Round two

Hey guys!
Sorry it's been so long. I get pretty caught up with everything going on here. I'll try to write at least once a month though, so here's my September post.

Things continue to go really well here. I moved into a new place at the beginning of this month, and am in love with it. Like many homes in uptown Butte, it's a strange old apartment with hardwood floors and crooked door frames and weird little nooks and crannies and lots of hidden cupboards. My room is next to the kitchen (thank god), and has its own half bath, and a nice closet, a reading nook, and came with a bed! It's amazing how much better you sleep when you're not on the floor. Who woulda thunk it??

The apartment is fully furnished, which is great since I don't really have any furniture or kitchen ware. My roommate and I get along really well--it's been awhile since I've lived with another woman, and I'm surprised at how much I've missed it.

Okay, I suppose I'll start with work updates. I still love my job. I've been really busy building hoop houses, which are like green houses, but less intense. They're cheaper to build, because the structure is comprised of hoops (we made them out of bent PVC pipe), rather than an assembled aluminum or wooden frame. They're also passive solar structures, so they do not cost anything to heat.
We're building 4 that are structurally the same, but have different coverings. It's an experiment to see what retains heat best, what lets in the most sunlight, and also what is the most cost effective.
I've been hosting volunteer work sessions every friday for the past few weeks. I had to organize about 14 Americorps volunteers for the first session...I was a little unprepared. Each session has gotten better though. I convinced about 11 other VISTA s from around Montana to come for a 9/11 memorial day of service and we got tons of work done. I have 10 more Americorp volunteers coming next friday, and I think we'll get the final hoop house frame up. Then all we've got to do is get the covers up and we're golden! I love that I'm getting this kind of experience--how to design something, and then how to actually build it. I don't make any money doing VISTA, but I feel like I'm getting a paid apprenticeship. Most days, I find my confidence that this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing, completely reaffirmed.
We got our tractor this month too, so I'm learning how to use that. I'm pretty bad at it, but I'm getting there! I get so excited when I think about updating my resume. Now, besides all the program work I'm doing with VISTA, I can add basic construction and tractor skills.

The other wonderful thing about my job is that my supervisor, and the company's executive director always come out to help work. It means a lot to me to work in an environment like that. This friday, it was like the Pacific Northwest when I woke up. I never thought I'd say this, but I've really missed the rain. We spent a couple hours working in the rain, and when we were finished, we were so muddy that we just took our boots off and walked around the office in our socks.

It's already getting cold here. For a couple weeks it was terribly smokey, like when California was on fire and all the smoke sucked into the Rogue Valley. Then suddenly, the smoke cleared, it started to frost at night, and I am cold when I go to bed. I'm really nervous about the winter, but people in Butte stay active, so I'll just learn how to love winter sports. I figure I'll get caught up on reading, and pick up a few hobbies too.
When I can't work outside anymore, I'll be doing a lot of computer and design work, but also spending a lot of time in the shop building things, so that's something to look forward to.

I feel like in the last few weeks my friend group here has really solidified. I have been having so much fun, and I feel very lucky to have met people that I get along with so well. They're all pretty darn adventurous too, and many have weathered the winter here before, so thank god I'll have some guidance. This weekend we had a BBQ on friday, followed by a glorious night of all sorts of shenanigans, breakfast in the morning, and then fly fishing in the afternoon. Last night, a friend ended up having an extra ticket to John Prine, so I spent the night listening to a folk legend. Honestly, I'd never even listened to his music. My friends love him though, so I got the crash course in Prine fanaticism.

Oh yah, and my folks came to visit! I think they liked Butte, and I know they liked Montana. We went out to Bannack--Montana's best preserved ghost town one day, and hiked the Lewis and Clark Caverns another. Check it out!
http://www.bannack.org/
http://fwp.mt.gov/parks/visit/lewisAndClarkCaverns/

It was really nice to have them, but I kinda wish I had been more established at work and socially when they had gotten here. I've spent some serious time nesting, and I wish they could see my life now. Oh well, they'll be back! I think that if the winters weren't so hard, my Dad would want to move here--there's not a whole lot of people.

I should get going. It looks like it might rain, but we were hoping to get a good hike in today.
Sorry it took me so long to write again, I'll try to write before too long!

It's crazy that I've been here for almost two months. I love it, but I've been counting down the days until I get to go back to Ashland for Chris's wedding. Even if I don't really get homesick, I do really miss everyone, and I just can't wait to share in something that's so monumental and important in my brother's life. GAH I'M SO EXCITED!

I miss you guys, but I'll see you all soon!

Camille

Some photos for you!