Day 1 of Habitat for Humanity

Allison and I got up bright and early, 6am, to get down to breakfast by 6:30. We had a good system going with two wake up calls and Allison getting up first while I took a few extra minutes to snooze. Luckily, breakfast was a pleasant surprise with bagels, hash browns, and sausage - NOT your typical continental and a great way to start a long day of work. We then went up to our room to get our cooler ready with our lunch for the day and then off to Ferry Place, our work site!

We arrived at the work site on time at about 7:45am, after heavy traffic due to construction along the route. It was my first time in New Orleans since 2002 and it was eerie to see a couple of houses with the markings made during Hurricane Katrina which showed when houses were searched, how many people were found dead (if any), who searched, and if any hazards were found.

The work site was the same as last year's, and Allison pointed out all the houses that the Jaycees worked on, mentioning how far the neighborhood has come. As a matter of face, a few more months and it should be complete.

We listened to a safety speech about paying attention to your surroundings and how to use certain tools and materials and then as the list of duties was being read off, people raised their hands to volunteer. I didn’t particularly want to paint as I wanted to try something new; so when “who’d like to work on the fence” was asked, I gladly raised my hand. We got our gloves and doo rags on and Allison and I worked together with three gentlemen, Chris, Jim, and Patrick. Kyle, a seasoned volunteer who volunteers twice a week instructed us on how to start and we got to work.

First we dug holes for the fence posts using post hole diggers –easy at first but we were digging on hard ground, with sand and rocks so it got harder the deeper we went. As we finished some holes, we were told that distances between holes were off and so we had to work to fix them. It was funny how everytime someone measured something the measurements were slightly off. After we figured out the holes and measurements, Allison and I got to mix cement in a wheel barrel and then we all filled holes while making sure the poles in the holes were level. There was lots of leveling, measuring, releveling, remeasuring and repositioning going on, but at the end of the day we got it done and left the cement to set overnight.

It was a very warm day out so we made sure to stay hydrated. A couple of volunteers came by with their truck to bring sandwiches and drinks to the work site volunteers around 10ish at which point instead of taking the food and setting it aside, some folks decided to take an early lunch. I resisted until noon when everyone was able to take a much deserved one hour lunch. Two sandwiches and chips later, we were nice and full from lunch and ready to continue working.

With the cement drying, we found other jobs to work on. Chris and I broke down an old set of stairs which has been used as temporary steps for the houses while they were being built. With the house almost complete and the stairs done with their useful life, we separated all the planks using power tools, hammers, and just muscle.

I also got to use a belt sander to sand the side of a plank going up on the front porch. I really wanted to use power tools, so any chance I got, I asked and they actually let me! We ended the day at around 4pm and went back to the hotel room to change and relax before dinner. Allison and I went to Yo Mamma’s -- a great hamburger joint in the French Quarter, which by the way also has interesting "art work" in the ladies bathroom. The burgers were huge and we stuffed our faces. Then we walked around and got Mango Mango drinks which we took back to the hotel. We were wiped and ready for bed to rest up before day 2 of Habitat.

Katherine Torres-Hertz

Arriving in New Orleans

I arrived late last night and met up with Katherine when she landed this morning. We had a few issues with the rental car, the spot they assigned us to had a small compact car in it. That might have worked for a the 2 of us but it would have been a little tight when the rest of the group arrived. We had to go back in to the office to get the situation straighted out. Katherine made the mistake of making eye contact with a strange women in line behind us who spent the next 10 minutes telling us all about her problems with renting a car and her credit rating. She kept telling us her sob story even after we were up at the counter and were trying to get the car situation worked out. She must have struck out with Hertz too because when they pulled our Sienna around we saw her getting back in to her cab to head off to another rental car company. She seemed crazy to me so I certainly wouldn't have rented to her if I was the Herzt rep.

We headed off to Walmart of pick up our lunch supplies for the week. Either we didn't follow the directions right or Google Maps lied because we had a little trouble getting to Walmart. We got to see some of the wetlands and put a lot of miles on the car but we weren't working on a schedule so it was ok. Eventually we made it to Walmart and were able to make all of our purchases, then it was off to the hotel to check in and get settled.

Our hotel, Country Inn and Suites, is really nice especially compared to the places the group has stayed the last couple years. The only thing I'm worried about is how far away it is from Mango Mango. We'll have to figure something out with that. After getting settled in the hotel Katherine and I headed out for a late lunch. We ended up at Gumbo Shop and as usual it was great! It was so nice to be able to enjoy sitting in the courtyard with the sun shinning on us! We walked around the quarter a little then headed back to the hotel to rest a little. We intended to go back out later but it had been a long day so we ended up staying in, it was going to be an early day the next day! I can't wait to see all the changes on Ferry Place from a year ago!

Back to Reality

Wow...the week just flew by. I can't believe that it is already Sunday and almost time to catch our flights home.

I personally started the morning asking the Lord for forgiveness for all the daiquiris I drank by going to mass at St. Louis Cathedral...LOL! Then met up with Jessica and Allison for brunch at the Court of Two Sisters...one of the best NOLA Brunch spots! YUM! We ran into Jan and Scott at brunch and caught up for a bit. Bruce and Lisa hit up another locale then headed off to do some last minute shopping. We took a walk around Jackson Square and checked out the local artists and saw some triathelets crossing the finish line. Then continued to walk our brunch off.

Late afternoon came too quickly and it was time to pick up the car, our luggage, and head to pick up Lisa and Bruce at their hotel...and off to the airport.

Our flights back to Omaha and Chicago were ontime, which is always nice. We were hoping to land before the nasty weather hit Chicago, unfortunately we landed in the "blizzard." Going from 80* to 30* in the same day is very painful! Not fun at all!

The experience of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity New Orleans was fabulous, even despite their disorganization. We all had the opportunity to learn new things and step outside of our normal day to day duties.

The fabulous volunteer group consisted of Jan & Scott Cohn, Rachel Lewis, Allison Mead, Bruce Moritz, Femi Okikiade, Brent Proulx, Lisa Tonjes, Shatisha Wilks, Sue Warmuskerken, and Jessica Zeiger.

We'd all like to thank our donors for their generosity and kindness! Without your support, this fabulous opportunity wouldn't be possible!

Till next year...

The Chicago & Omaha Jaycees

The end is near...

Our final Habitat work day. While exhausted, its still been such a fabulous experience that we hate for it to end. Today was beautiful, sunny, and warm.

We had a much smaller crew today because many of the South Carolina and Louisville people headed out this morning and 10 others went to Habitat Restore, only to find out they weren't needed.

More truss work was being done, and lots of caulking, patching, priming, and painting. There was still a ton to get done, but there was no way to finish it all. Guess we had to leave the next set of volunteers some work to do! :)

Femi, Bruce, Rachel, Jessica, Lisa, Sue, Allison

After our work shift the crew wanted to check out the Garden District because some had never been there. First we made a little pit stop at Fat Tuesday's for a gallon of daiquiri's before celebrating our final night in New Orleans.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was time to get ready for a night out on the town. We headed to Angeli's (the dude who owns the place is obsessed with Angelina Jolie). We headed to the Spotted Cat for some Jazz. Unfortunately it was Dixie Land Jazz night. We didn't stay too long. Then we went on a Pirate hunt...lol...didn't really need to hunt...the Pirates were everywhere!

Jessica, Sue, Random Pirate, Lisa Random Pirate chick, Allison, Rachel

We had tons of laughs and there's lots of ridiculous pictures. All in all it was a fabulous day!

I think its time to call it a night!

Sue

"I Hate Tourists"

We had the most amazing weather today. Clear, bright, sunny, and about 76*. We've suffered through such a long winter, its hard not to be excited about the weather! We also hit this awesome fruit cart on our way to the site this morning. Now if only we can locate the shaved ice lady...

Jan joined the crew today. We were all back on our tasks from the previous day, which was fine by me. It was fairly relaxing to prime and paint the outside of the house. There was more truss installing with the cutie pie assistant site leader. The contractors were also wrapping up the sheet rock job, which is great to see how far along two of the houses have come since we started on Tuesday.

Our main site leader is a bad communicator. He thinks all the volunteers read minds. He freaked out at 4 PM because people were wrapping up for the day and I guess he needed us to help till 4:30 and was upset that no one asked him if we could leave. Seriously? Maybe you should tell us we need to stay till 4:30 instead of 3:30...we don't have ESP and most of us would have been more than willing to stay late if you told us. He's a chain smoker, so he must have been going through cigarette withdrawl.

Jan and Scott are going to Habitat Restore on Saturday, which is a program where they resell items to gain funds to do more Habitat homes. Ace Hardware recently had a show here and they donated all the tools from the show to Habitat so they wouldn't have to ship them back to their headquarters. Very cool!

After our work day today, we headed to the houses that Shatisha, Allison, and I worked on last year. They look AWESOME! It was so exciting to see them completed. Then we headed to Musicians Village and the Lower 9th Ward for a little tour. We managed to stumble upon Brad Pitts project Make It Right. Those houses are too cool! When we were driving through Musicians Village we had the windows open and some little boy told his friends he "hates tourists"...lol. I felt better that at least we were in our own vehicle then on one of those silly tourist buses!

One of our houses from the 2008 trip

Musicians Village

Lower Ninth Ward Levee

This week has flown by...I can't believe that tomorrow is our last volunteer day.

Till tomorrow...
Sue

"They Won't Get Dirty..."

Famous last words when you're wearing brand new bright white running shoes in mud. Um Femi, we're doing construction!!! Who wears brand new shoes??? It's been raining quite a bit so things have been very wet and muddy this week.

Femi and his new shoes

Femi and Bruce joined the group today and we lost Brent. Needless to say with my writing above, Femi has been getting a ton of crap from us. Luckily he's taking it well!

Bruce, Jessica, and I worked on the trim for 1304. Scott painted siding all morning. Rachel of course was on the roof again...even after the storm started moving in and the site leaders told her to get off of it! Silly girl! Shatisha, Allison, and Lisa were working on trusses again. Femi started with soffit work, then he headed to help with the trusses.

Unfortunately a storm came through and we had to wrap up early today. Disappointing but it gave us a chance to hit Central Grocery before the "soup nazi"employees refuse to give you a muffuletta. We also hit the buy one get one free happy hour at Mango Mango. :)

Sue, Scott, and Allison taking shelter from the storm

For dinner we decided to head to the Garden District on the St. Charles Street Car. After waiting forever and a day for it to arrive, it finally came. Most of us headed to the back, but Allison and Femi were closer to the front. The popo pulled someone over in front of the trolley so the trolley driver stopped and turned off the power. Femi looks at Allison and asks "Do you think the streetcar ran out of gas?" hahaha! Another quote for the day! Anyway, we tried to go to Voodoo BBQ. Unfortunately, they were doing renovations so we totally missed out on awesome bbq :( We ended up at Cheesecake Bistro, which was good, but not as good as Voodoo BBQ.

Shatisha, Jessica, Rachel, Sue, Allison, Bruce, and Femi waiting for the St. Charles Street Car

After dinner we headed back to the Quarter, listened to an entertaining street band, then walked Bourbon Street, and most of the group picked up Mango Mango again. Bruce and Jessica went for the 32 ouncers! Then Bruce managed to scare a Pirate and send him running...LOL! (its Pyrate week here in NOLA...seriously!). He'll have to tell the story in person because it's much funnier!!!

Currently Bruce, Lisa, Jessica, Allison, and I are sitting in the hotel bar with the "friendly" ghost. Guess its time to call it a night...

Till Friday...
Sue

Blue Snot, Siding, and Trusses, Oh MY!

Wednesday brought MUCH cooler temps and more random jobs. We've come to a conclusion that there is too many people on the work site which is why we're doing so many random jobs right now.

First our site leader decided to tell us that the insulation we installed the day prior was contaminated and that we had to remove it all...WHAT??? April Fools...NICE!

A couple of us started the morning finishing the insulation in 1308 (hence the blue snot). A couple others were finishing the siding on the house, and the rest were up in 1312 working on the trusses. Rachel has been loving the roof, Scott wanted off the roof and we had two new additions...Jessica and Shatisha.

Scott and Rachel on the Roof

Brent, Jessica, and Sue helping relocate the Pump Jack

It was a pretty busy day, but we were able to get a lot done so that the drywall guys could come in and do their jobs.

We had a good fish filled dinner at Deanie's, I highly recommend if you travel to NOLA.

I'm exhausted, time to prepare for tomorrow!

Till Thursday...
Sue