Home again (most of us)

Thank you all for reading our blog entries. I apologize for my bad grammar and spelling. I typically wrote late at night, pre-dawn, or in the dining hall in the path of people streaming by and stopping for conversation.

I want to say that you should seriously consider going on future trips. I had many concerns about living in a dorm, standing in line for a shower, not being able to do some of the physical work required to complete tasks, etc. Everything worked out significantly better than I anticipated.

Terry is a master at delegating jobs that match your abilities. He has a sixth sense to understand when you are ready for more challenges or if you need to step back and rest a minute.

Other than being tired, I feel guilty. Guilty you ask? Yes, because even though I gave everything to the best of my ability, I feel that I received much more than I gave.

We are very proud of the fact that we gave Miss Ifama the joy of being able to move out of her cramped FEMA trailer and back into her beautiful home.

Thank you all for being a part in the NOLA projects.

On the road home

We are all headed home today. It will take Sally and Roger a couple extra days, but the rest of us are expected home tonight, and many will be in church tomorrow.

Friday night

Alas! Our work is done for this trip. We put in a full day because we were focused on getting as much done as possible. We didn't finish all 10 rooms, but 8 rooms are pretty much done and the other 2 have been sheetrocked and the new ceilings are installed. She has an electrical system that functions well. The house is in move-in condition.

Miss Ifama fed us lunch today, and I'll say that, alone, was worth the trip to New Orleans! She made Cajun shrimp and rice, tilapia with steamed vegetables, sweet yams, mustard greens, okra, corn bread, and rolls for us. It was our Thanksgiving feast! On top of that, there was lemon cake and apple pie. Rev. Josephine stopped in with home-made pralines. It was tough to go back to work on such full stomachs.

As we said our goodbyes, she gave each of us small gifts of her artwork. She said that she felt that she had been on Extreme Home Make-over.

This has been such a bonding experience. We have gotten to know each other so much better than a hundred coffee hour gatherings could offer. The rewards and memories will stay with me forever.

To Molly, Terry, Dave, Brian, Nancy, Maureen, Barb, Roger, Sally, Dwight, George, Becky, Pat, Hank, Denis and Janie....it has been an honor to share this time with you. Thank you for your love and spirit. To Miss Ifama - you are a beacon of light and love for us. To Nathan and the rest of the congregation, we can't wait to share our stories with you. If you ever get the opportunity to go on a service project, I strongly suggest it.

Last Day on the project ahead

Hello.
It's 6:00 AM NOLA time, and people are trickling into the dining hall in search of nourishment to get through the last day. Hopefully, Terry won't bring that darn whip today! Today's project...paint, paint and more paint. The ceilings are done in most of the house and the walls are primed. Did you know that there are 10 rooms?

This team is awesome!

Molly, if you are checking in, we are thinking of you and will carry you with us throughout the day.

The bandaid supply is getting low, and there are sore muscles all around.

We are looking forward to getting as much done as we can today, so we can leave with light hearts.

Enjoy your day and we look forward to filling the sanctuary with our New Orleans Spirit.

OK, OK, so I haven't posted since Tues morning..... We are quite busy and accomplishing so much - we were thrilled at the end of our work day to be ready for painting 4 rooms tomorrow that started out the week with ruined or nonexistent walls and ceilings.

Dennis, Hank, Donna, and I went for a self-guided tour of the hurricane damaged areas today. It is truly eye opening to see so many empty lots and still abandoned homes, but we also saw some new/rebuilt homes popping up. Brad Pitt and the Green Project have supported building new spacious homes with solar panels.

Then we got to work! I have used more than one of those band aids Donna mentioned...... but I'm still standing. It is amazing to see everyone go to work in teams, each offering their contribution to the "ant colony". Ifama is quite the beautiful and warm person, and we look forward to seeing her every day. Molly had to go home early today - we were sad to see her go.

Many of us are off to the French Quarter.

Blessed be,

Mauree

Wednesday, Nov. 5

Hello, all. A brief, late night update.

Another productive day at Miss Ifama's house. It is amazing at the scope of the work this group has done. Our leaders are incredible, as is every team member accomplishing tasks.

After we packed away all the tools, we did our circle in Miss Ifama's back yard. It was Molly's last night here and I don't think that there was as dry eye in the place. We are definitely feeling the love.

I would like to put Miss Ifama in my pocket and take her home with me. She is a special woman.

We stopped by Rev. Josephine's church on our way back "home" to see how much it has improved. She was as welcoming as we were told.

There are a lot of sore muscles in this group tonight, and a handful of bandaids are missing from the first aid kit, but we will be raring and willing to go in the morning.

The morning after

Hello all! We had a very productive day yesterday with several small successes, and 2 huge rewards. The good rhythm continues as we all move like ants building their colony. There are frequently narrowed paths, but we find our way around the bottlenecks.

Our first big reward was moving Miss Ifama's bedroom set into the finished bedroom!

We had all had great expectations to spend Tuesday night in a place with a big screen TV to have fun and watch the election results. It's funny how three days of hard labor will change your plans. One by one each person decided that he/she would stay in to watch the little TV in the dining room. So, it turned out that we stayed inside, 31 people (the Sierra Club Group plus us) huddled around a 19" inch TV. OK, so we weren't exactly huddled. It wasn't very quiet in this room after 10:00 PM.

We can head off to work with smiles.

Election Day!

It's election day, and we're off for another day's work.

I got to work with many small teams yesterday, learning to insulate, spackle, efficiently remove recalcitrant nails..... The house is really coming together quickly! Infama works by our sides, sharing her rich stories, her art, and sweeping up after our mess.

Thanks to Dennis, Hank, Terry, and Nancy for their patience in teaching me new skills. It is great to work side by side! Thanks to Molly, Becky, and Terry for their leadership. Thanks to Molly for beautifully moving music that brings what we're doing home to the heart. Donna, the Food Queen, has really taken care of us all.

Many blessings be in our brand new day....

Maureen

Day 2 at Miss Ifama's

Hi! This will be a quick post. It is late, and I am tired! As you can tell that the power came back. The neighborhood was without power for 3 hours last night.

Today was a full day of work (it was 80 degrees) and we are making progress. One room is officially DONE! Molly and Nancy got to put furniture in the room where it belongs.

We are falling into a rhythm and working together well.

After a long day of work, we went out to dinner to boost the local economy. One restauant on Magazine Street had a good night, as did we.

Brian even created a new piece of art to add to the broken pottery chalice. That was even before he ate an alligator Po'Boy sandwich!

We will have a lot to share with you when we return.

A Good Day's Work

Most headed to Miss Ifama's house first thing Sunday morning, and a few of us stayed to worship with the church who houses us, and also to prepare lunch for the working crew. The service was similar to ours, and very different in many ways. The Introit was familiar to us all: "Spirit of Life." The entire congregation sang the words with their voices and signed the words with their hands. It was moving.

Day One at Miss Ifama's was productive. She is learning to let go of some things that she has held onto, because that's what she does. She collects art from every corner of the world, but there is a special place in her heart for local artists and budding artists. She is also a talented artist, herself.

When one of her own pieces of pottery got broken, we were heartbroken for her. Her response is that it wasn't broken, but it's art had changed. A mighty shield has been recommissioned as a loving chalice for 17 of us. We stood around it last night, sharing our thoughts from the day, just as the power went out.....

Donna already gave a nice update, but I will add some here.... as I find the early morning time.

Some of us enjoyed some dancing with the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans (FUUNO) members at their Fellowship Pot Luck last night. I had the opportunity to listen to some of the members' stories of Katrina (and Gustav and Ike). One family with children has evacuated 5 times or so in the past 10 years. They told me of a fellow member who, after being rescued out of her second story window during Katrina (losing her 2 dogs in the process) and being left on a bridge for 3 days with no food (buying water from the prisoners that were put there, also), decided to leave the city and not move back.

I also met Miss Ifama yesterday and very much look forward to getting her back into her house. She is a collector and a very interesting and inspiring woman!

Thanks to all who are supporting our ability to be here!

Maureen Gormley

Project is under way

We all made it safely to FUUNO, although there were some bleary eyes at Logan airport due to our early flight. A group went to Miss Ifama's house to meet her and assess the priorities. She was extremely grateful for our presence and the hope we bring. It would be a blessing to get her back into her house.

We shared in a pot-luck fellowship dinner with the FUUNO congregation as they were celebrating the conclusion of their annual canvass. Jazz band, gumbo, and many homemade dishes and desserts!

A handful of us will be attending their Sunday service while the rest start organizing at Miss Ifama's house. I imagine that Terry will have half the project completed in his dreams tonight.

It is an honor to be here as a representative of UUAC.