April 3, 2012

 So it's been 10 wks since DJ bought his home.  We've been working like crazy trying to get the remodel done by the first of April.  Here's the first installment of the before and after photos.  DJ and the Bury's officially moved in today!  Of course, there's still some things that need finished, but we're very proud and excited of the job done.  They deserve the best, and it was our job at Camp Daniel to make sure that we gave them the best we could.  The pic above shows the original exterior.  Notice in the second photo that the door moved to where the farthest left window was.

 We also changed the shutters from burgundy to green, and painted the new front door to match.  New exterior lighting was added.  The old stairs were reconfigured, and the deck area made larger.  The first section of the ramp is in and you can see the second two sections laying flat on the ground.  The ramp was from Tony's grandpa Bruette.  It's been laying around Camp Daniel for many years, so we're happy to see it put to use.  That's a lot of lumber!  The patio area joins the stairs and the ramp, and was made from a small amount of landscaping block that was also donated.  The deck will be u shaped and the area in the middle of it will be planted with existing plants and a tree that we still need to purchase.

 The above photo and the ones following are the same shot.  It's the original master bedroom and it's window.  The window was taken out, and replaced with the new front door.  So what was the bedroom, is now the entry/mudroom.  In the photo below you can see the backside of the fireplace.  The tv hangs above it, so Tony had the idea to wire the sound, video, etc thru this area.  He built a cubby in the dead space above the firebox.

 This is about how the area looks now, except that there's hooks to the left of the door.  There will eventually be a built in bench area below the cubby doors for shoes, etc.

 This is the same master bedroom, just from the other angle

   The above So the entry is much smaller than the original bedroom.  The door on the right leads to a large walk in closet to be used for coats and misc. storage items.  Part of the bedroom also turned into the doorway to the garage and the hall leading to it.

This last photo is straight across from the front door.  Nick, Richard and Brian wanted to give DJ, Jen and Marceaux a housewarming gift, so they bought the vinyl saying on the wall "For we walk by faith, not by sight.", and in the background on the right, you can see a collage frame with pictures of their Camp Daniel family.

March 13, 2012

 We've all been working quite a bit at DJ's house.  The pic above is the dining area.  The ceiling and upper part of the walls are painted.  Rick Bub came and helped one day last week.  He hung the new light fixtures that go over the dining table, the island and over the sink.

 Jerod and Tim spent two days last week plastering.  There was so much moisture in the house that the windows were dripping with condensation.  We put some fans in there, and now the living room and mudroom/entry are ready to be painted.  They also finished the first coat of plaster in most of the garage.

Tony also installed a new crown molding on the kitchen cabinets.  It makes them look so much nicer!  The pantry has part of the shelving installed.  Both bathrooms have been painted.  Tony installed a new sink top in DJ's bath, which looks great.  Jen's mom and dad came last Thursday to help, and Jen's dad put together an over-the-toilet cabinet and a shelving unit.
Molly has been busy inputting all of the camper names and addresses into our new address book.  Chrissy has started the next Camp Daniel newsletter.  Karol has been busy trying to keep up with the mail/bills in the office.  It's just a fraction of what Papa Tony normally does, yet it's keeping her quite busy.  Jen and Marceaux made a presentation last week at Rasmussen college.  It was a fundraiser for the teachers.  We got a nice donation, and hopefully we'll get a counselor or two as well!  Planning is still going strong for the banquet on the 23rd.  Ticket orders are still coming in.   If you haven't ordered your tickets yet, you should soon!!  Last Thursday, Jim and Bill, from Our Lady Catholic Youth Group, Rosemont, IL, came up for the afternoon to decide on what projects their youth group will work on this summer, when they come for a work week.  We have been very very blessed by all that this youth group has done over the past several summers.  This summer is shaping up to be another great one!
Today Tony nailed down the speakers for each week of camp. We also had a delivery of another group of bunk beds.  These will be used in the second dorm, (Trapline Lodge).

Tuesday February 21, 2012

 This past weekend, Camp Daniel hosted the 2nd annual Able Church Winter Retreat.  There were 50 attendees at the retreat, which made for a full Hartley House at mealtimes!  We had great weather and took full advantage.  The schedule included chapel services (Aubrey Crawford as the guest speaker), small group time, indoor games, movie and popcorn night and outdoor games.  My photos were all taken during the outdoor rec time.

 I've titled the photo below "Got Snow?"  Elijah had a blast eating snow with George!!

 Many attendees played "monkey ball"  which is a like soccer on ice with your hands instead of feet.

 We got decorations up in each of the 4 cabins of Lumberjack Lodge.  Each room has one large shelf that displays an old chainsaw, hard hat and other misc. lumberjack tools.  Above each shelf is a branch that goes with the theme of the room.  The photo below is Jack Pine.

 The pic below is the Sugar Maple Cabin.  I purposefully got the surrounding beds because it's just exciting to see the rooms get used!  On the wall to the left of the doorway, is a two man saw and metal signs for chainsaws and maple leaf something or the other.  Each room has one a similar arrangement on the wall.  Each room also has 3 16x20 framed black and white photos of old lumberjack scenes.  The frames were painted in an aged finish that matches the color of each room.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

 Last Thursday a group of 27 college students and 2 adults from Silver Birch Ranch came for a work day at Camp Daniel.  They worked a half day on Thursday, and they also fit in a half day of work on Friday, before leaving right after lunch.  They had groups to host at their camp, one of which was Living Hope Church's youth winter retreat.  One of the tricky things about winter work days, is having enough indoor jobs for everyone.  We split up the large group into 6 smaller groups.  Half of the groups worked in the Trapline Lodge at Camp Daniel, and half worked on the remodel at DJ's house.  The photo above shows two of the 4 kids that had the job of scraping all of the texture off of the ceilings.  It was a very large and extremely messy job.  What a blessing to have help for such a task!  While the scrapers were in full action, the group in the photo below were working in the garage at DJ's.  To the concrete floor they laid, plastic, then 2" foam, then plywood.  This layer of vapor barrier and insulation will keep the 3 bedrooms that will be in the garage toasty warm in the winters.

 After laying the flooring, this group worked on the old and new entrance to the garage.  We moved the door from the laundry area to the new entry area.  As you can see in the photo below, moving electrical wiring complicated this job.  We are also moving the front door, which of course, had wiring thru that area as well.  Thankfully the crawl space is concrete, so Karol was able to scoot around under the house and pull and push wires to accommodate the new floor plan.

 This photo is kind of out of order, but it shows one of the finishing touches still going up in the Lumberjack Lodge.  The half glass doors let in a wonderful amount of light, but they also don't allow for much privacy.  Each door now has a leaf logo representing that particular cabin (that's what we call each of the 4 rooms in a lodge) and privacy frosting.  That combined with the curtains, gives privacy for changing, without dark dungeon feel that you often get in camp dorm rooms.  There were many other details added before the Silver Birch group arrived.  Tim applied a narrow strip to each shower area so that the water from the showers cannot run into the rest of the bathroom.  He and Jerod built and installed a large shelf in each cabin, which will be for lumberjack decorations.  They also finished putting up the last of the curtain rods.  Karol touched up paint and polyeurethane.  We scrambled to get as many mattresses as we could for the bunk beds.  We have about 30, and really need many more.

 Back to the work day.  One of the groups that worked at Camp Daniel insulated and installed plywood in the attic above the bathroom.  It was a very big job, and they came super close to finishing.  When the last of the plywood goes on, we'll be able to use this area for storage.

 This group plastered the seams in the two bathrooms.

 There were 4 people working in this cabin.  Since Dave Detloff finished the tongue and groove in here, it's been ready for the poly.  Over the two days, this group applied one full coat, sanded and applied the second coat.  Done!  They also put all of the trim around the windows in this room and the room next to it as well.  Tim also had kids put outlet covers on all of the outlets in both rooms, of which there are many.  (No counselor at our camps should need to bring an extension cord.  And what will we do with all of the 3 prong adapters that use every year at Lake Helen?)

Tim also had a small group take the building materials that had been stored in two bathrooms, organize them, and stack them neatly into one bathroom.  With that task accomplished, we can now tile two bathrooms at once without moving a bunch of stuff around.
I'm sure that I have forgotten some of the many jobs that the Silver Birch Ranch group finished.  It's hard to express what a blessing it is to get such a boost on projects during the winter!  It would have taken us, at least 3 weeks to do all that they did in those two half days.  Plus, I would like to acknowledge what a great group of people they are.  Each year the kids change, but they are always a joy to have and we just appreciate the relationship we have with Silver Birch.  In past years, they even invited all of our Camp Daniel staff out to their camp for a day of food and fun.  Their staff took us horseback riding, on hay rides, rock climbing, and just allowed us to enjoy their facilities.  All of this with no renumeration to them.  They are just really nice people who serve the Lord faithfully.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

 As you can see in the photo above, Dave D. has been very busy at Camp Daniel, installing tongue and groove in the Trapline Lodge.  This pic is actually a few days old.  He has since finished installing in this room.

We, at Camp Daniel, are generally a very healthy bunch, but  in this past week or two, many of us have fallen to colds and such.  This has slowed progress at DJ's house.  We've also been missing Marceaux and Jen, as they have been in Minneapolis for the past week and a half, visiting with Marceaux' dad, whom flew in to have procedures done at Mayo Clinic.  Thankfully, all is going well there, and the Bury's will be back in WI this weekend.  So Tony and the guys have done what they can at DJ's.  In the photo above you can see that they removed the wall between the kitchen/dining area and the living room.  They pulled up carpet in the living room and old master bedroom.  They've moved the door that leads to DJ's room.  We've added shelving in the two closets.  This remodel is so large  that it took Tony and Karol 5 hrs at Menards to buy materials yesterday.  Of course, this is on top of many other smaller trips to the do-it-yourself stores.

Chrissy has been preparing meals for two large groups that will be on the grounds in the near future.  Today, a group of 30 will be coming from Silver Birch Ranch to work on the grounds.  They will work this afternoon and tomorrow morning.  That's 50+ people that need to be fed 4 meals.  Next weekend is the Able Church Winter Retreat.   We are expecting about the same amount for those meals.  What would we do without the  spaciousness of the Hartley House?

We are all doing preparations for camp as well.  Applications are being reworked right now.  They should be out by March 1.  Tony has been working on the theme, logo, etc.  Molly is starting a handbook that will be a wealth of information to our counselors at camp.  Karol is figuring out crafts for the summer and 2 new theme meals.  They will be a Christmas theme, (of which we haven't come up with a name for yet) and we are also bringing back a different version of a theme meal we did a few years ago.  It's a farmhouse theme.  The character will be the farmer that stars in one of our orientation videos.

DJ's House January 26, 2012

 DJ is now a proud homeowner!!  The photo above shows DJ holding the keys to his new home.  It was taken just after the closing this Tuesday.  This has been an amazing process that started many months ago, when DJ received an unexpected inheritance.  We started talking about what DJ wanted to do with this money, and purchasing a home seemed to be the best idea.  We've been hoping for a new group home on Camp Daniel for DJ and the Bury's (whom have a baby on the way).  An ideal situation would have DJ in a home with another person with a disability that is more DJ's speed, and is around the house more that his current roommates.  Jen and Marceaux' baby is due in May and we really wanted to get them into something bigger than their current 400 square foot efficiency quarters.  After a lot of research, inquiries and rejection, DJ was able to secure a loan with our local bank in Crivitz.

 We found this manufactured home with attached garage on 3 acres.  It's a 5 minute drive from Camp Daniel.  The home is from 2003, so is in pretty good shape, but, of course it needs some renovations to accommodate the living situations of a group home.  The plan is to have 1 or 2 additional guys with disabilities move into the home.  With the Bury's as house parents, it will be set up similarly to the Hartley House at Camp Daniel.
When renovations are complete, the house will have 5 bedrooms, 2 baths and 2 living spaces.  As you can see in the photo below, it has a wood burning fireplace.
These pics were taken before the purchase.  It's now empty and the guys have already started deconstruction.  I'll be sure to keep you posted, as we should end up with some great before and after's!

Other news around Camp Daniel:
The Able Attack Special Olympics basketball teams had a tournament last weekend.  They played some really tough teams, and they're excited to get some wins at the next one.
Tim as been spraying polyeurethane on about anything that sits still too long.  Here's the items I can think of:  12 frames that I painted, about 18 shelf/curtain rod brackets, two curtain rods, shelving and entertainment center pieces that Tim built for his basement, a mantel, and a bench.  Even though spraying is much quicker than brushing on the finish, it still takes multiple coats, and with that much stuff, he doesn't even have room enough to spread it all out at once.
Dave Detloff was here this week.  He started on the tongue and groove in the Trapline Lodge.  Last week, Marceaux and Jerod painted the ceilings in the newly plastered rooms.
I feel like all I've been doing is paperwork.  It's amazing how much stuff has accumulated for DJ's house!  Between the loan, the insurance, the title papers and the offer, I may need to get a new file cabinet!  This week, was due the state required water withdrawal report for all 6 wells on the property.  Also due, payee report for Richard, which accounts for all the money he receives in a calendar year.  Lastly, I had to fill out a lengthy report for Brian.  Social Security office wants to be sure that he still has a disability.
Tony and the guys worked in Green Bay a number of days taking apart office cubicles.  Tony was looking on Craigslist for office furniture and came across a guy willing to give away an entire office of cubicles and other furniture.  He just wanted it gone and not to have to deal with it.  So Tony said he'd take it all.  It was over 24 cubes, plus conference room.  We've already absorbed much of it:  Tony and James Kocian are converting a large closet into two office cubicles at Living Hope Church, DJ got a new desk in his new room, we put new chairs in the Camp Daniel office, Tony took a large desk setup for his new office on the Camp Daniel property (to be built this spring), we took 3 nice tables for the craft cabin (since the Bury's will be moving out, it'll be an actual craft cabin soon), Tim Mandich took some pieces, and a walled section is being used in the vestibule at Living Hope Church.  Now Tony is trying to sell what's left, which is less than half of the original amount!  So it's been a huge blessing, but obviously a lot of work taking all that stuff apart, then organizing, then moving each piece here and there.  Who would have known how valuable his cubicle building experience from his American Medical Security days would be!

Tuesday, January 17

 Of course, lots has happened since I last blogged!  Just yesterday, Jeff Sielaf brought 3 men that he knows, out for a work day.  As you can see in the photos, they stained the 6 bunk beds that were built and sanded in recent weeks.  They also stained the corbel brackets that will hold shelves and curtain rods in the dorms.  Those were just built in the past week.

 Also, on Monday, we bought a load of tongue and groove, which will be used on the walls in the Trapline Lodge.  In the pic below, you see Richard and Brian stacking them up in the bathroom, which since I last blogged, has been sheet rocked and plastered.  Also getting plastered this winter were the ceilings in one dorm room and two additional baths.  Jerod Kostreva, who has been a great help all winter, learned how to plaster from Tim and did much of the work with the guys while the Kelly's were visiting family in Montana over Christmas.  He even taught the guys how to mix the plaster.

The goal is to have two dorm rooms and two bathrooms done by spring.  The remaining rooms will basically have to wait to be finished until the new garage is built, as they are being used as work rooms.

Today, Rick Bub spent the day here painting the newly plastered ceilings.

Another new development in recent months, is the formation of the Camp Daniel Booster Club.  Tim Mandich is leading this group of wonderful people whom are interested in raising funds and awareness for Camp Daniel.  Tony has been working with the group on their first major event, which will be a banquet on March 23, in Green Bay.  They just finished the mailer that gives the information, and those will be going in the mail very soon.  We're very excited for the upcoming event and we're very appreciative of the hard work and dedication that has been poured into the Booster Club and this particular event.

Some camp stuff is underway as well.  It's always good to get as much camp items done as early as possible.