Tiny House Nation and the "Tuesday Crew"

Hey everyone! Happy summer!

After another long year of studying I've officially finished my first year in graduate school, uffda! While that alone was enough for a celebration, the end of the academic year marked the beginning of summer, which also meant I could come back to Minnesota and visit! Still on track to reach my goal of five states by the end of August, I decided to hang out with the cheese heads and hit up Habitat in Wisconsin for my fourth state. Even though I root for the Twins and put up with the Vikings, they welcomed me with open arms and gave me some new and exciting projects to work on. By now you all know the drill, so let's get down to business and talk about my time in the land of endless types of cheese.

Day 1: Tiny House Nation

Interior of the tiny house

Unlike my time in other states, I actually worked with two separate Habitat chapters this week. My first stop was in St. Croix Falls, WI and I was told I would be helping the chapter build a tiny house for a tiny house expo in October. The unit will be auctioned off and the proceeds will be used to fund the chapter's various building activities. I've recently become enthralled with the show "Tiny House Nation" so I was super pumped up to work on this house!

I rolled up to the warehouse the tiny house was stored and met with Mark Miller (before you ask, there's no relation) who's been helping me coordinate my volunteer time with St. Croix Falls. Turns out, he's actually from my home town, what a small world! I was told that I'd be putting siding on the house that day, and after showing me around the house (it was a short tour haha) and the warehouse we got straight to work. One cool part of the house is that nearly everything is either donated or re-purposed material. Some of the trim is made up of old telephone poles, the wall paneling and floors were donated, and the siding I put up was partially donated pre-stained wood, while the rest was old re-purposed wood.

The siding was easy to put up: we placed a thin piece at the bottom of the wall first, then used a 3.5" block of wood as a marker to know where to place the next piece above it. We nailed the wood into the wall with a nail gun first to hold it in place, then I put three nails into the top of the wood. The bottom edges hang over the previously placed wood, creating the overhang typical of lap siding. Before noon we finished the front of the home, then moved on to the side. By the end of the day we had half of the second wall put up.

Did a decent job on siding if I say so myself

Working with Mark and the other few workers was really great; everyone was friendly and were excited to make the tiny house. Mark was also enthusiastic about his creative marketing ploy....having volunteers wear Hawaiian shirts while working. We got a great group photo which I hope to get later and share with you all. I left with the shirt as a souvenir and a smile on my face.



If you're interested in following the progress of the tiny house or checking out the Tiny House Expo they'll be showcasing the finished product at, follow Wild River HFH's Facebook page, as well as the Facebook page for the Tiny House Expo! 

https://www.facebook.com/Trash2TreasureWRHfH/
https://www.facebook.com/TinyHouseExpoAutumnFestStCroixFallsWisconsin/

Day 2: "The Tuesday Crew"

Some Eco Village homes

I spent my second day volunteering in River Falls working outdoors to help finish work at an Eco Village created by Habitat. This community of homes is quite unique; the homes are super-insulated, are equipped with solar panels, and have become "net zero" homes. Essentially, the houses have been designed so that the money paid for utilities in the winter is balanced by money saved in the summer, so homeowners either pay virtually no utilities overall and even make a few dollars in some cases. It really is a cool development!

Anyway, I met up with project manager Dean and was told we'd be building a retaining wall behind one of the sections of the development. Soon the "Tuesday Crew" showed up to help; the group is made up of gentleman who come (you guessed it) every Tuesday to volunteer, and have been doing so for quite some time.

 

Left: Retaining wall being leveled.

Right: Caulking cement blocks together to build a five layer wall.

First we laid gravel down to make a semi-flat surface and then placed the cement blocks along the ground how we wanted them laid out. Then the real work started. We had to ensure every block was level by either moving more gravel under it or taking some out, and pounding the block with a rubber mallet. Then we used levels to ensure it was level with surrounding blocks, as well as level from the front to the back of the block. The idea of the work was easy, but actually getting everything level was tedious and difficult. We persevered though and finally finished shortly after lunch time.


After lunch the wall went up fast. We were able to start placing additional layers of the blocks quickly, with me and one other crew member placing caulk on the back of the blocks and the others moving in an assembly line to lay the rest of the blocks we had on hand. Unfortunately we ran out of materials and had to leave early, but at the end of the day I felt accomplished. I got a tan working all day in the sun and got to learn something new.

Glad I got to check state four off my list, and am gunning to finish the year strong with my fifth state in the next two months!

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Me with future HFH homeowner
 Brandi (center) and Lowe's
volunteer Julia (right)

Hey everyone, welcome back!

I am so excited to share that I've officially crossed state 3 off my checklist, and served with HFH-Susquehanna County in Maryland this week! The home will be handed over to a vibrant, lovely woman named Brandi and her three year old son. I had the chance to work directly with her on day 2 of my visit, and it meant so much to work alongside her and the rest of our team to build her dream home. 

So let's get to the run down of what working in Charlestown, Maryland was like! 



Day 1

When I arrived I met with our site supervisor Gabe and a Americorp worker named Joe who volunteers weekly at the Charlestown build site. I was really excited for this week's build because it is National Women Build Week-I was ready for the ladies to take over the site! You can imagine how surprised I was when all of a sudden two vans full of military men rolled up. I was very excited to see there was one woman in the group, Lakisha, and two other women named Linda and Chris were also volunteering with us for the day. 

The crew for day 1! Military members from Ft. Meade and the other women volunteering for Women Build Week!

We began the day with a group pow-wow, and were told that safety is key over the next few days, and if it rained we would need to leave the site. Gabe and past volunteers had been working on prepping the home so we could put the roof up, and rain would cause the scaffolding and the wood to be slippery and dangerous. Additionally we needed power tools, and I'm sure we can all agree that rain and power tools don't mix. 

Sweeping out standing water 
from the structure

With fingers crossed we got to work. First we teamed up to straighten the walls of the home. There were a series of metal rods attached to the walls, which when twisted either pushes that portion of the wall outwards or inwards. We quickly aligned everything so we could begin planning how we would put the roof trusses up (essentially the framework of the roof). 
Afterwards the ladies and I helped sweep out all of the standing water inside the structure while some of the guys worked to prep the top of the structure's walls for the roofing. 

Moving roof trusses

For the rest of the day us ladies teamed up to do some small projects, then we partnered with some of the military guys to organize a large pile of roof trusses. In order to make the roofing process efficient, we needed to separate the three different types of trusses. A truss either made up the front/rear of the home's roof, was a general brace, or was made larger to accommodate an attic area for light storage. Each truss required three or four people to move due to their size and weight. The backyard was extremely muddy due to the rain that fell previously but we had fun with it and made it work. 

Thankfully we never got more than a light mist of rain and by the end of the day we were almost ready to begin raising the roof trusses onto the roof. Everyone had a great time and it was sad to say goodbye to them all! 

Day 2

Group from day 2!

The ladies came to work on day 2! Linda had come back for a second day, and we had a great group of women from Hollywood Casino in Maryland and from Lowe's come to help us out. Additionally we had a few guys who provided some much needed muscle and construction experience to the build site. Gabe gave us a pow-wow to start the day and told us today was the day we'd start putting up the roof trusses. We got right to work to finish preparing the top of the structure for these framing pieces. Linda and I worked on correcting some previous work over the door frames in the home. We had to cut out small wood blocks which were used to support them and re-drill them back in in different sections in order to make room for HVAC units to be placed through the newly created openings above the frame. 

Unfortunately I had to stand around for a good part of the day with other volunteers, which got a bit frustrating. However it taught us a great lesson for working on a construction site: sometimes the progress is slow and there's not much to do, but it's all part of the process. The tedious nature of some projects slows up overall progress of the group, but without pausing and letting people do these jobs the construction wouldn't be so sound and the big picture could never come to fruition. So we got to know each other and patiently awaited our next project. 

After lunch we had a second pow-wow, because IT WAS TIME. We were going to work together to start putting the roof on the home! But this task isn't easy, and the team had to be briefed seriously to ensure everyone was on the same page and understood what we were about to undertake. In order to place the trusses on the home, a group of us had to lift the truss from the backyard and lift it high over our heads to other volunteers standing on wooden scaffolding just inside the walls. Once we lifted it over the wall, volunteers would pass the truss over their heads and slide it along the framing of the walls already created inside the home. Once it got to the front of the house, the really dangerous part would begin. Two or three of us had to use 2x4's with notches cut in the side to hook onto the top of the truss, and together with other team members we would push the truss up into the upright position, where two of the guys would work to secure it to the home. 

Pushing the first truss into position
(I'm on the ground on the right side
holding a notched 2x4 just in
 front of the ladder)

Before we started Gabe made sure we all understood these instructions, and was frank in telling us if something went wrong, it would go very wrong. It was a little nerve-wracking to hear him give us the safety spiel. He was very blunt about the fact that, if done incorrectly, someone could be seriously injured. I really liked this about Gabe-he was usually sarcastic and made light of things on the site, but when it came to safety he took the job very seriously. He told us that if a truss looked like it was going to fall we either had to a) run and/or b) let go and c) just get.out.of.the.way. For those of us who were later up on scaffolding passing the frames over the top of the structure, failing to let go of a falling truss could pull them over the side of the house or could pull someone's arm out of its socket. For me and the other members of the team who later passed the trusses up over the walls and then pushed them up into place from the ground, failing to get out of the way could cause us to break our arms, our necks, or to generally crush us. Gabe was adamant that a hard hat will not save us-great pep talk right?!

Raising the roof-ha, get it?

The danger didn't deter us though, and we got right to it. I was part of the ground team. We passed the first truss up with Gabe's help over the wall and it began getting shifted to the front of the home. We ran around to the front to help, and it was a good thing. Just as we were about to place the truss in a position to get pushed up into position, an unsupported part of the frame began to dip. The weight from this part of the truss caused the truss to start falling. I ran underneath the truss and grabbed the dipping end and pushed it up as far as I could reach. Thankfully this was enough to keep it from falling, and the women with the notched poles were able to steady it enough so we could push it all the way into position. 

For the second truss, it became more difficult because it was freestanding. The first truss we had supported against a makeshift wooden rail barrier-the next truss was only supported by the two ends once they were screwed into the exterior walls of the home. In order to get this truss up the process was adjusted so four people with notched 2x4's had to stand on either side and support it just so, so the truss would be straight. Afterwards Gabe walked along a small ledge and drilled 2x4 slabs of wood in-between both trusses to secure the second one to the first. 

Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to get any more up before the work day had ended; however it was exhilarating to have accomplished what we had. It's definitely something that was out of our comfort zones, and it felt even better having accomplished it with mostly women volunteers. I loved that we all worked great together as a cohesive team, and utilized each other's strengths to do a job that is difficult and is incredibly important to do with precision. Without the team communicating and taking up whatever job needed to be done at a moment's notice, we wouldn't have been as successful as we were. 

I'm thankful for the opportunity to have built with the volunteers and staff at HFH-Susquehanna County. I also couldn't have gotten where I am without the support of two really great friends of mine, Brad and Rachel. I had to give them a little shout-out on the job site! A big thank you to them for sticking by me, supporting me, and helping me with my campaign to get me to my 1 year goal of reaching 5 states by August! 

End product after day 2

Upcoming States

Big news-I'm coming home folks! During the month of June I will be back in Minnesota, and plan to volunteer and cross off my fourth state! If anyone wants to join me and give Habitat a shot, contact me and let's get a group together! Habitat for Humanity is a great experience and is such a great way to help people in the community. Let me know if you'd like to join! You can message me on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.miller.3110567. Otherwise if you have my email or phone number you can hit me up there as well. 

I'll also be finishing up my first year goal of 5 states by making my way to Delaware by the end of the summer. 

Have a lovely day friends, until next time!

Lisa

Floors, Walls, and a Roof, Oh My!

Surprise! I'm back at it again! 

I've been itching to get back to the house I was helping to build in Elizabethtown, PA (which is part of Lancaster County, E-Town for short), so I worked it out with the boss to get a day off. I decided to surprise you all with an extra post!

Let me tell you, a lot can happen in just a month. 

When I arrived yesterday morning I was amazed. Before the basement was the only thing in place, and we had been putting in the joists to set the staff and volunteers up to put in the floors. Now there's an actual house structure there, and they've cemented the back patio. The inner skeleton of the house is underway, and all of the rooms have been laid out. The lower level has the windows put in and doors which lock now. Here are some pictures, it really is turning out to be a cute little house!




Left: The back side of the house, which is our typical view as the front is blocked by fences. 

Above: The interior of the second level. I'm standing in one of the bedrooms. To the left is what appears to be another bedroom and a living area, to the right is the bathroom (the                                             white thing is the bathtub).

John, me, and Jim (Left-Right)

Today I was also excited to meet more volunteers! There were five or six gentleman who are pretty regular volunteers during the weekdays, and I was happy to be able to meet them and work alongside everyone. Here's a picture of me with two of them: John, on the left, and Jim, on the right. I've actually met John before, and Jim helped teach me about putting in windows (which we'll get to in a second). 

We got right to work placing the styrofoam insulation material on the home's exterior. In comparison to other jobs I've done, it was much easier to nail the material into the plywood frame than what I've done in other projects. After awhile it started getting a little hairy though-once we did the bottom of the home, we had to start climbing higher to the top of the house. Tom, the staff member I usually tag along with, mentioned me going up on a 20 or 32 ft. ladder to keep working. I was, to say the least, less than enthusiastic. I'm all for conquering fears and breaking out of my comfort zone, but after seeing how rickety the ladders got at those heights and knowing I wasn't harnessed in to anything, I wasn't thrilled at the idea of going that high. 

That's something that is super great about Habitat though. The people there always have something for you to do, and they are more than happy to accommodate your comfort level. Instead of going up on the ladder to continue the insulation, Tom had me tape along the edges of the boards we had already done. This seals them together so that water and air don't come through later on, affecting the frame of the home. Afterwards we also nailed some black matting to the corners of the house to seal them. I was a little bummed that so much of the day's work revolved around putting this insulation up, because I wound up standing around more than I'd like. However even the staff and more experienced volunteers recognized the danger in going up that high, so I felt good knowing that I made a wise decision to find safer alternative projects to do in the meantime. 

Insulation we were installing. See
how high the ladders were?!

Sealed edges of home with black
matting.

After finishing this we broke for lunch, and I devoured a delicious Subway sandwich, my go to when I'm here. At the end of lunch a photographer they had come over asked to talk to me, after hearing about my 50 states goal. We went to the top floor of the house and he hooked up all his fancy mics and camera, and asked me about my experience with Habitat, working with the families, and advice I'd give to people thinking about volunteering with Habitat for Humanity (preview: I said ABSOLUTELY DO IT). I probably sounded like a goober, as I usually do, but hopefully they got a few sound bites that sounded decent. If I get a copy of whatever they use it in, I'll post it so you all can see! It's honestly been a little embarrassing getting all this attention. The people at this site love my goal, as do I. However I really didn't expect this kind of hullabaloo over it. I'm more than happy to talk about my experiences thus far, but my goal isn't to get noticed, it's to help families get a home of their own. I hope to use the platform that they are making for me to spread that message, and to get more people involved with this organization. 

Fitting a sill pan
on a window. 

Well enough of that sappy stuff, back to the story. 

Once I was done interviewing we were right back at it. I helped drill some blocks into the wall frames near the roof so that the insulation would lay flat against the house (the walls for set back an inch or two high up so you'd notice it in the siding if the walls weren't even). After that I switched from that to working on the windows with Jim. He taught me how to install thin plastic window sill pans, which you just cut, overlap, and tape onto the bottom edge of the openings for the windows. This keeps water from seeping in later on once the windows are installed. We carried one of the windows up and attempted to install it too before the end of the day. However that backfired a bit, as the panes got stuck when we attempted to take them out, and the window opening in the house was slightly too large for the window. Thankfully we fixed the panes and the size of the window hole is fixable, but it was too much work to take on as we neared the end of the day. So we helped clean up the site and called it a day. 

I had yet another rewarding day on the job site. I'm leaving for Minnesota soon to visit family and friends over winter break, and I am ecstatic! But I must say, it'll be hard to leave this place for another month. I plan on coming back more often next semester so I can see more of the progress. Look out for more posts, if I can I'm planning on crossing off my third state by working on a site or two in Minnesota while I'm home! 

For now, I hope everyone has safe travels and has time to spend with family and friends this holiday season. During this time of year, I hope you all have time to give back to your community. Whether it be through Habitat for Humanity, volunteering with the Salvation Army, or some other project, just get out and spread the Christmas cheer!

Ta Ta For Now,

Lisa

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Hey ya'll! 

Brad and I having
a blast building!

Sorry for the late post, the last few weeks of school have been crazy! But now I finally have a little while to recap my second day working in Lancaster, so here we go!

I was super excited for today, because not only was I going to work on this house again, but I got my boyfriend Brad to come along with me (aren't we precious??). We were both pumped up to help out the night before, but let me tell you.....neither of us are morning people so when we set out in the morning at the butt crack of dawn it was a bit of a struggle. However after stopping at Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast and caffeine we were on our way happy as clams!

We arrived at 8 and met up with the gang. It was just the project manager Jim today, and a staff employee named Tom working with us. Jim started us out right away with our task for the day: we were to install floor joists and ledgers into 2x4s that were already nailed onto the upper part of the wall. These are essential for installing the floor of the home: they will actually be what holds 

the floor up. Here are pictures to give you an idea of what we were working with:

View of how they look on the wall

 Left: Ledger    Right: Floor Joist

We began by hanging the ledgers. This truly was a group effort. We first had to finish mounting the 2x4s on the walls, which requires careful measurement and ensuring that we cut the planks exactly the right lengths. After cutting the boards we then had to work together to hang them so that when we nailed or drilled into the board it ended up straight. That's one thing about construction that I'm learning quickly: it is NOT a task that you can ever use the phrase "it's good enough" in. If the boards are even a few centimeters or inches off the floors will not be straight, which could cause significant problems for the future home owners. I'm learning that one must think of the big picture when working on these small tasks. It doesn't seem like these items are that big of a deal when you think about all of the other materials that go into building an entire home. But if you don't build a solid foundation, the house will never last. 

After mounting the boards we were finally able to start drilling the ledgers into the wall. It seems easy, but it proved to be very difficult for me. Behind the ledger is a metal plate that was hooked into the wall; the plate is there to ensure that the whole mechanism is stable when they continue building upon it. I could drill the screws through the 2x4 with a little muscle, but got frustrated when I couldn't muscle it through the metal plate on my own. Brad and Tom were stronger and had sturdier ladders for balance, so it was easier for them to put their body weight into it and force the screws through all in one motion. Tom was a great teacher though, and gave me tips on how to make it work for me. I had to stop drilling at hammer the screw through the plate, and afterwards I could put all of my body weight into forcing the screws through the wall. 

Drilling ledgers into the wall

This experience has definitely made me learn about myself, and this day was no different. I recognized my frustration, and I became aware that it is really hard for me to ask for help. I like to think I can do things all on my own and that I can keep up with other builders. This day I was taught that it's okay to ask for help, and that it is better to go slower and do the job right than speed through a project incorrectly and cause problems down the road. Once I finally got the first few screws through I was elated, and it felt like a accomplished way more than if it had been easy for me to do the first time. 

This day was also a great opportunity for Brad and I to work together and see how well we are at communicating with one another and collaborating with each other. At first I didn't want to ask him to help me, but he was great and it was nice having him around to help me when I was having a         hard time doing something. He built me up rather than just jumping in and doing something for me, which was exactly what I needed in order to build some confidence in what we were doing. We were both able to laugh at ourselves and communicated really                                                well; I'm so glad he was able to join me, and I can tell we both                                                learned a lot about each other and about Habitat.

Waiting to climb back
up to keep working!

After lunch we finished with the ledgers and began working on the floor joists. This was a whole new challenge for Brad and I, and even for Tom who was helping us. As the picture showed, the joist is U-shaped and gets nailed into the 2x4. They had to be placed along pre-marked lines which were specifically measured to match the floor boards. Therefore when we nailed them into the wood it had to be precise, and the bottom had to be flat and even to the very bottom of the board. Let me tell you.....that is WAY easier said than done. First one must align the bottom of the U with the bottom of the board. Once you do this you have to maneuver your hand so that you can simultaneously hold the joist in place, hold the nail in the hole, and then hammer the nail into the hole to secure it. If it moves while you do this, you have to adjust it or do it all over again. Once I got one side started I could get  two nails in the other side to secure it in place; however this too was challenging because you had to force the metal to shape to the correct measurements. If the joist was bent too much it wouldn't be straight, so event that had to be precise. We spent the rest of the day working on these joists.

The moral of the story: things don't always come easy, but it's more rewarding once you get it in those moments than if you were always an expert. Not only that, but little things make a big difference, so take your time and do it right. 

Love building together for Habitat!

Brad and I had a great day and we are both planning on returning throughout the year to keep working on this house. I'm hoping to get out at least one or two more times before I leave for Minnesota for Christmas break (yippee!). I can't wait to see where the rest of the year takes us!

Ta Ta For Now!

Lisa

Everything Beautiful

Hello friends!

After a brief hiatus, I am back at it again! I had a phenomenal time working with Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County, NJ and I've been itching to start another project ever since I left. I've been so busy with graduate school and work that it's been hard to find a project that would work with my schedule, but I finally found a great fit with Habitat's chapter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 

Today was the first of two scheduled days thus far for me, although I am hoping to continue working with this build site much longer than other projects since it is only an hour away from West Chester, where I'm attending school. This particular site is in Elizabethtown, which is a little more than an hour northwest of here. This marks my second  state in my 50 state journey, woohoo! It's only fitting that I begin my second leg of the adventure in America's second state, don't you think?

Unlike the House That Youth Built in New Jersey, the Elizabethtown site is very new-they broke ground in mid September. I am so excited about this because I will be swapping perspectives-instead of working on a nearly completed build site, I'm starting at the very beginning. The site currently has the basement walls braced up, and that's about it. In a few days they will be pouring concrete for the basement, but until then, this is what the site looks like currently: 

Inside of structure. Walls are braced,
pipes for radon piping in the middle.

I arrived on the site and met with Jim, the project manager. I was introduced to other workers as well, some who are staff and one who is my age and is an AmeriCorps worker for Habitat. Everyone was incredibly friendly and easy to talk to, which made for a great day and an easy transition into this next project. I was relieved to find that everyone was very willing to teach me new things and also allow me to really immerse myself in the projects, even though I was completely new to the work we were doing. I was paired with a man named Tom, who has been recently added to Lancaster Habitat's staff. He was a fun partner to work with and made me feel like a competent part of the team. 

The first challenge of the day was simply getting into the structure. I walked over to the structure and noticed the only way in was to cross a 2x4 across a deep moat, climb over the wall, step onto another 2x4 along the upper perimeter of the structure, and then climb down an extension ladder. For someone who has chronic balance issues, this was a nightmare. I was really wishing I hadn't turned in that liability waiver two seconds before. Tom was a great help though; he gave me tips on how to walk across the plank safely, and had me practice a few times to get comfortable. I'm still not completely at ease, but I was able to make it in and out of the structure all day without incident (uffda!). 

After that mini crisis, the real work began. Tom and I were tasked with measuring, cutting, gluing, and covering radon piping in the basement. There is radon gas that is present in the ground, and when a house is built on it the gas can build up and become very toxic. In order to prevent that from occurring, piping with small holes in it is laid on the very foundation of the home. More piping is then connected vertically at one spot so it gets routed to the top of the structure, which is then routed out of the home so it safely escapes without doing any damage. 

Using the saw to cut pipes. 

Tom and I spent most of the day laying this pipe down. It sounds like a simple job, but there is a lot of precise measurements that must be done to ensure that the pipes fit exactly right, and are the correct lengths away from the walls of the home. The most fun part of the job was being able to use the saw to cut the pipe to the correct length (I know, I'm shocked too that they let me near power tools haha). 

Hanging out on the wall
after walking "the plank".

After lunch we hopped back into the structure and began putting wooden braces along portions of the walls. If the walls are not braced properly, the hydrolic pressure of the concrete we'll pour in will cause the walls to push outward, break and/or collapse. Obviously that is something we wish to avoid, so off to work we went! Tom taught me how to use the electric drill (I know, I know, two power tools in one day, geez) and showed me how to find the portions of the wall we needed to reinforce. Thankfully we started with the ones on the ground level so I could practice easily. After that we had to stand on 2x4 boards that were placed around the upper perimeter of the walls in order to brace the top portion of the walls. Again, balance is not my strong point so this seemed like a precarious situation. After awhile I got used to it though and went about my merry way. My one piece of advice when moving along these types of unstable conditions: move slowly, watch your step, and always have at least one hand on the wall for support. ALWAYS. 

Later in the day the volunteer coordinator Leigh came by to check on our progress. The people at the site were really interested in my goal to work at Habitats across the United States, and she asked to interview me! It was really just a brief video of me explaining my goal and why I'm choosing to work with Habitat, but it was fun and it was so nice that they thought it was worth filming. Leigh told me, "when you're famous I'll tell you where to find the video" so I'll be sure to post a link to whatever story or segment they put the video in! For now here is the raw video they took: 

Everything beautiful
begins with God.

Overall it was a beautiful day working with wonderful people. One thing that struck me as I initially walked onto the site today was a sign the neighbor had in their lawn next to the adjoining fence to our lot. It said, "Everything beautiful begins with God". I was awed by this; clearly God is watching over this site and the work Habitat volunteers are doing for others. I couldn't think of a better message to govern my day, and every day for that matter. As I conquered some fears and learned new things on the work site, felt the breeze and the sun, and saw the colors on the trees around me changing today I remembered the words on this sign. God has the power to do wonders through all of us, and I truly feel like this is his calling for me right now. I am anxious to see what the next few months hold, and where God will lead me next. I ask him each day to lead my heart and to let me be a light to someone in the world. Maybe my light is through Habitat. 

Ta Ta For Now, 

 Lisa

Labor of Love: Habitat for Humanity Day 3

Today was my final day working with Habitat for Humanity in Monmouth County, and man was it hard to leave. Today was the most physically tasking day, but it was by far the most rewarding. Today I really understood how building these houses really is a labor of love for every single contractor, staff member, and volunteer.

I arrived knowing that I would have to tackle the most dreaded project: clearing out a shed that was filled with moldy, rotten, and reeking things. The shed had withstood Sandy, and at one point was filled with 10 feet of water. The belongings had been rotting there for years now, and most were water damaged. Boxes were disintegrated, glass was broken, and the shelves were warped so badly it looked like a roller coaster track. Others working inside often scoffed at the idea of tackling the shed, and they all warned me that I had to wear a mask to get anywhere near there. I thought of this as I walked onto the site, kind of hoping there'd be something else to do. But right away I saw Anna in the shed by herself, and I knew that's where I had to be. 

Shoveling gravel
for the driveway

I put my mask on and soon after a group of freshman from Brookdale Community College came to help (THANK GOODNESS). It took us two hours to clear it, and in that time we dumped multiple bins full of debri and stagnant water, took out a ton of boxes, and shoveled the rest of the belongings out. We thankfully only found one little critter in there, a baby mouse. I have to say, after it was all said and done it felt really good looking at the empty shed. We all worked together, and were all good sports regardless of the health hazard and unpleasant smell. When it was all said and done I realized that I kind of enjoyed it, because I knew that it meant a lot to Anna to help her clear it and find a few salvageable items. It isn't something I'd typically want to do, but I realized that these kinds of jobs are often the most helpful and mean the most to the homeowners. I think some people fail to remember that people like Anna lost everything in the storm, so even though it seems unreasonable to us, saving even one item is special. 

After that was done I got everyone started on finishing the driveway. The Brookdale students helped me dig out the rest of the dirt, and helped me haul gravel from the side of the house into the pit we made for the next 3 hours or so. They left early, so then there were two, and Anna and I got almost all of the rest of the gravel laid and raked out evenly over the driveway area. This was the most physically demanding part of the day. I'll tell you....that pile of gravel NEVER.SEEMED.TO. DWINDLE. But we got almost all of it done and I really enjoyed working closely with Anna. 

Driveway almost completely
 filled with gravel

I left the house feeling accomplished, and my only disappointment is that I can't be there on September 2nd for the big reveal. Little does Anna know, but she won a home makeover, so when the big reveal happens she'll be surprised to find that they've bought her furniture for her home. This woman is so deserving of this Habitat home. She showed me pictures of her family and her late husband today, and she talked to me about her past. It was these moments I cherished most, because I really got to know her and saw just how grateful she is for every single person that has set foot on the build site. She worked just as hard as anyone else, and it was really special to spend these last few days with her working, reminiscing, and laughing. 

Front of Habitat home

Though not every job is glamorous or easy, I can tell you without a doubt that every nail that is hammered down, every cabinet put up, and every rock moved is done out of love for people like Anna. Hurricane Sandy was truly devastating to this region, and it was surreal to see it with my own eyes instead of hearing about it on the news. But with every day, and every project, we are helping restore the shore and giving people a piece of their lives back to them. I will be forever changed by my Habitat experience in Monmouth County, and I will never forget the people that I've worked with and the lives we've helped change. 

I'm not sure where my arrow will take me next, but I'm positive I'll be working with Habitat for Humanity again somewhere in this country very soon. Until then...

Toodles, 


Lisa

Breaking a Sweat: Habitat Day 2

Breaking ground for
new driveway

Uff-da, today was exhausting! I arrived at the Habitat home at 9am, and immediately began breaking up the ground to make the driveway. A lot had been done the day before, but I had two other local high school ladies come help me make more progress on it. Even Anna came to help us! 

It was really tiring work; the ground was full of rocks, glass, and old brick from her old home so we had to use pick axes to break up the area, and then haul the dirt out to another area. It was hot, but the storm Minnesota had a few days ago must be rolling in since the clouds came and there was a light breeze to cool us down.

Tiling the bathroom

A little before noon the project manager (Andy) came out and said the bathrooms were ready to be tiled and that we could get out of the sun and help with that. THANK GOODNESS. I was excited to learn how to tile and it was really easy! We used the laminate tiles that are sticky on the back, so all you have to do is peel back the cover, and fit them together. We also had to cut a lot of the tile to fit around the wiring and the showers. We had fun doing that and working with another volunteer named Rich. He helped us a lot with measuring the tiles. We finished two bathrooms today, and it felt awesome being able to see the finished product. We moved on to the kitchen as well and got about 3/4 of that done too. 

Tomorrow we're supposed to get rain, so we'll see what project I get to do. It's planned that I have to remove a shed's worth of moldy/rotten belongings into a dumpster. The plan is to empty the one shed, so that items can be transferred from another shed into the first one. After that the second shed will be demolished. Hopefully I'll get to do something inside, perhaps starting on the                                              slatted wood floors we'll put in! 

After all that work, I had dinner with my host family at one of their friends' homes. They have a beautiful yard and pool so we had pizza and then took a swim before the rain. We finally got a picture together as well, I'm so happy! Kathy and Simon have been the best hosts, and have shown me so many "Jersey" things. I couldn't have asked for a better family to stay with, and I'll be sad to leave them on Saturday. 

Me, Kathy and Simon

Well, until tomorrow I suppose!

Toodles, 

Lisa