New York!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How can one little van hold so much? Okay, it is a bit bigger than Tillie the VW bus but still...

Waving goodbye to John & Judy this morning at last we arrived home in sunshine this afternoon. I think we were happier to see Bertha & Gus, the cats, than they were to see us. (Susan spoiled them shamelessly while we were away.) However, the number of boxes and bags that made their way from the van to the kitchen (and that Bertha & Gus have been busily "helping" to unpack) has redeemed us somewhat.

And even though we have stacks of stuff to put away, and there's snow, and it 27 and not 87, it's REALLY good to be home!

Over and out until our next trip.....

Daylight daylight eastern time...

We resolved last night to get up early and be on the road this morning at 6 or shortly thereafter. John set the alarm in the motel and bright and early at 5:45 it went off. John thought he'd grab a cup of coffee when he turned in the key only to come back (with this sheepish grin) saying it was 5:00 (really 4:00 to us since we'd just come from central time). We got an earlier start than we had planned.

On to West Virginia for breakfast. West Virginia, are you out there? Where are your local restaurants (not the chains)? We drove back roads for 45 minutes before finally giving up and getting a biscuit from a chain. Yuk! Greasy! Never again.

Maryland came next and in terms of food, came through in spades with the Culinaire Cafe run by the Allegheny College Culinary Arts Program in Cumberland. That's downtown Cumberland in the photo, a pretty little city. It pays to pick up the info at the welcome stations and find out about these things. The food was excellent and the waiter was sweet (although he could have used our "Tips for Tips" - or perhaps we're just in a grumpy mood from getting up too early.)

Breezing through Pennsylvania before finally arriving in NJ at John & Judy's, practically where our trip began. Yesterday I was wearing sandals when we left Missouri and the temp was in the 70's. Here in NJ there's some strange white stuff outside and, although Judy did suggest we might enjoy an outdoor picnic, we opted against it.

Tomorrow? Home at last but, hopefully, not with as early a start as we had today.

Illinois, Kentucky

Jeannette made us her GREAT and, now famous because of this blog, homemade buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy before she & Don sent us on our way this morning. Thanks!!!

Traveling across the lower part of Missouri we stopped at the one place the welcome center lady had recommended - Big Springs, part of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways run by the National Park Service. She was right. It is beautiful and impressive - 288 million gallons of water bubble out of that baby each day. That = a LOT!

Crossed the Mississippi River, tried not to blink so we wouldn't miss Illinois, then crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky. Took their beautiful parkways diagonally across the state, luckily evading the tornados and have ended up for the night in Lexington, "The Horse Capital of the World" (although we've actually only seen 5 horses today in the whole state - they must be somewhere...).

So, since the parkway doesn't go through towns and I only got one photo to share, I'll tell you the best possum story I know as told to me in Missouri. And it's true.

Once upon a time there was a possum who decided to go "urban" and take up residence in a nice neighborhood on the outskirts of town. After all, what was there not to like? Green grass never higher than belly level; dogs were always fenced in and were fun to tease; tasty treats were left out for fat cats that were up for grabs; covered porches to sleep on if the weather turned nasty. One day a very select neighborhood committee decided the possum was the perfect candidate to participate in the possum relocation program. Even better, they would fully fund the project - have-a-heart carrier, cat food incentive trail, transportation. The very first night the possum decided it was an offer too good to refuse. Morning came and the aforementioned select committee transported the possum to his new home. Was the program successful? No one is sure. Apparently, rather than rolling over and playing dead as possums are expected to do, this one took off running when his feet touched the pavement. To this day folks wonder what happened to him and if releasing him in the parking lot of (the name is real) the "Second Chance Church" had anything to do with his quick departure.

Missouri!

We're in Ozark visiting my childhood friend, Jeannette, and her husband, Don. We're at the beautiful Ozark Mill, now abandoned but, with only a few million dollars, could once again be up and running. Maybe in another lifetime.

Please note if you will the choice lighting fixtures at the mill. I thought the use of compact fluorescent bulbs was a nice touch.

By the way, it's year round fishing on the river behind the mill for Ozarks favorite panfish. If you're interested, Joe, you can even take a free class on "Crappie Fishing for Beginners".

Sometimes days are "two pointed" for John. Can you guess where this photo was taken? Hint: the name of the store is the same as the varmint in the photo, the one with the hair. And why is he (John, not the bear) looking so dour? Is it because Patty thought that the slightly warped sander in the seconds department did not need to find a home in NY?

Heading north... east...

Waving goodbye to Mother, Becky & JA, we began the trip back to NY. I must admit I was a wee bit in doubt that JA had been born in Texas, but then we passed the sign so I guess it's true.

Taking back roads north we happened on Baird where Grumpe's Specialties makes lollipops. Not only do they make lollipops but they'll put your logo or whatever you want on them. Pretty neat for a little Texas town in the middle of nowhere. Although they didn't appear to be giving factory tours, John did score a couple of samples at their office supply store.

Up the road aways is Throckmorton (love the name) that the Texas legislature has deemed "The Capital of Cow Country". Although we hunted all over (okay so it was only the few buildings on Main St. - with a population under a thousand you don't need many) for something that said this, it was clear that football rules, not the legislature. The only slogan we could find was "Hometown of Dallas Cowboys' legend Bob Tilly". So much for the cows...

Further north is Archer City, home of the "Wildcat Burger" (a gut buster to be sure with homemade onion rings and kitchen cut fries). It's also where Larry McMurtry is from. You remember him - he wrote Lonesome Dove etc. His hobby/passion is collecting antiquarian books and he is slowly buying up the storefronts to keep and supposedly sell them through his sideline business, Booked Up, Inc. The photos? It turns out that "Texasville" and "The Last Picture Show" were both filmed in Archer City (although, to be honest, I don't know if the theater showed up either. However, thought you might like to see both sides of the theater. Gives another meaning to open air entertainment...

Finally, Oklahoma! Turns out Texas does not have "the largest" of everything. We understand Vinita, where we're staying tonight, has the world's largest McDonald's although we haven't seen it yet. But my absolute favorite "largest" is the world's largest totem pole created by folk artist Ed Galloway in 1948. It's just south of here off of Route 66 near Foyil. There are other "creations" in the park but this is the best and well worth the trip to take a look.

Oklahoma is also "The Home of the Parking Meter" and "The Cowchip Thowing Capital of the World". And, to think, before today all we knew about Oklahoma was our friends Marilyn & Jim somehow grew up there...

Signs of spring...

The first sign of spring was the "super moon" as described by the Texas weatherwoman. Of course things are always bigger in Texas but I guess it was also true it was the closest it would be to the earth for a "fair number of years". The second sign of spring was Mother's first harvest of green onions from her garden, enough for 1 each for her, John & me. And the other sign of spring is Sarah's birthday. Happy Birthday Sarah!!!

Back to earth and the photos... the beginnings of the quilt Becky is making for the new Habitat owners. Each volunteer has signed a block and the next group coming in will also sign a block. Her goal is to have it done to present to the family at the dedication the end of April. (Trust she works faster than I do!)

Then there's the traditional "passing of the pie" (homemade by Grandma with the last of the apples from NYS as well as a few others) to grandson, Scott. (He was born in Texas and, as I said before, things are bigger, in this case, taller, in Texas.) The other family photo, Mother with her two daughters (in case you couldn't count).

The last photo is specifically for the staff at Red's Body Shop. Ever consider going into the conversion backhoe business?

All the news...

Still locally owned. Still all the local news (that's fit to print). Still on the newstands for under a buck. Still sold on the honor basis. Still leave your money in the same glass jar. Way to go Mason County and Mason County News!

The Fountain of Youth etc.

It's been said that working for Habitat makes you look and feel years younger. Just look at me in the that first photo, the gal in the front! Okay, you're right, that's not me. It's my (to be technical about it) first cousin twice removed. On the construction site she goes by the name of Al. The photo on the top right shows the Glamor Girls of Siding. We also have some "stand-ins" but they (for reasons unknown) chose not to be in the photo. In the photo on the bottom right you can see a couple of those "stand-ins" helping put up the last siding board of the day. (I'm not saying that the sex of the "stand-ins" has anything to do with their not posing in the picture above, however...)

The picture, bottom left, addresses the age old question of what came first, the chicken or the egg. In this case it's do you put the soffit up first so you can nail it from below or do you put the roof on first so you can nail it from above? Once you make your decision, how do you nail the other one? Bigger minds than mine have been pondering the question all week and at the end of today, still no roof or soffit there. And this is in spite of John's construction of a "Superman Changing Room". Someone (whose legs will go unidentified) tried to make the change but it was too hot here in Texas to get off those blasted knee pads!

As you might have surmised, this was the last day of this build. (I'm sure our construction supervisor is saying, "Yelp, it's time for these folks to move on...") Over the next two week some of our fellow volunteers plan to stay around to finish up a few details. It also gives the professionals times to come spray in insulation and put up sheetrock. Then another group of Care-A-Vanners will arrive for three weeks to finish up the house. If you're looking for a fun way to get away and do something constructive while enjoying life, working for Habitat is a great way to do it.

Perky to pooped...

We finally got our act together this morning before we started work (while we were still perky) and got our "ice" lady to take our group photo. Represented are New York, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Louisiana, Montana & Texas. We can assure you that in 90 degree temps this afternoon we were not so perky.

Keith, the guy in the brown tee shirt on the left, is our site supervisor. His wife called him home this afternoon to kill a rattlesnake in their yard. John is speculating that when St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland they all ended up in Texas. If St. Patrick's Day is the time rattlesnakes comes out of hibernation, I think it's time we began to think about heading home to NY!

A little rain...

Hard drizzle kept the roofing team on the ground this morning finishing up other projects. So what's the photo at the bottom? The skies finally cleared and half the main roof got put on this afternoon. Most of us celebrated (yes, even those of us firmly attached to the ground) by having ice cream.

While it drizzled away outside, Frances (photo right) and Bea finished up the main plumbing runs. Down here the utility room that houses the plumbing & electrical boxes as well as the water heater/tank (the solar panel will hopefully go on the roof before we leave) opens to the outside to keep the house cooler in summer.

In the warehouse, trim was painted and kitchen cabinets were assembled. In case you're wondering the women put together their fair share too. (I just forgot to take photos.)

Upper left is Mr. Boing. Joe couldn't find an appropriate person to present it to yesterday so buried it. Said if there hadn't been a burn ban on he would have cremated it. (We got the impression he was not keen on Mr. Boing.) Anyway, Larry unearthed him from his boxy grave this morning and he hasn't reappeared since.

The best part of the day was that by noon that little bit of rain had brought out the first of the blue bonnets. At least I remembered to take a photo this time!

Parte de tortilla!!!

Plumbers and carpenters by day, tortilla makers by night, this hardy band of Care-A-Vanner women (Bea in front, Mary middle & Tracy on the grill) prepared enough homemade tortillas for 26 hungry adults tonight. Everyone brought contributions for fillings including John who, not to be outdone by anyone, brought a barbecued goat leg. We all pigged (or should that be goated?) out.

PS - Making tortillas is not hard. I'm told even the town gas station makes homemade tortillas for the breakfast burritos they sell.

The inside scoop...

It's Monday and I figured it was about time I showed you the inside of the house. I'm taking the photo from the corner of what will be the living/dining/kitchen area. Towards the back are the 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The house is far enough along that the heating/cooling contractors were in today roughing in that system. Our crew has only a few odds and ends to finish up on the inside for this part of the build. The insulation and sheetrocking contractors are expected next week.

On the outside of building the framework for the porch was completed with heavy sighs of relief from John, Donna & Ken. They managed to notch all the cedar parts correctly, ending up only about 4 inches left over. Please note, if you will, the American flag (it's tiny so squint) installed at the top of the porch roof while overhead (in clear blue sky of course) the moon is rising.

The rest of the week is supposed to be HOT, nearing 90. We were reminded this morning (not that any of us really needed reminding) that most of us are above retirement age (yes!) and are probably tired after working two weeks (yes!). Therefore we should take it slow this week (we thought we already were...) especially when the sun is beating down in the afternoon. In other words, they don't want to have any of us frying on the roof installing the silver metal roof now expected to arrive tomorrow. (That's no problem for some of us. I don't go above step 3 on a ladder and Tracy stops at two...)

Meanwhile, Fred (our next door neighbor with the next smallest "rig") and John are out enjoying the spring evening air and thinking about what it might mean to take it easy in the afternoon. (They've been missing their naps!) John's probably also wondering why he didn't part with a few extra dollars and get the lawn chair that turns into a recliner.

Where's Waldo?

Finding us in a campground is a bit like a "Where's Waldo" picture. We're not big. We're not white. We aren't being towed nor are we towing something. Last year Tillie was much easier to spot because she is yellow. But Miss Matilda? She's burgundy. Have you ever tried to find a dark vehicle on a dark night in a dark campground? Can be pretty exciting!

The Easy Build...

See that little tiny box in my sister Becky's hand? That little (free to Becky) box held parts and the 4 page instructions for that long contraption between John and Becky. What is not obvious at first on the instructions is that by the time all the parts that are not included are purchased, that it is far from free. (Isn't that always the way with free things? Brings to mind a free kitten named Bertha but that's another story.) In fact only the light colored pieces of wood (yes, that's right - you have to look hard to see them) were included. Everything else had to be acquired elsewhere.

Then came the "easy" part. Shortly after we arrived in Brady (maybe 15 minutes), Becky asked John if he would mind putting together a simple project for her. It shouldn't take too long. That was 3 weekends ago. Admittedly there was a little house building going on during the week, but still... And that's not to mention Becky sanding and staining and varnishing in between weekends.

Finally today it was finished and after a little furniture moving it fit in Becky's quilt room. J.A., Becky's husband, is hopeful this will do something for his bad back but you can see by his expression that he's a little leary.

PS - In case you're not a quilter and are trying to envision J.A. stretched out on this thing, it's actually a frame used for quilting. Now all Becky has to do is finish the quilt she has in mind to quilt on it and then there's the quilting. Talk about a long term project!

It's Friday!!!!

Busy beavers we all were today. Windows went in, porch roof (that's Havier our new homeowner sticking out the porch roof) was prepped for roofing, soffit framing nears completion, wiring and plumbing continues, pocket doors were framed in, shower was framed in - all this despite the fact the locals are trying to kill us with food. Homemade, warm cinnamon rolls for break; then a lunch with several main dishes and salads plus sherbert and homemade cookies for dessert. Some of us took time after lunch to go shopping at the local thrift store for larger clothes...

PS - Did you also notice a difference in the sky? There are actually a very few clouds although they must have been far away because we didn't get any cloud shadows.

As simple as 1, 2, 3

A heavy cedar beam and a few aging but good men and heave ho and the 3 header beams are in place for the porch. Hopefully the rest of the porch roof will go up quickly tomorrow. In case you were wondering it did not take ALL those guys all day to do this. Most of them were called in for the final lifting. You might also note Donna in the bottom photo supervising the whole thing, using her brain rather than her brawn.

Yesterday we thought most of the metal roof would be on by the end of today but the best laid plans... The roofing has yet to arrive so the crew worked on other tasks or took a break to learn something new like you see in the photos below.

That's Keith, our site supervisor and sometimes entertainer. In this case he was demonstrating that balancing 12 nails on the head of one is as simple as 1, 2, 3. The only mistake he made is that he didn't bet us a beer that he could do it!

More good times...

How many hands does it take to put up house wrap in windy Texas? Obviously, one guy figured they already had plenty for the job. Meanwhile on safari...

The house at the end of the day. If the metal roofing arrives tomorrow you may see more progress.

Inside the wiring continues and also the plumbing by our ace plumber, Frances. She received our award for the day when she drilled through one of the electrical runs - her explicative was heard even on the roof.

Out at our supervisor's place tonight (just another Mason social time involving food, wine & arrowhead hunting) Paula found the two beautiful arrowheads in the top photo (the black one she found about a foot from my foot - perhaps I need new glasses!) The bottom photo is of the "arrowheads" I found. Hey, don't laugh; even a native American has some disappointments while learning the trade. (Perhaps this is my payback for all the years of looking for those bargain factory seconds.)

Today was the first day of Lent and we're told good Catholics give up eating between meals during Lent. Our Catholic friend Mary makes this recommendation - if you start snacking in the afternoon, just keep eating. Someone wondered if potty breaks were allowed...

Under blistering hot skies, the roof crew finished laying the roofing deck. And if the 85 degree day wasn't enough, the solar reflecting board they were putting down made it just that much hotter and brighter. Paula & Mike lasted through it all and even thought to dance a jig when they finished (or perhaps they're just waving for help).

Today, I'm sure you are aware, was International Women's Day. (Hopefully it's just a coincidence that it's also Fat Tuesday!) We celebrated after lunch by visiting the Commercial Bank in town. Founded in 1901 it is still an independent, locally owned bank and is the only bank still in existence in the US founded by a woman. Their president/CEO (Bobbie) is a woman. The bank is fortunate to have on display a huge collection of wonderful carvings by local resident Gene Zesch http://genezesch.com/thumbs_horiz/pages/look_so_good.htm is just one example.

Tonight we were invited to a Fat Tuesday supper hosted by the Methodist Church with traditional Mardi Gras fare of red beans & rice. Tracy & Larry came dressed for the festivities. You may laugh at their headdresses but it did mean they did got to go first through the serving line.

6, 47, 60

Day 6 and the roof decking is starting to go on. We're all happy Paula is back this year as she's like a monkey on the roof. Some of us are also just to supervise from the ground.

47 - that's the number of years Margaret & Del have been married. We helped them celebrate by having "heavy hors d'oeuvres" followed by cake and ice cream at the campground. (I made the cake which someone actually asked if I'd made it in the van. The inside of the van is a model of efficiency but there is a limit...)

60 - that's how old the bottle of Scotch was that Bea decided to open and share with the group. It was custom blended for "The Watsons" and was a perk Bea got for helping Francis close up her aunt's home. Very smooth and tasted of, well, Scotch... a special treat for those with a taste for Scotch.

One of the heavy (they say this is a 20 lb. build meaning you gain 20 lbs. while you're here but with food like this they may have to up that!) hors d'oeuvres was grilled jalepeno peppers stuffed with a mix of sausage & pepper jack cheese & wrapped with bacon. The nifty little tool on the left is what is used to clean the seeds & membranes out of the inside of the pepper. Fred uses something similar to a caulk gun to fill them. (Joe - this seemed to have your name written all over it.)

Back door - front door

I suspect the Mason Municipal Campground may be the only campground, perhaps in the world, where you can sit in your campsite and turn you head one direction to watch a game of golf and turn your head in the other direction to watch a rodeo. The golf ball in the top photo "arrived" just before we did. The horses and trailers in the bottom photo have been there most of the weekend. John went exploring - trust he won't come back with a horse...

Saturday night in Rochelle

Rochelle, Texas, has a population of around 167 described by one source as "a number they are evidently comfortable with". This is their school building (couldn't help but wonder if the size of the lettering indicated who was in charge of making the parking signs...).

Once a year the Rochelle Volunteer Fire Dept. holds a fish fry dinner fundraiser. Folks come out in droves not only to support the fire dept. (fire is always a threat in this dry part of the world) but because the fried catfish is delicious! We arrived an hour after it started and the line stretched across the parking lot. Once inside, catfish appetizers were handed out to those faint from hunger. In addition to the dinner they also do a dessert auction with most cakes bringing between one and two hundred dollars. Not bad!

PS - Although the meal truly was delicious I couldn't help but note it had a definite color scheme... fried catfish (brown), hush puppies (brown), hand cut french fries (brown), pinto beans (brown), slaw (white), chocolate cake (dark brown), iced tea (brown).

Every little bit helps...

Mrs. B's class came out this morning to inspect and lend a hand.

Up top Curly, Larry, & Mo work on "adjusting" the rafters.

And, finally, the house as we left it at the end of the day/week. We're all grateful the day was cool, the week is over, and there are two more weeks to go. Tonight we're off to kick up our heels and if you believe that...

Big & little...

The Habitat houses built in Mason are designed so the living/kitchen areas have a cathedral ceiling with two 14" exposed beams made of stacked 2x4's and varnished. They're very pretty and also VERY heavy. Last year the guys muscled them into place. This year the local electric company brought their boom truck to provide the heavy lifting. As you can see from the first photo an undertaking of this nature requires a LOT of supervisors. Both beams went quickly and neatly into place.

You might also note those clear blue skies, something we sometimes long for in NY. With temps in the high 80's it felt and looked more like we should be on safari. Unfortunately, there are no trees on the building lot or the surrounding ones that were also purchased by Habitat.

Not to be outdone by their elders, one of the nursery schools in town sponsored our lunch today. We suspect their teachers had something to do with us NOT being served peanut butter & jelly.

Tee Time?

When I think of school sports I usually think of basketball or, since we're in Texas, football. However, it turns out golf also has its niche (dates me I guess). As we were leaving the campground at 8:00 this morning, these 3 teams were already teeing up to compete. We know the purple ones are Mason, the red ones are San Saba (that's over an hour away so those kids were up early), and the black ones I have no idea. A pleasant way to start the school day.

This is the build site at the end of our work day. We do seem to be moving right along although everyone is a bit hesitant to say so. The local president of the Habitat Board has invited us to his ranch for dinner tonight so they let us off at 3 today to get cleaned up and take a short nap... Hmmm, what does that say about the appearance our motley crew? However, you didn't hear any of us complain! By the way, the closing quote from the devotional this morning was "You can do anything you set your mind to when you have vision, determination, and an endless supply of expendable labor."

Some accomplish more than others...

The photo on the right is the house before we started this morning & the one at the bottom is at the end of the day. It may not look like a lot was done today but all the walls are now built. We all expect to have the walls in place in the morning in spite of the protests we'll get from our squeaking, squealing joints.

The first couple of days on the job are the hardest, especially for those of us who haven't done this in a while. Forgotten body parts are called into action, some more willingly than others. You'll be proud to know that in spite of sore muscles and aching joints, we all still somehow manage to buck up and squeak and squeal our way to happy hour. Tracy, photo left, is from Ithaca NY and has a niece who lives about 5 miles from us in NY (it always amazes me how small this world is). Anyway, while the rest of us pamper our joints by just sitting & chatting with a drink & some of mother's snacks she made us (a BIG hit with group, Mother!), Tracy crochets a beanie every night to be given to a child receiving chemotherapy. Keep up the good work Tracy!