Deja Moo - the feeling that you've heard this bull before.

Not such a great day in the productivity department. I started building the platform over the stairs about 9:30 a.m. and didn't finish it until 11:00. Took longer than I expected and I ended up doubling the plywood because I wasn't comfortable with the amount of flex with one layer. Then I established my starting lines, level & plumb, and began installing the 12" mirror tiles. They had put five adhesive pads on the back of each tile - one at each corner and one in the center - over the weekend so all I had to do was peel off the remaining backing paper and apply the tile to the wall.
I started at the ceiling, working left to right, and put up a row of 9 tiles - not to the other corner but to the end of the platform. Then I put up the rows below that - five rows total, down to the level of the platform. Except that as I was working on row #4 the last tile in row #1 fell off with a loud crash and glass pieces everywhere. OK, the wall is uneven and that tile was over a high spot, so maybe I'll add some extra pads to its replacement. Back to placing tiles in row #4.
Before I was done with row #5 tiles started making little popping noises as pads came loose, a sound that was quickly followed by another tile falling to the platform.
At that point it turned into something akin to the carnival game "Bop 'Em" where the critters pop up from their holes and you smack them back down, except that I was listening for pops and catching falling tiles. In between I was working as fast as I could to pull off all the tiles I'd installed before they could fall. By 2:00 I had all the tiles off and the broken glass swept up.
I decided the problem is the paint on the wall. The adhesive pads won't stick to the satin paint; too much sheen for good adhesion. So I'm going back Wednesday. I'll sand the wall to remove the sheen and then use mirror mastik instead of adhesive pads. Why Wednesday? Because between now and then they're going to remove five pads from 200 mirror tiles. Uhm, 200 minus the shattered ones.
I'm whooped!

Here's a line from a local news story about a murder:
"His body was discovered with a gunshot wound in the road miles away from his car."
Huh???

I got long-winded last night about the Presidential election and didn't get to what I planned to write about - the news at Pathway Bible Church.
Our growth to date has come through word-of-mouth, that is, people inviting their friends. That's very good; what is called "side door" growth in the church biz is the most productive kind. But we've plateaued and need to move forward. So on Nov. 6 a direct mail piece will arrive in the homes of everyone living within a 5-mile radius of our meeting location, a list of several thousand households. This "front door" method is possible because the people at Pathway have been very faithful in supporting the ministry. (Direct mail ain't cheap.)
We have lots of work to do in preparation for the mailing. I need to work on the copy, including the 4-week sermon series the piece will promote. And we have logistical issues to work through so our visitors feel welcome and comfortable.
Mostly, we've committed to PRAYING this thing - over, under and around. We're praying every day for different aspects of the effort. "Unless the Lord builds the house, the laborers work in vain." James told his readers, "You have not because you ask not." Well, that's one failure we don't intend to be guilty of. If the Lord in his sovereign wisdom sees fit to bring us no results from the mailing we'll accept that as from a Father's hand and praise him for it. But we believe in the ministry of Pathway and are boldly asking God to give us a mind-blowing response. Feel free to join us!
BTW, if a church decides to do a direct mail piece it's really nice to have the V.P. of a large advertising firm in the congregation.
Thanks for your expertise and work, Matt!!

I think it's time for supper. I'm hungry.