Renovation of Tobias Nebraska Community Church into Holy Cross Cottage

08/22/2026

July 1 - 24, 2026 We kept working on the floors of the cottage. We had to use leveling cement again. We first used it two years ago on the basement’s bathroom floor. Now we had to put it in the entry to our master bedroom from the kitchen. This is where we had placed a heavy beam into the floor to add support for the loft and also where we had lowered the altar to floor level. The floor wasn’t quite level when we replaced the floor in those spots. The leveling cement is not a fun experience as it’s messy and sets up quickly!😬 After that dried for a few days we went back to extending the luxury vinyl planks from the kitchen into our bedroom and did 99% of the living/dining/kitchen LVP flooring. The entryway to the cottage will not get new flooring yet as we need to jack up the floor a bit in the area of the basement steps. Then we began the flooring in the master bathroom as we wanted to get the toilet, two vanities, and the stackable washer and dryer installed. Sam also worked on the plumbing under the space for the kitchen sink. The master bathroom was nearly completed in this period of time. Still need to install the toilet! 🤷🏻 But I’m now washing and drying clothes at the cottage. A big hurdle we’ve gotten over. I have to say I do miss doing our laundry at Mom’s every ten days or so. I mainly miss spending those three-plus hours with Mom. We got a lot of visiting done while I was there!🥰

08/08/2026

June 10 - June 26, 2026 Sam spent time installing black handles on all the kitchen cupboards and drawers. He also added the luxury vinyl plank (LVP) treads to the loft stairs. They look so pretty and I’m impressed that they have some cushion and muffle the sound of footsteps really well. One weekend we had a large family gathering to welcome our Hawaii daughter and family who were in Nebraska for a week. We took advantage of all the hunky guys and they lifted the heavy quartz countertop into place on the island and even moved all our appliances from the garage into the cottage. Sam later hooked up the above stove microwave. Then Sam and I spent the week beginning the install of the LVP flooring in the living room and kitchen area. We started working west to east and as we got the flooring laid in the refrigerator alcove we moved the refrigerator into the space and got it hooked up. Same with the stove and then the dishwasher. The cottage is really beginning to come together!😃

07/29/2026

May 25 - June 6, 2026 We spent this time on some of the cottage details.😊 We added lightbulbs to the new light fixtures, and Sam installed the new white outlet and light switch plates. Light fixtures were hooked up in the two new bathrooms and cousin Joel helped Sam begin to install the kitchen cabinets. Lastly Sam worked on building and attaching the loft steps. All this was in time for June 6th when I hosted my 50th class reunion at the cottage. We had a great turnout for our Class of ‘76 with 19 of our classmates together out of 34 original members.😁 My goal was to have the cottage finished in time but it really didn’t matter. Now they’ll just all have to come back to see it when it’s actually done!🤪

07/08/2026

May 16 - 23, 2026 This was a busy week! First we covered all the new windows with plastic and taped all the windows and edges so we could begin primer and paint. Sam used a paint sprayer for the primer and then we began rolling and trimming the actual paint. We took a piece of the original tin to get the paint color-matched and Sam started painting the back wall of the kitchen where the stove and cupboards would go. The paint was way too yellow. We stopped, ran back to the store and got a much more toned down version of the paint, almost white, but with a touch of yellow in it. Then back to the cottage to start painting over the yellow!🤦🏻 I’m a painting novice so Sam let me start by hand painting the primer on the kitchen island and also in the two entryway closets. I also painted all the new ceilings the drywallers had installed and textured. Then I graduated to using the pale yellow paint in the pantry, the guest bathroom, the master bathroom and bedroom. Sam worked on the living room/kitchen/dining area (all the super high walls) and eventually the loft.
During that week we also took a day when cousin Joel and son Brian were available to help us haul in all the boxes of kitchen cupboards from the garage. We unboxed a lot of them and began setting them in place. The master closet became the storage place for the spare unopened boxes of cupboard doors, drawers, and shelves.
Our kitchen quartz countertops were delivered to the outside of the cottage and left on the sidewalk. The delivery driver explained how the countertops should be carried into the kitchen. Luckily my brother Todd, two of his boys and Brian came to help lift them into the cottage. Boy were they heavy! It was nearly impossible for the guys to lift them up the 6 steps. They got them into the kitchen area but we were not ready for the countertops to be put into place yet. The rest of the week we painted and painted and painted! We got probably 90% of the painting done. Still need to paint the master closet (too many boxes stored in there) and the entryway.

06/17/2026

May 6, 2026 Here’s a video I made of our cottage project last month in the midst of drywall!😊 At the time we were one month out from hosting my 50th class reunion in this space.😬

06/16/2026

May 1 -13, 2026 Drywall guys arrived to get the first floor and loft done. They also textured the ceilings in the master bedroom, bath, and closet. What a Godsend to turn that job over to someone else. Our 17 1/2 foot ceilings would have made it difficult for us to even attempt it!😬

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

April 8, 2026 - May 1, 2026 I haven’t updated this page in awhile as we had to complete a variety of cottage projects in order to be ready to hire out the upstairs drywall to be done. The insulation had to be finished, and at the same time Sam completed pulling the electric wires through walls and then had to work on the upstairs plumbing. The plumbing had to be put in the two bathrooms, the space where the stackable washer/dryer will go, the kitchen refrigerator area for the ice maker, and the kitchen sink space. My cousin W***y helped and another day good friend Russ arrived to assist Sam in doing the wiring for two ceiling fans/lights (one in the loft and one between the kitchen and living room area), and two light fixtures (one above the kitchen island and one that will be above the dining table). This involved climbing into the bell tower and walking/crawling through the space between the tin ceiling and the actual roof. Not easy! One person was inside the crawl space and one on the outside trying to direct where the other needed to go. They also discovered they had to communicate by phone to be able to hear each other! Genius!🤪

05/04/2026

March 30-April 3, 2026 Brian and I started working on installing the insulation, then gradually Brian took over and just did it!😊 Sam worked on continuing to do the wiring. Fortunately my cousin’s husband Joel W came several days to assist with that job. Remember there was only the original k**b and tube on the main floor and the only lighting was with wall sconces. So it all needed updating!

04/25/2026

In a round about way this sort of applies to the cottage renovation.😊 Yesterday 4/24/2026 grandson Braxton’s 4th grade class at Meridian held their Wax Museum. Each student researched and became a notable Nebraskan. Braxton was Tobias Castor the founder of our town Tobias.😃 Braxton wanted some props for his presentation so we came up with a cane, an old coffee pot that we found in the church basement, and some square nails and a railroad spike also from the church! The Wax Museum was a wonderful event! The kids were still as statues until you came up to their space and you stepped on a “button” on the floor, when they came to life and told about themselves as their character. It was such a fun experience for the kids and for their audience.😁