ER

5 a.m. Saturday morning, Les wakes me.  "What? What's the matter?" I ask him.  "Don't panic, but I think we need to go to the ER" he tells me.  Immediately, I'm wide awake.  He's been in pain since about 1 a.m.  Lower right side.  This scenario is eerily familiar.  Some of you may remember that just over 4 years ago, Les had an intestinal blockage which required emergency surgery and a week in the hospital in Redding.  This is all we can think of as we prepare to find an emergency room.  I throw some clothes on and grab the GPS from the car (booting up the computer would take too long).  I look up hospitals on the Garmin and find 2 hospitals to choose from.  How to choose?  Both are fairly close, but distance seems the only answer. I pull up the number of the first one and dial.  "Your call cannot be completed as dialed."  Oh my, maybe that hospital is defunct.  I pull up the number of the other hospital and dial.  "Your call cannot be completed as dialed."  What the???  For a moment I'm frazzled.  Then I think to dial 411 and finally get connected to the hospital and tell them we're heading in.  Later I find out that the area code has been changed and they only kept the old one active for 6 months.

I'm a little distressed with the red lights and actually run one.  Then I blow through an intersection and lights flash!  Les tells me that I just got a ticket!  Oh well, an intestinal obstruction is a life threatening situation and all I can think of is getting him to the hospital.

More than 6 hours and a CT scan later, he's released to go and pass that nasty kidney stone!  We were both delighted!  This is so much better news than what we had been preparing for!  Woo Hoo!

Since the stone had moved to a location that wasn't causing him pain, after getting back to the RV and getting showers, we decide to go ahead and take our planned drive out to White Sands National Monument.

 He looks pretty good for a guy who was up all night and spent the morning in the ER!

The sand is actually gypsum and is very fine.

Sunday, and it's finally time to leave Las Cruces.  We were very busy here and had a wonderful experience, but we realize that there is a lot of sight-seeing that we didn't get to do.  I'm sure we'll be back.

As we're running down the I-10, Les asks if I'd like to get a little practice behind the wheel.  I'm thinking it's a good idea, since only yesterday I was wondering how we were going to get home if Les was laid up. I drove for a couple of hours and right after I pulled into a rest area near Willcox, who should pull in right next to us but Tommie & Sandra from the Las Cruces build.

He took both pictures because he wanted to make sure you could see vehicles running down the road.

We made it Catalina State Park, outside of Tucson and were rewarded with great views and an amazing sunset.  For you RV people, this is a very Big Rig friendly park.  It also happens to be almost across the street from our new friends that we met on our Alaska cruise back in August.  We had a great evening with them.

From Tucson, we headed up to the Phoenix area for a couple of nights and more great dinners with friends.

Las Vegas!!
Our favorite thing to do in Vegas is seeing shows and eating great meals.  We did both!  Got last minutes tickets to Cirque du Soleil "O" show at the Bellagio.  This was our second time to see it, but the last time was over 6 years ago, so we were not disappointed.  After show dinner at Olives in the Bellagio, yummy but took over an hour to get our entrée.  Breakfast the next morning at Encore; we both had our traditional Eggs Benedict.  I see serious gym time in our future.

Heading Home
And now we're on the last leg, running up I-5, heading home.  It's been a good trip, but we're ready to be home.  This coming week brings all the family together at our house for Thanksgiving.  And we have much to be thankful for.

I invite you all to learn more about Habitat here:  http://www.habitat.org/how/factsheet.aspx

Busy Week

Saturday
When you wear your hair short and it grows as fast as mine does, you have to submit to the occasional haircut on the road.  Today was the dreaded 'haircut from a total stranger that you picked off the internet'.  With all the traveling we have done, this has yet to be a positive experience.  Needless to say, today was no different.  Not that it's a bad 'cut', I just don't understand why Armando thought I needed an inch and a half cut off when I told him that it had only been 4-5 weeks since my last haircut.  Of course it will grow, but my husband has taken to calling me '"Butch".  Hmmmm...

You can see that we're packed in pretty tight.  It will be great when the city gives the final on the  new RV sites across the street.

Sunday, one of the local volunteers, Bob, and his wife, Anne, invited all of us to a barbecue and potluck at their beautiful home in the foothills east of town.  Not only did they have a wonderful view, but Anne had the most amazing collection of decorative glass and wonderful artwork. 

View out the back.

View from the kitchen at sunset.

Their beautiful home easily accommodated our large group.

Amazing collection of decorative glass.

  

Care-A-Vanners enjoying a night out.

Monday morning, it was oh, so hard to drag ourselves out of bed at 6:30 and head off to 'work'.  We were starting to wonder whether we should have agreed to a 2 week commitment!   But, once we got on the job and got back into the groove, we were back on track.  By this time the group has been working together a week and everyone is beginning to relax a bit.  You begin to know who likes to do what jobs, and who they like to work with.  There's  an easy camaraderie that is forming and the group is becoming a cohesive unit.  Every afternoon, about 4, there's an optional gathering outside the RV's for a social hour.  The appetizers are getting really good and we're all getting to know each other.

I forgot to take a picture Friday afternoon, so I snapped this one Monday morning.

When we were planning this trip, my Dad's best friend , Ben (who's also my 'second Dad'), found out that we were coming to Las Cruces and he called me and wanted me to contact his brother Jim, and his wife, Grace, who live here.  Jim graciously invited us over for dinner on Monday night and Grace prepared a wonderful meal!  Homemade chicken enchiladas, pisole, beans, guacamole, chips and HOT SALSA.  Les loved the hot salsa so much that he went back for refills four times and got the recipe!  It was a fun evening and a nice change of pace.  

When we came here, I thought that all I would be good at was painting, so, I brought a couple of my own favorite brushes.  But as the week rolled on, I had the opportunity to learn how to use a jigsaw, a circular saw and an air stapler, in addition to my newfound ability with a chop saw!  I was challenging myself to take on tasks that I didn't know I was capable of.  What a great feeling!  I still had the opportunity to use my painting skills completing the new laundry room and also painting trim on 2 of the new houses.

During the week we discovered a good Mexican restaurant in the old Mesquite Street district (La Nueva Casita Cafe), and a not-so-good buffet for our Thursday night group dinner.  Avoid Furrs Buffet... quantity does not make up for quality.  We've been surprised a couple of times that many restaurants don't serve alcohol.  Can you imagine Mexican food without Cerveza!!

Lunch time on the last day and the sun feels good.

Myth: You have to be Christian to become a Habitat homeowner.

Fact: Habitat homeowners are chosen without regard to race, religion or ethnic group, in keeping with U.S. law and with Habitat's abiding belief that God's love extends to everyone. Habitat also welcomes volunteers from all faiths, or no faith, who actively embrace Habitat's goal of eliminating poverty housing from the world. 

FRIDAY!!!


What an amazing 2 weeks we've had.  We feel joy in what we've been able to accomplish.  When we started, this house was only a concrete slab.  Today, it's framed, sided, roofed and partially shingled; on schedule!  In addition, when we started, the houses on either side were behind schedule and we were able to catch up them up.  We're all feeling pride for a job well done.

 Same back corner, almost the end of the day.

Les holding up the wall.  :)

Front Entry. Detail on the post will be a nice touch when the house is stuccoed.

Front of the house at the end of the day.

 Some of the Crew:

Larry & Diane

Tommie & Sandra

Us!

Our leader, Don Stover.  He and his sidekick, Steve Blythe, were great to work with.

At the end of the day, Don told us that we were the second best group that he's had (the best group consisted of mostly people with a construction background),  but that we had more fun than any group he's had!  

So, would we do this again.  Yes!

"Daisy, where are your fingers?"

The Mesilla Valley Habitat affiliate (along with Albuquerque and Santé Fe) was started back in 1987 after a visit by Millard Fuller to New Mexico.

We arrived at the HFH office/warehouse location today where we are to be parked for the next 2 weeks, along with 10 other rigs.  They’ve had to pack us in pretty tight because there are so many of us and the new RV parking lot across the street isn’t finished yet.  This is the beginning of the build season for MVHFH (there was 1 two-week group before us), running from the first of October to May.

There was a pizza party/potluck tonight where we got a chance to meet everyone and learn a little about each other. There were 19 people in the room, plus the family whose home we will start work on tomorrow.  It seems that we’re the only rookies on the crew; many of these folks do multiple builds a year.  Don, the project coordinator and his wife, Elaine, are here for the whole season. 

 It was wonderful to get to meet the future owners of the house that we start on tomorrow; Tina and her children Jimmy, 14 and Janelle, 12.  Tina has to contribute 250 hours of sweat equity towards her home.  She has been the sole support of her children since they were in diapers.  Her children are bright and polite and the whole family is so grateful for this opportunity.  Jimmy even made a chocolate cream pie to bring for the potluck and Janelle is in advanced placement classes in school.  Tina told me that a couple of weeks ago, they went out to the home site (the concrete pad is poured) and they each took turns sitting in a chair and taking pictures in what will be their respective bedrooms.  Tina’s home with be the 80^th home built here in Las Cruces by HFH.  For us, she put the human face on why we’re doing this.

 Monday

We don’t know what to expect today, as we gather together outside the RV’s to caravan out to the build site.  It’s certainly cold, but we’ve dressed in layers, knowing that it will warm up as the sun rises in the sky.

We arrive at the build site and find a concrete slab, chalked and numbered, ready for the walls to be built.  There are 2 other houses, on each side of this one, in various stages of construction.  A group of four or five head up to the roof of one of these houses to work on laying felt and shingles.  The rest of us, along with a few regular locals, begin to unload and assemble the prefab walls.  It’s a very clever system.  Each wall is pre-cut, marked and numbered.  It’s a little like paint by number.  I’m told that not all builds are like this, but it sure made things easy and took a lot of guess-work out of it.  Apparently there is a group of locals who do this prefab work in the warehouse.

The pictures really tell the story:

8:20 a.m.  Concrete slab ready for walls.

Standing at the garage and looking to the back.

9:00 a.m. Walls being built. There are 18-20 people working on this.
Shot at the back corner.

10:00 a.m. First wall is up.
Same back corner.

12:00 and time for lunch.  Four exterior walls are up.
From the front.

2:15 p.m. End of the work day.
Another exterior wall up & some interior walls ready for setting.

2:15 p.m.  From the same back corner.

Up at 6:30 and back to the RV by 3:00, we feel like we've put in a very long day and we are most definitely tired!  We also pretty amazed at how much it feels like was accomplished in a very short amount of time.  This, to me, was reminiscent of an old-fashioned barn raisin'.

Tuesday


Up and at 'em early for another day of pounding nails.  I'm feeling a little discouraged, as I find that I'm not very good at driving nails and I'm not really sure what to do with myself to be useful.  I'm really impressed that so many women on this build are old pro's at this.  Some of them take a while to get that nail in, but they have persistence!  And a couple of them are giving the men a run for their money!

At one point during the day, we need a board cut and I carry it over to Daisy at the chop saw and ask her to cut it and she promptly tells me that I can do it.  I reply that I don't know how and she says it's time to learn.  .  She gently guides me through the process and  voilà, I have cut my first board. Now Daisy is an old hand at Habitat work and, I think, plans to be here in Las Cruces for 4 months. The most important thing she taught me about using the saw was this: "Daisy, where are your fingers", she says as she holds up her hand and shows me the missing end of one finger.  It's a very powerful visual image.


I proudly take the board to my hubby, who promptly bursts my bubble by telling me that it's too short!  We walk back to the saw where he makes an attempt to retrain me on the ins and outs of cutting wood.  Not exactly how Daisy had done it, but I grudgingly listen.  Another board is needed soon, and I head straight back to Daisy and ask for a refresher course. Bless her very patient soul.

2:00 p.m. At the end of day two, the bathtubs are set in place and the interior walls are up.
From the opposite rear corner.

From the front. 

Wednesday

At the end of the day Tuesday, a request was made for a couple of people to stay back and paint the laundry room at the new RV parking lot.  Now painting is something I know how to do, so I volunteer.  

A coat of primer on the new texture and 2 coats of paint.  Since the exterior will get stucco, just the trim and the door need paint.  It's a small room and should only take a day.  As the rest of the crew drives off, Karen, Sandra and I haul the paint supplies, ladders and saw horses across the street.   Our first delay came when we discovered that the texture mud wasn't dry.  Then, the stucco crew showed up and we were jockeying around each other for the rest of the day working on the exterior.  We finally got a coat of primer on after lunch.

In the meantime, the build crew were busy getting the OSB nailed to the exterior of the house and continuing to work on the roof next door.

Thursday

Due to a little miscommunication, I found myself working alone on Thursday to finish the laundry room.  A coat of primer on the ceiling and 2 coats of paint and it was done inside.  I wasn't able to put the last coat of paint on the door yet because the stucco crew was again trying to complete their part of the project.

The build crew got the garage and porches finished and trusses are planned for tomorrow.

Traditionally, the whole group goes out to dinner together on Thursday night.  This night was at Si Senor's and I think we had 17 people.  Fun time!

Finally Friday

It has been a long week and we are 'good tired'.  Les has been threatening for a couple of days to "call in sore".  We were certainly ready for the end of the week. It's been a long time since we've had to get up early and work full days.

Today's goal was to get the trusses set:

Moving the truss from the stack.

Pushing it up on the roof.

Don hauling it up.

Pushing it along on the roof.

While the truss crew accomplished their goal, some of us spent the day blocking the duct work in the other two houses.  I was really excited to get to hone my chop saw skills.  I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo at the end of the day on Friday but the trusses were all set and we were off for the weekend.  Woo Hoo!

Out of Pahrump

It is so strange to me for us to be driving through Las Vegas and not stopping.  One of our favorite things to do is to catch dinner and a show, but having just spent 2 days just 60 miles north in Pahrump, it was hard to justify stopping for the night. It’s bad enough that it takes us over a week to get from Fremont to New Mexico!

After leaving Pahrump, we were both looking forward to seeing St. George.  With their beautiful red bluffs, it’s very picturesque. 

The beautiful red bluffs north of the city of St. George.

You can plainly see the Temple in the middle of town.

My research tells me that St George was founded by the Mormon’s on a cotton mission in 1861.  Fearing that the civil war would impact the cotton supply, the church leaders sent 300 families to the area to promote the attempt to grow cotton.  While they did manage to grow cotton, they were not competitive and the effort was eventually abandoned.  The area is known as Utah’s Dixie.

1877 saw the completion of the St. George Utah Temple; the church’s third temple and its longest continually operating temple.  Brigham Young had his winter home here.

Leaving St George, we definitely took the road less traveled, across highways 59 to 389 and 89 Alt. across the north side of Grand Canyon. It was fun to cross the Colorado River where the Grand Canyon begins.  I was kicking myself for not having my camera ‘at the ready’.  If you go to Google maps and type in Marble Canyon, AZ, drag the little man to the bridge and see it in satellite mode, you’ll get a rough idea of how dramatic it is.  Someone has actually posted pictures here that are well worth a look.

From St. George, through Marble Canyon, and on into Navajo Country, and then across Arizona to Silver City, New Mexico, was a very pleasant drive of 574 miles that took us 2 ½ days.  This is what we love about our RV lifestyle: We can move at our own pace and enjoy every minute of it.

Along the Vermilion Highway (and this isn't even the best of it).
Don't you just love 'photo-stitch'.

We spent 2 nights in Silver City but were a little disappointed that the town is a bit run down and doesn’t seem to be doing all it can to promote its history.  There’s a lot of info about Billy the Kid spending part of his childhood here and if you’re interested in him, this website has a lot of info: http://www.aboutbillythekid.com/index.html . There seem to be many historical sites here, but, in many cases, whatever buildings were attached to them appear to be gone.  Even his mother’s grave was moved in 1882 from its original location out to the ‘new’ cemetery. (She died about a year after moving here from ‘consumption’… another word for tuberculosis.)  Silver City is the home of Western New Mexico University, but doesn’t seem to have the vibrancy of a college town.  I’m sure there are people who ‘love it here’ and I don’t mean to offend any of them… but this is how we judge the places we visit… “Would we like living here?”  Of course that is a purely subjective opinion: ours.  That’s the only one we have.  You don’t have to agree with us and we’re okay with that.

We made it into Las Cruces this afternoon and are excited to be here.  We’ve settled into an RV park until Sunday, when we’ll move in to the Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity RV Park.  We’ve been told that there are 12 rigs coming in this Sunday and have already been invited to a potluck Sunday evening for a ‘meet and greet’.  I believe that this affiliate will be building 9 houses this year and we've been told that they now have two started and the trusses went up on the second house last week.

Myth: Habitat for Humanity was founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

Fact: Habitat was started in 1976 in Americus, Ga., by the late Millard Fuller and his wife Linda. President Carter and his wife Rosalynn (whose home is eight miles from Americus, in Plains, Ga.), have been longtime Habitat supporters and volunteers who help bring national attention to the organization's house-building work. Each year, they lead the Jimmy Carter Work Project to help build houses and raise awareness of the need for affordable housing.

If you’d like to read more about the HFH affiliate for this area, please check out these links:

 http://lascruceshabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Web.Newsletter-2010.pubOct1.pdf   http://lascruceshabitat.org/

I’ve heard from some that they’ve had problems posting comments on my blog site.  L   Feel free to drop me an email and give me your feed back.

Just some amazing cloud formations along the Vermilion Highway.