Tiny House Party Weekend: Saturday

On the first day of the tiny house party weekend, the work day, not only did Kyle finish the exterior bow wall siding (pictured in a previous post), but finished up some of the last dribs and drabs of the luan paneling inside, shown here. The uncovered lower wall on the left is marked with measurements to receive tongue-and-groove pine wainscoting, and several people did a great job getting that up, especially considering the fussiness of cutting pieces to fit around quite a number of outlets, both 12V and 120V.  In this photo may also be seen the faux stained glass window embellished with t-shirt paints by me and my mother several years ago. It turned out to fit the lower sash of the starboard window very well, so it got hung as a bit of a party decoration, and may just remain there!

Z probably put up the most wainscoting, in several bursts of energy over the course of the day.  The nail gun that was used, courtesy of Big D, did a great job of quick installation, with one exception.  Its powerful compression recharge was hampered by the distance from the electrical outlet, because the necessary extension cords were too lightweight to keep the power from being lowered over that distance.  So each time the compressor needed to be recharged (every 5-10 boards or so), the compressor had to be wheeled over to the studio door to get closer to the electrical outlet, then wheeled back to the tiny house.  This was a potential problem I had had absolutely no notion of!   Still, it was much faster and cleaner than doing the job with a hammer, especially when one was sitting on the floor.

The trusty scaffolding, loaned to Kyle by a (fantastic banjo-playing) friend of his, after seeing much use the whole spring and summer, was ready to be dismantled (thank you S!).  Since it was a job for more than one person, we decided to try to get it done on Saturday, the workday part of the weekend.  H, the husband of my good friend CB, gave Kyle a hand, and they got it down and neatly stacked in Kyle's truck in no time. 

Just moments later, H was indoors, taping balloons on the studio walls, and twisting streamers, preparing the space for the next day's celebration party.

Two beautiful floral bouquets arrived with C, who also managed to help in several places at once, helping with the streamers, cleaning the studio bathroom and putting up wainscoting out in the tiny house.  This bright dash of color adorned the buffet table where the potluck salad bar was to be set up, and the other bouquet, a cheerful yellow one, added a needed spot of life to the bathroom, which was outfitted with new soap, towels, flower wall stickers, and two new shower curtains for the occasion.

Our inside decoration consisted mostly of sweeping and dusting off surfaces, and arranging tables for all the party things.  Three sculpture stands made the salad bar buffet, Bid D's new table saw was the hot food table, his two kids' tables held the give-aways and the baked goods, and a folding table held the screenprinting equipment.  With my own bursts of energy I went to the dollar store and felt like I bought the place out of disposable party supplies and favors.  Knowing there were going to be at least two toddlers at the celebration the next day, we made sure we had little plastic animal containers to fill with goldfish, raisins and crackers.  It was fun to prepare for a party with the friends who were for the most part going to be at the party.  And in a space where I had prepared for many holiday parties with my teacher's family and the other students during my years of fine art studies.  

These photos don't do the atmosphere justice, I must say.  There was a very festive feeling to the whole room, and part of the fun was having my teacher's daughter and granddaughters helping set up.  A and A enjoyed helping with twisting streamers and all that, and added their taste to the decorations.  

CB (whose husband provided yeoman service with the scaffolding) had spent the previous week baking up a storm of goodies for the crowd, including pumpkin cake balls, chocolate bottom bars, chocolate macaroon bars, apple orange muffins, and, my favorite, brownie bites with brown butter icing.  These delectable delights certainly did their part in keeping the workers moving on Saturday -- creating sugar and chocolate achievers!  Yum! What a way to go...

As the day waned, everybody came to rest in the studio, sitting on the same folding chairs that had seen years of use by students listening to my teacher's morning lectures. Clockwise from left, J, who had come the farthest, P, who plugged away at the electrical wiring, C, a new friend, CB and C, old friends, and Z of the boundless energy.  I loved having this companionable time at the end of the day, telling stories and laughing with each other (and eating brownies).

Z's daughter A returned from an early Halloween party just as the evening drew to a close.  Her mother laughingly mentioned that A had gone to her party as "a pirate princess dead butterfly," but was corrected: A had gone as a pirate princess skeleton butterfly (hence the white face and bloodied stitches).

A's earlier handiwork: she took a chalkboard that had seen use as her and her cousin Nico's garden sale sign earlier in the season, and set it up against the guitarist sculpture. Note the wheels on the tiny house.

Many areas were labeled by A for the party, including the dessert table, kids table, give-away table, and the route to the rest room, but since all of those areas were hives of activity on Saturday, most of A's signage was rubbed out and had to be redrawn the next day.  This one held up, an example of A's wit and sense of humor.