Workday No. 31 "Final Push"

WOW, for the first time ever I missed a daily post about our many adventures here at FOUND. We spent yesterday putting the finishing touches on the space in preparation for the dealer meeting which takes place later this afternoon at 2pm. There were more walls to build, partitions to paint, molding to prime, paint and install, and ceiling tiles to install. There was even a little bit of sanding to do! The bathrooms received a major cleaning and we even managed to squeeze in a little late night meeting (11:30pm!). Phew!

Today's list of activities is considerable but not quite as intense as yesterday's. There is food to prep, flowers to plant and booth signs to post. There are presentations, intros and bios to present, contracts to sign and I'm sure there is a little more touch up painting and building to do. There is much reason to celebrate for sure!

Workday No. 30 "SIGN"

What is it they say about a photo being worth a thousand words?

Wait a minute, are you sure we spelled it right?

Well done Mr. Hastings.

Taking in the bigness of it all.

Inside there was much finishing work being done - touch up painting, sweeping, loading trash, and more computer work. In the men's room, it was Ellen vs the mop.I believe she is winning.

Sandy and Marnie made sense out of all these piles of unidentifiable pieces,
parts,
thing-a-ma-jigs,
and doodads,
and then turned them into this!

AMAZING. Truly.

Eli and I assisted them by cleaning the shelves and watching viola videos on youtube without the sound.
We were both a little tired I guess.

After basking in the glory of his amazing sign,

Bill put up a wall between his and Sandy's booth.He needs his space now that he is famous...

Dan worked on putting caps to the partitions in the hut,
and Pat tackled more complicated ceiling tile installation.

It was a loooooong day but incredibly exciting.
Yesterday we were close. Today we're damn close.
Our potential dealers are coming in on Sunday.
I think we'll be ready for them!

Workday No. 29 "So Close"

We're so close now we can almost taste it,and touch it!

It's beginning to look like an antique shop around here!
Some wisdom from today's fortune cookie...So true.

Much to report today!
Bill put the partitions up in the hut,with Dan's help.

Ceiling tiles in the front space are ALL installed.

Thank you Pat.

Ken worked all day on the POS software and our website,

and TWC spent the day with us.We are now secure!

We can walk on our beautiful new steps,

and our mailbox now has found a new temporary home.

Sign letters received much attention today.




They will go up on the side of the building tomorrow!

I painted the molding around Sandy's booth window,

and then suddenly I just couldn't help myself.

Did I miss a spot?

What a fantastic view, especially when the train rolls by.

The paint spill in the redrum has taken on the whimsical shape of a seahorse,if you look at it just right...

Today's action packed workday brought to you

by the letter "F".

Workday No. 28 "All Systems Go"

Lots of variety in the work we're doing at FOUND these days. Ken spent the morning setting up the phone system and the wireless router, and continued work on the POS software. After lunch he was a baseboard painting machine!

Ellen worked on installing the new ceiling tiles in the hut.

It is grueling work but look at the difference between the old and new tiles.

When it's finished it'll sparkle!

Dan worked on molding and I painted the caps to the partitions in the front.

Tomorrow our sign letters get edged in black and more molding gets installed. Partitions in the hut will go up as well. There will a bit more painting and no doubt, more ceiling tile installation. Soon we'll be putting our glass cases together too. Stay tuned for more from the crew at FOUND!

Workday No. 27 "Nasty, Dirty"

Okay, so ceiling tile replacement now ranks up there on the list of nastiest jobs, right up there with glue scraping...ick.

Sandy, Ellen and I spent the better part of a very long day
replacing ceiling tiles in the hut. Think again if you imagine this job is simply about
popping tiles out and then back in again. Oh no. This job involves being on the top of a tall ladder with your face smack up
against the itchiest, dustiest, nastiest stuff you've ever encountered. All of which will come showering down on top of you
when you least expect it. Imagine if you will,
the occasional shower of mouse poop on top of it all.
Just imagine...

For hours, Sandy coaxed each tile and its insulation out of the grid, one at a time and in one piece behind her back while balancing on top of the ladder and dodging the mouse poop. Get the picture? She also had the magic touch when it came to getting the tiles back in places, dodging numerous wires and pipes in the way, without hitting a single light bulb!

While Sandy and I were at work on the main ceiling Ellen was valiantly working solo, cutting and fitting the edge tiles.

Nasty...
dirty...that was us today.

There were lots of other important tasks being completed today at FOUND!

Bill finished painting the big finger,

and it looks absolutely amazing!
I'd be proud too.

Dan and Bill got the partitions installed in the front space,

and Dan put the caps on them.
They look very sleek and clean!

Dan got more molding installed,

and Pat helped with the ceiling tiles in the front
(the hateful ones with complicated cuts).

Thank you Pat!

Ken worked on our POS system,and got us all ready to make sales!

While we were all inside, the mason was outside working on our new front step.

Nice!