I can not believe that it is Thursday - the pace has been furious and the accomplishments many.
First, the picnic. And a great time was had by all and we thank Chris LeGarde for coming - he is always a great resource of information on what is happening. And, Ella, what can I say - you are just a great gal. The plants you sent along to distribute to FEMA trailer residents are sitting on the office desk. Who knew that those particular plants would help with the formaldehyde issues in trailers. Such a simple solution.
The OSB board arrived today and the rest of the lumber should be here by Monday. The OSB will be listed on the Warehouse Link - see page two of that platform.
And Ken leaves today - what a blessing he has been for the past four months. The Tape and Texture whiz kid. His last house was Miss Melanie's on Waveland Ave - a Wayland to Waveland project. That house is ready for painting. Words can not express what Ken has contributed the past four months - he has steadily worked thru some very difficult jobs. And always that "smile". He is a prince of a man and we all thank him profusely for his contribution here at Katrina Relief. He has promised to stop back in to check on us.
Starting Monday we are going to be hitting the ground running - we will have up to 85 volunteers a day all the way thru July. This operation is going to be rocking and rolling. We will be closing the operation for ONE week the first week in August - Mother Hen needs a week off after two years. I am tired. In fact, I am very tired.
Else the operation grows in leaps and bounds. The girls from Ohio Disaster Relief will be here on the 1st to work in the office for two months. I am so excited as that will be a huge contribution. Annette is doing such a great job in the office - but she is totally overwhelmed by the volume of customers and phone calls. At any given time all four phones are going at once in the office. Two office phones and two cell phones. It is just too much for any one person.
Phil has the warehouse operation in hand. It is a bit overwhelmng right now as we moved loads from the warehouse in Long Beach to here in order to accomodate the expected lumber shipments into Long Beach. So, if you need doors, trim, vinyl siding, gutters, down spouts, or new furniture - check the warehouse site and get those orders in. We need to get these items moved!
And some very selfish person broke into Martin Luther King Park and stole two brand new air conditioners. I cant believe we never even got the opportunity to get them installed. They not only kicked in one door - they kicked in both doors on the new pavillion. And we had teams working over there all three days over the weekend. So so frustrating.
And Needam Cares and St. Peters got all their work done and went home to gather up more volunteers for another trip. Yes, thats the spirit. I thank both teams for the enormous effort over the Long Weekend - it was absolutely awsome!
And thats our week so far - how is yours?
Sunday May 27th.
Wow - what a weekend. The crews here this weekend rocked and rolled - St Peters, Holy Comforter, St Martins, St Matthews and Needam Cares. You are awsome! I hope you had as much fun as we did! And looking forward to seeing you in the Fall !
This week has started off with a little rain shower - and the plants are greatful for that.
Blonde chased Charlie forty feet up into a pine tree yesterday. Phil and I struggled to get the 26' ladder strapped to the tree. After I left to go to the fire department the cat opted to come down the last 20' to the top of the ladder and Phil, the hero, climbed up to bring him down. Charlie was mighty greatful. We have yet to get the ladder down - that is one of todays chores. Life is so much fun around here.
We are off to the warehouse in Long Beach this morning. We are on a mission - that means trouble ! *G*
We still have crews in the field this morning - and the work goes on.
I got the weekend pictures up on the Home page . I even managed to get them into a slide show. Nothing like the miracles of script.
So, thats our Tuesday starting out bright and early - how about yours? Want to adopt a dog? The cats, Charley and Tinker, would like to know ASAP. *G*
Sunday May 27th.
As Phil said yesterday - he does not want me to give him any more days off. Reason? We worked harder on our "day off" yesterday than we worked all week. Good grief it was a hectic day.
Miss Ruth passed away on Thursday. She was an old time Middletown resident and mother of the Little Zion Baptist Church. Her funeral will be next Saturday morning at 10am.
I first met Miss Ruth when she walked down to the Little Zion Baptist church from her home in Middletown. A mighty long walk for an 80 plus woman. But she did that all the time. And, what a character she was. I remember sitting in church with her one day and she announced, in a whisper, that she had to go to the bathroom to get her money for the offering. I asked, the obvious question "Why do you keep the money in the church bathroom?". And she responds with "Its not in the bathroom, its in my bra !" That was Miss Ruth - she was a classic for her generation. Saturday will see every resident of Middletown over at Little Zion - this will be quite a celebration because Miss Ruth had a long happy life and she has gone home to her greatest love - The Lord.
Remember Mike Smith the assistant Fire Chief of Waveland - our lead man for teaching taping and texture? He has developed cancer and is off work on leave since undergoing surgery and now chemo. He would be thrilled to hear from you all as he spends the next threee months at home. This is going to be a tough road to haul and he needs your emails, prayer and support. I stopped by to see him on Saturday afternoon. He says he is going to do some computer work for us between chemo treatments - thats our Mike!
John was here! That is becoming quite a line here. And he will return on the 24th. And, bless his heart, he purchased a couple of air conditioners for us. They are on order - but we sure could have used them in here today. John - you are awsome. I am sorry I could not have spent more time with you - but the pace was a tad bit hectic while you were here.
And, John, I thankyou for taking the time to smell the roses and showing me "The Ants" . I did work it up into a "site" for you. It just goes to show that you pay attention to detail and you noticed those little guys while the rest of us (me) was off trying to get the pic of the Elkview home.
The Elkview - yes it is taking great form. Check out the latest pics.
Needam Cares has been off with Freddie Welch most of their time here - they are really gettin it done over there. I hope to make it over there tomorrow to get some pictures. This is a very unique crew with quite a story as to why they are here. Very very touching. Hopefully they will give me permission to share the story.
Angie, La, was here today to get a load - and we loaded them up to the brim with shingles, paint, new clothes and furniture.
The crew from Mission on the Bay - you guys are absolutely awsome! And, yes, do not forget to take Butch's chain saw back when you go. Pink paint and all. *G* We have taken good care of it !
I got an "Adoption" page up today. Featured is Blonde. I need to get Trixie up there - but she is a tough one to get a picture of as, as soon as you get the camera out, she has her nose attached to the lense. Hummpphhhh.....
That is Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We are taking Monday "off". I am afraid to use that word again after Saturday - but we will try.
What is the significane of todays garage sale picture you ask? Well, in an area the size of England that was devastated by Katrina - there is "nothing" left let alone something for a garage sale. And, more important, there are few structures that can host an "indoor" garage sale. You know that we are on the path to recovery when you start to see Garage Sale signs !
And how is your weekend going?
Friday May24th, 2007.
I caught this picture of the shrimp boats at Long Beach today. When I first came down here there was but one boat at what remained of the docks. This is not all I will write today - but for those of you who drop in several times a day to see what I have been doing. This was part of it today.
Thursday May 24th, 2007.
TGIF! What a fantastic week! Needam Cares is here just kicking on the work orders - the work they did around the house here yesterday was a fabulous help for our day-to-day operations. And, better than that, they got one of those infamous bunks of sheetrock unloaded here at the office warehouse today for those who just want a "few" sheets of rock.
We are loaded on new furniture here right now and are still waiting on the new load of couches and dining room tables to arrive. Its taking the slow boat to china apparantly.
And while we were mowing the City came along and mowed the ditches - thank you Harold. You are awsome!
We now have cabinets in our kitchen - a much needed addition. Every day it just gets more organized.
I got a shower before the first phone call this morning - that in itself is a miracle. Of course, it has not stopped since and I was trying to type with wet finger nail polish. A true test of my multi-tasking skills - tip tapping, phone, and avoiding touching the wet finger nail polish. What I did forget to do was put on my sneakers first - what you cant do with wet fingernail polish is tied those darned laces. Hummphhhhhh *G* Update: Then the garbage man arrived early and I had to dash out and get him the "rest" of the garbage. Double Hummmpphhhhh...... *G*
I have a large skilled crew on the way into the office and we are headed over into Middletown to tackle multiple work orders. This is an awsome week!
So, how is your day going?
Wednesday May 23rd, 2007.
It was another fantastic day of progress here at Katrina Relief. Another few grants across the desk - being handed out today. We delivered a house package from Camp Coastal to Vic over off Coleman Ave. We had to park the trailer on the street and carry the "house", piece by piece, up the hill to where his foundation is - but it was a labor of love. How could you not love Victor!
Phil continues to pound thru the chores here around the house - we were sadly behind. The furniture give-away is getting into full swing. And boy do we now have paint, paint and more paint. All sorted and color coded. Some in one gallon cans, some in five gallon buckets.
Major meeting of the Waveland Citizens Fund Wednesday with a platform change, Board of Directors change (wow did we get some great new board members!!!!!), elimination of the geographical boundaries, and some other great strides forward. This is an operation determined to get the job done! Welcome onboard Bob Friecke and Milton Bernard !
Every day this platform expands and grows. Today we are expecting our old friends from Needam Cares into the fold at 7.30am sharp this morning - once again to contribute to the residents housing needs. Welcome Back!!!!
Dont forget the Barbeque Bash in the Park on the 29th.
John - thank you for watering the flowers at the satelite operation. They appreciated it muchly!
And how is your week going? Ours is fantastic !
Tuesday May 22st, 2007.
So nothing changed - not the pace anyway. If anything - it was more hectic than Monday. Phil arrived first thing this morning - and we put him straight to work on the warehouse. The paint is now lined up in a row and organized. As is the new load that arrived with Andrew LeGarde today - it also is unloaded and organized. Wow! What a start to a months stint here!
The office buzzed along with every crisis you could imagine. Miss Antionette is a whiz kid in the office - she takes it all in stride. The sheet rock sales continue along at a rapid rate. I have to pick up some tomorrow and bring here as well as a load of lumber to get a house started over near Central.
More grants rolled in today - more houses on the down hill slide. Thats what we like to see.
We are gearing up for construction teams that are on the way - some super skilled workers headed this way from two sources. We are going to rock and roll over the next week or so. Thats what this is all about.
And I hear that John is shacking up at the satellite - yes a little birdie tattle taled on ya John. Shame on you for not at least calling to say "Hi"! Just water the garden while you are there - thats all I ask. I was there last night but, in this heat, it dries up quickly.
So how was your day?
Monday May 21st, 2007.
All right - can I? The phone started at 7am this morning and was still ringing off the hook at 8pm tonight. And betwixt and between it was a zoo in and out of the office today. The pace is not slowing down or becoming a smoother ride - it is more hectic than ever. First off this morning a semi driver called and announced he was coming in to the office with a load. Well - you can try but no matter what you do there is no way you are getting a semi with sleeper down this road. So, I told him I would meet him at the parking lot at 90 and unload onto my trailer. Still have no idea where the load came from - but a great load of relief supplies (including cabinets) and I will do the research later as to who shipped it here. But that started out Monday.
Pat got on her way home early this morning - Art drove her over to New Orleans. What a great job she did in her stint here.
It has become paint, sheetrock and furniture central here. I cant believe the amount of paint we give away in a day. We sold about 4,000 sheets of rock last week and we order another semi today. If it was not for Annette here in the office - I could not do this. She is a miracle worker.
More volunteers arriving starting tomorrow and Wednesday and we are solid with volunteers until the end of July. We are going to rock and roll on houses during that time.
Managed to get in a Long Term Recovery Meeting today. Not a lot has changed. They are at case number 52, about ten completed in total in 21 months. At the meeting today only one case presented. ONE mind you. 46,000 people in this county and one case presented. And the Red Cross proudly announced that they had sent the last case back NINE times before it was sent off to Nationals. Good grief - thats not a statistic I would be proud of at all? With documentation that horrific - requiring it to be sent back at all would make you wonder about the process? As I said - not a lot has changed. It is a deferred sense of urgency.
Doc came with supplies today - we are stocked up in the kitchen again.
And so we move forward into Tuesday and hopefully the pace will be a little slower tomorrow.
And how was your day?
Sunday May 20th, 2007.
Tinker didn't do it. The foot prints in the wet paint on the floor in the office today, the office files now laying in disaray on my desk, and the pens now laying on the floor rolled there by themselves. Or so Tinker says. That will teach me to go out into the swamp in my sandles and rescue a scared starved siamese from a tree. He sure has settled in here and made himself at home.
Its been a very lazy weekend - I made a point of doing nothing or near next to it. Well, I did paint the office floor and my new desk. And I do have a load of doors on my truck. But short of that I took some time off and took the dogs to the beach on Saturday and got them swimming in the calm waters of the bay. Little Katrina hates the water, Max whined and carried on as I got him out waist high, and Trixie and Blonde had a blast. I may have found a home for Blonde and now I need one for Trixie - she is such a cool kids dog. She sneaks down the street to play with the children there as she sure misses childrens company. We will just keep trying and will find her a home soon hopefully.
It is going to be a busy week this week. We start again on the church on Monday - we hope to have all the metal on by Wednesday.
Pat leaves tomorrow after two months of hard work keeping this office and house in order - and a great job at that. We will miss her. We have a full time "handyman" volunteer coming on Tuesday - God seems to always provide what we need at the right time.
And a kind local dropped off chicken, salad, pop, and the rest of the fixings for dinner on Friday night. That sure was kind of them. You can eat meals out of a can for a while - but after a while you sure crave real meat.
I did wander to the beach today and stopped by to visit with Sylvester and he says we may be going fishing tomorrow night. I need a fishing fix.
So, how was your weekend? Get a lot accomplished?
Friday May 18th- 2007.
And this is the view coming down from the hightop of the span to Pass Christian - taken today on the way back from the warehouse. Oh what a trip savings - this will help no end!
Busy day today from 7am this morning - so much for a day off. A trip to the warehouse to check the quality of the sheetrock that had just arrived plus check out the three semi loads of furniture that is already in the warehouse and the volume of paint. We brought back a load of furniture to distribute from the office.
The day hummed along at a rapid rate and ended at 84 Lumber working on a Salvation Army Grant.
And what a surprise - another package from the Walsh family. This time it was a box of colored paper shipped from Office Depot - an urgent need in the office. This was a great surprise and how can you thank this family for all they are doing for us?
So far we have about 55 RSVP's for the BBQ and we just sent out the invites this morning. This is going well. I am looking forward to this. It is a combined effort between three DRO's to put this on - nothing like teamwork.
We have a long term handyman coming in next week along with volunteers. June and July is booked heavily - we are rocking on volunteers returning for multiple stints. Thats what I like to see. The beginning of June we are seeing the Gulf Coast Recovery Crews entering onto the scene - what a great addition to the family.
So, how was your week?
Friday May 18th- 2007.
DRO Volunteer BBQ Bash
Tuesday May 29th, 6pm
Martin Luther King Park, Herlihy St., Waveland
Bring Side Dish
Serving: BBQ Chicken
Informal get-to-gether for networking, Team Building, and some good ole fashioned southern fun times!
All Volunteers Invited!
Information & RSVP:
(228) 324-3748
(228) 344-8616
Thursday May 17th- 2007.
I dont know what made me a happier camper today:
1. Miss Sue found the toner for the Photo Copier and we are in the photo copying business!!! Yeah Miss Walsh! You are awsome! It came in the mail today and I found it on my desk when I got back from Bridgefest.
2. Or the gift that Scott left me from Salvation Army - the dock dolly. Salvation Army you rock!
3. Or the fun time at the Bridgefest walking in the large circle around the booths to "See and be Seen". Not quite sure of the point of the entire episode - but we went anyway along with thousands of others taking the shuttle bus from the Winn Dixie to the beach and back. Not much you could do once you got there, except walk the big circle, and wonder where all those people came from and wonder at the southern atire. But thats the southern culture here - parades and parties where nothing really happens except you are there to "see and be seen" and then you go home. A Seinfield folly, life is a box of chocolates, another day in Paradise, another big hat, another wild outfit. Double click on picture to see in full view
Oh, thats right - the volunteer work. Yes, we did get something accomplished today - we always do. Furniture arrived, sheetrock arrived, another load of paint arrived, and a batch of food dropped off by Doc. Sold a lot of sheetrock. Got some rehab work done in the fied. Tried to meet with Kaboom - but they missed the appointment. They called to apologise and we will meet with them on Sunday.
And the five million they spent on the ferry the last few months so people could wait 30 minutes for the ferry rather than spent 30 minutes driving "around" to the other side - do you know how many houses I could have built with that? Sigh.
So, how was your day? Get a lot accomplished?
Tuesday May 16th- 2007-Update.
The Martin Luther King Park is finally taking form and the Amish women worked hard today making sure the plants that arrived yesterday all got into the ground. The men worked hard on the pavillion and screened porch - it is really taking shape. We are making progress. I cant top that today - I am just beyond thrilled.
See the Home Page for more pictures from the Park.
The Gulf Coast Recovery crew worked hard on the Elkview today for Kenny Johnson - they got all the shingles on the roof. And, they have Salvation Army to thank for ALL the tools!!!!! Tomorrow they are working on the church on Herlihy in Middletown.
God is good - thats all I can say!
Tuesday May 16th- 2007.
This surprise package arrived to the glee of the recipient here in the wilds of Katrina ravaged Waveland. Now we have all the comforts of home - to the sender: YOU ARE THE BEST! I am in seventh heaven. Only if you are raised dinky die do you understand the craving for a a vegemite or marmite on toast. Funny that no one else in the house seems as pleased with the package as I.
And so we go into Tuesday very happy camping!
Monday May 15th- Update, 2007.
What a great escape it was this weekend. Sunday was another day of boating. Nothing like getting about three miles off shore and hearing the boat owner go "Oh oops"? "What do you mean by that?" says I. And he grins and says "Well, I forgot to put in the boat plugs". "You have to be kidding" I respond. And we both scramble to lean over the back edge to put them in - to no avail as the plugs are too far to reach and we already know we cant get back in the boat without a rope ladder which he has not purchased yet. As long as the boat is running, this situation is not a problem - so we head back to shore and it tis I that goes over the side in the boat dock to get those four pesky little plugs back in. And let me tell you - its over six feet at the Ferry landing in the boat slip! This will cost Jason as long as he lives - I promised him that ! *G* And back out to sea we went - and on up the Jordan River for a gun afternoon of boating in the sun and sometimes rain and thunder. Regardless - had a great time.
And now back to Monday and work. The plants arrived today for the Park and what a gorgous batch of healthy plants. No plumbing yet - Chris is working on that. The pavillion is coming along and the mosquito netting is almost all insitu. The Amish women were painting up the trim work while I was there and the men were working on the patio portion of the building.
I picked up Luther Johnson and took him to City Hall as he was the one person recommended by everyone for the caretaker position as passed by the Aldermen last week. He lives across from the Park and would be perfect for the job.
Two customers came in today to pick up their elevation surveys and we have a third set of elevation surveys ready. All of these are for Elkview homes. Two in Waveland and one in Bay St. Louis.
We worked today on the sheetrock orders which totals over 4,000 sheets at this time. We should have the first batch of invoices ready and paid for by tomorrow for pickup this week. The next batch of trucks will come in and be unloaded directly onto home owner trailers. We feel that will be a quicker transition to delivery than loading twice.
The warehouse called from Long Beach today to tell me that the purr I could hear in the background was the two forklifts running. We are in business for that warehouse.
Angie, La, came in today for another load of paint. They will be in on Wednesday for a load of shingles.
New office help came in today - a local. Was an enormous help and dived right in to the tasks at hand. And Monday here is always a zoo. She seemed to take it all in stride. June 1st the two ODR full time office people will be here - really looking forward to that.
Gulf Coast Recovery was here with a crew today and working on the roof of one of the Elkview Homes. It was good to see them wander into the organized warehouse and come out with all the tools they needed without any issues. It was that team that finally got the warehouse organized on Friday. I believe we finally have our tools warehouse issues in hand and we will be moving onward from here. THANK YOU SALVATION ARMY !!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are the best!
The dogs continue to thrive - of course Mr. Blonde does not believe in being in the yard and just bounces over the fence to lay at the front door or back at the gate where he waits to be let back in. Never goes anywhere - just does not believe he should be in the yard. Such a silly hound.
And so goes Monday - how goes the start of your week?
It was another fantastic day of progress here at Katrina Relief. Another few grants across the desk - being handed out today. We delivered a house package from Camp Coastal to Vic over off Coleman Ave. We had to park the trailer on the street and carry the "house", piece by piece, up the hill to where his foundation is - but it was a labor of love. How could you not love Victor!
So nothing changed - not the pace anyway. If anything - it was more hectic than Monday. Phil arrived first thing this morning - and we put him straight to work on the warehouse. The paint is now lined up in a row and organized. As is the new load that arrived with Andrew LeGarde today - it also is unloaded and organized. Wow! What a start to a months stint here!
All right - can I? The phone started at 7am this morning and was still ringing off the hook at 8pm tonight. And betwixt and between it was a zoo in and out of the office today. The pace is not slowing down or becoming a smoother ride - it is more hectic than ever. First off this morning a semi driver called and announced he was coming in to the office with a load. Well - you can try but no matter what you do there is no way you are getting a semi with sleeper down this road. So, I told him I would meet him at the parking lot at 90 and unload onto my trailer. Still have no idea where the load came from - but a great load of relief supplies (including cabinets) and I will do the research later as to who shipped it here. But that started out Monday.
I dont know what made me a happier camper today:
This surprise package arrived to the glee of the recipient here in the wilds of Katrina ravaged Waveland. Now we have all the comforts of home - to the sender: YOU ARE THE BEST! I am in seventh heaven. Only if you are raised dinky die do you understand the craving for a a vegemite or marmite on toast. Funny that no one else in the house seems as pleased with the package as I. 
What a great escape it was this weekend. Sunday was another day of boating. Nothing like getting about three miles off shore and hearing the boat owner go "Oh oops"? "What do you mean by that?" says I. And he grins and says "Well, I forgot to put in the boat plugs". "You have to be kidding" I respond. And we both scramble to lean over the back edge to put them in - to no avail as the plugs are too far to reach and we already know we cant get back in the boat without a rope ladder which he has not purchased yet. As long as the boat is running, this situation is not a problem - so we head back to shore and it tis I that goes over the side in the boat dock to get those four pesky little plugs back in. And let me tell you - its over six feet at the Ferry landing in the boat slip! This will cost Jason as long as he lives - I promised him that ! *G* And back out to sea we went - and on up the Jordan River for a gun afternoon of boating in the sun and sometimes rain and thunder. Regardless - had a great time.