RNVTNS VOL. 5, #1 this IS where the ACTION IS

Memories, like birds, fleeting--one must grasp and hold in heart's hand.

First, this is a look inside (what blogger has been promising for weeks) with what has been accomplished recently.
  This is as far as the workmen have gotten in the old restroom inside the side door.  Earlier in the month, blogger could hear the men drilling before school began (7:45am).  Yes, early.
After this much was accomplished, this group of workers either moved outside at this site or on to another job for the time being.

With that said, much has been accomplished outside, and you've been kept up to date on that as of last posting.



                                                                         Some interesting stuff going on with the wall very recently.  In this photo we see a workman cutting out the inside divider of a concrete block for the top layer on the wall.

While at the top of the wall the finishing touches seem to be in the works.  The roof is someways off since two more sections of wall must be erected for this area (media center), or at least, that's what lay-speak blogger is thinking.  We'll all see together!
Moving eastward to where the biggest excitement of the week
was developing:  Behold a trench which suggest footer--ooooo!

To the left we see a man with a measuring rod (sounds like Ezekiel's angel) checking the northeast corner of the trench.






Below, lo, the concrete for the same is being poured.  But the trench seems to turn a corner and head for the building.  Yes, it does.  And then...well, you see it.

  Concrete is poured all the way to the building.  Yes again, we're talking here about the chapel extension.  But notice in this second photo that there seems to be a hole to the right of the poured footer.  Is that significant?  You bet.

To the right is blogger's prize pic of the week. (Not to burden you, but notice all the textures in the photo, and the balance!  She's impressed, even if no one else is.)  Could what we see in the last photo portend an elevator shaft?  Gasp!

That's all for now, folks.  Stay turned.

RNVTNS Vol. IV, #4 Still Outside, Still Interesting

Memories like birds, fleeting--they must be grasped and held in heart's hand.

At first glance, you may think, "ho-hum", but dear reader, there are no such things in at this site (even if the workman mentioned last week did casually raise the fallen end of the platform you see in this photo.  More about that later.)  Observe, please, the metal canopy from the faculty room door--down.  Next notice the row of holes above the windows.  At first blogger thought she remembered some vents there, but there are too many holes.  Maintenance thinks they may be for trusses for holding up the eventual roof.  Blogger thinks that sounds right.  Can you figure out what the red is from on the floor?

Moving across the floor of the new addition, we can see that part of the north

wall is getting up there.  About the platform mentioned above which is just to the left of the one you see here--you see it at the bottom right of the photo.  That means the platform so visible has been raised quite a bit to accommodate the continued laying of the blocks from the other side of the wall.  Unfortunately, blogger missed the actual work from that side of the wall, but could see from the darkness of the mortar what had been laid in the time she missed (about one morning).  Note the height of the wall from angle in this next photo (also the height of the platform).

 

Now let's move up the road to the chapel end to see what's going on there.   Some lawn moving.  If you even want your grass removed, this is a fast way to do it.  Sure, it has it's drawbacks, but...

Around the corner of chapel you can see how far the workman has removed the lawn--that gives us a hint of coming attractions.  Blogger remembers the tree that used to be in this corner, the one in which she saw a cedar waxwing dropping by for a few berries before continuing its migration south for the summer.  Blogger recorded in her bird book that it was May 13, 1978.  A neat memory.

Next time, blogger hopes to be able to show you some inside job sites. It takes a bit of doing, however, but there may be a way.  Stay tuned.

RVNTNS Vol. IV, #3 Now We're Cookin' with Gas... er, Mortar

Memories like birds, fleeting--one must grasp and hold in heart's hand.

In the last few days there has been evidence of some heavy duty
advances out on/near the Media Center floor.  In this photo we see one of three platforms for holding concrete blocks.  The man emerging from beneath the platform is holding a level.  There are cranks at various points under the framework that the men used to adjust the leveling. The three platforms had been put in place by a larger fork lift--something to watch!


Here's the forklift.  If you ever want to move something heavy at your house, you may want to think of renting one.


The men here on the right seem to be getting ready for the laying of the concrete blocks which are accumulating on the floor of the MC.  Now the next thing needed is the block-layers; but wait.  The platforms must have a few more components, it seems.  Today has proven what was still needed, but for now we can think more lay thoughts, like mortar.  The block-layers will need mortar.

 So we (they) have our (their) own mortar mixer.  Makes one think of "Mortar mixer, sand and water. (repeat)"  which you can sing to the tune of "Cement mixer...'" i.e. if you are old enough to remember the tune, of course.  In the first photo, the workman is in the process of putting in the ingredients--sand, water, and the powdered whatever (in the white bags on the right) that makes the mortar.  It's all chemistry just like cooking, one might think.
In the second photo, he's shoveling the mortar out of the mixer into a kind of wheel barrow.

Now for the real thing.  Three men are engaged in this operation.  The man on the platform is getting the concrete blocks (what was needed at the top) nearer the end of the platform for forklifting (?) to the foundation area (there are already stacks of the blocks on that floor).  The man on the left has just put a block down and is tapping it in place.  The man in the orange is getting mortar onto a mortar board from the barrow (below the picture frame).  Very systematic.  At one point while blogger was taking photos, one end of the first platform slipped and lowered less than a foot.  The man on the platform looked over, assessed the situation, then walked nonchalantly to that site, calmly opened a hatch, pulled up a crank and jacked the slipped end back up to being level with the other two platforms.  All in a day's work.  Blogger had expected some alarm to sound to gather the troops to right the wrong, but blogger thinks lay-thoughts.  Whew.
We'll see how high the wall will rise within the next week.  Truly, it is getting exciting.

RNVTNS VOL. IV, #2 It's SO EXCITING!

Memories, like birds, fleeting--one must grasp and hold in heart's hands.

This just about says it all.  Prepare for, look for, anticipate, and celebrate the adventure of School Year 2017-2018.  We are on the move and don't get in our way.

Since the workmen feel the same way, they've assured that their operations too, will be out of our way.  School is serious business, after all.  Yes, but how are the workers going to stay out of our way?  Where there's a will, there's a way--through the outside door (where the drink/candy machines used to be), through the once-apon-a-time restroom, through the cupboard at the end of it, into Dr. Kohl's old office, and through to Mr. Greife's old classroom, as seen in this photo.  Note that this door had to be created with a sledge hammer.  Actually, you're looking from the other end, i.e. starting in Mr. G's room, in this photo--

and heading back toward the old rest room.  Imagine walking from Mr. G's room, through Dr. K's office and cupboard, and arriving back in the rest room.  Now look to your right.  Can you figure it out?   What you're  seeing on the right is the old utility cupboard.  Further to the right you would have seen another opening into the rest room (sledgehammer).  This arrangement allows the workmen to do the rest of the work in Phase 1 without entering the first floor hall.




                                                                                     
Now let's go down the hall to see the new counselors' suite.  Here we see two offices in the suite.  As you can see, the counselors allow no grass to sprout beneath their feet.




Now step out of the suite and proceed down the hall a bit further to your left, and voile: the finished iPad charging station (referred to in an earlier blog as power station).  Note that there are no condiments near the wall, so don't bring your lunch!


There are some hints as to outside activity, but for now blogger will have to go on little sleuthing expeditions after workmen's hours.  It has its hazards.

RNVTNS VOL. IV, # 1 (Think "William Tell Overture")

Memories, like birds, fleeting--one must grasp and hold in heart's hands.

Down to the wire!  Talk about pressure, but no,
no time to talk.  Just work and get it finished--
and that's what they're doing for this part of
Phase 1.  But we have intrepid leadership here.
This photo could be titled, "Have President
(who) will travel."  So we see Dr. Koehl in her
"itinerant" office (her second) ...

                                       then catch a glimpse of her future office.  We can be sure that Dr. Koehl will be even happier in her new digs when she is finally able to occupy them.  Note the new door and the new carpet, both installed a few days ago.







Now to what is happening in other areas of the first floor:  How about this?  Talk about accommodating the clients!  This will be a power station for students' iPads. (Will they be tempted to use it to fuel themselves since it looks a bit like another kind of booth?  Some will, no doubt, take their chances, but this is out in the hallway--a bit risky).  There will be seats soon, we trust.



                                                    Another small item appearing this week on corners of doorways--corner bumpers (lay-speak).  One of the little finishing touches which we would certainly miss if they were not there.

A look into chapel shows remote moves toward renovation of that area.  The sanctuary carpet has been thrown back so that the wooden addition of several years ago could be removed and the original front of the step revealed.  The whole step must come out, of course.  The new sanctuary will be at the north end.





                                                             Things are abuzz outside too, of course.  Since the edge of the drive around the school was broken with all the pipe laying, and will be expanded a little anyway,  preliminary asphalting is in process to fill the gap.  The details of this photo show up better in black and white.  Note the steam rising from the asphalt, hot in its more fluid state.  Nice that the day was not too hot and the workmen could handle it with a little more comfort.

Now back indoors for blogger's favorite photo of the week.  What impressed the photographer here was the use of the scaffold for a work bench--resourceful.




Any applicants for the next opening for this job?





So ends August with the students arriving next Tuesday.  The work will continue, but not where the students can observe it.
And so begins the fourth volume of this accounting.