this is the stuff life is made of

so about the canmore folk music festival--it was pretty much amazing. there must have been over twenty bands and artists covering a range of genres from country to celtic to bluegrass to african. there were two bands there who i had seen perform there in 2003 when i went, fruit and the duhks. i'm a big fan of fruit. here is a picture of me with them at the festival: three girls from australia. really nice harmonies and a jazzy sort of influence. the duhks are straight-up folk music. pretty cool. they have a banjo player, which earns them points in my book, and they've recorded all their albums in nashville. woohoo!

here's a funny picture i just thought i'd show you all. no real relevance to the story, expect that it was taken in camore, alberta.

i was also really impressed with the cottars. they're two brother-sister pairs. both the girls are 16 and the boys are 18. they knocked my socks off. the lead singer, fiona, has this incredibly sweet voice, yet so powerful and well-controlled. they're so young, yet they have such a strong connection with and respect for folk music of all kinds, celtic, slavic, and even a song in gaelic.

there was a vendor at the festival with a booth called the cats pyjamas. they sold all kinds of things like buttons and cuffs, handbags and clothes. real funky stuff. but their main sale was hats. this guy, kurt, made hats right there with his sewing machine. he had a bunch of pre-made hats which you could buy, but you could also pick out materials to design your own hat. then he'd come and feel your head, and in five minutes you'd have an awesome hat custom-made to fit your head. and it always fit! amazing, i tell you. and that's not all...as it turns out, kurt is from wodonga, australia, the same town as mona v. (gustavo). i just happen to know the wodonga high school fight song (long story), so when he realized i wasn't kidding about knowing where wodonga is, he and i became good friends and he cut me some good deals. he also told me i can have a job anywhere in the world where he's putting up a stall. sweet deal, eh?

but really my trip up to montana was way more than just hats and huckleberries. while i was at school there, the staff became like family to me, and the area became my home. i hold a very special place in my heart for the tobacco valley and eureka, montana. it was the place where a lot of significant changes in my life took place. where i learned and grew more than i knew i could. it was where i found the Baha'i Faith in my heart for myself. and who wouldn't grow and have spiritual experiences in a place like that? surrounded by such beautiful nature, when you wonder where it comes from, there's only one Source to attribute it all to.

the Chrysalis School, where i went, offered me a job for after i graduate college. actually, Kenny offered it to me to have me start immediately, but he was half-joking. but i would love to go back there. being there and having loving, understanding, and patient adult influences around me was the key to my growth and happiness there. not only do i feel like i owe it to those people to try to pay it forward, but i would just love to be a part of that process.

by the way, as it turns out i have a tear in my sphincter. when the doctor told me, i laughed. all i could think of was wayne's world.