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2015, Here We Come!

1/8/2015

As the wind blows and temps are below zero outside, our little family is cozied up by the fireplace catching up on our annual Netflix binge. This winter, it’s Parks & Rec, Scandal, and Top Gear (with the occasional episode of Grey’s Anatomy whenever I can sneak it in – even if I’ve seen them all three times – it’s practically a classic).

We were very fortunate to have such great weather and had a very productive New Year’s weekend. We started New Year’s Day by sleeping in a bit, but once awake and moving, we went right to work and enjoyed the sunshine and warm temperatures. We hauled the remaining items out of the barn, which included plenty of rotten wood, a few good boards, miscellaneous Christmas decorations (that will make a re-appearance someday), a beautiful old dresser mirror, some fence posts we will use for grape trellises this spring, a few old gates and hand tools, miscellaneous doors and windows, and shower panels from the 1980s, which are still up for grabs if you’re interested!

We then shifted gears to begin taking out the old bunk wood very carefully so we can reinstall these pieces in the new space. We ran into a hiccup Friday morning when Preston was in ‘demolition mode’ removing the manger and smashed his foot. Once we confirmed it wasn’t a serious injury, work continued, but not after a hearty dose of our Siberian Husky Yukon’s healing kisses.

On Saturday, we began removing the floor of the hayloft. This could prove to be a more challenging task than I originally anticipated. Because the roof has been in such poor condition for years, rain has come through and damaged a good portion of the flooring, creating a number of rotten spots that pose an exciting challenge for Preston, and an anxious, worrisome afternoon for myself. I found a pitchfork downstairs and began throwing the old straw through the rotten holes as Preston geared up with his saws-all, sledge hammer, and crowbar on his 4’x8’ plywood ‘island’ to remove the rotten wood. We worked until dark before deciding to call it a day with about 30% of the floor removed. By Sunday, colder temperatures had set in and we took a day to rest and recover before heading back to our jobs on Monday.
We’re now waiting patiently for old man winter to take a break and give us some warmer temperatures to get back to work. In the meantime, stay tuned. We’re currently waiting for quotes to roof the barn that should be here any day. We’re also anxiously anticipating the launch of our Kickstarter Funding Campaign.

After a great phone conversation with one of my favorite people tonight, I have come to the conclusion that 2015 is going to be a good year. It’s our year – to do with it whatever our heart desires – to take on our world. At the end of every year in recent history, she’s said ‘Wow, this year was really your year.’ And each year she’s right, we've been blessed with weddings, graduations, and other family milestones, but they keep getting better. So bring it on 2015, we have a lot in store for you!

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The Beginning

12/30/2014

3 Comments

I always wonder how writers define a where a story begins, and ends for that matter. As I find myself writing today, I'm having trouble introducing our story because it seems the beginning is hard for me to pin down, and I certainly don't see the end.

Preston and I began our adventure to build a winery in our 1920s era brick dairy barn on the acreage we purchased near Stratford, Iowa at the end of July, 2014. But that's not really where it begins. Preston made his first batch of wine while a sophomore living in the dorms at Iowa State. It was a quite terrible watermelon-juice wine that tasted of stale bread and had picked up the unique 'funk' that belongs to the men's floor of Lyon Hall. Through trial and error, he made a few more batches, some better than others, and soon learned that maybe the dorms wasn't the best place to experiment with the whole works. When we finally had a house to call our own, we worked to finish our remodel projects in the kitchen, bathroom, and basement, among many others, so we would officially have a place to invest in this hobby and make some 'good' wine. And we did make some great wine, but not without a few mishaps. I think I did promise to never talk about the time the five gallon glass carboy burst while on my kitchen stove (after the burner 'mysteriously' came on), spilling glass bits and what was a great batch of strawberry wine not only on every surface in my kitchen, but dripping through the floors to an entirely different level of the house and covering everything below as well with the pink, sticky, alcoholic liquid. But we can move on and laugh about it now, right?

My horticultural interests and inspiration from our tours of local Iowa wineries then got me excited about the idea of growing produce for our wine-making and taking this adventure up to the next level, but I soon realized our matchbox-sized yard in town was never going to cut it for Preston's seemingly 'Go Big or Go Home' take on life. I guess I don't remember the exact day or time we decided this hobby could become a lifestyle, but in the spring of 2014 we sold our now-finished house in town and purchased our fixer-upper property northwest of Ames to spread our wings and get our hands dirty. After all, we knew town wasn't for us and getting our hands back in the cool, black Iowa dirt was exactly what we needed.

As you can see from the photos, we got right to work! Trimming and removing trees, hauling out the 'junk' (while keeping the 'good stuff' back), and fresh coats of paint were the top of our priority list. But there's also moments that weren't captured in photos - the look on my face when I found the 48" snake living in our barn (!), the sweaty and disgusting laundry pile that built up as we worked outside in the heat diligently every night and weekend, and the GIANT flames that came up from our bonfire and reflected on faces of friends and neighbors as we celebrated the success of our hard work this fall.

We're absolutely blessed beyond measure to wake up every morning to the sun shimmering on the face of that old brick barn, knowing that hopefully in the near future it can be home to so much more than the piles of old straw and a couple farm cats (but don't worry - if you know me, the cats will be moving into a better home!). We couldn't have been where we are today without the help of family and friends - thanks guys! But I suppose THIS is the beginning. We're moving forward with plans for new roof, floor, and walls within that old brick barn to bring in new life and what will hopefully be the fulfillment of an exciting dream - but for sure an adventure either way! Stay tuned for more...

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2015, Here We Come!

The Beginning

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