RVing With a Purpose

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Happy Mardi Gras! Don’t know if you really wish people that but….

Today was a lot like yesterday. The ladies went back to Dennis’s house and sanded and put the final coat on the drywall. They then worked on a door at the church used for accessing the choir loft. It was stuck. They took it down and planed it down and then reinstalled the door which is now working nicely. Max and Mark worked at the Atlantis house building another wall in the kitchen. It’s a little short wall by the refrigerator. Mid-afternoon Anne, Lisa and Sue joined the guys at Atlantis and installed the sink. It was another busy but productive day.

Pastor Will invited us to a Mardi Gras party at his house tonight. Fortunately we did not have to go in costume. He was cooking gumbo for everyone from the church. It was quite good with King Cake for dessert. It reminded us of our time in Baton Rouge this time last year and all the fun we had with our team. We had King Cake almost every day with everyone trying to avoid getting the baby and having to buy the cake for the next day. Rita, if you are reading this – seen any Mardi Gras babies this year?? It was a fun evening and we met more people from the church and community.

Monday, February 24, 2020

Another beautiful Monday in the Keys. We are ready to go back to work today. This week we have Lisa and Mark and Sue working with us. We really don’t have to lead this group. We just have to do the paperwork. It should be another fun week.

Today Lisa, Sue, and Anne headed back to Dennis’s house. The first task involved putting on the masks and sanding the drywall. We already have an extremely high pollen alert so you just add drywall dust to it and grab a kleenex. The sanding was complete by mid morning and the mudding began and lasted the rest of the day. The best news of the day was that Dennis was finally able to clear the blockage in the drain from the old bathroom lavatory so we can now install the new one.

Max and Mark spent the day at the Atlantis house, first gathering up the necessary materials and then framing in and installing a double door. It looks good. We had thought we had finished that house but today found that they want another wall in the kitchen area and that will be tomorrows project. Another good day!

Sunday, February 23, 2020

It has been another windy weekend with cooler temperatures. Friday morning, after handing off all the paperwork for the project, Virgie and Dan said goodbye and headed back north off the islands. The last few weeks under their leadership lots has been accomplished and we have had a wonderful time working with this team. Their leaving put us back in leadership for the project for the next three weeks. Since we are staying for three more weeks, we decided that Friday was our day to exercise the rig, the jacks, etc and moved Fred one site down – back to our original site where we get much better satellite signal. Then it was the usual cleaning, laundry and paperwork for the rest of the day.

The plan for Saturday was breakfast back at Geiger Key with Mark, Lisa and Sue with a kayak trip through the mangrove afterwards. However, since some of us were in long pants and long sleeves we decided it was a little too cold and way to windy to be out on the water. We all opted for breakfast across the street at Coco’s Kitchen instead. Then we rode bikes to Blue Hole with Lisa and Mark where we saw both of the gators this time. We rode on to the end of the rode so probably around 8 miles round trip. Good ride. Thanks Mark and Lisa.

Today of course was church and according to the sign out front NOMADS were speaking. Last week Pastor Will had asked us if we would speak to the congregation and of course we agreed. Lisa, Sue and Anne told the NOMADS story. Our ladies did a great job and the congregation was very interested and appreciative of our talks. Now we are getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. It has been another great weekend in the keys.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

This morning Lisa talked to us about how God’s heart is for his children. He wants us to love our enemies because it’s His way of keeping our hearts from turning to stone. He wants only good for us. He loves us so much he offers us redemption through Jesus. Thanks, Lisa.

After morning meeting we all headed back to Dennis’s house. Our goals for today were to get his shower so he can use it and work our punch list and continue cleanup in and around the house. It was a busy day. Anne, Max and Sue began by preparing the freezer board for the shower walls. Lisa and Mark worked on the punch list by replacing and repairing electrical outlets and switches and painting the electrical box in the kitchen area. It looks so much better. Dan and Virgie spent a very hot morning working on cleaning up part of our construction debris outside. After cutting all the pieces and dry fitting everything the installation in the shower began after lunch.  Everyone was in the bathroom at some point in the afternoon. The gluing of the freezer board, caulking, shower rod and curtain kept us busy. It was a little after quitting time when we were finally able to turn on the shower and show Dennis everything was working again after 10 days without his shower. He was so happy. And so were we. Next week we will be back to working the drywall.

After really quick showers, the team headed south to Geiger Key Marina and Restaurant. We had a wonderful evening with great food and beautiful sunset. Truly a “Keys” experience. A great way to start our weekend.