Now for the brown paper skin

Here's a life lesson: when you make wheat flour paste, don't store it in a Tupperware bowl for two or three days. That is, unless you want sourdough. When we opened the tub yesterday, the odor and the bubbles let us know we were fermentin'. The stink stayed on my hands for about 24 hours, even with washing and taking a shower.

But we got the kraft paper skin on all three sections. The middle photo shows a view of one section lying on its back so the skin can dry. We found that the kraft paper ("kraft" is a German word meaning "strong") was much easier to work with than newspaper: it doesn't shred. Maybe we were hastened by the smell, but we got the brown skins on in record time. Now it is time to paint. (Actually, we have already started the painting process, but the rechargeable batteries in my camera have begun to fail. I bought new batteries and have charged them up. Maybe I can take pictures tomorrow.)

I did have one problem when trying to move around the dried sections. These things are fairly light-weight, but extremely clumsy for one person to move around (no wheels on the bottom). While moving one section, I accidentally dropped it on its side and the skin popped off--all in one, molded piece. OK, no problem. In fact it was easier to paint lying flat on the ground. Then we stapled it back in place.

As you can see, the volcano is tall. By the time we get the top on it, the overall height will be about twelve feet. Makes the piano look small, huh? I'm thinking that post-VBS we can just keep it in the chapel as a representation of Mt. Sinai. Glue a little plastic Moses to the side with two little tablets under his arm. The preacher could flip the switch to start an eruption when congregants start nodding off. It'd be cool.

Adding the skin

Whooeeey, we have been busy. Cat and I worked on the volcano all Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, and we plan to go again tonight. We have applied almost all the "skin" to the structures. This involves making the glue, wetting paper with it, and applying it to the chicken wire. The glue formula is five parts water to one part flour. Boil four units of water, mix the remaining unit with the flour (whisking to reduce lumps), and adding to the boiling water. Cook for three minutes and you have paste (or really tasteless gravy).

We used newspaper as the base layer; the supply was abundant and cost us nothing. We learned that the paper used by our local newspaper is superior for these purposes to the paper used by the Big Flat City newspaper south of us. Well, there's something to be proud of. You can see in the top photo how the process begins. We have to stand on a scaffold to reach the interior surfaces. The bottom photo, although blurry (no, it's not your eyes), shows a completed section. After the newspaper skin dries, it is time to apply the brown craft paper skin. This will provide a base color and is far easier to paint than newspaper. I will provide photos of that in the next posting.

Back in the saddle again

Actually, it is back to monstrous projects again. Do you remember when I built a tomb for the resurrection scene for our church? The tomb has fallen and its skin lies moldering in the yard beside a church building. But I have been requested to build a volcano for Vacation Bible School. A big volcano. A big working volcano. You know what a temptation that was for me. So I have started the project, even took a vacation day to work on it. The idea is that the three triangular prisms all fit together to make a cone. Having the volcano in three sections will make it easier to cover in papier mâché.


The frame for this is 2X4 lumber and metal studs. The skin is chicken wire. Presently the structure is eleven feet tall and about sixteen feet wide at the base. There will be a top section added with all the fireworks. Patience, dear reader, all will be revealed.

Semi-permanent vacation

It has been so long since I posted that I forgot how to sign in. It took a while to get to my dashboard. Anyway, here's the deal: I'm busier than ever. So just amuse yourself by reading the archives or clicking the links to other bloggers that are more committed than I am.

Rachel, Annie, Patti, Paul, Mindy, Phyllis, Jonathan, family members, and other readers, I thank you for the comments over the years (yeah, years of blogging). I will try checking in on your sites from time to time. Enjoy the blogosphere.

Not dead, just occupied

"With what?" you might ask. Work, church, genealogy, and a conference.

Work. I am teaching two online classes, one of which I have never taught online before. It means writing up and posting lecture notes as well as quizzes and discussion questions. And now there are papers to grade. I am teaching one class in Big Flat City fifty miles south of here that takes me out on Tuesday nights. Papers to grade in that class, too. Then there are the two classes I am teaching here on the home campus. And our institution has been preparing for and going through an accreditation review. And through it all we have been worried about our students and faculty in Kenya. Our two faculty members from the US were able to complete their mission and return safely (praise God), but many of our students have lost family members, houses, and businesses. Our campus has been giving attention to Africa most of January and into this month.

Church. Rather than starting the year by getting all the projects scheduled, our church staff has spent the weeks praying together and listening for God's direction. They have focused on prayer in the worship services, Sunday school, and Wednesday evening services as well. This has been a good time of growing together and remembering why we are called to be the body of Christ.

Genealogy. I've been doing more research on my great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle Epaphroditus Howle who was a plantation manager for Martha Dandridge Custis. After she married George Washington, "Dite" worked for the General. That is, until he got fired by Martha's steward. I am still checking that out. But there is our family name in the Papers of George Washington (vol. 6, 7, and 8).

Conference. At the juncture of the two months, I went to a conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a gathering of Baptists from a variety of denominations. Those of you who are Baptist will realize that there are many stripes of Baptists and we have been chiefly visible to the 21st century world by our vociferous disagreement with each other. But this conference focused on unity. We reaffirmed the principles which have characterized us through the centuries and encouraged one another to live out the ministries God has given us. If you want to see some mighty fine preaching and some moving testimonies by such Baptist lay people as John Grisham, Bill Clinton, Marian Edelman, and Jimmy Carter, check out the New Baptist Covenant website. One of the main reasons I went was to see and hear my former pastor from San Francisco days, Julie Pennington-Russell. Be sure to check out her sermon--she did a fantastic job. I not only got to spend time with old friends, but met new ones and had an experience of great hope.

So I haven't been idle. And I may not post again for another couple of weeks, but I will be checking on your blogs from time to time.

Happy New Year

How was your holiday season? Cat, her sister, and I went to California to see our grandson (and his parents, of course). Here I am reading to Orion (Scout is pretending not to be interested, but he was). We spent four days with grandson, son, daughter-in-law, and her parents. Even though all the adults had agreed that Orion did not need nearly as many presents as last year, the Christmas tree had no unoccupied real estate below the branches. Orion's first hour on Christmas morning was spent playing with Thomas trains. He knows all of them by name, so he was delighted by all the trains he got.

The weather in southern CA was gorgeous, but as a result of arriving 5 hours later than scheduled, we were bumped from a full-size car to a two-door convertible. Luggage handling was an issue as well as three adults nearing 60-years-old squeezing into the car. Cat and Carol pose in the car with the top down. We did drive along the shore with the top down, but it got pretty cool for the back-seat passengers.