I would love to e-mail all of the wonderful folks individually... but have decided to use my pre-bed note time for this

Hey folks...
This week has been lovely... it has somehow flown by already. Moved back into the SENS house, which has been a hoot.... but I must admit is a dangerous theif of time (both official house/sens duties and having Alix around because the two of us get to playin' music and then all of the sudden we've spent a few hours...). SENS stuff has been busy this week, but not without wonderful down time.

Monday night Jessa and I took off to the big hill in the college forest :) when I get around to it, I'll post a picture. Oh yeah, for the folks who I haven't told yet, I got into the Lutheran Volunteer Corps! Shazam :) It feels pretty weird to know that I've got next year figured out to some extent. It feels relieving, yet a bit like I'm cheating the system. Is it supposed to work out so easily? I don't doubt that I'll have plenty of learnin' coming my way, but it feels so different to have that weight lifted. I'm glad it's only a year committment and I haven't decided "what I want to do when I grow up"... I still stand firm in the answer I formed as a five year old--that I want to be happy when I grow up. I want to be thankful and joyful, with a happy heart. ...and who knows what my "work" will be... I'm just not concerned with it. I'll get to that fork in the road when I do, and not before.

A lot of things are trying to teach me patience lately. Photography class is the number one thing coaxing me to be more chill. I spend ages looking for the perfect shot, meter it off the grey card, adjust all of the settings, focus it, develop the film, and make prints...then most of the time it's not quite what I thought it would be. So don't be surprised to receive a photography print reject turned into a postcard :)

We are days away from drinking rainwater at the SENS house! Today we spent oodles of time flushing out the rainwater system. We're thinking about coming up with some sort of comic using the exciting names from various manuals we used today... the characters would be the "SANATRON 2400", the "Patended dual action wiper mechanism" and our favorite (now this one isn't something we have for the drinking water, but out in our sewage treatment greenhouse) the "SLUDGE JUDGE 3000"!

Pickin' has brought me much grinnin' lately too.

hmmm.... my battery is about to die, so the thankful list may be short...
Today I'm grateful for:
-postcards
-the miracle of clean water
-fleece
-Iron and wine songs that beg to be played on the banjo
-housemates to laugh with
-thoughtful folks
-leftover snacks
-clouds
-rain
-sleep
-Thelma :)
-secrets
-mason jars
-mud
-free food
-Al White for teachin' me banjo skills
-Missy-Sue for lettin' me call her up and play songs to her
-Botany... it's like I know the plants intimately... like they've let me into their club
-the gift of the present!