Art Speaks -- Sept 21 -- Oct 6

With the completion of the front porch we are nearly finished with outside work. Remaining work includes sidewalks, parking slab, lawn grading, ranking and seeding, sidewalk edging, and general clean up. Much of this is going to be contracted. The dry wall contractor will move in on Friday. There is still work for volunteers, such as painting, attic insulation, but that must wait for dry wall, cabinets and trim installation and various contracted work. Because of a lack of work for volunteers, we will not have a workday this Saturday, October 7. 9/21/17 Animals that are very tolerant of heat are said to be thermophilic. We now know that that term applies to many habitat volunteers. I offer as a case in point, chief thermophile, Bob Bergman who sat on a white reflective cover over hot asphalt shingles on the porch roof meticulously fitting siding into the peak of the gable of the leeward side of the houseŠ for hours! Mid-September heat and humidity notwithstanding, (apparently a record of 90 degrees plus) a very good group of regulars and the second wave of volunteers from Farm Credit Services, made great progress. Tasks competed or advanced included: insulating the interior walls, packing up the newly painted trim, pouring the front concrete stoop, more siding, installing one of the egress windows, as well as various miscellaneous tasks. Next Saturday we will continue with siding and work on the porches. Special thanks again to Gayle Powell for the cherry cobbler and to Shell Express for providing ice and water. Thank you to everyone who stood the heat and did so much work. Report 9/23/17 When Bob Bergman learned that he was a thermophile, and then saw that the Red Cross had called Frank Cornwell, their ace emergency responder home from Florida and sent him to our job site, he became concerned. Actually, both those things are good and there is no need for alarm. It’s a good thing too because Bob was able to complete the siding of the South gable end of the house at altitude, still in the heat. Other work accomplished in defiance of the temperature today was: good progress on the front and back porches, Painting of the first coat of paint on the interior door frames, installation of the second egress window, installation of the vapor barrier on about 1/2 of the interior walls. A hearty thank you to Clinton Rotary for providing us with a pizza feast and also to our Food Angel, Gayle Powell for providing rolls, cake, and comestibles worthy of a specialty bakery. Next Wednesday we soldier on… siding on the North end, continued work on the porches (railings) , and, like the old GE slogan,… whatever the work there is to be done. We welcome Frank Cornwell back from his lengthy Alaska sojourn and his deployment to the hurricane zone by the Red Cross (He and his wife Fran actually are Red Cross Emergency volunteers.) We also take note that volunteer Jim West is being treated for an ankle injury (unrelated to habitat) and will be laid up for some time. We will try to get him to attend the volunteer party! To all volunteers: Your hands are doing God’s work and your work is appreciated.