Part II: Shado ’n’ sunshine—and all things equestrian

The next day (May 17) after church, Roy harnessed his beautiful black half-Arabian horse to a buggy and took me for a 23ºC spin. (I even held Shado’s royal reins!) The weather was sunburn-warm and breezy, and I could hardly believe the farmer’s snow forecast for the next day. I’ve always admired horses from afar, even though I’ve had (too) little to do with them up close and personal. I hope that will change this year! A client of R’s has offered to take me out riding at Griffin Ranch soon. The countryside here is perfect for horse rides.

The last time I rode was in Banff with my brother, Wallace, in July 2002. How well I remember the bird-sized mosquitoes, sweet-blooded soul that I seem to be. We also went tubing on the Bow that summer, and speeding across Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver, discussing items on our life to-do lists.

{Great memories, Wal.}

Part I: Picnic in the park

What’s a picnic without watermelon?

Last Sunday (May 16)—after meeting our Fairman family at Java {thanks for Mayfair, the sweet little hippo!}—I spent part of the day picnicking with friends Evie and Roy at Big Hill Springs Park, north of Cochrane.

(I’ll post a few of Evie’s sweet pics if I figure out how to do so: DONE!)

We feasted on fellowship, hot chicken and cold salad, mouthwatering raspberry/peach cobbler and my favourite fruit. Any guesses? :)

Hubble-the-young-hippo—who belongs to (retired) Hroshi—joined us for a bite of watermelon, a walk in the woods and a swim in the creek. Hubble is the newest writer to join our gregarious herd of Glenbrook Pond hippos, entertaining us with her tales of Africa.

[Watch this space.]

First week of May

Dear NLSC Reader

My writing accountability partner asked me to share a few interesting things I’ve been up to this past week; here are fourteen, more or less, plus a few special dates (I see they’re mostly people-related, which possibly explains my desire today for complete solitude).

1. Last Friday (May 1) my students’ grades were due; I submitted them to my registrar and sighed with relief.
2. After finalising my grades, I tried my weary best to complete both my already-overdue Baptist Horizon articles for May. I had begun compiling a Seminary Day piece (or rather, patching together the samples sent in by students to form a quilt of quotes), and input was rather s-l-o-w because of final exams. Our gracious editor granted us a welcome extension. May she be blessed and may the Shelton tribe prosper!
3. Late on Friday afternoon I popped next door for my monthly B12 shot; Nurse Irma is an angel—and has become a friend over the past 4½ years that we’ve shared a fence (and watched each other pull up weeds in our respective gardens). We also share the same birth date (Feb 2) and the left-handed gene; we currently have a (growing) list of at least a dozen bizarre common interests: e.g. same build, heritage, sport and cultural entertainment preferences, clothing style, (original) hair colour, favourite music and hobbies, etc. Too funny!
4. That night I attended a grad dessert during which the graduands shared humorous and moving anecdotes about their seminary experiences. I realised how much I had come to love them. This year was the first time two of the students I’d taught were graduating (next year there will be more, and two years from now I’ll have taught the entire graduating class of college students). Since all four courses I’ll be teaching in the coming year(s) are compulsory, I get to know all the undergrads. A perennial pleasure!
5. Saturday’s graduation ceremony was simply beautiful. The speaker, Pastor Rick Lamb, was splendid (I’ll request a transcript of his message so as to add a quote to the short grad piece I’ll write for the next edition of the Horizon).
6. On Sunday I had the privilege of preaching at Dalhousie Community Church. My text was Ephesians 2:10; my topic “God’s Masterpiece.”
7. A tasty barbecue lunch (baby potatoes, grilled chicken, spinach salad, ice cream and fresh berries), prepared by Calgary friends Eleanor and Peter, refreshed our spirits and refuelled our bodies.
8. Our Sunday afternoon nap was definitely the most relaxing part of our weekend!
9. On Sunday night it was my joy to babysit for dear neighbours so that they could go on a date. Mahalia (4), Tobias (2) and baby Selah (6 months) were their usual sweet selves. Mom Andrea drove me home and we chatted for a further half-hour in the car. (Note: this is a rare exception to my no-babysitting policy.)
10. Monday? While out ’n’ about, moments after chatting to my friend in her garden, I bumped into my neighbour-colleague Susan taking her dog for a walk (or being taken for a walk); I came home feeling community-connected.
11. Tuesday: lunch at Norma’s on Railway Ave. with Brigitte R; prayer in the sunshine after coming home.
12. “Tuesdays with Tammy” is what I call my weekly coffee dates with my non-writing accountability partner; she remains a faithful friend after more than a decade of regular get togethers. We ordered art-lattes at Java and left only when the baristas kicked us out! Tammy, one of a tiny minority, truly does not think I talk too much. Believe me, I know my own faults (and if I didn’t I’d quickly be reminded by kith and kin), so it’s not hard being with someone who considers me a “scintillating conversationalist” when others wonder what language I’m speaking. :) I also love not having to decrease my rapid rate of speech in her company, as I do when I teach and preach (and interact with Southerners). Enough said.
13. Wednesday, May 6, was our 14th wedding anniversary. Suffice it to say: Robin is a saint. He’s a good man, a gentleman, and the only man on earth who tells me I talk too little! I admit, I am rather quiet at home, believe it or not. Even our landlords say they never hear me. My secret? I save my pearls for queenly friends who value my (many) words. :)
14. After gym on Wednesday with Wilmien and a new gym partner (Debbie R), Robin and I went to Norma’s for brunch (an annual tradition). Delicious!

Special dates:

Thursday, May 7, was my big brother’s birthday, and a much-needed day of rest for me (other than checking the final pdf page layouts before the Horizon went to print); to celebrate the end of the semester, I started a new (unputdownable) book by Alan Bradley: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. On Friday, May 8, my parents (Ian and Lynnette Leach) celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary!

CONGRATULATIONS, and Happy Birthday to all May babes (remind me who you are, please).

Today I’m catching up on some long-neglected domestic engineering, and tomorrow
(Sunday) I’ll spend Mother’s Day with our usual Little/Mung family (in celebration of Tammy’s mom). HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to all moms! Thank you for your sacrificial love.

Monday is my monthly writing day, hooray! I’m finally learning to carve our cyber-silent time simply to write each week, and once a month I meet with someone whose writing goals match my own. I’ll join my friend in her peaceful sanctuary and we’ll check on each other’s progress, offering the mutual encouragement necessary for the somewhat solitary process of putting pen to paper.

Do write and tell me what interesting things you’ve been up to, dear Reader! Hearing from loved ones across the continent and around the corner still makes my day, after all these years as a global correspondent ...

EMPh

Emph Attic: 14th Phillips anniversary

Today, 6 May 2009 ...

... Robin and I celebrate fourteen years of having and holding, from that day (6 May 1995) forward, “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and cherish ’til death us do part.”

(Hmmn, I recall saying “to honour and obey”!)

Celebrate with us!

Robin and Elaine Mary forever-Phillips

Emph Attic: Hroshi the hippo turns 13

A hearty welcome to “Emph Attic”!

“Emph Attic” is a letter I’ll send out once in a blue moon, starting today, on days when the desire to share much ado about nothing simply cannot be quenched. It does not replace my regular Northern Lights/Southern Cross column (posted on this blog); however, the (non-blog) readership differs slightly.

Happy Birthday to all Readers (and hippos) born in April. Hroshi, our purple-eared hippo-child (who travels, writes books and generally brings cheer to the Phillips household), turned 13 today—or rather, we celebrated her 13th “birth” day with us.

In 1996, the Czech family with whom we lived in Prague during our memorable year in Europe sent her home with us to South Africa. Little did they know we’d immigrate to Calgary, Canada in 1998, taking our travelling companion with us!

Since then this amazing creature has accomplished much, considering the limitations of her stuffing-filled mind. She has continued to travel, make friends around the world (hippos are gregarious) and act as CEO of hippo communications inc. (co-run by Chief Financial Officer, Robin Phillips).

As many Readers already know, Hroshi and her unicorn friend, Evangeline, published an anthology of letters late in 2007 called The Hippo and the Unicorn. There are still a few copies left, and I have no foreseeable plans to order a new shipment, so please let me know if you’d still like a copy.

(Also remind me if you’ve ordered one and not yet received it: I lost my way, administratively speaking, sometime last year, and am only now finding it again.)

Among other interesting projects, Hroshi is currently working on a new book about her great-niece, Hubble (the sweetest little hippo-soul from Botswana). Watch this space!

Hroshi turns 13

Happy birthday, Hroshi!

Apr 11: Holy Saturday

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.

Happy Easter, dear regular NLSC Readers (and a few seasonal souls).

I am filled with awe as I think of what the resurrection means—if we let the truth of the cross of Christ touch our lives. Our God-given free will is simultaneously dangerous and splendid—and a complete mystery to me!

Last night I attended a Good Friday service at a local church and surprised myself by weeping bitterly throughout the closing song. I walked home through the park, and on impulse I opened the garden gate leading to my neighbours’ house and walked up the path to their back door. A party was in full swing and I was graciously invited inside. “Stay for supper,” they insisted. My earnest pleas(e) fell on deaf ears. I stayed.

Halfway through the meal, with a smidgen of embarrassment, I suddenly realised I’d already eaten with my hubby before I left for church! (Did that stop me from indulging in seconds, followed by decadent dessert? Not at all. I have a special storage space in my legs for delicious home-cooked meals. Just last week I saw a sign at the Dollar Store that read “Supper’s ready when the smoke alarm goes off.” Hmmn. Made for my kitchen. Robin orders his pizza crust extra-well-done, so as to remind him of my cooking. But I digress.)

After my Hobbit-like second supper last night—after which my hosts played a board game with their guests while I gratefully and gleefully washed the dishes; it’s so hard to get good help these days—we were all treated to several moving renditions of the guests’ favourite songs. I found myself in tears for the second time that evening. What beauty! What passion! What rich voices they both have. I shall certainly write more about this gifted duo if they follow their hearts and start singing in public again after a silent year.

And then today dawned sky-blue and clear with the unexpected promise of additional blessings. Can one solitary life contain such sweet abundance? On the spur of the moment, my writing-accountability-partner phoned and invited me for tea. Through the park I meandered once more, this time in the opposite direction, along the Bow River’s edge and all the way to River View. E and I chatted up a storm, heartily agreeing to continue our monthly meetings for the purpose of mutual encouragement, inspiration and edification. I left for home with a blithe spirit and happy heart.

I wasn’t home five minutes when the doorbell rang and another tea-drinker’s daughter asked if I’d join her mom at Tim Horton’s. I partly rebuttoned the shirt I’d been in the process of removing, slipped on my muddy shoes and headed back out the door!

Tea for two at Timmie’s was a treat, and two of my companion’s church friends joined us for part of our visit (you’ll be pleased to know we immediately switched to our common tongue in the interests of enhanced communication). Cochrane community certainly has the power to cheer one’s heart and lift one’s spirits—not that my spirits needed a lift after my amiable amble through the park, greeting bicycle riders and dog-walkers and familiar picnicking families and spring-cheered children.

Now it’s time for bed after a most satisfying holy day spent visiting and equally satisfying pre-Easter night spent writing.

Be of good cheer: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed.

P.S. Brad, may I please share the following bluefishTV Easter video from your blog?
http://bradhuebert.blogspot.com/2009/04/weekend-video-he-was.html