Home | Nature | History | Artists | Mineral Point Gallery | Consulting

Schedule for Residence                    by Friends and Artists                        at 207 Commerce, Mineral Point

Following is:

- A schedule of who will be residing at the Mineral Point Gallery and Living Quarters in the coming season.

- Photos of the living quarters to give you an idea of the spaces and resultant lack of privacy

- The rules for use of the living quarters and studio space and the instructions for use of the building.

BSCO – Boy Scout Camp Out

BSCB – Boy Scout Canoe Base

BSSC – Boy Scout Summer Camp

MPGN – Mineral Point Gallery Night

MPSR – Mineral Point Shake Rag workshop weekend

MPAT – Mineral Point Fall Art Tour

GFHD – Garfield Farm Harvest Days

GFCR – Garfield Farm Candlelight Reception

PWA – Powwow Aurora Schingoethe Museum

PWDK – Powwow DeKalb NIU

fds – first day of school

NDvac – North Dakota vacation

RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS:

Welcome, Guests, to 207 Commerce!

Name of Gallery: Prairie Oak Artisans North

Phone number:  (608) 987-3757

Contained here are directions and suggestions for your use of the building area by area.  The building and this business are solely owned by Karma.  Address all building questions to Karma.  But if questions involve workings of the gallery, Sheri, Alan, Dale, Cindy, or Linda K. may be able to help.

Karma at home:  630-393-4598

POA Gallery in Warrenville:  630-393-9100

Sheri at home: 630-393-7119 (let machine pick up, say something, wait for her to pick up)

Dale at home:  630-393-6201

Introductory Warnings:

You are, or will be, living and working inside an antique, one of the oldest in town. The wood portion was built in 1829, over 175 years ago!  The stone portion was built in 1837.  The back extension was added in 1950.  There is a history binder at the building; it is lengthy and a lot to wade through but you are welcome to it.  Also see the website history page.  Even though it is technically legally MY building, the locals feel a certain justifiable possessiveness about it since it IS the oldest commercial building in town and what each does in and to theirs affects all.

This is an urban building in a business district on a business street that is also a through highway.  People are outside the building until very late at night and trucks roar by all day and if the door is unlocked people assume you are open and wander in and unless the curtain at the top of the stairs is down AND the “Shop keep’s Quarters” sign on the step, they wander up to the living space assuming it is more gallery. 

This is a small town and the artist community is a smaller close-knit segment of that, so they will discuss you and me and they will tell me their opinions of you and what you did while you were there.  Ready for all that?

Packing:  Some things you might not think to bring:

Beach thongs or solid leather or rubber soled slippers to use to get from living space to downstairs shower over the antique wood gallery floor. 

Your own linens - bathroom and kitchen towels and bed sheets (Queen for bed, Full for 2 sleeper sofas) – provided, but bring your own if you do not want to do laundry while you are here.

A robe if you are shy about getting from bedroom through other rooms to the shower.

A laundry basket if you plan to do your own laundry while you are here.

Foldable lawn chairs if you are going to be attending nearby events or going to state parks.

Flashlight – if you forget to scope out locations of numerous confusing light switches, it will help to have a flashlight in your luggage so you can find them or get around without them.

Getting there:  The drive is about 3 hours typically, and there are a number of good routes.  We usually take I88 west to I39 north, both toll roads, so take plenty of change if you do not have an I-Pass.  (I-Pass is $10 and available in about 10 minutes time at any Jewel, and will pay for itself in one trip.) Some take 20 over to 78N to 11W to 23W.  Any number of smaller roads then will take you from I39/90 or 20 to Mineral Point, but do avoid going through Beloit: It is an unmarked, lengthy stretch of heavy traffic through town there.   There are routes that use the Janesville exits.  You can take I90 to Madison and W151 to Mineral Point.

Once you get to Mineral Point, the main business strip in downtown is High Street. We are on Commerce Street, perpendicular to High at the bottom of the hill.  207 Commerce, Prairie Oak Artisans North. 

Parking:  You can park temporarily on the street, legally only between 6 am and 2 am (therefore not overnight) and only for 2 hours at a time between 9 am and 5 pm, but if you do park on the business streets during business hours, the local business people will consider it in extremely bad manners as those street parking spots are for customers.  Please do not park for very long on any of the business streets during business hours.

There is one spot behind our building.  From the alley behind, look for the building inset the farthest, between the very tall one with decks and the new stone one. The back door is red.  A tiny oak leaf sign marks our parking spot, which is half of the parking area; the other half belongs to the neighbor. 

There is a public lot that enters on High Street and exits on Fountain Street that is a very short walk away. There is another large lot down Commerce Street, away from High Street, just past the Brewery restaurant.  It is a secure place to park as ATVers leave their trailers and gear there overnight.  Please do limit your use of street parking to drop off and pick up only!

The Gallery:

Prairie Oak Artisans North

207 Commerce St., Mineral Point, WI  53565 

608-987-3757

We are open Thursday or Friday through Saturday or Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm. We start out 4 days of weekend and adjust according to traffic.   

Opening process:  Unlock door, and prop it open with a bird bath if it is not too hot or too cold and you can stand the flies.  More people will come in if the door is open.  Put the decorative flag up over the mailbox and the small yellow flag on other side on the window frame bracket.  Hang the wooden Open sign under the building sign.  Hang the Welcome sign on the door knocker.  Open the window curtains if they are closed.  Turn on the gallery lights.  There are switches inside the window opening of the North window (wooden portion) and on the wall to the south of the check out table (on the wall shared with the bathroom).  There are separate lights for the ‘backroom’ area on the North wall of the backroom.

Cash Drawer:   The table that serves as counter has a drawer with cash in it.  If there gets to be too many $20’s, you will need to go to the bank at the top end of High, just past the post office, and a couple blocks to the right, then a bit to the left, to get smaller bills.  If you are polite, the woman at the Cruise Inn bar 2 doors north may give you ones and fives for a couple twenties.

Cash Box:  Metal box in cabinet under back counter.  If lots of cash in drawer, move it to the box.

Credit Cards:  We take Master Card, Visa, and Discover.  We take debit cards only if they are the non-pin type.  We do NOT take American Express or Diner’s Card. 

Detailed instructions are on the table next to the charge machine. 

Batching: It is critical that at the end of every day that you take a credit card purchase, you press the batch key which is 9.  If you do not, our whole rate changes and we are assigned hideous fines.

Process for a sale:

Receipt book:  Sales need to be carefully recorded in the sales receipt book so that artists can be paid properly.  There are two copies of each numbered receipt in the book, a white one and a yellow one.  There is a carbon that goes between them.  Fill in the date.  For each item purchased, write down clearly the code on the price tag.  If there is no code or it is hard to read, write down a brief description of what it is and words that will distinguish it from others like it:  Vase, large, green or Photo of yellow leaves, framed or Bowl, wood, oval.

Use the calculator to total the items.  Double check this.  Use the calculator to get the tax:  the total x .055.  Add it on.  Leave the black copy in the book and give the customer the yellow one.  If they do not want it, toss it.  If you rip out the white by accident, tape it back in immediately.  If you give them the wrong one, tape in or leave in the yellow one and write SAVE in black on it.  Please familiarize yourself with the book before customers come so you will do it right!!!

At end of day, total amounts for the day on bottom of last receipt for the day.  Add up total of product sold for day, total of sales tax for the day, and total taken in for the day.

Credit card receipt:  If the sale is by credit card, keep top copy for us and staple it to the receipt in the book.  Give them the other one, or toss it if they do not take it. 

Wrapping/Packaging:  We reuse packing and bagging materials for environmental reasons, and they are inside the trunk under the counter.  In the basket on the side counter, there are lunch bags for smaller items, and twine to tie packages with.  Be creative.  Bring brown paper bags from home.  Save and smooth tissue and bags for the trunk.  DO NOT use plastic grocery bags:  Only paper as it is at least a little classier.  There is a roll of paper on the counter for padding or wrapping larger things.  If you sell a painting, carefully fold paper around the corners and run twine all around to hold the corner guards on from both directions.

Shipping:  We can ship items home for people if they are traveling.  Generally, shipping will run around 20%.  If you want to do it yourself at the post office, keep anything over the cost of actual postage and supplies, otherwise bring the item and their address back to Warrenville unless Karma is coming the very next week.

Artists:  We feature nature themed art, nature inspired artists, and products from natural materials, as well as historically themed or inspired objects.  Most artists are from Wisconsin or Illinois.  All are from the Midwest, except the soap and the pewter.  All are people that the business owner knows personally and are not purchased at gift shows, so are only available here and in Warrenville and maybe one or two other places and maybe at art shows.  If people are looking specifically for local art, the felted landscapes and block prints are made here in Mineral Point when I am here, as are the copper bird nests and MY beaded jewelry. Some prairie photos are Wisconsin. The wood boxes and turned wood are from Wisconsin artists.  The pastels are by a Wisconsin artist. Some of the watercolors are done when the watercolor artist is in residence at the Gallery.  Stress ‘regional’ and ‘Midwest’ rather than strictly ‘local’.  ‘All art is done by the owner or by artists she knows personally.’   Custom anything is available with enough lead time, so give out my phone number 630-393-4598 or email plannedscapes@aol.com.

Information sheets:  There are information sheets posted by each artist’s works, and copies of these are in the drawer of the right cupboard under the counter. 

Artist Binder:  The black binder in the drawer of the right cupboard has a list of the gallery items by each artist and the price.  They are listed by the code on the price sticker.  This is your source for things missing a price.

End of Day Recap:

1)     Press batch key on credit card machine and put printout under cash drawer insert.

2)     Calculate totals at bottom of last receipt of day, write a) total day’s sales of product only, b) total day’s sales tax c) total of amounts that include both product and tax

Art hanging system:  I use non-historically-correct picture rail to avoid having to put more nails into plaster and antique wood.  There is a brass hook at the top that fits the rail and another behind the picture or attached to the object.  Sometimes they do not hold very well to the objects. So make sure they are pushed on well.  Hold onto the object carefully and then unhook the hook.  The large hook goes up on the top and the large hook goes down on the bottom so that it is the one grabbing the art.

Rearranging after a sale: Do not try to slide hangers down the rail:  They come unhooked and crash to the floor!  Completely take the object down, reposition the hook and cable, and rehang.

Open signs:  There is an open sign to hang under the wood sign by the door.  If you leave for a few minutes to get coffee or lunch (or go to the bathroom and don’t want someone to walk in on you), there is a paper sign “5 or 10 minute” sign you can shut into the edge of the door: Lock the door if you leave or people will come in. There is a Welcome sign for the front of the door to hang from the knocker. The convention in town is to put out a flag when open, so there is a flag on a stick, but don’t worry about that as much as the wooden sign.  The yellow flag is important as it is a signal to customers from down the street which stores are open.

Phone Messages:  If you listen to a message that is not for you, call me at home and leave a message:  630-393-4598.   If junk call or for you, delete.

Mail:  There is a copper mailbox outside the front door.  Put the mail into the wooden tray on the shelf in the ‘back room’ area by the check out desk.  Feel free to edit:  Toss any catalogs and ad papers and any obvious sales junk mail.  There is a recycle bin and a trash bin under the sink in the downstairs bathroom.

Floor: The floor is the original 1837 wood, complete with holes to the basement where the tongues are worn away, holes from coals escaping the stove fires, hatchet marks where the original owners split wood by the fire. This antique floor is fragile, dry, and brittle.  DO NOT walk on them in stocking feet, as stockings catch and rip away pieces of antique wood.  Bare feet is at your own risk of slivers, so shoes or thongs are best.  No soft sole fuzzy slippers either:  Leather or rubber or plastic soled street shoes or soled slippers or thongs only!

Walls, posts, beams:  Interior wood wall, posts, beams and basement door are original to the 1829 building!  They are fragile, brittle.  Do not touch any more than needed, do not hang things or put tacks or tape or nails on them.  Use the hand rail on stairs, not the old posts, and especially going into the basement, do not hold on to the post at the bottom of stairs as it is fragile.

Bathrooms:  There are toilet brushes and cleaner in each bathroom, so please give the toilet a once-over before you leave and as needed.

Men, skip this part:  Bathroom plumbing CANNOT handle feminine products: Trust me, I learned the hard way!  As gross as it is, you must bag them and put them in the wastebasket.  There are plastic grocery bags in the pantry to use, or take your own Ziploc bags.  If you forget once in a while, don’t panic, just stay and wait for the tank to refill and flush thoroughly a couple times to make sure, or embarrassing things float back up, or worse, clog the plumbing requiring a big plumbing bill if you can even get anyone to come on short notice! 

Bathroom, upstairs:  There is a claw foot tub only, so shower is in the downstairs bathroom in the shop, so you must traipse downstairs past the window to the back.  Prepare for this by closing the curtain while you are fully clothed in the evening!

If you take a bath, there is a rubber mat for inside the tub in the top basket over the toilet.  Dry it on the edge before putting it away in the basket.  There is a rug to use on the floor after your bath, and again, hang it to dry on the edge after use.  Clean tub before you leave if you use it, please.

There is a chair for your suitcase or toiletries case on.  There is a little plastic bin for you to take things down to the other bathroom in, such as shampoo and soap.

Baskets above the toilet contain extra soap, toilet paper, with more in pantry.  If you run low, buy more please!  If everyone buys a little to keep the place stocked, no one will have to buy a lot!

Bathroom, downstairs:  Keep door closed while gallery is open so that customers do not know we have one.   There is a public rest room by the library just a little ways up High Street on the right side of the street.  If people ask for a restroom, direct them there unless it is an emergency.

There is a mat for the floor, stored hanging on the shower door, for use during a shower.  The wood mat stays on the floor and the rug goes over it during a shower.  Hang the rug back up to dry after you use it to dry.

If you overflow the toilet, it will run into the basement, so you need to clean up down there, too!

There is a ceiling vent fan in the downstairs bathroom.  If the fan does not run when the light is on, use the switch on the ceiling near the fan.  It should be left on so that the fan runs when the light is on.

In winter, you must leave the bathroom door open a bit, as the main heat register is in there.  Otherwise, only bathroom gets warm.  Same in summer if the air conditioner is running.

Furniture:  Please do not eat or drink anywhere except in the kitchen or at the sales table/counter.  If you eat at the gallery counter, please take food waste upstairs to the kitchen wastebasket.  Do not leave it in the gallery wastebasket.  Wipe the checkout table off after you eat, as we don’t want grease on wrapping paper and also, artists work on their art on that table!  If you spill anything anywhere, clean it up right away.  If you leave a stain, report to me right away so I can tell you what else to try or so I know to work on it when I come.  If you spill in the gallery, it might go through the floor into the basement, so check to see if you need to clean down there too!  NO FOOD ON WHITE LIVING ROOM FURNITURE, in bed, or in the wicker furniture area please!  You can eat outdoors in back garden.

AC/Heat:  The upstairs does not get very cool.  If you are out for the day, turn AC up and then back down to recool when you return.  If you lower the upstairs curtains in the front in the afternoon and early evening and the upstairs back blinds in the morning, so the sun can’t beat in, it helps a lot!  When you leave, if it is not winter, turn the thermostat switch to OFF, instead of either heat or cool.  If it is winter, leave the switch at heat, but turn the temperature down to 50.

Windows:  Be very careful of the stained glass and hanging birdhouses and such when you open or close the curtains of the front gallery windows!!  There is a metal stick in the left side of the right window to use to reach up and move the curtains from the top instead of pulling on the fabric.

Curtains for upstairs windows are held open by a loop of fabric – gather up curtain and put the knot through the loop to hold open - move knot out of loop and let fabric drop to close them.

There are blinds on back windows, but no one can see in, so I only use them to keep heat out.

Lights:  There are many and confusing switches, so find them before it gets dark! 

- In gallery, there are switches in the front right window, and on the wall of the back room area outside the bathroom, and on the opposite backroom wall under the shelves. 

- Upstairs, there are some at the top of the stairs behind the hanging hummingbird quilt, up front by the desk, behind the sofa, and in a number of places in the bedroom.  The hanging lamps in the bedroom are controlled by switches on the cords.  Tripod lamps in the living areas have switches up by the round shades.  Lamp by chair in bedroom is 3 way with a one-way bulb: Takes 4 clicks to turn on and on to turn off.   Use the chain to turn off the bedroom ceiling light if you want to leave the fan on.

Leave the one light at the top of the stairs on when you leave.  Make sure all bathroom lights are off and all bedroom and living room lamps are off.

Ceiling Fans: Operated by wall switches so do NOT use the chain.  Bedroom fan switch is to right of bathroom door.  Living room fan switch is behind sofa to right, just left of kitchen cabinets/kitchen half-wall.  If you turn the fan off by the chain, no switch will turn it on.  If you cannot find the switch that turns on the fan, try pulling the chain once and retrying the switches. The ceiling fan and the lights are controlled by separate chains.   The fan is run by the short chain and the lights by the longer chain. 

Nightlight:  The fluorescent light over the sink makes a good night light. Its switch is to the LEFT of the sink, over the dish drainer.  Be careful, as the switch to the right of the sink is for the garbage disposal.  Or leave bathroom light on with door closed all but a crack.  Or leave the closet light on with the door open a bit.

Door lock:  To me, the front door lock turns the wrong direction.  Sorry.    Check before you go to bed that the door is locked as the town officer checks and will scare the bejesus out of you if it is open.  There are spare keys in the jar on the kitchen counter wall.  Leave any you borrow back in the jar for future guests.  Report in if you lose a key so it can be replaced.

Front patio:  I leave the products out there all the time, even when I leave town.    It is pleasant to sit out there in the evening and chat with neighbors and visitors.  It is pretty to sit out there in the early morning and watch the light change as the sun gets higher and higher.

Garbage:  Garbage pick up is Friday morning on the front edge of the front sidewalk.

There is NO outdoor storage of garbage and NO garage to store it in, so remember, what you put in there will be there to rot until the next Friday that someone is here!!!!!  When you generate garbage that cannot be put in the sink disposal, such as meat waste and bones and egg shells and such, please bag it securely and leave it in the refrigerator until you can put it in the garbage on Friday.  If you have any left when you leave for the week, please TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU.  It is illegal to use another person’s dumpster, so DO NOT try to find a place in town to ditch it.  If it has any identifying matter in it with our gallery name or my name or they get your license number if someone sees you, we will be fined hugely.

Because the garbage collection is on the public sidewalk and on a peak gallery business day, remember to bring the cans in as soon as the truck comes. 

If the cans have anything not clean and dry left in them, please clean them out with disinfecting cleaner and paper towel.  Use the sink in the basement.  If the recycle truck leaves things in the recycle can, put them into the garbage.  “Recycle Man” is kinda choosy.

Garbage Disposal in Sink:  The switch is on the right of the sink.  Push all waste down with a plastic utensil handle before you turn it on.  If you have a lot, put part in at once.  Turn on the cold water.  Turn on the switch until it runs smoothly.  If you need to feed part at a time, turn it back off, wait for it to stop, then push down more. Don’t push while it is running.   Continue to run water for a few minutes after it stops to clear the drain. 

Dispose only of vegetable matter.  Do NOT put in meat as gristle and stringy parts get stuck in the grinders.  Do not put in bones.  Do not put in egg shells as they grind up but sink to the low spots in the plumbing and cause clogs.  Do not put in fruit pits.  Put these things in zip lock bags in the refrigerator to keep them from rotting in the waster basket and put them in the garbage on Friday or bring them home in your bagged garbage.

Dining:

In: There are glass dishes in the upper cupboard left of the sink, plastic dishes in the right cupboard.  Please limit food storage to the refrigerator and to the corner cupboard under and right of the sink (the “Lazy Susan”).  Do NOT use the closet (pantry) or other cupboards for food.  (Roaches like to live where food and linens are stored together, so no food in the closet!)  Please take any food you brought and opened with you.  If you want to leave unopened non-perishable food for others, fine, but do not leave opened or perishable food of any kind as you do not know when the next person will be here!  It may be weeks or even months! 

There are 2 non-stick omelet pans to cook in on the right side.  There is a complete set of pans and lids over the refrigerator.  The microwave and coffee maker are in the closet.  There is a blender in the pantry.  The toaster is on the counter and raises and lowers toast with a temperature sensor, not a lever.  Unplug it when you are not using it. 

There is a garbage disposal for vegetable food waste, but no meat or bones and NO EGG SHELLS please. The switch is on the right.  Run plenty of water during use and some after to wash stuff out of the plumbing pipes.

Out: Great local restaurants.  The Brewery is unbelievably good with entrées around $12 to $14.  The Mineral Spirits is sandwiches around $7 to $8 with a gorgeous back patio with cliff garden behind. Old Royal Inn on High has coffee and baked goods and reat meals.  The Spotted Dog has coffee and sweets.  The Red Rooster on High Street is a diner/cafe and good, and open ridiculously early for breakfast. Chandlers on 151 is really good but nearly as pricy as Brewery though sandwiches and fried chicken are less expensive choices. 

Back door:  I cannot get the slide bar open on the back door by myself, so I do not use it.  If you use it, make sure you bar it again. If is locked when you arrive, you will have to walk or drive to use the front door first.   If you park in back and come in the back door, be very careful of the steps.  They are steep and each is a giant step.  The same key works in back as in front.

Gallery cleaning:  Dust surfaces and ceiling corners once while you are here with a swiffer duster.  There is one in the bathroom cabinet.  Hold the art and swiffer around it and around the table around it.  You should not need to move things off tables to dust if you use swiffers.  If you run low, the hardware store has refills.  DO NOT throw away the handles as they are reusable.  Shaking them off out the back door can give them a little more life.  If you run low, buy more please.  Again, if everyone contributes a little, no one will get stuck with a lot.

The small rugs need to be shaken out the back door.  I roll them and put them onto a large bag to transport them out back.    

If the gallery floor is really dirty and crusty, it has to be vacuumed.  There is a vacuum in the basement.  Please do not let too much stone and dirt accumulate up near the door in the grooves, as it makes them wear against each other. 

There is a mini vac in the pantry upstairs for small emergencies.  Do not use the upstairs vacuum for the gallery or basement.

Household cleaning:  Broom, floor Swiffer, and mop in closet.  Wood floor needs to be swept and/or dusted. Swiffers work well. There is an upright electric vacuum in the closet that works well on floors and rugs with the different settings, but it runs down fast, so plan ahead and do a bit at a time and allow for recharging.  Spills need to be wiped up with a sponge, but not the dish sponge.  Use mop only for fast absorbing of spills, as wood is old and should not have standing water.  Ring out sponge and wipe floor as dry as you can when you wipe up spots or spills. 

There is a broom with an attached dustpan and a mini vac in the closet.  Be particularly vigilant of dropped kitchen food so it does not get tracked onto rugs or onto downstairs floor. We take shoes off at top of stairs, so tiny stones and dirt accumulate there, so we use mini vac there frequently.

Dust the furniture with a dusting Swiffer, which can be found under sink. 

Clean toilets, sinks, tub if you use it, and shower at least once near the end of your visit so it is reasonably clean for the next person.  If you are germ conscious, you will need to do a once over when you get here, as the last person may not have time to do it last thing before they left.  You can hear when people come in, so some work can be done while you are open if you listen for the door.  Leave me a note if something needs more attention than you can handle.

Linens:  There is a complete duplicate set of towels and sheets. 

There are 4 white plastic laundry baskets in the closet.  Two for towels and two for sheets.

When you get here, there should be a folded set of towels in the closet and a dirty set.  Use the clean ones and at some point while you are here, wash and dry and fold the dirty ones.  That way, you can leave your dirty ones and not have to do laundry in a rush the day you leave.  But you will be leaving the next person a clean set, just as the last person did for you.  When you leave used towels, if they are still damp, put them on the wooden rack in the basement.  DO NOT PUT WET TOWELS in the basket in the closet and do not leave them in the bathrooms.  Put your dry dirty towels in the basket in the pantry.  When you wash the last person’s dirty towels, look on the rack in the basement for any that were wet when they left and launder them too.  There is laundry soap. Again, if low, buy some. 

When you get here, there should be a clean set of sheets and pillow cases in a basket in the pantry.  There should be a dirty set in another basket.  Put the clean ones on the beds you will be using, and wash, dry and fold the dirty ones sometime when you are here and leave them for the next person.  When you leave, strip the beds of any you used and put them in the other basket.  If there are sheets on the bed when you arrive, assume they are clean.  If you do not use that bed, leave them there.  If you want to put clean sheets on before you leave in order to make the bed, feel free – the next person will be grateful, but do not leave soiled sheets on the bed.

Washing and Drying Laundry:  Feel free to use washer and dryer for your own laundry.  There is a timer in laundry area to bring with you upstairs to remind you to move wash to dry or bring dry up.  Leave it on washer or dryer when done for next person.  ALLOW AMPLE TIME FOR LAUNDRY!  DO NOT START ANY LAUNDRY SO LATE THAT IT IS WET WHEN YOU LEAVE.  DO NOT LEAVE DRYER RUNNING WHEN YOU LEAVE.  If things are wet and you have to leave, they must be hung on racks on basement and will need to be rewashed by the next person.  Tell me if this happens so I can let them know to allow for it. 

Food rules:

No food anywhere except outdoors, in the kitchen, or at the checkout table.  No food on the sofas.  No food in the bedroom area.  No food at the front wicker chairs.  No food at the desk.

No food garbage anywhere except kitchen wastebasket under sink.

Leave no opened food.  Leave no perishable food.

Leave no food garbage ANYWHERE when you leave.  If you put some in the kitchen wastebasket, put it in a garbage bag and take it home.  If you put some in the basement garbage can, bag it and take it home.  You can leave dry non-food things in the garbage can.

Put only dry things in the recycle bin in the pantry.  You can leave that here when you leave.

Supplies and Groceries:  Mitchell’s True Value has cleaning supplies, including floor and dusting Swiffers, Ben Franklin and Ivey’s Pharmacy have things like Dial soap and toilet paper.  These are not open on Sunday.

There is a grocery store on Business 151 just north of 23 but it closes fairly early in the evening.  There is a Wal-Mart and Fleet Farm in Dodgeville open on Sundays and evenings, and a 24-hour Wal-Mart on Business 151 in Platteville, which is a pretty drive.   There is a great farmer’s market up the hill by in the park on Saturday morning.  The Barn Shops have organic beef. 

If you run low of something, please replace it so next person doesn’t run out.  If everyone buys a little, no one gets stuck with a lot.  If by chance, a bunch of things run low on you, replace them anyway and save receipts to turn in to me with a note of how much you would like me to reimburse you for.  I know this sounds picky to ask you to do this, but is will really be hard to manage if I have to inventory and shop first thing every time I come, so please help out!  If you just run out of time, LET ME KNOW so there are no surprises for the next person!

Other Needs:  There are doctors’ offices, dentists, hair salons, a barber in town.  Post office on top of High.  Bank with ATM to right of post office down a couple blocks.  Locals are very friendly.  Known friendlies include Bruce Howdle of Howdle Studios on Commerce out our door to the right, Rolli the stonemason who lives next to Bruce, Harriet from Leaping Lizards across the street, Joy from Chamber of Commerce is helpful.  Sandy and Judy and Tom from Long Branch and Ann and Tom from Spotted Dog are nice and will answer questions, and Gail from Foundry Books lives there and will answer the door and help even if she is closed. People at Mitchell’s hardware are great too. The people at Rowe’s antiques are nice. The Mahieus from Against the Grain on right side of High Street are nice, and have a son who is a handyman if you have some sort of building emergency.  Nate from Glass Aura in the big red brick building you can see out back is nice. 

BE COURTEOUS!

If you use only a bit of something but it is nearly gone, replace it for me.  If you use something like my food or my candles or my cleaning supplies, please replace them. If you doubt you can find a replacement, like for a special candle or food or toiletry, just don’t use it!  If you make a mess or things have gotten dusty or cobwebby, clean it up!  If you break something, clean it up and let me know!  Some things, like the everyday clear glass glasses are meant to be used and sometimes, one will be broken.  But the cranberry glass is old and special and antique so is meant to be admired but not really used and I will care way more if it is broken.  A stain on a sheet or towel is not big deal and happens, but roll up the comforter at the foot of the bed to keep it clean.

You are doing me a favor by opening my gallery but I am doing you a favor by letting you use my living space.   When in doubt, call and ask or err on the side of “leave no trace”.  I want you to have fun, but there is not maid service other than what we ourselves provide each other!  Leave it like you would want YOUR HOME left for you and we’ll all be happy as clams!

Final Note:

I love this part of Wisconsin and its nature and geology and history and I love the people and buildings and artists and art of Mineral Point and I love my gallery and my artists and I love my building and living here and working here and visiting with the people here!  I hope you do too!

Karma

Leaving check list:

--All lights but one at top of stairs off.

--All lights and fans in bathrooms off.

--Ceiling fans off.

--Phones on cradles to recharge.

--Answer machine on.  (Number showing on red window.)

--Credit card machine batched on last day used.  Does not hurt to press batch key extra times.

--All keys but one put back in key pot.

--Stove off.

--Toaster unplugged.

--Washer and dryer empty.

--Used sheets off bed and into basket in closet.

--Used towels out of bathrooms.  Dry ones in basket in closet . Moist or wet hang on rack in basement.

--Back basement door barred.

--Back basement window closed.

--Gallery back room windows closed.

--Gallery front window curtains closed.

--Living space windows closed.

--Living space front window shades down.

--Living space back window blinds down and closed.

--Thermostat at 85 and switch to “off” if not winter, Thermostat at 50 and “Heat” if winter.

--Thermostat FAN setting at "on", not "auto" or "off".

--Faucets not dripping in both bathrooms.

--Toilets not running.  Wait for them to turn off if you use just before leaving.

--Open signs down, flags down.

--All perishable food taken with you.

--All perishable garbage taken with you.

--Front door locked.

Home | Nature | History | Artists | Mineral Point Gallery | Consulting

Prairie Oak Artisans
Gallery in Mineral Point, WI (608) 987-3757        Consulting in Warrenville, IL (630) 393-4598

email:  karma@REMOVEBEFORESENDINGprairieoakartisans.com