Pictures of the work...Mississippi 12

As promised, here are pictures of the work.  We don't have many pictures of us actually working because, well, we were busy working!  There are some before and after photo's though.

Inside Ben and Sue's house.  The sheet rock was removed around the lower level from the floor up 16 inches.  We worked at replacing all that sheetrock.

This bedroom had a laminate floor it in that had to be torn out.  The rest of the lower level has tile floors.

Water mark on the outside of Ben and Sue's house.

 

Jolynn preparing to cut the new sheetrock.

Laurel became a pro at rasping the sheetrock to fit just so!

Gail fitting sheetrock into the closet.

The closet under the stairs..

Brittany fitting the sheetrock into the closet under the stairs...

THAT is a PURTY cut...finally!! 

Jolynn mudding...just before she stuck her tongue out at me.  HA!

Siding and OSB removed 24 inches up the side of the house.  This will be done around the whole exterior of the house.

After the siding was taken down and insulation replaced.

A layer of waterproofing went on before the siding is replaced.  There aren't any pictures but suffice to say the ground was still wet and my pants had a layer of tar and mud on them from crawling around on the ground getting that waterproofing on the house!

Ben fighting with a particularly complicated section of siding.  The hope was not to have to take the whole porch down to get to the siding on the house!

 

The group with Ben and Sue at the end of the week.

The Yellow House. 

 Douglas and Mary spent a lot of time getting the sheetrock up in this room a couple of years ago.

The floor.  There are 4 dehumidifiers and a fan running trying to get the moisture out of the house.

Last time we were at the Yellow House, the sheetrock wasn't up in this room.  Hard to see it being torn out already.

The week that was...

We didn't have internet access last week at the rental house we stayed in.  I could have tracked it down but I decided not to add that level of stress to the week.  I didn't NEED to write on the blog, though some of you may have been waiting and waiting and waiting...

You will have to wait a little while longer for the photo's.  I'm not quite awake enough to deal with getting them off the camera and to the computer.  I can give you a quick rundown of the week.

1. Ben had us drive from NOLA into Pearlington on a different route to view the damage better.  There were piles and piles of debris along the roadway, vegetation and household debris, along with multiple boats that washed up along the road and just stayed there.
2. It's disheartening to walk into a home that one helped to rebuild and see sheet rock one helped put up being taken off the wall.  Very disheartening.
3. The week was about work, which we did.  The sheet rock was cut 16 inches from the floor in Ben's house, the insulation removed from that level as well and the walls framing was bleached throughout most of the lower level by the time we arrived.  We took out the miscellaneous nails and screws and then cut out new pieces of sheet rock and replaced them.  Laurel and Jolynn did an amazing job of taping and mudding as well!
4. We helped Ben take off siding and OSB from the exterior of the house and got a very small portion waterproofed as best as possible.  The latter was hard work, my fingers have the scraps to prove it.
5. This trip wasn't just about doing physical labor.  We offered a lot of emotional support, walked down memory lane a little and did all we could to lift the spirits of Ben and Sue.  That emotional support involved A LOT of Southern Cuisine.  Pictures will tell the story.
6. This 12th trip (for me) was the first time I had been in the Lower 9th Ward of NOLA.  I'm still working on my thoughts about that but I can say that Brad Pitt plays a part in those thoughts.
7. This 12th trip I also saw the levee that was built after Katrina...more thoughts on that are coming as well.

  There is more but my brain has decided it's time to stop for the night and go to sleep.  Pictures and further thoughts to come!

Trip #12 is coming...

It's officially, official.  There are 4 of us heading to Pearlington next Tuesday, September 11th.  Can I just say  how strange it is to be going to help with hurricane clean-up on September 11th for a hurricane that hit 7 years to the day after the hurricane which brought us to this town that has so captured our hearts?  Really, really strange.

Prayers are appreciated!

The news from Pearlington after Hurricane Isaac

**Cross posted at my personal blog**

I heard from Mr. Ben today.  The conversation went something like this:

Cell phone vibrates.  I look at Caller ID and answer with, "I've been waiting. What's the news?"

The answer on the other end was "I really didn't want to call you with this but I told you I would check in."

"What's going on Ben?"

"I really don't want to tell you this but I'm just going to tell you like it is."

"Ok, Ben.  What's the news?"

"Well, I really don't want to tell you..."

The news finally came out.  This time it's Mr. Ben's house.  The laminate floor in the small bedroom needs to go.  That's not so bad.  All the sheet rock in the downstairs of the house needs to be torn out from about the 2 foot mark on.  Dang.  The siding on the outside of the house needs to be replaced from about the 3 foot mark on down.  Double dang.

Then the news on the pretty house (aka yellow house). While the water has receded from Mr. Ben's house, the yellow house now has a lake.  Underneath the house and surrounding it.  Lovely.  The sheet rock needs to come out from about the 2 ft. mark here as well.  The sheet rock that we put up two years ago.  DANG IT!

While a part of me wants to just get on a plane and go right now, the logical, practical side of me is sitting and praying for a moment.  Do we go or do we send the money we would have spent on the plane ticket to help with repairs?  That will be tomorrows conversation with Mr. Ben...which will start off something like this..."so what is it that you need the most?"

--As a side note, I've heard comments, already, from some who say "why would you live there?  This is just going to keep happening."  They are right.  It will keep happening.  But why do I choose to live on  a hill that could give way with one good rain storm (Ala 1982-83 rainstorms and floods), that could be wiped out in an earthquake (um 1989?) or burn down in a fire (just a few summers ago there was a close one!)?  We choose to live where we choose to live and deal with things as they come to us.   

A little news

Still waiting on news but here is a little tidbit to, well honestly, it made me a little more worried about what has happened in Pearlington this time around.

I'm also curious as to where this house was in Pearlington.  I didn't think Pearlington was 6 miles wide either direction!

http://www.sunherald.com/2012/08/30/4154790/at-least-75-rescued-from-isaac.html