Front and Center With Bob Seger

Last Saturday night I had the best seats I ever had for any concert and I did not even have to fake being in a wheelchair to get them, circa Jimmy Buffett concert 2006. I was priveleged to be fourth row, center stage for rock n' roll icon Bob Seger. It was Bob's opening concert for his 2011 tour and he started out at The Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio which is about an hour and a half from home.

My good seats came from a friend who is a close associate of Bobs, I called for a favor and boy did he come through. The bass blew our shirt sleeves and vibrated our shoes, we were close enough to see Bob's eyes and their twinkle as he marched us through the Bob Seger time machine.

He reminded us that he is 65 years old and was singing songs he wrote in 1967. He claims a right to cover Chuck Berry based on age alone. Giving a bit of background on a couple of songs Bob's memories come out clear and strong.

His voice is still solid and he uses it hard. Watching him move around on stage makes me think he'll be a bit stiff in the morning. By the end of the tour he ought really to be in great physical shape if he continues to work the stage and please the crowd like he did on Saturday night.

Our "friends" seating meant we could go to the after party where we actually ran into a couple of pals from home, small world huh?

A New Outdoor Room

One of our first projects this spring will be to install a flagstone patio for long time customers Larry and Charlene who live in beautiful, pristine location on Snow Lake. Their addition really started to take off about 15 years ago and we were privileged to landscape many of those new homes. As I have said before we can do all or part of the landscape installation and fifteen years age this couple still had lots of energy, and less aches and pains so they did a lot of the work themselves Millgrove helped with design and some of the heavier projects. They have added beds and changed their outdoor space over the years. Larry built a great little arbor as a garden entrance and they have grouped some of the largest trees into well tended beds. Despite living on a heavily wooded lot the grass is strong, evidence of the couples meticulous care of their lawn and gardens. Someone is always out with a rake chasing the nuts and leaves that are the entertainment of early spring clean up. There is an easement next to this property which makes access go from extremely difficult to a near cake walk. Without the access much of this project would have to be accomplished with wheelbarrow power and the Dingo. There is room now to even use our big Deere. Charlene and Larry chose a flagstone called "Rustic" it is sandstone with a variety of tan, dark brown and a light rust colors. Our original plan calls for medium size stone (2-3" thick and 16-24" length and width) but we may change and up size the individual flagstone pieces if it is within our budget. With the scale of the house, yard and porch steps we can easily use larger flagstone.

Inside/Out

Building in lower Michigan in winter is all about timing. Getting the house under roof, putting up the exterior sheeting and getting the furnace in before the snow flies are critical for the contractor. No furnace no drywall no work over the winter. Opus Builders planned well, Jane and Craig's house is on schedule and their crew has been busy completing the interior while the snow was flying and is now beginning work on the exterior.

Painting, trimming, cabinets and finally floor covering is happening inside. Siding weather is finally here as we reached temperatures in the sixties this past week.

We were on sight a couple of weeks ago and the weather was less than ideal. Taking measurements and planning for the landscaping is not always a fair weather task. Having just come back from the south snow and ice are a rude reminder of Midwest winter. Drainage issues on this property will be addressed after the exterior is complete. For right now one needs to be extra careful walking around to avoid stepping through the ice crusted ground into freshly plowed trenches, both Bruce and myself got muddy reminders when we both buried a leg into icy, sloppy holes.

Going inside to thaw our legs and get a feel for the interior was a welcome relief from our outdoor duties. It is important to me to be able to see the inside of the homes we work on to learn more about our customers style and interior lay out. Putting an herb garden close to the kitchen, fragrant plants near windows, protecting precious lake views by not blocking views are all accomplished best when I am afforded access to a clients home.

Additionally when we are installing exterior lighting or helping with irrigation we need to know where we will be putting switches or coming out with electrical lines. There is lots of planning and coordination that needs to happen between builders, electricians, landscapers and decorators. Planning ahead saves the home owners both money and headaches.

Craig and Jane Choose Millgrove

Last fall I recorded a video of Jane and Craig's house moving from one side of Lake George to the other, you can go to the post entitled, "House Causes Traffic Jam" and watch. This couple is not looking back as they now have a brand new house where the old one sat and a tentative completion date of mid April.
The new house is gorgeous already. The unique floor plan, expansive views of the lake, screen porch and ground level master suite are just a few of the features that will sustain this loving couple for many years to come.

The house is on the final countdown with painters hot on the heals of the finish carpenters. Every fixture, color, cabinets and furniture has be chosen for the inside. The outside siding will be started this week. When gutters are on and the drive has been poured it will be time for landscaping. One small hitch in our get-a-long is the dredging of the channel in front of their home which separates the shore from the small island they own. Trying to stay ahead of the game permit processing for the dredging was done last fall, hoping that the actual work would take place over winter. The permit gods of Michigan have delayed that aspect of the project but our hopes are high as Jane and Craig just got word that permission should be granted about 20 days from now if all goes well. I plan on getting some video of that process and posting on the blog.

One of the things I admire most about this house is the way the architect and designers took full advantage of the lake views. There are windows everywhere, the light is fabulous and the space open and inviting. I am anxious to see the rooms painted, Jane says she has chosen rich dark colors.

This weekend we picked out pavers about 1100 square feet will be installed in multiple locations. We are going to be installing a paver from a new company, Unilock. For a variety of reasons we are gradually going to switch paver and block manufactures this year. Sadly our local hardscape supplier was forced out of business last year and we are shopping suppliers this year. We are pleased so far with our choice, Felger's in Fort Wayne, IN. Felger's is backed by their distributor, Masolite also located in Fort Wayne, Felger's has a great display of hardscape which makes selection easier. And Matt Felger is a knowledgeable and gracious salesman.

It has been nearly three weeks since I left Florida and I have been busy getting Millgrove up and ready for the season. We have signed a couple of new home construction jobs, looked at some smaller projects and are getting our maintainance division geared up. Gary Baker will start work in the morning getting equipment around and we should be running full speed by April 3.

I sure miss my internet connection in FL and even ST. Lucia, my connection in IN is from a satellite in my yard and the Dish network. I loaded Craig and Jane's video last night and twelve hours later it was nearly finished. My winter connections would have accomplished that task in under five minutes. Imagine.