Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." Sir Winston Churchill
As you can imagine with moving out of the school, Friday was a really busy day. We broke up into teams to either clean, pack up or drive and move all of the PV possessions from Hanover to our house in Pineville. With teamwork and a coordinated effort, everything that we weren't still using (ie. air mattresses, food, etc.)was at the house and put away by 1:00 and the cleaners were done by noon. Having done the clean up with only 2 people before, this was an amazing effort the is MUCH appreciated.
After all the moving was done, some volunteers headed out to Glen Rogers manor for an afternoon of Banana Bingo and fingernail painting and what also turned out to be an afternoon of singing and playing the piano. What a great afternoon.
Also in the afternoon, some volunteers went on much appreciated visits to some of the people we have met over the years.
For dinner tonight we had pizza, since all of our dishes were packed. Although not a lot of food, it was appreciated after a hard days work.
Reflection tonight was a chance to close the chapter of this years summer program at Huff Consolidated. We reflected on how easy people can fall through the cracks, but how important it is to talk with each other and share our experiences. We all shared how we were changed, or how our world has changed because of our experiences this summer. It was a very poignant ending to this chapter.... onward to the house in Pineville for our last week in Wyoming County before moving on up to Bedford Stuyvesant.
As you can imagine with moving out of the school, Friday was a really busy day. We broke up into teams to either clean, pack up or drive and move all of the PV possessions from Hanover to our house in Pineville. With teamwork and a coordinated effort, everything that we weren't still using (ie. air mattresses, food, etc.)was at the house and put away by 1:00 and the cleaners were done by noon. Having done the clean up with only 2 people before, this was an amazing effort the is MUCH appreciated.
After all the moving was done, some volunteers headed out to Glen Rogers manor for an afternoon of Banana Bingo and fingernail painting and what also turned out to be an afternoon of singing and playing the piano. What a great afternoon.
Also in the afternoon, some volunteers went on much appreciated visits to some of the people we have met over the years.
For dinner tonight we had pizza, since all of our dishes were packed. Although not a lot of food, it was appreciated after a hard days work.
Reflection tonight was a chance to close the chapter of this years summer program at Huff Consolidated. We reflected on how easy people can fall through the cracks, but how important it is to talk with each other and share our experiences. We all shared how we were changed, or how our world has changed because of our experiences this summer. It was a very poignant ending to this chapter.... onward to the house in Pineville for our last week in Wyoming County before moving on up to Bedford Stuyvesant.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Howard Thurman
Another hot day awaited us on our last home repair day of the week. Today we had five different home repair sites going on at the same time. We finished the flooring/linoleum site, so the home owner can now return home after a year of being out of her house from the flooding. We were also able to finish up the ramp and powerwashing that we began yesterday for a woman in Brenton. Work continued, and will continue next week on the bathroom site and the site where we are replacing drywall four feet up throughout due to flooding. The last site was helping a man put down some hardwood flooring in his house, also damaged by the flood.
Tonight was our last night of using the kitchen, as we will be packing up everything tomorrow. Dinner was a delicious use of many of the items in the kitchen. We had spaghetti, bread and salad; and a delicious caprese, with tomatoes brought down from Jersey. We were treated to two desserts, brownies and zucchini bars made from zucchini that was brought down earlier in the summer from a volunteer's garden.
Reflection tonight focused on nourishment, how we nourish each other and other nourish us, both literally and figuratively.
Another hot day awaited us on our last home repair day of the week. Today we had five different home repair sites going on at the same time. We finished the flooring/linoleum site, so the home owner can now return home after a year of being out of her house from the flooding. We were also able to finish up the ramp and powerwashing that we began yesterday for a woman in Brenton. Work continued, and will continue next week on the bathroom site and the site where we are replacing drywall four feet up throughout due to flooding. The last site was helping a man put down some hardwood flooring in his house, also damaged by the flood.
Tonight was our last night of using the kitchen, as we will be packing up everything tomorrow. Dinner was a delicious use of many of the items in the kitchen. We had spaghetti, bread and salad; and a delicious caprese, with tomatoes brought down from Jersey. We were treated to two desserts, brownies and zucchini bars made from zucchini that was brought down earlier in the summer from a volunteer's garden.
Reflection tonight focused on nourishment, how we nourish each other and other nourish us, both literally and figuratively.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
"The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker." Helen Keller
Hot and humid seems to be the trend of the summer...Today we had the five home repair sites from yesterday carrying over as well as adding a new one. The ramp site and the porch roof site but were completed today, yay!!! A lot of progress was made at the flooring site. The big room has all of it's linoleum down and the back bedroom is ready for tomorrow. At the bathroom room site, we are ready for all the fixtures to be put in place, so that should be pretty close to being done by the end of the day. The drywalling site continues moving along well. This is a site that we won't be able to complete, but plan on doing as much as possible for the family before we leave for the summer.
The new site today was down in Brenton for an elderly lady who needed a small ramp to help her get out of her house as well as needing her whole house power-washed. When we stopped by the site in the evening to pick up some supplies, the house looked shiny and bright where the power-washing had been completed. The ramp frame was all built, just waiting for the deck boards, great progress was made.
Tonight for dinner we enjoyed a breakfast feast, pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. Yum, yum, yum. After reflection we had cupcakes as our dessert.
Reflection this evening focused on traits that we all as PV Volunteers share in common. We passed around a poster with a hand traced on it and everyone's names and were asked to add our trait to the poster and share with the group the word and why we chose that word.
Hot and humid seems to be the trend of the summer...Today we had the five home repair sites from yesterday carrying over as well as adding a new one. The ramp site and the porch roof site but were completed today, yay!!! A lot of progress was made at the flooring site. The big room has all of it's linoleum down and the back bedroom is ready for tomorrow. At the bathroom room site, we are ready for all the fixtures to be put in place, so that should be pretty close to being done by the end of the day. The drywalling site continues moving along well. This is a site that we won't be able to complete, but plan on doing as much as possible for the family before we leave for the summer.
The new site today was down in Brenton for an elderly lady who needed a small ramp to help her get out of her house as well as needing her whole house power-washed. When we stopped by the site in the evening to pick up some supplies, the house looked shiny and bright where the power-washing had been completed. The ramp frame was all built, just waiting for the deck boards, great progress was made.
Tonight for dinner we enjoyed a breakfast feast, pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. Yum, yum, yum. After reflection we had cupcakes as our dessert.
Reflection this evening focused on traits that we all as PV Volunteers share in common. We passed around a poster with a hand traced on it and everyone's names and were asked to add our trait to the poster and share with the group the word and why we chose that word.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Gandhi
Our brief respite from the hot weather is over, as today the temperatures climbed back into the mid 90's. Despite the heat, all 5 home repair sites went on.
A group went back up to the flooring site to lay underlayment in the rooms that they ripped up the carpet and bleached the floors. They have almost all the underlayment down in both rooms so it is ready for the linoleum.
A group went back up to continue work on the porch roof that was started yesterday. All the framing is done, as well as two rows of ondura. Right across the yard at the site where they are redoing the bathroom, great progress was made. Everything is all laid out and they are ready to go to start with the plumbing.
The final two sites were the neighbors near the school. Work continued on the ramp, which is so close to being finished. Only a little bit of decking needs to be done and the hand rails. At the other house, a lot of work was done. Some volunteers hung drywall and mudded, while others sanded and painted. The house is really starting to come together.
Tonight's dinner was a gourmet feast. We had pork tenderloin, green beans with almonds, rice and beans for the veggies, and salad. After reflection we had our dessert of cooked peaches with honey drizzled over them served over lady fingers. Absolutely delicious.
Reflection tonight focused on the little things. How every day we do a lot of little things and how sometimes those little things are really big things to other people.
Our brief respite from the hot weather is over, as today the temperatures climbed back into the mid 90's. Despite the heat, all 5 home repair sites went on.
A group went back up to the flooring site to lay underlayment in the rooms that they ripped up the carpet and bleached the floors. They have almost all the underlayment down in both rooms so it is ready for the linoleum.
A group went back up to continue work on the porch roof that was started yesterday. All the framing is done, as well as two rows of ondura. Right across the yard at the site where they are redoing the bathroom, great progress was made. Everything is all laid out and they are ready to go to start with the plumbing.
The final two sites were the neighbors near the school. Work continued on the ramp, which is so close to being finished. Only a little bit of decking needs to be done and the hand rails. At the other house, a lot of work was done. Some volunteers hung drywall and mudded, while others sanded and painted. The house is really starting to come together.
Tonight's dinner was a gourmet feast. We had pork tenderloin, green beans with almonds, rice and beans for the veggies, and salad. After reflection we had our dessert of cooked peaches with honey drizzled over them served over lady fingers. Absolutely delicious.
Reflection tonight focused on the little things. How every day we do a lot of little things and how sometimes those little things are really big things to other people.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
"Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light." Norman B. Rice
The first work day of a new week...today we had 5 home repair sites and one combo site. For the combo site, a group went down to meet a food truck to transport items to the Itmann Food Bank. After driving the food and unloading it in Mullens, the group went back to Pineville to go to meet another truck at St. Vincent DePaul and unload it. This truck was packed tight with furniture and other household items for distribution throughout the county.
On the home repair front, we sent groups back to the ramp and back to the drywalling site behind the ramp. We also start three sites, all in the Hanover area. On group spent their day building porch roof for the woman whose house we worked on all last summer. This past winter when it snow, she had snow accumulate in front of the door, making it impossible for her to open her door. With a porch roof this problem should be eliminated.
We sent another small group next door to work on putting in a bathroom into a small camper trailer that this gentleman calls home. We are taking out the small toilet and sink that are in there and replacing them with regular sized items as well as putting in a small shower so he doesn't have to go to his brothers house to shower.
The final group was working up the road ripping out carpets for a lady who has been out of her house for a year since the flood of last spring. Even though the water did not get into her house, it got up and under her house and saturated her carpets which in turn grew mold. The group pulled up all the carpets and scrubbed the floor with bleach to remove any remaining mold.
After a tough day of work we were all looking forward to dinner. Tonight we were treated to shepherds pie, corn, beans and salad. It was delicious and filling.
Reflection tonight centered on home. We do home repair, but what does that structure of home represent to us. It was a very thought provoking reflection.
The first work day of a new week...today we had 5 home repair sites and one combo site. For the combo site, a group went down to meet a food truck to transport items to the Itmann Food Bank. After driving the food and unloading it in Mullens, the group went back to Pineville to go to meet another truck at St. Vincent DePaul and unload it. This truck was packed tight with furniture and other household items for distribution throughout the county.
On the home repair front, we sent groups back to the ramp and back to the drywalling site behind the ramp. We also start three sites, all in the Hanover area. On group spent their day building porch roof for the woman whose house we worked on all last summer. This past winter when it snow, she had snow accumulate in front of the door, making it impossible for her to open her door. With a porch roof this problem should be eliminated.
We sent another small group next door to work on putting in a bathroom into a small camper trailer that this gentleman calls home. We are taking out the small toilet and sink that are in there and replacing them with regular sized items as well as putting in a small shower so he doesn't have to go to his brothers house to shower.
The final group was working up the road ripping out carpets for a lady who has been out of her house for a year since the flood of last spring. Even though the water did not get into her house, it got up and under her house and saturated her carpets which in turn grew mold. The group pulled up all the carpets and scrubbed the floor with bleach to remove any remaining mold.
After a tough day of work we were all looking forward to dinner. Tonight we were treated to shepherds pie, corn, beans and salad. It was delicious and filling.
Reflection tonight centered on home. We do home repair, but what does that structure of home represent to us. It was a very thought provoking reflection.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 25, 2011
And the last week in the school begins.... this week we have the largest group of the summer with 34 volunteers, which is great as we try and finish up as much work as we can this week before we move to the house.
On Saturday we only said goodbye to three volunteers, but over the weekend we welcomed 18. With a full house and a lot more names to learn, we were once again led in community building activities by our two summer longs. Once again, a good time was had by all. Since this was the last Sunday they will be with us, we just wanted to say what a wonderful job they did all summer long as our community liaisons. They did a great job bring each community together.
Shortly after community activities finished it started pouring down rain. It was raining so hard that water kept coming up the kitchen floor drain and flooding the kitchen. We were armed with mops to tackle it each time it came up, but it was quite a battle. Eventually we ended up "plugging" the hole with one of our cups and at the same time the rain subsided, we are not sure which acting stopped the water, but as long as it stopped. After that excitement we went outside to check the creek and the water was high and moving very fast from all the rain.
For the evening meal, we had our usual Sunday cook out meal. The excitement this time was that the Hanover Fire Department came as someone had called in thinking the school is on fire. Soon after the fire department called, the principal called. It is good to know that people are looking out for us : )
We closed the evening with the commissioning service and jobsites for Monday. We are looking forward to another great week!
On Saturday we only said goodbye to three volunteers, but over the weekend we welcomed 18. With a full house and a lot more names to learn, we were once again led in community building activities by our two summer longs. Once again, a good time was had by all. Since this was the last Sunday they will be with us, we just wanted to say what a wonderful job they did all summer long as our community liaisons. They did a great job bring each community together.
Shortly after community activities finished it started pouring down rain. It was raining so hard that water kept coming up the kitchen floor drain and flooding the kitchen. We were armed with mops to tackle it each time it came up, but it was quite a battle. Eventually we ended up "plugging" the hole with one of our cups and at the same time the rain subsided, we are not sure which acting stopped the water, but as long as it stopped. After that excitement we went outside to check the creek and the water was high and moving very fast from all the rain.
For the evening meal, we had our usual Sunday cook out meal. The excitement this time was that the Hanover Fire Department came as someone had called in thinking the school is on fire. Soon after the fire department called, the principal called. It is good to know that people are looking out for us : )
We closed the evening with the commissioning service and jobsites for Monday. We are looking forward to another great week!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
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