Not Quite Done... Yet

It's funny how time can get away from you in the summer... It took me a little longer to nest than I thought it would, but it was really enjoyable to get re-acclimated with Missoula. My writing didn't begin until after my adventures at Camp Choate (on lovely Lake Coeur d'Alene) over the Fourth of July.

However, once focused, I completed a manuscript for submission to North Dakota History: Journal of the Northern Plains. It will be a while before I know whether it is accepted for publication, but my proofreaders seemed to enjoy it. The working title is: "Letters from Yule: Janet and Sophia Lang Through the Lens of Western Women's History." I finished the final revisions minutes before heading off to one of my summer music events.

This did seem to be the summer of music for me. I was able to take in the National Folk Festival in Butte, and was truly impressed with the breadth and depth of talented musicians in uptown Butte. I'll be sure to take advantage of that venue for the next two years because it was a great event. I saw Bela Fleck (Sparrow Quartet) at the Wilma, Buckwheat Zydeco at the Top Hat, and have plans to attend a few more events down the road before summer is officially over. In addition to the concerts, I've signed up for guitar lessons, which will begin this week.

In order to prepare for the transition back to the reality of a new school year, this past weekend I made a return pilgrimage to the St. Gertrude's Monastery in Cottonwood, ID. The retreat was a birthday gift to myself. The sisters build their ministry on the values of hospitality, simplicity, and peace-making - and those values are transparent in the rituals of the monastery.

Countdown: 9 days to my first PIR workshop!