shop talk

I’m sort of single minded right now.  This week is going to be very busy.  I need to get this job finished while we have 4 or 5 days good weather, and by ‘good’ I mean above freezing.  Actually, it’s going to be pretty nice, mid to high 50s.  Since some of what we do is done either outside or in an unheated shed, freezing temperatures adversely affect our ability to work.  We went in to the city today to do the prep work for the sandblasting that has to be done tomorrow.  Also the cream etch background needs to be done as well.  Going to make for a long day.  After that it will take a couple of days to do the metal leaf applications.  And I also need to make progress on our other jobs, if only to be able to say honestly, “I worked on your job this week.”

When I say we went into the city, as in past tense, that’s what I mean.  We went in, worked, came back.  Because, you see, we have a gas leak at the city house (I explained all about that here ).  That’s the other thing we have to get accomplished this week.  So, the first order of business after opening up the house, which was frigid by the way (it was warmer outside than inside the house), opening the shop, checking on big Mama (the turtle), surveying the yard, checking the mail...OK, I guess it was the sixth order of business; we called the plumber.

“We have a gas leak,” we say.

“Gas leak, huh?” sez he.  “Get in line.”

OK, I may have made up that whole conversation but the end result is the same.  Due to the unprecedented very rare never ending tenacious week four days of sub-zero zero very low 20s, water pipes were geysering all over the city.  They’re a tad busy right now.  Maybe tomorrow.  Probably Wednesday.  Which means unless we want to sleep in an igloo all week, we are commuting.

On the upside, we had two checks waiting for us when we got there.