Episode:14 The Next Projects For Our Events Venue

We are moving right along to make 2014 the year when we launch our wedding events.  It takes a year to book those events and you have to have your site ready with all the required amenities.

We are building several things:

1. the event stage and dance floor: we will be able to connect event tents of any size to this stage and not lose any space in the tent.
2. the restroom building: across from the tent for the outdoor events

We will be able to use the stage for concerts, plays, orchestras and many other things.

We are also undertaking the remodeling of a small cabin we have on site.  This will be a two-person cabin, with kitchenette and bathroom, and a small porch overlooking the river.

This construction and remodeling will start this coming Monday and will take several months for all of these to be completed.  This will be done in time to participate in the 2014 wedding events.  We are also going to have a Wedding/Bridal Expo next May to showcase our vineyard as an excellent site for weddings, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, engagement and bridal photo sessions.

Of course, our venue is open to business events and private parties as well.  We are open for those events right now as these do not require long term planning like a wedding event does.

We are also starting the design and development phase of our big project "The Wine-TastingRoom".
We are in the process of getting our financing in order and at the same time are looking at the physical site of the Brewer Gristmill as the base of our wine tasting room.  We had an architect and structural engineer look at the existing foundation to see if it could be used to rebuild upon it.  Unfortunately it will not meet code and will need to be reinforced but we can keep the hand-stacked stone wall for aesthetic purposes.  Next we have to hire a consultant for the future septic system to deal with the granite and the river and determine the best system to meet our business objectives.

Then comes the design work, selection of materials to preserve the historical nature of the site, and meet our wine tasting room requirements.

The wine tasting room is critical to driving the other businesses on site such as the events venue, and the lodgings as they are a complementary aspect of our business plan.

We welcome visitors to stop by and visit our site and spread the word about who we are and what we can do.  The outstanding feature of our site versus other vineyards is the beautiful setting by the river for all our buildings.  The river is lovely, makes a great rushing sound as it meanders by our place. Each building, reception lawn, ceremony site is on the river (we mean right over it) and offers a spectacular view.  The view changes with the seasons.  Now we are surrounded by the fall foliage and it does not get any better!

Next year we will be offering picnics amongst the vines.  For a fee and with a reservation you and your special someone will be handed a picnic basket loaded with food, a bottle of wine, dessert and a blanket.  You will be allowed to find a lovely picnic spot of your choosing amongst the grapevines, along the river or anywhere else you please.  We also have fishing, bow hunting, and other lawn games available for our guests.

Think about us for your next event or vacation!

Episode 13: The 2013 Harvest and Winemaking and other events

We have had the most unusual weather in 2013.  It rained almost every day since spring and throughout the summer months. We were not sure what it would do to the grapes.  The sugar level in the grapes were a concern but with a few good days of sun at the end we were able to achieve a respectable level of 19 compared to a desired level of 20.

You may think that you can leave the grapes on the vines a little bit longer but that is not the case; once they reach the optimum level of ripeness if not picked quickly they begin to rot.  All during the season you lose some to deer, birds and disease the last thing you want to do is to lose more due to late picking.  We thought we would pick on the 8th but the grapes were not ready.

In the meantime I had to travel to Atlanta (6 hour journey) to be at my daughter's side for the birth of her second child via C-section. She was born September 10, 2013. Mother and baby are doing fine.

 She was 7 lbs 3 oz. 20". She is a sweet little girl.

The following Saturday I had to leave Amelia and her big brother Greyson, another precious grand-child, to make my way home.

I made it home late that night.

The gator between Chambourcin rows

The very next morning we got up and got dressed to begin the harvest.  The pickers consisted of Luis Perez (who lives on our vineyard) and works for us part-time, his wife Mary Lou, Tom Silvey, Owner and myself Josephine Silvey, Owner.   Tom suggested that someone take a picture of me actually working because nobody will believe that I actually get my hands dirty. Everyone has the misconception that I am a diva. Like the old TV show "Green Acres" where Eva Gabor appears in a Negligee and says "give me 5th Avenue!" and he stands there in overalls holding a pitchfork in his hand! Now back to reality. I work, I get my hands dirty.  Here I am picking grapes without gloves,nipping my fingers with the clippers every once in a while, and yes I did not break a nail! 

The Traminette grapes were much harder picking because the clusters were smaller and the birds and deer had done some damage. The other varietals need several more years before we can harvest them so we did not have to do anything with them. No work was required but no harvest and no wine will come from those vines for another year or so. Now that we have done our homework and know what grows and where it grows well we will need to expand our vineyards to ensure we have enough grapes to create enough to supply our wine-tasting room needs as well as our needs for our events venue.

Tom Silvey and Luis Perez

Luis, Tony and Tom

Episode 12: The flood in the Gathering Room

We were finalizing the checklist we got from Wilkes County to get the certificate of occupancy for The Gathering Place building that we noticed some water on the new hardwood floor. We quickly tried to pick up the water and thought it might be a leak from the newly installed sink and faucet.  Our workers looked for the possible source and checked out all the water connections and tested with some running water.  I was not there for the whole process but after a while they thought they had repaired it.

The next day we found some more water not just in the kitchen but on the other side of the wall in the bathroom. They now had to tear into the walls to find out if there was a pipe in the area.  They found the problem.  When the last wall cabinet was installed a screw punctured the water pipe. Water was originally trickling but then there was a sudden burst and water was flowing pretty freely everywhere. The water was turned off immediately and we began to look at out hardwood floors, only 5 weeks old.
The floor was curling up at the seams the entire length of the building.

I drove immediately to Elkin, NC to get a dehumidifier and two commercial blowers.  These were placed in the building and ran 7 nights and 7 days in an effort to mitigate the damage.  We were hoping we would not have to tear out the floor.  But after a week things did not look much better.  So we finally called the insurance company to report the claim.

After the adjuster came by to review the damage she put us in touch with Premier Restoration  out of N. Wilkesboro came out to quantify the damage.  The humidity meter registered still registered over 50 after our efforts to dry the room out.

Last Monday on July 22, they packed our furniture and moved it into two storage units on wheels that they parked nearby.  Our hardwood contractor came with two workers in tow and tore out the entire floor in one day.

The restoration team took a humidity level reading twice a day from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning when they declared the sub floor to have reached the required humidity reading. Thursday our hardwood contractor was supposed to travel to VA to pick-up the flooring materials from the manufacturer and return Friday morning to replace the water barrier and the flooring.

At 8am on Friday I was expecting my contractor.  No show. By 10 am I am trying to get a hold of him and finally got him on the phone.  I asked him where he was.  He stated he was on another job.  So I asked him why he was not here doing my job.  His excuse was that no one had called him to tell him the sub-floor was ready.  We did not need to do so because we were told it would be ready Friday morning and I myself made the arrangements with him. So I was pretty upset we had lost 5 weeks already.  Finally I got through to him, and he agreed to pick up the wood on Friday, deliver it the same day.  He had told me earlier that he had a job on Monday, so I was wondering when he would get to my job. He could tell from the way that I was asking the questions that I was not pleased at all with the state of affairs.  So I asked all the tough questions to get to the bottom of the situation. Questions such as:

1. Why  was he was starting another job when mine was 1/2 completed and scheduled.
2. He tried repeating the excuse that no one had called him to tell him the floor was dry
3. I reiterated that there was no need for that since we had agreed between us he would bring the would on Thursday, and start installation on Friday. 
4. Nothing had changed since that agreement, and I called him out on it, and told him he had better finish my job before starting that other one.
5. He whined for a while then agreed to deliver the wood on Friday and do the job on Saturday.

On Saturday they started installing the hardwood floor.  At about 1 pm he informed us that his nail gun had broken down and that he needed a replacement part. If he was able to get it, he would be back on Sunday.  I had little hope he would keep his word but, lo and behold, he actually showed up Sunday morning to finish the job.  I think the fact that he had already sold me three hardwood floors before and the promise of six more in the future must have caused an attitude adjustment. It is standard practice for contractors to start multiple jobs and go from one job to another, string everyone along, so they do not lose a job.  I detest that practice and if I find someone doing that they will never be hired again!

I am out $1,000 for the insurance deductible.  I have a saying when there is nothing I can do anymore. I say: "It is what it is!".  To me it means accept the facts and move on.  So that is just what I did.

This coming Monday my cleaning lady is coming to clean the building. I have already contacted premier Restoration to move my furniture back in the building and return us to normal. Our appliances have to be reconnected as well.  Then final tidy-up and we are done!

Episode 11: The bobcat acquisition

Tom and I love to decorate with vignettes of nature.  Once while we were i Waynesville, we saw a fox, raccoon, a bobcat and some other animal shown in a canoe with one another.  It was so pretty - but they wanted a lot of money for it so we could not afford it.

Some time ago, Tom came home from work and said that he had traded a stuffed bobcat for 5 mason jars of moonshine that can be bought "in these here parts!" as they say down here. Seems like everyone knows somebody that makes it. Myself, I don't care for it. Well that was until I was introduced to Apple Pie moonshine.  Well, that's going to require an episode of its own!

A while had passed and I inquired about when we would get the bobcat and Tom said it would not be long.  Some time passed and I soon forgot about it.

One day, a few of the ladies invited me to join them for some "retail therapy" there was a sale in Talbots, Charlotte, NC so we decided to make the drive to get some good bargains.  We had an amazing time and a cart full of clothes.  We hit the mother lode! Thank you Olive and Mary for inviting me!

It was getting late, and Olive and her husband were going to meet another couple for dinner but there was not enough time to drop us off in Traphill, and back track back to Jonesville where they were suppose to eat.  So Olive asked us if we wanted to join them for dinner and call our husbands to join us, that would solve the problem. Arrangements were made and we found ourselves in Theo's restaurant in Jonesville.

When Tom arrived, he told me that he had a surprise for me.  I was pleasantly surprised and asked if I could have it right then.  He said: "No, let's wait after dinner!".  After dinner the ladies decided to go inside a couple of really nice boutiques that sells interesting stuff for the house and take a look around. After a little while we rejoined our husbands in the parking lot by our cars.

We were near our Toyota Avalon, Tom was opening the trunk of the car and while doing so asked me if I would hand him his raincoat from the backseat of our car. I assumed he was getting my surprise out of the trunk.  So I opened the car door and leaned into the back seat to reach fir his raincoat.  When I pulled it to me, I came face to face with a thing glaring at me.  I screamed and got out of there fast,  But my eyes and my brain were not in synch so I went back inside to take another look and screamed again realizing I had been face to face with a bobcat.  I screamed again than started laughing when I realized he had just pulled a trick on me! 

Tom is renowned for playing tricks on me.  He must have told the men beforehand because they were all looking at me to see my reaction would be. Well, I did not disappoint.  After the ladies inquired about what had happened I told them to look inside my car as well.  They took turns doing so, and more laughter ensued. 

Then some of the people that were leaving the restaurant overheard the commotion and came over to ask us what was going on since we were laughing so hard.  We had no choice but to invite them to look as well with another round of laughter as they reacted to the bobcat.  This happened a couple more times with one round of laughter after another! Finally the laughter died down and we left for home.

 

Disclaimer:

For you animal lovers - no bobcat was killed in the making of this prank! 

The bobcat was found by the side of the road as "road kill" and someone picked it up and had it stuffed.  He then gave it away to someone who happened to work with Tom. Somehow or other they got on the subject of the bobcat and an agreement was made. Apparentluy the guy's wife did not want it in her house anymore so she made him get rid of it.  

The following is a picture of the bobcat -- remember it was dark in the parking lot

Here is a picture of the stuffed bobcat.

Here it is in our new building, where it has found a new home.

Episode 9: Construction Of The Rental House

After we bought the adjoining vineyard property we had to get some heavy equipment to develop a road that would allow us to come in from the main entrance and drive over to the house.  We wanted the entrance to make an impression by being the first thing a visitor sees when arriving at the vineyard.  We achieved this by installing a guardrail that essentially closed off the original entrance to the driveway leading to the house.  Once completed all traffic must go through the main vineyard entrance.

This is the vineyards main entrance.

This is the new access road to the house.

This is how the house looked in November 2010 when we bought it.  Since then a lot of work has taken place to bring the house up its current status. 

House At Time Of Purchase

As you can see there was not much to the house when we bought it.  After adding quite a bit of detailing the house slowly began to acquire a personality.  The concrete wrap-around patio and paths were poured, a stone facade and wood beam and shutters were added to the first floor. A covered entrance was added to the front of the house.to protect our guests from inclement weather.  The landscaping was another major improvement. We installed irrigation, sod, planting areas,  and a fence. The bulldozer dug into the mountain side to enlarge the parking area.  We ran into granite and had to select an overflow parking area. We also brought in 54 tons of gravel to improve the road surface. 

View of House On Approach as it looks today.  View from the other side of the house We had a major problem the corner of the back of the house was very close to the river bank.  When it rained, the rainfall would come off the roof and fall down like a sheet of water with such force that it created deep ruts into the soil. Over time the the soil would simply slide down the bank into the river.  We had to stabilize the soil.  First we installed gutters to divert the water.  Then we started to build the retaining wall behind the house to support the riverbank.   This was a huge endeavor but was very worthwhile as we reclaimed some of the lost land, and as such we were able to mow the lawn all around the house on our riding lawnmower. We were also able to remove the corner beams that helped support the right corner of the house (still seen in the picture above, on right corner.). French Bistro set on back patio. Front of house, on 1st floor. We also covered the cement exterior with stone and wood  on the first floor and added "red" as the punch color for the doors and other accents.

The transformation is nearly completed.  We added a red english bench where the metal settee is in the picture and soon we will have a lovely metal plaque above it announcing "The Lodgings". There are two full apartments downstairs with full-in suite kitchen, 1 bedroom, 1 bath. The back patio overlooks the Raoring River. 

This is the view from the back patio.

  It has taken a lot of time and effort to bring out the beauty of the house. We knew we had a beautiful spot on the river and the house needed to match its splendor.

Episode 8: The Entrance

Tom wanted the vineyard to have a beautiful entrance.  He had seen one in a development in Charlotte he really liked so he decided to build it.  I am more practical, I wanted to prioritize the projects that will bring in revenue.  We talked about it for quite a while and I could tell he really wanted this, and since this vineyard was "his baby" I agreed to go forward with it. Even though it does not always make sense, sometimes you just have to be flexible.  It is Tom's dream and I want to be supportive. I can always prioritize the other revenue producing projects and create balance!

So here are a few pictures showing you the progression of the construction for the front entrance.

I am standing at the future location of the entrance gate (2001)

This is the entrance right after the forest cleaning.

The entrance is nearly done at this point (2011)

This is the entrance as it stands today (May 2013)

Episode 7: The story Of Jonathan Stuart

Jonathan Stuart was a man in his fifties.  He had traveled to NC on a visit and fell in love with the state and this area. I don't remember his reason for coming to Traphill.  During his visit to the area he fell in love with this area and in particular with the riverside property.  I mentioned that he was trying to establish a residence and as he put it: "Find himself a wife".  So, he purchased the land, moved a mobile home on it and resided there ever since.  He was using an online dating service to fulfill his other wish.

At the time we bought our vineyard property, he was already living there.  Every time we came up from Florida to visit, we always made a point to visit him.  He also kept an eye on our land since we did not have a caretaker at the time, and only had a cattle gate to secure our property. We gave him a key and would open the gate when we had deliveries made ahead of our arrival.

I remember one time while we were visiting him he told my husband how lucky he was to have a good wife.  And how much he wanted that for himself.  We knew he had not yet found his soulmate but he kept dating different women.

We told him that once he built his dream home that his prospects would be much better but he never got to realize his dreams.

On December 6, 2010 Tom was on a business trip in NC and decided to look in on our property, we had a residence on top of the hill by that time, so it was easy for him to stay there. During his visit with Jonathan he found that he was sick and had a cough that sounded really bad, so Tom suggested that he needed to see a doctor.  Jonathan stated that he did not trust doctors and that he would self-medicate.

He had an unusual belief system.  He did not trust the government, stated that they had fly-overs just to spy on us.  But he was the nicest guy, not a mean bone in him.  He adopted 7 dogs that people dropped off by the Roaring River bridge near his home. So the fact that he did not trust doctors did not surprise us very much.  Regardless of that, Tom strongly urged him to see a doctor.  We did not hear from him after that because we did not come up often during the winter season.

In March, of 2010 we got a call from our Vineyard Manager that Jonathan had died.  We were shocked! Apparently, after self-mediating he was not getting better and decided to see a doctor the week between Christmas and the New Year.  Soon after he received the bad news that he had stage 4 lung cancer.

Soon after that, his son came to drive him to Florida at first, then to Alabama where his family lived.  He was hospitalized and passed away 3 weeks later. As soon as we found out we called his family to express our condolences and found out his brother also had cancer.  It broke our hearts to hear that.

His mother and sisters came to visit not long after we bought the house and were happy to see what we had done with it since purchasing it.

We felt so bad that Jonathan never saw the house in its finished state and not had the chance to live in it. In the beginning I felt his presence, and sometimes addressed him.  We built a memorial by the Grist Mill that was a popular swim home in the area- it has the date when he was born and the date he died, with his name and a bible verse to honor his memory.  We showed it to his mother on a subsequent visit and she was happy that we remembered him in that way.

The construction workers told me that Jonathan's departure was so rapid that he left the sun roof of his Mercedes open, his cell phone on the seat. Left the house and pick-up truck unlocked.  They fed the dogs while they continued working on the construction of the house.  Eventually, after they found out he had died they fed the dogs everyday until they were able to  place the dogs. Only one dog remained after some time, and the builder drove over him in his pick-up. The next day the builder brought his gun to finish off the dog and put him out of his misery.  But when he arrived the dog was running around like nothing had happened! Evidently, the ground was soggy after some rain, and when he was run over the dog sank in the mud, saving his life in the process.  They could not find anyone to adopt him so we took him in.  He is a beautiful large Australian Ridged-back, rust-colored and named Rusty.  The funny thing is that we already had two dogs and one of them was also named Rusty. Our dogs are inside dogs, and he was a free running outdoor dog.  So we asked our Vineyard Manager to watch over him, that we would own him, and pay for his food and expenses until we move here permanently.

In October 2012 we officially relocated from Florida to Traphill, NC.  We live in Jonathan's old house and now have 3 dogs. Rusty stays on top of the vineyards and visit our house by the river.  When he comes down "Little Florida Rusty" and Bobo bark at him and chase him when he visits they just can't understand that he, too, is our dog!