Tales from Turtle Woman Ceramic Studio: "How firm a foundation!" The Tale of the Pouring of the Cement

As I got up early and looked out the window, it seemed like Thursday would be a rainy day. At present, I’ve been analyzing weather in two ways: Will it be nice enough for progress to be made on the studio? And Will it be too humid, thus debilitating, for George? (An aside for those of you who are following my blog without previous acquaintance: George is my husband and he has multiple sclerosis. People with MS generally react badly to humidity. George really can’t take humidity.) The plan was for the building inspector to meet with the cement contractor at 10:30. I couldn’t be there because I had to take George for physical therapy. However, the contractor had said I really didn’t need to be there. When we got home around 10:45, there was no sign of anyone. I thought that perhaps everyone had come and gone and sat down at the computer to play a quick game of spider solitaire. The doorbell rang before I could finish a game. It was the building inspector—cheerful, polite, and apologetic. He had been delayed and was first arriving on the scene. I opened the gate, removing the special dachshund barricade, to let him into the back yard. He had some questions regarding what was under the cement steps leading to the basement. If the foundation was not solid, he would not give the go-ahead. There was also a concern about metal rods anchoring on to the existing structure. He said he could not come back until Tuesday, because Friday (today) was a mandated layoff day as part of the city’s efforts to save money. In my mind I saw the pages of the calendar floating away into the clouds, day by day…. Another studio delay, more days before I could sit in my studio and work. But I understood.

To my surprise and delight, the contractor and the building inspector both returned around 2:00 in the afternoon, and by evening, two cement trucks had brought their slushy mix and had filled the trench. And so the project proceeds! Being Labor Day weekend, and also giving the cement a chance to harden sufficiently, no progress has been made on the studio today. I think business will resume on Tuesday. In the meantime, I hope to work on glazing my “Lost Milwaukee: The Ghost of the Pfister Hotel” sculpture to finish it in time for THE Fine Art Gallery’s participation in the Third Ward’s October Gallery Night.