A Constructive Summer - Veranda and Piazza

The fourth installment chronicling our seminary construction projects this summer: the new Veranda and Piazza.

We began this project late in the Autumn of 2007; we often host guests in our hospitality room, which is next to the kitchen of the Saint Olaf room in our basement. Our rector - never at a loss for great ideas - thought it would be wonderful to have a piazza outside of the hospitality room so that our guests could be outdoors as well if we have good weather.

After installing the base tiles late last year, our crews have been able to complete this, our most hospitable project of the summer (please note the PUN on the word "hospitable," as the veranda is paired with out Hospitality Room).

First order of business for the summer project: build a blockade wall between the veranda and the back-lot of the seminary. "Why?" you ask. We have our very standard reasons. Firstly, you may have seen many freeways and interstates where a wall is built to protect a neighborhood from the noise pollution - same idea with our small back parking-lot of the seminary. Secondly, from a visual perspective (if I may editorialize) it adds a certain "class" to the surrounding.

Second order: add a small firepit. "Why?" you ask. To that I say and say again: why not? In fact, Deacon Parrott hosted several seminarians earlier this Summer for a social invent that included a fire in our new firepit. Relatedly, at a House Party this past spring (see our April "House Party" entry in this Web-Log) one of the priests of the seminary was socializing with several seminarians near our then-make-shift firepit; he commented how nice it is to socialize around a fire in the evening. In fact, he jokingly added: "It's good to enjoy a fire with others; that way if we don't get our Eternal Reward, at least we'll be comfortable!"

The finishing touches: add a few woodchips, plants and a fence-border. We finished off this section with some standard plans. Around the verands (which is tile) we added woodchips atop the Earth rather than hope our grass would not wear-out through the ongoing foot-traffic. Then create a border-fence to both keep the woodchips from going too far astray too quickly and to add a sense of closure to the piazza.

It turned out very well. I hope that we will be able to have you as our guests for prayers and an evening on the Veranda sometime soon. However, I must add that we have a safeguard against, shall we say, "unplanned parties." Very sadly we have found that we cannot always trust that things (such as furniture) that we leave outdoors will still be there in the morning. As such, all of our outdoor furniture for the piazza is locked-down until an officially-planned event.

We hope to make you our guest at the seminary and allow you to feel right-at-home in our Piazza and on our Veranda.

Take care, -Jeremy