A Country Store is Born

How can I describe this past week ? Like a cyclone without water, an earthquake without building damage, a volcano without lava. We had so much going on in so many places all at the same time. Even the more well organized multi-taskers found themselves standing in the corner babbling and drooling. Add that to the continued heat wave and our already sweaty faces that when combined with the drool caused our heads to slide right off our bodies. And THAT just really slowed down our thought processes.

Yet still, though all that, Keith and I mustered forward as did our 3 fine sons  who completed many tasks for us. Jason and Colton focused on trench digging and rewiring of the new store, while I secured another grocery store to sell our meat (Naturally Yours Grocer in Normal and Peoria, Illinois )http://www.naturallyyoursgrocery.com/  We started stocking their freezer section 2 dys ago.

The store arrived Tuesday Aug 10, ahead of schedule. Looked impressive coming up our lane. Grandson Wes was beside himself with the excitement of big trucks getting so close,

Soon after, we observed the buildings owner Tim Sinn of Countryside Barns ,http://www.countrysidebarns.com/ maneuver the store into place over the gravel pad Keith had laid the day before.  Very neat to see the flat bed trailer raise that store high in the air...

and then slowly ease into place. It was during this process we could really appreciate the quality building skills that went into our new farm store. Within a few moments our store was in place.

Now, the REAL work begins. The list goes a little something like this..install all the electrical wires, outlets and boxes, dig trenches for wiring, install AC unit and Heating unit, dig trench for propane, hang all lights, insulate walls, finish walls with plywood, paint interior walls, and ceiling, decide on floor covering, install counter for checking out, paint outside walls and porch, move standup freezers in, stock all freezers, install general shelving for other merchandise such a t-shirts, honey, published books of my blog, pastured eggs, and who knows what else.  We will also be removing all of Keiths "inventory" in the area closest to the store and building a small petting zoo area. INTERNS...we need interns.!

In the next picture, Keith and Wesley demonstrate the loft where additional merchandise and frustrated, over worked Yaya's can be stored.

But for today, the emphasis was wiring. Thank you Colton, for being the project leader in this area and thanks to Jason for his apprenticeship hours. Thanks again to our secret investors for without them you'd just be looking at pics of cardboard boxes we would be taping together to make a store.

Grand opening won't be until September. Stay tuned for more details.