
With the project completed, the work continued but with a slightly different crew. Jim, Sandy, Fred, Cheryl, Ron, Pat, Don and Bobbi stayed on. And Joanne and Karen re-joined us after their project at Crystal River completed. That made 11 of us which was a larger drop-in complement than in past years.

Project Work
One of the bigger projects over the last 2 weeks was one that caught us by surprise. The school wanted to get a food serving area certified by the Health Department. However, that required a floor that could be mopped. So the carpet that had been glued down for decades had to go. We had some fresh recruits for a few days when Sandy’s daughter, granddaughter and some friends arrived. So, we asked them to start on this project. They quickly became overwhelmed. Mere brute strength was not going to remove this firmly seated covering. Could we do it at all?
One of the bigger projects over the last 2 weeks was one that caught us by surprise. The school wanted to get a food serving area certified by the Health Department. However, that required a floor that could be mopped. So the carpet that had been glued down for decades had to go. We had some fresh recruits for a few days when Sandy’s daughter, granddaughter and some friends arrived. So, we asked them to start on this project. They quickly became overwhelmed. Mere brute strength was not going to remove this firmly seated covering. Could we do it at all?

After some consultation with some church members who were more knowledgeable, we began to get not only a path forward, but some great news. The church had some power tools that would help remove the carpet and the underlying glue. If we could get it up, a church member would provide a linoleum floor covering and the labor to install it for free.
With that motivation, we were determined to get the carpet up. Karen, Cathy and Dave lugged the tools into the room and got to work. It was pretty hard, like working a jackhammer, but the carpet was coming up. However, the room was looming pretty large. After taking a break to review some YouTube videos, we discovered we were working with a badly dulled blade. When we changed to a new one, the difference was enough to renew our enthusiasm that we could do this. By day’s end, half the carpet was gone, and we were grateful that we would have 3 days to rest. On Monday, we returned with a couple of more helpers and managed to remove the rest of the carpet and much of the glue. By end of day Tuesday, the room was ready for inspection. And, it passed with flying colors.

So, around the rest of the campus other work continued. Cheryl and Bobbi stained the courtyard deck and picnic tables, turning what had been an unappealing structure into an attractive centerpiece of the campus. There is talk of cookouts and picnics to take advantage of the beautiful space. At Peeler, Jim, Joanne, Karen and Ron turned a small side room into a new room to house tools in one place

There were also less glamorous behind the scenes repairs. Don repaired a leaky toilet that required a repair to the cast iron flange in the floor. Sandy’s crew dug out several square feet of vines that threatened to trip the small feet running around in the playground. We helped moved the 3 residents who are immigrants from Burundi back into their apartments (finally) after the fire had displaced them in late December, including doing more than half a dozen loads of laundry. It wasn’t all physical labor. Dave spent several hours working with Pastor Rigo on his application to be a local pastor. And there are several more sessions to go.

Even less glamorous were the persistent problems that required a lot of trial and error. A drain that wouldn’t clear. Air conditioners that wouldn’t start. Well, maybe next week.

Boat Stuff
With the boat’s mast lying on the ground next to the RV, it is easy to inspect it for problems and address them. Sometime over the last 3 years, one of the spreader boots had vanished, so we installed new ones in one of the easiest “up the mast” tasks ever. The problem life jackets (remember the ant infestation?) were tossed in favor of new ones. And work continues on the forward windshield. (Aren’t you done yet?)
With the boat’s mast lying on the ground next to the RV, it is easy to inspect it for problems and address them. Sometime over the last 3 years, one of the spreader boots had vanished, so we installed new ones in one of the easiest “up the mast” tasks ever. The problem life jackets (remember the ant infestation?) were tossed in favor of new ones. And work continues on the forward windshield. (Aren’t you done yet?)

Parting Shots
We are continuously given thanks and affection by the members of the church. Carol wanted Dave to see that she had a surprise gift just for him – a chocolate pie. And Cathy is greeted daily by Callie, whose wariness has finally been overcome as she comes up for her daily head scratch.
We are continuously given thanks and affection by the members of the church. Carol wanted Dave to see that she had a surprise gift just for him – a chocolate pie. And Cathy is greeted daily by Callie, whose wariness has finally been overcome as she comes up for her daily head scratch.