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.

“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.

“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.

Sunday is the PV’s traditional Community Day, a chance to hang out together, get to know each other and relax before the busy week ahead. Today we headed down to the lower section of the RD Bailey Lake. There was horseshoe tossing, volleyball, cards and bananagrams were played.

We we went back to the school we had a cookout, with lots of yummy sides. After reorientation we topped off our evening with our PV Commissioning Service. Now on to the start of the week…..

Sunday is the PV’s traditional Community Day, a chance to hang out together, get to know each other and relax before the busy week ahead. Today we headed down to the lower section of the RD Bailey Lake. There was horseshoe tossing, volleyball, cards and bananagrams were played.

We we went back to the school we had a cookout, with lots of yummy sides. After reorientation we topped off our evening with our PV Commissioning Service. Now on to the start of the week…..

Sunday is the PV’s traditional Community Day, a chance to hang out together, get to know each other and relax before the busy week ahead. Today we headed down to the lower section of the RD Bailey Lake. There was horseshoe tossing, volleyball, cards and bananagrams were played.

We we went back to the school we had a cookout, with lots of yummy sides. After reorientation we topped off our evening with our PV Commissioning Service. Now on to the start of the week…..