I spent most of yesterday at the Habitat warehouse, building the frames for the Women Build house. It was awesome. I was so worried that I had lost my touch, since I hadn't done any construction since 2001. But as soon as I started hitting the toenail into the cripple over the door, I was back. I was very happy that I still had it. It was terrific to spend the day with a group of other Austin-area women interested in building affordable housing and excited to use tools. One of the women in my group had never nailed before, but she did a fantastic job of it! Her technique was down.

There was one volunteer whose advice seemed patronizing to me, but I could tell her advice helped the newbie volunteers, so whatever. Overall, it was a diverse and delightful group of women there volunteering, and we really got a lot done. This was my first Woman's Build as a volunteer, so that was neat.

And can I say that I kick ass with a nail gun? Because I do. I still hate using it for the noise produced (it always freaks me out), but towards the end of the afternoon I was using it because my arm was sore from hammering and lifting.

Today I am so sore it's not funny. My glutes, legs and hammering arm are very achy. I'm hopped up on ibuprofen. But it was worth it. They said that they contract out taping and texturing, so I can't help with that (I hate taping, but love spraying and swiping the texture). I'm planning on helping put the sheetrock up, and maybe going another time before that. I can't do it every weekend, though. I wouldn't be able to survive the week!
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