Day 67

Just like a 1000+ jigsaw puzzle, the guys have been placing the bricks in various parts of the building. This is towards the back of the store, and will eventually be a children's reading area.

This brick is being placed on the bottom half of what used to be the gazebo.

It can also be found lining the fireplace.

The men's bathroom is coming along nicely.

The women's bathroom is further along, with mortar already inserted between the tile.

Here is a glimpse of some of the doors that will be used at the side-entrances. (These will not, at any time, be given away as "door prizes." Our most sincere apologies.)

The coffee shop area is moving right along, with more additions every day.

As you can see, the front of the counter will have wood paneling that matches the nearby pillars (from previous posts) and the back wall. Grey tile was also placed on the wall, behind where the stove will be.

Day 53

"Embrace the dust," as Julie says, might be the appropriate attitude around the store these days. No, we are not neglecting our chores--quite the contrary! Amid the ongoing battle of Falling Dust vs. Aggravated Duster...the dust always wins. However, that does not stop us from having a little fun with it (as you can see from the message on the left coffee bean jar).

No, these are not clumps of dust we have gathered (although I know you were entertaining the thought). They are the stones that will be put up on the fireplace, by the counter, around some of the posts, and by the kids area.

The floor of the stage has an additional wooden layer to give it a more of a finished look. The sander has been making it smoother, and of course, contributing to our dust infestation.

More counters are being put in.

And here, the beginnings of an exhaust fan can be seen, which will be above our oven. I can almost smell the baking raspberry rolls and chocolate chip cookies...

This panel is in the process of being stained for the coffee shop area.

The fans have changed a little, including a new paint job that also covers the rest of the ceiling. It is a continuation of the painting that was seen in the last post.

This picture was taken a while ago, which shows the start of the tile in the new men's bathroom.

We're very excited about the green color that is in the new women's bathroom. (This color will also pop up later in other locations in the bookstore.) The tile on the walls and floor is nearly finished, and the sink counter is coming along nicely.

Day 41

Although the construction site is silent on this unusually cool Saturday afternoon, the evidence of progress is present throughout the building. Here, you can see the beginnings of the half-circle-shaped frame of the Hearth Room counter. On top of the back brick wall where dry wall had previously been, a dark wood paneling is in place.

This is a view from the employee side of the counter. As you can see, there is significantly more room than the previous space.

This is a clearer view of the circular counter. It is hard to see, but under the previous pink carpet, the guys found and shined up some tile that will look nicely around the counter.

The pillars that were once blue, pink, and circular, now have a shined wood covering on the top half to match the Hearth Room area.

The fireplace is coming along nicely and is looking less and less like the shell it was on the last post.

The stage area is also improving.

Finally, something that you might miss upon first glance is the newly colored ceiling. Painting it this gray color will make the ceiling "disappear" and give the room a more welcoming feel. The gray was painted on the west half of the ceiling and the top 1/4 of the walls.