2nd Week in Taft, TX

As we begin the week, we finish some items that were begun last week.   Before the Day Care day starts, Jodi removes painter's tape from the door she painted last week.

And Stel reinstalls the hardware to that same door.

The sign for the Resale Shop gets finished by Sharon and Carol and the plexiglass has been  secured to cover the sign,

and with the help of Dave, the sign is hung on the shop.

Mike and Stel work to complete the ramp they started last week

and this is the final product.

This week, Duane, Wilma and Gene were also able to finish this ramp

which is quite long.

Back at Taft First UMC, the sign that was cleaned last week gets a new coat of white paint.

Carol, Wilma and Sharon are replacing damaged tiles in the nursery

and one of the classrooms in Day Care.

Dave has patched a large hole in the floor under the sink in the custodial closet and is now adding tile to the new floor

and Dave uses a special "clamp" (Sharon) to hold the tile he is attempting to cut.

Stel begins a new project to make screens for the Day Care windows so that the kids can get some fresh air. (Without screens, the mosquitos in this part of Texas would carry the kids away.)

The pneumatic nailer sure aids the construction.

Jodi applies a coat of primer and paint to the screen frames.

Since they cant get into the classrooms when the kids are present, Carol and Wilma help Jodi by sweeping the construction sawdust from the garage.

Then Carol and Sharon fill in between jobs by painting some larger screen frames for the nurse's office to keep out some of the sun and help cool the office.

On their way to clean their paint tools, Sharon and Carol stop to visit.

Stel and Jodi who are attaching hardware to previous screens and 

fitting them to the appropriate window before the screening is attached.

Carol, Sharon and Dave are trying to clean the kitchen between meal prep time at Day Care but they can't see very well so Stel is replacing light bulbs to shed some more light on the subject.

With more light, Dave attacks the gease above the stove,

with the help of Sharon.

Carol cleans counters and lower cabinets.

Dave, Sharon and Carol make a great cleaning crew but

they are all too short to reach the area above the stove so Stel lends a hand.

Even the step stool gets a cleanup.

We were asked to repair this lady's porch so Mike, Gene and Duane have torn off a  6x9 foot section and

removing the old support plate with the help of Gene

and Mike.

Duane prepares to install a new stringer.

A day later, Wilma has joined the effort and they are making great progress.

On Thursday, while Gene and Mike are investigating another possible project, Wilma and Duane are adding the finishing touches.

and as the week closes, this lady has a new, much safer porch.

As the week ends, Gene meets with Pastor Cliff to evaluate completed projects and to line up additonal work for next week

One night, we had dinner at the home of two members of the Taft UMC, Ray (seated on the sofa) and Jo (standing).  They live in a development on the water at Port Aransas, about 1/2 hour east of Taft.

Pastor Cliff and his wife  were co-hosts and it was a lovely evening,

and a lovely drive home.  A good ending of the week.

1st Week in Taft, TX

We have traveled from Canyon Lake to Odem, TX and are staying at the Odem First United Methodist Church.

The team from the left are Duane, Wilma, Carol, Mike, Jodi, Stel, Sharon, Dave and Gene (our leader)

The campsites are directly across the street from the church.

Odem is near Corpus Christi in the Gulf Shore area of Texas.  We will be working out of the Methodist church in Taft, TX and we travel through this "blackland" area for @ 13 miles every day.

It has been raining so this Texas cactus is in full bloom.

The work base is First United Methodist Church, Taft, TX..  Cleaning and painting this wrought iron sign will be one of the objectives of our work

Wilma removing paint and rust from handrails in prep for painting

with help from Carol

and Mike.

Dave and Sharon are cleaning sidewalks

and painting warning signs on those areas where the sidewalks are raised or sunken.

There are a lot of handrails on this building and

most need attention 

so Wilma gets additional assistance from Duane.

There is a Thrift shop on the property and Sharon is making a new sign with "drop off instructions" for those making donations.

Stel is removing kickplates and other hardware from the door to the preschool so that Jodi can scrape off the peeling paint and repaint the doors.

Taft UMC has an outreach program and as a part of that we have been asked to build handicapped ramps at a couple of residences in the area.  At this farm, Duane and Dave have begun the construction process

which will be quite long to get the wheelchair bound resident to rhe driveway.

Wilma, Gene and Duane are encountering heavy roots to remove as they pass this tree.  And they are under a lot of pressure to perform as they have a large audience ...

of interested sheep and goats watching the whole process.

At another location in a nearby town, Mike and Stel are working on building another ramp on top of this cement slab for the wheelchair bound resident here.

Not much to attach to but we'll level it and make it work

Jodi helps Stel cut the deckboards for the ramp.

Mike installs the deckboards

While Stel cuts the posts to support the handrails.

Almost done with the deck

and the handrails

and end supports.

Another problem.  We were going to lay block here to bridge the 4 inch gap to the slab but what is underneath Mike's feet is another cement slab.  Guess we'll work on a small ramp for this next week.

The Odem UMC honored us with a brisket dinner one evening

which gave us an opportunity to rest and

visit with our campground hosts.

On Friday night, a terrific storn came through and we lost power at about 12:30 AM.  The next morning we still had no power so we all drove about 7 miles south and had breakfast at Dennys.  Better than running 5 generators.  See you next week.