Week 32 - Of Thanks and Trimmings...

This week is Thanksgiving, and here at St. Stan's there's been a lot to sink our teeth into!

Our Campus Project continues to evolve, even in this holiday-shortened week. This week, ceiling grids were installed in the office area, tile work continued in the bathrooms, and work began on our memorial walkway. All the juicy pictures are in the album.

As we pause to count our blessings, we prepare for a busy few weeks ahead of us. In the Parish Center, floorings, electrical fixtures, furnishings, and technology will soon be "stuffed" into place. Capital Campaign will be hosting two very important fundraisers for the project -- our annual Holiday Raffle, and the "Christmas from the Heart" concert on December 9th featuring Kevin Cole, Grammy-winning soprano Sylvia McNair, and the Carolyn Mawby Chorale, which should whet your appetite for Christmas music (Tickets for both are available at the Parish Office). Before you know it, we'll be "dressing" the parish for Christmas.

For now, we focus our thoughts on being thankful for all the blessings we receive as a parish, and especially for all those who support our parish, and our Campus Project.

Bon appetit!

Week 31 - Baby, It's (Getting) Cold Outside

As the weather continues to head south for the season, activity on the campus project is heating up, as you can see from our photo album.

As I write this, the roofers are on-site braving the cold to complete the roofing of the entryway and surrounding peaks. The light poles for the parking lot are onsite, which means we'll soon be aglow in the warmth of area lighting, including the steeples. Preparations are underway for laying the bricks for the memorial walkway next week, which should warm the hearts of all who purchased bricks.

Product Plug: Bricks are still available for purchase -- a cool $100 will get you one with your message engraved -- at the Parish office on an on-going basis, and will be installed periodically throughout the year.

Moving inside where it's warmer, much of the interior painting in the office area is now complete, with only the entrance hall to go. The bathrooms received their tile this week (a nice warm brown tone), which means other flooring and fixtures can't be far away. Electrical outlets continue to become "hot" at a regular rate, and the interior building cabling and security system are coming along nicely.

The cold hard facts are, the building is coming together quickly. It's time to warm up to the idea that we will soon be in our Parish Center!

Week 30 - We're Making a List...

Humans are natural-born list makers. We make grocery lists, address lists, Christmas gift lists, and especially to-do lists. We love to make lists.

The beauty of making a list is the feeling of accomplishment you get when you can check something off the list. It doesn't matter whether there's still items on the list. Being able to cross something off means you're making progress.

When it comes to the Parish Center, there's definitely a list. And while there's a fair number of items left on the list, we're starting to check them off with amazing frequency, as you can see in the photo album.

This week we can check off the final paving of the main parking lot, the garage door installation, exterior window installation, and the painting of the kitchen. Meanwhile, progress has been made on our interior cabling, drywall prep for painting, exterior cleaning, and electrical work. Next up is interior painting and ceilings.

On other fronts, all of the computers and software for the parish are now on order, and we continue to get as many of the memorial bricks made as possible ahead of installation.

We've got our list, and we're checking it twice, until the time when we can check off the last item. What a feeling of accomplishment that will be!

Week 29 - Anticipation

Whether its an upcoming holiday, vacation or family event, or even a sporting event, anticipation can be a big motivator. Not knowing how things will turn out adds a certain flair of mystery and excitement to any situation.

For the Campus Project, our progress has brought us to the point where a little anticipation is a good thing.

Thus, starting this week, the construction photo album will begin showing a little less detail, helping build some anticipation for the opening of the building, which is actually not that far away. Don't worry, you'll continue to get a feel for our progress (it IS your project, after all). But in the spirit of excited anticipation, we'll be trimming back a little of the view, focusing in on specific details, and saving the rest for the big reveal.

That said, I will continue to provide updates on the construction. This week, major progress areas include the drywall mudding in the office area, the elevator, and the activation of our HVAC system, providing heat to the building. Also, at long last, the fuel tanks have been emptied and removed, paving the way (pun intended) for the completion of the parking lot.

For now, I'll leave you eagerly anticipating next week's entry!

(EDIT: Fixed broken link to photo album. That's what I get for being in a hurry!)