A friend's beautiful home. It's progressing slowly...as funds and volunteers are available. A group from Altoona, PA, worked on the floor the week I was there. Once it's finished, my friend will generously open her home to give volunteers a place to stay while they work on other homes in the area. 
...and a neighboring house. So much is done. So much more yet to do. And the media has forgotten the plight of the people of the Gulf Coast as they've moved on to today's "hot" news item.
Acres and acres of "Katrina Cottages", waiting to go to families in need of housing. Sitting in a big old field...all tied up in bureaucratic red tape (can't you see it?) People are slogging through layers and layers of governmental crap in order to get one of these cottages to live in for 2 years while they work on rebuilding their homes and lives. Trouble is, months can tick by on the 2-year time limit while people wait for their paperwork to get stamped, stapled, spindled, etc...and they could end up just getting settled in to one of these lovely little cottages right before the government comes to boot them out.
Lingering marks of Katrina and FEMA in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Many houses still bear the spray-painted markings which signified to rescue teams that a house had been checked.
But the sun was shining...and people were getting married...and the street vendors and artists were out in full force. Sometimes, you could almost forget that there are people living under the overpass in a "tent city" just a few blocks away. Or that a huge part of the Lower Ninth Ward is still boarded up and looks like it's been bombed.
Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde.
Let's just say they didn't last long. And I felt miserable. But it was worth it.
The newly-rebuilt St. Peter's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church. It's beautiful. We attended the church service there Sunday morning. I've come to this church nearly every trip to the Gulf Coast--it's been a huge source of encouragement to me to see this faith community rebuild on its original foundation. Because THIS is what it looked like after Katrina:
And this is my "Katrina angel"...
...she's always been my symbol of hope in the midst of deep despair. My original shot of her was in January 2006 (see below)...and the world around her has changed drastically as the "angels" in human form have come from around the world to help rebuild the lives of the people God loves on the Gulf Coast.
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