The walls of Jericho- Not!

This past 10 days, Quentin has had to work a different job as a substitute teacher in Westwood ISD in Art. In the meantime, Keith McIntire has been working (REALLY hard) to keep the project moving along. He's been doing well. Maybe not as good as Quentin, but acceptable. He has gone from just mixing the mortar, to laying brick around the basement window pits, to laying the runs on the main wall. He has learned a lot on the job. The top of the wall looks really good. The last couple of days Chris "Peaches" has been working with Keith. He's young, but willing to learn. I'll start the roof on Monday- Labor Day.

Quinten- you're a brick.

Beruit in Palestine? The back of the building looks like a bomb went off. That is the beginning of the...middle? Oh well. Quentin and Keith are doing a great job at both demolition and reconstruction. We did have a little excitement last night/this morning when Quentin caught someone stealing bricks from the site. He got the license and the description. Told him to call the police. We'll see the results.

Within two weeks we should have a new, solid brick wall. I'll put a new roof on it as quickly as I can once school starts. After that, we can really begin moving on many things. We do have new sewer lines into the building so maybe soon we'll have toilets instead of having to cross the street to Kroger's for a pee. Progress indeed.
More much sooner this time, I promise.

I don't cotton to that idea either...

I have finally given up being able to do the major brick work on the building. It is a skill I need a lot more work on to be at that level. I will be hiring Quentin Cotton of Palestine to do the main work. He comes well recommended and I have seen some of his work. Hopefully he can start by the end of the month.

In other news, the alarm system has driven me over the edge! Over the last year, we have averaged about 2 false alarms per month...usually after I'm in bed. I have asked for a repair ticket (yet again), but I hold little hope. I'll probably go with an unmonitored system till we get moved in. That way we at least can get some sleep.

That really floored me...

Lots of work done since last time. Got the concrete floor in the belltower poured. Not the best concrete I've ever done, but it was a confined space. Oh well. Put up new walls on the concrete as a base for the floor we put in level with the "main hall". Then Jim and I pulled out the decaying doorway to the front and replaced it with a treated lumber and Hardipanel wall. This will be home to my new electrical meter and breaker box.

Other end- Kathy pulled the tiles in the NW corner basement room, getting it ready for a cement floor. I tore out the floor/ceiling of the NE basement. I've now replaced the joists and taken out the corroded plumbing. The tiles still have to come out of there, then we'll be ready to concrete the floors of the back three rooms. Progress!

Concrete ideas and abstract platts

What a day! Started out to concrete the floor of the belltower readying it for a new floor a level above. After buying materials, went to pay the water bill. Not a big deal, right? While I was there, I decided to check into the procedure for getting the city to close and legally abandon the unkept, unused dead-end road between my neighbor's property and mine. In theory, they're fine with it... just need owners of all abutting properties to sign off on the deal. Since my neighbor first suggested it, no problem. Au contrar, mon frer!

Turns out a wedge of property I was told belonged to the city, doesn't. It's an unusable postage stamp of land between me and the creek. It took me fully three hours to find the owner's name (both at the city and the county tax assessor) and to find out he's in Dallas. This isn't going to be fun.

Needless to say, no concrete today. Tomorrow, I'll pull up the dirt-mounted tile in the belltower and put up the forms. It's cool in the basement so I'll pour in the afternoon when it's too hot to work outside. "Plan? There ain't no plan!" - PigKiller from the last Mad Max movie Beyond the Thunderdome.

Just another brick in the wall...

For a few who have asked, this is the condition of the bricks in the back. As I said, apparently the repairs done 100 years ago after the fire were done inccorrectly, whether by design or by mistake. The hole is actually much bigger than that now. It must all be rebricked above and repointed below. Then the whole wall must be stuccoed to protect the friable bricks. BIG job! but I'm up to it.

Countdown to construction... 3...2...1...

Five more days until I can get started as the general contractor, plumber, electrician, carpenter, landscaper, decorator, and day laborer on the Nickel Church Project. We've come to start calling it "the Manor" so that people don't think I'm actually going to use it as a church. My plan is to commit to 30 hours per week as a minimum in order to get things moving. However, it's summer in Texas which means HOT. HOTTER! HOTTEST!! Afternoon tempuratures around here run from 97 degrees F (36.1 C) now to about 103 degrees F (39.5 C) by August. Early starts and a siesta in the afternoon. We mzungu can't take too much heat 'til we adjust halfway through the summer. Probably won't post anything else here until I've started again.

Water!!

We now have a water supply to the Nickel Church! When the water was turned on, it leaked. Okay, it was a geyser! After digging up the line from the meter to the wall, I found that the very old pipe had simply corroded away. It is now replaced with schedule 40 pvc, and "poof" we have water. Now I can do masonry and concrete and maybe even put in a working toilet.

It's just not fair...

...when I'm getting older, but Patti and Lanelle aren't. In Dallas this past weekend, I met with to dear friends from the past that I haven't seen in a long time. (Always think about, but never see.) When I see them- it's like time has frozen in awe. For me- it's like time has thawed and I'm freezer-burned. :)

We had lunch at which time I put my foot in my mouth so hard that I now have athlete's tongue. But feelings were mended and my behavior was amended. We had a fun night at Sullivan's. Jazz combo, good food, a couple of drinks, and a sweet server named Tia who had just moved in from Philadelphia. All in all a great day with the girls.

After parting on Sunday morning, I hung out long enough to shop in The Great Indoors for fixtures on the building. Some nice stuff and helpful people- prices high, but otherwise not all that special. I think I'll just order from local businesses and support the local economy.

Luau

Tonight, the beat of my heart (Kathy) and I will go to Tyler, Texas for a luau-themed party. We will be the guest of Charles and Scarlett Drane, the notable socialite couple in Palestine. Should be a lot of fun. I'll update this after I return.

Esta noche, el latido de mi corazón (Kathy) y voy a ir a Tyler, Texas, para un luau-fiesta temática. Vamos a ser el invitado de Carlos y Scarlett Drane, la pareja notables socialité en Palestina. Debe ser muy divertido. Voy a actualizar esto después de que yo regrese.

In other news(?), I'll be heading to Dallas to catch up with some very dear friends from the past: Patty and Lanelle. We were quite a team a few years back. I'm sure they haven't aged as badly as I have. Of course they started out a lot better looking than me anyway. Should be a ball. I'll also see Charles II this weekend. That's a good thing for many reasons and on many levels. Catch ya later!

Can you dig it?

As mentioned earlier, the water line has ruptured like a middle-aged hernia. I've been digging it up a bit at a time. But since heavy rain was predicted, I covered the "ring of death" with a tarp and will wait for a later time.

This weekend I'll be meeting Lanelle and Patty in Dallas for a just for fun afternoon. I'll be with Charley part of the time, too. So even though this is boring for a blog, it's now out there in the electronic ether.

Tag, you're it!

Alright. Looking back over my posts, I realized that a mobile post I did was not posted. Rats! A couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night, our wonderful old building got tagged (as in graffiti) again. This time it was Soloe, V Epic, and somebody else. I'll paste photos on here later. The tagged windows, brick, the garage door, the borrowed boom lift, and the neighbors behind and to the west. I filed a police report, and the responding officer said that the "somebody else" is an adult teaching youngsters how to tag. You could see the instruction going on in the graffiti. For the kids, tagging the machine is a class B misdemeanor, but for the adult it's "organized crime activities", a felony. It's also a felony to tag a historic building. I've gotten most of it off, but it's a pain in the butt. I think I saw the young perps the Sunday before scoping out the location. Two tween or early teen Hispanic males (with 3 bicycles!) hanging out behind our building. I WILL press charges. Caveat Nota

Lights...camera...no action!

OK, got security lights up on the building to deter more budding graffiti artists. I wish they would realize that, as a historic building, it's a felony to deface it. and the adult training the kids to do it is engaged in "Organized Crime Activities" which can equal real jail time. Anyway, hope this helps.

Kathy, the love of my life and mother of my child, has decided that the kitchen needs a total redesign. (Glad she said so before I started framing it out.) I don't care for her plan, but if she ain't happy- ain't nobody happy! "She who must be obeyed" WILL be happy.

The plan now is to get plumbing (read bathrooms) and kitchen ready, then move into the great hall while we finish renovations. We can then sell the old house and infuse that capital into the project.

Speaking of plumbing: Had the water turned on this past week which resulted in an elegant waterfall in the basement. The waterline between the meter and th e house is ruptured. *singing* We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig in our mines the whole day through!... (dwarf miners from Snow White) Ah well, this too shall pass.

Performance anxiety

Lots of performing this week and only a little masonry. Going to be performing "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" on Thursday, singing Broadway Melodies on Friday, performing a brick ballet on Saturday, and showing the love to Mom on Sunday. Busy busy busy!

I have redesigned the new roof for the "baptistry" area that will require more brick work, but it will be worth it! Should have the water turned on Friday. Moving in the right direction again.

weather or not we should...

Had some very rough weather today. High winds, near torrential rains, hail, and a few tornados swirling around the area. But even so, we had no leaks and the plastic I had covering the hole in the wall stayed in place (thanks to parking the boomlift with its platform pressing the sheathing to the wall).

This weekend I'll have to forego the pleasure of working on the wall. We're going down to celebrate Kathy's grandma's birthday (nearing a century).

walls of Jerico...

Man! Working on the bricks in the back of the building, the bricks just fell out of place. The mortar was just powdery sand. The more I pulled the bricks, the worse it got. I think I'm going to have to replace most of the wall. Lots and lots of work. Had help from Glenn and Kathy. Also had the loan of a boom lift from the Tripletts.

Tomorrow, I'm going to finish demolishion and try to start laying my first layer of new brick. It will be my first major experience laying brick. I've have good advice from Cecil Crutcher who was a bricklayer for more than 50 years. Fingers crossed.

just anothe brick in the wall

Friday I will finally start the brickwork. Timothy and Elaine are lending me their "manlift" to reach those pesky second floor holes. Here's hoping I don't screw up.

Tomorrow night I'm singing with jim at the Bistro. Been horse for a week; hope this works.

Windows 2011

No, not a new computer platform. We're getting bids on new windows for the "manor". We've recently made some design changes that I think will be for the best. Can't wait till this summer so I can really get to work.

Things look good down there all trimmed and clean. Hope to be ready enough for a party on July 4. Plumbing will be a priority! I was just thinking: If we could get plumbing working, we could conceivably move into the Grand Hall and finish the upstairs as we go. It's worth discussing. Hmmmmm....