The Stud Girls

Aren't we cute:-)

Working Hard

Hello everyone! Just wanted to update with some new CRAH pics. Over the weekend they painted the ceiling in the auditorium black, so on Monday we spend most of the day sweeping the paint dust off the floor. It actually was a bigger undertaking then I thought, but it was still fun:-)

Today I worked in Metal studs. We were putting up tracks that will eventually turn into the walls of the various rooms behind the stage. I drove the scissor lift all day, which was awesome. (Don't worry Jeff- I got my official approval to be an operator from Bro Myers;-) Now I feel like I can parallel park anything! I also helped mark and then screw in the studs. It was definitely one of those days that goes by really fast because you are constantly doing something. My partners in crime today were Dale and Dana. Dana's nickname today was Lasergirl, because she was in charge of setting the laser for our lines. Brooke was the cutter- she did an awesome job with that saw! Sparks were flying everywhere.

The weather was kind of crazy today. in the morning it was REALLY snowing, then during lunch it was hailing, then by afternoon it was raining and all the snow melted. Weird...

What a week!

Whew, it is the end of a fun, long, exhausting CRAH week for me. I worked there sun,mon,tues,thurs,fri. Today I was in the stucco class- so much fun. I really like stucco- there is really an art to it, kind of like masonry. I have really developed so much more respect for the brothers in all the trades that have been doing it for a long time. All of the classes I have attended at CRAH have just emphasized the fact that a lot of thought, technique, and very hard work goes into constructing a building.
I was talking to Russ today about the concrete pour that happened this week, and he said that the guy that comes in to inspect the flatness and levelness (I don't think thats a word- oops) of the floor said that ours was the best he's inspected. When Russ told him the floor was done by volunteers, the man couldn't believe it. It is amazing what willingness and holy spirit can do!
Sorry I don't have any pics of the stucco class- I was concentrating too hard and forgot to take some. Well, I need to go to bed- will write more later:-)

Panoramic Mania!

I took so many panoramic shots today, I felt they deserved their own post. I took one from the spot I always do, showing the recently poured concrete floor. When looking at the photo, I noticed that in the process of stitching the photos together, one brother moved in the picture, so it shows him doubled. Then I thought, how cool would it be to take some panoramics but have people posing in different parts of the picture? Thus THIS craziness happened:-)

We have a floor! (almost)

Monday and Tuesday I worked on the concrete crew. We are pouring the entire floor for the assembly hall! It is so exciting. We have so many volunteers visiting from out of state. People are coming from Cali, Florida, MA, Illinois, etc. The whole process really is fascinating. It is amazing also to see how everyone works together and the work gets done- FAST! The pour only takes a couple hours. That is the fast part. My job was really fun and VERY messy! I got concrete splattered all over me. I was wearing this vibrating machine that had a long tube when stuck into the wet concrete helps it to settle better without any gaps. The machine is so heavy though that Jessica and I had to take turns using it.





The part that takes a really long time is the finishing. Over and over, smoothing and leveling using different machines and by hand. Some of the brothers stayed until 10pm on Monday finishing. But when it is all done, it is so smooth it reflects like glass!






Here are a few pics of some of the people I worked with these last two days:-)

Masonry Refresher class

Today we had our Masonry refresher class. It was so nice to get some good practice in before the huge undertaking of masonry work begins on the assembly hall! This time we built walls out of block instead of brick. The block is much heavier, so you have to work in teams of two and lift them together. The entire class worked on one practice wall this time instead of a bunch of mini walls. This was kind of fun- our group played telephone while we were working. I have not played that in years! I would have taken more pics, but my camera battery died right in the middle:-( So here are a couple of pics of us buttering the bricks.
Oh, and a little teaser of something to come: Britney, Kellyn and I were working on a "Crownsville Masonry" Song. (Well, sort of a rap.) We are in the process of coming up with the lyrics, so if we ever have a Crownsville talent show, we can perform it! (I know... I will have no dignity left;-)

Sign Language

The only thing I know in Sign Language is how to say "What's up dog?" (I will have to post a video of that one). Today at CRAH, Seth taught me some new fun signs that involve your face- Here are the signs for "cool" and "wow" :-)

Movin' along

Monday I worked with Stego again inside the assembly hall. Took a few pics of what we were doing, and another lovely panoramic! Its amazing how quickly it is moving!

The oasis

*UPDATE: i got a few pics emailed from Caithlin: enjoy. You know you are jealous of the fashion(wink)

Hey everyone, I feel like such a tard because I forgot to bring my camera with me to CRAH Saturday, and I would have taken some awesome pics. Grr. Oh well. I worked with the Stego crew (not sure if that is spelled right) inside the assembly hall. It is basically this thick yellow plastic that we cover the floor with. We used this heavy duty red tape and taped it to the walls. We also cut holes in it so it could fit around the pipes that are sticking out of the ground. Then we taped the pipes to it and made sure to seal it really good so nothing would ever seep underneath. To tape up the gaps around the pipes, we used these square cutouts of the stego- they kind of looked like hula skirts because they had fringe cut into one side. Caithlin Conners and I were walking around holding up our "hula skirts" and took a bunch of silly pictures with her camera- we are such dorks:-) We actually did accomplish a lot though- I know it doesn't sound like it- heehee. We finished a whole section of the building where the offices and changing rooms behind the stage will be.