Summer

SUMMER!

A List of Everyday Adventures

In seventeen minutes, it will be my birthday. I was born less than an hour before midnight on December 31st, many years ago. Sometimes it seems like time folds and wrinkles, not such a straight line; surely I couldn't be this old, not yet, not really. Every year on my birthday I reflect on the changes of the year past, and 2012 has been busy. In random order, this year I:

• Received certification from NACCFI as a nationally certified child forensic interviewer
• Testified in court as an expert witness in forensic interviewing in a case involving a child who had been sexually abused in multiple ways at many times
• Moved from Muscatine, Iowa, back to North Carolina
• Attended the APSAC conference in San Diego with my friends Tasha and Kim
• Found a lakehouse on a mountain lake and moved into a place of true peace and beauty
• Stayed strong for my children, both adults now, as they experienced important growing times
• Hosted an Old Time Music Jam at my Iowa house -- and oh, I miss that gang!
• Took fiddle lessons from David Mehaffey in Iowa, and now Bruce Greene in North Carolina
• Began working as a Recovery Coordinator at a healing farm in North Carolina
• Visited Duvall, Washington, again and my former house in Redmond, Washington
• Experienced the passing of a dear friend and met his family in Kansas
• Swam many times with three new friends (Pat, Junebug, and Kara)  in a  pond in NC
• Plunged happily into a favorite swimming hole at the South Toe River
• Ambled to Roaring Fork Falls, the easiest pretty waterfall walk ever
• Visited the Amish village of Kalona many times and attended the horse auction there
• Completed a book proposal for a new book in progress
• Interviewed many children and teens about childhood sexual abuse and worked with multidisciplinary teams to help them find justice and safety
• Conducted Mandatory Reporter training for professionals
• Attended many hours of training for my new position and met more than 100 new people
• Began learning new fiddle tunes, including:
• Old Black Cat Couldn't Catch a Rat
• I Feed My Horse on Corn and Hay
• Devil's Dream
• Isonville
• McKinley Waltz
• Prettiest Girl in the County-O
• Grandma Went to Meeting with Her Old Shoes On
• Poor Little Pussy Cat
• I Love My Wife As Well As Anybody (But When I Turn My Back, She's Hugging Everybody)
• Tombigbee Waltz, Arkansas Traveler, Golden Slippers, Midnight Waltz, Campground Meeting on the Fourth of July, The Girl I Left Behind Me
• Read some books, including the ones read this week:
• The Paris Wife
• The Racketeer (John Grisham)
• Notorious Nineteen (Janet Evanovich)
• A Dana Stabenow book from my daughter
• Wrote two little songs from dreams and a handful of poems
• Spent one lovely memorable night on Bruce Greene's couch after seeing my first-ever Crankie show at the Celo Inn, and listened to Anna and Elizabeth, Loy, Sarah, Bruce, and William; William Ritter played my fiddle
• Spent a quiet night in the Black Hills of South Dakota getting a perfect night's sleep
• Shivered through a night in a tent in freezing temperatures at Rock Creek Camp, followed by a spa day at a Korean spa with sand room and whirlpools
• Attended the South Carolina Old Time Fiddlers Contest won by Robert Burns
• Enjoyed many conversations with Cara, Jim, Joe, Benjamin, Ameli
• Passed the Therapy Dog exams with my PupPup
• Got back in touch with my Aunt Cheri and my Aunt Carol, and my Uncle Tom passed away
• Moved a thousand miles to be nearer to my grown-up children and to work at a new place
• Made holiday dinners for my grown-up children
• Visited my friend Michelle and her family in South Dakota
• This year, I've visited places in Washington, Montana, Iowa, Kansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, and California
• Renovated and rented out the Old Fort house and the house in Muscatine (thanks to two excellent property managers, Tammy Dooley and Mike Allenbaugh)
• Planted a hundred daffodils, heirloom tomatoes, and an herb garden

There's more -- lots more -- but I've written my way into my birthday now. It all went so fast. It all went so very, very fast. And my life has changed completely in this single year; I've gone from living in a three-bedroom, two-bath Victorian house on three floors, overlooking the Mississippi River in Muscatine, Iowa, to living in a one-bedroom, energy efficient octagonal cottage by a lake on a mountain in North Carolina. I got rid of most of my belongings, including books and furniture and clothes, downsizing; I live in one big room now, instead of sprawled across three levels.  And I have lots of opinions about everything so the blog will become better as I spout my views -- but first, I simply want to acknowledge that this year has been one of Amazing Grace and Change.

Full Frost Moon

As 2012 slips into the space haunted by yesterdays, a strong wind sweeps across Melrose Mountain, rattling this octagonal house. The camellia by my bedside has produced six strong, white blossoms, and I'm glad to have hauled it indoors, protected from the Full Frost Moon. Even as a little girl, I knew that sometimes people turned into their very worst selves, but despite the werewolves' tales, the full moon meant protection, a certain soft glow of ethereal energy that strengthened my own feral resilience. Tonight I simply feel glad, counting my blessings, one by one. Ripples turn to waves on the lake as the darkness blankets me.