I should know by now that “quiet summer” is an oxymoron. Okay, it’s
not—but sometimes it really does seem like it! After my violin recital in June
had passed, I had thought I might have a slower summer to wrap up most of my
schooling (the book part, anyway :-), begin advertising myself as a violin
teacher, continue to go out to the abortion mills, and still have enough time
to prepare for an orchestra camp at the end of August. That hasn’t quite happened
as planned, but here is a bit of what I have
been doing:
Practice, Practice,
Practice!
Orchestra Camp is coming up the last weekend in August! It will be nice to have my sister join me there this year, plus two other girls from our area. Besides that, my teacher is setting up for her students to do some fiddling at the local farmer’s markets in August. Needless to say,
I have been practicing my violin a lot recently!
It Will Soon Be Official
The only thing I have to finish before I can officially graduate from “high
school” and get my diploma is a Literature course, which I hope to finish
before I go to orchestra camp at the end of August. I have a few other things
that I am finishing up, as well, but they are not needed toward my graduation.
Español
Spanish studies have been going well. We haven’t had class for the past
two weeks due to some things that have come up, but before that we had been progressing
nicely and I was learning a lot!
Student to Teacher!
Last year I started giving a young lady some violin lessons and then
began teaching two of my younger sisters. The opportunity opened up for me to
begin advertising myself as a violin teacher this summer, but with the reports
I had heard I figured I wouldn’t be getting any more students until at least
the fall time. After only 2 weeks I had two students and I currently have a
couple more that I am going to meet with soon. That was certainly different
than I expected, but I’m enjoying every bit of my teaching experience!
Special Memories
Recently our family has taken a couple hikes together and created some
wonderful memories. I really enjoy hiking and being outside, and the weather turned
out so beautifully for us!
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| A steep portion of the path up to the overlook on Crowders Mountain |
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| Me beside a pretty mountain stream |
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| One of the views at Crowders Mountain State Park |
Our Puppy
Docky is growing up fast, although I sometimes don’t notice it because
I see him every day (kind of like mothers say about their children)! He weighed
7 pounds when we got him and is up to 22.5 now!
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| Docky |
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| Docky - he likes to chew on and play with pine cones! |
Textile Creations
I have had a number of sewing projects piling up for the past year and
finally decided that I just needed to get some of them done. I have a nightgown
and jumper done, a blouse in progress, and a few other things cut out and ready
to be sewn.
Visitors
We have had a number of visitors recently, including a special (albeit way
too short!) visit from some friends that I met at the orchestra camp last year
who were passing through on their way home. Thank you, Victoria!
Life
I have been out to the mill once since the last update I posted. It was
in the afternoon, which was a new experience for me as I am used to going in
the morning. My sister also went along. (I did learn that next time I would
bring a hat or some kind of sun protection because the sun is right overhead at
that time of day and I felt the burn for a while after!) I had a few interesting
interactions and appreciated the different perspective that a different time of
day gave me. In one of the interactions that I had, I was able to share the gospel message with one young lady who had
not had an abortion yet (so she said, anyway) but was just there to get some
information. She was visibly touched by what I shared. I don’t know if she has
been back to the mill or not, but please pray for her in either case.
Next Time . . .
I likely won’t do another post until I give you an update on the
orchestra camp at the end of August. Until then—have a wonderful summer!
