Dick and Judy L. / Raleigh NC

We parked in a state park while visiting my Uncle and Aunt, and did whatever we could while they fed us and plied us with love and coffee and conversation and humor. We did spring cleaning, some painting, a garage reorg, and a digital archive of all their antiques.

• Blog Post : I See You
• Flickr Album : here

Note: The links are the same for all three Raleigh stops.

Tim and Anita S. / Raleigh NC

We had a chance to paint a bedroom, and paint and fix up the master bath for my cousins while they were away for the weekend, and took great delight in doing as much as we could in the time we had.

• Blog Post : I See You
• Flickr Album : here

Rick B. / Raleigh NC

We built a backyard path for Rick next to his pool, and had a great time getting to know him also … he was one of the first folks to reach out and ask us to visit, and it was great to finally meet him!

• Blog Post : I See You
• Flickr Album : here

Steve and Ann Marie H. / Palmetto FL

Steve said he could use some help repainting his camper, and so we parked at a campground very close to theirs, and showed up Monday morning to start. Steve was already in full swing, and we finished the job in one day! We spent the rest of the week sailing and walking and talking and enjoying their company.

• Blog Post : Floridaaaaaa!
• Flickr Album : here

Michael went up to NYC while the boys and I stayed in FL, and did an installation of Wall Drawing Scribble #12 at The Drawing Center.

• Blog Post : There's a brief reference and photo in the Churned post

While in New Orleans for a week, hanging out with Emily and seeing the city, Michael did a few days work for her friend Aureliano … gutting the first floor of an old house that had been damaged in Hurricane Katrina. He got to see the differences between old brownstones in Brooklyn and old N'awlins homes, and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

• Flickr Album : here

We stopped at my sister's place to visit, and ended up digging into a pile of Some Day projects. We re-roofed the garage, did lots of patching and painting inside, stripped wallpaper, hung artwork, organized office workspaces and the shed, got rid of old stuff that needed to be hauled away, and redid the garage interior from the ground up. Lots of sweat, and loads of fun!

• Flickr Album : here

We were in my folk's driveway for most of the time, and did a basement cleanout/reorg, as well as fixing some holes in the roof.  Lovely to have another chunk of time together!

This time around we rehabbed a damaged old treehouse playset in John and Olive's backyard. We did some landscaping as part of it, fixing and tidying and improving what their kids had played on for their growing crop of grandkids. Great fun, and some nice challenges too in getting it squared up to a much larger tree. The boys were great helps, now much more comfortable with power tools and stronger to boot. It was extra helpful as I dropped a soaking wet 4x4 on my bare toe early on in the project, and was slowed down a bit for several days. A true family project.

We painted the back porch, installed a light fixture, addressed a leak, and did a garage re-org. Nice to get to hang with more family at the same time!

They found us two tiny projects that we could help with while we parked in their driveway for a week, and spoiled us the rest of the time. We helped remove some old solar tiles on the roof, and put in a new mailbox post.

We had a chance to paint some skylights and window frames for them, which had more entertainment than usual as the skylights were on a very steep roof. Patched and painted a wall too.  Lots of detail work!

Our old landlords from PA, it was really nice to see them again, and boondock in the horse pasture at their rental house! We rebuilt a gate, tore down a tree, and tamed some enormous wild blackberry vines.

• Flickr Album : here

Another playset revamp, and a pile of fun was had on this one too. One very appreciative small boy when we were done! We managed to get our trailer into Bon's back yard via a narrow alley, which was harder than any of the work on the playset. She and I go way back, very nice to reconnect.

We visited Bon's folks while in town too, and helped them get a fancy birdhouse fixed up and mounted on a pole in their front yard. Nice to finally meet them in real life!

• Flickr Album : here  (same album as the previous project)

Helen had responded cheerily to our “call for work” when we were coming up through CA, and it was a huge treat to be invited in to strip wallpaper off of her dining room and hallway, touch up the textured walls underneath, and repaint. Not an easy job, but very enjoyable hospitality and worth every minute. Setting off her house alarm wasn't the high point, but we got everything finished and cleaned up on time! We parked behind the barn at a friend's place in the area while we worked, so you'll see a lot of that mixed in with the photos below.

• Flickr Album : here

These two were priceless, and as in love as any 70/80 yr old pair I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Being related made it even better. Recently moved onto a 5 acre farm, there were ideas and plans galore that we could pitch in on, and a full hookup in their sideyard as well! We re-roofed a shed with tin, built raised planters, organized the garage, gave their Keurig a good workout, and talked and listened and shared lots of meals. We also took the big shed/barn that they'd had built to house their RV and tools, and made it into the the 5 centers they were looking for … workshop, exercise space, a cozy library, food prep spot, and craft center. It was ready by the time a pile of their offspring showed up to share Thanksgiving, and it was great to see it used the way they'd intended.

While in the area we also painted a garage for Don and Cathy L., friends of theirs.

• Flicker Album : here