I slept a little better yesterday and woke up feeling happier, although I am surprisingly sore. One of the things that amazes me is that the majority of the desks at the Land Trust are not the right height for computer work. I would think everyone there would have back trouble. There is one I can use, but the computer is really old and slow. Maybe I will look for a computer table and just buy it.

Yesterday, Ray and I got going pretty early after our walk and admiring of the garden. I was working on adding names to the mailing list from the thank you letters I wrote a month ago. Kerri, the case manager from the Shelter, showed up for a meeting and I was so happy to see her, I gave her a big hug and told her I missed her. Then I started crying and couldn't really talk to her. I was so embarrassed. The thing is, Meredith will be gone one of these days; she is not particularly vested in the Shelter or Athens. And I will still be here. Heather B. (at the Land Trust) talked to Heather M. (currently president of the Shelter's board of directors) about grant-writing. Heather M. said, "we have consultants doing that." Heather B.: "Meredith doesn't write grants?" "No." "Well, what does she do?" "She is the public face of the Shelter." It doesn't seem to me she did a lot of public events, and, of course, she doesn't know a lot of people. I haven't seen her anywhere since I left. But, even if she does, that is not all she should be doing. And I wrote a grant the same time she arrived that brought in more than $25,000. If they would just have let me, I could have done more, I'm sure. It's not just the loss to me, but the loss to the community that bothers me. I try to be positive, but I don't really believe in the sort of God who is involved in every aspect of my life and does things for a reason, so that something better will come along. I have to make that happen.

Nancy asked me to do a few things, including finding information about comparable salaries in Athens for their strategic plan. I also read over an application they are working on for NeighborWorks. One of the things about the Land Trust is they are so democratic, they slow themselves down. I love editing stuff for them and making suggestions. But Nancy and Heather both have to look at it again, so everything takes longer and they both spend time on it. I'm not sure of the solution, but maybe Nancy should be more decisive--or delegate.

I went to lunch with Becky and we sat outside. It was really nice. After lunch, back to the Land Trust. Nancy asked me to do some work on the newsletter. I have been trying to talk to her and Nathan about the ODB mailing list program I have been working with. If she decides she doesn't like it at this stage, I will have wasted a lot of work. Heather took me to see the subdivision they recently bought. It was in foreclosure and they will build 15 small houses on a cul-de-sac. We think there will be some nice views from the upstairs of some of the houses, as it is on a high piece of land. We were having fun trying to name it. It belonged to the Cannon family, so she was thinking something like Cannontown Heights. Nathan was throwing out ideas too, and then Nancy got in on it. So, it's kind of fun to all work together, but it is a little redundant.

I picked Ray up at 4:30, went home and pulled a few weeds while the chickens wandered around. My Dad had worked some on the garden earlier. Ray mostly made supper, although I did some of it. We watched the rest of Raising Helen and I went to bed and read a bit before 10.