so..last august my beautiful male betta, lucky wellington, died...i had said at the time that i wanted to get another one... well, i did, indeed, get another betta...he's great...i named him lightning, because the night i bought him there was this incredibly amazing thunder and lightning storm outside...i *was* thinking about naming him storm, but i couldn't because i worked with a guy named storm this summer, and that was sort of corny...and i suppose i could have named him thunder, but that's a weird name for a small fish... maybe lightning is, too, and to be honest with you all, each time i say lightning's name, i want to add "mc queen" to the end of it...someone's seen the movie cars just a few too many times... but, he is fast like a lightning bolt at times, and he is beautiful like lightning can be...so for now, his name is lightning...unless i can think of something a little better... oh, and i am fairly open to suggestions, too... .... and also, i have to blog this because linda said i should...this was originally written on the 26th of august, and it kind of fills you all in on what i've done and how i've spent my summer vacation... dear friends & family: i am so sorry i haven't emailed some of you in a very long time...my summer has been full of many wonderful events!...(and a few not-so-wonderful...) but mostly, it was wonderful!!... first of all, i finished my assocaites degree and i graduated from granite state college in june...my final GPA was 3.66, which isn't too bad, considering... i took a summer course through the technical college in berlin, that would transfer nicely in to lyndon state college, where i will begin a bachelor's degree in elementary education...i start that on september the 4th... my graduation was extra memorable for a few reasons -- one being that a very dear friend of mine from illinois who i hadn't seen in five years came to watch the big event...it was great to have my friend linda here...also, my aunt theresa graduated with her bachelor's on the same day, and incidentally, she was sitting in the row directly behind me and only a few seats away...i kept looking up to where our family was sitting and i kept seeing more and more familiar faces, including that of my aunt joyce who was attending from florida... after graduation, and after i finished my school-year-job, i got a job working at the appalachian mountain club...i am currently a housekeeper at their joe dodge lodge at the pinkham notch visitor's center...i will be done that, however, on tuesday the 28th, and will have a week before going back to school...(although most of that week is already filled in with plans...funny how that happens, isn't it?...) i enjoy all the people i meet and interact with on a daily basis at work... i've met two wonderful young men from amman, jordan...i was able to introduce them to a somewhat new friend of mine, ruth, who had spent about 8 months in the middle east...it was fantastic to hear ruth and the boys speaking such beautiful arabic...the boys work in the kitchen and i enjoy seeing their faces... i've also met four people from taiwan...three of them work in the kitchen, one works with me in housekeeping...i greatly enjoy their company as well... there are also two girls from russia who i always like talking to, but haven't really hung out with outside of work, but they are very nice to talk to... of course my american co-workers are all very nice, too, and i enjoy them as well, but i have to say i have the most fun and spent the most out-of-work time with the internationals....it's interesting how despite many differences among the cultures, once you discover a common ground, it's so easy to talk with them... what else happened this summer?...well, jim & tanya and the kids came down for a visit from alaska...it was such a joy to see them and spend time with them...my neice brenna has grown a lot in two years, and has seemed to settle down some...i enjoyed her quite a bit -- we had some neat conversations...at seven & 1/2 she can carry on a good conversation and she has many interests...it was neat to discover some of them...she loves books, and loves to read, which makes me extremely happy... aidan is two and he just loves to be outside...he's a fearless rough and tumble type kid with a wonderfully fun personality...he's still got the most beautiful eyelashes i've ever seen on anyone...he occupies a pretty big place in my heart....and new to me was kieran, who was four months old by the time i got to meet and hold him...he's a sweet little boy...i loved the times when he fell asleep in my arms...very few things in this world compare to the feeling of having a little one fall asleep in your arms...i'm sure they must have to feel very safe and secure...it's nice to know that children feel comfortable with me...(especially considering i'm going to be an elementary education major!!...) one of the highlights of their visit was a family day at clark's trading post (i missed the train ride, but was able to do pretty much everything else that i wanted to, so that's good...i'll be going to clark's next week with the taiwanese kids, so i'll have time to do EVERYTHING that day...) what else happened that was noteworthy?....ah!...brooks williams just came on the radio (he's a folk artist...it's sunday night, i'm listening to NHPR's folk show as i type this...) and hearing the name brooks williams reminded me...back in may, my mom and i went down to keene and we saw brooks williams, anais mithcell, cheryl wheeler, and bill morrissey...we had won tickets through NHPR and we just really enjoyed ourselves, and had a great evening...it was a nice little trip...folk fans are generally pretty cool people, who seem to be very well educated...anais mitchell sang this beautiful song called "el hel wadi" which is an arabic folk tune that is about a rooster...one day i hope to know what all the words mean...and perhaps one day i will...  speaking of live music, i also very recently saw two of my favourite artists on the same evening in the same place...jason harrod and bill mallonee...jason opened for bill...they played together at club passim in cambridge, massachusettes...it was a great evening...my cousin jj and i went together....it was a wonderful way to cap off the family reunion weekend... ahh, yes, the family reunion...that is ALWAYS a highlight of my summer...it's nice to see my aunts & uncles & cousins on my mom's side...it's also nice to see the second and third cousins and other extended family members...i got to drive the 1949 farm tractor and give part of one of the last hayrides, which was a truly amazing experience...hopefully i can do it again next summer, as well... that whole weekend was enjoyable...friday i left work and drove to enfield, nh...visited with various relatives at my aunt elaine's house, then went up and set up my tent on the farm and spent friday night on the farm in a tent...that's so much fun!!...saturday was the main day of the reunion and everyone was there and it was great...i spent saturday night on the farm in my tent as well....sunday morning was the breakfast...henry's sausage and bacon, fresh eggs, pancakes and maple syrup, as well as the time spent with family is always a great thing... then that evening my cousin and i headed down to the show in cambridge... i hadn't seen bill in five years, actually, since the same week i had last seen my friend linda...so it was nice to see him and to meet muriah, his wife... my cousin and i got back super late, or rather early, monday morning...i slept in a spare bed at my aunt's house and then monday i got ready to go visit some dear friends in keene, who i hadn't seen in a few years...that was great, too...i miss the keene area very much and hope to get back down there soon!!.... monday while i was in keene my cousin somehow scored a nintendo wii with a bunch of games for an insanely good price...when i got back to enfield i wanted nothing more than to go right to bed...that is, until i saw the wii...we played wii until three am...then we played more wii tuesday before i headed back up north...those four fun-packed days consisted of the bulk of my summer vacation, so i had to get in as much fun and goofing off as i could!!.... .... so, what else happened?...oh -- some of the not-so-wonderful events -- i said farewell to some friends who have moved away, and i miss them all...(shelly & rob & marian & ryan...andy & karen....lots of love to all of you!!...) i do look forward to maintaining my relationships with them all through emails, letters, and phone calls, though... also, we had a memorial service for my uncle raymond "bebe/babe" dube who passed away back in the winter time...he was in his 80's and was one of my dad's brothers...he died in a car accident on dead man's curve on the way to north conway, nh....he hit a fed ex (or was it UPS?...i really don't remember...) truck head on and was killed pretty much instantly...that's not really how you expect an 80-something year old to go, but i guess it was his time...i wasn't extremely close to him, however, i had seen him around Christmas time and he and my uncle don (also my dad's brother) were sharing stories about their and my dad's childhood and teenage years...it was a good time, and one i'm glad i have the memories of... .... as far as my summer hobbies, i've not had time to do much of anything...i've only been fishing a couple of times, and only with my neice brenna and once with my neighbour's son, corey...(i used to babysit corey, and i've known him his whole life...he's turned into a fine young man, and at 13 years old he proves to be a good fishing buddy once in a while...) i've also not really had much time for birdwatching, although i have gotten to see some pretty cool things bird-related just randomly as i've been driving...i watched as a young hawk flew across the road in front of my car and soared over an open field, then swooped down and caught a mouse...it wasn't very far at all from the edge of the road, and it was amazing to see such a thing... there is one summer hobby that i am still finding time for, and will find time to do for the rest of my life -- my monarchs...this summer so far i have gathered nearly 30 monarch caterpillars and i currently have close to 20 chrysalises...i have had several "births"...i never tire of watching these amazing creatures and i am looking forward to having a butterfly box in my classroom when i get one in a couple of years.... and of course, no newsletter from me would be complete without book, music, and movie reccomendations...i haven't actually watched many movies lately...however, i would highly reccomend the "a prairie home companion" movie...also, i highly reccomend the PBS documentary on the carter family...i learned a lot from watching that, though i didn't see the whole thing...(i ran out of time..) still, it's well worth watching...you'll learn a lot about the cater family...(not the presidental caters -- the musical carters...) for books i would reccomend anne lamont's "traveling mercies: some thoughts on faith" it is still a favourite... also, for an eye-opener on what effects wars of any kind have on children, i would reccomend "a long way gone memoirs of a boy soldier" by ishamel beah...it's an incredibly moving account of ishamel's young life running from the war in seirra leone, and then eventually getting caught up and becoming involved in it (after losing his whole family) ... and his eventual rescue from that life, thanks to the efforts of unicef...it's gruesome at parts, but it's not for shock value...it's what the poor kid went through...amazing, amazing story...i highly reccomend it... also for books for the younger crowd i would reccomend shel silverstein's "the giving tree" patrick mcdonnell's "the gift of nothing" and barbara cooney's "miss rumphius"...also rosanne cash's "penelope jane" and tedd arnold's "parts" are great for kids....(and also for kids at heart!...) now, what's been playing on my iPod and iTunes lately?...good question...i've actually been listening to large quantities of david francey...he was born in scotland and later moved to canada...he's well worth looking into....i have also been enjoying a new-to-me artist named robin dale ford...she is from alaska...when my brother was down from alaska he introduced me to her album "ain't that skippin and flying"...it's got a fantastic bluegrassy/folksy feel to it, which i'm a sucker for...also recently i've been listening to alison krauss & union station's live two disc set...another cd i've been enjoying a lot is bill mallonee/victory garden's "permafrost"...his wife, muriah rose lends some amazing vocals and bill's songwriting is just as strong as ever...it's well worth looking into.... ..... what else has gone on?...there are so many things, i'm sure, that as soon as i hit "send" i'll think of plenty more things to say...for now, i guess that's a fairly good update, though.... i hope you have all greatly enjoyed your summer...mine has been full and has really flown by... i'm really looking forward to lyndon state college and i will be sure to keep you all updated on my progress there... many blessings to you all, -ramona anne ........ so, that's my "how i spent my summer vacation" post...and that's really about all for now...it's 11:00 and i've gotta get to bed...tomorrow's my orientation at lyndon state college and i must be prepared for that!!.. thanks for reading... -ramona anne | 
