19 November 2008
Steel Wool
I slept really late by accident, which was okay because there was nothing happening. So I got up at 9 and went to the kitchen and made a couple biscuits. Then I went over to the tool trailer and started cleaning the tools that were outside. From 11:30 to 4:30 I was out there scrubbing the rust off and sanding the handles so the tools would be usable again. I finished 21 shovels. But it was really hard on my hands. I was using a steel wool scrubber to take off the rust, but it also took a layer of skin off all my knuckles and the heel of my hand. And I have a bunch of little cuts on all my finger tips. And I cut my thumb on a cinder block. I poured peroxide on them to clean out the rust. It hurt a little, but not too bad. It also looks like I will be going to Luling on Friday to help pack up the village so it can be taken to Texas. I haven't heard for sure yet, but it is likely I will be there Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. I guess I will find out.
18 November 2008
Birthday!
Well, today I turned 19. It was a quiet event. I got lots of birthday wishes and some amusing voice mails from friends. This morning Henry, Don, and I went to the house blessing. I stopped by the main office this afternoon to say hi and drop off mail that needed to be forwarded. (We get quite a lot of mail for this one person that hasn't worked here in months. We do not understand it.) This afternoon I ran around with Joe. That was about all I did today.
17 November 2008
No Grocery Shopping?
It was soooo strange to not have volunteers. I was out the door at 7:30 as usual. But no one else was up. So I wandered over to the tool trailer, but everything was put away. Then I wandered over to the office. I straightened up a few papers there, but pretty much everything was already good. So I sent Christi an email to see if I could go in and do DRD stuff. Christi said she was in New Orleans, but her computer was in the office, so I drove over to the main office, but no one was there. So I went looking for a hair salon. I went to a couple different ones, but all of them were closed. I went back to the main office and Leslie was there, so I did the DRD stuff. It didn't take long since we only had nine people last week. I found an open hair salon (oddly enough, it's called Mane Tamers - same as the one I use at home) and got my hair cut. I put a little bow in it. I think it looks very cute that way. When I got back to the village I made two pies with the apples in the fridge, but I didn't bake them today. I put them in the freezer with baking instructions in case I'm not the one to bake it.
Here is a picture of my new haircut.
Here is a picture of my new haircut.
16 November 2008
Cold!
It has been cold this weekend. : (
When I woke up, I discovered the heater had not been running. The trailer was like an ice box. I was buried under 4 blankets and wearing two sweaters. And still cold. I think the heater was just out of propane because when I switched it to the other tank it started working. So hopefully that will not happen again.
After I finally convinced myself I could get up, I went to my trailer and put on my leg warmers and a long sleeve shirt. Then I put on my regular clothes over that. I went to a Waffle House (there's pretty much one every block) for breakfast. I had a strawberry waffle. Then I came back and started a load of laundry and hunkered down under the blankets again. I made an egg sandwich for lunch and moved the laundry. I also sort of went through the paperwork from this week. I still have to do the DRD stuff, but everything else (I think) is taken care of.
I picked up a pizza from Papa Johns for dinner. Then I spent a while cleaning the trailer. I found extra shower curtains in the office, so I changed the curtain because it was getting all moldy and really very gross. I put all the puzzle glue and unsolved puzzles in one cabinet. I washed the sheets. I cleaned off the couch and the counter by the door. I swept the floor. I'm sure it will not last, but it looks much neater.
Two more days until my birthday! Three days until Chris comes home!
When I woke up, I discovered the heater had not been running. The trailer was like an ice box. I was buried under 4 blankets and wearing two sweaters. And still cold. I think the heater was just out of propane because when I switched it to the other tank it started working. So hopefully that will not happen again.
After I finally convinced myself I could get up, I went to my trailer and put on my leg warmers and a long sleeve shirt. Then I put on my regular clothes over that. I went to a Waffle House (there's pretty much one every block) for breakfast. I had a strawberry waffle. Then I came back and started a load of laundry and hunkered down under the blankets again. I made an egg sandwich for lunch and moved the laundry. I also sort of went through the paperwork from this week. I still have to do the DRD stuff, but everything else (I think) is taken care of.
I picked up a pizza from Papa Johns for dinner. Then I spent a while cleaning the trailer. I found extra shower curtains in the office, so I changed the curtain because it was getting all moldy and really very gross. I put all the puzzle glue and unsolved puzzles in one cabinet. I washed the sheets. I cleaned off the couch and the counter by the door. I swept the floor. I'm sure it will not last, but it looks much neater.
Two more days until my birthday! Three days until Chris comes home!
14 November 2008
Lost in NO
We got our orders of the Fair Trade coffee, so I put ours away then delivered Pearlington's. Then I came back and made a sandwich, stopped by the main office to try and find a volunteer in the data base, then left for New Orleans. Olive Tree had a house blessing there today, so I went to that and delivered their Fair Trade coffee.
On the way home I took 10 West instead of East and didn't realize it for about 10 minutes. Then the exit I took to turn around led to a one way street away from 10. I finally found a street that went the direction I wanted and saw a sign for 10 East and got on. And then realized I had misread the sign. I was actually on 610 East. So I had to find an exit to turn around. I eventually found 10 East and made it home, but I was fairly stressed for a while there.
When I got home, I put on pajamas and made a bowl of oatmeal and climbed into bed.
On the way home I took 10 West instead of East and didn't realize it for about 10 minutes. Then the exit I took to turn around led to a one way street away from 10. I finally found a street that went the direction I wanted and saw a sign for 10 East and got on. And then realized I had misread the sign. I was actually on 610 East. So I had to find an exit to turn around. I eventually found 10 East and made it home, but I was fairly stressed for a while there.
When I got home, I put on pajamas and made a bowl of oatmeal and climbed into bed.
13 November 2008
House Blessing
Since yesterday was so long, I slept in a little bit. Not as much as I would have liked to, but I had to get ready for the house blessing today. I arranged the basket. It looked nice. (I'll put the pictures at the end of the blog.) Then Christi picked me up and we went over there together. No one else came, so we gave the home owner the basket and talked with her for a little while. She showed us all the work that had been done and praised the volunteers for their work and spirit. She was extremely nice and grateful. She said she'll try to come by one of the family night dinners, which would be very nice. She came to one several weeks ago when we had it on a Thursday, but when we moved it to Wednesday she couldn't make it because she has bible study then.
Christi brought me back to camp. Don was here and he and Frank talked for a while and Don took back his phone and keys. So that's good.
I spent 3 hours doing DRD then came home, had a late lunch, and took a nap. I slept for about 3 hours. It would have been nicer if people hadn't kept calling me, but it was still a very, very good nap.
One of the volunteers told me about this website called Pandora. It's pretty cool. You type in a song or an artist and it plays music similar to that.
Christi brought me back to camp. Don was here and he and Frank talked for a while and Don took back his phone and keys. So that's good.
I spent 3 hours doing DRD then came home, had a late lunch, and took a nap. I slept for about 3 hours. It would have been nicer if people hadn't kept calling me, but it was still a very, very good nap.
One of the volunteers told me about this website called Pandora. It's pretty cool. You type in a song or an artist and it plays music similar to that.
12 November 2008
16+ Hours
Today has been crazy!
Today began at 4:00 in the morning when I got up to take Chris to the airport. On the way home I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up yeast so I could make bread for the house blessing. When I got home I started on the bread because my to-do list for the day was as long as my arm and growing.
As I was waiting for the bread to rise, Don came and talked to me. A client made an accusation and PDA has to look into and while they investigate, he basically can't work. Henry is leaving town today which means I'm the only around with a truck to deliver supplies. Only problem: I didn't really have the time. Henry asked me to pick up and deliver some siding to one of the sites this morning (it's now about 7:30. when I usually make it out to breakfast. just to let you know how early it still is for me). I told Henry that I absolutely had to finish this bread and get flowers, but if the team could wait until 9:00 I could do it.
So in between waiting for the bread to rise, I was running to the office to print directions to the house blessing and to the work site I was supposed to take siding to and running to the storage trailer to get out more plates and bowls because we were running low in the tent. Then the guy who is inventorying all the villages asked if I was available to help him this morning. I told him my day was looking pretty busy, so I didn't think so, but I would let him know if I did.
I got the bread finished and it looked very good. (I tasted it later. It is good. Experiment successful! Thank you daddy!) Then I got in my truck and drove to the flower shop. (It is now about 8:30.) The shop doesn't open until 9 which meant I was really going to be pushing it to get the siding to the worksite and get the flowers and make it to the house blessing on time. (The house blessing is at 11:30 and the house is about an hour from camp.) So I called the group that needed the siding so we could meet at Lowe's and they could get what they needed and I could bring it to them. They didn't answer, so I left a message and went to Wal-Mart to get the things they needed for dinner. I brought the groceries back to camp and was about to go back to the flower shop because it was almost 9 when the home owner called. She couldn't do the house blessing today because she didn't have a car today, so she had no way to get home for it. So we rescheduled for next week and I called Henry and sent an email to the rest of the staff to let them know. So that took a little of the stress out of my day.
About then, the volunteers called back, so I picked up the siding for them. I brought one of the women back to camp with me. She started working on dinner. I had to go back to Wal-Mart because I hadn't bought enough hamburger the first time. (It is now about 11:30) At this point I strongly considered a nap because I was losing focus and becoming non-functional. But I needed to get flowers for tomorrow's house blessing before the shop closed. So I did that. While I was there I got a pinkish orange lily for Leslie because the last two days have been even crazier and more stressful for her than for me, so I thought she would like something to brighten her day.
The lady at the flower shop gave me the lily and one other flower for free and thanked me for coming here to help. She was very nice. So were all the other people there. The man there was working on a wreath and he asked me my opinion on it. It was beautiful. There were blue sequin fish ornaments and a green sequin something with peacock feathers on it and bright green sequin leaves. That sounds kind of loud and maybe too many sequins, but it really wasn't. It was quite lovely.
Anyway, I took the lily over to the main office to give to Leslie. I gave her the flower and a hug. I'm glad I did. It made her smile which she hasn't done as much lately because of all the stress. We talked a little and Leslie did say she would see if she could bring me back in January. So I really hope she can. Since I have insurance under my parents, I can work here more than 90 days (which is the cutoff for the uninsured) but with so few teams coming in she doesn't know if she can justify bringing in staff.
I got a short half hour nap around 4:30 (which was much needed) then a huge sugar rush from eating a pint of chocolate ice cream (which got me through dinner without falling asleep on my plate).
Tonight was family night. We had two families come. It was very nice having such a small group because I actually got a chance to talk to the families a little bit. After dinner we gave them a quick tour of the camp because they've never been here before. It was sort of difficult since it was already dark, but they could see the main things.
I am now up to a 16 hour day and I still have to go make bread for the house blessing tomorrow morning. >.< which means this will most likely end up being an 18-20 hour day. Such insanity. But so it goes. I am going to call home and see what is happening there, then I will go make bread, then I will SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because my sugar rush is about to wear off. I can feel the crash starting already.
Today began at 4:00 in the morning when I got up to take Chris to the airport. On the way home I stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up yeast so I could make bread for the house blessing. When I got home I started on the bread because my to-do list for the day was as long as my arm and growing.
As I was waiting for the bread to rise, Don came and talked to me. A client made an accusation and PDA has to look into and while they investigate, he basically can't work. Henry is leaving town today which means I'm the only around with a truck to deliver supplies. Only problem: I didn't really have the time. Henry asked me to pick up and deliver some siding to one of the sites this morning (it's now about 7:30. when I usually make it out to breakfast. just to let you know how early it still is for me). I told Henry that I absolutely had to finish this bread and get flowers, but if the team could wait until 9:00 I could do it.
So in between waiting for the bread to rise, I was running to the office to print directions to the house blessing and to the work site I was supposed to take siding to and running to the storage trailer to get out more plates and bowls because we were running low in the tent. Then the guy who is inventorying all the villages asked if I was available to help him this morning. I told him my day was looking pretty busy, so I didn't think so, but I would let him know if I did.
I got the bread finished and it looked very good. (I tasted it later. It is good. Experiment successful! Thank you daddy!) Then I got in my truck and drove to the flower shop. (It is now about 8:30.) The shop doesn't open until 9 which meant I was really going to be pushing it to get the siding to the worksite and get the flowers and make it to the house blessing on time. (The house blessing is at 11:30 and the house is about an hour from camp.) So I called the group that needed the siding so we could meet at Lowe's and they could get what they needed and I could bring it to them. They didn't answer, so I left a message and went to Wal-Mart to get the things they needed for dinner. I brought the groceries back to camp and was about to go back to the flower shop because it was almost 9 when the home owner called. She couldn't do the house blessing today because she didn't have a car today, so she had no way to get home for it. So we rescheduled for next week and I called Henry and sent an email to the rest of the staff to let them know. So that took a little of the stress out of my day.
About then, the volunteers called back, so I picked up the siding for them. I brought one of the women back to camp with me. She started working on dinner. I had to go back to Wal-Mart because I hadn't bought enough hamburger the first time. (It is now about 11:30) At this point I strongly considered a nap because I was losing focus and becoming non-functional. But I needed to get flowers for tomorrow's house blessing before the shop closed. So I did that. While I was there I got a pinkish orange lily for Leslie because the last two days have been even crazier and more stressful for her than for me, so I thought she would like something to brighten her day.
The lady at the flower shop gave me the lily and one other flower for free and thanked me for coming here to help. She was very nice. So were all the other people there. The man there was working on a wreath and he asked me my opinion on it. It was beautiful. There were blue sequin fish ornaments and a green sequin something with peacock feathers on it and bright green sequin leaves. That sounds kind of loud and maybe too many sequins, but it really wasn't. It was quite lovely.
Anyway, I took the lily over to the main office to give to Leslie. I gave her the flower and a hug. I'm glad I did. It made her smile which she hasn't done as much lately because of all the stress. We talked a little and Leslie did say she would see if she could bring me back in January. So I really hope she can. Since I have insurance under my parents, I can work here more than 90 days (which is the cutoff for the uninsured) but with so few teams coming in she doesn't know if she can justify bringing in staff.
I got a short half hour nap around 4:30 (which was much needed) then a huge sugar rush from eating a pint of chocolate ice cream (which got me through dinner without falling asleep on my plate).
Tonight was family night. We had two families come. It was very nice having such a small group because I actually got a chance to talk to the families a little bit. After dinner we gave them a quick tour of the camp because they've never been here before. It was sort of difficult since it was already dark, but they could see the main things.
I am now up to a 16 hour day and I still have to go make bread for the house blessing tomorrow morning. >.< which means this will most likely end up being an 18-20 hour day. Such insanity. But so it goes. I am going to call home and see what is happening there, then I will go make bread, then I will SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because my sugar rush is about to wear off. I can feel the crash starting already.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
