After the long driving day on Friday, we rested most of Saturday and Sunday and also caught up on some paperwork, chores and did some cooking for the week. We are getting tired of sandwiches so we will plan to come back to Fred and have leftovers at least some of the days this week. We went back to Laurel First UMC for church yesterday. The congregation, and actually everyone we have met in Laurel, is very welcoming. Sunday’s service was held in a park next door to the church. It was a beautiful day to be outside and a little cooler than last week.
Outside worship service in Laurel
Chicken Pie for Sunday Lunch and Weekday Meals
The agency staff was off today for Memorial Day. We decided that we would go back out to the trailer for a while and finish getting the first coat of mud on the drywall so it would all be dry in the morning and when we discuss with Robby what his priorities are for this week. It will be interesting to see what the week brings. Will we be fulltimers or still own our house? Maybe, or maybe there will be one more “last thing” to do. We will let you know.
Mudding and taping the ceiling today to get a head start on the week
This odd insect landed on the wall while we were working. Turns out it is a Phantom Crane Fly. It uses its long fat legs to drift in the breeze.
Thanks to Ken and Heidi for making the boards. We can play cornhole in the evenings if we are not too tired.
The week continued to be very hot and Tuesday was pretty brutal. Ken and Robby were back up on the hot roof, installing the felt and making additional repairs. The bedroom temporary wall was removed and trusses were reinforced. Caulking was removed in the kitchen and cabinets were sanitized again. The living room wall was also insulated. In the afternoon we all worked together removing the siding from the end of the trailer. Recall we removed the other end two weeks ago. It was way hotter today, but we completed the job and covered the end with tarps to protect the wood from the weather. At this point the double wide is structurally secure and can be separated and moved as soon as the new site is ready. The agency will have a contractor who moves double wides regularly handle all of that work.
Robby and Ken covering the new decking
Our roof work is finally finished
Removing the temporary wall
We decided the trusses needed a little more help.
Siding removed from the other end of the trailer …
… and covered it with tarps made from old billboard panels.
Wednesday morning (while still somewhat cooler,) we cut down a large cedar tree that would have prevented the trailer from being moved. There is additional landscaping that will have to be removed but it was great to remove the large cedar while Ken was still with us. He has a lot of experience downing trees as a fire fighter who worked a lot of CA wildland fires. The roof was also re-tarped since the singles will not be replaced until after it is moved. The rest of the day was spent insulating the walls, ceilings and helping Robby hang the drywall on the ceilings – another tiring day. Wednesday night we visited the Glory House, one of the sponsoring agencies of this rebuild, for dinner and got to know Hope and Grant. What a sweet couple who have such a heart for the people of Laurel. Thanks for a great evening!
Hanging drywall in the living room
Preparing the ceiling to mud and tape and hanging drywall on the bedroom walls.
Anne and Heidi started the mudding and taping Thursday.
Thursday we completed hanging drywall on the walls and began the taping and mudding. What a difference in the house this week! It’s really starting to look like a home again – one that is safe.
We also started clearing a path for the trailer to be moved out.
Replacing bathroom ceiling
Bathroom ceiling with new drywall
Last of the ceiling drywall going up
Thanks so much to Heidi and Ken for their dedication to the Laurel community and for their ten weeks of hard work here. We were very sad to say goodbye to them but they certainly deserve some time off.
Sadly we had to say” See you down the road” to Ken and Heidi. After being here over two months it took them a while to repack for travel.
Friday, we drove back to Alabama to have one additional document notarized and recorded. No, we did not close. We drove back to Laurel Friday afternoon. It turned into about a 13 hour day. The documents are now in the hands of Quicken and we have again been told this is the last thing they require and we should get closing scheduled next week. This is the fourth “last thing” needed so we are not holding our breath. But – it will close when it closes.
Stay safe and enjoy this Memorial Day weekend, while also remembering all who gave so much for our freedom.
As we start our third week in Laurel, the short spring has turned to summer. We will have 90 degree temps this week and will have to be careful to keep everyone hydrated. We of course began today with a planning session with Robby and then our morning meeting with Ken and Heidi. Our number one goal for this week is to get the roof repairs completed and the roof was where Max, Ken and Robby began their work day. Heidi and Anne were outside helping as needed. The guys got all the rotten and warped decking removed and replaced with new material over the master bedroom as well as the master bath. They also reinforced more trusses. They then moved back to the front, investigating the area in the living room that has been leaking. There they removed more shingles and found there was also rotten decking there as well as the valley tin needed replacing. So, they again reinforced the trusses in that area and replaced the decking. The shingles will not be replaced until the trailer is at home on the new property so the tarps will remain on the roof until after the move. Cannot believe how much work was completed on the exterior today! The inside is also coming along. Everyday there is more cleaning done and the house smells so much better. Today the insulation was replaced in the living room wall. All the old caulk was removed in the hall bath and the tub re-caulked. We will be needing some new trim for the vanity. Heidi also did a great job cleaning and painting several ceiling spots that had mildewed. Some cabinet repairs were done and a few more are needed in the kitchen. It was a very productive but hot day. We all made sure we were drinking lots of water and we extended our breaks a little due to the heat on the roof. We should all sleep well tonight.
Ken worked as ground crew while Robby and Max were on the roof
New decking over the bedroom and bathroom
Repairing a little rotted area over the living room
New decking for the bedroom
New decking for the bathroom
Anne tried to get a picture of Max working
Heidi did a great job blending the new paint with the surrounding ceiling.
Since, once again the closing company and lender did not have everything ready for closing we had a quiet weekend in Laurel. We spent Friday dealing with the closing company and taking care of NOMADS business then walked around downtown and visited some of the stores. On Saturday we after working a while in the RV we walked around one of the residential sections of town admiring the old homes.
One of several murals around Laurel
This Outdoor Art Gallery is across the street from where we ate dinner Thursday night.
There are lots of cute things for sale around town.
We saw this t-shirt in one of the stores. It reminded us of the way the company has been handling our closing. We saw another shirt that said “I don’t have an accent. Y’all do.”
A beautiful flower bed in Laurel. The garden clubs here go all out.
Today we streamed our service for Lester Memorial UMC and attended church at Laurel First UMC again. Both services were so good and again today Ben and Erin and their sweet little girl worshiped with us. For those of you that don’t know, Ben’s Dad is a Methodist pastor. The rest of the day we tried to avoid the heat.
