HERE KITTY, KITTY

Hartford and Bent, TGS

EMPTY NEST

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Mary.
Mary who?
Mary me and I'll love you forever!




41xx Humphrey and that's all you're getting out of me.

CAPISTRANO BUILDING: BRICK & MORTAR- SMEAR JOB

While I've never done any masonry I've looked at pointing, brick and mortar for decades. (I've even tasted the stuff, bricks too.) I'm a huge fan of the old mortar blends with the tiny pebbles. I do my research on sidewalks, in the streets and hang with some stone masons (I'm some kind of brick groupie to these guys who kindly tolerate my excitement with amused and bewildered expressions. No one's ever asked me these questions before, said Simon). These are my qualifications.

Loosely speaking, pointing is the mortar between bricks. A more accurate definition is that it's the visible edge of the mortar-joint. There are styles of pointing which include flush, tuck, bucket handle and recessed pointing.

The photo below shows the repointing debacle on the Capistrano building on Utah and Gustine.



I'm betting the original pointing on the Capistrano's exterior walls was recessed. That is, the brick presented about 1/4" of an inch further out than the pointing.

I realize (without never having done it) drag face brick is a bitch to repoint. I've documented enough of it and seriously, I sympathize. (I also know that old mortar had a higher lime content -hence the term lime-mortar- than the newer replacement mortar. The Portland cement content of new mortar can damage old walls beyond repair.) Repointing brick like this requires expertise, patience and proper tools. None of these were on the truck the day it pulled up to The Capistrano.

The mortar mix used does not begin to match the original and it will eventually pop out.

In the upper left hand corner you can see that the repointing was finger tooled. Finger tooled! No, NO, NO!

Click on the photo to enlarge it and you'll see cracks already forming in the mortar. No cracks present in the brick though!



And now, feast your eyes on the details of this one astonishing brick.


More finger tooling and resulting fissures.





Stretcher Bond:

NEVER sandblast old brick! Sandblasting can damage the hard surface of fired brick and open the bricks up to water damage. Not to mention that fact that it can turn beautifully rubbed facing brick into dented, pitted clinkers, and can blast out softened mortar joints. Sandblasting will kill your building.

There are alternatives to sandblasting that could be used if the brick is heavily soiled or stained. Some other options include rice-hulls, styrofoam balls, nutshells, etc. All of these options are easier on brick, although still risky. They require far less pressure, and may be safer. Still, the only surface really suited to sandblasting is metalwork.

NEVER paint brick!

ACCORDION BRICK!!!

BRAVA!

Spotted on the 4000 block of Wyoming on a weekend walk with Beau. I've never seen this style of brick, never ever! From the sidewalk I couldn't believe my eyes ... my glasses that is. I became aware of having a goofy smile on my face while spying on it.

OK, check this out:


This is some seriously cool brick, my friends.

Repointing this kind of brick has to be a bitch.

BTW, The Brick Institute of America encourages the use of these definitions.

Point - to place plastic mortar into joints to correct defects or to completely fill joints in newly laid masonry.
Repoint - to place plastic mortar into cut or raked joints to correct defective mortar joints in masonry.
Tuckpoint - (1) to point masonry with a flush mortar joint that approximates the color of the masonry units and a mortar of contrasting color that is shaped into a thin strip. (2) see repoint.

UNDER THE KNIFE

Excision, stage left

I've been off pain medication for four weeks, I was complaining to Charlene on the phone last week. It shows, she said, you're very crabby and you've lost your sense of humor.

OK, that was mean. I'm always funny.

I've been off pain meds due to having surgery today, Doctor H didn't want me to bleed out and not clot when cut.

Surgery: A 'suspicious' mole on my left breast. I drove to Clayton and rode up the elevator.

Office hallways are creepy:

So is a table that looks similar to a GYN's table. Dross!

There's the needle waiting for me on the counter! Nice size, it didn't even impress my needle phobia.

Doctor H and her tech yakked quite a bit about personal matters while cutting on me. Doc H's brother-in-law is 51, was recently diagnosed with tonsil cancer and is stage three. He's also a physician and father of three kids.
I was treated to his prognosis (not good) while avoiding looking over what's left of my chest. Cancer is rampant in Doc H's family (and extended family). It's terribly trendy these days.

I waited for a pause in the conversation and asked the tech to take this photo. That red outline is blood.

I scolded Doc H for talking over my open skin. If you have Hep C, it would be instant transmission! And what about that superbug?


Results in a week.
I am crossing my fingers, legs and eyes.

THRIFT STORE FIND - BLUE CORAL

What a hunk of beauty. Blue coral, slightly larger than a man's baseball glove. Silly me, I thought it had been dyed so I bleached it. Nothing happened so I googled blue coral and sure enough, it's the real thing.

Things like this make me happy for days.

MARVELOUS BRICK WORK!

Over the weekend I took a stroll with Gen. Our pups trailed along. Gen kindly tolerated my yelping over the brick work, holding Beau's leash and waiting while I took photos. I xoxo Gen and I'm crazy over RIPley (just barely seen on the bottom).



We stopped at this home.
Check out how the bricks were chiseled to accommodate the design on this building. I live for this stuff!




Dyed black mortar with pebbles to match the details in the bricks!



This bungalow is on the 38 block of Humphrey. Down spouts were smartly painted black but oh no, those little shrubs will grow and cover the killer details!

INTRODUCING MARY, M.C.

There's nothing better than a Mexican Voodoo Mary shrine but this one achieves elevated Mojo status. It's encased in dog house style lodging, has a beacon of a night light that burns 24/7, includes stiff and uninspired roses that are somehow hyper real, and has a rabid posse of Mary's!

Holy Cats!
This completely tops my former Voodoo Porch on McPherson during the 80's (the letter carrier was so willied he tossed the mail onto the porch)

Located on Gustine between Utah and McDonald in TGS.
Pay your respects and pass the ammo.

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL WALK - TGS/TGH

Last night many residents of TGS/H met to walk with their neighbors along Grand Ave and then into TGH and TGS both to pay our respects to the victims of two recent murders in our neighborhood and to make our collective presence known.

While the media covered this as a demand for the police to react, that wasn't true. The third district police have been extremely responsive to our phone calls and provided escorts. Props to TGS residents, Scott Heima and Chris Kuban for helping organize.

BRUK & I HAVE BEEN SEWING DOG COATS

I bought the fabric, cut the design, pinned the fabric, supplied the trim and Bruk redid everything and whipped up these coats!

Beau is modeling his Get-a-Long Little Doggy, doubled fleece trimmed with strands of beads, perfect for a hay ride or singing around the camp fire.






Beau is turning heads in his tartan Rodeo coat! Accented with a black western motif and scalloped trim, he's ready to herd cattle or sit on the bleachers in style at the Gay Rodeo!

INCREDIBLE BRICKS!

Spotted on 38 Humphrey Street, these bricks were a joyous discovery. I would love to come home to this every day.



Dyed pink mortar, Oh momma!



Check out the surface which looks like pumice. Astonishing!

THE WALL COMES TUMBLIN' DOWN

The stone wall in McDonald Park needs extensive repair. Huge stones are missing as well as mortar. The granitoid 'top' along the wall is cracking.

I emailed it in to Citizen's Service Bureau for action.