Another organ excursion

This morning, I was off to Episcopal Church of Our Savior, again in North Platte, Nebraska, to play a cute little German Baroque Snyder-Neuman of 9 ranks. It is serviced by Darrow Pipe Organ of Onawa, Iowa. The church's organist is Naomi Getty.

Here's the stop list:

Pedal:
Sub Bass 16'
Flute 8'
Brustwerk to Pedal 8'
Brustwerk to Pedal 4'
Hauptwerk to Pedal 8'

Brustwerk:
Koppelfloete 8'
Salicional 8'
Prestant 4'
Hohlfloete 4'
Nazard 2-2/3'
Siffloete 2'
Haubois 8'
Tremelo

Hauptwerk:
Prinzipal 8'
Rohrfloete 8'
Halb Principal 4'
Grave Mixture II
Hauptwerk to Hauptwerk 4'
Brustwerk to Hauptwerk 8'

The organ has 6 generals, chimes, and a delightful 11-bell Cymbelstern. The pipes were made in Holland.

This church burned in the late 1950's or early 1960's and was rebuilt and ready before the pipes for the new organ were completed. Installation was in 1964-1965.


The tower bells are named after the evangelists:
The largest is St. Mark (D). It is the big one because "Mark was the first evangelist." Next is St. Matthew (F), St. Luke (G), and St. John (A). The bells ring at 8:30 a.m., 12 noon, and 5:00 p.m. daily.

Eine kleine Orgelmusik

Today, I visited Our Redeemer Lutheran Church here in North Platte, Nebraska, and played their marvelous Bedient tracker organ. This bright little instrument is Opus 6 and was their first tracker. Built in 1973-74, it was recently rebuilt/refurbished in 2006.


Here is the stop list:

Great, 56 notes
Principal 8
Rohrflote 8
Praestant 4
Octave 2
Sesquialtera II
Mixture III-V
Trompet 8


Pedal, 30 notes
Subbass 16
Octave 8
Octave 4
Nachthorn 2
Fagott 16
Trompet 8

Swell, 56 notes
Gedeckt 8
Spitzflote 4
Principal 2
Quinte 1 1/3
Cymbal III
Regal 8

Couplers
Great/Pedal
Swell/Pedal
Swell/Great
Tremulant

This organ cost $24,000 when it was installed in 1974. I hate to think what it would cost today.

I decided to play a little Buxtehude, Ach Herr, mich armen Suender (always good to focus on how sinful you are when you are in a Missouri Synod Lutheran church) and his Passacaglia, which I just love to play! I also played a couple selections from Frescobaldi's Fiori Musicali, namely Per la Messa <> (Cum Jubilo), Toccata avanti la Messa della Madonna, a kyrie or two, and , Toccata per l'Elevatione.


Rumor has it the organists at this church are not paid. My guess is the organists pay the church for the privilege of playing this delightful instrument.

Flowers Ancient and Modern

These Gerbera daisies bloomed all summer long in my garden and continue to bloom through the autumn.

Daisies are the friendliest flower, or so says Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail.

They're also an ancient flower, judging from the fact that Chaucer wrote of them back in the 14th century:


Of all the floures in the mede,
Than love I most these floures white and rede,
Soch that men callen daisies in our toun.

Here's a gorgeous yellow Gerbera, equally prolific this past summer:

An American Hutong

This little lovely was found in my alley, poking out from the logs along my neighbor's fence. Reminded me of Tennyson. (Fear not; I did not pluck it.)


Flower in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower -but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all,
I should know what God and man is.

Mums Galore!

Thought it was time to share pictures of some of my garden's flowers. I use a Kodak EasyShare CX7430. I'm not a photographer and I don't need or want a fancy camera. The Kodak suits me just fine. I will try to add more pictures in the coming days.

A Word About Mini Stepping Stones and Trivets

Eight-inch molds are available to make smaller versions of stepping stones. But these mini stones also make a distinctive trivet for your table. Just add some protective felt pads or plastic bumpons to the bottom of your mini stone. Even an apartment dweller can enjoy the beauty of a stained glass stepping stone!

Protective pads are readily available at most home improvement centers or craft stores. Bumpons can be purchased from picture framing companies.

That's pretty much it. Hope you have fun!

Installing Your Stepping Stone

By following a few simple instructions, your stepping stone will give you years of pleasure in your garden.

After you’ve treated your stone with a concrete sealer, it is ready to be installed in your garden. Dig your space deep enough to allow your stepping stone to sit flush with the ground. Put in a 1/2 inch bed of sand to provide a level surface, even weight distribution and good drainage. Set the stone in, fill in around the sides with soil, and you’re done!

It is recommended that you store your stepping stone indoors during extreme winter.

Waterproofing Your Stained Glass Stepping Stone

While DiamondCRETE makes a waterproofing substance, I’ve never used it, so I can’t say how well it works.

I can say, however, that I have used Ducksback Waterproofer by Masterchem and love it. It’s available at any home improvement center or hardware store. It is a water-based product specifically for heavy duty concrete and masonry. It penetrates the stone, it doesn’t turn yellow, and it works. When brushing it on your stone, try not to get too much on the glass. And just be sure to wipe the glass immediately after getting it on there. It doesn’t really hurt it, but it makes it a little filmy and then you’ll have to scrub it off later. Catch it early and save yourself some work. Your brushes will clean up with soap and water.

Treat your stepping stones to this waterproofing once a year.

Removing Your Stone from the Mold

When the stone is ready to pop out of the mold, find a surface to place it where it won’t be disturbed. Lay some pencils down where the stone will cure. You’ll place your stone on those pencils which will allow air to flow under the stone and help it in its final stage of curing and drying.

Carefully turn the mold over and set it on the pencils. Then lift the mold. Your mold will probably come right off with little trouble. If it needs a little coaxing, press on the center very gently.

Immediately peel off the resist and wipe the glass. Sometimes the DiamondCRETE will seep under the edges of the resist a little bit, but this is not a problem. Just take a rag and wipe it away. Get the glass cleaned off real well. Then inspect the surface, especially between the pieces. You may notice a few little holes where air got trapped. Simply take a teaspoon full of dry mix, add a few drops of water to get a good consistency, and fill the hole. Wipe the stone smooth. That should do it!

Let the stone continue to cure undisturbed for a full month. After that time, it will have reached its full strength and will be ready for waterproofing.

Cleaning Up While the Stone Cures

While the stone is curing, you can clean up your mixing bucket. Don’t clean and then pour into your plumbing system because it is, after all, a form of cement, and it can really gum up the works. You can allow it to set up and then break it out of the bucket later, but I always found this to be difficult. My favorite way to clean my buckets is to fill them with water and let them soak for a good long time. The concrete will settle to the bottom but won’t harden, you’ll be able to pour off the water, and you can wipe the sand and grit out of the bottom with rags or paper towels. Works like a charm!

Pouring the Concrete

Pour the mix slowly into your mold, making sure it flows in between all the pieces of glass in your mold but doesn’t cause the glass and resist to shift around. Then tap all around the mold to release any air bubbles that might have become trapped. These will rise to the surface and pop. You can also gently exhale on the bubbles to help them burst.

At this point, do not touch or move your mold. You need to let it sit and cure anywhere from one to three hours, depending on size and thickness. After you’ve worked with this for a while, you’ll get a sense of when it’s ready. But generally speaking, the stone will turn warm as it is curing. You’ll be able to feel the heat it puts out by just letting your hand hover close to the stone. When the stone is no longer putting out heat but starts to feel a bit cold, it’s getting close to ready to pop out.

Mixing the Concrete

Let me say right off the bat, I don’t use traditional concrete mix and chicken wire to make my stepping stones. There are several reasons:

• I’m into instant gratification, and concrete just takes too long to suit me.
• You have to buy two different grades of concrete: a nice, super fine grade for the top third or so of the stone, and a coarser grade for the bottom two thirds.
• Mixing concrete is like rocket science to me; you have to add just the right amounts of everything to get it right. Forget it! Life is short. Remember the instant gratification thing.
• You need to embed chicken wire between the two grades of concrete.
• Concrete comes in one color. You can add colorants, but it’s a mess and inconvenient.

Another product available, but which I’ve never used personally is FlashCrete. You can check it out at http://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/mosaics/mosaics7.htm
It doesn’t require a sealant, but if you want colors, you have to add powdered colorant.

My experience is with a product called DiamondCRETE. While I can’t seem to find written verification of this, I was told that DiamondCRETE withstands 600 pounds per square inch (600 psi). Here’s why I like it:

• It requires and comes in one grade
• You add approximately 2 ounces of water to every cup of DiamondCRETE to get a thick milkshake consistency
• It’s pre-colored and comes in a wide variety of shades
• You can thoroughly mix the colors to get additional shades, or you can mix less thoroughly and produce swirled effects.
It sets up quickly. Very quickly. In anywhere from one to three hours, you can pop your stone out of the mold and let it continue to dry.

DiamondCRETE comes in 10 and 25 pound boxes as well as 60 pound buckets or boxes. You can purchase it at various craft stores such as Hobby Lobby, although they normally only carry the 10 pound size. It is also available through mail order.

The DiamondCRETE web site is located at http://www.diamondcrete.net/
and contains a wealth of information including mixing instructions and tips, troubleshooting, etc.

The total amount of water and DiamondCRETE you use will be dependent on the size and shape of your mold. Amounts needed for various sizes and shapes are listed on the DiamondCRETE boxes. Expect to use anywhere from 10 to 18 cups of DiamondCRETE per average project.

Put on your rubber gloves and dust mask, and measure out the water you need in one bucket. Using a different (dry) measuring cup, measure the DiamondCRETE into another bucket. Then pour about 1/3 of the water into a third, smaller container. Hold this back to add as needed, and bear in mind that you may not need all of it.

Gradually add the DiamondCRETE into the remaining 2/3 of the water and mix thoroughly using a paint stick or your gloved hand. I prefer to use my hand because the mixture will be thick and maybe clumpy. You’ll be able to feel those clumps and break them up with your fingers. Keep adding the DiamondCRETE until it’s very dry and hard to mix. Then gradually begin to add that last third of the water that you set aside in the small container and continue mixing. Keep adding water until you reach that thick milkshake consistency. There is some variation in how each of the colors mixes. Some colors will take less liquid than you’ve saved back. Don’t worry. You don’t have to use all the water because once you get to that milkshake consistency, it’s adequate. Too much water will make the mix too runny, and that will produce a weak stone.

When you’ve got it just right, then mix it like crazy for several minutes – but no more than five. This causes some sort of magical chemical reaction in the DiamondCRETE that will make it work right. That’s about as scientific as I’ll get on the subject. You’ll actually start to feel some heat from this reaction, and when you do, it’s time to pour.

Preparing the Mold

You now need to prepare the mold for pouring. Spread a very thin, smooth coat of petroleum jelly on the bottom and sides of the mold. Again, the shape of any lines or globs of jelly will transfer to the concrete. So you want to get the jelly as smooth as possible. It is not necessary to use a thick coat. As they say, “a little dab’ll do ya.” You can then place your glass and resist into the mold resist side down. When you look into the mold, the wrong side of the glass should be looking up at you, and the resist should be under the glass (between the glass and the mold). Place your mold where you plan to have it when pouring the concrete mixture. Use your level to make sure the surface is good and flat. Make adjustments as necessary so your stone will be an equal thickness on all sides.

The various layers of your stepping stone assembly from the bottom up are:
*Mold
*Petroleum jelly
*Resist (sticky side up)
Glass pieces (with the "right side down on the sticky stuff)
DiamondCRETE stepping stone cement