life with the Griswolds: DO YOU BELIEVE

Thursday morning we took the loaded trailer and got in line to set up for the show. It was early and we were the second ones in line. When they finally opened the doors we began the set up. It took most of the morning but the booth looks very nice

the coolest booth in town

Back at the shop I had enough time to form this arrow head for a potential client. He has a collection and may want us to do a bench for him. We poured it with a marbled effect.

this could be interesting

Then we got cleaned up, changed clothes and went down to the show venue for an exhibitors function. The home builders association held a catered party for all it's members. The caterer came over to where our group was standing and asked about the awesome concrete tables we made. Her bbq resturant is located in Knoxville Iowa (about an hour away) and she was interested in possibly getting some for her place. Knoxville is where the nationals are held for dirt track races. It draws tens of thousands of spectators annually. She told us that one of the drivers and his crew were interested in buying a franchise of her company and taking it down south to Kentucky and Florida. It would be great to get concrete in her franchise deal. We'll see what happens.

free beer and free food, what could be better?

Friday I noticed a comic in the paper that caught my eye.

How did he know???

I took the bad news in stride and we loaded the trailer for the install at Iowa State University. The remodel project has been going on for quite a while and the end is no where in sight, but they were ready for us to put in the first segment of our part to the remodel. These glass and concrete bases will be the bottom of double glass sided display cases. The outside is a hallway and the inside is offices and lecture halls. In this picture the install looks simple..

looks can be decieving

Each piece weighs over 300 pounds and had only a quarter of an inch clearance on the sides. The walls are coated with a finish called porcelina. Expensive and fragile. The install didn't go off with-out a hitch but all in all went pretty well. I was told by the general contracter that there were two more display cases ready to template. I told him I would be back up the following week to do the job.

Just before leaving for the weekend we popped the arrowhead out of the form. I think it looks very natural.

cool

Much of Saturday was spent relaxing and spending time with Robyn, who had safely returned from Florida. Nick had a job interview set up for Monday and to celebrate, he made guinea grinders for dinner (Italian sausage sandwiches) and they were yummy.

Sunday we had to serve at church and we were asked to serve the next two Sundays because the main kitchen guy was going to South Africa on a mission trip. I wish I could go.

The service was very good. This new series we are doing is really helping me to understand the bible better and better. You can always see the services at pointofgrace.com.

Sunday night, I let Canyon drive up to church for his student service.

Canyon looks very confident in his driving abilities

Me, not so much

Monday morning we went out to Saints resturant and pub. We made some tables and a fiber-optic bar for the out door patio a year and a half ago. Some of the "stainless steel" feet for the tables didn't seem so stainless steel. They were rusting and breaking off. We contacted the steel fabricator we used and they sent us replacements.

Getting the patio ready for St. Patrick's day

When I got home I asked Nick about his interview. He said he thought it went pretty well, and he felt good about his answers to their questions. They told him they had some more interviews and they would let him know of their decision.

Tuesday I ran up to Ames to template the next stage of the project. The weather was amazing, but all the people were gone for spring break. I took some pictures of the campus buildings.

cool architecture.

the clock tower

Wednesday, we went down to the main offices and installed the shower panels. That was no easy task either, but the finished product was beautiful. Look at this picture and then try to imagine that three of us had to fit in there to get the panels in place. I weigh 210 and I was the skinny one.

rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a... shower

Thursday I went out a templated a rather difficult outdoor bar-b-que area. Along with the bar there is a fire pit and bench. After several hours I had most of it figured out and went back to the shop to start forming. That's one of the things I love about my job, it's never the same old thing.

now for something completely different

Thursday night Robyn and I had a free seminar on flipping houses to attend. I may have misunderstood what the advertisement said but I will get back to that in a second.

A while ago, Canyon got in some trouble and has been grounded ever since. As a possible solution to keeping him out of trouble we asked our nephew Dean to mentor him. Dean has seen his share of trouble and hard times, but has recently turned his life around and asked Christ to be his leader. We are thrilled about that and since Canyon looks up to him we hope that maybe something will click there.

Thursdays are the day Dean offered to spend some time with Canyon and that worked out great with the seminar.

Now back to that.

After a couple of hours we understood that it was all about real estate investments and they wanted us to buy tickets to a three day workshop. The good news is that it normally cost $1,197, but today only it was just $197. We were able to pass on that great deal and went to pick up Canyon.

Canyon, Dean and Martha play a board game with Adrian Peterson

Friday at work I spent the entire day forming the bar-b-que and fire pit. By the end of the day I had almost all of it done.

Nick called and was very excited. They called him in for a second interview. It was scheduled for Saturday at 9. Things are looking up for our friend, Nick.

I had a small side job to do and as I was leaving, I noticed that somebody had fed the fish in our pond. I was always told that you have to be careful of over feeding your gold fish but just how much is too much?

That might be too much

I went over to start the side job. It's a ceiling repair. It took longer to plastic off the area I was doing than it took to scrape and re-mud it. While I was waiting for the mud to dry, I stopped up to Stormy's to see my sister. She was hard at work and really didn't have time to pose for a picture. March Madness was in full swing so the joint was jumping but I snapped a quick pic anyway...

I think she's saying "no loitering, order a drink!"

I ran back to my side job and finished up. I tried using spray popcorn ceiling texture but the can malfunctioned. So I went to get another can ($12 a can) but stopped at my shop first to grab my reading glasses.

I read the second can and realized that the first can was not faulty, it was operator error.

While I was working, the homeowners son just happened to mention that he was an editor for an on-line magazine for writers. I asked a few questions and found out that anyone can submit material. I asked about my screen play. He said that although the e-zine didn't use those, he had some friends in that arena and asked to see it. That gets me excited. Pray for results.

I finished up the job and wrote up a bill, I did not charge for the "faulty" can.

second times a charm

Saturday morning I took Nick for his interview and I went down the street to a coffee shop to enjoy the morning. It was really peaceful. Oh, and it is St. Paddy's day.

I wish I could do this for a living

As I was checking my e-mail, I came across this link from a friend of mine. It furthered my excitement. If the link dosen't work, copy and paste in your browser. Check it out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqkKa3bDb2o&feature=player_embedded

Then Nick called. He was pumped up. He got the job and starts tomorrow. PRAISE GOD!

I took him to a near by resturant and bought him a celebratory beer.