.  Wish us both luck!