It snowed almost 3 feet in our area over Saturday and Sunday. But tentative still meant definite in my head.
I called the monument company first thing this morning and asked if we were still a go for installing today. The office said that the guys were already headed to our area and were planning on installing.
An hour later I got a call from the installer, Dustin. He said that the two others they had planned on installing in Heber and Park City couldn't be done, there was too much snow when they got to each place, and what was the status of the Francis Cemetery? Apparently the Sexton of the cemetery wasn't answering his phone. So, I threw on my coat and boots and drove over to get them an answer. Tentative = definite.
Well, the lanes through the cemetery had not been plowed, so the monument company definitely wasn't going to be able to get in close enough to install. The Sexton still wasn't answering his phone. I called Dustin and told him that it wasn't plowed but I was going find a plow, so he should head on over to Francis.
I'm driving back home and contemplating stopping various snow removal trucks currently on the road and asking them to come clear the snow at the Francis Cemetery. My daughter needs her marker!!
I neared our house and noticed our neighbors, the Georgie's, have an SUV with a snow plow blade on it. Bingo.
I parked my car and knocked on my neighbors door. I explained the situation and asked if they would use their plow to clear the cemetery for me. She said that her husband didn't want her to learn how to use it and he was at work, so she'd call her brother in law, Darren, who has one too. He said he'd do it but he was concerned that Rick (the Sexton, apparently they're friends) needed to give him permission. So we called Rick. He just had surgery and answered when his friends called. He said that Darren was good to go plow!!
I grabbed Buzzy at home and we headed back over to the cemetery. Darren was there and already clearing snow when we arrived. Darren did an excellent job clearing the lanes for our vehicles and then waited in case we needed anything else.
Darren the Hero
Buzzy began to panic because he wasn't sure where the plot was. It was marked a few weeks ago by the Sexton, but that was now under 2 + feet of snow. Dustin and Bruce, the installers, asked me to go stand where I thought it was because "Mom's always know where it is." I start clomping through the snow and stood where I knew it was. They began shoveling snow away and BAM, there was the hole adjacent to Aislinn's grave that we dug in preparation for her mailbox, and then there was her spot and the markings the Sexton made.
Dustin and Bruce
Notice the singular path that I made when I walked straight to the spot
Notice the singular path that I made when I walked straight to the spot
Darren cleared the snow over and around the spot that was shoveled, with his truck and blade, and then we were ready to Rock'n'Roll. Tentative = absolute.
After Darren cleared the plot
Below are the photos of Dustin and Bruce doing the install.
This is called the mow strip, it's set into the ground
We went with a piece of grey granite rather than concrete...concrete is so ghetto
This is the base, the sub-base (which goes under the base) missed being shipped, so they'll add that in the spring. It will make the monument 10" higher and will cover much more of the grey mow strip.
The base, with our surname
Dustin and Bruce
The guys who installed Aislinn's monument stone in freezing cold, blizzard like weather while mucking through a ton of snow. They could have rescheduled, but they didn't.
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Psych. You'll have to go visit the site in person if you want to see her awesome monument.
