What could be better than working outside all day with 18 cats? Waking up this morning was a bit rough as we attempted to rise from our sleeping bag cacoons, stretching sore muscles and peeling eyelids open at 6a.m. It’s day three here in Iowa and as the days pass, the Iowa 25 continues to bond through our hard work and hours spent smelling each other’s body odor (Eww) as a result of aforementioned  hard work.  Our muscle aches are increasing as our sleeping hours are decreasing, but yet no one is complaining, for we all knew when we signed up for this trip, this was exactly what was in store.  For us, our days have been spent mostly outdoors on clean up duty, removing large piles of debris that accumulated as a result of the twin tragedies which occurred here nearly one year ago. After yesterday’s long day of house scraping and painting, today was a little more laid back as our group of 5, Eric, Allesandra, Lisa, Sean and Jordan headed off to a local woman’s home  (after a short rain delay) to perform some clean up duty, after unloading a heavy amount of shingles onto a newly built roof (or as the Iowans like to call it "ruff"). 

      When we arrived, we met the very adorable owner of the property, Carolyn Hanson, followed closely behind by her brood of 18 cats! Wherever you looked, there was a cat walking out from behind some trees, from under cars, from up in trees! It was a kitty rain shower done Iowa style, and the cats would provide us with much amusement throughout the day! Carolyn was such an interesting character. She had that old lady appeal to her and ended almost every sentence with a "and that...", which reminded Jordan very much of her sweet little old Nan back in Jersey. It may be a little too obvious that we were loving this woman (that we had only just met.) How friendly the Iowans are! Our work duties included cleaning up an insect laden pile of wet boxes filled with mushy, pourage like cedar shavings, cat pee ridden trash removal and moving some rather large and unusual objects which much like the cats had ended up on her property as a result of the flooding. While we shoveled shavings, Sean and Allesandra valiantly wrestled septic soaked garbage into a dumpster and were rewarded by a great treasure awaiting them at the bottom of the pile; a Burger King T-shirt in its original plastic packaging! Needless to say, this was taken home as a souvenir of a job well done.
     

Debris wahed up from the flood.	Carolyn's kittens.

      We were feeling energized and ready to work and I don’t know whether it was the late start we had or the Special K we had for breakfast, but we knocked out our assigned tasks so fast that Carolyn needed to find more tasks to keep us busy. So, although we started out as garbage men, we ended up becoming landscapers, pruning bushes and trees. Weilding saws, we set out on a rather sad evergreen whose fungus laden braches were reaching out to be trimmed.  Braving the possible rashes and ick factor of slimy orange fungals we plunged on into the tree and sawed away, and we couldn’t have had a better time doing it.  We were even provided free outdoor entertainment by many new friends including a frog, a toad (Spike), some rad looking ants, a snail named Lar Bear, massive worms and a pair of canoodling cats (who really seemed to be enjoying the day way too much-wiiink).  We finished up our work and sat down by the woman’s pond, skipping rocks, soaking in the sun, and in Jordan's case soothing her itchy cat hives. Reluctantly, we said our goodbyes to Carolyn who, like everyone else we have encountered on our trip, thanked us profusely and invited us all back to swim and fish in her pond. The one commonality that every one of us has commented on is the genuine openness and kindness of all those we have encountered.  Their response to us makes all of us work that much harder, and wish we could do even more for them because they are true inspirations to all of us.

Relaxing by the pond after a hard day's work.	Gardening around the church.

      Coming back to the church afer our farmcapades we lent a hand to the our other volunteers who stayed at the church today and did various projects such as weeding, cleaning, building walls and even laying a patio. And so we closed our work day back in the dirt, shoveling sod, moving rocks and enjoying our work together (minus Jordan who suffered an allergic reaction attack due to consuming a casserole cooked in 'SHROOMS!!) It was a double whammy with 18 cats and mushrooms... oh no! After relaxing for a bit and showering the dirt and grime off of our weary bodies, we decorated our quarters for Alicia's 21st birthday! It was an exciting time where we made Shirley Temple drinks and had a few laughs. We then reminisced about the good times, wonderful experiences, and people that we have encountered along the way. As the night grows late we volunteers become tired and await for what tomorrow's projects have to offer (where there is no doubt in our minds that it can only be better than the last).

Clearing a spot for the church's new patio.	The completed patio.
The Shady Rest Motel in Cedar Falls. An extended stay motel, home to 17 families, which have been displaced since the flooding.

      While this was taking place, another group of us went out to Cedar Falls to work on a motel that was destroyed by the flooding last year. It has taken them this long to get the funding and man power to be able to progress with the project. The motel is called Shady Rest and it was home to 17 low income families, who the owner said become one large family of neighbors who looked out for eachother and had fun hanging out together.  The floods unfortunately made the motel unliveable, and the tenants were displaced.  We spent the day doing various tasks, including spackling, sanding, plumbing, sheet rock, car repair, lawn mowing, and other oddjobs that made life a little easier for the owners of the motel, Phylis and Jim.  It was really great to talk with them, as well as play with their two puppies who were absolutely adorable! Hopefully, with the help that we gave today and hard work by others in the weeks ahead, the people who are aching so badly to return to their homes will finally get their wish.  Overall, it was a really great way to spend my 21st birthday! And the surprise cake and presents was absolutely amazing and very unexpected.  The experiences here just keep getting better and I can't wait to see what adventures tomorrow brings!

Preparing to surprise Alicia for her 21st birthday - complete with decorations, a variety of cupcakes and brownies, and shirley temples in pitchers, mugs, a margarita glass, and of course an Iowa themed shot glass.	Alicia attempting to blow out her candles... they were trick candles!!!