This holiday season, the GFM'ers pitched in to help build a Habitat for Humanity duplex home in Denver. The weather was gorgeous (this was pre-blizzard) and it was a great way to spend the day with colleagues while doing something good for two deserving families.
After selecting our stylish hard hats and safety goggles, Team GFM set right to work framing windows and walls, shuttling gravel from place to place and tamping down dirt to prepare the porches for cement. We soon learned that while using a hammer may look simple, it is actually quite challenging (and a bit aggravating)! In the first three hours, I removed more botched nails than I put in. There is definitely a learning curve to work with here but Lee (one of the site supervisors) was so cute, I mean, patient and helpful. We made great progress and it was time for a lunch break before we knew it.
Right after lunch we erected one of the exterior walls - ah, instant gratification! It was truly amazing to see such a tangible result of our hard work, and we were only just beginning. We continued framing, tamping, sawing and shoveling throughout the afternoon and many laughs were had by all. By the end of the day, we raised two more walls and this place was starting to look like a real duplex! We were all so proud of our hard work... and completely exhausted! The following day, I could barely use my "hammerin' hand" and my shoulders were so sore. It was worth every ache and pain though to spend the day laughing in the sun with friends and doing something truly worthwhile.
Some highlights of the day:
Feliz Navidad!
Sarah
After selecting our stylish hard hats and safety goggles, Team GFM set right to work framing windows and walls, shuttling gravel from place to place and tamping down dirt to prepare the porches for cement. We soon learned that while using a hammer may look simple, it is actually quite challenging (and a bit aggravating)! In the first three hours, I removed more botched nails than I put in. There is definitely a learning curve to work with here but Lee (one of the site supervisors) was so cute, I mean, patient and helpful. We made great progress and it was time for a lunch break before we knew it.
Right after lunch we erected one of the exterior walls - ah, instant gratification! It was truly amazing to see such a tangible result of our hard work, and we were only just beginning. We continued framing, tamping, sawing and shoveling throughout the afternoon and many laughs were had by all. By the end of the day, we raised two more walls and this place was starting to look like a real duplex! We were all so proud of our hard work... and completely exhausted! The following day, I could barely use my "hammerin' hand" and my shoulders were so sore. It was worth every ache and pain though to spend the day laughing in the sun with friends and doing something truly worthwhile.
Some highlights of the day:
- Lee referring to “KP” as “Kip” all day
- Jim helping the girls remove their botched nails
- Wendy working the tamper like a professional
- Laura framing in her very adoreable, very expensive jeans
- That german chocolate cake... YUM!
- The general instant gratification of seeing those walls go up
Feliz Navidad!
Sarah
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