Ta-daaaa! We're back! Had some problems with computer access to the blog site, but hopefully everything is back to normal. Well...a lot of catching up to do.
We paid a lot of money to get some paint two days ahead of when it was scheduled to be here, and a fat lot of good it did us. Rained the first day, and was really cold the second day. Tried it anyway. Bit of a mistake. You can only paint down to 40 degrees, and it dropped faster than I thought, so we kinda got caught. We'll repaint that section later. Ahem.
When we got to a point where we could at least get some paint legally on the wall, it was only for a few hours. We couldn't get to the wall until after lunch because of the temperatures, and had to break about 4pm. Not what you would call a long day, but I will admit, we did get a ton painted. I'm really not surprised. Like I've said before, this is a great group of professionals. They can really get the job done.
We actually got two parapets finished these last couple of days, and started on a third one. We'll at least get paint on all of that one tomorrow, but I'm betting that that's going to be about it for this trip. It's supposed to rain Monday, then they're calling for SNOW the rest of the week! I'm thinking that the instructions on the paint cans aren't too favorable towards snow. We're supposed to pull out of here on the 22nd anyway, but we might have to wait for the final shipment of paint that for now is scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday. I'm going to see if I can either get them to bring it here Tuesday, or simply bring it to the studio in Franklin,
See, Mickie and I have really been mulling this over, and I think that we have come to this conclusion: we are going to load everything up and take it back to the studio, and simply store it until we come back. which will probably be the first of April. Her dad has a large truck and driver, and we are going to try and get him here Monday morning, load it up, and send him on his way back to Franklin. Hate to do it, but I think we're just being prudent. I figure that if we can get as good a crew in April as we have had here, then we could finish the project in about 3-4 weeks. That's about the amount of time we have lost waiting on paint. Coincidence? I think not.
Just to put an exclamation point on my thoughts, I just came back from "lighting the pod." I have to light the 56,000 btu diesel heater in the storage unit so the paint won't freeze. I can't leave that responsibility to someone else. That's why we're taking it home to our heated studio, so I can keep an eye on it.
Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the hard work they've put in on this project so far. And their patience. Hopefully, we'll see everyone back in April. I know some of them can't make it, so that leaves the door open for more folks who want to work on this very different project. If you're interested, just get in touch with either me or Mickie.
In the meantime, we're going to try and paint Sunday. The weather is supposed to cooperate, so we might get another parapet finished. It would be a great note to leave on.
Here are some pictures from the past few days:
We had some time to get away to play some racquetball! Seems that Shellie plays as well, so Mickie and I showed her how WE play! She'll get out of the hospital sometime in December.
Like I said before, JoHanna is an excellent cook! She took some time out and made us some homemade chili! It was fabulous! So fabulous, in fact, it will probably take my ass at least 3 weeks to recover!
Living together for weeks at a time has it's ups and downs. We learn each other's dirty little secrets. Like how Shellie really has a pretty hairy chest. And it's all gray.
I've said it over and over. You really can't tell how big some of these walls are until you stand right next to them. See what I mean!!??
It's a good feeling starting on something new. This is some of the new color paint going on the first parapet. Everyone was really excited. It took about 3, maybe 4 minutes for the excitement to wear off and turn right back to tedium. Just kidding. They love it. Kidding again.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Well, this is the mother of all inventions. Instead of using a snap line to draw all of the guide lines on the wall, I came up with this little contraption to draw all of the lines at the same time. In chalk. Sometimes, I even amaze myself.
Yeah, it felt good finishing the first parapet, but the time comes to go on to the next one, and the next. Nothing feels like the first time.
Got to show the troops how it's done. About 14 seconds into my detailed instructions, they were all ready to grab the roller out of my hand and tell me to "SHUT UP! WE GOT IT!" I mean, really, it's not brain surgery. It's paint.
Once the walls have been painted, you have to paint the "mortar joints." I'm pretty particular (read:anal) when it comes to technique, and for the most part everyone did exactly as I instructed. Almost. Kinda. Sorta.
After the mortar joints come the shadows and highlights. That's when the stones really "jump off the wall." I have to admit, we were really getting some fabulous comments from the pedestrians. I especially like the one from this one guy: "DUDE! Look at those bricks! They look like they're really coming off of the wall! We don't even have to take Ecstacy to get that effect! Cool!" Glad we could help.
What do you do when you finish a work of art? Why, you sign it, of course! We all signed our names on the back of the first parapet that we finished. I didn't have the heart to tell everyone that they are going to backfill when we're done. Oh, well...the price of fame...
We paid a lot of money to get some paint two days ahead of when it was scheduled to be here, and a fat lot of good it did us. Rained the first day, and was really cold the second day. Tried it anyway. Bit of a mistake. You can only paint down to 40 degrees, and it dropped faster than I thought, so we kinda got caught. We'll repaint that section later. Ahem.
When we got to a point where we could at least get some paint legally on the wall, it was only for a few hours. We couldn't get to the wall until after lunch because of the temperatures, and had to break about 4pm. Not what you would call a long day, but I will admit, we did get a ton painted. I'm really not surprised. Like I've said before, this is a great group of professionals. They can really get the job done.
We actually got two parapets finished these last couple of days, and started on a third one. We'll at least get paint on all of that one tomorrow, but I'm betting that that's going to be about it for this trip. It's supposed to rain Monday, then they're calling for SNOW the rest of the week! I'm thinking that the instructions on the paint cans aren't too favorable towards snow. We're supposed to pull out of here on the 22nd anyway, but we might have to wait for the final shipment of paint that for now is scheduled to be delivered on Wednesday. I'm going to see if I can either get them to bring it here Tuesday, or simply bring it to the studio in Franklin,
See, Mickie and I have really been mulling this over, and I think that we have come to this conclusion: we are going to load everything up and take it back to the studio, and simply store it until we come back. which will probably be the first of April. Her dad has a large truck and driver, and we are going to try and get him here Monday morning, load it up, and send him on his way back to Franklin. Hate to do it, but I think we're just being prudent. I figure that if we can get as good a crew in April as we have had here, then we could finish the project in about 3-4 weeks. That's about the amount of time we have lost waiting on paint. Coincidence? I think not.
Just to put an exclamation point on my thoughts, I just came back from "lighting the pod." I have to light the 56,000 btu diesel heater in the storage unit so the paint won't freeze. I can't leave that responsibility to someone else. That's why we're taking it home to our heated studio, so I can keep an eye on it.
Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the hard work they've put in on this project so far. And their patience. Hopefully, we'll see everyone back in April. I know some of them can't make it, so that leaves the door open for more folks who want to work on this very different project. If you're interested, just get in touch with either me or Mickie.
In the meantime, we're going to try and paint Sunday. The weather is supposed to cooperate, so we might get another parapet finished. It would be a great note to leave on.
Here are some pictures from the past few days:
We had some time to get away to play some racquetball! Seems that Shellie plays as well, so Mickie and I showed her how WE play! She'll get out of the hospital sometime in December.
Like I said before, JoHanna is an excellent cook! She took some time out and made us some homemade chili! It was fabulous! So fabulous, in fact, it will probably take my ass at least 3 weeks to recover!
Living together for weeks at a time has it's ups and downs. We learn each other's dirty little secrets. Like how Shellie really has a pretty hairy chest. And it's all gray.
I've said it over and over. You really can't tell how big some of these walls are until you stand right next to them. See what I mean!!??
It's a good feeling starting on something new. This is some of the new color paint going on the first parapet. Everyone was really excited. It took about 3, maybe 4 minutes for the excitement to wear off and turn right back to tedium. Just kidding. They love it. Kidding again.
Necessity is the mother of invention. Well, this is the mother of all inventions. Instead of using a snap line to draw all of the guide lines on the wall, I came up with this little contraption to draw all of the lines at the same time. In chalk. Sometimes, I even amaze myself.
Yeah, it felt good finishing the first parapet, but the time comes to go on to the next one, and the next. Nothing feels like the first time.
Got to show the troops how it's done. About 14 seconds into my detailed instructions, they were all ready to grab the roller out of my hand and tell me to "SHUT UP! WE GOT IT!" I mean, really, it's not brain surgery. It's paint.
Once the walls have been painted, you have to paint the "mortar joints." I'm pretty particular (read:anal) when it comes to technique, and for the most part everyone did exactly as I instructed. Almost. Kinda. Sorta.
After the mortar joints come the shadows and highlights. That's when the stones really "jump off the wall." I have to admit, we were really getting some fabulous comments from the pedestrians. I especially like the one from this one guy: "DUDE! Look at those bricks! They look like they're really coming off of the wall! We don't even have to take Ecstacy to get that effect! Cool!" Glad we could help.
What do you do when you finish a work of art? Why, you sign it, of course! We all signed our names on the back of the first parapet that we finished. I didn't have the heart to tell everyone that they are going to backfill when we're done. Oh, well...the price of fame...
1 Comments:
Disappointment such as putting into motion months of planning and execution, then to be shut down by some product deficiency out your control would make me go ballistic too.
I should’ve called my wife and told her to stay out racquetball courts with edgy artists wielding tension provoked weaponry.
I have an alternate suggestion for taking out this pent up frustration on someone more deserving of hospitalization. How-bout you call the paint manufacturer and ask their staff if they want to “play” a friendly little game of paint-ball guns, with your whole crew? I get this feeling your bunch would leave them piled on the floor in a color layered heap and make it look like they were painted that way. That is if you don’t need anymore paint delivered before the next ice age.
Cheer Up, turkey day this week will undoubtedly be more satisfying than painting on opening day of turkey season in April. Pass the ammo please.
Greg, husband of Shellie the downed Californian
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