New jerseys

Before retiring my Pop managed to get a whole bunch of St. Albert schools to donate old basketball jerseys to Zambia. So after all the company the bags have arrived & the distribution has started.

Here's a shot of the Youth basketball league coordinator & his team of 12 year olds & under. They LOVED their new jersey & really deserved it. Coach Mwape not only runs the league, he also has four teams that play in the Youth League (Girls, u12s, u15s, & u18s). I hope the Hurricanes have a great year in their new jersey!















Of course our very own BSA had to get a new kit as well. Coach Alinafe (pictured below) & I loved the blue...& the jersey will fit both our u12 & u15 teams! Hooray!! These are the 12 & unders pictured.
















Thanks to everyone- for the donation, for bringing the jerseys to Zed, to all the volunteers who run the league- there are a lot of smiles on the basketball courts these days. More photos to come as more kits are distributed!!

Another delectable fruit

Right, so I’m probably downright annoying oooh-ing & ahhh-ing about exotic fruits when most of ya’ll are in the dying months of winter. Soon enough it’ll be spring for you though, & winter for me- so I’ll enjoy what I’ve got now.

Confession: I’m totally addicted to granadilla. I want my own granadilla tree. It’s soooo yummy!! Forget mangoes Car, your next visit to Zambia better be granadilla season*hahahah*
































Yes, it’s Friday & you can tell I’m already in weekend mode; this comic cracked me up, & does every time I read it.













Lastly, I was just getting my fill of "Obamamania" reading on the CBC about his visit to my Motherland. Holla!

Back to the wedding

I do have every intention of sending more news of the wedding via blog…despite the slow process. This post is dedicated to one of my favourite things in the world- FLOWERS (and yes, it has been created with warm thoughts of Janet, Caroline Fitzy & Hol- my fellow lovers of flowers)!! I was overwhelmed by the flowers when I first walked into the chapel;






























& was so thrilled that the florist did the most incredible job of incorporating palm leaves, canna lily leaves, & croton leaves into the arrangements. That was my request so that some of the rich colours & textures of Zambia- that are found all over the streets- could be incorporated into our wedding day.

Yay.

Fragrant felons

I was all set to walk into work this morning (I enjoy walking on the days I don’t run) when a minor problem presented itself. The usually morning routine was interrupted when I couldn’t find my face cream. I thought nothing of it and used another bottle of moisturizer…but when I couldn’t find my deodorant my dreams of walking to work were dashed. Utterly confused I asked a half-sleeping Alvin if he was playing a trick on me. Then we realized his deodorant was also missing. And a small bottle of body spray that Pat brought me- (good thing it wasn’t my favourite one)*smile*. Alvin deduced that during the day somebody snuck their hand in through the window & grabbed what they could. Luckily we don’t keep anything of value on that little table. Result: I am self-consciously sporting a sundress with baby-powdered underarms hoping to get through the day with a little help from the air con*hahahah*. I also drove into work rather than sweating it on the road*giggling*. Guess I’ll try to squeeze in a walk this evening after buying a new deodorant.

At least the neighbourhood thieves won’t smell like the guy who joined me running stairs the other morning…

Mmmm

I am currently indulging in my first guava of the season; & as every year I think that it is the best fruit I've ever had in my life*sigh*. Maybe it's because we just hunted it down from the tree at the back of our offices...& we all know that fruit is always best when you pick it yourself.

Apart from that I realized that it's Black History month back home in Canada. I haven't thought of it for years but found it fitting that I just finished reading Canadian author Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes. What an incredible read! This evening after coaching it'll be back to my fully stocked bookshelf to select my next literary victim*woot woot*

Back to reality

I'm finally getting a chance to ease back into routine. Back in the office, back to my road runs, and settling into what still seems like a New Year to me*smile*.

I had such wonderful company from Christmas Day, I have to confess that the house feels empty now. But hopefully more company will be coming- as soon as next month! And I do recognize that Zambia isn't everybody's cup of tea. Take for example my gem of a dad- the first thing he did upon his return to St. Albert was too cool off from the African sun in a snowbank! Priceless- you look so happy Pop!!

All of my family that came to visit have really spoiled me (as you can see in some previous posts- & with BOOKS, yay). And I will confess some serious selfishness...I wouldn't open my fave chokecherry jam until all guests had left. I could part with the Toblerone, Nibs, & even my parents' homemade raspberry jam- but not this. Aren't I awful? I'm such a princess...I'm so thankful that some people out there still love me!!















More updates once my flash disk is de-bugged & I can post some more photos from the time with my family. Cheerio for now.