Christmas Visit

It was a nice surprise to get a visit from two of my prize students during the Christmas break. One of them brought me a gift, the other ate all of the candy canes off the tree. Well, not really. Anyway, it was good to see both of them. 

Home for the Holidays

Well, it's Friday and here I am again, at home enjoying a cup of coffee and posting on my blog. At least this week there is no fresh snow to clean up. It is always good to have time off during the Christmas Season. Somehow I have managed to have time off this time of year my entire life. From my childhood days in school, to constuction(we always shut down for two weeks, nobody wants workers in their house this time of year!) to teaching. Did I mention that I love this job. We had a fun week at school. We didn't get much finished on any of our projects but we kept busy. As you can see, the shutters are up and looking good on the little house. LeAnna andRobbie C, both former students, stopped in to see us(it is always good to see former students) and we did the finals of our trebuchet contest. The longest distance for launching a golfball in our class was 175 feet, done by yours truly, and the winning launch was an amazing 450 feet, from the pre-engineering students. It was truly amazing. We have a bunch of stuff to do when we return, from existing projects, to some new and interesting projects. And yes, we still have some bookwork and tests to take.

I trust all of you will have a Merry Christmas and a properous New Year. Be safe. Peace and Good Will toward Men. DD

Another Snow Day!

Well, here I am enjoying another snow day. I love this job! We are suppose to get snow, sleet, freezing rain, and more rain. Sounds like fun. We had a good week at school with most students doing a session on setting up scaffolding. Some want to go higher so I say, why not. We are winding down on the painting so will do some more fancy trim , such as shutters, flower boxes, and perhaps some ballisters. Next week will be our last week before Christmas so I'll be home next Friday as well. Did I mention that I loved this job. Merry Christmas and be safe. Mr.D

Brad Building Shutters

Just wait till you see these finished. 

Bird's Eye View

A shot taken from the top of the scaffold.

Nicole, Andrew, and Dan

 

Chaz and Mollie

 

Another Good Day.

Everybody seemed to be working hard today and we got a bunch of stuff done. This building is almost ready for trim with roof shingles not far behind. Not bad for a Wednesday. 

Shawn

Holding things up, as usual. 

Zach

 

Another Coffee Break?

This unknown student is on their fifth cup of coffee today ( notice how many fingers are up). At least they are not sleeping on the job. 

One Side Started

The 10x12 group had a good day and should have rafters up tomorrow. 

A Visitor

Today we had a former student, Shekara, pay us a visit. She still knows how to drive nails. Always good to see former students. 

Lizzie

Hit the nail, not your finger. 

John and Robert

 

Tyler and Mike

 

Brad and Dan

 

Shaun and Shawn

 

Robyn and Zach

 

Scaffold Session

Today the students had a session on scaffolding. Students worked in pairs and had to set up and take down a scaffolding that was two sections high ( ten feet) , with all safety rails, and decked over. Harder than it looks for first timers. 

Charlie and Tim

 

Jason and Cameron

 

Come Spring

A lonely student built chair dreams of warm summer days and steaks on the grill. 

Home, Sweet, Home

A beautiful morning. Ten inches of fresh snow and all day to clean up the mess. Have a Merry Christmas!

Snow Day !!

Well, we are in the beginning stages of our first major snow storm here in Mid-Coast Maine, so I have the day off. I love this job! My students have been busy on several new projects that we hope to have done before Christmas break. We have not done any serious painting in several years and I have been more than pleased with the results of the students efforts. Following are some shots of this weeks work. I'm off to get another cup of coffee, be safe and post your comments.

Cameron

Cut and installed a gable stud the first try. Good job! 

Brad