“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once again today we had hot weather, but this is just the beginning of several days reaching into the 100’s. Because of the heat we finished up a little early at our sites, allowing volunteers to relax a bit in the air conditioning of the school.

The volunteers finished up the roof out on Bud Mountain and then were able to spend a significant amount of time chatting with the home owners. I’m sure the volunteers won’t miss the long drive out to Bud Mountain, but I know they will miss the family and the beautiful views.

Volunteers also continued work up the road in Hanover. They were able to finish the painting inside and we will spend time next week tiling a couple of rooms and then we should be able to wrap things up there.

A group also went back to the Itmann school house to continue removing knotweed and begin to clean the inside so that it could be closer to be ready for move in. There is still a lot that needs to be done, but it is definitely looking much better than it did a couple of days ago from the outside.

We sent two groups to St. Vincent DePaul today. One group continued inside with distribution and organizing, while another group worked outside trying to secure the deck boards on the newly built deck. While it is close to being done, there are still a few more adjustments that need to be done, as well as hanging the St. Vincent DePaul sign across the front of the porch.

The final group, or I should say twosome, spent the day loading up debris from our New Richmond site and hauling it to the landfill at the top of the mountain. Two large loads were done before it just became too hot to do it anymore.

After some good R&R volunteers were treated to breakfast for dinner. Besides pancakes and eggs, there were homemade home fries, bacon, sausage and tofu. The meal was topped off with delicious pudding.

As we gathered in the evening for reflection, we were asked to reflect on someone we have met who is like God in skin. After the sharing we were each given a piece of a puzzle and as we put the puzzle together it created the PV logo.

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once again today we had hot weather, but this is just the beginning of several days reaching into the 100’s. Because of the heat we finished up a little early at our sites, allowing volunteers to relax a bit in the air conditioning of the school.

The volunteers finished up the roof out on Bud Mountain and then were able to spend a significant amount of time chatting with the home owners. I’m sure the volunteers won’t miss the long drive out to Bud Mountain, but I know they will miss the family and the beautiful views.

Volunteers also continued work up the road in Hanover. They were able to finish the painting inside and we will spend time next week tiling a couple of rooms and then we should be able to wrap things up there.

A group also went back to the Itmann school house to continue removing knotweed and begin to clean the inside so that it could be closer to be ready for move in. There is still a lot that needs to be done, but it is definitely looking much better than it did a couple of days ago from the outside.

We sent two groups to St. Vincent DePaul today. One group continued inside with distribution and organizing, while another group worked outside trying to secure the deck boards on the newly built deck. While it is close to being done, there are still a few more adjustments that need to be done, as well as hanging the St. Vincent DePaul sign across the front of the porch.

The final group, or I should say twosome, spent the day loading up debris from our New Richmond site and hauling it to the landfill at the top of the mountain. Two large loads were done before it just became too hot to do it anymore.

After some good R&R volunteers were treated to breakfast for dinner. Besides pancakes and eggs, there were homemade home fries, bacon, sausage and tofu. The meal was topped off with delicious pudding.

As we gathered in the evening for reflection, we were asked to reflect on someone we have met who is like God in skin. After the sharing we were each given a piece of a puzzle and as we put the puzzle together it created the PV logo.

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Once again today we had hot weather, but this is just the beginning of several days reaching into the 100’s. Because of the heat we finished up a little early at our sites, allowing volunteers to relax a bit in the air conditioning of the school.

The volunteers finished up the roof out on Bud Mountain and then were able to spend a significant amount of time chatting with the home owners. I’m sure the volunteers won’t miss the long drive out to Bud Mountain, but I know they will miss the family and the beautiful views.

Volunteers also continued work up the road in Hanover. They were able to finish the painting inside and we will spend time next week tiling a couple of rooms and then we should be able to wrap things up there.

A group also went back to the Itmann school house to continue removing knotweed and begin to clean the inside so that it could be closer to be ready for move in. There is still a lot that needs to be done, but it is definitely looking much better than it did a couple of days ago from the outside.

We sent two groups to St. Vincent DePaul today. One group continued inside with distribution and organizing, while another group worked outside trying to secure the deck boards on the newly built deck. While it is close to being done, there are still a few more adjustments that need to be done, as well as hanging the St. Vincent DePaul sign across the front of the porch.

The final group, or I should say twosome, spent the day loading up debris from our New Richmond site and hauling it to the landfill at the top of the mountain. Two large loads were done before it just became too hot to do it anymore.

After some good R&R volunteers were treated to breakfast for dinner. Besides pancakes and eggs, there were homemade home fries, bacon, sausage and tofu. The meal was topped off with delicious pudding.

As we gathered in the evening for reflection, we were asked to reflect on someone we have met who is like God in skin. After the sharing we were each given a piece of a puzzle and as we put the puzzle together it created the PV logo.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Volunteers enjoyed the last day of comfortable weather today, by putting in a hard days work. We had four crews spread throughout county today continuing on a previously started sites.

We had a group go back to St. Vincent DePaul to help with distribution and organization at the warehouse. When we drove by around 10, there was no place to park since there were so many people there to pick up items.

A group headed back up the road to finish the underpinning and continue painting.  The underpinning is complete and looks fabulous. Big progress was made with the painting. The living room is almost complete as is the kitchen.

Another large group headed to the far end of the county to continue work on the roof that was started yesterday. The site is at the top of mountain, at the end of a road. They too made a lot of progress and should be finished up tomorrow.

The final site of the day was a site we started last summer with our volunteers and work was continued this spring with Northern Illinois University. The group worked at the old Itmann two room school house to help UGWA and Groundworks transform the building into office space as well as a visitor center. Today the group spent time removing knotweed from the front of the building and helping to rebuild a stone wall that is in front of the building.

We had another wonderful meal tonight. Tonight there was cranberry chicken over rice for the meat eaters and a black bean and tofu scramble over rice for the vegetarians. It was delicious.

In the evening we reflected on the idea of  being lonely and how important it is to reach out to others in their time loneliness. Afterward we were asked to share a “new and good” and/or a time when we were lonely and someone reached out to us. It was a very nice reflection and sharing.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Volunteers enjoyed the last day of comfortable weather today, by putting in a hard days work. We had four crews spread throughout county today continuing on a previously started sites.

We had a group go back to St. Vincent DePaul to help with distribution and organization at the warehouse. When we drove by around 10, there was no place to park since there were so many people there to pick up items.

A group headed back up the road to finish the underpinning and continue painting.  The underpinning is complete and looks fabulous. Big progress was made with the painting. The living room is almost complete as is the kitchen.

Another large group headed to the far end of the county to continue work on the roof that was started yesterday. The site is at the top of mountain, at the end of a road. They too made a lot of progress and should be finished up tomorrow.

The final site of the day was a site we started last summer with our volunteers and work was continued this spring with Northern Illinois University. The group worked at the old Itmann two room school house to help UGWA and Groundworks transform the building into office space as well as a visitor center. Today the group spent time removing knotweed from the front of the building and helping to rebuild a stone wall that is in front of the building.

We had another wonderful meal tonight. Tonight there was cranberry chicken over rice for the meat eaters and a black bean and tofu scramble over rice for the vegetarians. It was delicious.

In the evening we reflected on the idea of  being lonely and how important it is to reach out to others in their time loneliness. Afterward we were asked to share a “new and good” and/or a time when we were lonely and someone reached out to us. It was a very nice reflection and sharing.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

Volunteers enjoyed the last day of comfortable weather today, by putting in a hard days work. We had four crews spread throughout county today continuing on a previously started sites.

We had a group go back to St. Vincent DePaul to help with distribution and organization at the warehouse. When we drove by around 10, there was no place to park since there were so many people there to pick up items.

A group headed back up the road to finish the underpinning and continue painting.  The underpinning is complete and looks fabulous. Big progress was made with the painting. The living room is almost complete as is the kitchen.

Another large group headed to the far end of the county to continue work on the roof that was started yesterday. The site is at the top of mountain, at the end of a road. They too made a lot of progress and should be finished up tomorrow.

The final site of the day was a site we started last summer with our volunteers and work was continued this spring with Northern Illinois University. The group worked at the old Itmann two room school house to help UGWA and Groundworks transform the building into office space as well as a visitor center. Today the group spent time removing knotweed from the front of the building and helping to rebuild a stone wall that is in front of the building.

We had another wonderful meal tonight. Tonight there was cranberry chicken over rice for the meat eaters and a black bean and tofu scramble over rice for the vegetarians. It was delicious.

In the evening we reflected on the idea of  being lonely and how important it is to reach out to others in their time loneliness. Afterward we were asked to share a “new and good” and/or a time when we were lonely and someone reached out to us. It was a very nice reflection and sharing.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
Denis Waitley

Today we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous day. Highs in the mid 70’s and a pure blue sky.  It was a nice break in the hot weather especially knowing the heat is returning with temperatures to reach the century mark.

We spent our last day out in New Richmond today finishing up the roofing and the electric. We were also able to make three trips to the landfill (on top of the mountain) to remove the wood from the shed that we had knocked down last week. We will probably be sending a truck out again on Thursday to make a couple of more trips to the landfill.

A group also returned to the underpinning and painting site. The underpinning is almost finished and the painting is well on its way. Besides getting a lot of work done, volunteers had a great time getting to know the family better. They even topped off the day with a game of duck duck goose.

Volunteers also continued working out in Mullens doing a lot of odds and ends. Today they painted the porch floor and foundation, they hung a couple of bird feeders, finished power washing and generally helped in any way they were asked. The homeowner was pleased with all the work that has been done at the site.

Today we also started a new roofing site on top of Herndon Mountain. The location was beautiful, but a long drive from the school. It is just about as far as one can go from the school and still be in the county. Besides putting a new roof on the house, the house was jacked up in corner to help level it out after it had settled a bit. The volunteers really enjoyed their day roofing and getting to know the family.

The final site was St. Vincent DePaul. Volunteers once again helped with organizing the warehouse. Besides organizing they helped to distribute some of the furniture and goods to people who needed them. Their hard work over the past few days is really paying off as the warehouse looks fantastic and is much easier to get around in.

After a busy day everyone was looking forward to dinner, and dinner did not disappoint. We were treated to potato tacos and lots of greens, both salads and kale. A very filling, very healthy and very delicious meal. For those that had space in their bellies after dinner, there were brownies for dessert.

In reflection tonight we talked about age and time and how arbitrary it is, how important it is to live in the moment. Afterwards we were asked to share a “new and a good.” As always it was wonderful to hear about everyone’s day.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
Denis Waitley

Today we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous day. Highs in the mid 70’s and a pure blue sky.  It was a nice break in the hot weather especially knowing the heat is returning with temperatures to reach the century mark.

We spent our last day out in New Richmond today finishing up the roofing and the electric. We were also able to make three trips to the landfill (on top of the mountain) to remove the wood from the shed that we had knocked down last week. We will probably be sending a truck out again on Thursday to make a couple of more trips to the landfill.

A group also returned to the underpinning and painting site. The underpinning is almost finished and the painting is well on its way. Besides getting a lot of work done, volunteers had a great time getting to know the family better. They even topped off the day with a game of duck duck goose.

Volunteers also continued working out in Mullens doing a lot of odds and ends. Today they painted the porch floor and foundation, they hung a couple of bird feeders, finished power washing and generally helped in any way they were asked. The homeowner was pleased with all the work that has been done at the site.

Today we also started a new roofing site on top of Herndon Mountain. The location was beautiful, but a long drive from the school. It is just about as far as one can go from the school and still be in the county. Besides putting a new roof on the house, the house was jacked up in corner to help level it out after it had settled a bit. The volunteers really enjoyed their day roofing and getting to know the family.

The final site was St. Vincent DePaul. Volunteers once again helped with organizing the warehouse. Besides organizing they helped to distribute some of the furniture and goods to people who needed them. Their hard work over the past few days is really paying off as the warehouse looks fantastic and is much easier to get around in.

After a busy day everyone was looking forward to dinner, and dinner did not disappoint. We were treated to potato tacos and lots of greens, both salads and kale. A very filling, very healthy and very delicious meal. For those that had space in their bellies after dinner, there were brownies for dessert.

In reflection tonight we talked about age and time and how arbitrary it is, how important it is to live in the moment. Afterwards we were asked to share a “new and a good.” As always it was wonderful to hear about everyone’s day.

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
Denis Waitley

Today we were treated to an absolutely gorgeous day. Highs in the mid 70’s and a pure blue sky.  It was a nice break in the hot weather especially knowing the heat is returning with temperatures to reach the century mark.

We spent our last day out in New Richmond today finishing up the roofing and the electric. We were also able to make three trips to the landfill (on top of the mountain) to remove the wood from the shed that we had knocked down last week. We will probably be sending a truck out again on Thursday to make a couple of more trips to the landfill.

A group also returned to the underpinning and painting site. The underpinning is almost finished and the painting is well on its way. Besides getting a lot of work done, volunteers had a great time getting to know the family better. They even topped off the day with a game of duck duck goose.

Volunteers also continued working out in Mullens doing a lot of odds and ends. Today they painted the porch floor and foundation, they hung a couple of bird feeders, finished power washing and generally helped in any way they were asked. The homeowner was pleased with all the work that has been done at the site.

Today we also started a new roofing site on top of Herndon Mountain. The location was beautiful, but a long drive from the school. It is just about as far as one can go from the school and still be in the county. Besides putting a new roof on the house, the house was jacked up in corner to help level it out after it had settled a bit. The volunteers really enjoyed their day roofing and getting to know the family.

The final site was St. Vincent DePaul. Volunteers once again helped with organizing the warehouse. Besides organizing they helped to distribute some of the furniture and goods to people who needed them. Their hard work over the past few days is really paying off as the warehouse looks fantastic and is much easier to get around in.

After a busy day everyone was looking forward to dinner, and dinner did not disappoint. We were treated to potato tacos and lots of greens, both salads and kale. A very filling, very healthy and very delicious meal. For those that had space in their bellies after dinner, there were brownies for dessert.

In reflection tonight we talked about age and time and how arbitrary it is, how important it is to live in the moment. Afterwards we were asked to share a “new and a good.” As always it was wonderful to hear about everyone’s day.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the the lives of others.”
Pericles

We were blessed with a little bit cooler weather today, one could almost say the morning was cool. Today was a busy day in PVland, with four sites going on throughout the county.

One group continued work in New Richmond. Yard work continued, as did the roof. The two new projects today was helping to run electrical wiring and painting the front of the house. We should be finishing up their tomorrow.

We also sent a group back to St. Vincent DePaul. The group helped organize the warehouse and made phone calls for distribution later in the week.

A third group went up the road from the school to continue the underpinning and painting that began in March. Besides the summer program, a college group from Northern Illinois University worked at this site as well as a group from Elms College in June.

The final site today was a new site in Mullens. The volunteers were able to stay cool as they power washed the house while a couple of volunteers worked inside fixing odds and ends.

For dinner tonight we had a scrumptious cornbread chili (the recipe can be found in the PV cookbook) and a salad. For dessert we had one of my favorites, a chocolate raspberry torte, also in the PV Cookbook.

For reflection tonight, we were asked to share three truths about ourselves with the group. We were to share the truths, but why they were truths. It was interesting to hear some of the shared truths amongst the group.