another month of posts - day five

It's the weekend and I normally sleep in. But today I ended up waking up early (well by weekend standards) and arrived at my friend's house where a group of us helped clean up her house as it was gutted out. I was heartbroken after witnessing all that was done to the house where my friend and her two little children live... even more of a heartache was that it was done by someone once dear to them all... the estranged husband (and father of the children). The devastation included leaving live wires hanging from the ceilings, wall sockets yanked out, fridge, microwave, washing machine, tv all removed... and the worst was that the entire back garden had been ripped out and left in a state of disarray. A skip bin was hired the day before and we started on the garage first, doing a huge cull out of what was not needed in the area... then we headed into the garden which was just a wreck. After an entire day of work (some of which was done under drizzling rain), the result was a clean garage with a lot more usable space, the house with safe electricity (the live wires around the house resulted to a huge bill last month), and a garden now in a much better state for leveling, tiling and some new lawn. I was so amazed at how much everyone was willing to help, the boys used their brawn, grinder, chainsaw, ax, saw, etc... the girls organised the garage, smashed up busted concrete and hauled them out to the skip, yanked out the plastic sheeting which used to line the pond, remove the electrical wires that ran through the garden... and did I mention we managed to fill the skip bin, take a load of rubbish to the tip, and also load a truck load of metal scraps. It was such a generous, love-filled, fulfilling and unforgettable day.

Currently loving:
- wheelbarrow - without it we would have taken ages lugging the debris to the skip.
- gloves - giving a little extra grip, and also protecting the hands from getting ripped into shreds.
- hand cream - the little comfort after a long day of work to soothe the sore and calloused hands.