We Have Cement!

Do you remember those fuel tanks that were removed from my store's parking lot in early August? The parking lot has been untouched since those huge holes were filled in and the rusty metal taken away. The trees that used to line the center of the lot were removed and two months of parking in the mud without any guidelines ensued. Fortunately most people using our lot were already familiar with the format - which driveway was the entrance, which the exit, and what angles were usually used for parking. 

One week ago our parking lot was blocked off and the promise of concrete curbs and asphalt was spoken of. But then it rained, so the parking lot was one again opened. We were hopeful that eventually something would happen, though, and two days ago returned to a blocked-off parking lot. Now we have cement! Take a look at all that happened yesterday. 

When I arrived in the morning, there were machines, trucks and
guys in bright neon all over the parking lot. My store's building
is beyond the trees, this corner is the far corner of the parking lot where
it is closest to the street. 

Directly in front of my door was this large green truck from the
"Bituminous Roadway" company. They had done all of the asphalt
in front of the store two years ago when our street was completely
eaten up by dinosaurs and restructured. They do very good work. 

By the time I left at 6:15 pm, I had concrete in front of my back door! I
had to take a rather fancy 90-degree turn from my door to the dirt
on the side, because the concrete wasn't 100% set, but it was
do-able without too much hassle. Chickie had a harder time getting out. 

If you look carefully at the previous photo near the door, you'll see one
solitary footprint. That's from Chickie as she attempted to make the jump
from the store (where I'm standing while taking the photo), to the
dirt on the right side. It's a distance of approximately a foot, but it's
straight sideways. I managed to do it without stepping on the new
cement, but Chickie "left her mark" in the lime. 

The concrete guys did a really nice job. This is the back of the parking lot, the
only place we now have trees left. They did curbs around the trees and angled
the spaces in the way we need it for traffic flow. Within the next day or so,
the asphalt guys should arrive and cover the dirt with new asphalt. Then
we should get new parking lines painted and our "Reserved for our customers"
signs replaced. I'm pretty happy right now! 

It's been quite the haul to get this far, but I'm hoping that we enter the winter with a new, smooth parking lot with definite curbs. It'll help with the water drainage too. I've been in this location since the early 1990's and this project is LONG overdue. I can hardly wait for the next step. 

I hope you have a terrific Wednesday. My day is PACKED with stuff that I need to do, repairs to make, and I'm continuing work on my holiday cards. I'll be collecting names and addresses from all of you soon, so keep your eyes open or message me if you want one of my cards for this year. Enjoy your day and spread kindness wherever you go.