4.9.16 SATURDAY
A Day for Relaxin’ in Tuscaloosa
We slept HARD last night! But up early for a Saturday to scoot over to
Sunset RV where we originally checked in as they have 2 machines in their
laundry and we can get it all done at once!
Five dollars in quarters and an hour and half later, we are done! Back to the trailer to relax a little before
heading into town. I worked on my ‘organ
drawing’ for today’s prayers – a tough one to draw and even worse to
color!
Around noon we drove downtown to
where the Druid City Arts Festival is taking place along with the First Annual
BBQ Cook-off to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
All was taking place downtown at Government Plaza, a perfect venue for
such events. We walked around the vendor
circle first, amazed at the range of artwork and the eclectic nature of much of
it! We met up with Larry and Mem in front
of the Habitat BBQ station. Bought beers
(pop for me!) and found a table on the sidewalk. You purchased 10 tickets for the cookoff for
$10 donation and then could sample each station. With your ballot there was a people’s choice
award. The judges had already made their
decisions! More meat than I have eaten
in awhile and some stations provided side dishes as well. We had various forms of BBQ pork, chicken,
and beef (I don’t think I had any beef).
Sides included macaroni and cheese, turnip green cornbread, beans, and
corn. We were full when done! It was fun.
Another round of the vendors and I
bought a pair of ear-rings. Music was
being played on the stage and the crowd was enjoying the sunny afternoon. Weather was perfect.
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| Riverboat moored on the Black Warrior River |
Drove down to the RiverWalk and
strolled for a half mile or so along the well maintained path. Saw a couple of moored riverboats and three
tugs on the other side of the Black Warrior River. The bridge to Northport spans the river at
this spot as well. Budding trees, dying
azaleas, and plenty of green along the way.
The path is actually 4.5 miles long, much of it on the U of A campus as
it borders the river.
Backtracked to head down to WalMart
on the south edge of town for a little grocery shopping and then home. Found a post office down there, plus a Dollar
Tree! Still haven’t found postcards at
any of the stores we have been in. That
is a MUST buy tomorrow!!
Back to the trailer around
4:15. Phone call with Luke, then a
couple hours sitting outside visiting with Larry and Mem eating veggies and
dips and drinking wine. It’s cooling off
this evening!
4.10.16 SUNDAY
Church and Fish Fry!
Another good night’s sleep! We arise and by 9am we are on our way to find
a place for breakfast. I am using my
phone to search as we head west toward downtown. We stop at the Wayfarer, but it is too
crowded and a long wait. So I find a
nearby IHOP which serves us well! Arrive
early for the 11am worship service, so we wander the halls of this massive
church. There is a full size gym with a
jogging loop on the balcony. Beautiful
chapel as well as the massive sanctuary with the pipe organ. We chose to come to the late service to make
sure we got the organ again, as I read somewhere that the 8:45 service was in
the chapel. Talked briefly with LouAnn
and Ellen Potts (Habitat director) after the service. Ironically, it was Youth Sunday here as well
as back in Baker City! Theme was ‘Leap
of Faith’ with the text from Peter walking on water.
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| First Pres Tuscaloosa |
After church we stopped at three
drugs stores, two souvenir shops, a Dollar General, and two grocery stores
looking for postcards! Zilch! Bummer!
Our last chance is the Cracker Barrel gift shop. We’ll try there tomorrow. I did pick up some elephant earrings for Mem,
plus an elephant set for myself. The
elephant is the mascot for U of A and there are elephants ALL over town.
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| Catfish a frying in the pan! |
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| Rick chats while Larry fries! |
Lazy afternoon and then around 4pm
Larry started cooking our dinner. What a
feast. Our contribution was a bottle of
wine and one sweet potato (plus ice cream for dessert!) Larry was cooking
Southern style: fried catfish, fried taters, Sweet tater fries, cole slaw,
grits, and hush puppies. It was all
delicious! Mem saved some grits from
their breakfast just so I could try them!
We sat around and chatted until 7 or so.
Talks with Mom and Jed during the
evening. All is well!
4.11.16 Monday
Tuscaloosa CAV Build Day 6
Click HERE for all photos
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| Tony's brick house on 21st St. |
We are back at the 21st St. brick house for
Tony today and I finally get a chance to meet Tony! He has taken all week off work to put in some
hours on his home. A single man, Tony
gets emotional every time he comes to the site and sees the progress
happening. Today Rick and Larry were
putting the ramjet nails into the Safe Room wall and Rick asked Tony if he
wanted to give it a try (basically it is a 22 shell that ‘bullets’ the nail
in). Tony witnessed parts of the 2011
tornado – he saw a bus and semi spinning in the air. I couldn’t help but think that Tony had a
sense of security to be installing his safe room – his place to go in the event
of another tornado.
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| Tony fires nails into his safe room |
We also have the opportunity to meet
Shonda today. Shonda’s house has barely
been started and she is trying to get some of her hours in sweat equity
in. She works nights, however, and had
just gotten off work from her job at the state mental hospital at 7am this
morning. Shonda’s house is just a couple
blocks away on 22nd St.
Shonda figured I was her ‘boss’ today and she followed me around asking
what we were going to do next. It was
pretty funny, but I tried to keep her busy!
I gave both Shonda and Tony their Christmas Habi-Holidays ornaments before
leaving today. I got hugs from
both!
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| Mem and Shonda paint the panels |
The Mennonite boys were on the job,
as well as 3 college men from one of the frat houses. Before the mid-day storm hit, we were able to
get some of the metal roofing in place, Rick and Larry were finishing up some
details on the front porch in the rafters, and Mem, Shonda, and I were painting
4x8 boards that will be soffit material and the underside of the porch
roof. We devised a drying rack (I used
some of the skills learned in Kalispell from Kathy and Diane!) that handled 14
sheets eventually! We even managed to
get it covered with plastic sheeting and held down with bricks before the rains
fell too hard.
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My scribble of Tony and
Shonda at work |
Once the rain hit, we all moved
inside and it was cozy! Floors were
cleared and swept, chalk lines set for walls, second walls installed on the
safe room, and they were beginning to frame up some walls when we left at
2:45. Rick and I left a few minutes
early because the storm was moving in and we wanted to be back at the trailer
before anything major hit. I don’t think
I remembered to take an end of the day picture of the house when we left. (It was raining hard!)
We made a quick stop at the post
office so I could purchase some stamps on the way home. Arrived back at the trailer to find all well,
the fix in the air conditioner still dry as ever. Rick was glad that he dropped the front
slightly more this morning – something he does when we suspect rain to make
sure everything drains forward and off rather than puddling around the AC
unit.
Afternoon and evening (I suspect)
will be spent listening to the pitter patter of raindrops! (And hopefully not a lot of thunder and
lightning!)
Addendum….yes, it rained and
rained! A good bout of thunder and
lightning between 7 and 9, but seemed to settle down to JUST rain then. Rick had braved the wet to go out and unplug
the trailer….just to be on the safe side.
One good power surge could burn out our system.
4.12.16 Tuesday
Tuscaloosa CAV Build Day 7
Click HERE for all photos
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The red is the actual tornado path, the pale orange
is the area of devastation. |
A cloudy morning but the rain has
stopped! Tuesdays are a late start on
the job site, as the supervisors all have a meeting in the morning to determine
who is where with what crews for the rest of the week! Barry is with us today and we have a small
crew. Mennonite boys are at the hospital
on Tuesdays. So its just Barry, Joey, a
local volunteer, and us CAVs for today!
Joey leaves at lunch and another young man comes in during the afternoon
– his first time to volunteer. He got
the job of shooting the nails into the safe room, only the ‘gun’ wasn’t working
so he sledge hammered it all! Whew!
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| Rick and Larry's handiwork for the day |
The site is muddy but
tolerable. We worked inside all day
trying to get ready for the electrician, plumbers, and heat crews coming in
later this week. The roofers had
finished all but a few peak caps, and they were back during the day to finish
up. Rick and Larry tackled the job of
putting some framing up above the wall on the porches and then blue boarding
over it. A tedious job to cut around all
the 2x4 beams, etc. But first…. The 4x8’
sheets of plywood in the attic area had to be dropped down, and then Rick was
up in the rafters (after we took the walk boards away of course!) to nail in
about 6 cross braces that were missing from the roof supports.
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| Working in tight quarters |
I was given the job of blueboard,
only on the inside of the walls at the very top. I was cutting 5”x22.5” pieces of blueboard
and then wedging them into the space, the purpose to prevent the spray-in
insulation from leaking into the soffits.
I was working from the top of the ladder (due to my height challenge
status!) and could only do one opening at a time. So it was up ladder, insert, down ladder,
move ladder, repeat. I would cut about 6
at a time and then go install them. I
figure there were about 40 plus opportunities.
It wouldn’t have been bad except I was working around some huge bolts in
places, plus all the nails and screws the roofers had shot through that missed
a stud!
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Fuzzy photo...but rods we glued in
to hold the safe room in place. |
Mem and I at the end of the day had
the job of squirting epoxy into holes at the base of the safe room and
inserting some rods into them. By
tomorrow Barry said they will be firmly held, probably stronger than the
concrete itself holding them. Again, the
safe room has been an education in itself.
But if I lived in tornado country like these folks, I would want the
comfort of knowing I had a secure place to go when the warning siren
sounds! I might come out to find the
rest of my house gone, but at least my family would be intact!
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| End of Day 7 Progress |
Two more attempts to purchase
postcards today – we went to Cracker Barrell gift shop AND Pilot – both places
we had been assured carried cards. In
each we got the line, ‘We used to have them….’
So alas, everyone will have to wait until next week when we go to
Huntsville. SURELY the Space Center will
carry postcards!
The skies have cleared and it is a
cool but beautiful evening out. Larry
cooked collard greens and cornbread pancakes tonight and brought us some so we
could savor a bit more of true Southern cooking!
4.13.14 Wednesday
Tuscaloosa CAV Build Day 8
Click HERE for all photos
These two weeks have flown by so
quickly! Only three more days of labor
and the rest of the trip is playing tourist and family time! We have thoroughly enjoyed working with Barry
as our supervisor most of the time.
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| Part of my upper tape job. |
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Larry and Rick worked hard on this
section of blueboard! |
The Methodist are out in force today
as well as Joey and a few other college students who wander in and out for 3-4
hour blocks. Rick and Larry quickly go
back to their unfinished job blocking off the porch gables from the attic. The job hasn’t gotten any better over night
with crazy cuts here and there. Mem and
I volunteer to mark the walls for the siding, but first I remember that Rick
and Larry hadn’t taped the part they did yesterday, so I tackled that job. Working from an 8’ ladder, I could barely
reach the top gaps with the VERY sticky tape, but we got it done. The idea is to keep the attic insulation from
leaking into the soffits or porch areas.
Once I caught up with Rick and
Larry, Mem and I went to work on
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Hanging around on the scaffolding chalking
lines for siding. |
marking the blue board with siding lines. Barry made us a story board which is
basically a two by four marked with the 7” increments. Line it up with the OSB on the bottom and
mark the wall. Stretch the chalk line
between the marks and snap. Check to be
sure it is level every now and then.
Make sure the two sides of a corner are lined up with each other. All this would have been MUCH easier if the
scaffolding hadn’t been so close to the walls!
We basically finished with two sides of the house and got the third side
marked but no chalk lines snapped yet.
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| Mem and I on the scaffolding! |
I had a good time working with Mem
today, but I challenged her to go outside her comfort zone when I asked her if
she could get up to the scaffolding level so we could chalk the top of the
wall. She did and confessed that was the
first time she had been up on scaffold for years! (Mem is 71 years old). We took our picture together!
The inside of the house today was a
zoo. I was glad to be working
outside. The heat and AC boys were in, a
group was finishing up the safe room, and Jenna was up in the rafters during
the afternoon to put in some final
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| Rafter rat Jenna |
bracing.
When I walked in, it was a MESS!
Ducting everywhere!! The plumbers
and electricians are still on schedule for tomorrow I think.
The Methodists brought pizza for
lunch today and we brought a little home for dinner – there must have been 4
medium pizzas left over! Halsteads went
to Home Depot after work and picked up a portable circular saw that we are
going to donate to the affiliate. We’ll
put in half on it.
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| Final Day 8 Progress Picture .... too bad you can't see our red chalk lines all around! |
Rick got a call yesterday from PERS
that he signed his supplement forms a few days too soon, so we got the page run
off on Mem and Larry’s printer and will get it in the mail.
4.14.16 Thursday HAPPY
BIRTHDAY LUKE!
Tuscaloosa CAV Build Day 9
Click HERE for all photos
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| Saban House |
We are scheduled for House 19 today,
the Saban Foundation funded home, to work on the punch list for
completion. No hard hats today! Couldn’t even leave our shoes on! Paper was down in the middle of all the
floors, but they had been cleaned and with all the mud in the yard ….. (The street has been undergoing water main
changes the whole time we’ve been here – every house gets a huge hole dug in
the front yard and then mix in several inches of rain and you have MUCK!) The first thing I did was make a boardwalk
path to the porta potty!
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| Boardwalk to potty |
We had a list to work on….miscellaneous
painting, both large surfaces and small.
I did most of that. Rick painted
the driveway outside door, Larry cut some molding which then had to have the ends
painted. Joey, a local, showed up mid
morning and worked to install the rod in the wardrobe. He left at lunch with the project unfinished,
returned, and we think went to the other house to work. Hmmmm….
So we finished up that as well!
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| Repaired gap! |
I noticed a gap in the master
bathroom between the sink countertop and the wall, a gap that would trap items
down on the floor and be unclean-able or irretrievable. So…after much discussion, Barry decided to
fix it. Couldn’t find the extra piece of
cabinet wood, but Rick suggested we break apart the kitchen cupboard that was
damaged and still sitting in the dining room.
So he did the demolition, and Larry spearheaded the construction using
the wood from the cabinet. It worked out
pretty good and now there is just an inch deep of space that can catch
something – MUCH better! Unfortunately
that job took a good chunk of time! But
we still got mirror hung, etc. in that bathroom.
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| A gift for the affiliate |
While we were eating lunch, a man
came to clean the windows! He did a
great job both inside and out, vacuuming out the gaps, washing, etc.
Earlier in the morning, Brandon stopped by and Larry took that opportunity to present Barry and Brandon with the saw we had purchased for the affiliate. Barry quickly said it could live in his truck! Larry's was invaluable on the roof to make cuts without having a cord hanging over the edges!
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| Mem, Rick, Ginger, Brandon, Barry, Larry at 19 Juanita, the Saban house |
Quick stop after work to pick up a
bottle of wine for the invite we received last night to have dinner at Peter’s
house. Peter is another of the
supervisors who has been over at the 21st St. house most of the
time. We have worked mostly with
Barry.
Mem and Larry drive us out to Peter’s,
and after a couple of wrong turns and then a phone call, we find his little
caretaker house set in an old YMCA camp slightly NE of our Avalon RV Park. It is off a small gravel road in the trees! Peter, in exchange for fixing things up at the
rarely used camp and using ReStore materials, lives in the renovated house and
is a presence when Habitat has groups coming in and needing housing. He had the table (a large piece of glass set
into the counter) all set and ready for us.
Also joining us was Scuba Steve, a former Habitat volunteer who is
visiting for a brief time, and Peter’s son, Alex. It was amazing hearing Peter’s story of his
involvement with Habitat and how he came to have a job with the local
affiliate. (He felt God urging him to go
to Biloxi, MS for a year following the hurricane. He ended up staying 2 ½ years, and then
another 5-6 on the road at various other locations) Peter has already bought his RV so he can join
the CAVs in a few years! We had a
wonderful dinner and dessert, plenty of wine, and a rousing game of Bananagrams
afterwards.
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| Our crew at Peter's. Steve took the picture. |
Another story I want to share from
today. Monique was back this morning to
volunteer for a couple hours. Monique
has already received her home, even though she still has a few hours left to
fulfill. She is probably the last
homeowner who will get the keys prior to completion of hours. Monique’s family was in the hurricane. Their home, uninsured, was a tiny little 3
room building that was in the direct path of the tornado just a couple blocks
from her current home on Juanita. Monique’s brother and mom were injured, not
seriously, but Monique was thrown from the house, found on the other side of
the street. She coded twice in the
hospital and was in a coma for a month.
Peter said she was one of the last tornado survivors to leave the
hospital. She lost the vision in one eye
and seemed to have difficulty at times forming her words. I asked her if she remembers anything from
that day and she said, ‘Nothing. Not
until I woke up after the coma.’
Wow. I can’t imagine. But here she was, trying to finish her sweat
equity obligation.
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| Neat leaf shadows from lights at Peter's |
Sadly, we discovered
that Angel and Anthony, the homeowners for the Saban house, have only a
fraction of their required hours completed.
Their house will be done and sit empty until they get finished. Barry couldn’t give me a good idea of how
long Habitat will hold that house for them.
We shared that some affiliates require at least 100 hours before you can
get on the list for a house – a down payment on the interest to truly partner
with Habitat.
The rain for today didn’t really
materialize – thankfully. We heard some
pitter patter last night but nothing during the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be the same and we
can get some outside work down on 111 Juanita.
4.15.16 Friday
Tuscaloosa CAV Build Day 10 – Final Day
Click HERE for photos
Our final day as a Tuscaloosa
CAV. Rick and I discussed our options
last night and we have decided to stay an extra two days at least, three at the
most. That will still give us time to
spend a day in Huntsville and a day at Mammoth Caves, before we have to be in Paintsville
on Tuesday afternoon.
And it is a busy, productive day on
site! The Methodists are out in force,
with even more coming later in the morning.
Some college gals show up this afternoon. Jenna and Barry patiently orient everyone and
get them busy, regardless of when they arrive.
Larry and
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| Look at those beautiful soffits! |
Rick tackle the soffit installation. The Methodist install exterior doors and the
final window and then get started putting up siding. Mem and I, with the help of Edie, a late
coming Methodist, finish the chalking of the entire house for the siding. After lunch Edie and I mark all the studs to
assist the siding installers. And then….
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End of Day 10 Progress ...you can barely see the siding and
just a peek of all that soffit work! |
Many of the long term folks here at
the park pulled out this morning. They were pipeline workers and maybe the job is shifting to a new area. But in their place, we come home to find
several new rigs. We suspect the park
may fill up more tonight with people coming into town to attend the Spring
football game tomorrow at the stadium.
Rick is playing to go, but I will drop him off and he will walk the rest
of the way in. I’ll go find some place
fun to visit!
We go out to dinner tonight with
Larry and Mem at the Jalapeno Grill – it is a pretty good little Mexican
place. A pleasant time and we voice some
of our past concerns about ‘Safety Trainers’ which they have fortunately helped
ease! They will head out in the morning
for Indianapolis to visit their daughter and grandkids.
No rain is forecast for the
weekend! Yea!!
4.16.16 Saturday
Alabama Spring Football! WIFI!
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| Bryant-Denny Stadium |
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| Band section! |
What was that last line I wrote last
night? Shortly after Mem and Larry
pulled out around 8:30, the raindrops fell!
Nothing major and a relatively short shower. Just enough to make the day humid later
on! We spent a lazy morning, somewhat
planning our next few weeks. Each fixed
our own rendition of an egg dish for a hearty breakfast. I think that’s twice the propane stove has
been used on this trip– both times by Rick cooking his eggs. At 12:30 ish we headed into town so Rick
could attend the Alabama Crimson Tide spring football game. It was FREE to the general public. Rick really wanted to see what the 100,000
capacity Bryant-Denny stadium was like!
So I dropped him off about 5 blocks away and drove a mile or two down to
a MacDonalds where I spent two hours using fairly good speed wifi to download
my pictures from the past week and to surf for some campsites in Kentucky.
Rick’s report was the game was a fun
experience! He especially enjoyed the
fact that it was such a great opportunity for families to come – the price
being affordable! Little kids cheering
‘Roll, Tide, Roll!”, etc. Last year’s
Heisman Trophy winner, a ‘Bama player, was awarded the trophy that will remain
at the University. From Rick’s pictures,
it appeared 95% of the crowd was wearing their RED shirts!!
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A few people opted for the
nose bleed section! |
When we left for the game, our
trailer was a lone little island in the center section of the park. Tonight we are surrounded by ‘Big Boys’ – 5th
wheelers and large RV’s. Most have not
unhitched, so I expect them to leave in the morning!
Weather tomorrow is forecast for
80’s and sunny! I think we are going to
God’s Chapel…. In the form of the UofA arboretum just across from the RV
park. Lots of trails to roam and a
wildflower garden!
4.17.16 Sunday
University Arboretum
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| Arboretum entrance |
We spend a leisurely morning watching all the rigs
around us depart! Many of the pipeline
workers have left as well. It could be a
lonely few days here!
Around 10:30 or so we head over to
the U of A Arboretum. The boundary of it
is probably within a football field of us – just across the highway and the
railroad tracks, but we have to drive a couple miles to find the main
entrance.
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Signs for Wildflower Garden
were better than flower
markings! |
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Tree pod with colorful markings I
found on the trail. |
The site is located adjacent to what was the
University golf course and the VA Medical Center. We saw evidence of both! In fact, we didn’t know the part about the
golf course until much later, but as we walked some very old paved pathways
amid some long cleared areas, I told Rick it looked like an old golf course
with cart paths. We ended up walking a
number of those paths, moving further away from the main Arboretum area and
eventually ended up at the far boundary by the VA center! We backtracked and finally found the center’s
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| Flame azaleas |
greenhouses and pavilion. Maintenance
has not been a high priority in the past few years and things are rather run
down: signs overgrown, etc. I did find
the wildflower garden and was able to identify several flowers. I used the new ‘Garden’ app on my phone for
that! Rick took off for awhile and found
the Tree Platform for his ‘church time’.
I saw on the map that
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| Tree Platform |
there was a labyrinth and was excited to spend my
prayer time there. Unfortunately, I
never found it. I think it was probably
a mowed path and it hasn’t been created recently. But while the facilities appeared a bit
haphazard, the trails and the trees themselves were wonderful. We saw some families out for a picnic, but in
general it was pretty quiet. Since we
parked up by the dog run area at the entrance, we added to our ‘hike’ with a
good half mile in to the Arboretum trails.
The ponds were full of water iris,
the trails laced with various pines, tulip poplars, sweet gum, and magnolias
(not in bloom yet! L) I found the rhododendron garden (not in bloom
except for azaleas!) and a HUGE magnolia tree.
In the wildflower garden I found columbines, wild geraniums, sweet
William, trilliums, meadow rue, fleabane, and more. Rick found a new red flower that I used my
phone app to identify: firepink. All in all, our time was a good two hours of
activity and reflection.
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| Purple water iris |
We left to head on a new road,
Woodland Drive, down to the Walmart Neighborhood Market off Skyland to do a
little grocery shopping. Our efforts
included a rotisserie chicken which we ate for ‘linner’ at 2:30pm! We stopped at the Sunset RV office enroute
home to pay for our additional four nights.
Can’t beat a rate of $10 a night!
Also got our quarters so we are ready to hit the laundry again before we
leave.
Afternoon of phone calls to Moms and
Luke. I spent at least 20 minutes
cleaning house – sweeping, shaking rugs, sinks, toilet. I even dusted! This is a sized house I can handle!
4.18.16 Monday
Tuscaloosa Habitat Drop-In Day 1
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| Our trailer all by itself! |
Our campground is emptying! We heard a couple of the big rigs leave early
this morning and by the time we got home at 3:45pm, we were absolutely alone in
the center of the space! By dinner time,
only 2 other 5th Wheels are located on the outer circle. It’s rather lonely!
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A big crowd gathers to work on Monday.
Barry was challenged to keep everyone busy
and answering questions. 'Barry!, Barry!' |
Tuscaloosa probably did not NEED our
help this week. A crew of Episcopalians
is here for a week, 11 from Michigan and 11 from Florida. Apparently a father-daughter connection
between the two groups! They are a fun
loving group and worked hard. For
several this was their first Habitat experience, others have made the trip to
Tuscaloosa before. Barry recognized a
few faces.
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| Margie makes a cut... |
Rick was given a crew of 3 others to
help finish up the soffits. He said they
did great and were eager to try all aspects of the job. One gray haired lady shot the nail guns and
cut holes with the jig saw. I got a
picture of her on the saw with GREAT concentration! Three teams tackled the siding, one on each
side of the house that hadn’t been finished.
Others put in the porch ceiling, began work on the porch supports. After lunch the Mennonites were to tarp a
lady’s roof who was having leakage
 |
While I was on top scaffolding
level, I took a picture of the
crazy roof, now finished. |
problems.
I worked with a gal from Florida, Teresa, who was on the trip solo and a
first-timer. She enjoyed the job of
caulking! We also had Monique working
with us for awhile and then another gal, Lindy, from the local community. We had windows to caulk, doors, soffit trim,
etc. I did all the caulking on the
soffit going around the inner edge of the roof-line. It was awkward to twist around to see into
the spot. I will have a crick in my neck
tonight!
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| My caulk partner Teresa |
Today was also the warmest day of
our time here – a beautiful, sunny, but warm 80 plus degrees. Lots of water and we were shade seeking by
the end of the day. Working with one
hand on the metal roof for stability, also told me ‘this roof is hot!’
I counted up over 30 people on the
site today. Twenty two Episcopals, 2
CAVs, 2 locals, 4 homeowners, and 6 Mennonites!
A lot of people to keep busy on one house, but Barry did a great
job.
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| Progress Photo, End of Day 11 |
4.19.16 Tuesday
Tuscaloosa Habitat Drop-In Day 2
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| Progress has been made on Tony's house! |
We are back at Tony’s house on 21st
St. today, at least to begin with! Barry
and Jenna are working on punch list at 19 Juanita, the Mennonites are at the
hospital on Tuesdays, so all the Episcopals went to 21st as well. They will be there for the rest of the
week. Peter quickly gives us a job to
do: transportation detail! We are to
drive back over to Juanita and pick up ‘Buck’, the Habitat truck, pick up the
nibbler cutter for the siding, and come back.
We do so, with a brief pause to visit with Barry and Jenna! Back across town with the truck, we pick up
Peter and head to the Habitat warehouse to pick up some trim board. The warehouse is NOT the office or the
Re-Store, but a big building where they store the donated materials, extra
materials, AND where they build on rain days!
I discovered this is a Habitat, not just for Humanity, for also for
Caninity and Avianity! On off
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| Bird houses |
 |
| Playhouse |
days and
from scraps, they build children’s playhouses, dog houses, and bird
houses! I guess it just depends on the
size of the discarded material! The
playhouse is adorable with a porch, an L floor plan, etc. They sell them for $2000. Pretty neat!
I thought of Suzanne Fouty – she would appreciate the Habitat for all
Living Things!
 |
| Shanda's 'Slab' |
We delivered the trim boards,
dropped Peter off, and then went over to Shanda’s bare concrete slab ‘house’ to
pick up some saw horses. Two houses are
being built in this location – Shanda’s and one other.
Rick quickly went to work with the
soffit crew, who were excited to see him back.
They had spent the whole time preparing scaffolding and hadn’t done any
soffit yet! I searched for a place to
tap in prior to lunch, and eventually spent some time preparing seats for the
crowd to eat on under the big tree. Boards
across bricks, etc. It worked pretty
well and we left them up for their use the rest of the week!
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| Lunch in the 'park' |
After lunch I helped set up a paint
station for the trim boards we had obtained and then redesigned my drying rack
for that purpose. Then….it was time to
caulk and paint up on the eaves. If I
thought Rick and crew had left some gaps over at 111, I changed my mind. They were nothing compared to some of the
grand canyons I had to fill with caulk.
It was hot and muggy today. My
first real taste of the southern humidity.
At 3:30, Rick reminded me we still had to return the Habitat truck to
Juanita St. and pick up OUR truck! So, a
few goodbyes to the Episcopals – we might not see them tomorrow- and off.
 |
Rick catches me caulking the soffit cracks
from the scaffolding. |
We didn’t do laundry this weekend,
so it was a must do this afternoon. We
arrived at Sunset seconds after another car which meant we wouldn’t be able to
use both washers (if even one!) So off
down Skyland to a Laundromat I had found earlier. Seems we got there just in time, as a number
of people showed up after us (probably having just gotten off work!) I am so glad to have a washer/dryer at
home!!!
I talked to Dave while waiting for
the dryer (Liz wasn’t home) and then Cherrie called as we were driving
home. A good chance to catch up with folk! Quiet evening! (Of course it is quiet, there
isn’t anyone else in the campground!)
4.20.16 Wednesday
Tuscaloosa Habitat Drop-In Day 3
Our last day of Habitat work this
trip (unless we hear from one of the drop-in sites at the last minute! ) The big group is over at 21st
Street, but the Methodist slowly straggle in and eventually there are probably
about 10 there. Three of the Mennonite
boys are here, Brian missing as he is packing for his trip home. Brian leaves and a new young man arrives tonight. Barry has to leave for awhile in the morning,
but Brandon shows up to supervise our crew!
 |
| Front of house is looking done! |
Rick on fascia trim this morning,
helping some of the others get started on the project. I have two other women helping to caulk, one
a novice, but she does pretty well! The
older gal took a fall from the ladder this morning. I was concerned about her. We were caulking trim work on the porch, and
then up to caulk the fascia trim as soon as it was installed. Shanda also showed up this
morning to paint,
along with her friend Sam. They just
stayed for the morning. Shanda is
determined to have all her hours done by the time her house is ready to
go!
 |
| Lunch crowd at Jim and Nicks BBQ |
We debated, but decided to join the
staff and Mennonites for Brian’s ‘Goodbye’ lunch at Jim and Nick’s BBQ
downtown. It was a chance to see Jenna
and Brian plus Peter one more time. We
left around 11:30 and didn’t get back until 1:30! Rick and I both had pulled pork BBQ
sandwiches plus a side. I gave Jenna a
pair of tie dye shoelaces! We met
Mennonite House Leader Tyler’s wife and 2 year old son. It was a good time.
 |
| Gable Rick worked on |
Back to 111 Juanita to find most of
the Methodists had given up on us! But
the boys showed up for an hour, plus another young college man, Jose and Rick
and Barry and I. I continued to caulk,
while the ‘frieze’ was installed so that they could start work on the gable. By the end it was just the four of us
working, but the one gable got done.
 |
| I'm Trapped! |
A ‘fake’ window had been framed to
balance the window at the left of the front door. Behind it are the shower stalls. Barry had been debating all week on how to
finish it off. In the meantime, he kept
thinking a face looking out would be fun, so I said I would take care of
it! I found some heavy white plastic,
used tape to outline the window lines, and drew one of my Scribble figures
(with eyes and a shirt!) I mixed the red
dirt with some water to rub on and at least color the shirt with a big A on
it! Barry loved it! At least it will give the neighbors something
to laugh about for awhile. And it was a
temporary break from caulking!
 |
I grabbed Brandon and Peter when they
stopped by to take a picture of the
Tuscaloosa 'Supervisors'!
Barry, Brandon, Peter |
We stopped at McDonalds for some
wifi to get our tickets for a cave tour this weekend, but Mickey D’s didn’t
have working internet. Rick drove down
to Wendy’s and from the parking lot, we got the job done! Gas into the truck, and then back to start
the pack up process – mostly cleaning up the back of the truck of work tools,
etc.
We are now one of TWO rigs in the
lot. One of the 5th wheels
left today while we worked. The other is
still here, but we haven’t seen a truck with it for days. So basically, the camp area is ours alone as
we sit in the middle. But tomorrow we
shall leave!
So I wrap up the Tuscaloosa post on
this blog! This has been a great
experience. I only wish Tuscaloosa was a
little closer and we would be back. We
have been treated very well. I told
Barry he ranked right up there in my top three favorite site supervisors! Experiencing the racial mix of Tuscaloosa has
been good for me. I haven’t interacted a
lot with African Americans – certainly not in 99% white Baker City! I have enjoyed meeting homeowners and
visiting with them. Their stories are amazing. All have been black. All have appreciated my ornament gifts. I’ve received hugs. Am I always comfortable when I find Rick and
I are the only ‘white folk’ in the Laundromat?
No, but I’m better than I used to be!
We head north from here…..stay tuned for CRUISING APPALACHIA COUNTRY!
Progress pictures from our two plus weeks:
111 Juanita
 |
'
Beginning of Build |
 |
| Day 13 - All Siding finished, but one gable. Caulking done. Painting begun. Safe Room done. |
21st Street - Tony's House
 |
| The day we arrived to put up the trusses. |
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| After two weeks...Interior framing done, roof done, Front gable done, Siding on back half done. |
4.21.16 Thursday
Today’s adventure focused on the
Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
It was just a 30 minute drive across the Tennessee River and to the
center just southwest of Huntsville. A
former sleepy little cotton town, Huntsville became a munitions stockpile
during World War 2. Following the war a
team of German rocket scientist moved to America and brought their expertise to
US scientists. Huntsville then became a
mecca for racketeers and the development of the Saturn V system. It is now home to the Marshall Space Training
Center, Space Camp, Robotics Camps, and Aviation Camps! 
b.
The upper regions
of the cave are not active except in certain places, as the water has now moved
much deeper to carve new chambers. The lowest
levels are explored in boats! 
because 6
passageways lead off of it. It is a
horizontal chamber as opposed to the vertical shafts. At the end of the tour we entered a third
type of chamber….one that is more of the Carlsbad Cavern type – filled with
stalactites and stalagmites, columns, straws, draperies, and flows. Unfortunately I was having trouble with my
camera at this point so I didn’t get good pictures. Maybe I’ll steal a few from the postcards I
bought! 
We stopped at McDonalds for a little
more wifi time and a drink, but after 45 minutes it was becoming a zoo with all
the school kids! I called Mom briefly
and we were finally able to make a phone connection with the campground in
Bryson City, NC to confirm a reservation for Thursday through Saturday
nights. Back to the campground!! 
Lunch again at Bob Evans, where I
wanted to try their all-you-can-eat soup, salad, and bread lunch entrée. Well, it was good, but service was not. Slow to deliver, I had to ask for my biscuits
when they weren’t delivered and I was half done with my meal, no chicken could
be found in the chicken noodle soup, and my biscuits came without butter. BUT….it did taste good and I didn’t need
butter anyway. Even though it was all
you can eat, I was never asked if I wanted any more, etc. Ah well.
We stopped to pick up a couple items at Dollar Tree and then back to the
campground. 
