rosanne cash, david francey, and life in general...

so, i missed rosanne cash last weekend, and this weekend i'm missing david francey...

it's okay, though, because i have been exposed to a lot of different music today in my experiencing the arts class, and i really don't think i'm in a place right now where i could really take in a live show (no matter how wonderful the artist) ... it's been a long day...class went from 9 am until a little after 6:00 pm....and they're going to be the same thing tomorrow...we're going to look into ballet and watch swan lake, which should be interesting...

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after tomorrow i will have had crammed six weeks worth of classes into three days...friday night was the normal 3 & 1/2 hour session -- 5:30 until 9:00....

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speaking of friday, did we (mom and i) ever have a friday the 13th getting down to the house in enfield...

we ended up leaving somewhat later than we were hoping to, which was rough to begin with...then mom was having a hard time parking the car at wal-mart...then wal-mart seemed to be a very time consuming thing, despite the fact that we were only buying a small number of items...it just seems like we ran into everyone we knew, and even got into conversations with random strangers....it was just one of those outings that was almost surreal....

we finally got out of there and continued on our way to the house in enfield...we ended up stopping at burger king in littleton and getting something to eat...i was already feeling slightly car sick, but i thought "well, maybe if i just get some food into my belly i'll feel better" ... not so, not so...i ate and then mom & i switched drivers so she could eat while i drove...then we switched drivers again and i read some of the reading that we needed to review for class...well, that REALLY triggered my car sickness and before she could pull over my stomach said "too much, too much!" .... luckily i was able to contain (mostly) the contents of my stomach, but the burger king bag really isn't made to hold liquids for very long, so we ended up with a bit of a mess in the car... yuck!!...

oh, but before i got carsick, while i was still reading my packets, there's this gasp from mom and then a "thwack" type of sound...apparently we hit a rather large bird...when we pulled over when i got sick, i decided to take a look...the bird was still very stuck in the grill of the car...it was a young hawk of some kind, but it was HUGE....but, that was another "yuck!" to be sure....

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then, we head back towards the enfield/lebanon area...we missed our exit and got a little confused, and of course this took up time which we were already pressed for....so we finally get to the house in enfield and unpack the vehicle...then i head out to class and i missed my exit, and had to call back to the house to figure out where i was going...

and then i wasn't fully prepared for class, and while i had done most of everything i needed to have done for class, there were things that were due sunday that i hadn't done yet, but i thought they were due today...so last night after a mad crazy run to the p & c in west lebanon, i stayed up late and did my homework...only to find it wasn't due until sunday...oh, well, at least it's done and i can sort of relax this evening....

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i think there's more that i wanted to write about, but it's been a long day for me, and i'm actually slightly exhausted, and i think an early bedtime might not be a bad idea...i don't think i've been to bed before midnight all week, and it's certainly catching up with me...

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have a happy weekend, everyone...

-ramona anne

Jerusalem...

one good thing that happened today: i got a lot more done on my rainstick, and just have to finish decorating it now...

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i really don't feel like i have all that much to say... i just want to share this song with you all...

i'm still not sure if i prefer Steve Earle's version, or Joan Baez's....but, i do know that Steve Earle, as "rough" as he may be at times, hit the nail on the head with this one...

this song really has been giving me a lot of hope lately...

Jerusalem
(Steve Earle)

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
The death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort every now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

speed limit 50 ... next 416 miles...

for those of you that can't quite make out what the signs say in this picture, i'll tell you... the top one says "speed limit 50" ... the bottom one says "next 416 miles" ...

that's one of the funniest pictures i took in alaska...

i just felt like sharing that...

today, i did a lot of work on my rainstick...i just have to put some sound softeners on the ends becuase when the beans & rice hit the plastic plugs (i used a mailing tube) it sounds not very good...so i'm going to experiment with different softeners tomorrow, but i'm thinking i might go with small bubble wrap....

that was my "big achievement" for the day...

also, my last monarch hatched today...it was a male...two females hatched yesterday...there are still two more chrysalises outside, but they're high up and i can't get to them, but i did check them both today and they're still there...

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i went to home group and had an awesome time, and eventually (probably in the next few days) i'll have a "small world" story to tell...but i don't want to share it just yet....

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i got to hold and feed a little baby tonight at home group, too, which of course, i absolutely loved!!... :-)

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anyhow, i'm rather sleepy, so i should head to bed...

have a good one....

-ramona anne

one good thing that happened today: uhm, it was pretty much ALL good!! :-)

snowy egrets...

i absolutely love this picture i found online of a snowy egret...snowy egrets have these dark legs and then these bright yellow feet...and i find it absolutely amazing!....

there's some entertainment for you all today... :-)

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babysitting for the people from church went really well...the kids are awesome, and i really had a great time...and they did, too!!...i'm so glad this little job came up, but i am still going to try to pick up some days subbing at various schools in the area...after all, every little bit helps, right?...

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today i got my tubes to make my rain stick... now i just need to sort some more nails and push them through the tube and stuff...that should prove to be a trick and a half...

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i'm actually kind of tired so i think this might be a short entry today...

tomorrow i have my breathing tests at the hospital, which should prove to be interesting....i'm sure i'll let you all know how that stuff turns out...

i also have home group in the evening again...yay!!...i love home groups!!... :-)

have a good day, everyone...

-ramona anne

one good thing that happened today: i ran into my friend jolinda at the post office...also, babsitting was awesome...and, i had two female monarchs hatch...i have one more chrysalis inside, and two outside, and that's it for the season, i think...it was an excellent year for them, though...i lost cout after i think my 75th one...that's more than i've had in all the previous years combined, i think!!...

fishing and good grades...

my fishing trip yesterday was rather amusing...the one fish i caught ended up flopping around so much that it fell off the hook, onto a rock, and back into the little creek i was fishing in yesterday...so i lost the one fish i actually got up out of the water...

still, it was a gorgeous day to be out & about, and my mom and i drove up into errol some -- just into the southern part of the 13 miles woods...it was so nice...

we didn't see much wild life either...no birds, really, to speak of...and no moose, which was okay with us both...

i was bummed that the eagle's weren't at the nest, but it was still such a nice day for a ride...

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we came home and i talked on the phone some with my sister in law up in alaska, which was nice...and then i watched something on TV about eating disorders...it was called "starving for perfection" .... what an interesting show...i learned a lot, and of course, it ties right in with what we're discussing in class, so i used that for an academic journal entry...go me!...

speaking of my addictions & family dynamics class...you know how i had that big paper on that book i had such a hard time with (chemical dependency a family affair by olivia curtis) ??.... well, we got our papers back today...

as the instructor was handing them back she said "now remember, class, a B is considered really good...i very, very rarely give A's, especially on a first draft of a paper...if you have any concerns about your grades, feel free to see me after class..."

i was certainly expecting a B if even that...it's not that i had any doubts in my writing skills in general...i just had doubts about the paper i had produced...for more reasons than one...i like to think i'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my papers and my classes and such....

so, i'm scanning the margins of my essay to see what types of comments might be there (primarily editorial...) non on any of the first three pages..."okay" i think to myself "she's going to nail me on the last page..."

i turn the page, and there it was...my grade...i saw it, blinked a few times, looked at it again, shook my head, looked at it again and then said "oh my gosh..." and the girl who sits next to me said "what'd you get?..."

i showed it to her and she was probably just as shocked as i was...

i got an A- .... on my first try...

needless to say, i am VERY excited....

and, i'm still trying to decide if i want to try to do a revision or not...

i have until the 11th night of class to do revisions, so i might wait a couple of weeks and see how i feel after that...

i just feel really, really good about that grade, though...

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also, i had my allergy testing today...i am allergic to dust mites...go figure...that's about the only allergy i have, out of the 30 things i was tested for today....

and i needed 30 injections to determine that i had that one single allergy...

ah, well...at least it's done & over with now...

anyhow, i'm off to bed...i've got work tomorrow...

happy week to all...

-ramona anne

one good thing that happened today: well, i think i'm gonna say my A- on my first draft!!... hee hee... :-)

a gorgeous sunday afternoon...

it's an absolutely gorgeous sunday afternoon...

my mother and i are getting ready to go up river with some sandwiches and drinks and i'm going to do some fishing and we're going to just enjoy the autumn foliage, and the nice weather...

i don't have much longer to catch trout, as these are the season dates (see below) and some of these have already passed...i've hardly done any fishing this season, so i must take advantage of it this week, as this will be my last week for trout until next spring...

Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout & their Hybrids
Rivers & Streams: January 1 - October 15
Wild Trout Streams: January 1 - Labor Day
Trout Ponds: 4th Saturday in April - October 15
Wild Trout Ponds: 4th Saturday in April - Labor Day
Lake Trout &/or Salmon Waters: January 1 - September 30
All Other Waters: No closed season
Lake Trout
All Waters: January 1 - September 30

river fishing for me this week, and after that, i'm done...

i could noodle around some and try for pickerel and perch, as i think they have longer, later seasons...but they're also scary fish to catch -- they can seriously do damage to one's flesh, and honetly, i'm not much for that...

i should, i suppose, check the season dates on bass, and see if i could legally fish those guys as well...i hear they're more of a cold water fish as well, so maybe i can do some fall fishing, just not for my beloved trout....

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anyhow, it's 2:00 and there's only a few more precious hours of daylight, so i think i'm going to scoot...

have a wonderful sunday, everyone!!...

-ramona anne

one good thing that happened today: i met new people at church, from PA...they like photography and writing...i'm hoping to stay in touch with them, as it's always a good idea to have contacts like that....

rosanne cash, church, and avatar...

i'm not at a rosanne cash show right now....nor did i see one today...and, i'm rather disappointed about that...she was playing right in new hampshire...and of all places, she was playing at the hopkins center at dartmouth college...i could have make a weekend trip to enfield...or even to keene, if i really stretched myself...and i could have seen her plus caught up with friends in keene and that general area....

instead, i stayed home and did not a lot of anything...

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i might be sinking into a rut of sorts now that i'm not working, and i really need to get myself out of said rut...

i really don't think i can go back to my old job for a few reasons, but i really don't know what i should be doing...i want more than anything to start subbing, but i need to figure out where i want to sub, how far i'm willing to travel, and what grades i'd like to sub for....among other things...

plus i think it costs something like $35 with the application, i guess that's for the background check...the thing about that is if i want to apply to say, four SAU's, that's $140 if each one require a background check (which i'm sure they will...) ... so, that's a little steep, and it's a bit of a dillemma...

i guess i could just start talking to some of my friends who teach at different schools and seeing what happens from there...

who knows, maybe i'll end up finding a long term subbing job and things will "click" for me from there...

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all i know is i don't like the rut i seem to have fallen into, and i need to get out of it soon...

and, this coming week seems like it's going to be crazy, but maybe in a good sort of way?....

tuesday i think i'll have the evening to myself, so maybe i'll go catch up with some friends in town or see if i can connect with someone for dinner or something...

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tomorrow is church, and i'm really not even sure if i feel excited about that...i'm sure i'll be asked by someone (probably larry) to make or bring something for the members dinner next weekend, and then i'll say "i can't..." and then they'll ask why, and i'll say "well, because i won't be there..." and then they'll ask why i won't be there and i'll say "because i have a class to attend out of town..." and then i'll feel like a jerk....

dang, i think i almost talked myself out of going to church tomorrow...

however, i have to go for more reasons than my one reason to not go (avoiding the above conversation scene) .... reasons to go -- harry is up from florida doing some work on pastor shane & wanda's house...i miss harry & his wife & kids...and i really like talking to him...and i want to get his wife's number so i can call her to talk to her....also, i have to go because, well, i think i need lots of hugs...and what better place to get hugs than at church, right?...besides, there are people there that i need to talk to about certain things (including a small job possibility) so i really should go...

anyways....i think i should try to go get some sleep...last night i laid in bed for an hour and a half and couldn't fall alseep...i finally came and laid in bed with my mom and fell asleep...i woke up once midway through the night to use the bathroom and then went back up to my bed and fell right back to sleep....

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mom and i usually sleep in bed together when we go to the house in enfield.... and sometimes when i'm really sick or something, i'll sleep in her bed downstairs...like last fall when i had broken that bone in my foot and needed a walking cast, i couldn't do stairs hardly at all...i slept downstairs for a month, mostly in her bed, but sometimes on the recliner in the living room...

also, when we get really cold winter nights and if we lose power, we'll curl up in bed together and the body heat helps keep us warm....

in some countries and cultures, whole families sleep in the same room....and when my aunts & uncles on my mom's side of the family were growing up, lots of them shared beds with their siblings (of the same gender!!) ... so it's really not a huge deal for either one of us...

anyhow, i'm off to bed...(hopefully my own!...)

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one good thing that happened today: it was bright and sunny all day long, and the phone didn't ring much...also, i caught two episodes of avatar: the last airbender, which is probably my most favourite animie show...

happy saturday everyone...

-ramona anne