Greetings From Pearlington

Busy, busy, busy!

Brittany has been posting regular blogs since we got here, so if you've read them you can keep up. I would write more often, but I don't have my own laptop...which I really should have since I now have a lap!

We all started the first day at the "pretty" house, (but being in the south it comes out "purdy"). This house needed the sheet rock put up and we all got busy cleaning an prepping for that.

Last year while we were here at Christmas, we worked to finish Capt. John's house. He finally moved in on April 1st, with the help of our team that came during Spring Break. He had been living for four years in a travel trailer on his property. One group has been working on a ramp, that is more of a raised walkway. The property is right on a bayou so that even when it rains a little the water level rises enough to make getting to your car kinda dicey. The ramp/walkway will make it easier for him (he is an older slow moving gentlemen) to get out to his truck and when the water rises.

And while we are here to build up, some of us have been busy tearing down...Ellen and I have been helping tear down that trailer that Capt. John and his son Joel and their two dogs lived in for almost four years. It's a travel trailer that started it's life down in Florida after one of the big hurricanes down there, later it ended up in Colorado, and when Katrina hit the first responders from near Aspen brought it here and used it for their command base. Eventually it was given to Capt. John, and now it is going to trailer heaven.

Well, we tore that trailer up real good and John and his sons were mighty glad to have it gone...probably as glad as they were to get it when they needed it, but now it was just sitting there as a painful reminder.

We've been working with a fellow named D.J. who is from northern Virgina. He first came here shortly after Katrina with a group from his church, and has been coming back ever since. He is an electrician and he is a wonderful man with a great sense of humor and a loving heart. He has been here since October living in a trailer on the property at the "Purdy" house doing the wiring and is now about 85 percent finished. He was happy to come out and help us tear down the trailer, saying "it was nice to get out of the attic for a few days". He has been a real blessing to all of us, because he is more than just an electrician, but a jack of all trades and ready and willing to jump in and help with any project!

He will be working here until after new year, and he is anxious to get home to his family (they are expecting another grandchild after the first of the year). But he and his family know how imporant this work is.

I really have this tremendous desire to stay here and help him finish this project so he can go home sooner! I think he and I bonded because his name is D.J. and I am a D.J. He thought that was pretty funny!

Tomorrow is our last day of work and it looks like the ramp will be finished, and the two front rooms of the Purdy house will be done and we will all be sad to leave here since this will most likely be our last trip here.

It has been a real amazing journey.

The first day we were here, four of us went into Walmart for some groceries and the greeter saw us in our matching team swearshirts, asked if we were volunteers, almost...well, actually did cry as she shook our hands and hugged us and thanked us for our service.

That was probably the best greeting anyone has ever gotten at any Walmart anywhere!!

Ralphie

Gonna See Miss Liza, Gonna Go To Mississippi

Well here we are, the doggies are off to Camp Thormann, and in just 10 hours we will be on our way to Pearlington!

Ralphie

KPIG's Greatest Hits

I think if you're going to spend money on any KPIG item, it would be best spent on the KPIG Greatest Hits Volume 3 CD...lots of cool songs recorded live on the air in the Sty, and it's only $10.99 plus shipping (great stocking stuffers!!) ...and for the more local folks it's available at Streetlight Records in Santa Cruz, San Francisco and San Jose, and Cheap Thrills Records in San Luis Obispo!

It's a good deal, because you get some cool, unique cuts of music, and most of the money from the sales of the CD goes to charity! The Santa Cruz Chapter Of Surfrider Foundation and Jacob's Heart, which helps children with cancer and their families!

www.surfridersantacruz.org/

www.jacobsheart.org/

And the CD is dedicated to our fallen leader, Laura Ellen, who made all of this possible!

These are two of my favorite photos of Laura Ellen!

Ralphie

The Sherry Austin Band Rocks!!

The show was great, and we had a great turn-out! Thanks to all who attended and made the evening a rousing success!

Thanks to Sherry Austin, Sharon Allen, Dan Eyde, Tracy Parker and Jimmy Norris for doing a perfect job! And the same to Elisabeth Carlisle for opening, (thanks for playing my request!)

And thank you to Patty and Alta Organic Coffee & Tea Company from Davenport for providing the coffee we served. Check them out http://www.altaorganiccoffee.com/

I love the slogan "Drink Coffee With A Good Conscience: It's A Sustainable Addiction!"

Also thanks to Jill McFarlen for making the Welcome To Pearlington sign we used for our backdrop...excellent!!

And a HUGE thank you to Toby Gray for doing a wonderful job with the sound! Reeeaaallly couldn't have done it without you!

39 days, 5 hours 42 minutes and some seconds until we leave for Pearlington!

Thanks again to everyone for everything!

Ralphie

www.ca2ms.blogspot.com

Somewhere Near Roswell, NM

I guess that would be a UFWD...Unidentified Flying Wiener Dog!

Back To Pearlington!!

It's official...here we go...trip number 10 to Pearlington, Mississippi!!

Looks like about a dozen of us will be going December 16th thru the 24th. There might not be too much work for us because money has dried up so work has slowed. But we are willing to do any job big or small, clean or dirty!!

If you wish to contribute to this trip and help the Pearlington team to git-er-done, then go to Brittany's blog page http://www.ca2ms.blogspot.com/ and click on the PayPal button that says "Donate". Make sure you write in the space provided at PayPal that it's for Ralphie's Pearlington Trip.

You help us, and we'll help the folks of Pearlington!

Ralphie

You Are What You Eat (or, A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Calories)

Remember Uncle Fester from the Addams Family TV show? That's what I think of when I look at this picture! That's waaayyy scarier than Uncle Fester could have ever been!!



I've lost 100 (and a quarter!) pounds as of today! Only 30 more to go to get to my goal...and yes, I see the irony of using the words "quarter" and "pound" when talking about dieting...after all, it was all those Quarter Pounders, Big Macs, Big Boys, Fatburgers...hmmm, I guess you really are what you eat!!



Thank God I met Cheri Bianchini, the owner of The Healthy Way...my Earth Angel, my healthy eating mentor...when she first took my measurments, she had to use the extra large measuring tape...now, not only 100 pounds, but I've lost about 110 inches ...and that was just my neck (ba-da-boom!)



The one picture that's really frightening is the one I posted a couple blogs down. I looked like the Michelin Man's illigitimate son! People didn't think I ate all the Girl Scout Cookies...they thought I ate all the Girl Scouts!! (ba-da-bing!) Even Cheri agreed I looked like an advertisement for really sturdy lawn chairs! Feel free to scroll down and post your own one-liners on that one!

When I see the profile I'm always amazed at how much back I have...and I don't mean my butt, I knew that was big, I mean my actual back!

I did have high cholesterol and high blood pressure, but even now those numbers are lower and under control! I was lucky I didn't have diabetes or bad knees or any number of other health problems! And to answer the question I often get "YES"... Yes I do feel better and have much more energy...and I don't require a nap after every meal...and I don't get winded just opening my eyes!!

100 pounds...I'm not sure I can even lift a 100 pounds now...good thing I don't have to!

Thanks Cheri!

Ralphie

http://www.thehealthyway.us/