six months later...

so, i realized that the last time i really updted this thing was... uhm... six months ago...yikes...



lots has happened in six months...too much to catch you all up on...



i will say that i got the chance to volunteer for new hampshire fish & game...i stocked atlantic salmon fry...it's part of a restoration/conservation project, and it was great fun to participate in that!...i went out twice to do this, and really enjoyed myself!...



what else has happened that's extremely notable?...oh!...i realize, upon reading my last post that the last thing i'd metioned for college was applying to lyndon state college in vermont...



i got accepted to lyndon stat college, and i got a very nice financial aid package, including a $1000 honors scholarship...i guess it pays off to ear A's and B's in college...



i will actually be heading to lyndon on the 25th of this month for an orientation and registration thing...it should be pretty neat...



what else is happening?...lots, i guess...i saw a GREAT live show not that long ago...garret soucy, siiri soucy, and cliff young, also known as tree by leaf...they came to play in gorham, nh, which is where siiri's family lives...it was great to see them, and totally awesome to talk with garret after the show...we had a great discussion about lyndon state and about ornithology, which is always a fun thing to discuss...



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my time with tanya & aidan back this winter was amazing...aidan's a happy, healthy little guy, and i just loved visiting with them, though it was only for a weekend...tanya was pregnant when they were here (which is something that was known before she came down...) she wasn't due until march, but she had kieran john about five weeks early...desipte being premature, he still weighed a good 6 lbs. 13ozs...he spent nine days in the hospital with breathing assistance...he has since been hospitalized for respratory problems, but thankfully seems to be through all the worst of it...



it's always scary for jim & tanya when that stuff comes up, because that's how they lost bailey...kieran does seem to be doing really well, though, and they keep a close eye on him...



jim & tanya & the kids will all be here soon, actually...they're in massachusettes right now and i will soon be seeing them all on wednesday...i am VERY excited!!...



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i am almost finished with my classes at granite state...on the evening of the 25th i have my last class for my associates at granite state...it's kind of fitting, in one way, that my last day at granite state is also the day that i register for classes at lyndon...



graduation was last weekend...my dear friend linda came out from illinois for the event...here's a picture of linda, my mom, and myself...linda is the taller blone haired one...mom has the grey...with nine kids, she's earned every one of them!...









my weekend with linda was WAY TOO SHORT!!!...but, it was an incredible time, for sure...there are lots of memories that i will cherish....i totally embarassed us at the store, by knocking over this nice hart's brand seed display...linda was kind enough to help me pick them all up...(thanks, friend!!)

the whole weekend was just way too marvelously incredible to put into words...it was great meeting her at the airport...it had been five years since we had last seen each other, so this was extremely special!...

after a night of very little sleep on my part (i made the mistake of ordering a "medium" iced coffee at mc donald's...it wasn't even that good, for one thing...and for another thing, i don't normally drink coffee of any sort...it turned out being a 24 oz cup..and it was NOT decaf...one 8 oz cup of regular coffee has enough caffine to keep someone awake for 6 hours on average...times that by three...24 ozs and 18 hours...no wonder i didn't sleep that night...it was okay, though, because i felt pretty energetic when we started our day anyways...

we had a rental car and we made good use of it...we hit the rest area at exit 32, which is a GREAT rest area to go to....then we went to the flume and hiked through that...i conquered my fear of wooded foot bridges pretty well that day, thanks to a good friend's encouragement and support!...it was awesome!...

after the flume we had a nice picnic lunch...we then headed north a bit and did the basin, and then continued still northwards...we stopped finally in whitefield and had ice cream cones at jack's (formerly the triangle dairy bar) ...ice cream for supper is not something i'd do normally, but this was a super special occassion -- linda was here...(oh, and it was my graduation...but, more importantly, linda was here!!...)

after supper, we went to check her into her room at the B&B in stark...after she got settled a bit, we went to the falls, then to my house...then we went to the store and picked up the seed display...after that, we ran around berlin for a bit then we went back to my house, talked to my mom some, and she went back to the B&B and i relaxed a bit and went to bed myself...

the next morning she picked me up and we rode together to manchester i got ready for my graduation and then she went and met up with my mom and her & my mom sat together for the ceremony...

it was so incredible to walk into the ceremony and see their faces!...it was great, too, because i really had no idea where they would have been sitting...imagine my sheer delight when i realized they were sitting on the same side that i was!!...and really close to the front!!...and i was one seat in from the end!!...i like to think that was divinely planned....

also, my aunt theresa was graduating with me (with her bachelors degree) and seven of her eight kids were there...also seated in the same section that my mom & lidna were sitting...it was great to look up and see yet another face i recognized with all those cousins there!!...also my sister and brother in law were there...AND -- my aunt joyce from florida!!...

it was just such an incredibly awesome day...i'm so glad they were all there...

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modnay was back to normal...i had work and my class...tuesday was also work and class...wednesday was work then bible study...thursday and friday were just work with nothing really big happening, but it was nice to have some time to just chill...saturday was my cousin leah's graduation party, and we went to that...today was church and a going away dinner right after the service for some friends who are moving to the concord/pembrooke area...

i also did some homework this afternoon for my class tomorrow...i've still got homework for tuesday's class (that's one i picked up through the community college and i'll transfer those credits in to lyndon state for a jump on my degree there...) but that homework is easier and much more fun to work on, so i know i'll get it done pretty quickly...i can probably even do it tomorrow after work and before class...

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i am, at this very moment, listening to the folk show on new hampshire public radio...the host of the folk show just mentioned that emmylou harris is playing at a folk festival later this summer...i looked it up and there seems to be a really tight lineup...alison krauss AND emmylou harris...at the same festival?!...in the norhteast?!......yup, it's true!!...

http://www.festivalproductions.net/newportfolk/index.php

the catch -- it's the same weekend as my family reunion...(and as the inside out soul festival...)

the good thing -- emmylou & alison are playing on sunday...i could do the reunion on saturday...and maybe even the breakfast on sunday morning at the farm...and still catch part of the festival...also on sunday cheryl wheeler and ralph stanley will be appearing...

boy oh boy...if i can pull this off, that would be a GREAT thing, though rhode island would be a trek from the farm...and then back to NH to work monday morning...it's probably a little too much...but i can dream, can't i?... :-)

i recently saw cheryl wheeler with brooks williams, anais mitchell, and bill morrisey at the NHPR "folk show folk show"...it was a great evening (even better b/c mom and i had won the tickets to the show!!...) i got to speak with brooks williams after (i could have spoken to any of them after, but brooks was most interesting to me because he has a connection with mark heard) .... so, we spoke about mark for a while, and it was just a neat connection to have made with him...

if i don't make it to the folk festival, it'll be okay...it might actually be a little more reasonable for me to try catching some of sunday's lineup at the soul fest...maybe bill mallonee would be playing that day...it'd be nice to see him again and catch up with him...

it's really a lot more reasonable...and there might be other bands there that day that would be worth checking into...maybe that's what i'll plan to do instead...maybe i could even represent the phantom tollbooth to some degree while i'm there...

....

anyhow...i should go and get some sleep...tomorrow i start full time at my new job, and after just one training weekend earlier this month i KNOW i'm going to want to be rested up for the day!!...

have a great week, everyone...thanks for reading!!... :-)

leave a comment if you so choose!!...

blessings to all...
-ramona anne