Live from New Orleans: Eves on the Eve of the Eve

Naomi Abelson is blogging from New Orleans, Louisiana, where she is leading the Union for Reform Judaism’s Tzevet Mitzvot: Adult Mitzvah Corps program this week.

Work day 2? Check! With the warmer weather lifting our spirits, our crew climbed higher ladders to perfect our paint job from the eves to the ground. Yesterday we arrived to our worksite to a house partially primed and yet to be painted. As amateur painters, we were slow to develop techniques for building scaffolding, adjusting ladders and brushstroke techniques… but today our crew was up in the rafters in no time! Singing along to the radio (and oftentimes to our own little tunes) made our work day go by quickly and enjoyably.

On our second worksite, the crew of seven spent the day building a fence. In two short days, they dug holes, mixed cement, played with power tools, placed posts, and have turned a pile of two-by-fours into a fence!

It’s quite rewarding to see our progress throughout the day and similarly gratifying to visit with the homeowners and neighbors – hearing their stories and learning about the local community. Walking away from the work site today, we were sore, tired and covered in paint… not that anyone on Bourbon St. will notice!

Pouring white paint for the window frames

Jews with power tools!

Building a fence

Relaxing during a much-needed lunch break.

Visiting with the homeowner, Willie, at the end of Work Day 2

Paint, paint everywhere!