LIFE IS ALWAYS INTERESTING!

Well I didn't think I would be adding anything to this blog. I created it to tell everyone about the progress of the building of the house. But, here I am again, waiting for the house to be completed.

Habitat tested the house around Thanksgiving of 2010. They let me know we did have Chinese Drywall the week of Christmas. We moved out the Friday after Mardi Gras, March 11. So far things have been creeping along. With any luck things will get going and they will finish the house soon and we can move back in.

Keep me in your thoughts.

Cherie

PS: If you don't know about Chinese Drywall you can read about it here.

http://www.chinese-drywall-answers.com/blog/uncategorized/200-habitat-humanity-homes-orleans-built-chinese-drywall/

D Day

D-Day (Damn It, It's Mine At Last Day).

The closing is today at 3 PM... and I'm going to celebrate tonight by painting something on one of my walls. Yes, I am going to scribble on MY walls.

I've thought all along this process that Habitat was going to have some kind ceremony when I moved in, but now it appears not to be the case. So at this time I'm thinking about having the party I promised everyone on Sunday afternoon, March 8. The date is not firm yet, but keep it in mind. Everyone is invited. It's going to be a potluck, so consider what you want to bring for the feast.

This has been a long time coming, and the closing is rather anti-climatic, but it means it is mine, mine, all mine, and that means a lot to me.

Move in was actually New Year's Eve, and very hectic. People, as they have all along this journey, gave me tons of help in moving. Despite the cold weather, big trucks that broke down on the top of even bigger bridges, keys that where for some other house, we made it. We crammed all the stuff into every vehicle that we could commandeer. When we got to the house with the first load we couldn't get in. It was the wrong key! Hot soup and cold champagne kept us going as we waited in the cold for replacement keys. Habitat finally got the door open. The second load of stuff was totally uneventful.

And that is how I welcomed in 2009, in my bed (lovingly made by my friends), in my new home (lovingly made by my friends), with a smile on my face (lovingly made by my friends).

I love you all.

Thank you.

Love,

Cherie

Perhaps It May Be A Home For The Holidays

It has been a long time coming with small and giant steps forward, and tons of big steps backwards, but, I think, cross your fingers, that my home is very close to being finished.

The house itself is complete. Ben, the new supervisor (he's in the yellow shirt on the right), and I walked through it two Saturdays ago and made a punch list. There were three very minor items on the list.

What needs to be completed is the ramp, the fence, two concrete walkways, and the landscaping, plus any completion certificates that are needed from the city. After the ramp is completed the electricity will be turned on, and we will do another punch list. I don't see this being a problem.

One of the reasons the house is in such good condition is due to a group of volunteers (you can see them in the picture top right) who worked on it for two weeks. They were sensational, meticulous in the care they lavished on the house, and some of the sweetest people I have ever met. All I can do is repeat my mantra, THANK YOU!

Below is a group from Xavier University. These very sweet and capable young people worked on the house one very cold Saturday. I was in awe of their strength at such an early age. I wish I had had that so early on in my life.

My daughter, Rebecca, is now living with me and she has also been helping.

An organization donated furniture to me and there were some lovely things. One was a table created by some Amish craftsmen, all of them signed the bottom of the table. WOW! I am getting so excited.

I could be in my home for the holidays... but no one can tell me if I will be... so, just know that a REEAALLY BIG celebration is coming.

I love you all.

Cherie

I Need A Home!

I recently got an email from a friend asking why I had not been posting anything about the progress on my house. Well the short answer is there is nothing to report.

There has not been a work day, nor I have been in the house since mid-May. Some work has been going on inside though. I see electrical wires sticking out of the front porch walls where light fixtures would go. This leads me to think that some electrical work has been done. I drove past the house last Saturday and there were three Sewerage and Water Board traffic cones standing on some freshly dug up dirt. I surmise from this that plumbing work has been done. Are they finished? I don't know!

I've been much too depressed to write because what Habitat tells me is that it could take up to three more months. This boggles my mind. More than one person has told me that some Habitat houses have been completed from start to finish in one week.

I've been too depressed to write because my lease expires at the end of July and there is a new tenant moving in after that. Where do I find an apartment that will rent to me for a month... if it is only a month? Perhaps, I will pack up of my stuff and depend on my friends to let me sleep on their sofas until this is over. Maybe, I am too close to the problem and just can't see the answer. All I know is I am soooooooo tired of waiting ...and yes, I am whining.

Luv Ya

Cherie

Hurry Up And Wait

I'm feeling rather anxious. It seems we are running out of things to do on the outside of the house while waiting for the contractors who will be doing the plumbing, electrical, and drywall work! Argh! The universe is trying to drive me crazy. I have dreams where I wake up at night and there is no house, never was a house, and never will be a house. Yes, I AM crazy!

But, there is a house! There is! There is! There is!

And, I worked on that house this past weekend with some great volunteers and some sweet friends who came out to help me. My friends have been with me through greater bouts of craziness and depression than this. I am always grateful for their forbearance and love they extend to me.

This too shall pass.

Luv ya!

Cherie

An Inconvenient Rain

Friday was iffy, overcast and not too humid. We were fortunate it didn't rain until after we finished for the day. I was in Home Depot shopping for ceiling fans when the rains came down. It sounded like a cattle stampede.

Saturday was a different story completely. It was dark and overcast but not raining when I awoke. It still wasn't raining when I left my place, but I had to make a stop on my way to the site and by the time I got there it was coming down in buckets, bathtubs, ocean liners. Andrew was locking the door and all the workers were huddled on the porch waiting for a break in the rain to make their escape. Bummer!

But I am grateful for Friday. I am grateful for all of you who come out to give of yourselves. I am grateful to the wonderful person who made a quilt for me and brought it to me. You all give me courage.

2 Doors, Lots of Lilac Paint

I have doors.

I was late getting to the site this morning. And as I drove up I could see that the crew was putting in the my wonderful new front door. I was ecstatic. 

Yesterday, Friday, no one worked on the house. It's JazzFest weekend in New Orleans, of course nobody was there. I was a bit bummed and afraid no one would show up today, but they did.

Most of the siding is painted, and work on painting the trim is underway. The porch columns have been sheathed in nice clean wood. And I have doors, one in the front and one on the side through the laundry room. It is a house, not just a shell. We didn't get to the shingling, but, hey, next weekend could be the shingling weekend.

I painted a sign and Andrew hung it on the unfinished porch post. It says, A House Built With Love By the World Thru Habitat For Humanity. I think I want another one that says, I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends!

Luv Ya All!

Cherie