Thankful and Blessed

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and it's become a great reminder in recent years of how truly blessed we are.  In the Spring of 2017 my dad received the dreaded news that no one ever wants to get:  Cancer.  Triple Hit Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (Stage 4) was his diagnosis.  He underwent several rounds of intense Chemotherapy in Sioux Falls, SD, before being referred to a team of Oncologists at the Mayo Clinic.  That year we spent Thanksgiving apart from my family.  My parents were in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic, where my dad was just beginning a stem cell transplant, that was to eradicate any cancer that may be hiding in his body.  By Christmas of 2017, his treatment was complete and he received the OK to come home.  It was one of the most magical Christmas' I can remember, and something we  all are very thankful for.  His cancer journey was the catalyst for us to get this winery dream going and make it a reality!

Things may not be on schedule with the winery project, but it allowed us to take another weekend off and spend it with family for our quarterly birthday party.  My family has a tradition to get together and celebrate all of the kids birthdays at my parents, so we have 4 big birthday parties spaced out throughout the year, and we always have a great time!  We also used the 4th quarter party to get pictures taken with grandma and grandpa in matching jammies for their Christmas card.  And if that wasn't enough fun, we also celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday with them.  It was a full weekend, but its a nice way to recharge and reconnect with everyone.  We will be with Joe's family on Thanksgiving Day to have our celebration with them. 

It's been some time since my last winery update, but if you follow us on Facebook, you would have seen that the windows have been installed!!  The temps are dropping, so it's been nice to have these help keep the cold outside.  We have to keep the production space heated in order to keep the frost out in preparation of the concrete being poured.  Having the windows have helped keep the wind from moving through so drastically. 

The interior walls are also getting framed in and things are really starting to take shape!  My office looking through to the kitchen is on the left and the lab area is on the right. 

Earlier this week, the State Plumbing inspector came in and gave his blessing on the plumbing lines that were installed for the floor drains, so now the rest of the project can move forward.  The gas line was put in place and electrical lines are being installed.  We are still pushing to get the floor poured...soon.  I know I probably sound like a broken record.  I hoped that this week I could have announced that it was completed, but it is not.  And because of the holiday we will lose more days of productivity.  But my prayer is that the crew will spend some time to rest and recharge and be ready to really push this next week to finish that floor.  The clock is ticking and each week that goes by is another week we pay to have our juice in storage, and another week later that we will be able to open next summer.  Soon...

And I want to extend a HUGE thank you to those of you who placed your orders last week for the apparel.  This allowed us to generate a little bit of cash flow to help us buy supplies for the wine making process that will happen in the not-too-distant future.  We are thankful and so blessed to be apart of this community, and to have such great supporters far and wide cheering us on!  Safe travels to all of you who are making trips to spend with friends and family on this extended weekend.  May your cups always be full!  And may they be full of RFV wine next year :) Blessings to all of you!