three additions to the last post:

1. the man in question is merely 'alleged' to have threatened half the town.

b. my father-in-law sent us a huge bag of jelly bellies (44.00 postage) which we hid in our bedroom and have been snacking on their multi-coloured wonderfulness all day in secret, so sugar overload may contribute to my maudlin mood.

q. Miguel is watching Bob Ross if you don't know what this dude looks like you gotta go see...

I had a third one, but I can't think of it.

Yesterday, at work -- a small girl of about five or six came in with her mother. Her mother was in the interview room, and the small girl was lurking in my office. At first she just grinned at me, but then she spied the foam polar bear on my desk and came to investigate. Then she turned big brown eyes on me and announced "I like to draw." So I pulled out pens and paper, she pulled up a chair, and we drew pictures. We drew ourselves, and puppies, and houses, and she wrote both our names and the name of the support worker who was helping her mother. It tears at my heart to know that the situation at home that brought her mother to us will affect this little person...

Later on a woman I know came in to fill out a criminal record check, as she's a new foster parent. She brought along her foster child, who I recognized. I know her mother, and I know that her mother has been trying to get her life together so that she can keep her daughter. I only hope it's not too late, and the foster care will be temporary, just while my friend finds her feet.

Court starts tomorrow. The circuit only comes about every six weeks or so. We have, in a town of 1300 people, some 100 matters on the docket. (Although one guy is responsible for a whole whack of them because he threatened to kill a lot of people...) All my files are ready, but I'm well aware that each file contains someone's life, their hopes and dreams, as well as the details of "what they did."

You will forgive me for my sentimentality today. Put it down to lack of reading matter. Although, as soon as Dustin gets here to start his new job I'm sure it will be just fine..........

My mom is sending me a book. I am considering B&E at the library if they don't reopen soon. My nice librarian, the one who allowed me to take more than my quota of books, went back to Devon. I miss him. A new librarian is advertised for, but no applicants yet. If anyone reading this feels like a radical move, please let me know. I need books.....

Today, in foodmail, we got French bread. It was semi-frozen and the crust was a bit chewy but we had it with spaghetti and it was wonderful. Funny how I always took for granted the accessibility of fresh bread, oh, pick up a loaf for dinner. Here it's Wonder Bread. White or brown, your choice.

Last night when we went for dinner with Miguel's coworkers, they asked me, "What do you do now?" I was working at the health centre for a while, but then I got offered a position with the police, to fill a maternity leave. I do just about everything, really, that they'll let me, lots of paperwork, talking to anyone who comes to the door, helping people with pardon applications and criminal records checks and drivers licenses, chatting with lonely people and drunk people and people who need the police. I'm working on organizing all their files, they've only had someone in the position I'm doing sporadically over the last few years and there's a lot to do. And I've been updating all their contingency and emergency plans, and their contact lists. I feel useful. And, I've found, that the constables and the sergeant genuinely care very deeply about the inhabitants of this out-of-the-way little community, and do everything they can to help.... they are very gentle, and they work very hard. They let me deal with a lot of things on the phone, making it so that sending the police is not the first response, if a little bit of listening is really all that's needed. I'm learning a lot...