I'm ready for school to begin again

All school books for the Fall Semester have been purchased, and they came from all over the country, from places as near as Indianapolis (190 miles) and as far as Horsham, Pennsylvania (480 miles). I am so thankful that all I have to do is click and pay, and my books will be delivered right to my door, for hundreds of dollars cheaper than buying them at the school bookstore.

Before I can petition for Ohio residency in January, I decided to take three last courses through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs - online. I'm a student, an academic at heart, and I deserve to be furthering my education! So, next month I'll login to the UCCS website and begin these classes: Human Geography, Survey of Art History, and, Research Methods in Social Sciences. All basic, all relevant, and all super fun!

Until then, the educational void in my life is being filled with genealogy. I spend a lot of my time reading county histories, copying records, speculating, writing, and going back to the books for more information. Yes, I find it fun, so yes, I truly am a geek.
:) Cheers!

Two Old Friends at Old Man's Cave

This summer I had the pleasure of reuniting with two very old friends of mine, Becky and Ariana, along with their children (three each). They dropped by my dwelling on a sunny morning, and together we drove into the Hocking Hills region of southeastern Ohio. It was great to see those gals again, and to catch up with them after so many years. We hiked through this gorgeous public area, and marveled at its natural beauty. I'm going to be coming back to this beautiful place in Ohio again and again. 

sandstone cliffs

swimming hole

Mis Padres

My parents came to visit us last month, and I'm just now getting around to posting pictures!! My mom took more pics than I did, but I was able to get a few good ones in during that week. 

Dusty's Dad took us out on Uncle Bob's pontoon for a day
of fishing on Indian Lake. 

It was fun to watch the fellers catch fish.

This is where Dusty grew up. He's a lake rat at heart.

We visited the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
and learned many things from the park ranger on duty.

We drove all the way to the city of Marietta on the Ohio River,
where we could see West Virginia on the other side.

My first genealogy blog...

For a glimpse into the family history of Dusty's Ohio folks, come on over and Meet Some Families of Logan County. Stay as long as you like, we're happy to have guests. Maybe you can join us in a game of Cornhole.

Considering Real Estate

I've been in a reflective and somewhat melancholic mood lately. It's part of who I am, as the artist-scientist-type, to get a little off topic - sometimes completely off - to let routines go unheeded, while taking the time to probe and wonder and think about the world as I know it. I need the time to unwrap all that I've taken in, to explore again and again the things I've learned, to gain a deeper and more satisfying understanding. To take a hiatus from the everyday is a necessity. Too much routine and I become stifled.

So... lately the search for Real Estate means I am considering a lot of things. Location? Space? Curb appeal? Resale value? Practicality? There are hundreds of variables, and, in this buyers market, thousands of choices. I wonder about the material world and which possessions we actually need.

Am I severely limiting our choices by refusing consideration of all cookie-cutter suburban homes in neighborhoods riddled with cul-de-sacs? They are the most common type of home for sale, but I vehemently dislike them for too many reasons to list here.

Do we really need the 2,000 sq. foot brick home built in the 1860s with high ceilings and charming architectural details? Is it so big that we would end up buying things just to fill empty rooms? Would we resent the lack of yard if/when we have children?

Am I being unreasonable to shy away from the 1,000 sq. foot rehabbed fish-shack by the stinky paper mill? It has a huge backyard, and despite the horribly ugly exterior, the house is clean and well-maintained. The price is completely doable, but would I enjoy living there? Am I a snob to place appearance above any other priorities?

We'll figure it out, as we always do. But before that happens, there is much to consider.

A 235 Year Old Document

Using the free and fun Wordle tool (found: here), I plugged in the words from our nation's Declaration of Independence to create this interesting word cloud and to learn that the most frequently used word in the Declaration was "LAWS" followed by "PEOPLE," "STATES," "AMONG," "RIGHT," "TIME, and "GOVERNMENT."

It is fascinating to see the the Declaration in this way. Even though the introduction includes famous and feel-good statements like "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, ...with certain unalienable Rights, ...Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness," the document boiled down to it's most basic parts reveals an obsession with order and rules, and almost certainly, a government among the people.