Love Your Neighbor ... Part Three

Ready for another day of work with our mud-proof wellies ... 

... onward we went towards the next steps in the Porch Project.

The next part was framing in the porch, which involved attaching the main boards to the posts that had been set the day before. 

All of the helpers had a part to play and a job to do. 

Sometimes it took lots of helpers at the same time just to complete one task ... that just how it is.  

 Some things can be pretty difficult when tackled all alone.  We needed each other. 

When we help one another, things go more smoothly. 

We came to love the sight of the "bubble" in between the lines.

At one point, there was an impromptu change of focus ... well, at least on the part of a few of us.  Do you see the tree shown on the left side in the photo below?

Well, a couple years back, this house had uninvited tenants in the presence of a racoon and it's offspring ... and maybe a few of its friends too!  

Now, I happen to think raccoons are some of the cutest of critters.  I mean, just look at it...isn't it adorable???

Okay, okay, ... I have never had one try to take up residence in my home so .... I am not actually experienced or well-versed in the havoc a raccoon can wreak (except maybe when camping and I've forgotten to bring in the trash or put away the food bin), so I probably shouldn't be defending these little guys!

This guy is probably more like it ... right?  

He pulled the wool over on Dawn and Andrew too many times and did a lot of damage.

One example is this tree.  At one point, during an escape, the resident raccoon essentially flew off the roof and cascaded down the tree but not before practically splitting it down the middle (sort of like coring an apple).

In a fleeting moment, we discussed taking down the tree and before anyone could change his/her mind, Jake went into action and had the whole tree down in a matter of about three minutes!

I don't think I've ever seen him move so quickly ... 

I LIKED IT!

See a NEED, Fill a NEED!

Nathan was right in there giving a hand and helping to clear away each downed limb.

BAM!!

That's how it's done - decide to do something and then DO IT!!

Here are (most) of my guys working together.  Yep, even the little guys have been helpful ... LOVE IT!

This father/son duo has done a great job of helping ... just doing whatever they can to get the job done!

After the porch frame was in place, they began to add the cross boards that would help to support the flooring of the porch.

This guy has some seriously "mad" skills that this mama didn't even know he had.  It was such a blessing to have him help for as many days as he was able.  

Everybody had a job to do and worked hard to do it.

Sometimes it was really good to have a few extra hands.

While the guys were busy with the porch, Dawn and I decided to tackle the dumpster.  

During the tear down of the old, old porch, we were all just throwing the wood into the dumpster.  Well, there is a large sticker at the top of the container that says "DO NOT FILL ABOVE THIS LINE".  

OOPS!!!

We may have gone slightly over the line ... and ... we still had a lot of wood and scraps that would need to make it into the container.

So, we ladies just got ourselves right into it ... 

...took a whole LOT of it out ... and made several organized piles.

And then we got busy cutting it up so that we could better fit it into the container.

And here's a little (very humorous) side note.  Apparently, the church across the street is a happening "Poke-Spot".  It has to do with that App/Game that can be played on your cell phone ... called Pokemon Go!  I find this thoroughly entertaining, I must say.  

Little by little, people started driving up and walking up and then congregating outside the little church, only they weren't there to attend church.

I asked what in the world was going on and I was told, much to my bewilderment, that a "Poke-Event" was in progress and the church happens to be a main hub for locating Pokemon and doing whatever else you do in that game (because I clearly have no idea!).  

So, there you go ... if you are in to that sort of thing ... the little church across the street is the place to be!

It was super exciting when all the cross boards were laid!

We might have done a little dance ... 

... progress is a beautiful thing!

So, I feel like this is kinda long now so I will end this post here ... 

... but not to worry, the next part will appear shortly.

I hope you are enjoying reading about our little project as much as I am enjoying documenting it.