habitat day 2

if it's 40 degrees and sleeting/hailing, i must be doing habitat. 

and working outside.

ok, honestly, that part was really miserable.  i hate the cold.  i mean **HATE** it!  i'd rather have 90 degrees AND humidity (which i'll undoubtedly also get in the course of the summer).  i'll admit, i thought very seriously about not coming back after lunch, or about leaving early in the afternoon.  but i didn't.  i saw it through.

we worked outside most of the day.  there was a brief period before lunch when we were inside, but it was hardly enough time to warm up, and not enough to dry out.  i couldn't believe it when they said first thing in the morning that we'd be outside, and when it started to hail i really thought it must all be a joke.  after the hail turned to freezing rain and soaked us through -- and all i had done so far was pound in 4 nails and hold the ladder for people -- i was getting a little crabby.  (or maybe a lot.)

once inside, i finally got to do something.  i was the spackler.  there weren't many holes and dents to fill, but i got to do something i hadn't done before, so that made me very happy.

after lunch, though it was still cold and damp, i got to help erect heavy-duty scaffolding and install soffits and fascia on the front of the house.  that was cool.  there were three of us doing it, which was one too many to really get in there and do much work, but i was happy learning something new.  and it's always satisfying to watch progress being made.  it looked quite good when we were done.

the house leader, steve, was kind of a goofball.  his main way of interacting with people was teasing and being a bit over-the-top.  but he was a nice guy and felt that the volunteers learning something new was as important as the work getting done.  during the afternoon, he said something about us losing "the girls" that had been a part of our little team, saying they were inside cleaning up.  he asked if i'd rather go inside and work with them, to which of course i answered a hearty "no!" and "i'd rather stay out here and do real work."  he appreciated that, and said so.  at the end when i thanked him and was saying goodbye, i said i'd come back and he said, "please do."

the next day, a film crew and the buying family were scheduled to be there with another bunch of volunteers.  this is the 100th house built by habitat of huron valley, so it's getting a lot of press.  they were going to be doing siding on the front of the house for good filming, and our work was the necessary precursor for that to be able to happen.

oh, and they had sunny, 70-degree weather for it.