Spraying!!!

Thought we'd just show you what Mark got up to during his last week at work. The Cessna 206 that he has been helping to fix had got to the point that it was ready to be sprayed before assembly. So the fuselage was wheeled into Hanger C and the spray-booth. After taping it all up, the interior was sprayed with a grey primer. This was then taped up ready for the exterior to be sprayed with a bright yellowie-green primer before it gets its white top coat. Below are some shots showing a few of the stages.

Ready and waiting for some paint!!

Looking down the tail section ... all nice and grey!!!

All shiny and new

Ready for its stripes

As this was his first time in the spray booth ... Mark didn't do any of the outside of the fuselage, but he had great fun doing the engine cowling (which was quite tricky with some nasty angles) and all the inspection panels & plates... see below.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The last couple of weeks have been quite busy for us ... so we haven't had time to update our blog ... sorry! Let's start in the hangar ... Mark's really pleased as his tool box has arrived ... certainly not something you can carry around by hand if that's the kind of tool box you're used to ... it's definitely his pride and joy at the moment ... after Jenny and Abigail that is!!

Mark passed his Physics text ... and now won't have to do another one until after the Christmas break ... the next 2 tests are on Basic Electronics ... so although there'll be a break from the hangar ... there will still be some study at home to do! Below are a few photos of some of the things he has been up to in the hangar over the last couple of weeks ... firstly some rivet plates that he made to fix the glare shield, and then a before and after of a window installation on the cargo door.

Jenny has been busy both at home and out and about ... she made another 35 mince pies for a Christmas MOPS get together which was really fun ... she's enjoying getting to know the other mum's there ... and also getting loads of local information from them. Two other mum's in her group arrived in Coshocton over the 12 months ... so all the settling in is still fresh in their minds and they can be a lot more understanding of what it's like to arrive somewhere totally new.

The MMS ladies all got together in the hangar one evening last week to stuff envelopes with the latest edition of 'Ground Crew', an MMS newsletter which comes out three times a year. (If you would like to receive a copy do let us know!) As well as being of practical help to MMS as an organisation ... it was a good chance for the wives to all get together ... and there was a lot of laughing going on! Below are a few photo of the ladies 'hard' at work!!

Jenny also had the chance to go to an ornament exchange ... something we'd never heard of before!! Christmas tree ornaments are a BIG thing out here ... special individual ones being sold all over the place, with some people buying a new one every year, or those to mark special occasions!! It was another fun evening full of laughter ... while Mark was home studying!

Abigail continues to amuse us ... and is already becoming quite helpful around the house ... this week she has decided that unpacking the shopping bags is a fun game ... which is great as when you get in from the shops you just have to leave the bags on the floor and she'll pass you everything to put away in the cupboards!!! She also decided to rearrange the kitchen cupboards and work surfaces ... preferring to store the fruit on the shelf rather than in the fruit bowl!!

Last week we had a bit of snow ... but it only lasted a day ... although Abigail was absolutely fascinated by it all ... lots of giggling, especially when the snow melted on her hand ... she couldn't quite work it out! Having heard about all the snow at home we were a bit miffed that we were missing out, but last night the snow came again and seems to be hanging around for a while too ... the difference is the world doesn't cease to function when it snows here ... life continues as usual but just looks a lot more peaceful and beautiful!

Above is a shot of our house before Mark cleared the path to the door and the sidewalk (it's each persons responsibility to look after the sidewalk in front of their own house!). The three of us had some fun in the snow together too in the back yard ... especially laughing at Abigail trying to work it all out and keep plopping herself down so she could be nearer to the ground! We're very aware that this is just a small snowfall compared to what we'll be in for over the next few months ... just hoping it will all stick around ... or snow some more between now and Christmas so that we have a 'white' one!

So, now we're just waiting for Mark's sister, Amy to arrive on Monday to spend Christmas and New Year with us ... very exciting!! If we don't get a chance to add any more to this before Friday we wish you all a great Christmas and hope that you get a chance to pause, relax and remember how this whole holiday started all those years ago!

Our Handiwork!

This week started with the official opening of deer hunting season! A very cultural experience ... all the kids got the day off school ... because apparently if it wasn't official they would take the day off anyway to go shooting!! Deer cause a lot of road accidents out here ... so it's something that is necessary ... but it's slightly disconcerting shopping in Walmart and seeing guys come in with gun belts full of ammo walking around ... or driving past a gas station and seeing a van with 2 dead deer strapped to the roof and one strapped to the back! Definitely a bigger adjustment to get used to some things more than others!

We've been quite slack at taking photos of ourselves this week ... just what we've been up to ... so here's a chance for you to see some of our handiwork!!

In the hangar Mark has been involved in different projects including removing the rudder pedal bar, preparing the wings for spraying and repairing the glare shield which is shown in the photo above! Mark also took his second test ... a mathematics one ... this time beating his last score ... getting 100%!! The question is how will he outdo himself next time when the subject is physics?!

The photos above show the parts of the Cessna 206 Mark and his team are working on, the fuselage, the wings and everything else ... and then below, a photo of a similar aircraft showing what they're working towards ... still a little way to go!

Jenny has been getting festive at home ... making Christmas cards and mince pies all week ... while listening to Christmas music!! In the UK we take for granted being able to walk into a supermarket and pick up a pack of half a dozen mince pies! They are not a traditional Christmas treat here and in order to make them Jenny trawled the town for all the ingredients, from 4 different stores, to start from scratch ... that part took most of the week ... and so far she has made over 50 with the mincemeat ... and probably has enough to make that many again! ... no complaints there as they're yummy!!

On Saturday night we had the MMS family Christmas celebration ... it was a really fun evening (with almost 60 of us there) ... a chance to share some food and get Christmassy together ... there was lots of laughter ... and quite a few mince pies!!! We got a Christmas tree this weekend too ... so now our home is beginning to look festive as well!

Abigail has been a bit miserable this week ... we think the MMR jab has caught up with her as she had a bit of a temperature for a couple of days, that along with teething (regularly fitting her whole fist in her mouth!!) has made her not quite as perky as normal ... but she's slowly improving which is great as it has been quite draining for us, as all parents of teething little ones will know!

We couldn't miss out on sharing some of Abigail's handiwork as well ... it's only fair!! She's started taking every opportunity to draw on things ... including taking the pen and shopping list when we're out which she then won't let us look at ... so inevitably we come home minus one or two things we'd needed to buy!!

A week to be thankful!

Last week was Thanksgiving ... a tradition celebrated here as a public holiday and long weekend ... with everyone having Thursday and Friday off work! We were invited to spend the afternoon on Thursday at the Schwartz's along with the Schuerman's and Gettle's ... 18 of us in all ... and enjoyed all the trimmings of a Thanksgiving feast! There was a lot of pumpkin going on too ... pumpkin pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin cheesecake!! It was lovely to spend time with 3 American families that day, to get a better idea of how to celebrate! The holiday also gave us time to reflect on all we've had to be thankful for over recent months!

As a result of Thanksgiving, Mark only had three days in the hangar, above you can see some the riveting he was doing on the repair plate of the right wing of the aircraft his team is working on. He also took the first of many tests required as part of his course (one every 10 days!!) ... it was on aircraft drawings ... something he is very familiar with having been an aircraft design engineer since 1994 ... and we're pleased to report he got 90%! His next test is on Thursday, this time the topic is mathematics.

Some of our extra spare time over the last week was spent sorting out the remaining two areas of the house, the office and the basement. Last weekend Mark (& Abigail) had fun putting together our new desk ... not sure who had more fun though ... see the cheeky monkey above ... already quite handy with a screwdriver! Needless to say a lot of it was done when Abigail was sleeping!! We also had time to go and have fun at the playground of the local school ... it came as a surprise to us that if it's outside of school hours you can go and play in most schools playgrounds ... as you can see Abigail is as interested in climbing up the slide as much as going down them!

We took Abigail for her MMR jab last week (a little bit late ... but we were moving when it was due!) ... a very strange experience for us as we were at the doctors surgery for over an hour ... but hardly saw anyone in that time ... and then left without having to pay anything!! Anyway, it went as well as it could and Abigail has so far been unaffected which we are very grateful for! She's very proud of herself at mealtimes now, as we can hand over both the spoon and the yoghurt pot and she can do it all with very little help ... it takes a while and doesn't all go in ... but it's fun to watch the concentration!

We are beginning to get to know some of the people at the Tabernacle now that we've been going more regularly. They have their small groups on a Sunday evening and on the fifth Sunday they have a week off and share food together. This weekend they did something a bit different and had some games as well ... we all went along and had some fun, as well as getting a chance to meet some more of the congregation!