June 2022

It’s less than 30 days until Laurapalooza 2022. As conference chair, I’m working very hard on making sure this is a successful conference. If you haven’t heard about it before –

It’s the every 2-3 year academic conference from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Legacy and Research Association. Keynote Speakers this year will be William Anderson, Dean Butler and Mitali Perkins. The last day will be a field trip to the Almanzo Wilder Farm in Malone, New York. We will be staying at the Doubletree in South Burlington, Vermont. Please visit www.liwlra.org for more information.

Mom and I do hope to see the house later this month which will be nice. I’m still trying to figure out the appropriate amount of photos to share without drawing a map to by house for strangers on the internet.

Updates

Long time no posting. Soooo—

I was furloughed at the start of the pandemic and spent a lot of time cleaning – and trying to organize my photos from Alaska. Then I got called back to work and started working on submitting expenses to FEMA for reimbursement. Dad had his cancer come back and passed from it. Of course there’s a lot to handle after that.

This year has some exciting things happening. Laurapalooza is in July, and I’m conference chair. Probably won’t get a chance to post much because of it. In August, I’m going on an Iditarod fundraising cruise in Alaska. I’m not taking my computer with me. I know that shocks you, but I’ve decided that I need a week where I turn everything off. I’ll have my phone and we will see if I get a chance to post.

Then the most exciting news, I’m building a vacation home near South Haven. They have a good start on the framing and it should be done in September or October. Hopefully I can do a house tour.

In the mean time, I did find a couple diary entries from when we went to the Canadian Rockies.

July 10, 1993 Jasper Alberta Canada

I don’t care about my other diary. It falls apart too much.

Today we drove to Jasper National Park & sight-seed and souvenier shopped. The mountains are gorgeous up her. We saw some deer and Mountain goats.

My parents are acting like kids, talking like little kids to each other. Not sure why they commenting on people’s accents when we are the foreigners. Tomorrow I’ll finish yesterday’s entry, Ichthus and the other papers I have with me. (Note I’m not sure was I copying a diary into another diary?)

July 11, 1993

We saw an actual glacier today. I fell on it. Jasper and Banff National Park & Lake Louise. The scenery was gorgeous, but I hate going to National Parks with my parents when we stop every 100 feet to take the picture of the same thing! I started My Antonia today for my English class and I have to ask and then the page and entry ends

7-11-93 Sunday Banff Alberta Canada

Really random comment about red heads and boys that I’m sure made sense to ask Jenny at the time.

The tenth

The park was okay, actually it was pretty nice. Just nothing spectacular. Oh and Friday, searchers found the 13 year old girl and her poodle who had been missing for 4 ays. She got lost while her family was camping but is all right.

Back to today

We’re staying in a suite in an all suite-motel. We’re next to the staff quarters, and I can’t help thinking of Dirty Dancing. Think if I find a boy carrying some watermelons, I can fall someone to fall in love with?

July 12, 1993 Abbotsford, British Columbia

Today we just drove (through fog part of the time). I slept through Glacier National Park.