Our second work crew bid farewell to Greg and Phyllis. Thanks for taking care of us this week--we enjoyed the water and donuts! We'll miss you and can't wait to see pictures of your house when it is completed...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thanks, Jane!
We give thanks for Jane, our site coordinator, Lannie, our housing coordinator, and Darren, our construction coordinator. Here is Jane with some of our crew...
New friends--Bob and Dianna
Friday morning was our last work day, and we had to bid farewell to our new friends. Thanks for the hospitality!
Shenanigans by the river
Thursday after work we took a trip to see the White River, which flooded and caused much of the damage in Morgan County, Indiana. It looks peaceful that afternoon, although the current was strong.
Charlie's Angels
We were saddened to hear of the death of Farrah Fawcett, one of the original Angels. In her honor, we had our own Angels...
No Pain, No Gain...
We were blessed not to have any serious injuries this week. This is our line-up of smashed fingers, scraped/cut legs, and raw knees from kneeling...all for a good cause!
At Greg and Phyllis' house work continued as well. The back deck planks were finished. Since Steve and Kaitlin did such a great job on the railing of the smaller back deck, Greg asked them to put the railing on the front porch! The guys also removed the frame from the sidewalk and cleaned up the bricks. Natalie and Susan were still staining trim--there was 1,000 feet of the stuff to get two coats!
Work continues Thursday
Thursday work continued at both sites. Ginny and Robin painted the newly dry-walled areas of Dianna and Bob's basement while David, Bruce, and Ken dry-walled the closets. The guys practiced their puzzle-solving by piecing together bits of dry-wall to complete the closets (no new deliveries of full sheets today!)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Evening entertainment
Tuesday night was Karaoke. Robin and Beth serenaded birthday girl, Ginny. David was the "Soul Man", while Jim stunned everyone with his version of The Harper Valley PTA.
Catching you up on what we've done...
Yesterday Steve and Kaitlin finished the small deck off the back of the house except for the railings. Margot and Beth continued work on the large deck along the back of the house. Natalie and Susan continued to stain the trim for inside the house. Robin, Ginny, Ken, Bruce, and David went to the first site where they worked wonders with the drywall and paint--the basement is looking good. The guys also installed a sidewalk in front of the house. While we didn't let Ginny write her name in the wet cement, we all enjoyed watching the cement mixer!
When we returned to the Art Sanctuary where we are staying, a number of folks tried kumquats for the first time. The general opinion--the smaller ones are better and less bitter. No kumquats for Bruce!
The weather was hot and sunny--temperatures in the low to mid-nineties with high humidity. The heat prompted us to make a trip to DQ after dinner at the Texas Corral. David enjoyed his traditional VIM Blizzard.
Then it was "home" for devotions (thanks, Beth) and off to bed for a good night's sleep before we started today.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Let the sun shine....
Well...we are happy to report that we made it through our first day with the Morgan County Disaster Relief working on two homes. Early this am (after a good night's sleep for most), 10 of us made our way to the local YMCA for warm showers to start the day. Then it was back to the Old Methodist Church for breakfast and to meet our coordinator Jane who works for Catholic Charities.
In light of the dark clouds, rolling thunder and pouring rain early this am, we made our way to Home #1 to work on an inside basement. Repairs included sanding and spackling drywall and installing framework for 2 bedroom closets. As we finished, the sun decided to come out and we decided to head back to church for some good old fashioned PB & J's before heading out to Home #2 for outdoor repairs.
Home #2 had been completely destroyed by the flood waters so the homeowners have spent the last year working with family and friends to rebuild a gorgeous new home. They happily welcomed us as their first group of volunteers. Hopefully, the sun will cooperate this week and we'll be able to complete the many projects we started today. But we do hope that the humidity decides to subside.
Susan, Ginny and Robin spent the day staining wooden doors. 4 down ... 12 to go. Steve and Natalie were cutting wood and framing a small staircase and porch on a back door. Bruce and Margot were measuring, digging, and cementing the frame to extend the deck to connect with the back of the house. Ken, David, Kaitlin and Beth were in the front yard measuring, leveling, digging and raking in preparation for a cement sidewalk to connect to a ramp from the driveway to the front porch. Master Jim and homeowner Greg were busy doing a little bit of everything.
A little after 4 pm, we called it quits and headed back to the YMCA for some refreshing showers. The menu for tonite is tacos and karaoke...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Departure
Our group gathered in the church parking lot in the dark, rainy morning hours. We packed the bus and the van and headed out. Bertha has been behaving herself as we traversed Maryland and Pennsylvania.
Bruce, Steve and Jim have all taken turns driving and the rest of us have made ourselves at home on the bus. Jim even serenaded us for a while!
We made a small detour to see north of Pittsburgh, but now we are headed back towards Columbus!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Preparations
Preparations are underway for our trip. We are purchasing supplies, packing our tool boxes, and readying the bus for our journey. The plan is to leave Towson UMC parking lot at 6:00 am on Sunday, June 21st. We will drive through to Martinsville, IN with a stop in Columbus, OH for fuel and lunch.
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