Building the frame

Shawn and his crew from Macon hit the ground running Monday.

And what a crew. Shawn's talented son, also named Shawn; his uncle Arnold, a marksman with a saw; Ben (on the right in the picture); Charles (on the left); Kurt (who was working on the siding upstairs with Michael). All are as good-hearted and high-spirited as they are skilled.

Add Mr. B to the mix; plus Javi the roofer, back to tie up some loose ends pre-storm; plus electrician Matt; his son, Dennis, back from his honeymoon, smiling even more than ever; and their helper, Steve -- and that is one houseful.

When they had the entire deck framed by the end of the day, I was tempted to call Shawn a miracle worker -- remembering that the key to that phrase is worker. He's terrific.