Big Jobs in Small Places

It's time to address the ceiling of the Church. Like any self-respecting church, it has a high ceiling made of wood and hard to reach. It's old, stained, and has been the home of many a spider and fly over the years.

Dirty Ceiling!

 So our  initial job is to prime it with Kilz. As its name implies, Kilz will kill the stains, cover old odors and even roll over any spider nests still hanging around.

Kilz 2! Is that like Terminator 2?

So let's get to it. It's cold outside in February, but the Geothermal heating system keeps us toasty inside.
The problem is the space. It's kind of cramped up in the "attic."

So far, so good...

It was bound to happen. 

What's bound to happen? It's just a second coat, even thought the first coat isn't quite dry...

You're bound to raise your head....

Oh...I get it. 

Premature white hair. Oh well, as long as I'm not alone! 

Should I tell him? Naw...

We did manage to get some paint on the ceiling, and we were pleased with the results. 

Kilz'd!

Mike went to work on the wall around the quatrefoil window. Big improvement! 

Kilzzin' it!

OK, enough wordplay with Kilz! Time to call it quits.

Hmm. It's better, but you can still see the cracks.

The light was starting to dwindle, though the daylight lingered more than it did a month ago. Spring is coming. For me, spring means a lot of busy weekends either at church or school in SE Michigan, so it may be a while before I get back to this project. 

Sunset!

But it's never far from my heart! 

Thank you, God! 

Caulk and Spackle, Toil and Trouble...

Sorry Shakespeare! 

It was another Sunday Morning session with the white pasty substances. Using Fast and Final spackle is almost like frosting a cupcake. Here, let me show you!

Astronomy-related treats for my students!

I recently made cupcakes in the colors of stars: orange-red stars are cool small stars, and blue stars are hot and bright. Our Sun is there in the middle. The Main Sequence is the result of the relationship between color, temperature and lifetime of stars.

 I had fun making them, and I thought spackling and caulking would be just like that!

Frosting?

stuff and spread...

Yes, just like frosting cupcakes....

...except for, like, EVERYTHING IS DIFFERENT!

I didn't have to frost the cupcakes on my side, in piles of dust and spider webs, trying to stuff "frosting"  into cracks upside down. Darn gravity!

Smooth!

Eventually this will all be painted over, and realistically, no one will ever rest their eyes on this part of the building, but there is a sense of satisfaction knowing that it is done and done right, or as right as rookie me can get it. 

Meanwhile, Grindstone Mike was working on the quatrefoil window frame. Sanding and caulking was the order of business. 

Sanding

We also put up trim between the ceiling and the wall along the back of the church with toe molding. 

Could you hold this, please? 

We angle- cut the molding so the pieces would fit nicely against each other and be held in. I'm learning a lot about how buildings are put together. I ask a lot of questions, but luckily Mike is very smart and knows the answers. 

"If we don't angle them, it will look like crap..."

I'm good with it! 

So up the ladder with all the tools and materials. 

Nail gun control! 

And wah lah, the finished product. Again, will anyone ever notice? Probably not, but they'd notice if it WASN'T done, so it must be done! 

Voila!

Another cold, dry, windy Sunday in Grindstone City. Another chunk of work done. But as Shakespeare said, "Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing." So we are feeling joyful!

Yaaaaay!!

Hard to tell, isn't it!

But it is done, and it was kinda fun! We're learning a lot, trying to enjoy ourselves, and imagining the finished project. A beautiful church, an art gallery filled with gorgeous and thought--provoking art in many different media, lots of light and color and love! 

'

"If all the year were playing holidays, to sport would be as tedious as to work."
-William Grindstone Shakespeare