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Maps, beaches and a bucket list
As we continue to work our way to even more UU communities, I can’t help but take joy in the loving and accepting people our faith attracts! Our growth from your shared knowledge is immense and will be with us always.
2015 ended with my 14-year-old son, Austin, marking his 43rd state visited! As a homeschooling mom, I can’t imagine a better life experience for him than physically seeing the many places in our history books.
I’ve also now visited all but one state, and I can’t wait to take that trip to Alaska to complete my map. (Still on my bucket list!) But with 2016, comes a move to Hawai’i. Of course it won’t be so simple, but we plan to keep our summers busy with mainland travel. The motorhome will still be waiting us each time we set foot on the lower-48.
Here’s to a wondrous 2016!
Launch Date Announced
Launching August 19th!
We are so excited to be headed back on the road and visiting with everyone again! This next trip will cover four months and a travel route spanning from California to Massachusetts.
Exact visit dates with locations will be announced as we travel.
Come June
Come June, the lilies will be blooming, the summer birds will return, and I will be back in the RV headed to New England!
Checking in!
Okay, so I made it two months sans the blogging. Not very long, but long enough to separate myself from the daily feeling that I just had to check my email and blogs and Twitter every single day. What a great feeling!
The two months have not gone without my being busy though. I traveled to Nevada/California for my niece’s wedding to her beautiful partner Alyssa. I even took the Amtrak train round-trip from Indy to Reno and got to see some great views along the Colorado River, and the most beautiful sunrise over the mountains at one of my old hometown’s in Nevada. Of course, there was flooding in Nebraska and that spoiled my transportation to GA (train took too long plus rerouting that made me miss my ride) but I wouldn’t have missed the wedding for the world!
Family things happened, some good like above, but some not so good and I had to make a trip to Northeast Ohio for a funeral. But, as life is, that same week I went to an ultrasound for an expected grandbaby in November.
Got to spend a few nights at an Alpaca Farm, really! A Bed & Breakfast with three dogs that adopted us, one at all times and the other two mainly when breakfast arrived each morning. 😉
Spent lots and lots of hours playing in my gardens with flowers literally everywhere and may apples and pawpaws growing. Deer in the yard everyday, squirrels and a full moon spotting of a beautiful red fox in the driveway. Summer has been good.
So now I settle a bit because I have a new part-time job teaching English for the school year. I’m taking graduate courses and of course I’m still volunteering with the Master Gardeners, and I’m working to start a local UU group in my nearest town.
The only way to live is moving forward!
One Assembly, Two Assembly
Today was filled with applications, registrations and reservations for both the MidAmerica Regional Assembly-Bloomington, Indiana, to be held on April 12th, and the UUA General Assembly, June 25th-29th, in Providence, Rhode Island.
As some of you may recall, I attended GA last year in Louisville as a volunteer and I’ve applied to volunteer again this year. With registration as costly as a campsite or dorm room, the price to attend can add up too quickly when one is not sponsored by a congregation.
Volunteering is a great way to get access to most of the Assembly (less the 24 hours working spread out over up to 6 days), and as I found out last year, it’s a great way to quickly meet a large number of dedicated UUs with a strong desire to play an active role in the Assembly.
So here’s hoping to see you at GA! Last year’s memories are still here too!
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For more info on GA, visit the GA 2014 page.
Interested in volunteering? Check out these ‘Volunteer Opportunities.’
Find your UUA Region here.
What’s in a logo?
Everyone is up in arms over the new UUA logo. Is it better or worse than the last? More representative? There are even those questioning a phallic representation!
I’m undecided. I know that change is good but I also know that I love the history of longstanding logos and rarely like the new better than the old. I’m a little stodgy that way.
Maybe the people to ask are those not already associated with UU. See what outsiders think, how they react, since they are our future growth. Just a thought.
So to give a taste of what’s out there in the UU world of logos, I scoured the Web to find some of my favorites, not so favorites, and unique twists by both UUA groups and local congregations.
*All of the above logos were found at Bing images.
my permi love
As UUs, we as a group are deeply concerned about our environment and the love we provide to it. Of course personally, I’m no different! Through my love of our environment, and in finding some roots, I’ve started a new blog, permie love, to follow me in my quest for supporting the permaculture movement while developing and growing my personal patch of six acres lent to me by Mother Earth.
permie love will give regular “love tips,” or small steps that each of us can take in everyday life to support and sustain the environment, while also following me along my quest to become a Purdue Master Gardener.
I also plan to begin inventories of my surroundings in picture form. Wildlife, native and introduced fauna inventories, and even practical suggestions and projects for reducing waste and using the land to support humans in an Earth friendly ecosystem.
So please go visit the new site and give me some permie love!
Writing for Worship
Since beginning my travels in January, I’ve been wanting to write a book based on what I’ve seen and experienced in the many worship services I’ve attended. Although a topic was elusive to me before now, I magically awoke this morning with not just one, but two book ideas that I could begin on today! Excited and eager, I’ve already begun blocking out one and writing topic points for the other. I guess this will be a simultaneous project in the works, but I’m not complaining, I’d rather be working two projects than none.
Part of what I’ll be working on is listing things that all congregations should either be doing, or not be doing, when it comes to worship services. This comes from the many pages of notes I’ve taken while attending in the different locations. Whether I felt welcome. Whether I felt lost during the process of the actual service, etc. All things, even simple, create either a warm community or a place to avoid. And while I’ve not found a place to avoid, I have noticed little things here and there that could be shared among the many congregations as a means of improvement to all.
What I would like to hear is what all of you feel is a pet peeve when attending a service, or what makes a special moment when attending a service. Was the signage bad when entering and you felt lost? Did you feel awkward because the order of service didn’t say when to stand or when not to? Did joining in with a certain aspect make you feel more spiritual or accepted?
If used, your name will appear in the book with your comments so please feel free to join in! You can also share on our Facebook page, traveling tUUsome, with a link to the right.
GA Banner Snippets
A short photo blog of some of my favorite snippets taken from the myriad of UU banners hung along the Blue Mile at General Assembly (GA), Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville, Kentucky.
traveling tUUsome 