Im Dreaming of a White Christmas?

It seems very weird to hear that song on the radio. In fact, it sounds weird to hear any Christmas song on the radio. With a forecast of 27 degrees celsius for Sunday, it doesnt seem like December starts tomorrow. It is also quite funny to see the decorations that some people put up on their lawns. I would like to get a picture of some of the yards, with the big inflatable snow globes. Especially as snow is so rare down here. It will be quite a change to go back home in under a week to the snow and freezing temperatures. I may be cold.

Mrs. Baptiste

Work on Mrs. Baptiste's house was delayed for a few weeks. She did not have proof of ownership of the house, as her house was passed down through the generations, without legal record. Without the legal proof of ownership, no permits would be granted. And permits are needed in order to do the electrical and plumbing. But, the permits must have been granted, as the plumber and electrician are hard at work. Now, new siding is being put on, new soffit and facia has already been installed. The house is coming along nicely, but there is still a lot of work to be done on it.

Crew #4

Crew #4
OSM - Dirk and Elly Evans
Construction Supervisor - Bill and Corrie Kuyvenhoven
Renze and May DeGroot
Sam and Sharon DeGroot
Jim and Marcia VandenBrink
Aubrey and Margaret Gaines
Dirk and Margaret VanOord
Edgar and Joane Wierstra
John Hoftyzer

Nottoway Plantation

On Sunday afternoon we went as a group on a plantation tour. We traveled about 2 and a half hours, west of Baton Rouge, searching for plantations. We had one in mind, we just didnt know how far away it was. And of course, I forgot my camera. Oh well. We went to Nottoway Plantation. The house is 53,000 square feet. Huge. We went on a guided tour, taken around by a lady in the period dress. The house was completed in 1859. It took quite a few years to build it. There is more information and pictures at www.nottoway.com . I wish I had some pictures of my own. We didnt get home til about 7:30 on Sunday night. It was an enjoyable afternoon.

Hello Again

This is Marselite Dorsey's house. I spent a few days doing various things on this house. Leveling the floor, replacing some flooring, doing some siding, gutting the living room and cutting holes in the drywall.

This is a ramp and a new set of stairs that I helped build at the "House of Prayer". That house underwent quite a transition. Now it is painted and new floor is being put down. The new siding looks real sharp.

This is the kitchen and living room of the "House of Prayer". After Bill and I drywalled it. Made the tiny little house seem a little bigger.
This is the exterior of the same house. Quite a change.

The Last Little While

Well, quite a bit has happened since I have last posted. I dont know if I will be able to remember it all. Bill Smit and I spent the last week insulating and drywalling the house of Miss Wilson. We never did get to meet her. She dropped by one morning, but we didnt get to talk to her. The drywall turned out alright. Some walls were a little out of square, so we would have to cut a sheet a few times in order to get it to fit properly. Now that house is all taped and has the second coat of mud on, and it doesnt look too bad. The whole exterior got new white siding, which looks good. And the past few days, I have been working with an experienced carpenteer from Washington, constructing a wheelchair ramp for the house. We started on the back door and wrapped around one side. It turned out quite nice. Pictures will come. I did quite a bit of the digging for the ramp. Tom laid things out and I put it together, more or less.
Earlier this week Bill and I moved to another house in town. It was the first one that we did in town. The rest have been a few miles out of town. This house is quite large in comparison to all the other ones we have worked on, probably more than double the square footage. The house is in a middle class neighbourhood, with nice looking houses. The client, Ms Mistretta is a very warm and welcoming lady. The first afternoon Bill and I were there, she worked behind us all day, sweeping up our mess. She did the same the next afternoon as well. On Wednesday, when I got switched to another crew, she was concerned and asked Bill where I was and how I was doing.
Well, I have done one airport run this morning and one more this afternoon. The new crew comes in and we start the last 3 week session before the Christmas break.

My Humble Accomodations

For this session and the next I get a trailer to myself. We are renting a building from a local church and the RV's are parked in the backyard of the church. There is a cement walkway from the building to the RV's. I can get kinda chilly at night, especially because my heater doesnt work.

Crew #3

OSM - Harold and Marlyce Mulder

CS - Ceus and Nellie Westerhof

Hans and Laura Snippe

Paul and Carolyn Viss
John and Joane Orange

Harold Stremler

Tom Bracewell

Tom Posthumus

Bill Smit

Gertie Kwant

Katie Hilker

"The House of Prayer"

The house which I am currently working on has the words "House of Prayer" painted on the side. It needs a lot more than prayer. I has already been raised and leveled, gutted, new roof and now we are putting new siding on as well as redoing the inside. Bill and I have insulated it and are now hanging drywall. There are three older guys trying to get the siding done on the outside. They do a lot of discussing and looking for lost tools. They are starting to get a rythym now though.

Tomorrow Bill and I will finish drywalling the ceilings and we will start on the walls. I have a feeling we may have to tape and mud it too, as we dont really have anyone on the crew who specializes on it.

On Sunday I went to an African Methodist Episcopal Church with Bill, Tom P, Gertie and Katie. We were in there for about 3 hours, but it didnt feel that long. We were very welcomed and felt very loved. I have found that the South is generally very friendly and are proud of their hospitality.