Thursday, August 4, 2011
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Jazz Brunch at Court of Two Sisters
Saturday our final day we got on bus at 8:45 to head to the Court of Two Sisters, and a jazz brunch..This was unbelievable, the shrimp, crawfish, omelets (seafood) etc plus all the other food you would expect or not expect on a buffet. and all of this with the jazz combo next to us.
Back to Hotel...
Back to hotel at 11am and a cab was waiting to take us to air[port. Mare and I flew same flight to Atlanta and I waited with her for about an hour for her flight to NJ to leave and then I had 3 hrs more for my flight to Sarasota.
All in all a maybe once in a life time experience. Since I had never been to New Orleans, and also wanted to help out there, it was a great fulfillment of those wishes. Everywhere we went people were so grateful for the work we did. So the 34 people who were in the group amy have had sore muscles but I think all felt good. Info on the group, all sizes and ages, two gal (widowed) teachers from NY had done this same thing last year, another couple had done 40 rips like this. Ages from 50 to maybe 79-80. but everyone did work. The organizational part of it was very very good.. great restaurants, transportation, talks all good. Even though Mare and I balked at first at “having to be on the bus” at 7:30 we got over it.
There are pictures to follow. I have not gotten the ones Mare took, my camera was needing recharging so I didn’t take pics a couple of days.
All in all a maybe once in a life time experience. Since I had never been to New Orleans, and also wanted to help out there, it was a great fulfillment of those wishes. Everywhere we went people were so grateful for the work we did. So the 34 people who were in the group amy have had sore muscles but I think all felt good. Info on the group, all sizes and ages, two gal (widowed) teachers from NY had done this same thing last year, another couple had done 40 rips like this. Ages from 50 to maybe 79-80. but everyone did work. The organizational part of it was very very good.. great restaurants, transportation, talks all good. Even though Mare and I balked at first at “having to be on the bus” at 7:30 we got over it.
There are pictures to follow. I have not gotten the ones Mare took, my camera was needing recharging so I didn’t take pics a couple of days.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Final Work Day
On friday our final day of working, our first job, by now it was just marilee and me, don’t know where John went, but we figured he might have been tired of chain links (or us!!) but Andrew had us filling wheel barrow with sand and filling under the houses and raking it. I had a hard time with wheel barrow, but Mare did it easily, so she would fill and I was crawling under houses with only a 14inch distance between blanks and raking the sand. The last hour of that I was on my butt doing it. We finally said “uncle” on that and asked Andrew for another job..so we spent a bit of time, hammering nails under houses where the netting had come loose, but then got to spend the rest of the day doing what turned out to be the easiest thing..painting, even on the high ladders..so while we were in awe in the beginning of the week at the people on high ladders painting, we soon realized that was a breeze after the work we had been doing. We did white trim on one house and a great bright yellow on another...we were smiling by this point. We also found most of the work we did all week was not near the bulk of the group, but at the end of the street..and actually that was fine with us..we could gripe or laugh or whatever..though towards the end of the week, people were coming to see what we were doing etc. We cleaned up our tools, said good bye to Andrew and got on the bus at 2pm..back to hotel, shower and clean up and at 3:30 headed on bus back to French quarter..we were supposed to go to the Imax to see movie Hurricane on the Bayou, but wires got crossed and it was not playing at that time. Those that stayed thru Sat got to see it. We used the time to walk the waterfront, and go to the Mardi Gras museum and the Cabildo. We were given vouchers for all these events so that was good. We were to be at the New Orleans School of Cooking at 6:15 so we killed alittle time in a local bar with 2 others from our group. The class at the school of cooking was fantastic. It was given by the same lady that did our first night talk (the comedienne) she was fantastic. they had the mirrors so we could see it all.
She made before our eyes and then we ate the following wonderful food..Gumbo; Crawfish Etouffee; Bananas Foster; and Pralines..She gave the origins of all these recipes also..just great. At the end of that the bus was taking everyone back to the hotel, the 32 people got on but Marilee and I did not..We wanted to go to Preservation Hall for the nightly jazz concerts. Although neither mare nor I are great jazz enthusiast this was stupendous. A dark, typical place, the 5 musicians and an older black woman singer just what you expect in New Orleans jazz.. really awesome. We then walked more around the quarter and a last run into harrahs, marilee had some tokens left. Got on the last bus at 10pm back to hotel. We threw our clothes in suitcase and dropped into bed, tired!
She made before our eyes and then we ate the following wonderful food..Gumbo; Crawfish Etouffee; Bananas Foster; and Pralines..She gave the origins of all these recipes also..just great. At the end of that the bus was taking everyone back to the hotel, the 32 people got on but Marilee and I did not..We wanted to go to Preservation Hall for the nightly jazz concerts. Although neither mare nor I are great jazz enthusiast this was stupendous. A dark, typical place, the 5 musicians and an older black woman singer just what you expect in New Orleans jazz.. really awesome. We then walked more around the quarter and a last run into harrahs, marilee had some tokens left. Got on the last bus at 10pm back to hotel. We threw our clothes in suitcase and dropped into bed, tired!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Day to Day
Each day around 11:30 they would bring us lunch, and that was red beans and rice(gumbo ish) always fruit, cookies etc., sandwiches etc. Plenty of water and candy snacks available to nourish us. First day we worked till 2:30and the 3 of us were on fencing all day. Then at 3:00pm they took us on a tour bus of the hurricane devastation with a native telling us all about it. It was pretty amazing, as you can imagine. We saw all parts of the area including the new levies that are there and some things that army corps put up but with only a 5 year life ??? Go figure?? At 5pm back to hotel, shower and change and taken to dinner at Deanies Seafood restaurant. At 7:30 there was a class on living below sea level.. Marilee and I did not go to that, but stayed in French quarter and walked around, went to the famous cafe de monde and did some shopping..(maybe we were privately having enough of the schedule..so we broke out!!
On Wednesday back to the site at 7:30, it was cold, like 28 degrees..and we started attaching the chain links to all the poles we had put in.. rough work, but we did a great job..the other workers would walk by and comment on the great job..of course what else could they say..but ours were straight and tight..
We were treated on our lunch break to go down the street where there are already musicians living in their houses and a gal and her group Liese played while we ate. The 4 musicians entertained us as a way of thanks..It was cool. we also bought her CD. Finished work at 3pm and back to hotel where we were free to roam and eat where we wanted to.. We were told that there was a great oyster places, ACME’s so we went there and had a dozen each raw oyster and another dozen charbroiled with cheese and garlic..yummy yummy. Did more walking the area, stopping here and there and even made a run into Harrahs for gambling, Marilee wanted to ..well I did also alittle. We were able to call for the hotel bus to pick us up at 10 met another couple of gals from our group and back to hotel.
Thursday we finished our chains and in the afternoon started painting on the high ladders, trim that needed second coat, found that pretty easy by now. That day we only worked until 2pm YEAH... At 3:30 back on bus (after shower and clean up) for a fantastic tour on the architecture of New orleans again by a native and she is an architect. We walked the Garden district..it is a total of 90 blocks, old mansions etc..really very very cool and so interesting. at 6pm we were having dinner at Dragos. Some folks went on to French quarter but we were finally really tired so back to hotel around 9pm.
On Wednesday back to the site at 7:30, it was cold, like 28 degrees..and we started attaching the chain links to all the poles we had put in.. rough work, but we did a great job..the other workers would walk by and comment on the great job..of course what else could they say..but ours were straight and tight..
We were treated on our lunch break to go down the street where there are already musicians living in their houses and a gal and her group Liese played while we ate. The 4 musicians entertained us as a way of thanks..It was cool. we also bought her CD. Finished work at 3pm and back to hotel where we were free to roam and eat where we wanted to.. We were told that there was a great oyster places, ACME’s so we went there and had a dozen each raw oyster and another dozen charbroiled with cheese and garlic..yummy yummy. Did more walking the area, stopping here and there and even made a run into Harrahs for gambling, Marilee wanted to ..well I did also alittle. We were able to call for the hotel bus to pick us up at 10 met another couple of gals from our group and back to hotel.
Thursday we finished our chains and in the afternoon started painting on the high ladders, trim that needed second coat, found that pretty easy by now. That day we only worked until 2pm YEAH... At 3:30 back on bus (after shower and clean up) for a fantastic tour on the architecture of New orleans again by a native and she is an architect. We walked the Garden district..it is a total of 90 blocks, old mansions etc..really very very cool and so interesting. at 6pm we were having dinner at Dragos. Some folks went on to French quarter but we were finally really tired so back to hotel around 9pm.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
First Day at Work
I woke up first and showered and turned coffee on, and went down for food. Told Mare I was leaving..since all the past life of having Mare as a room mate came back..she is hard one to get up, and best not to talk. She eventually was down for breakfast..which every day was the full, bacon, eggs, grits, gravy, fruit, yogurt etc etc..and onto the bus. It was cold the first few days in NO., so we were all layered.
Oh I should state the site we were working on was in the ninth ward, and called the Musicians’ Village (www.nolamusiciansvillage.com) a development conceived by Harry Connick Jr. and Brandford Marsalis to help fellow musicians return to the city. It is an 8 acre site all above flood level on cinderblock piers. There will be 72 homes. The centerpiece will be a center that will have small concert hall and educational resources. That construction not started yet, we worked around it
There were 2 staff Habitat people and a few Americore volunteers in charge. The first group was asked who wanted to be on high ladders, both Mare and I said no to that one, next group was for wood work, we again passed, and then there were three! Mare, me and a man named John. Our leader was Andrew, a 21 yr old Americore volunteer who had been in university studying psychology, but dropped out to do this (Americore work).. Our first task and eventually our almost 3 day tasks was putting in chain link fencing!! well first we had to pull out 4 poles that were not spaced correctly from the closing thing. so we had to dig them out, break concrete from them, re-dig holes, mix cement and back in. Turns out a few weeks ago there were about 300 volunteers at the area we were working, and obviously too many cooks in the kitchen’ alot of errors. We heard latter from other volunteers that much of their work was re doing things, paint spills etc from before. So after afew digs, mixing cement etc we got pretty good at the holes digging. This took almost 2 full days.alot of fences. Many were there for division of the property lines and on the ends of blocks for keeping people out of yards. though there were spaces at bottom of fences so it did not keep critters out.
Oh I should state the site we were working on was in the ninth ward, and called the Musicians’ Village (www.nolamusiciansvillage.com) a development conceived by Harry Connick Jr. and Brandford Marsalis to help fellow musicians return to the city. It is an 8 acre site all above flood level on cinderblock piers. There will be 72 homes. The centerpiece will be a center that will have small concert hall and educational resources. That construction not started yet, we worked around it
There were 2 staff Habitat people and a few Americore volunteers in charge. The first group was asked who wanted to be on high ladders, both Mare and I said no to that one, next group was for wood work, we again passed, and then there were three! Mare, me and a man named John. Our leader was Andrew, a 21 yr old Americore volunteer who had been in university studying psychology, but dropped out to do this (Americore work).. Our first task and eventually our almost 3 day tasks was putting in chain link fencing!! well first we had to pull out 4 poles that were not spaced correctly from the closing thing. so we had to dig them out, break concrete from them, re-dig holes, mix cement and back in. Turns out a few weeks ago there were about 300 volunteers at the area we were working, and obviously too many cooks in the kitchen’ alot of errors. We heard latter from other volunteers that much of their work was re doing things, paint spills etc from before. So after afew digs, mixing cement etc we got pretty good at the holes digging. This took almost 2 full days.alot of fences. Many were there for division of the property lines and on the ends of blocks for keeping people out of yards. though there were spaces at bottom of fences so it did not keep critters out.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Arriving into New Orleans
We walked into the hotel, and immediately were greeted by the young gal, whom we latter called “Mother superior”-she was the one to tell us where to be etc. We arrived after the orientation, BUT just in time for dinner-how perfect was that. The dinner was in the Holiday inn where we were staying. We were briefly updated on what was ahead and given a folder of time etc.
At the table where we ate we met other people, all ages, etc. One couple had been on 40 elderhostel trips. Of course, Mare and I right away never referred to the group with the name, if we needed to make reference we said” EH” for obvious reasons we do not like the name. There were afew single women and single men..no no match ups for us!!
After dinner we heard a brief talk about “what is the French Quarter” a very dynamic person, was a school teacher in her earlier life, but now could run a one man stand up comedy act..she was a native, and just great.we could listen to her for a bit. This was over around 9:30, so we went to room and then got unpacked. We were told breakfast would be at the hotel from 6:30 to 7:15am, since the bus would take us to work site at 7:30..of course Mare and I groaned at that.
At the table where we ate we met other people, all ages, etc. One couple had been on 40 elderhostel trips. Of course, Mare and I right away never referred to the group with the name, if we needed to make reference we said” EH” for obvious reasons we do not like the name. There were afew single women and single men..no no match ups for us!!
After dinner we heard a brief talk about “what is the French Quarter” a very dynamic person, was a school teacher in her earlier life, but now could run a one man stand up comedy act..she was a native, and just great.we could listen to her for a bit. This was over around 9:30, so we went to room and then got unpacked. We were told breakfast would be at the hotel from 6:30 to 7:15am, since the bus would take us to work site at 7:30..of course Mare and I groaned at that.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
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