In this post I exceed my skill set...again

I last posted what I had finished by Wednesday evening when after much trial, I got the first plank in place.

Well, Thursday I spent some time calling around for router bits. Luckily, or perhaps Providentially, Tannie Hessie was in Bloemfontein which was the only place that had them. So between cellphone pictures and conversations with the rep over Tannie's cellphone, I managed to get the bits that I needed. Thursday night is always mission prayer time (although this time we had a birthday party for Christelle Gault), so I did not work.

Friday, however, the good looks of the company I brought increased considerably (no offense to Steve Geise intended). Delani working on her pantry shelves.



And I could get back down to working on the plank flooring.



I only finished two more boards that night, and then we headed back. The next day, Saturday if you've been counting, I headed to town about 6:30 am to pick up my friend, Bokang, who I have hired to help. I should have taken a picture of the morning because it was absolutely breathtaking as the sun came up over the Maluti mountains in the distance.

I got to work on the plank flooring which I finished with very little delay thanks to the new bits. While I was busy with that, Bokang went and loaded up sand and bricks to wall in the fireplace.



And a close-up



It is far from a perfect fit. Some sections of the boards were walked over for the last century and in the process lost about a quarter inch or more. So, it will take a bit of planing and sanding, but it is in and nailed down so other work can continue. I will include a picture of the original boards that I used so you can get an idea of why it has taken me this long.

While I was busy with that, Bokang had finished gathering the bricks, and he and Steve were busy with final preparations on some of the walls. Getting these walls ready has been a full-time job and Steve has really done an amazing job.



After lunch, Bokang and I went to collect stones for the fireplace floor. My original thought had been to use three layers of smaller flat stones to build up the floor. After discussing it with Uncle Johan, we decided to use just one more layer of large, 30cm high stones. Well, Bokang and I got them loaded and that is about all. Weighing hundreds of pounds, there was no way we would be able to move them in and maneauver them in place, so we abandoned that idea.



Just for scale, the Geise boys on the pile of stones.



So we took them back and loaded up smaller flat, finish stones for the last layer. One of the beauties of this project, is stones that would cost a fortune in the U.S.. are laying everywhere on the farm.

Bokang and Isaac helping me with the second layer of stones.



After which I tried my hand at cutting stones. Getting them to break just right can be difficult, but God helped and I didn't make any huge mistakes.



Thanks to Bokang's concrete mixing skills, we were able to get a few of the stones in before it was completely dark.



Hopefully by next post I will have a finished floor to show you. It is really hectic keeping up with the understaffed school and doing a building project, but God is giving extra strength and help.

As always, stay tuned...