We have completed another day. The weather here has been damp and drippy, so we were not able to do much siding. The guys caught a dry spell this afternoon and put on the corners and starter board on one wall. Tomorrow it is predicted to be a sunny, delightful day, so we expect to really go to town. We will be able to stay busy on our last day here.
In the mean time (today) we got a LOT done on the inside of the house. We repaired several places in the drywall that needed some TLC, built a transition between the older part of the house and a new addition, reinstalled the drywall that we had to take off yesterday and framed in the windows in that room with drywall. Lots of taping, mudding and finishing work was accomplished, as well, and the whole house just had a sense of coming together! It was quite fun to see. Every little bit, different of us would take a break and walk around to see how much more had been accomplished. Each time there was quite a bit new to see.
There were 2 neighbors who we connected with today. One was angry about us putting garbage on his lawn--he is not living in the house and it was more out of our way. The other came to thank us for our assistance. What a comparison! Around the block on which Darlene lives there are only 3 or 4 out of about 10 houses where any are living or working. After 3 years there are still so many empty neighborhoods!
Right now several of our group are preparing dinner. It is our turn tonight. (We also took a turn at cleaning the common space here the other day. With everyone taking turns doing the chores, this community functions pretty well.
Our homeowner, Darlene came by a bit ago so we could meet her. She is about 36 years old (or so). She brought her 7th grade daughter, Anjone, and she also has a 17 year old daughter, Ariel. Anjone is really anxious to get back to her own house. They are living with a friend right now and it is pretty cramped. Darlene works for Tulane University. She told us about the several contractors who have victimized the neighborhood, some of them doing a bit of work, and others simply taking the money that was demanded up front and running. We were told of a 65 year old neighbor who was taken for her life savings of $65,000. Can you imagine losing everything you had spent your life working for --several times over? We were thanked many times over for our assistance. She left her address and e-mail address with me, so we can stay in touch.
While I have time, I want to tell you about this community. We have dorm style sleeping, and the mattresses are quite hard. Those are the more challenging aspects of our accomodations. PDA provides ear plugs for those who are bothered by snorers!!!
This building used to be a church with a day care center. The church disbanded before Katrina and the Disaster Program purchased (or leased) it from the Presbytery. The church itself has a dining area and kitchen that feeds us. There is also a room with tv and a few easy chairs and a couch. That's the place where some gather for the evening. The day care center is across the lawn, and it has been remodeled into dorms. They can accomodate more than 80 people. They are almost full right now. Each dorm room has a bathroom and a sink area with mirror and two sinks. Behind the dorm (with a wooden walkway connecting it are 2 semi trailers. One is the shower trailer. In it there is a men's section with 4 stalls and a women's section with equal number of stalls. In the middle is a wash room with 4 sinks and mirror for doing hair, shaving, and getting beautiful!! Across the wooden walk way is a smaller trailer that is a toilet trailer. Flush!!! There is a washer and dryer right inside the door and then 2 sections, men's and women's. There are 4 toilets in the women's section and I'm told that the men also have 4 accomodations. It's quite acceptable and is only minimally roughing it.
Tomorrow morning Kathy W. needs to fly out to attend a confirmation for her granddaughter in Minneapolis. We will miss her.
Ok, that's about all I know tonight. We are having fun, but look forward to getting home soon, too. We hear it's cold up there. 70 -80 degrees here, even with the rain.
Take care,
Joyce
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