House Build and Number 9

On Saturday I was back at the house build after 2 weeks off with my shoulder. I'm still not healed completely but I guessed if I took it easy I'd be OK, and I was reluctant to be away for another week.

When I arrived I was greeted with hugs and smiles, a lovely welcome, and I threw myself back into work, happy to be there. The boys had got as far as they could in their duplex and came across to help us as we had to have all the walls in place so the roof could go on during the week. We're not allowed to do that, I'm assuming for safety and insurance reasons. The staircase had been installed and a couple of the outer walls upstairs were in place but I didn't feel like I'd missed a lot; I'd been really concerned about not having any more framing to do. I'd planned on being a little less active with my hammer but I couldn't contain myself and I was soon whacking nails in left, right and center, although I was careful to let my right arm do some of the work. I've become quite ambidextrous with my hammer.

I did take time out to rest my shoulder and snap a couple of shots of the others. We're preparing another outer wall above.

I was in fits of laughter watching John here. Letting the ladies do all the lifting he looks as though he's saying, 'C'mon girls, put yer backs into it!"

Even when they've got it up to shoulder height he's still there with his arms at his sides. It was hilarious. He really did help out in everything else though.

And finally it's up under Bill's watchful eye!

The last outer wall goes up with the wood glue spread along the base first and then the wall lifted up. No sign of John!

Pam, the other coordinator leaving for the day.

John working out what needs to be done next.

Most days we have wonderful lunches provided for us by local residents, well wishers, local charities, businesses or even home owners of previously built Habitat homes. It was a pasta lunch today.

Getting the internal walls built and set in place. Krysta, on the right, is the tidy one in our group and is always happy to sweep up.

Evelyn, Susan and John smiling at the end of the day. We got a lot done, completing the outer walls and finishing the inter framing also. Evelyn deserves an award, she drives from Richmond every Saturday, a 2 hour journey.

Ruth ensuring that the fire wall is protected with plastic until the roof is installed.

The duplex is starting to look like a proper house now. Despite my original intentions of taking it easy and not working too hard, I actually ended up hammering a lot of nails in but was sensible in not lifting anything heavy. I was worried about being sore the next day but I think the exercise actually helped and my shoulder didn't feel too bad the following morning.
In the evening I met up with Dale, Emily and Jason to celebrate our friend Joe's birthday at the Number 9, a gay club in DC. Joe has the great idea of having a few birthday parties each year so he can get to see a high percentage of friends and I definitely wanted to be one of them as I haven't seen him for a while.

His choice of venue was interesting and I wondered how the boys would deal with it but both Jason and Dale took it in their stride, not once looking uncomfortable. Emily and I were loving it, enjoying all the men on the numerous screens, especially Matthew McConaughey in a role I'd not seen before.

The music was great too, lots of 70's and 80's disco music and a few 90's too. I also loved these hanging lights which we thought would be pretty easy to replicate.

Joe looking very cool as usual. It was wonderful to see him and chat with a few of his friends that I recognized. He's in with an uber cool crowd.

For quite a large part of the evening Jason and Dale were engaged in a conversation that I couldn't even start to understand, some crazy guy stuff, but I caught them both quiet at one point and engrossed in something on one of the screens. Not sure if they were intrigued or horrified! Contrary to my initial intent we stayed there all evening enjoying the company. We left at nearly 1:00am and then we dropped into another bar after spotting another friend Molly through the window. I didn't get home until after 2:30am, collapsing into a warm soft bed and barely conscious of two fluffy feline friends snuggling up as I fell heavily into sleep.

A Bouncing Emblemax Christmas Party

Friday evening was the Emblemax Christmas Party and it was all hands on deck to clear large spaces in our production area for some big entertainment, an adult Moon Bounce and a Gladiator Joust. The boys amazed me by managing to shove many large pallets of goods into places that weren't going to be used. I'd worried whether this could be achieved but they pulled it off without any fuss.

The office was cleared for the food area except for Jenn's desk, she persisted in working until the last minute and looked quite funny as her desk was moved against the wall among the Christmas table cloths.

Fernando and Jenn larking about in production, getting into party spirit. The rental company turned up in their truck and started off loading the games, firing up fans and pumps to inflate the air games.

Joe was first to try out everything. While I was still at my desk, he'd already had a go in the Moon Bounce and bounced on the Gladiator mat. I found him and Jenn trying their hands at the floor games for the kids.

The Moon Bounce was huge and it was great seeing the adults having as much fun in there as the kids. My arm was still sore so I could only have a few controlled bounces and the Gladiator Joust was completely off limits for me but I loved seeing the others enjoy them. Mike told me he'd been bouncing in the Moon Bounce and tried a back flip which he failed to complete, landing on the back of his neck, but thankfully, his ego was hurt more than his body.
All these shots were again taken with my phone, my poor arm still isn't up to using a heavier camera.

Mike hanging out with his gorgeous little boy, Addison. I adore this little chap, he has so much character and was easily the star of the evening with his antics.

The crew having a go at the floor games and throwing the sack bags around like hand grenades. They went flying everywhere. The Troll Tip was a big hit and we were told that a group of church ladies had sewn together new outfits for the trolls when they rented the game. Apparently they'd found that their original little skirts and tops showing bare troll midriffs just weren't morally acceptable and needed to be covered up.I;m surprised that they didn't give the all trolls blue hair rinses too.

I'd also rented a popcorn and candy cotton cart. We didn't end up making popcorn but Joe turned out to be a natural with the candy cotton and the kids lined up for their sticky treats. My effort was a complete failure but I still gobbled it up, and I suspect there were a lot of sleepless kids later that evening with the overload of sugar.

I caught little Addison getting himself into the Moon Bounce. He was so cute, remembering to take off his shoes and clambering up on the catalog boxes to climb in. Sebastian was happy to stop for a breather and have his photo taken too.
The Joust was occupied by mainly the boys, relishing the opportunity to whack each other furiously.

Boss Man was particularly enthusiastic to pummel his staff and had a few sessions with Alam as well as the smaller guys. A few of the girls had a go too but I think the poles were a little hard to wield so it turned out to be more of a boy's game. Wish I could've got up there...

Everyone met in the showroom for Christmas presents, the kids especially keen, and then it seemed to me like it had only been a couple of hours before the party was ending. The evening had sped by and amazingly a lot of the kids were tired despite their huge sugar intakes.

The games company arrived to pack up their truck and it was sad to see the big games deflate so fast. I would love one of these at home. But everyone had had a blast and I was delighted to notice that old fashioned games had been enjoyed more than the video games van from last year. I did take some video footage and will post a little movie later when I've done some editing.
I had a relaxing start to Sunday and met Barb for brunch at Mimi's for healthy omelettes with tomato slices and avocado. We browsed around some shops afterwards, particularly my favoritist store, Home Goods.

Barb found a comfy chair while I went more for style, loving these elegant orange chairs with inset diamonds.

I found this tree decoration, humming and ha'ing whether to buy it, but I really have more than enough Christmas decorations at the moment.

Barb bought a small soft padded bed for Peanut, her little Dachsund, and later sent me a photo showing Arde hogging it and only just managing to fit in his plump posterior, no doubt nearly splitting the seams . He has that, 'Look, see I can get into it', look on his face.

These photos were taken on the way back to Marshall and edited with a new app on my phone. I still marvel how much can be done on this small piece of equipment.It was nice to finish up the weekend in front of a blazing fire with a glass of red wine, gearing up for the final few days of work before the Christmas break.