Weekend Recaps are…well…just that. In case your week was a hectic one, here’s your chance to peruse what you may have missed. And it is also a chance for you to revisit the conversation(s). And what a week it has been!

This week has me housekeeping. No, not that kind. My dust-bunnies are sitting pretty–Another one of the Not Bobbers declared dust-buffaloes were roaming her range. That is the challenge of juggling a burgeoning writerly life and a steady job with benefits.

The housekeeping I’ve been up to has been blog related. I’ve been busy being admin to the Not Bobbers blog with the aide of the incredible Adhoc Steering Committee. As you can see by clicking on the names that are hot-linked, we are adding author bios to the blogrolls of primary blogs, FaceBook author’s pages, and Twitter handles. Curious about that #MNINB lingo I’ve been slinging? Here’s a great way to get up to date.

My other housekeeping efforts have been focused on Writing Space. We celebrated our 1st month of posting. I took the feedback from that and retweaked the editorial calendar and updated/added some pages. If you look up top, you should see a About Writing Space, About Lara, and Write With Me. The others are undergoing transformations under the hatch. I thought I would put them up password protected to give you all an idea where the ship is headed. A little anticipation before the reveals. I will be blogging about the logistics involved in these steps, have no fear. I just want to make sure someone stumbling across this site doesn’t unknowingly wander into choppy waters. I think we’re about done with the navigation metaphors.

So sailing right along. (Couldn’t help myself) I’d like to introduce a new category for Thursdays. Soapbox Thursdays speak to my previous incarnations as a volunteer coordinator working with nonprofits, school districts as well as a healthcare district. I am a chronic volunteer. I will be sharing some of my favorite do-gooder foundations and orgs, have no worries. But I would also like to introduce you to some of my favorite volunteers and boosters for these great causes.

Nancy Peterson
I met Nancy in the mid 90s when I moved to Joseph, Oregon to take up a position as volunteer coordinator at the Wallowa County Health Care District. A nurse invited me out to hike with a group of gals and their critters. Off we went down the road to Midway–that would be midway to nowhere in the vastness of Jackson County–Nancy, Trudy, Joyce and I with a pack of critters as motley a crew as we. About midway to Midway–and it does, in fact, refer to midway to Imnaha or Hells Canyon–a small plane started to buzz us. Think North By Northwest, if you are an Alfred Hitchcock fan.

I immediately was thrown into a hard scramble to get all of the dogs secured to leashes. As scary as it was from a personal standpoint, the dogs were the most vulnerable target for this rancher. They commonly carry rifles to shoot coyotes from the air. If his buzzing action caused one of the dogs to bolt under one of his fences, it would be “fair game” for one of his bullets. I don’t know how, but all critters knew well enough that day to obey our shouts to “come.” Aside from an added adrenaline rush, no one was the worse for it.

Once our breathing was back to normal, Nancy sidled up to me and in her low-key manner said, “You’ve got kids in school. It may be safer for you here if you were not seen as friendly to me. You see my husband is a well-known environmentalist. I’m an easy target.”

Instead of running for the hills, that sort of thing makes me want to stand my ground all the more firmly. It’s how I am, bull-headed. It has been a challenge to me in my life, but this incident was one that I will never regret. I can’t think of what my life would be like if I couldn’t count Nancy as a friend.

As I got to know her, I realized that in her quiet and quirky way, Nancy was a fount of unexpected boons. She did little things that carried a whomping impact. This was about the time when Princess Diana was known to promote her “Random Acts of Kindness.” My teenage daughters would report to me of a happening in town, an anonymous donation, an unexpected gifting, etc. and raise their eyebrows knowingly. Another “Random Act of Nancy,” as they dubbed it.

She has giving down to a science or an art; not too much, but the right amount where it will do the most good and with the least disruption–Ask any lottery winner about the disruption of too much of a good thing.

In honor of someone who does so much with so little appetite for the spotlight herself, I thought it befitting that the month of June would be devoted to Nancy’s favorite causes. You will get another Nancy story as well as her pick of a great organization to support.

I’m declaring May 31st, an early bird special. So look for a cause that is too fun and hard-working not to support, Great Old Broads For Wilderness.

The Latest Random Act

Just the other week, I found a CD from Amazon in my mailbox. Elephant Revival’s Break In The Clouds. It’s a win-win in Nancy’s world; she gives something she appreciates (and therefore supports) to someone who is doing something she wants to support (my writing, now/my raising kids, before).

My daughters and her (now ex-)husband are off leading lives of their own. Both Nancy and my circumstances have changed and shifted over these years, yet I am blessed to still call her friend. And it is a joy to share her acts of genuine caring and kindness with all of you. Also a joy to see her back in the saddle again! I know nothing of horses except what I learn from being a fan of Jackson and Nancy. What a ride!

Up and Coming
Look for me this coming Monday on Gerry Wilson’s, The Writerly Life: 7 Tips A-Waiting. Then check back with me later in the day for a companion piece. Let us know what you think. We both love an experiment. The best part is to hear your take on how it went.

Bonus

Do you have a Nancy in your life? I would wish that on everyone! Tell us about that or anything else on your mind today. Thanks for checking in.