Tuesday - October 6

It was unseasonably hot and humid for our first day back at Ferry Place.  Our St. Charles Avenue friends were giving us grief for not bringing New England Fall weather with us.

It was quite amazing to arrive at Ferry Place and see 11 homes finished and 9 of them occupied.  You early RHINOs wouldn’t recognize the place. 

NOLA 7 Team, this green one is the house you did the floor system for.

Our Tuesday Bloggers are Michele Kamenetzky and Nicol Rupolo . .

Our first day of The Routine:  Morning Watch at 6:30 am, an early breakfast, then at Ferry Place by 8:00 am.  After meeting Kate Snider, the local RHINO coordinator last night at St. Charles Presbyterian Church, we met Jeremy, our HFH site foreman today.  Jeremy is the poor soul in charge of teaching all of us out of shape, well-intentioned Presbyterians (and visiting Catholics) how to sheathe the outside of a house, plumb a straight line, drive a nail at a 45 degree angle, trim a piece of wood with a skill saw, and other tricks of the trade, as we slowly broiled in record breaking 97 degree heat. 

We were a combined crew of around 20 volunteers, mostly from FPC, but a few outsiders and insiders: future homeowners, and drop by angels from out of state. Jeremy got us all started with a multitude of projects; framing interior walls and windows, fashioning “cripples”  (wedges used to offset weight distribution of the headers), sheathing the framed walls with plywood, and then wrapping sheets of Tyvek to form a waterproof seal over the plywood.

We had no sense of time in the heat and humidity.   Our collective frustration levels peaked at noon when we broke for a much needed lunch break provided by Loaves and Fishes, a local volunteer group.  The heat pressed on and we were slowly collapsing by the side of the road.  (If it wasn’t for the popsicle break some of us would have been crying or have fainted.  Jeremy had mercy and sent us home early at 3:30. 

Our Main Man Jeremy

The heat did start to get the best of us, but not before a great deal of work was accomplished, including all of the second floor interior walls constructed and put up!

After showers and a rest we headed to the church for dinner.  We were greeted by chef extraordinaire Jim and his Red Beans and Rice.  After dinner we adjourned across the street to the Land Building to talk about the day.  The majority of us then headed home for some much needed sleep while an intrepid trio headed out to The Columns Hotel to take in the tunes of a local musician recommended by our dinner hosts.

Until tomorrow . . . and in the mean time, keep praying.