RVing With a Purpose

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Today’s weather was iffy. Rain was predicted but we thought we would be able to get in a half day of work at Richard’s house and then we might have to move to inside work. It was very cloudy to start the day but then we started having some occasional sunshine. When the sun was out it was hot and humid! As we were finishing lunch it started raining so we all jumped up and started picking up all the tools to keep them dry and covering all our lumber for the same reason. By the time we got everything covered, it had just about stopped raining. An hour or so later we had another brief shower. So, we are grateful for essentially an entire day of work. Now tomorrow may be a different story.

Today, we really wanted to get the rafters all hung so we had a team of folks working on that project. Mark and Dave were working on the framing, while Jo and Rita ran the saw. Throughout the day others were on the deck and helping with the framing including Stel, Gary, Avis, Barrie, Jodi, Suzanne and Lee Ann. At the end of the day all the rafters were up. YEA. Additionally the south wall was up and the north wall has been laid out. Our siding painters, Lee Anne and Suzanne, are now siding installers. They are doing a great job. Others working on siding included Avis, Jodi, Gary, and probably some others we failed to mention. The siding is going to look very good when we get a second coat of paint on it. Max and Avis worked on the roofing for bedroom one and are close to having that completed. We are still waiting on screws that are on order. Anne put up a little insulation today but primarily tried to keep everyone else with needed supplies and filled in where ever she was needed. A lot was accomplished. We were pleased.

Tomorrow will totally depend on the weather. Sure hope we get to go back to Richard’s.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Today was a mostly cloudy day but boy when the sun was out it was hot and humid. We were thankful for the overcast skies. We had a couple of tiny showers. It was just enough to make us cover up the chop saw once but by the time it was covered the rain had stopped.

Today devotions were led by Stel and Jodi who again did a great job. They shared the history and significance of the folded napkin found in the empty tomb. We then headed to the job sites. Again today, Jo and Mark went to the Denham Springs house to repair the bathroom floor. They got that completed this afternoon and tomorrow we plan for them to be back working on the framing at Richard’s house. Yea! We missed them. We may need to go back to that house later this week or next to set the bath tub, toilet and do some drywall work but we need everyone at Richard’s tomorrow while we hope to have dry weather. We shall see.

At Richard’s we made good progress. Suzanne and Lee Ann completed the painting of the siding for the first addition and put up the first couple of pieces. It’s going to look good. And they got to use a new tool that none of the rest of us have tried yet. It’s for cutting the concrete board siding. From what I hear, we may have a purchase in our future.

The framing of the second bedroom addition moved ahead today. We started on the decking this morning and finished that in time for a slightly late lunch. We then removed the remainder of the siding and part of the sheathing in preparation for starting the rafters. The window air conditioner was removed as that is where the door into the bedroom will be. We also raised one wall of the addition and began the layout of another. We are pleased with all that was accomplished today. This addition is moving faster because we learned a lot on the first bedroom and bath. Before we left we covered all our lumber in case it rains tonight. A front is going to come through and it’s looking like Thursday will be a rain day, but we are hoping for at least a good half day of outside work tomorrow.

We were all pretty tired tonight but still had enough energy to meet after showers for left over pie from Sunday’s dinner and a brief card game. This team really knows how to work and play and laugh.

Monday, March 26, 2018

Today was another nice but hot day in Baton Rouge. It was cloudy at times but there was a lot of sunshine too.

After devotions by us at 7:30, we all again headed out to Baker, LA, to Richard’s house. The first part of the day we all worked on getting the second bedroom addition started under Gary’s direction. It got of to a pretty fast start but then we were out of materials and worked on some other things. It began with removal of the siding and sheathing and cutting studs and corner posts for the wall. The best part of the morning was Stel was able to get the smoke detector rough wiring done and the electrical inspector came by and approved our electrical rough-in. Now we can complete the installation of the insulation and start the drywall in bedroom #1. Mark also got part of the plumbing done this morning. While all that was going on, Suzanne and Lee Ann worked on getting the first coat of paint on the siding. The siding is looking good, but of course it will need another coat of paint after installation.

 

When the materials arrived it was full speed ahead on the second addition. There was lots accomplished and by the end of the day all the floor joists were installed. In between all that there was drywall to unload and two loads of lumber. Of course, the next pieces of lumber, the floor decking, were on the bottom of the last load.

 

This afternoon Mark and Jo went to another house to do an “emergency” repair of the bathroom floor. The report we received was that there was a small hole that needed repair to keep the bugs out and to make it safe. When they arrived it was a much larger situation. They got started on the repair this afternoon but that quick little project is going to turn into a multi-day project.

Much was accomplished today but there is a lot more we want to get done this week before we loose three couples at the end of the week. We were all tired tonight but suspect we will be tired every night this week. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Today started early for us since the pastor asked us help prepare for the joint service today. We started setting up tables and unloading grills at 7:00 and continued from there. There were tables to wash, table covers, tents to set up, many chairs to take to the tents, assistance in the kitchen, bathrooms to clean and meeting many nice people. Before we knew it it was time for the service.

The choir and pastor from Preserve Life Church, across the street, led the service today. It was a lively, spirit filled, Palm Sunday service.  It did our hearts good to see the two neighboring churches worshiping together.  After the service we all had dinner together. It was wonderful. Some of the men of the Preserve Life Church grilled chicken and sausage and then there were all the traditional sides plus some not so traditional (at least for Alabama) sides and they were all wonderful. We ran out of room on the dessert table there were so many. We couldn’t begin to try them all but what we had was wonderful.

After dinner the NOMADS stayed to help clean up and then it was nap time. Tonight we found the church left us a lot of food in the refrigerator for us to enjoy this week. Yep, it’s a 5-10 pound project.

We had team meeting at 6:00 tonight and got to know our new team members a little better. There was so much laughing. Sometimes we wonder if there is a serious bone in any of us. Sure is good to really laugh. Have a good week.