After the group had an incredible Saturday night together in New Orleans, and not such a great time waking up Sunday morning, we grabbed some beignets and cafe au laits at Cafe du Monde before driving across Lake Ponchartrain to Covington. We got settled into the Best Western, met with Clare (Clay) and Sarah from HFH, and then stocked up on supplies for the week at the world's largest Super WalMart (sorry to all of the liberals out there, it was just as painful for us to give them business). Then we joined the billion people around the world and watched the Oscars. Sadly, Yuson beat me in the pool by picking the best picture. Damn Juno.
This morning, we met the HFH staff and other volunteers at the ReStore location before heading over to our build site on Pansy St. (appropriately named after Dave-Id). Unlike last year in Biloxi where we worked on one house all week, this year there are six houses to be built, each in a different stage of development. This should definitely lead to new and different experiences each day.
The morning was dedicated to pure manual labor by the entire team. We grabbed shovels and rakes and flattened-out tall mounds of the red clay on which the foundation was laid. Let's just say that after a few days of rain and gravity lending a very generous hand, we each had to use every last muscle in our bodies to even loosen the dirt. It was almost 4 hours of intense labor to get the dirt as needed. We very much deserved a good lunch at Mama D's after that.
After lunch, we spent two hours on three different lots, doing anything from installing sofiters (sp?), to nailing-in floor joyces, to measuring floor plans. This felt like some real work after the morning of playing cement gardener.
We ended the day early so we could join in the dedication of six houses that were recently completed, and we got to see the three traditional gifts handed over to each of the owners; a hammer, bible, and keys to the house. It was a complete tear jerker, and we're all excited to have had the chance to see it.
Now we're all crashing in our rooms after a fun group game of, well, cards. Tomorrow is an early one and a full day, so it's time to get some shut eye before waking up to sore muscles I didn't even know I had.
Night.
Craig
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2 comments:
Thanks so much for the recap of Day 1. Many of us sitting at home wish we were there lending a hand. I look forward to following the Blog, the recaps and the phone calls from Covington. You guys are making many happy and many proud!
Linda Silverman Schatz
Thanks so much for your dedication not only to habitat, but to this blog. The recap of day 1 made a nice side dish to my soggy bowl of crispy rice this morning. I look forward to reading about your journey and wish you all the best of luck during the hard week that lies ahead!
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