ARTIST, PLUMBER, ELECTRICIAN

The Sunday after St. Paddy's day the service taught me another new thing.  It was explained to me something I never understood.  In the bible we read that at the moment of Christ's death on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  (Matt. 27:51, Luke 24:45)  I never understood that the curtain, which was several stories tall and made of very thick material, was torn with out the help of man.  The curtain seperated the area where the Ark of the Covenant (and God's presence) rested, from all people except for the high priest, and he was only allowed to enter once a year to atone for the sins of the people.
The significance of this act was to show that by Christ's death and resurection all people can now come before God of their own accord.
If you have never read the Bible, The new testament is a great place to start.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all tell the same story from different perspectives.  Jesus' story.

Because this week was the beginning of spring break, our class on finacial peace was suspended until next week.  But I was not sitting idle.  I took all those credit cards that we cut in half and made some art work for our office. (I removed the numbers first).

The best use for credit cards, ever!

That afternoon we went over to my brother-in-law Mike's house to celebrate our niece Morgan's birthday.  One present she got was three dimensional chalk.  When you put on the special glasses the different colors rise up to different levels.  I was amazed.

Morgan and Mercedes bring the sidewalk to life

Monday at work I had to run over to a new client's and template their kitchen.  They have a beautiful copper farm sink.  The kitchen was small but it is a remodel and the walls are anything but straight.  They want backsplash and that will prove to be the most difficult part of this job, but we can do it.

more copper than the Statue of Liberty

As I headed back to the shop, I paused long enough to snap a picture of this magnolia tree.  This is one of my favorite things.  It tells me that spring is here to stay.  We may get some snow as late as April, but it won't stick around long.  Oh Joy!

Robyn and I's first home is on the right

When I got back to the shop, my boss had just returned from Chariton, Iowa with a template for a kitchen down there.  Things are starting to pick up at work. 

Tuesday I finished the forms for the fire pit job, then we layed out some colored glass and poured the job.  Here is a photo of the broadcast glass in the forms right before pouring.

I've reinvented the wheel

I also started forming the copper sink job.  You can see the pieces of backsplash formed in the upper right.  I had to make short pieces because of the crooked walls (because you can't bend concrete).

almost ready

Wednesday I went to another client's to template a kitchen.  He has a sink that almost puts the copper sink to shame.  However because he has it mounted higher than the countertops, it will be extremely hard to template and even harder to install.

carved from a solid block of granite

That night our small group was cancelled (also because of spring break) so our hair cutter stopped by and gave me a much needed hair cut.  I was growing tired of my hair always sticking up so I asked if her flowbee had a shorter setting.  It did.

does this hair cut make my head look fat?

The next morning my head was cold, but I will get used to that.  At work I ran down to the office and installed the end panels on the shower.  I also picked up some items that had been delivered for the jobs we have on the tables, waiting to be poured.

now it looks finished

Once back at the shop we poured the vanity for that small house in the country. (About three posts ago)

what a mess

That night I picked up Nick from his work.  He has the next three days off and is happy about that for a couple of reasons.  First, he has been out of the workforce for quite a while and his legs are killing him, but second and more importantly he had a rough first week.  He is learning the new technology in cash registers, and the  store he works for is very large and they are throwing everything at him at once.  I think he is a little overwhelmed.  I told him to stick with it and in a couple weeks time it will be second nature to him.  He agrees.

We stopped by the grocery store on the way home and got some pop.  That seemed to cheer him up.  We got some funny looks from fellow shoppers.  I think we may have been mistaken for a gay couple because we were arguing about what milk to get.  I'm sure my butch haircut didn't help.  Just so there's no confusion, I'm the man.

have a Coke and a smile,.. I mean Pepsi.

Friday we processed the fire pit job and got it ready to seal.

love, love, love the rock face edge

We also demolded the small country vanity and began processing.

hard to explain what your looking at,  just trust me.

With one project in the sealing room, two more in processing and three jobs being formed, the shop is getting very active.  And that dosen't even take into account all the flooring and patio projects that are done out of our shop. 

I failed to mention that I had my review last week.  I got a nice raise.  Yahoo!  Now I have to get all these projects pushed through to show I've earned it.

Tables full of jobs equals cash flow equals raise

Friday after work, Chris and I went over to my sisters to try one final thing to fix her problem.  Her problem?  Every time she flushes the toilet she can hear air being sucked into her shower drain. 

 I know, right? 

We deduced that there had to be a clog in the vent stack.  Late last fall we found a piece of shingle stuck in there, but it snowed and we had to wait for a thaw to get it out.  That seemed to solve it until last week.  So we (when I say we I mean Chris, I just stood on the deck and drank a beer) snaked the vent stack and used a blow bag to force water down there to clean it out.  Kind of like a stint doctors use during heart surgery.  Using a flash light, Chris could see a gob of grease hanging out of a drain line.  We were able to get it cleared and everything seems to be working fine now.

lucky I was there to hold the ladder

Saturday Robyn and I held our first weekly budget adjustment meeting.  We got our money in order and our bills lined up, then we went shopping.  Actually, we just went to get a printer for the computer.  We were never able to get the old one working and we found that we sometimes really need it.

enjoying the sunshine

Now my work is cut out for me.  I have to install the new digital adapters for cable on some of our TVs and hook up the new printer.

electronics,.. right in my wheel house

Wish me luck.

Tomorrow Robyn and I have to serve at church.  This will be the third week in a row.  I don't think I would want to do that on a regular basis.  Getting up early enough to be at church by 7 is no fun.  I can't wait to sleep in next Sunday, but in the mean time I better get my electrical work done so I can go to bed early.

Until next time...

Peace

Dan