Finally, the second entry in this Journal-nearly nine months since the first entry on May 27, 2006! With that length of time between entries, it's obvious I'm not destined to be a "blogger."

So what have I been doing the past several months? Being a lot busier than I ever dreamed semi-retirement would be! Of course, my first obligation was to my part-time job at Kendrick Mansion (museum). I worked part-time during the period the Mansion is open to tourists, May 1 through December 14. Although the summer temperatures weren't as high as recent years, our beautiful grounds suffered because of several weeks of water rationing due to the ongoing drought. And we didn't have quite as many visitors as usual, possibly due to the high cost of gasoline.

For someone who had never participated in political activities beyond voting, I now find myself immersed in politics. It started with attending numerous public meetings/hearings, first as an opponent to Indian Paintbrush Estates subdivision (see the ENVIRONMENT section of WyomingWoman.net), and then other hearings, just to see if all hearings are conducted in the same manner. They aren't. I'd always thought that public meetings and the like would be very boring. Most are not. Believe me, a lot goes on that never makes the newspaper.

I've been at a public hearing where an armed guard was posted outside the door while a developer was allowed all the time he wanted for his lawyers, engineers, etc. to speak on his behalf, yet public comment was limited to two minutes per person. I attended a City Council meeting where a woman from the audience questioned a budget item, causing her to be demeaned and rudely told to take her concern elsewhere, to someone who had nothing to do with the issue at hand. I could go on and on, but I won't, except to say that it you really want to witness confrontational behavior at a public hearing, go to one where a company is trying to obtain a permit to dig a gravel pit (rock quarry) in people's neighborhood.

I joined a political group and became involved in political campaigns, even walking door-to-door with one candidate. I went to candidates' forums and "meet and greets." (You can see me at a couple of these "meet and greets" in the photographs accompanying this Journal entry; the photographs were taken by Janet Maxwell.)

I helped decorate a political float for Sheridan's Rodeo Week parade. I joined the Powder River Basin Resource Council, an environmental group. I write "Letters to the Editor," not just about my opposition to Indian Paintbrush Estates subdivision. One of the unanticipated benefits of becoming involved in all of this is that I have met some great people along the way, some of whom are becoming friends.

On a more personal level, I became a great-aunt for the second time, getting to meet my new great-niece from Florida when my niece and her husband visited Sheridan this summer. I also sang in the Collegiate Chorale at Sheridan College. The Chorale is essentially Sheridan's community choir.

Then there were the days that I just had to "get away from it all." Camera in hand, I hopped in my trusty 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport and took some day trips in the area. Nothing is more relaxing to me than to take photographs. Whatever cares and woes I may have fall aside when I'm taking pictures of Mother Nature.