the second day of school was equally blissful, we are off to a good start.
it was loads of fun to watch four boys, five ropes and a bunch of logs, they had such a blast.

New school year!!

today was the first day of a new school year, compared to last year it was bliss.
had a working bus and 8 children. the day was sweet and so are the children. had three returning children and a brother/sister pair. i expect to pick up a few more rather quickly.

long day though, left with the bus at 7:30 am and ended the day about 4 pm.

may day

today is may 1st and we are expecting a blizzard with lots of sun!!

the class has about 12 children we have a new bus and a grandma coming in to share some language and culture

its suddenly very full and since I drive the bus the days have become longer and more intense.

the flowers are just beginning to show their tiny heads on the hillsides

its been a few weeks of hard, hard, hard

ugh the bus!

but today there were 8 children yeah yeah yeah, this is why i am here.
the weather was glorious and the children so alive

i knew it was going to be a good day when i looked out the door and saw a family of deer, i haven't seen any close to the school like that since the fall

never thought...

that a southern california beach girl would ever think 40 degrees was a warm day!
but it was a beautiful and needed warm day here today. a glorious 40 degrees.

a little tea cup..

well, two really. i received two wonderfully simple cups and saucers in a online mug swap.
space was limited in moving here and i didn't bring a cup and saucer. didn't even think too, if i remember right.

its glorious to sit and sip some tasty organic earl grey tea in a lovely cup and saucer
one of the best things about them is they aren't really little!

more to be thankul for

CHAOS, glorious glorious choas!
six children today after many weeks of just three or four

we were cleaning up after our snack and it was beautifully chaotic,
someone wiping the table, someone drying the dishes, another brushing their teeth and the floor sweeper clanging the dust pan and beating a drum, it was so incredibly wonderful!!
i am sure in all that the cat was being chased and some was twirling and singing loudly
but it all got cleaned up

graditude

an on line friend is promoting graditude this month and it seems like a worthy cause.

I just got back from a "sweat" its really a prayer ceremony and i feel quite blessed to be invited to attend, even treated a bit like a regular there tonight. it was almost all spoken in lakota, but prayers are understood in any language. the men offered up such heart felt thanks and prayers it was truly a gift to be there.
it was quite interesting, sitting around waiting there were about six of us and suddenly just as we went in many more men showed up maybe 15 in all. they seem to just totally accept this white women into their circle.
one guy said that we were crazy, it was soooo hot. i felt grateful that i was able to take it like a man. :)

the drive to rapid city...

i drove to rapid city yesterday, and it was a beautiful drive!! its about an hour and 15 minutes on a good day. I've taken over two hours driving on a really snowy day.

the drive is through the badlands and its gorgeous! I almost always see some type of animal or bird that i have never seen here before. yesterday I saw quite a few eagles, which kind I'm not sure but they were very large!
I saw a pair resting on a large butte and several other soaring through the sky.
they look so majestic as they circle in the air.

this drive in the very best part of going to the big city.

wopila

Irmina Red Owl told me about her father, how he taught her to give thanks for each new day.
In California, it seemed important to watch the sun set on each day, but Irmina's father taught her to get up each day with the sun and to give thanks for each day, before it happened.
To give thanks for the possibilities that each day holds


It helps that each sunset in glorious here!

Wopila, another day, another set of possibilities

today