Building in Maryville

We had 2 days of building in Maryville. The first day we put in the floor tresses, which was easier then when I did it with Columbus Habitat, as these were I-beam like (Columbus was 2 x 8 and we had to toenail them in). Crystal with Blount County Habitat hooked us up with a deli lunch, and since we were so skilled and ahead of schedule (and it was so hot), we ended early. Several of us went on an evening bike ride with Keith and several local cyclists. Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not want us to ride as a torrential downpour started just a couple miles into the ride. We waited awhile before deciding to end the ride early and head over to dinner, which Keith arranged with Tomato Head. I sat with Keith and some of the riders, which turned out to be a good decision. After eating my meal (and still hungry), I lucked out as one of the riders offered me another half a sandwich, ice cream for dessert, half of Maura’s chocolate chip cookie and a bunch more chips.

The 2nd build day featured a good natured competition between us to see which group could get all of the sub-floor installed first on the 2 houses. Don’t worry, quality control was not an issue as we made sure that all boards were properly installed (and the Habitat crew chief inspected it and pointed out any issues). A couple of other riders also did stucco on both houses. We finished by noon and Crystal hooked us up again with lunch, this time provided by Grant and God’s Planet, a youth outreach ministry. After my afternoon nap, we headed over to Aubrey’s, a really good restaurant in Maryville, that Crystal arranged. As you can tell, the time in Maryville was awesome, and I can not thank Crystal enough, as it would not have been possible without her.