Blogs from North Carolina, United States, North America - page 10

This morning was a slow wake up with excitement to be building in yet another city that I love and means so much to me! We had breakfast upstairs where it was a bit cooler and of course had coffee! We then were ready to have our "butts in seats" of the cars at 7:30 like the leaders requested, however they were meeting and we got into the cars a few minutes later after a quick debrief about the local Habitat we would be working with today. Instead of building, we would be doing a demolition! Woot woot! We arrived at the house and from the outside looking in, it looked like it was in decent enough shape. The site supervisor Trevor have us some history on affordable housing in the area--housing becoming more and more ... read more

This morning started with the usual wake up sore & exhausted in a dark corner, shimmy into shams, roll up the therm & sleeping bag, and finish getting everything packed and out to the trailer. As breakfast crew, we were pleased that we had another host provided breakfast that was deeeelicious & filled the room with the smell of biscuits and bacon—so many people said “It smells amazing in here!” We grabbed our biscuits (except for Beth who volunteered to not have one since there was only 15–sweetheart) and plates full of bacon, eggs, and potatoes with a side of orange juice. No coffee today so we were on a mission after route meeting, where Noah shared town facts and we laugh the whole way through it bc “were all getting older.” During breakfast I had ... read more

Everyone has been properly forewarned of the impending trip to the north countries, so no complaints. Bird and HP depart 13 June for six weeks distributed between six countries in and adjacent to Scandinavia. We fly into Stockholm, Sweden followed by Denmark, Norway (half the trip is spent here in fjord country and above the artic circle. Yep we will spend some days when the sun will not set), then down from the top of Sweden till returning to Stockholm and boarding an overnight ferry for Estonia, followed by Finland and St. Petersburg, Russia (yeah, we don't like Trump's buddy Putin either but, being this close, we must go), and finally returning via Helsinki, and two overnight ferries to Stockholm where we'll spend a couple of more days before the hop back across the pond. We ... read more

My grandparents on my paternal side are on the younger side of the scale and always up for a new adventure. They moved to our sleepy hometown in the Triad region of North Carolina about four years ago, when my husband and I were expecting our first child. They’d lived in Texas their entire lives and were ready to settle down and spend their golden years surrounded by the family they’d loved from a long distance for so long. Yet, even though they’ve put down their forever roots here, they are constantly on the go! My little family is in the youngest stages of our lives and still, they hit the road so much more than we do! This past weekend, they invited us to attend a dinner theater with them up in Boone, NC. We ... read more

My husband Robert recently underwent a job change. For 12 years, he worked as a plumber apprentice under his grandfather, fixing pipes and repairing bathrooms. His grandfather worked with him until the ripe old age of 83, when he retired to take care of his wife who’d recently fallen and required more care. It didn’t take long for my husband to realize that working alone wasn’t his forte. He has a very social personality and missed having conversations with people throughout the day. So, a few months after his grandfather left the business, so did my husband. He went to work in an outside sales position for a plumbing supply company. It was a great fit, as the industry was the same and he already knew all of the background information. Plus, most of his new ... read more