10 Non-traditional Reasons To Join a Local Church

10 Non-traditional Reasons To Join a Local Church

1.       Be a better musician.  Many of the top names in music got their “start” in church.  Even if your aspirations are not that high, what you will get is lots of opportunities to perform and a supportive, appreciative audience.  Ok, so, no, “Stairway to Heaven” is not actually a church song, but the point is to hone your mad skills to uber mastery so that when you audition for that lead role in the next band to take the world by storm, you might just get the gig.

2.       Be a better speaker.  You don’t actually have to worry about having to give the sermon unless you really, really want to.  That is almost always done by the same person.  Same as the musicians, churches offer many opportunities to speak to crowds.  Nice crowds.  Supportive and appreciative crowds.  And the church offers opportunities at many skill levels from reading directly from a short, written text to making an announcement, teaching, a committee meeting, or even a full-blown message.  Guess what?  You should project, speak slowly and clearly, and all the same things you could pay thousands of dollars for in professional training—for free and at your own pace.

3.       Observe people on their best behavior.  Sure, the rest of the week they may look like complete hypocrites, but at least they can muster up some manners when they want to.  We see plenty of people behaving badly everywhere else, anyway.  Drama used to be a respected term in the entertainment industry.  Look what it means among teenagers now.  The world desperately needs to see the world through something other than a TV screen.  And, by the way, maybe some of that best behavior will rub off on that “special someone” you know, if you know what I mean.  Wink, wink.

4.       Network.  Churches are often criticized for being like country clubs.  Well, at least they are cheaper.  But, the basic benefit is still true:  who you know can really make a difference in your life.  And all kinds of people go to church, for all kinds of reasons—and the church actually encourages all those people to interact positively with each other!  Gasp!  Shocker, I know!

5.       Advance your professional development.  There is a lot more to churches than singing and speaking.  Churches need all kinds of skills.  Want to move into management?  Churches need managers.  Want to gain experience at project management?  Budgets and financing?  Team building?  Mastering the boardroom?  Presentation technologies and techniques?  Churches need all of that.  In fact, they need that so badly, they won’t make you interview or climb a corporate ladder to get started.  Even if all you really want to do is grow pretty flowers in the summer, the church has room for you to grow.

6.       Broaden your horizons.  Too many people incorrectly think of churches as being narrow-minded.  Those observations may appear obvious, but have you ever noticed where churches are going these days?  Churches travel on mission trips.  Where do you want to go?  Somewhere, there is a mission trip for that.  Granted, that is no leisurely vacation, but it is adventurous travel.  Check into it.  You may find it to be much more satisfying than a vacation, and other people may be willing to pay to send you.

7.       Stay young.  Don’t laugh!  Yes, many churches are full of people older than you.  But, every church ought to be spending time and effort on young people.  Some are just better than others.  Whether it’s teaching pre-schoolers the words and actions for their big number on Easter Sunday or fostering a group of adolescents to be all they can be and none of what they shouldn’t, nothing brings the youth out of you like sharing it with young people.  It’s a little like that line Grandparents always say:  you enjoy them for a short time, and then you get to send them back home.

8.       Get out of the house.  Maybe I’m biased because my church recently remodeled, but many churches have nicer facilities than”affordable” homes.  Many new churches even have movie-theater seats, big bright screens, and state-of-the-art sound systems.  They often serve food.  It may not always be free, but neither is the stuff in your fridge.  Still cheaper than a hotel stay.

9.       Plenty of free advice.  You already knew that, I know, but I’m not talking about that kind of advice.  Have you noticed how many churches offer programs and services to try to help with the struggles of life?  For as little as asking in many cases, you can get help with raising kids, dealing with stress or loss, financial planning, cooking, entertaining, or even a hobby.  Churches are trying to reach out in so many ways, that almost any hobby that interests you could very well have an organized small group at the church.  If not, they’ll likely help you start one.

10.   Salt and pepper.  If you’re counting, maybe I already covered this with a few of the others, but good-old church folk bring spice to life.  Salt of the earth in their compassion, humanity, and outreach.  Zippy pepper in their challenges and convictions.  But, under the flaky crust, just a lot of savory flavor and all the comforting aires of the best Thanksgiving meal-- if you’re willing to make the journey, settle in, fellowship a bit, and have a little patience.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 9/1/11

I'm not done, yet, but today is a major milestone:  I am done with the exterior painting!  No more climbing the ladder.  No more watching the weather for rain and wind.  No more planning around where the shade will be and when.  For the most part, it doesn't matter how warm it is.  But, I'd like to finish the window inserts in the garage rather than the basement, so I'd prefer to have the weather above 50 for that.  With any luck at all, that shouldn't be a problem.  On to the next project...

Which is to rebuild the front entry steps.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 8/29/11

I'm almost done.  Just some trim left.  Well, then I have to paint all the window inserts (i.e. screen to glass, glass to screen) that are the old color.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I'll never really be done.  But, it looks done.

On a side note.. I managed to inject paint into my finger last weekend (as in a week ago yesterday) while cleaning the paint sprayer.  At 2800psi, it is absolutely necessary to keep clear of the nozzle at all times.  I was trying to keep it from splattering by (instinctively) shielding it with my hand.  Duh.  I missed.  Or, technically, I failed to miss.  And it splattered anyway.

After a lot of wasted time with doctors I could have had surgery and been out of commission for about 6 weeks and have to keep driving 60miles one way for follow up.  Or, just leave it, wait, and see.  I chose the latter.  Suddenly, the doctors were more concerned.  Too late.  You blinked.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 8/19/11

I have been too busy to post.  That's my story.  I've been working every night and all weekend.  Two sides are completely done.  The third side looks completely done.  I have trim work to do, but that is currently white, so it doesn't stand out as undone.  The fourth side will be beige this weekend, (maybe tomorrow even) and that is including the fact that we will be out of town tomorrow afternoon.  There is actually much left to do, but it doesn't look like it.  It looks almost done.  Drivers-by probably think it is done, since the fourth side is the back, opposite the street.

Here's a tip:  Use a wet brush to apply caulk.  I am using a couple dozen tubes of caulk on this project.  See, if you get permanent metal or vinyl siding, it fastens to the corners and edges with a channel that the siding tucks into to leave a clean edge.  My old siding did not have that.  Where it butts against a window or door, that edge is bonded and bridged with caulk.  The old stuff is largely dried and cracking, but it is also rough and ugly.  I am replacing all that to make all those seams water-proof and attractive.  Those adjoining surfaces are uneven because the siding tapers top to bottom, so it's a little tricky.  Maybe a super-professional can squeeze it out of the tube cleanly and uniformly.  Most people use their fingers, if only because their fingers are always with them.  Some tools exist for the task.  But both a tool and a finger essentially scrape away excess to leave that edge.  I use a 1) paintable caulk that 2) cleans up with water.  So, I can quickly lay out that bead, then grab a wet brush and smooth it out.  As opposed to a finger or scraper, I am wasting nothing.  Plus, I get nice smooth seams, continuous and waterproof, perfectly tapered even with all those awkward edges.  I can work in either direction easily.  I am super-pleased with the results.

A little something extra 8/6/11

One of the things I have to work around as I paint the house is my wife's collection of frogs... I'm quite fond of them, too!

I Know What You Did Last Summer 8/5/11

One side of the house is finished.  Then we grilled some brats.  Here's some pics of the finished side, which correspond to some of the "before" pics (see June 13) and "in process" pics (see June 18, 19, and 25.)

Or how about I just post all those pictures for you?  That might be helpful, dontchathink?

I Know What You Did Last Summer 8/4/11

Here's the update:  I've finished that side project for the painting crew-- never thought it would take as long as it did, but the money is nice; two sides of the house are painted, but none of them are finished-- I've primed the "trim" on one side, but have yet to final coat that and haven't even primed the other side.  The lawn is mowed (big deal.)  The rain is a problem-- actually the river that runs through town is flooding because of the rain, so I'm not even kidding.  On the other hand, I am wondering if I will run out of time before the weather gets too cold for paint-- let alone complete the other projects I thought I'd acccomplish this year.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/19/11

I went to that other job and painted a little.  But, eventually it was decided that this excessive humidity may cause problems with the paint.  So, I got home earlier than usual, and "the day off" tomorrow.  Of course, it's too hot and humid to do my painting, too.  I did, however, pick beans.  Then I cooked them and ate them.  They were delicious.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/17/11

Instead of doing my projects at my house, after work and Saturday I have been helping that other guy with his painting project.  I still managed to pick raspberries, beans, and peas and mow the lawn.  I am thinking I should have planted more beans.  Last year, we had way too many and they just got wasted.  This year, I only have enough for one meal at a time, every other day.  That would be fine if I didn't want to freeze any, which I do.  The raspberries, on the other hand are bountiful.  Really, this is what I expected our raspberries to be like.  But, up until this year they only produced about a quart or half-a-quart every couple days.  This year, it's more like a gallon a day or two days.  So, I've frozen as many as I will likely use myself.  I'm contemplating what I should do with them after today.  I don't feel like picking them anymore.  That may change tomorrow.

As for the painting, I probably could have done some today, but my wife asked if it was good to paint in 95 degree weather close to 100% humidity (which is unusual-- 85 degrees is more common, with varying humidity but rarely this high).  The paint container only says to limit application to temps between 50 and 90 degrees.  Since she is afraid of ruining/wasting the paint, I won't paint today either.  Also, this is the kind of weather that can cook up nasty thunderstorms, so even taping off windows today or other prep-type work is not high on my list since that could be so easily ruined overnight.  Bottom line:  it feels like a wasted day, but as long as I don't run out of summer days to do stuff, I'll probably be just fine if I treat today like a rainy day.  Close enough.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/14/11

I've been expecting rain for 2 days now that has not happened.  It's no big deal, except postponing the paint activities anticipating the rain only to have it not rain makes me feel foolish.  But, I accepted a side job helping a paint crew with a job.  In a perfect world, I'd be doing that while I can't be painting my own house, but getting a little outside income is pretty sweet regardless.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/12/11

Acquired the ladder today.  I decided I wanted it for reference before finishing the storage rack for it.  Then, I finished the storage rack.  After that it was time to clean the garage floor-- it has been through a mess of stuff lately.  In the process I rediscovered how much I love my ShopVac.   Guess how wide the wide floor tool attachment is.  14.5 inches.  Doesn't ring any bells?  If you build walls with the studs 16 inches on center (which is how almost everything is built) the width between those studs is 14.5 inches.  So, the tool is perfect for cleaning unfinished areas like that.  I like that kind of fore-thought.  Also, it has huge capacity, is durable enough to handle all sorts of materials and the suction to pick it up.  The tube is 2" diameter so it does not plug up easily and that is the size of the exhaust on my saw, so it serves that purpose to keep that mess off the floor in the first place (credit the saw manufacturer for that function.)

After all that, I picked a good pile of beans and peas from the garden as well as the first raspberries of this season.  Good stuff!

I Know What You Did Last Summer

Since the last post, I have finished and primed that last west side section of the stucco project.  I am ready to paint-- except I need to acquire a ladder, make friends with my paint sprayer, and tape off the windows and doors and stuff I don't want painted.  We've had a little rain along the way.  I started that flooring (vinyl tile)  project around the basement stairway area.  I ran out of tiles... by only a handful.  That kinda sucks.  Beans and raspberry season will probably interfere with the painting.  Also, I started and completed half the project I need to store the ladder after I acquire it, which is a set of brackets on the ceiling of the garage.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/6/11

I decided early that I better focus on gardening tonight.  But, after picking strawberries and our first handful of green beans, running the weeder around and installing some weed fabric against the west fence, I was pretty much done.  Plus, my wife came home and told me the chief of police was going to be on the news for yet another bogus scandal of our dumping little town.  It's not that dumpy.  But, all this stupid, petty, bickering and political posturing is, well, pathetic.  So, I went in to watch the news.  I fell asleep... a little... just for a few seconds.  Well, then I was refreshed and went out and prepped the short section of the west wall, fixed the threshold on the front door (which I had taken apart for the stucco on the north side), and touched up the seal on the screen door since I was there and it (news to me) needed it.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/5/11

Great night!  Yeah, yeah, I removed the forms and primed the stucco.  But, then we grilled burgers, ate together, and watched the DVD of Season 2 of the one of our favorite shows.  The weather was beautiful-- sunshine, 80's, no wind (and in ND that is huge!)  Great night!

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/4/11

HA!  I did it!  I was able to get the north side stucco on (and etched) today.  And I still have a decent chunk of the afternoon and evening to relax.  I also mowed the lawn.  I just can't express how great it feels to know that is done, rather than still in front of me.  It makes the whole weekend, the whole holiday.  That sounds strange.  Of course I enjoyed all the socializing and laughter and the fireworks and the bonfire, but knowing I got that done makes the memory of the whole weekend that much sweeter.  Happy Independence Day!  (It was for me!)

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/3/11

Sunday - started the day with church and that project there.  With the holiday and the fact that the usual pastor is on vacation (because of the holiday) the whole experience was a bit off.  It's a journey, not a destination.
I had big plans with this weekend to make progress on the stucco.  I need several consecutive hours to get it on the wall.  But, with the fireworks last night and the guests for lunch (I grilled) and plans for tonight (bonfire) I had pushed the whole thing on to the shoulders of good weather tomorrow.  And really, that's why we need vacations and holidays-- to reconnect and... stuff like that.  I have too much farmer-mentality carry-over... maybe.  Something like that.  I am just squirming a little with the idea of missing those fleeting windows of opportunity.  They shut too fast in these parts.  It's July already and I haven't painted anything, yet.  If I was comfortable taking all summer to do it, that would be different, but I have other plans to get to.  And some of those plans involve making money rather than spending it.
Ironically, I'm thinking all of this on Sunday.  So, I'll just chill out, now.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/2/11

Did the usual Saturday morning work at work.  We were done by 10:30, though.  I failed (FAILED) to realize that I needed more stucco mix until after the lumber yard closed for the holiday.  So, I wasted time driving out of town for that.  I got the north side prepped, though.  The rest of the evening will be vacation-esque.  Fireworks tonight at the lake.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 7/1/11

Ok, so I haven't been posting everyday, but I didn't realize it had been a week!  Let me see if I can even remember anything.  Umm... Sunday 6/26/11 was a rainy day.  I did get to church, though, and got started on a project there.  One week at a time...  Not unlike a house project, or even a regular job for that matter.

I don't know what I did Monday 6/2711.  I do know that the stucco was not as cured as I would have preferred because I didn't do anything with it.

Tuesday 6/28/11 I removed my forms and prime/painted that east side.  So, that side is done until I finally paint the whole house.  Then I did more of that caulking.  I had to quit after that because I had a church project due after work that I needed to prepare.

Wednesday 6/29/11 I remembered the church project after work, but I had forgotten the "Safety Committee" meeting I had to attend after work, first.  So, it was later than usual before I got to the house.  First, I mowed the lawn.  Then, I did some more caulking.  In fact, I decided I was done with the caulking.  It was time to move on and just let it be. 

Thursday 6/30/11 Part of the reason I had to be done with the caulking was that I still needed to stripe it and it has to cure, first-- and it takes much longer that stucco.  Thursday, I striped it.  First, I used the level and a sharpie pen to mark where the lines went.  Then, I used a Dremel to cut the lines into it.  It worked well enough.  I also prime/painted it  But, actually, it doesn't look very good.  It's the same problem I had when I tried to use the stucco as a patch rather than a replacement.  The transition is just too obvious.  But, it looks better than it did before I started.

7/1/11 - Since I was expecting rain today, I should be happy with anything.  All I was able to do was cut off the old stuff.  When I did, I found some weird stuff.  I won't go into the gross details.  Besides the gross stuff, the other thing I found was the wires to the doorbell.  Luckily, I did not cut them.  I cannot understand why anyone would have routed them through the wall 10 feet away from the door, then under the siding over to the door, then up to the final location.  My theory is the door was actually centered on the house at one time.  My wife disagrees.  Whatever the reason, I spent the rest of the night fixing that.  That's not all bad, though.  The wiring of that doorbell has bothered me since we moved in.  We bought a new bell early on, and I had new wiring in that process, but I never got the wiring to the bell because of the weirdness.  So, now I have new wires and it is routed much more logically.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/25/11

I had to work this morning.  On these weekends, what we are doing is painting the floor.  As you can imagine, we're doing one section at a time.  Technically, it's not paint, either, it's an epoxy that cures rather than dries and then is really hard.  It's not hard enough, though.  Some of it is already scratched up.  Today was a four-hour morning.  We haven't done that in a while for a variety of reasons.  Now that I think about it, it probably had a lot to do with only 2 of our usual 3 being there.  Then, I finally got back to the east side of the house.  After setting up, I was only about 1/2 an hour into actually applying the stucco when my dad showed up.  He needed some help at the farm.  He realized that I was now on a ticking clock, so he left me to it.  I did manage to get that whole section done, several hours later.  So, I called him back and was able to burn the last couple hours of daylight on his behalf.  There is so much mud out there.  It's just sad.  We have less than a week left of June and everywhere I went was touch and go-- and that's on the high ground.  On a not unrelated note, I was surprised by how much corn I saw around the countryside.  I hope that works out for them this year, but I wouldn't bet on it.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/24/11

I am thinking I have over-extended myself.  I have a tendency to do that.  In the last week I have taken on two church projects, and a writing project on top of everything else-- including not only the siding project but this blog as well.  On the other hand, I have not watched any movies or TV (other than the news, and that is mostly for the weather.)  At work, we have a running joke because our Supervisor frequently says, "We'll see what happens."  Many of them have been there many years, so they are quite cynical in their expectations of what will happen.  But, that's why we have to wait and see..

It turned out to be cooler and possibly wetter this evening than I expected.  I opted to only mow the lawn and pick some strawberries outside.  I do have to work tomorrow, so the evening isn't any longer than any other work day.  Inside, I have been working on these new projects.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/23/11

I attended a church workshop tonight.  It lasted from 5:30 to 9pm so that ate up the whole evening.  So, that's what I did today.  And then when I got home, I started in on a project I committed to at that workshop, which was to start a group on Facebook.  Now, I'm late for bed.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/22/11

Still raining.  Tomorrow should be better, but I have a church conference to attend.  I had some emergency paperwork to attend to this evening, so I did that.  In the process, I dropped off the mail.  I may be becoming a wierdo, but I increasingly do not trust the mail.  There was a time when it was considered very risky to do business over the internet.  Now, I seem to do everything online and almost nothing through the mail.  I especially do not like to leave outgoing mail at the mailbox.  I realize it is a service they still provide as they have done for... I was going to say a hundred years, but I really don't know how long the postal service as we know it has been operating.  Just a moment while I Google that... 1840-1852, so over 150 years.  I also made a recycling run.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/21/11

It's raining.  It's pouring.  The old man is... planning my next move.  I have an indoor project, but I don't have all the supplies I'll need.  Remember that kitchen tile project? (5/21/11)  Either way, we want to extend that through the rest of the entry.  But, I don't have the edge rails (that's my term for it-- like the edge you see on carpet that meets up against another flooring surface) and I don't have the plywood for the subfloor.  Before I could install either, I'll need to move all the crap that is there, now, so maybe I'll do that tomorrow.  Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, too.  Also, I could look into obtaining said supplies.  But, all I'm doing tonight is thinking about these things...

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/20/11

I was fully expecting today to be a washout.  So, when I left work, I was surprised that not only was it not raining, it had not rained all day.  I did not want to start anything that needed time to dry (such as caulking or painting.)  I eventually decided to try mowing the lawn-- if nothing else, I could just stop where I was and call it a night.  Also, I had a church meeting at 7pm, so there was that issue.  I was able to mow the entire lawn.  That's a good thing because the weather forecast suggests I won't get another chance for three days and all that rain is only going to make it extra long when I get to it.  So, I got that done, ate with the family (nice) and watched the weather.  Turns out, they are not expecting the rain to get here tonight, yet.  So, I took the hour or so I had and did some caulking after all.  It turned out to be a productive night.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/19/11

Today is Father's Day for this year.  Most of the day was spent celebrating that.  We went to Fargo for a nice meal at a restaurant we've never been to.  Specifically, we went Texas Roadhouse so I could get what I expected to be a good steak.  I'm sure I could have achieved that goal at other places, even local restaurants.  But, I wanted to shop for a couple other things and so did the rest of the family, and we had never been to Texas Roadhouse, so we went.  It was very good.  I ate many many calories, got very full, and ate everything on my plate... and some dinner rolls... and some peanuts (which is one of their signature things-- peanuts in-the-shell in a little bucket on the table)... and two sodas.  As for the rest of the shopping, some of the things we got are not available locally, but most are.  Local prices are much more expensive and the selection is not as convenient either.  It's an on-going thing in my town-- people willing to drive that distance for those reasons rather than "supporting" local businesses.  If that happens too much then the local businesses go out of business, and jobs go with them, and the school system declines, and, and, and...  But, people want what they want, too.  I really do try to buy locally.  Also, with gas prices being what they are, once you factor in the gas to get there and back, you have to have saved a lot of money to actually spend less-- or you have to have acquired something you can't buy locally that justifies the added expense.  Or, you have to just not over think these things.

As for work, when I got home, I put the air conditioner in the window for the first time this year.  It's a bit like deciding when to light the furnace for the first time in the fall.  This year, it was today.  It didn't have to be.  We have no objective determination procedure.  We just agree and do it.  And, it was plenty hot and humid today.  Then, I went outside and sprayed the lawn and flower beds for mosquitoes and other irritating insects.  I'm not sure why I waited for today, since I've been spraying myself for a long time now while working on the house or mowing the lawn.  The stuff I used was left over from last year.  When I finished, I was a bit puzzled that I seemed to have the same amount of stuff as when I started.  Actually, I was surprised to have any left over from last year.  So, it may just be that the applicator is plugged and all I've done is water everything a little.  I'll have to find out another day.  If it actually worked, there is another irony here:  this product is also from Bayer Advanced.  So, for the weeds, the dispenser went empty way too early and didn't work, anyway.  For the bug stuff, the container may never go empty from the appearance of it-- so, if it still works???  I may not ever spend money on their ready-to-apply applicators again if I can't trust them.

I also applied more caulk-- maybe I should explain more of what I'm doing.  As I've said before, I'm basically using the caulk the same as the stucco, which is to rebuild areas that have broken away.  The stucco is being used on a large scale around the base of the entire house so that I end up with a neat, durable, uniform line.  The caulk is being used in small patches around the back door and deck to rebuild those small areas.  The areas are small enough that the stucco is overkill.  Also, since the siding tucks back between the deck and the wall, it would be very difficult to do that there, anyway.  But, I don't want such large goops of caulk that will deform or fall off and cure unevenly, so I am building up those areas in layers.  That's why it's a multiple day and multiple tube process.  Actually, the slower I build it up, the better my chances are of controlling the shape of the finished product.  I'm trying to re-create something by hand that was manufactured by a machine, and the finer details are important since the eye is easily caught on imperfections.

I've been thinking about that "alot" lately as I've been working at this.  Why bother?  For one thing, it's cheaper ($20-$50 per wall) than the ideal solution (new siding at $10,000+).  Second, it's an exercise in ingenuity. I have more time than money to invest and the final product will be my own creation, yet still work.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/18/11

Another Saturday.  This Saturday, however, is the highlight of the local community days celebration.  Each year that another class has a reunion of 10, 20, or 25 years... or whatever, this is when they do that.  The event also includes a morning parade and some of the entries are class reunion floats.  Today also happens to be a gorgeous june day.  After a brief couple of hours at work, I hurried over (in my work clothes) to hide in the back of the crowd and watch the parade.  By this time in my life, I know so many of the people in the parade and in the crowd, too.  The last two years the school's marching band has managed to reunite as well.  Since the band always spans all four years of high-school, the reunion band has become more of an all-school reunion feel.  They have been the best part of the parade the last two years.  They sound loud and proud and they all look like they are having a great time.  I'm pretty sure they are.  I should be part of that, but that's another story.

I spent almost the whole day just prepping the east wall.  First I had to remove everything that I did a couple weeks ago.  By the way, how do you remove stucco?  With a hammer.  I am still a little peeved about having to re-do the project (it just seems so wasteful) by getting to smash it all to bits helps a little.  Then, I have to remove all the screws that hold up the mesh.  It's my own fault, there.  The lumber yard guy that told me how to mix the stucco and told me about the mesh (and sold it all, too) said to attach it with roofing nails.  Now, I have a roof nailer.  But, I just don't want to drag out the air compressor and hoses and make all that noise.  If I did, however, it would get attached very quickly and with more attach points and I could just pry it off the wall when I want to remove it.  Easy removal might also mean that it falls off too easily, too, in my opinion.  And as much as I don't like the flexing of the mesh when applying stucco to it, since I have to apply it so thick to match what is there, I don't necessarily want the mesh stamped completely flat with a zippy nailer.  And, I suppose I said all that just to explain that it takes a long time to remove all those screws (even if they are far fewer than the nails I'd use) since I have to use vise-grip pliers to do it (the ends are full of stucco, so a driver won't turn them out).

Once I finally got it all off, then I had to attach my form, saw off the old siding, remove the form, remove the old siding and dispose of it.  Then, I could finally start attaching the lower form for the stucco.  On the east side of the house, the landscaping is so high on the foundation that I have to dig holes to get my driver into the screws that hold those up.  I also wanted to do the whole thing in one piece, so I made another section of form.  I took a picture for you:

So, the picture shows all the old cut away.  On the far right end, you can see the foundation without the final section of form.  Further in to the left, you can see the form in place.  On top of that I started screwing on the mesh.

After I got all the mesh up, I'm ready for the stucco, but I'm not going to start that today.  Since Sunday is Father's Day, I probably won't get enough of a day to do this until next weekend.  I used the last couple hours of daylight to paint the stucco on the south side, squeeze another tube of caulk in place, and weed the garden.  I was able to harvest a handful of strawberries, too!

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/17/11

Another rainy day, so I'm using that to... update this blog, apparently.  When I'm doing stuff, it keeps popping up these little boxes illustrating features and whatever.  In the process, I found out that I can set it to automatically email to people whenever I publish.  If you'd like that for some reason, just let me know so I can stick your email in the settings.  I also added some more pictures including one of a bucket of mix to illustrate the proper consistency, and another that is a "during" picture-- except I'm not doing it that way anymore.  And now that I'm actually using pictures, I'll have to take more of that sort of thing.  I did mow the lawn last night after all.  I may do laundry tonight.  Or, I may watch "True Grit" instead.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/16/11

The weather was gorgeous today. So, of course, I had a dentist appointment to mess up the evening. But, I still managed to get more supplies and finish off the last bit on the south wall. So, hopefully that will cure up and I can take off the form and paint and move on to another wall... probably Saturday, since tomorrow sounds like more rain. While waiting for things to set up I did some weeding in the flower bed and slapped some more caulk on the wall. Maybe I can mow the lawn yet, tonight. That would be useful.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/15/11

For the second night in a row, I walked out of work in the rain. So, I didn't bother to get any building supplies. I even told my wife that tonight I was just going to do some laundry and some bookwork. And I did those things. But, pretty much after the stores closed, the rain stopped and the sun came out and I didn't have any supplies. But, I did do something else: Last year the city tore up and repaired the facilities in our street and rebuilt the street. This spring they are laying sod between the street and the sidewalk. That crew also got rained out. But, they are not acting like they are going to fix the spot they dug up on our property to connect to our house-- it's just on the other side of the sidewalk. So, I used some of the bits and scraps they left laying in the street to be parked and driven on to cover that area. I felt kinda cheap doing that, but I'll get over it.

I Know What You Did Last Summer 6/14/11

It rained today. I bought some more caulk, but I can't do anything in the rain. I decided early that I would take advantage of the weather and watch a movie I had on hand. If you're curious, it was "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen." I actually grew up with Transformers in the '80s. The cartoon is wayyyy more simplistic than these movies. One way to categorize movies is 1) the actor is the brand, 2) the special effects are the brand, 3) the "basis" is the brand, or 4) this is actually something new. When I say the "basis" is the brand, that would include anything that is "based on" something else such as a comic book or video game (or an amusement park ride at Disney World.) At some point, the brand itself becomes a brand-- such as the Batman movies. The first one was based on the comic, technically, but then they made several more movies based on that movie franchise-- in other words, they resemble each other more than anything else. At this point, the Transformer movies are a brand of their own. Compared to the cartoon, the special effects are brilliant. But, so many movies and even TV shows are doing work of that quality with CGI that the movies are not milestones for special effects. Of course, the movies probably appeal to younger kids in a profitable way that makes my opinion irrelevant. And my opinion is, this is the kind of movie that I expect to see on the Spike channel on a lazy weekend afternoon. It has plenty of mindless action, fights, explosions, and objectified women to burn a few hours without having to pay too much attention. I wanted to see it out of curiosity on what they were doing with the story. I was thinking it would be a bit like "The Empire Strikes Back"-- still a Star Wars movie, but an important part of the overall story to understand. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies did that, too. And the Matrix trilogy. It's not. It seems to be a stand alone movie.

I Know What You Did Last Summer - A PHOTO!

Ok, if you are reading this first, you are reading it backwards, which is funnier than if it had worked the way I actually planned for this to work. This is actually the second section created, but at least the "before" picture appears before the "after" picture. It's not actually the same section of the house, but it illustrates the problem.

Hey!!! I finally got a photo to post. This is the most recent photo-- which probably sounds stupid since this is the first one I've posted. This is the most-finished product to date. Notice the nice straight line along the bottom. (Also notice the extreme foliage I have to work in and around without destroying. No, that is not easy. Yes, I have destroyed some of it.)