Pluggin' along...

For those of you who follow this blog you're probably wondering what we're up to now on the roque croquet court. Is it a weird lawn mower? Is it a rototiller? Is it a line marker? Is it some sort of new exercise machine (after all, we seldom actually PLAY croquet...)?

In real life the machine is an aerator/plugging machine. One walks behind it while it takes removes small plugs of dirt and spits them out. The theory is (I will admit there have been a LOT of theories developed in conjunction with this court...) the holes will allow the roots to expand thus leveling out the court and the sod. Anyway, Terry & John "plugged" (or is it "de-plugged"?) the court and spread lawn winterizer (special fertilizer) and 250 pounds of sand. It turns out that much sand is not that much. Supposedly the holes are supposed to be filled with sand -- didn't happen. (Oh well, I'm sure the squirrels will be happy as there are thousands of acorns in the park this year and the squirrels won't have to dig so many holes.) Now it's up to chief hydrologist, Fred, to keep the winterizer watered until winter. (With all this tender loving care can't you just envision a sea of oak seedlings next spring?!)

Of birthdays & wood...

How do you surprise an "experienced" birthday girl (cousin Judy - photo right) with a birthday party? It ain't easy especially when your husband (cousin John - you guessed it, photo left) says he's taking you out to dinner, then parks at the Emergency Squad/Fire House. Their community room is a GREAT place for a party!

Do you remember from blogs past, trees being cut from cousin John's woods for John's boat building? In case I didn't mention it before, cousin John is VERY experienced with tree cutting. All the lumber in their absolutely beautiful home (John & Judy built it themselves) came from their property. Since they finished their house, John has switched his skills/talent to furniture making. The latest addition to their ever growing furniture collection is this absolutely gorgeous "entertainment" center (it certainly kept cousin John entertained for months!). It's made from black walnut and ash from their property. While John was waiting for the lumber to dry naturally in his garage, he designed it in his head. If the sides look curved as well as the top it's because they are plus they're all dovetailed together (my mind won't even begin to grasp how one does that!). Even the handles on the doors and drawers were hand made. Notice the handle under the TV (John waited until flat screen TV's were available to begin this project). The bottom molding under the TV is actually a sliding shelf so the TV can be pulled out if needed. The counter top John took to his auto body shop and spray painted with anti-graffiti varnish that makes it practically indestructible. Good planning. Even though Judy is now another year older, she's still sometimes up for dancing on table tops...

A croquet love story...

Croquet mallets... Lest you think that John spends all his free time working on boats, that's just not true (even if it sometimes it seems that way...)

Even John will admit that sometimes he can be a bit of a scrounge as in "that's just too good to go to the dump"; "there will eventually be a good use for it", etc. (He blames this trait to some extent on his German heritage.) At any rate, it IS true that he often has squirreled away just the right "thing" for what's needed. His ability to find it is another issue.

Now about those croquet mallets... please note the ball hitting portion was made from bits of oak & walnut he laminated together (I probably would have used the scrapes for kindling long ago) and banded with brass. But the piece de resistance are the handles. They're made from broken pool cues. (Of course the fact they turned out so great does in no way support my cause to clean the "crap" out of our old barn!)

What does this have to do with romance & love? Well one of my sister's high school classmates was relating how her parents met over 60 years ago. Her mother grew up near Dallas, her father in the Ozark Mountains. There was little or no work in the Ozarks so Isam's cousin suggested he come to Texas and find work in the oil fields. One sunny Sunday afternoon looking for something to do on his day off, Isam went to the town park. There on the town croquet court was Opal, the love of his life. Isam & Opal were married (hopefully after playing several rounds of croquet) and moved to the Ozarks to raise their family. So if you're looking for a new love in your life, look no further than your nearest croquet court!

A new home for the Comets!

Remember the Comet sailboats "Have" and "Have Not"? Ah, such sweet memories!
- John taking a friend to Maryland with him to tow home "Have"... (Patty wouldn't go because her crystal ball foresaw pieces of "Have" flying off as they trailed it back to NY - how true that turned out to be!)
- Terry took a look at "Have" and, good friend that he is, acquired "Have Not" for John to work on instead because he thought "Have" a hopeless cause. (It is amazing how a few dollars instead of the word "free" can add so much solid wood to a boat...)
- The trip made (or attempted to be made) to the St. Lawrence in early spring to acquire "boat bottom" wood. (For some reason Terry's pickup just had to "kiss" that car ahead even if no one was going more than 10 mph - one example of Mother Nature's lake effect on highways...)
- Hours/years? spent by John in his workshop (Patty has grown to love his time consuming boat projects!)
- The memorable initial launching of "Have Not" (as Terry pumping vigorously from inside the boat asks John if he's sure it isn't pumping water in rather than out... did it really "sink" that day even if it was in only 3 feet of water?)
- A week later, the "real" launching after "Have Not" had time to "swell" (No sinking that weekend!)
- The initial launching of "Have" (no leaks in the seams but there was that cute little fountain caused by an errant drill bit hole - promptly fixed by John with a twig...) From there it sailed like a dream!
- One summer, two boats, one set of sails... (how does that work? it doesn't!)
- The big regatta at last - two boats, two sets of sails, wind, crew (a wee bit of bailing but no sinking!)

And then the BIG decision... what to do with two lovely boats that, in spite of the fun had, are just not quite right for Terry's camp? The solution... donate them to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY. When John & Terry first approached the museum they thought the museum would sell them at their fundraising boat auction. However, when Dan Miller (shown in the photo with the boats at the museum) took a look at them, the museum decided instead to use them initially to demonstrate and teach boat restoration and to educate visitors about the Comet class. Then they'll be added to their in-water fleet for sailing instruction. The boats were perfect because they were both originally built in NYS, are wooden and antique (1939), and they're a "size larger" than the other boats in their sailing instruction fleet.

If you've never been to the Antique Boat Museum it's well worth a trip www.abm.org/ ! They have absolutely beautiful boats on display. And, who knows, if you go next year you may actually see "Have" and "Have Not" being sailed in the waters in the photo. Needless to say, John & Terry, the Museum (and me) couldn't be happier!!!

And then it was croquet!

Just look at that court! (Admittedly, it's not putting green smooth, and we know it's a poor workman who blames it's tools, but, honestly, Murph really should invest in a better mower for Terry to borrow...)

At any rate the very first game of the season took place on Sunday (very fitting since Thousand Island Park was originally a church camp). The first six players were, from left to right, Terry (still practicing, not that it helped a whole lot...), John (still giving directions, not that it helped a whole lot...), Judy, Cousin John, Bruce and Leigh.

Needless to say there was a whole lot of discussion and a whole lot of fun on the new court. And who knew what to answer when someone walked up and wanted to know if they were playing roque or croquet? And don't forget backyard croquet with "poison".

It looked for a time as though John would be the winner when he became "poison" and was "killing" off balls right and left. With one ball left to go (Cousin John's) he took aim and sent his ball spiraling forward. It looked at first as though Cousin John was done for. Then John's ball veered slightly away, missing Cousin John's ball, and squarely hitting the end stake. (Those of you familiar with poison rules know this is instant death for a poison ball.) Winner of the first croquet game on the new court.... Cousin John!!!

Sail & Bail Regatta

Gee - another sailboat photo. How nice... However, this photo is downright amazing.



The blue Comet sailboat name "Have", circa 1939, was rotting in some one's backyard in Maryland before John "rescued" it. In fact, parts of the original boat may still be laying along the road as the boat tried to self destruct on the way to its new home. Let us say John put a LOT of new wood into "Have's" restoration. (John & Leigh are crewing that boat.)



The white Comet sailboat named "Have Not" , circa 1940, Terry bought for John to work on because he thought "Have" was a hopeless cause. It, too, needed work, just not as much. Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time might remember "Have Not" as the boat that tried to sink to the bottom when it was first launched 3 years ago. Lesson learned - old wooden boats need an "adjustment" period to allow the wood to swell so they don't leak. (Terry & Lloyd are crewing that boat.)



Last summer, "Have" made her debut in the water. Aside from a small drill hole in the hull that made her look like a whale before John plugged it with a twig, that launch was fairly normal. The only problem remaining - one set of sails, two boats.



This past winter another set of sails was secured and, walla, a regatta! If you're interested in a complete photo session (compliments of Bruce Moseley) go to the web album site

http://picasaweb.google.com/pattyjohng/FunInThePark

Table nouveau...

New tables today are mostly made in factories. Occasionally, however, one gets created with a bit more history behind it. Take the table in the photo for example. The table and the story have many parts but hang it there and, just like the table, it will eventually come together.

Years and years (and, ok, years) ago, we met friend Terry (that's a looooong story in itself...).

Many years later we replaced some of the studs in our house with a bay window. The house was built in the early 1800's so these were manly studs (4"x7"x9.5'). Too good to throw away, they have been used here and there for various purposes and the rest moved hither and yon.

Then came the building of our grape arbor (a.k.a. Temple of Cynthia) when we found 6 old porch columns in a salvage yard. Some of the circular "bits" couldn't be used so, of course, got stored and moved hither and yon.

Several years later a BIG storm came through central NY. Friend Bruce, then director of the Oneida Community Mansion House, let us know one of the historic pines had come down in the storm. As a fundraiser they were selling the planks from it and thought we might be interested. Is the Pope Polish? (He was then...) At any rate we ended up with a couple a planks which, since then, have been moved hither and yon.

Along comes this spring and the "restoring" of the croquet court at TI Park. After a hard day of rototilling and raking, what's left but an evening of good food and drink around a table? And since we were all friends it was only natural that we discuss how absolutely pathetic Terry's table was. Hydrologist Fred (the chief waterer of the court) decreed that 33" was the correct width for a porch table. (Fred is also now known in some circles as 33" Fred.) John remembers "the plank" and a table project is born.

Friends visit in June who like to go antiquing and what did we find but a set of old pool table legs. Who knows what stories they might have to tell and of course they met the chief criteria of being sort of funky and having been moved hither and yon.

Here the project may have stalled but, thanks to the boys (Win, Maverick, Dillon & Peyton) who spent last week with us, it found new life. John suddenly "had" to spend many hours in the workshop working on the table. Wonder why? Of course, Oletta was also there and was able to add a bit of design element to the legs deciding on the proper curve to be cut out of stud and where to place the round column bit.

Our local lumberyard planed the plank and added on some local black walnut to make the top Fred's required 33". John rounded the edges and varnished it within an inch of its life. The rest (with a few modifications on site and perhaps a couple more to come) is now history. If only tables could talk, or perhaps it's best they don't...

If you've made it this far, any suggestions for chairs????

Croquet Olympics

So what's wrong with this year's Olympic games? They forgot to include our croquet team! Or any croquet team for that matter. In fact, if Wicked can be believed, croquet hasn't been played at the Olympics since 1900. (What's with that?!!!) Our team has practiced HARD too!!! Oh well. I can guarantee you the air in Earlville is a lot cleaner and cooler than Beijing at the moment.

Team Earlville left to right - Ace in the Hole Dillon; Out of my Way Win; Someone has to be Second Maverick; Move over Boys Oletta; It's my Court (and my Rules) John; Watch Out Kathleen; and Little Boy Peyton. And just in case you're wondering, the US is well represented - NY, NJ & Texas!

Sweating at the beach...

Photo right - Ocean City in a heat wave... The photo was taken in early morning which explains the lack of people on the boardwalk that remains historic with businesses like Thrasher's french fries since 1929, Kohr Bros. frozen custard since 1919, Dolle's salt water taffy since 1910, and Dumser's Dairyland since 1939. These days you can also get their treats at other locations as well. Just our luck - there was a Dumser's about half a block from where we were staying (an easy walk even in the heat and well worth every ounce of sweat that was generated!)

The Keck/Grafer clan (brothers married sisters - photo is some of that clan) showed up in force for the softball game against the Berlinicke clan (no photo - they were the opposition after all...). In spite of the temperature and humidity vying for top billing (in the 90's) the game went on for two hours (11 - 1) and was finally called for lunch with the Keck/Grafer clan the winner! (They get to choose the location for the next game four years from now. Needless to say several are already petitioning for a cooler location!)

Rambo was still standing with all 4 tires inflated when we returned to NJ (miracles do happen!). Even more amazing he made it all the way back to NY with nary a complaint and even managed to keep his gas consumption in check (marginally better than an air craft carrier...). John wants the wood to be wet when he steam bends it, so Rambo also did his bit by continuing to leak in the intermittent rain storms. Wouldn't want the wood to get too dried out after all...

How to build a boat... and a table...

The first step, of course, is to convince your wife that probably the ONLY thing that will make you happy and keep you out of her hair when you retire is to have a workshop where you can go to work on boats, wooden boats. Choosing an appropriate plan is only a minor detail after that...
Next step? Acquire enough wood to build said boat. It helps if you have a cousin who has white oak in his forest and can somehow be talked into parting with a tree big enough to make a boat. Photo 1 -John & Cousin John selecting the tree and start cutting it down. Photo 2 - Tree does not make a clean break but hangs up on other trees. It helps if cousin in question has a ladder and a tow truck and can convince you the tree won't fall if you climb that ladder and secure a tow rope around the tree. This determines just how badly you want to build said boat. Patty visualizes widowhood. Photo 3 - In spite of the tow rope almost turning over the tow truck with cousin's wife, Judy, the tree remains uncooperative. Photo 4 - If at first you don't succeed, pull from the other direction. Walla - down it goes. No widows this time out. Photo 5 - What are the chances of the tree landing and balancing exactly on the stump? Tree is cut into 12 foot lengths. Photo 6 - Tow truck again proves handy in pulling those logs out of the woods. Photo 7 - Invite Andrew & his sawmill over to make a few passes through the log. Sweat! sweat! sweat! = a 90 degree day with 90% humidity. Photo 8 - It helps if cousin has heavy duty trailer to carry planks to Rambo. When Rambo refuses to accept planks longer than 12 foot, bring out the saw once again and cut them off. Sweat! To say deodorant failed long ago does not have to be verbalized. Photo 9 - Load planks into Rambo. Will he or will he not make it back to New York at the end of the weekend or will he have collapsed in a rusty heap by the time he's asked to roll out on Sunday? Stay tuned...


How a cousin builds a table...
First, it helps to be a fine woodworker with a friend who thinks of you when they take down a big black walnut tree in their yards. (It also helps to have some big boy toys such as a tow truck, dump truck, heavy duty trailer and backhoe...) Call in Andrew with his sawmill. Have Robbie drop by just as you're loading the log and have your cousin stick around. Photo 1 - log goes on sawmill. Photo 2 - Andrew, John, Robbie, John and "The Log"... Photo 3 - Log is too big for mill so parts of it have to be trimmed off. Did I mention SWEAT?! Photo 4 - End up with nice black walnut planks that will dry in workshop for a couple of years. We'll have a bit of wait to see that table but, trust me, it will be worth it!

Of hot dogs & rocks...

This trip it's Rambo's turn for a little outing. We're off to points south for a little wood cutting and John's family reunion. Multiple choice... Is Rambo along for the ride because - a) he has air conditioning as opposed to Tillie; b) we're planning to camp on the shores of Maryland; c) he's the most fuel efficient vehicle we own; or d) he's the only vehicle we own that could possibly cart 12 foot lengths of wood. The answer is d. (Oh, how I wish a. was also correct! As for b? - you'd have to be INSANE! as in HOT, SANDY, CROWDED! And one doesn't even want to think about c - heart be still as John fills the gas tank...).

On hot and humid days no trip through the Delaware Water Gap would be the same without a pit stop at Hot Dog Johnny's (born the same year John was which makes it old?...) Where else can you still buy a mug of buttermilk (I knew you wouldn't believe me so just look at the photo) or, in our case, a birch beer (they will also add ice cream to the birch beer if you want - we wanted). If you look on the far left of the second photo you'll see John behind Rambo with a giant hot dog on top. (That shot was purely unintentional - will have to work on it for next time.)

ONE of Cousin John's projects this summer (he can never have just one) was to remove the concrete retaining wall next to their basement door (some folks work out frustrations by pulling weeds, others use jackhammers - think I'll stick with weeds...). At any rate, in its place he built this absolutely beautiful retaining wall with rock from their property. I am sooooooo envious of that beautiful rock! Wonder how Rambo would do as a rock hauler?

Putt putting along...

It seems a trip this summer would not be complete without stopping to see how the croquet court is doing. Obviously, if Fred ever needs a reference as greens keeper he'll have no problem getting one from this blogger! Did you ever see a court so thick and lush? If I were a kid again, or perhaps a dog in a different life, I can just imagine taking a roll on that grass.

According to Fred, Terry has been trying different mowing techniques. The first time out was a diagonal mow. This last time it was just a straightforward up and back mow. Word has it the diagonal left a better result.

The next time I post, you should see a real croquet game on that court! I'm already practicing in my mind...

On to Quebec!

There's only one little problem about going from PEI to Quebec... there's not much exciting in between. Plaster Rock was about it in terms of New Brunswick highlights unless you want to starting beware of moose signs. (I took the photo from the gas station across the street and somehow didn't feel the need to go closer...)

Then on to Quebec City trying to remember our almost non-existent and very rusty French. However, it is Quebec City's 400th anniversary so how could we pass it by? Opting NOT to stay at the Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, we "chose" instead to camp in Tillie at a campground almost on top of the major highway. How were we to know the day we chose to visit was also the day Paul McCartney would be giving a free concert and everything - hotel, rooms, campsites had been booked months in advance? Over 200,000 attended in the city. And while we did take the ferry (sans Tillie) over to the city and spend the day sightseeing (we also enjoyed a beer in the bar of the hotel), we didn't stay for the concert. Instead, we took the ferry back to Tillie in Levee and watched it on the big outdoor screen there along with several thousand others. Tillie was by no means the only VW bus to come the show... Remembrances of days gone by.

Snapped this photo of the "security crew" with their bag of tricks trying to get someone's (probably someone with reservations...) car unlocked at the hotel. Service is everything! Or were they just trying to clear the way for the Paul McCartney motorcade that went by a few minutes later?

Quebec City is built on a "hill" and so is the city of Levee across the river. After walking/climbing around the Quebec City all day the last thing we wanted to do when we returned to Levee was walk. However, the tourist agent (a.k.a. torture agent) suggested it would be better to walk to a restaurant for dinner rather than drive. That meant "up" as everything is "up" from the river. Tillie was happy to avoid the climb but our legs weren't... This photo is looking "down". Needless to say it was taken AFTER dinner and AFTER our breathing returned to more normal proportions.

Now it's back to the states, that is if John can get his legs to move enough to shift Tillie's gears. Quebec hills leave you with something to remember them by.

Wrapping it up...

Friday, July 18

Paint, paint, paint - never enough time to complete a project. However, today was our last day and we were busy to the end. Photo 1 is one of our team leaders, Jan, and our local on-site supervisor, Steve. (I should have turned off the flash - that red is amazing! No dull, winter days in this house!)

Photo 2 - Since our group wouldn't be around for the house dedication, we dedicated the new shed and turned over the keys to the new homeowner family.

Photo 3 - The stool that John made (with so many volunteers there was a shortage of ladders so John cobbed together a stool from the scrap). Lisa & Briann felt "inspired" when on paint cleanup detail.

Photo 4 - The laminated floor was a final day project. You can tell John & Jim were putting a lot of thought into the project. Actually they were cutters extraordinaire answering that age old question - how many guys does it take to cut a piece of wood?

Photo 5 - No we didn't get red paint on our shirts. Those are the nice new ones the folks on PEI gave us as a thank you. We had a GREAT time, gained a little weight, made new friends, saw a new part of the world and are looking forward to the next time we can do this again.

Adding a bit of color...

The Gillis’, whose house we’re working on, have moved 11 times and each time into an apartment painted white. They also live on PEI where winter’s days are very short, cold, snowy & downright dreary at times. To say “the colors Natasha has chosen are BRIGHT” is perhaps the biggest understatement I’ve made in months. Today the “PP team” finished the little girl’s bedroom – 2 opposite walls & the ceiling purple & the other two walls bright pink.

The bathroom is bright school bus yellow (many comments were made during the day about using the left over paint to touch up Tillie). The boys’ bedroom is bright blue. Keith, one of the terrific local volunteers, gave the gals a hand with this room. The rest of the men were busy putting in trim and doors (their opinions of the color selections were perhaps why they opted out of painting today even though they all pitched in yesterday to help with the white primer…)

The kitchen is orange as is one wall of the living room. The other walls in the living room, the hallway, and the master bedroom are all going to be red. The red wall in the photo has one coat of paint. It will get a second coat to brighten it up a bit more. Anyone on PEI this winter who is feeling a need for color will only have to visit the Gillis’.

Keep meaning to show you my favorite sign in our campground. By the way, I’ve observed it’s the men who do the laundry (and perhaps the spelling….)

The women of PEI...

Lest you think we haven’t been working on the house, an update… Our crew finished the dry wall last week and the professional plasterers have been in mudding the walls, putting the final coat on Tuesday morning. We did take Monday afternoon off because it rained and we couldn’t do anything inside the house until the plastering was completed. A sunny Tuesday saw us back at work priming and painting the doors and all the woodwork before it is installed. Many hands make fast work. Lack of running water makes for messy hands – hence no photos to share.

Instead I’ll share a couple of photos/tidbits about some of the women on PEI. On the northwestern coast is the little village of Miminegash. Folks earn a living by farming, fishing and harvesting Irish moss from the sea with big work horses. The video we saw of the harvest makes you appreciate what hard, cold, wet & dangerous work it is. By the way, Irish moss is used to make carrageenan, a natural gel used as a thickener in everything from ice cream to toothpaste. Until recently they provided about a third of the worldwide demand. Then another plant was discovered in the Pacific that did the same thing and was easily farmed. Suddenly, this income stream is rapidly disappearing. To help, the women of the community formed a cooperative and opened The Seaweed Pie (sort of a sponge cake with a gelatin topping) Café and added a room telling Irish Moss. Now they’re also looking at developing their own products using the Irish Moss – their lotion is GREAT! And so is their food! Unfortunately, this year has added another obstacle – increased gas prices and lack of much else in that part of PEI other than a pretty coastal drive has meant a marked decrease in tourist business. We did our bit.

PEI raises some of the best oysters in the world (10 million) and while it’s not an “r” month, you can still buy them locally. The best we’ve had so far were in Stanley Bridge at a restaurant owned by one of the oyster “farmers”. And just up the road from there is the Sterling Women’s Institute Community Hall that hosts ceilidhs (pronounced k-lee – my theory is if you’re the first person to spell a word, then the spelling is right; otherwise how could you possibly get that pronunciation from that spelling?!). Anyway, ceilidhs are local music nights and the women at this institute host 5 a week during the summer. The Ross Family performed the night we went - terrific bluegrass. Now for the women… There are 100 chapters of the Sterling Women’s Institute across the island (the institute was founded in Ontario over 100 years ago). Thirty-five years ago the government asked them to “clean up” the island. As the women said, if you want something done right, they’re the people to ask. They’ve done a GREAT job too! We have yet to pass any place where there’s junk in the yard – everyplace is well cared for and tended. Way to go PEI women!!!

Move over Kansas!

Tillie has experienced the wind on the Great Plains. My current theory is the wind from there is only building up speed before it moves east to PEI. There's a reason why Canada and VESTA (they make the really big wind generators) both use PEI as a wind energy development and testing site. The generator in the photo is the largest in North America and is located on the north coast. We suspect there are many more “down” days for the generators because of too much wind rather than too little.

At our beautiful campground, the kite surfers

are out every day (what keeps them from becoming completely airborne is beyond me). Of course the fact that our net tent has yet to become airborne is another miracle. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to someday look out to sea and spot Tillie skipping across the water using the tent as her kite behind the other adventuresome folks.

For women readers, beauticians here are called hairstylists although any “style” other than windblown would immediately leave your head the minute you stepped out the door. Personally, I’ve been developing the wild hair look controlled only by my hard hat. It has also occurred to me that Anne did not wear her hair in braids because of her age – it was the wind!

The weekend off...

With the weekend off we decided to head to Charlottetown. After all, how could we be this close and not visit the site where the country of Canada was born in 1864? If I got the story right, the Maritime Provinces had decided to meet and discuss joining together. When representatives of the other provinces (they just happened to be meeting in Ottawa) heard of the meeting on PEI they decided to invite themselves. After a lot of political discussions around the table in the photo and a MUCH greater amount of partying, they verbally agreed to unite. The written details would take place in Ottawa a couple of months later. PEI’s legislative body still meets in a room this size in this same building, two months in the spring and the same in the fall. (Perhaps we should send some of our representatives up here to take lessons…)

Charlottetown is also home to Canada’s longest running musical, “Anne of Green Gables” (44 years). As the guide book says… it’s a must see; “you’ll enjoy it, and your friends will never have to know” (or will they?)

Ah! The food!

Thursday & Friday, July 10 & 11

The folks on PEI are feeding us VERY well. Our leaders told us at the beginning this was going to be a 10 pound build (you can expect to gain 10 pounds), but it looks like it may be a 15 pound build. Yesterday it was homemade scones fresh out of the oven. Today it was homemade muffins, still warm. And that’s only for morning break. John has been in his glory because they’ve grilled hot dogs the last two days for lunch (he will NOT get those at home) and lots of veggies for non hot dog eaters such as myself. Then, of course, there are the homemade cookies… And then comes afternoon break… It’s really a wonder we’re able to get any work done at all but it does insure we come back every day. The group shot is of our group (we’re most of the ones in the hard hats – guess we’re becoming so attached to our hard hats we don’t even want to take them off for lunch!) plus some of the local volunteers.

Even with all that food, we still manage to be hungry for dinner. The locals recommended Victoria by the Sea as a nice place to walk around and have supper (here dinner is the noon meal). It was charming (the roses live there). The haddock was some of the best we'd ever had. Last night the entire group went to one of the lobster suppers put on by the Legion - the lobster (whole) was served cold and delicious. Amazing we still had room for the fresh strawberry shortcake.

Back on the home front… the dry wall has all been hung thanks in large part to Pierre, the man on the ladder. He’s a professional and has been ABSOLUTELY GREAT to work with! I can’t believe John & I have hung so much dry wall and didn’t know so many of the tricks he showed us. No way do we want to do our house over again but, if we do dry walling on another Habitat build, we will certainly be able to do a better job.

Let's hear it for the women!

,Tuesday & Wednesday, July 8 & 9

Lots of volunteers doing things like insulation & drywall, not to mention the electricians & a plumber = crowded. Then there was the black goop used to seal the plastic to make this a very energy efficient house. The black goop had the amazing ability to multiply, to jump out at you no matter what you touched so we all ended up with black here and there. (Our leader had to send back to the camp for clean shorts and we had to make a trip back to the work site when we discovered John had some all over his arm). While this may have lead to many "internal" comments (this is a clean Habitat site after all) it did not lead to photos of the inside of the house.

So today’s photos are of the young women we have in our group building a storage shed behind
the house. Notice in the first photo the two story house in the background to the right. That was the first Habitat house built in Summerville and it was built entirely by women. Since 1999 Habitat
volunteers (men and women) have built 23 houses on the island. They have so many local volunteers that they have volunteers working in the evening as well as during the day. Per capita PEI comes in as the third most active in all Habitat projects in Canada.

Having gone to the theater last night to see the musical “Anne & Gilbert” (one cannot get far from the Anne of Green Gables theme) we forgot to get milk for breakfast (a good excuse to go out). We opted for a more traditional breakfast although we could have gotten French fries; or French fries with gravy; or French fries with ground beef and peas; or French fries with ground beef, chicken, peas and something else that I’ve forgotten. Potatoes are BIG here on the island. While we ate, Tillie felt much at home in the parking lot near her “cousin”.