Debbie and Joe's Travel Adventures

This year, the house is being built on a piece of donated land in Bethany, IL – a town about 10 minutes from Sullivan.   Given that this is week five of a six week build, the progress on the house is well underway.  The interior walls are up, the bathtubs are in place and the electrical rough-in is almost complete.  We are waiting for the plumber to complete his work before the wall insulation and drywall can be installed.  It’s definitely starting to look like a house:

On the exterior, the team completed as much of the siding that could be completed until the concrete porches were poured and the back door gets installed.

Thankfully, the porch concrete was poured on Friday so we could get started on the siding.  Joe and I started on the front of the house.  

We were just getting back into the groove when the rain started.  We worked for about an hour in the rain, hoping it would stop.

But then it really started raining.   Without any gutters, the rain was coming off the roof … right to where we were installing siding.  Since the forecast was for continued rain, we decided to call it a day.   As you can imagine, or shoes became mud magnets. Of course, our mud boots were clean and dry….in the car :-(.  

When we cleaned up as best we could, we headed out to a local church for lunch.   And … what a lunch it was!  They had prepared fresh homemade bread, two types of salads and three types of lasagna for us:  meat, seafood and vegetable.  If that wasn’t enough, they had 3 different desserts.   Yeah … probably not going to loose weight on this build :-).

Rain, rain … go away!   We ‘hear’ that it might rain again tomorrow.   I guess God is just sending extra blessings our way :-).  God is good!

 

As some of you may know, Joe’s dad passed away in July and we miss him dearly. Since we were in NY for most of the spring and summer, we decided that we would not be able to participate on the Habitat team in Illinois, since the build started in August. After cleaning out Joe’s parents home in NY, we arrived back in Celebration the end of August with a ‘million’ things to catch up on. Each week we were back, we tried to convince ourselves that we should just pass on the build this year. Until Wednesday of last week when Joe said … ‘we should just go …’. God was just telling us to pack up and go, so on Friday morning we packed up ‘Roadie’ (our motorhome) and headed out to meet the rest of the Habitat team in Sullivan. Yeah, it was pretty crazy. We could only accomplish this with the amazing friends we have in Celebration that helped us once again take care of some things while we are gone. We are incredibly thankful for all of you!

Since we’ve done this roadtrip before, we were able to just ‘copy and paste’ our trip itinerary from last year with overnight stops at conveniently located Cracker Barrel restaurants. Most Cracker Barrel’s let RVers stay overnight, knowing that they will stop in for a meal. They are more than happy to accommodate us and we look forward to our pancake breakfasts in the morning before we continue our travels.

With the huge panoramic window on Roadie, we get to enjoy this country’s beautiful scenery. Here is a picture of beautiful mountains as we drove through Tennessee,

the seemingly unending cornfields in Illinois

and finally arriving at Faith Lutheran campground in Sullivan, IL on Sunday afternoon after driving over 1,000 miles.

After hooking up water and electric, we got settled in. It’s always fun to cook in Roadie – it’s amazing how little space and supplies you really need.

It’s going to be an early day tomorrow – we leave at 7:30 AM. For us retired people, that’s crazy early! Look forward to sharing our two week Habitat journey with all of you!

God is Good!

Brrr… it was in the 40’s this morning.   It only got up into the low 60’s with wind gusts over 20mph, but it was a good day to work once we started moving.    After our wonderful devotional and prayer, we started on the flooring.   For this house, the flooring will be installed without any threshold pieces between rooms.   This means that a single starter strip needs to be started across the whole house before each room can take off from there.  The end product is nicer because it’s one continuous floor.   Since the furnace room was already done, that was the starting location.   Most of the team waited until that first strip was set.

Then work could start in the living area.

While progress was being made in the hallway. 

We started in the master bedroom when the hallway reached that point.

By the end of the day we made some good progress.

Well, today is our last day of the build.   Starting next week, the work on the house will be completed by mostly local volunteers.   It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for 6 weeks.  The time certainly flies by when you’re busy!   We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to give Becky a ‘hand up’ with a beautiful home, and hope to be back next year.   God is good.

 

The rain started last night, and continued for most of the workday.   After walking on a plywood path over the mud to enter the house, we had another inspirational devotional and prayer to start our day. 

It’s painting day!  We were very thankful that the primer was dry and that it was nice and cool inside the house even with the windows closed. 

Joe and I started in the master bedroom.   I worked on the cutting out around the edges, and Joe started rolling.   We were happy to hear that Becky wanted one color for the entire house :-).

As the morning progressed, we were blessed to have 5 more volunteers show up, doubling the size of our small crew!    With 10 people painting, we had the entire first coat applied by 10:30!   We then had to wait for paint to dry before we could apply a second coat.   I guess this is what it means to ‘just standing around waiting for the paint to dry’…lol.

We decided to head back to our motorhomes for about an hour before we met at a local home for an amazing lunch.   After lunch, we were all eager to get the second coat done.   The saying ‘many hands make light work’ was certainly the case.   We were done painting by around 2:00, and were cleaned up by 2:30.   Painting done!

While I was cleaning out the brushes, a FedEx driver pulls up front and asks if this is 605 South Hope Lane (since there is no mailbox outside yet).    Gene takes the package and goes outside to find me … it was a delivery of an amazing bouquet of roses for my anniversary tomorrow.   I am very spoiled by my wonderful husband!

After work, we were treated to another amazing dinner at the local Ambucs.   Today we had amazing grilled pork chops, baked potato, coleslaw, green beans and dessert.  

This is why they call this the ’10 pound build’ (because you gain 10 pounds while you’re here).   What a great way to end a productive day.  God is good.

God gave us another wonderful workday, with some clouds and temperatures in the low-80’s.   When we arrived this morning, we were not sure if the mudder had finished his work.   Well, good news and bad news.   The mudder must have worked most of the night finishing the plaster and texturing.   So, the good news was that it was done.  The bad news was the absolute mess he left behind.   Working with this mudder in the past, we expected a mess, but nothing like what we found in the house:  huge piles of plaster on the floor, texturing on the back of both doors, bathtub covering plastic ripped off.    Our small team of 6 people spent most of the day cleaning up the floor,

and cleaning/re-taping all the windows and bathtubs.

In between our house cleaning, we helped to unload the trailer of scaffolding into Gary’s garage. 

After lunch, we also helped to unload the kitchen cabinets into Cheryl’s garage.

By the end of the day, the house was ready for priming.   Gene started spraying the primer, along with painting the ceilings.   We stopped by the house at 7PM, and he was still spraying (and covered in white paint from head to toe) …but almost done.   It was a long day, but we got the job done.  We are all eager to start painting tomorrow!  God is good.

 

 

It’s hotter here than it is in Celebration!   The morning was cool, but the temperature got up to 88 degrees by the afternoon.   Although it was a little hot, it was another beautiful workday with no rain.   After our morning devotional and prayer, our small team of 5 people got back to work.   

One of today’s tasks was to blow insulation into the ceiling.   Richard went out early to pick up the insulation trailer, which has everything you need to get the job done.  Joe had the task of loading insulation into the hopper, which was then fed through a long tube into the attic.   Joe loaded 62 bails of insulation.  Each bail was about 20 pounds, so yeah…that’s over 1,000 pounds!    After about 2 hours, the job was done.

I worked to finish up the siding, and fix a few areas that needed it.   By the end of the day the siding was done … whoo hoo!

While we were busy outside, the mudder was there all day … yeah!   He made significant progress, but we’re not sure when it will be ready for priming.  

By the end of the day, we had put away all the scaffolding and ladders, tossed remaining scraps of siding and cleaned up around the entire house.   At this point, we’re done outside :-).   Overall, another productive and blessed day.  God is good!

 

 

It was another beautiful, but warm day today.   By the afternoon, it was actually hotter here than in Celebration!  After another wonderful devotional and prayer from a local pastor, our small team of 6 gathered for our team meeting.   Unfortunately, our mudder did not work on the house this weekend as planned, nor did he show up at all today.   He has at least two days of work to do before we prime and paint the walls.   We’re making the best of it, and continued with the siding today.  

I continued to work with Gene to fit the top pieces of siding on the back wall.   We had to cut out around the door and light, so it was a little tricky.   The top pieces are a challenge as well.   Once the width is cut to size, a dimple tool puts in tabs that hold the last piece secure.   After lunch, Gene had an appointment, so I got the job of fitting and installing the last piece … whoo hoo!

The back and South side – done!

While we were working on siding, the Electrician (Becky’s mom) came by with her crew to install the meter pan.   We still don’t have power from the street to the house, but it’s ready to go once it’s available.

Joe was working with the crew on the North side.   They, along with the crew on the Front side are just about done.

When we went for lunch today, we noticed that they were harvesting pumpkins.   The machine first lines up all the pumpkins in a row before picking them up.   Originally, I thought that they were getting ready for a ‘pick your own’ pumpkin, but in fact that’s the way they are harvested.   How little I know about farming …. the harvesting machines are truly amazing.

Another productive day.   Even though we are a small team, we continue to make slow and steady progress.   God is good!

 

We awoke to a chilly 59 degrees in the coach, with the outside temperature in the mid-50’s with dense fog.   It didn’t take long to warm up with the help of our great heaters and fireplace.  The fog made it muddy again this morning, but it hardened up as the day went along.   

We were all hoping that the mudder would be working inside the house this morning, but unfortunately he was not available today.   The latest plan is for him to work this weekend, and hopefully be ready for primer on Tuesday.    This would mean that the earliest the team will be able to get back into the house for painting is Wednesday.   When we were making such great progress this morning, we decided that we could end the day early today to get an early start on the weekend.   The remaining work on the siding will not take long to finish on Monday.    Below are some pictures of our progress so far.

I learned a little about J channels and utility strips today.  By the time I finish the siding, I’ll be an expert … until next year when I’ll forget how to do it :-).

Overall, a productive day for our small but dedicated team of 8 people.    We look forward to a relaxing weekend!   God is good.

 

 

When we opened the blinds today at breakfast, the fog was really thick so that we could only see a few feet ahead of us.   With all that moisture, it was another sticky mud boots day.   It was cool all morning, so this Floridian kept my jacket on for most of the day.   By the afternoon, the sun finally came out and dried everything up.  

After another inspirational devotion and prayer from a local pastor, we all got right back to our siding tasks.   I was working with Gene on the back siding.   With all of the windows and cut-outs, it was steady progress.   We will definitely be able to finish that wall up tomorrow.

Joe was working with the south side siding, which was a little challenging because of the cutout of the roof peak.   We use a cutting template that is set up for the correct roof angle, which helps quite a bit.  

By mid morning, they had to add another level to the scaffolding to reach the peak.   It wasn’t long  before they reached the peak.   

We call the last triangular piece on the peak the ‘money shot’.   It went in first shot!

Joe had a good view from that height.  As a ‘regular’ in Sullivan, he could recognize many of the landmarks in town.

Once that team finished the south side, they started on the front of the house.    Since it is a straight shot on the bottom, it was going quickly.

We were blessed to have two knowledgeable local volunteers who made great progress on the north wall.    We’re hoping we can finish up the siding tomorrow :-).   Overall, another productive, safe and fulfilling day.   God is good!

It was a rainy night, but thank God that it stopped by morning.   It did make the dirt at the worksite very ‘sticky’.    We used our boots that go over our shoes to keep the mud off our shoes.  After a while, the bottom of our boots got really heavy until the clumps of mud fell off.

After our inspirational devotional and prayer, we started on the siding with our small team of 6 people.   Having everyone outside gives the mudder the entire house to make our sheetrock ready for paint.    Since the starter strips were installed yesterday, we were able to make some good progress on getting the siding up, especially on the South wall that had no windows or outlets.   By the end of day, we were up to the roof line.  

I worked with Gene on the West wall, which was more of a challenge with all of the cut-outs.

With the siding refresher under our belt, we fitted the piece for the back door light.   Fit first time :-).

With such a small team, we got a lot of siding installed.  It was another productive and safe day.  God is good!