July 13, 2008 ~ Lazy Days Part III

July 13, 2008 ~ Lazy Days Part III

July 13, 2008. Sunday was another restful day where we just stayed at the Bed and Breakfast, watched TV, and discussed our experiences so far in the program. We’re also happy because Sara is coming down from Natchitoches to help us with our cemetery work next week.

July 12, 2008 ~ The Aquarium

July 12, 2008. We worked so hard during the week I wanted to reward myself by doing an outing in New Orleans. With the end coming up I won’t have many more opportunities to see the great activities that New Orleans has to offer. So today I decided to go to the Aquarium. And I’m very glad I did. I worked up a little appetite on my trip to the Aquarium so we had lunch at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

July 11, 2008 ~ Getting Plastered Part III

July 11, 2008. This is it, the day we can apply our finish coat on our walls. We need every bit of excitement to stay awake because of the fun night we had at Vaughn’s. The final coat goes on smooth and quickly. When we finished Brian rewarded us with a half-day. YEA BRIAN!!!

July 10, 2008 ~ More Than We Bargained For

July 10, 2008. During the day, Super Dave introduced us to epoxy repair of windows. I must admit, despite the heat and irritation, I found the demonstration to be cool. It just covered the cracks and holes like epoxy magic. After our morning demo we continued our assembly line to get these windows a little closer to completion. I had no idea it would take so long to repair windows.

After lunch Walter gave video presentations on Africa and China. They didn’t have much to do with construction or preservation, but rather the cultural history of the areas. In a way it works into preservation because existing buildings can tell you so many stories about the people who interacted with the building, the area, or even the country during that time of that building’s construction.

That evening the Krewe decided to go back to Vaughn’s for another Kermit Ruffin Thursday night jam session. This would be the last night that Super Dave can party with us. But what a night it was! We had free jambalaya good enough to knock your socks off; guest appearance from Tiger, the 10 year old drummer from Japan; and another guest appearance from Delfeyo Marsalis, a famous trombone player and youngest Marsalis brother. It was a great last night on the town with Super Dave and the Krewe.

July 9, 2008 ~ Getting Plastered Part II

July 9, 2008. It was hard work applying the scratch coat on the wall the other day. Thankfully, we got more plaster on the walls than on the floor. Our mission today is to apply the brown coat on top of the dried scratch coat. This coat begins to make the wall smoother in appearance. In mixing the plaster Sparky was splashing plaster on innocent by-standers. However, he mixed it very well with just the right amount of water (with Super Dave’s supervision).
I think we did a pretty good job, and again, more on the walls than on the floor.

July 8, 2008 ~ Back to Windows

July 8, 2008. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with the work that needs to be done on the PRC and Cane House windows. We just have to keep scrapping, sanding, priming, and glazing away until we get the job done.

July 7, 2008 ~ Getting Plastered Part I

July 7, 2008. We learned something new today. We learned a lot about plaster! Not just any plaster, but lime plaster. It was highly educational and messy.

This is horse hair that we mix in the mortar to give it tensile strength.When applying plaster to a wall you must know there are 3 coats that need to be applied. The first coat is called the scratch coat, second coat is called the brown coat, and finally comes the finish.
Things within the Krewe are winding down. This is the first day of Week 5 of our 8 Week adventure. You can see a glimpse of weariness in our eyes.

July 6, 2008 ~ Lazy Days Part II

July 6, 2008. Sunday was marvelous! The most productive thing I accomplished was walk to Marigny Perks Coffee Shop and updated my blog.

July 5, 2008 ~ Lazy Days Part I

July 5, 2008. A nice relaxing Saturday. Stephanie was her guests for lunch and invited Dee and myself to tag along. We had lunch at a nice restaurant in the Quarter, but it must not have been that great because I can’t remember the name of the restaurant. The only thing I wanted to do that afternoon was be a lazy bum at the Bed and Breakfast.

July 4, 2008 ~ A DAY OFF!!!

July 4, 2008. Happy 4th of July! And what a nice day it was. It never felt so good to sleep in on a Friday. When I finally got out of bed I called my friends and family with happy holiday wishes and contemplated the previous four weeks living in New Orleans.
It wasn’t what I expected from the initial description of the program that I received in the emails. From those emails I expected to be helping families who experiences major damage to their homes during Hurricane Katrina and the flooded that occurred. It meant a lot to me to do that kind of work. When I found out that I would be providing free labor for a corporation that restores homes that have been abandoned pre-Katrina, I was just a little disappointed. It was very kind of this corporation to allow us to use their houses as our lab for study, practice, and experience.
After my contemplations it was time to chill away the day. Stephanie had some friends come into town for the Essence Festival so we celebrated the 4th with them. That night we were invited to a cook out in the Musician’s Village. I’m glad we accepted because not only was the food great, but we enjoyed some laughs from the amateur fireworks show. After the cook out and fireworks we went to Frenchmen Street for more good times.

July 3, 2008 ~ Ms. Evelyn’s Windows Part II

July 3, 2008. With the 4th of July Holiday just a day away the Krewe is short three members who wanted to spend the holiday elsewhere. However, that didn’t mean that work stopped. What was left of the Krewe went back to Ms. Evelyn’s house to put in more windows. Super Dave demonstrated how to make replacement window profiles and muttons using broken windows from the house we’re working on in Holy Cross. Brian showed us how to put in windows that don’t require weights. The work wasn’t difficult and there wasn’t a lot to do that kept us very busy. The girls got spare moments that were filled with jewelry making from recycled window weight chains. We believe in being green and beautiful.
We eventually got our windows in and Ms. Evelyn was very pleased and she exclaimed, “I have windows!”
That night we partied at Vaughn’s to the tunes of Kermit Ruffin. If you don’t know then you better ask!