Couldn't Wait

As you can see...I couldn't wait until tomorrow to post this picture. This is the first application of stone. It's not real stone, but is done by a stamping procedure. I'll post more about this as the week goes on...and tell exactly how it is done. I expect to be there off and on all during this process. When the stamping is finished...the stones will be individually colored with varying hues. Cool! It should be very interesting.
Joe's back is giving him fits. He's been sitting in that old camp chair all through this building. No amount of pleading with him...will make him leave. I just do my best to heep things at an even keel here at home.I Listen to him...I'm his sounding board..and just let him rest. He should be resting this weekend, but you can't keep a good man down. This is the part that he has been so interested in...I hope he can find a comfortable spot to sit in. If you pray...please say a prayer for Joe... and the weather this week. We are fast approaching the final days of this project.
Balisha

Friday...April 30th

Not much was done today...just preparations for the work this next week. Weather willing, the stonework will begin on Monday. I got a little preview of what it will look like. It's going to be beautiful. You'll have to wait till Monday to see what I saw.
Balisha :)

The Grotto ...One Month From Breaking Ground...

Here it is...doesn't look like there have been any changes. But yesterday the trim, keystone, and concrete work continued. The keystone (triangular shape at top of niche) wasn't cut properly, so Joe wanted it replaced. Yesterday they put the new one on and it looks much better. Do you see the wooden support at the bottom of the niche? Joe invented that, while doing some woodworking. He was going to have to hold a cabinet up, while he screwed it into the wall. Knowing that it would be heavy...and I was his only helper :) ...he came up with this ingenious idea. The wooden support was placed under the cabinet, at just the right height, and held it there while he affixed the cabinet to the wall. They cut the support to size and used it again, while building the Grotto. Here he is....deep in thought. His mind just whirling with things concerning this project.

Father Nnaso came by and we visited for a while. Joe was at home. We talked about how Joe had gone through every detail of this project...right down to the kind of washers and screws to use. Father and the people who work at the Church have followed this from every step, just as we have. They look out the windows and take a break to come outside to see for themselves this Grotto being built. To think that we only broke ground on March 29th...one month and it's just about finished.

Balisha

Making That Concrete Stick...

Here are the pictures I promised. They were taken with Joe's camera. Here you can see how difficult it was to make the concrete stick upside down? One man on top, with a handful of concrete and another underneath with a trowel trying his best to get it to hold. Look at him standing on a bucket... Here he is smoothing it all out after waiting for it to set up a bit.

This process took most of the workday. It is finished now and coated with a layer of a blue tinted mixture. They tried a couple of shades of blue...before finding just the right one.

Remember that there will be lighting around this niche. Today is cloudy and cool. I hope it doesn't rain, so they can get things ready for the stonework next week.

Balisha

Camera problems

I haven't posted this picture yet...thought you might like to see it. It's Bob and Joe, bringing Jesus to our house. You can see the snow on the ground. The work on this started in Sept. so many long months of detail and hard work have gone into this project... all through the winter. It was first a vision in Joe's head and he took it from there. The statue has had a long trip...from Italy to Byron and our garage... we're just waiting for the time that Joe will be able to take the it to it's new home. Click on the picture...to make it bigger.

I'm having some computer problems. My camera program will not download the pictures that I take. Something is corrupted in my computer and I am having to wait for Joe to take a look at it. So, no pictures for a bit...until this problem is resolved. I can tell you, however, how things are progressing at the Grotto. I was there a couple of days ago and they were beginning to work on the niche, where the statue will go. It is curved at the top and has a mesh material to hold the concrete. They were having a dickens of a time making that concrete hold. They finally had to resort to doing it by handfuls. One of the workers was on the top of the wall, while the other handed him handfuls of concrete. Then Chris was there with a trowel trying to make it stay. Picture this....putting concrete on upside down and trying to make it stay. It kept plopping down and he had to do it over and over again. Finally they would get some to hold and then had to wait till it dried, somewhat, before adding more. It finally was finished and Joe came home and worried about it all night. He was still concerned in the morning, when he went over to the site. Chris assured him that it would hold and they went on to put another coating on...this time with the color blue. That night, we drove over and saw the niche that was the color of the sky...just waiting for the statue. Yesterday, Joe was enlisted to do some of the physical work. The trim around the niche, made from Indiana sandstone, and the keystone were put in place. This is heavy work...and tedious. He came home late and rested for a bit. He told me that (I don't think he will mind my telling this) he almost cried, when they finished yesterday. This was the part that he had worried about so much, and when they were done...it was such a relief that it was successful. He was filled with emotion. We went out for dinner and drove by the Grotto. The ground around it had been spread with black dirt and we could visualize it being finished. Hope the weather holds, so that they can work the rest of the week. Hopefully, I will have pictures soon. This is the best part and I want to show you all how it looks. Grrrr!
Balisha

Camera Problems and Rain

Been having trouble with my camera....grrrr! Guess I'll have to just tell you what has gone on since my last post. The concrete sidewalks were poured on Friday. All went well, but then they had to scramble to cover it all due to showers. If only they had poured the day before. The sidewalks are OK on Saturday. Just a small crack that has to be repaired. It's raining today off and on, and it is Sunday, so no work. Hopefully tomorrow work can start again and the trouble with my camera will be history. Have a nice Sunday.
Balisha

The Grotto Today....April 22, 2010

Work didn't start until this afternoon. Joe was ready early and had to wait for them. These guys are getting the sidewalks formed, so that they can pour concrete tomorrow. It's supposed to rain in the afternoon. I hope that they get an early start. I went over to mark where the gardens will be. Mike will kill the grass and then put black dirt on top. We used a spray paint and made an arc, by measuring and putting dots of paint and then just connect the dots. Joe decided to have the nursery plant the trees and shrubs. That will alleviate some work for us.

This is how the curved edge looks today. Mike put black dirt all around the curve to finish it off. We may put mulch in the area next to the curve. Probably nothing will be planted there. I think that wave petunias would be nice. They would do just great with all the sun. We'll see.

I think it is so cool, how the corners are done. Pavers are cut and fit in just so. It makes for a very tidy look.

This is how the paved area looked before the black dirt was put down. It's beginning to look like a Grotto. I hope they can pour the sidewalks tomorrow. After the weekend the stonework will start. It should be very interesting....I hope to be there when it all happens. The finished paved area will be covered with plywood, so that nothing happens to it. As I write this...Joe is lying down. He was really stressed out, when he came home today. There are so many details for him to attend to. Remember that he is 74...hard for him to be there all day and have to deal with all the problems that pop up. I took him a strawberry shake later in the day....to help him keep his cool. :)

Balisha