Times I realize I'm not in Kansas anymore

Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, there have been times I realize I'm not in Kansas anymore.

Like the time I visited a nearby hardware store and noticed animal markers on the shelves.  These are numbered tags that are attached to an animal's ears for tracking purposes.

Like the many times I've observed people waving at me while we walk my boyfriend's dog, George.  These people don't know me, but I'm walking on an Alma street, so a wave is natural to them.

Or the many times I've been driving down Main Street and wait for a pedestrian to cross the street and they really look into the car and wave to thank me.

Everyone waits for pedestrians to cross the street in Alma.

It's probably cliche, but the pace of life here is slower, more mellow.  I'm getting used to it!  People take time to really listen, to look you in the eye, to help.  It's refreshing to slow down.

Geothermal portion complete!

Yes!  Today is the day we have begun to heat the hotel with the geothermal system we had installed.  There is still much work to be done because each room now needs to be vented, but we have heat being vented to some of the downstairs and the hallways upstairs.  Oh, it's so nice not to be shivering!

My son asked me lately how things are going and I answered that I'm now beginning month four of camping.  He knows I'm not a great camper, so he was sympathetic.  The reasons I feel like we're camping:  constant dirt, inconveniences because of many unpacked boxes, disorganization because nothing is located where it eventually should be, improvising because the object we really want can't be found yet.  Some day I know this will all be rather funny.  But lately, I've had a few meltdowns.  Probably anyone who has lived through an extensive remodeling will relate.

This is still exciting and I'm glad we're forging ahead but, at times, this is tedious.

Menards from a woman's point of view

Took my almost daily trip to Menards this morning and was looking for 18 gauge 8 strand wire so my boyfriend could connect a furnace to a thermostat.  When discussing this with an employee, he asked what I was going to use it for.  When I told him, he said, "Oh, that would be in plumbing," like that made perfect sense.  I fail to see how heating translates to plumbing but, sure enough, he led me to the plumbing department and we found it right away.  Am I the only one who finds this strange?

So what are we going to to with this building?

An obvious question not answered so far, plans for the building include opening a main floor quilt shop and classroom, reopening eight hotel rooms and, eventually, reopening the bar area as a cafe.  We will open the quilt shop and as many rooms as we can get ready on May 1, 2012.  The cafe opening date is uncertain now, as we have limited funds and the priority is the quilt shop.

My dream was to open a quilt shop.  My boyfriend DH (aka Duane) dreamed of living in a small town.  When we found this building, it was a fabulous setting for a quilt shop.  Bigger than I originally had in mind, the beauty of this building is that it is a quaint, charming, solid structure with lots of potential.  I wanted a building that we could live in, so I could eliminate the need to pay a house payment as well as business rent and associated costs of having two separate spaces.  This building offers plenty of space, as we plan to use five rooms for our personal space.

Duane's dream of living in a small town has also been realized, as the sign in front of our building says the population is 781.

Duane has worked as a remodeler for many years, and we have lots of fixing to do.  I'll be filling you in on our activities as they move forward.

Photo of The Burlington Hotel

The Backstory

After trying unsuccessfully to get hired in a full-time, benefit position, I decided to sell my house in Bloomington, Minnesota, and buy The Burlington Hotel, an 1891 hotel in Alma, Wisconsin.  I closed the sale of my home and the purchase of the hotel on the same date, August 31.  Since then, it's been kind of a blur of activity, starting with the move to the hotel, as well as moving my 18 and 21 year-olds to separate locations.  My boyfriend, DH, moved to Alma full-time in November, after finishing his pending remodeling jobs in the Twin Cities.  He still has several clients who are waiting for him to come back and begin further projects next spring.  This blog is an attempt to document where we started and what we've accomplished since moving here.  I'm amazed that family, friends and acquaintances are interested in the amount of detail they've asked to see.

Today's activities

After many requests to create a blog, I'm finally doing it.  Welcome to this new adventure with me!

Today we are at the hotel awaiting a crew to arrive and connect our geothermal heating and cooling system rods together.  We have rods in our back yard that have been drilled to a depth of 195 feet that will be connected today and tomorrow.  Then this system will be connected to the hotel and back-up heating system and we will have heat.  With temperatures dropping lately and holding rather steady at this lower range looking into the near future, we are anxious to get heating in place.  It will be so great to have a consistent temperature when going from room to room.

Later today, we have accepted our first social invitation as a couple since arriving in Alma.  We are going to dinner at another couple's house.  Should be fun!