I’m sitting here on the edge of the construction site of the bunkhouse watching the girls all working as a team, laughing, chatting, singing silly songs like – “if I had a hammer” – because there was no chance after our amazing day yesterday as everyone had so much to say, that I could get my hands on this blog book.  We are girls on a mission, we love our hammers, and the circular saw. We are having more fun than all of us could ever have imagined. I can’t believe we are all survivors of breast cancer. I think love has gone into every nail we’ve hammered into this construction.

Yesterday was such a moving day that I’m really starting to understand the Blackfeet people. A tour of the Community College after work yesterday finished with a smudging ceremony in a medicine lodge. Marvin, a Blackfoot, said a prayer for us all in Blackfoot and I said my own mantra. It was a very special ceremony. I felt very moved. Then after that in the early evening I climbed to the top of the Buffalo Jump. I am awestruck at this site, with the wild horses that flirted around us. I climbed a mountain, it was a huge challenge.

Right now, Canadian Geese are flying over us. This is amazing country.

After another delicious Mexican dinner prepared by Donna, Mary and all the volunteers we had a talk from Eloise Cobell on the law suit against the US government for the Blackfeet Trust funds.  It was very moving.  The evening finished with a few of us girls taking a walk through a Blackfeet grave yard.  Some of the graves were from the 1830’s with names like Chief Crow, Tail Feathers.

It’s a beautiful day today and our construction is really taking shape.  I love Land of the Big Sky.  This is an adventure of a lifetime.  There’s some pretty special bonding happening here.

Donna Handley, Sydney

It was a great day on the construction site today.  We have all achieved so much.  I just love the feeling of hammering all those nails in and I even used the circular saw today.  We will be putting the floor on tomorrow morning!

This afternoon we went rafting and floating down Two Medicine River.  I was on an inner tube.  It was good when it was floating but a bit of a challenge when the water was too shallow and we had to walk on slippery rocks.  (I didn’t have any shoes with me.)

Tonight we had a barbeque with a lot of the local people and their children came.  They are just so good to us.  The ladies from the Cancer Support Group here gave all of us a goodie bag with lots of nice things for us to take home. 

This week has been very special.  So many good things have happened and so many great friendships have been formed. 

I’m sending a special hello to MASON, TARYN, CHERIDA, AMITY AND JACK.  I love you!

Cheryl

PS – “Power shopping” is when you only have a short time to do a lot of shopping.

We worked really really hard this morning on the construction – we are ready to do the floor tomorrow – I’m so happy about that!

We had quite the journey yesterday Two Medicine River with the Blackfeet children.  Some of us were in a big raft trying to paddle – problem was, the water was so shallow we had to keep getting out to get it over the rocks.

Yesterday we were all cranky and cold when we go tback, but we got our humour back pretty quickly.

I had bare feet while we were rafting, so I grabbed a pair of flip-flops that were in the raft that belonged to Donna.  Well that lasted about five minutes until I jumped out of the raft to push it and sank into mud about a foot deep!

Needless to say, I got out of the mud, the pink flip flops did not.  The girls say the pink flip flops were our sacrifice to the River God.  Good thing as they were quickly swallowed up!

Afterwards we had a barbeque with the children and the women BC survivors of the tribe.

Special thanks to our hero Austin, who is a young Blackfoot that pushed us out of so many rocks on the river without complaint.

Special love to my boys – Tommy, Jesse and Ryan and my family of Crazies!!

Jeanie