October 13, 2005
Long Time, No Post
I know that it's been a while, but here is the latest. We're using a lot of lumber to frame the next part of the foundation wall. Since lumber's expensive and the hurricanes knocked down a lot of trees and we have a sawmill, it only makes sense to cut our own boards for the concrete form. So we've been alternating between working at the site and working at the shop, cutting up oak logs. But man, does this take time. Plus a lot of people stop by to visit, which slows things down further.
Every day we knock off at two so that I can be home when the girls get off the bus. I've started a custom of always having two bowls of ice cream waiting on the table when they walk in the door, and this gets complicated. Putting the bowls in the freezer the night before, making sure that we have syrup, getting the bowls out and to the table as the bus rounds the corner, going upstairs to pretend to be taking a nap as they walk in... Marcy gets home from work around five, and after dinner I usually go back to the shop to get things ready for the next day.
Oh, and tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of my birth in New Orleans.
Posted by Howell at 08:39 PM
October 03, 2005
Cleaned Up
Here is the footer for the foundation wall after the mud has been shoveled out and the wooden form removed. This took much longer than it should have. Since I didn't slope the sides of the form, I had to cut the wood out with a chain saw. This was no day at the beach, and I'll do it right next time. Tomorrow we'll be cutting 2x4's for the next round of concrete.
Also the first pallets of brick showed up yesterday. It'll take three days to deliver all 50,000 that I've ordered.
Posted by Howell at 04:22 PM
September 26, 2005
Back to Work
Toady we start drying out. Cleaned out the barn and bought plywood for the next concrete pour. We got 6 1/2 inches of rain at the home-site. It's a very good thing that the concrete was poured on Thursday, the trench started to cave in on Saturday. This isn't a bad at it looks. The dirt can be shoveled out and there's 18" of concrete underneath.
Also, my new tractor arrived. I had it dropped off in Baton Rouge to be fitted with a loader. It'll be used to finish the driveway and to move material around the site.
Posted by Howell at 10:32 PM
September 24, 2005
Rita
Hurricane Rita is here, with a lot more rain than Katrina, but less wind. The storm hasn't peaked and thankfully we still have power. I just responded to a fire alarm, which was cancelled while I was in route. Steady sheets of rain and flying debris made it a dicey drive through town.
The lights are starting to flicker, so I'd better go find the flashlight.
UPDATE: It's 6:44 AM and we still have power. The rain has slacked off as well.
UPDATE: Now 2:14 PM and the worst is past. The rain came back strong for a few hours this morning, I'd guess that about 8 inches have fallen since yesterday. At about 11:00 AM a tree fell on a pick-up truck driving down highway 10. The accident was only a couple of hundred yards from our door, so I grabbed our chain-saw and helped clear it. The driver was taken away in an ambulance. This storm gave us much more rain than Katrina, and perhaps slightly stronger winds. The damage was less (we still haven't lost power) because Katrina apparently took out most of the weak trees.
Posted by Howell at 01:41 AM
September 22, 2005
Concrete
This morning we poured the first of many loads of concrete. For the first time we are building up instead of digging down. This is the footer, on top of which will rest a foundation wall, which I'll start framing next week.
The benefit concert was a hit. But the musicians weren't local. Mike Marshall and company played for two hours and didn't throw things at the guy running the sound board.
Posted by Howell at 03:38 PM
September 20, 2005
Footer
Things are getting back to normal around here, but there is still a lot of relief work to be done. Tomorrow I'll be helping set up the sound system at a benefit concert given by local musicians. Today Roylynn and her family left for California, thanks to the generosity of some wonderful friends.
The picture above shows the wooden form for the footer of the house. Yesterday the rebar went in, and today we framed the form for a keyway that will secure the footer to the foundation wall. The concrete will be poured Thursday morning.
Posted by Howell at 09:19 PM
September 14, 2005
New Orleans
I'm back home, having been down to New Orleans, helping with rescue. We searched homes in New Orleans East, riding on four wheelers through knee deep water. We helped a few people, rescued a few holdouts, and located some of the deceased. All of the comparisons to disaster movies and all of the cliches apply, so I won't offer details. The important thing is that we all assist the living, and show respect and compassion for the dead. If you can, pray that they are in a better place.
Back home, the efforts to reunite families are going well. I'll be working on that for some time, and asking for support in getting people where they need to go.
Posted by Howell at 11:11 AM