From afar, all that oak of what is left of the staircase doesn’t look like much – happily, a lot of it could be approached without getting down on my knees.

All day Day 51 – at Eastfield sanding what’s left of the oak stair case.  Some part were accessible, some parts not, some parts get down on your knees until they bleed.

The dry wallers work fast and hard, they had the entire downstairs naked studs covered in 8 hours. But that was the EASY part.

The sheet rockers and the plasterer’s arrived in full force.  Sheet rockers in a day pretty much covered all the naked studs on the ground floor; the plasterer’s in prep mode around the doors and windows  outside.

End Of Day – I do not know where or what I am to do the next.

Evening, night really: Jerry Horn calls: “You’re at 14^th Street tomorrow.

Marvelous.

9 16 –

The 0700 hour sun filtered through the oaks on 950 14th Street.

Since I do not know the start time, I’m there at 0700 to enjoy the morning sun.

Why these guys laminated the turret cap with a dozen sheets of 1/8″ ply is added to my list of questions.

Ben and Dave are the crew – I like them, they are quiet, hard-working and competent – and they spend their day covering the pinnacle of the new turret with 1/8” ply, over and over and over.

I spend the entire day installing blocks inside the Grand Salon ceiling, pounding nails just like a Real Guy.

After lunche, very quiet, in comes a matron bearing a box of chocolate cookies – delish – turns out she’s one of the owners – the McGlauglins.  Nice.

Can walk to work.

Of the evening arrives The Prof bearing a half case of Lag, then the Lovely Kelly bearing presents.  My cup runneth over.

9 17 –

14^th Street to finish blocking out the rafters.  Just as I’m done, there’s a call from Carmel – I’m needed!

Add this to the list of jobs You Never Want To Do….

I wish I wasn’t.  I’m drafted for the glamour job of ascending into the 100 degree attic and shifting around the blown insulation.  It about does me.  Another Eastfield horror.

9 18

Lauralan driving through bum fuck to the airport, I was going to drive to State College?

Slept in until The Alarm!  When has that ever happened?

David and Raymundo say hey.

In the absence of any other direction, showed up at 14^th street where, once I drove to The Mayor’s house and collected primer and brush from Raymundo, my main task was to prime the hot water heater exterior door.

This done, I lay out and cut holes for 5 exterior electrical outlets.

After lunch, which Ben and I enjoyed on my tailgate, the matron of the house delivered us undercooked but succulent brownies.

9 19 –

This Beam? Vamanos!

This day, after the preliminary Tyvek stapling, was all about removing the titanic Grande Salon spanning beam and replacing it with a curved ply substitute.  Interesting work, if it doesn’t kill you.  And it didn’t.

The new curved beam installed – a credit to Tom Long and his keen eye – it does look much better.

For a change, while I’m still the dumbest guy on the job, the vast distance between the nadir of my ignorance and the zenith of David and Ben’s competence has lessened by a few atomic radii.

SABADO –

Pleasant afternoon hours were devoted to forming the main parts for the new Spectacles Case, in this case, the two side panels.  They are simple mahogany frames with glass inserts.

The two flanking panels in glue up.

The tricky action was blind routing out the backs of the two frames to accept the eventual ply back.

DOMINGO –

Too many chores.  Drive out Carmel Valley to Pacific Meadows (which has no meadows and clings to the cliff about 2 miles in from the mouth of the valley) where I was given a venerable Shaeffer Palladian fountain pen which I won with my Freecycle Essay: Why You Should Give This Non-working Pen To Reno.  Good views of Point Lobos from there.

Thence to less lofty realms for check depositing and prescription collecting.

Then, and only then could I unclamp the Spectacles Case frames.  Only one serious cock-up: I somehow managed to drill the holes for the shelf supports (cut-off 1/8” brass rod) correct in 3 out of 4 instances.  Plastic Wood is your friend.  Say nothing.  Per ardua, ad astra.

The Spectacles Case 8th Grade Class Portrait, less door.

Next, form the base of the case, which is nothing more than a ¾” plywood slab edge banded with mahogany.  Splined.  Fine.