Falling out with Fall

Alright, like my last post- I do think the colours are gorgeous in autumn but I could do with a few degrees warmer. I nearly died cycling into work when it was -3 degrees. But enough about the weather. Devyn invited us over last week for ice cream cake for Tom's birthday. Mmm, it was so delicious...I'm sure I haven't had ice cream cake in the past 6 years. Divine.



















Look at that chocolate layer- mmmm.















Then I had the great idea to take Tom to a corn maze for his birthday. We all agreed that we would have enjoyed ourselves a little more if it wasn't quite so wet. I love the idea & look forward to going again...but I will reschedule if the rains coming down like it did on Sunday. Yes, I am wearing snow pants- tihi.











































For now it's back to the books...

Six Falls

I have admitted defeat. I shall forget about any more productivity this evening. I am now- quite happily- sitting in front of this laptop of mine, listening to Toots & the Maytals (oh happy music) with my cup of Earl Grey (spiked with fresh ginger) and Mr. Christie's Chip's Ahoy double chocolate chewy cookies (so bad they're good). The extractor fan rings on from the bathroom & my finger is still pulsating from the recent blood flow. Sigh. What an evening.
Is there such a thing as too much Mr. Clean?
I am giving the bathroom a once over. Scrubbing here & there until - oops- I have kicked over the bucket of Mr. Clean. I am now desperately trying to mop up the floor before it reaches the carpet of the bedroom. I double check my work, flick on the extractor fan & hope for the best. I tippee toe my way over to the kettle to brew some tea. I have to remove the burnt out candle from my beautiful new candle holder to complete the ambiance of my well-deserved 'break' (aka aborted cleaning mission). Suddenly blood is streaming from my middle finger & I can't exactly say why or how. Moral of my story: I do believe there can be too much Mr. clean.

Other thoughts/ tales from the week...

I set out for work with my bike on Wednesday- a miserable, cool and wet morning. I had planned to put some air in the tires en route. But who knew that a "free air" machine would be powered off overnight? And who knew that when the machine is switched off it sucks all the air out of the tire? My now very flat front tire would not be able to make it to work so I had to run the bike back to the apartment- thanking Mom & Pop the whole way home for insisting on leaving their car with us. I made it on time to work but was in in a bit of a tizzy*grin*.

It has been very cool & chilly but I have decided to be positive about that; I am thankful that I can warm up under a hot shower at any time. I do not have to switch on a hot water tank, hope that the electricity doesn't cut etc. So far, every time I have come home cold I have been able to enjoy a hot shower or bath. What a luxury! I will try to keep this in mind as we get deeper into the Fall.

Which leads me to my last point of the post. It's hard to believe that I have been away for 6 consecutive falls & winters. Despite the definite chill in the air I am taking in all the colours. Just out back of the condo we're living in is the sweetest pond. The city is trying to leave these "natural" parks for environmental & aesthetic reasons. I will confess that I'm on board- I love this area. It's stunning to head out each morning & see the changing colours, the dragonflies & just enjoy the break from traffic sounds/lights/ and speeds. (Aside: I swear I hit every red light on the way into work. I manage to hit a few greens on my way back- but isn't that bizarre- what are the odds?) I hope you enjoy the little photo display of my "backyard". I tried to avoid the shopping cart that was tossed into the pond...you know me- I tend to focus on the positive- the shiny willow leaves, the gorgeous bright red mountain ash berries, etc.



And with that I shall call it a night. I shall retire to my 'smut'...the 5th book in the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series...

Only as old as you feel

It's a beautiful evening- I'm on-line looking out the big window to our little balcony. The trees are rustling in the wind and the sky is that indescribable Alberta blue. How wonderful to be still and collect my thoughts. Life has been such a whirlwind these past weeks; but with the boys gone fishing for the weekend the condo has been cleaned, ironing done, laundry in progress & I still had time for a date with my mom today. And a beautiful (but chilly) morning run. All these non-school things because I was so darn productive yesterday and throughout the course of the week- yay! I am in the homestretch though & will probably only post on here occasionally until after I'm through with exams.
Now. What I really wanted to say.
1. I have started "active commuting" and I love it. Each morning I climb on the bike & race the streets to the office. The first morning I hit the road it was 4 degrees (I'm not sure any of my Zambian friends still read this but I nearly died- 4 degrees)! It just so happens that the week I decide to start cycling into work is the same week that many kids have started school. I had such a laugh with the girls at work because I felt far from nearly 30 while cycling beside junior & high-schoolers. I also laughed in the face of the photo-radar buggy (I couldn't resist- it felt so wonderful to know that he couldn't ticket me). I was even so brazen as to run a yellow light on my bike (I regretted it shortly thereafter as my thighs burnt with exertion).
Oh the excitement.
2. Other than that I think most of the kinks have been worked out in the new place. We've got an awesome new shower head, beautiful curtains hung in the bedroom (still using blinds in the living room) & I think we've collected all the keys from the owner. I had the heart-stopping experience of having an uninvited guest in my flat as I came out of the shower- oops. I think the neighbour lady was more horrified than I was- but it was pretty awful calling out from the shower dripping wet & wondering who on earth was in my pad. Luckily that has been the only negative incident since move-in.
3. Yesterday was my study day. I had just put a zillion thoughts together & needed to clear my mind before proof-reading my work (I still haven't checked on-line for any feedback)*grin*. My shoulders also needed to come back down to their proper home rather than up closer to my earlobes where they had climbed while hammering it out on the computer. I popped into the bedroom to do a couple of sun salutations. I am in forward bend. I observe all the theorists bouncing around in my brain against their theories and what exactly the point might be. Exhale, try to bring my tummy closer to my thighs, head to knees, thighs tight so my knees are not locked. Works every time- especially the laugh while in forward bend noticing just how much I've got on my plate right now. Which leads me to another thought that I've been meaning to post for ages:
4. Ode to libraries. I'm so excited to be able to go the public library and borrow books. Honestly, it is the one thing I missed most while living in Lusaka. I am thankful for the library even when I'm going to study; it is such a luxury. But little did I know about how exciting it would be to be able to borrow yoga DVDs! Amazing.

Til next time...perhaps my rambling will be more coordinated then. Perhaps not.

A terrible friend

This post shall serve as a blanket apology. I have been so busy and wrapped up in my own schedule that I've been in touch with very few people. At work during break time or lunch I'll slip outside for a wee walk round the grounds and a breath of fresh air. During this time I think- I should send Bev a Happy Birthday email; Hol is leaving for Italy- I should have at least called her; I haven't seen Janet or Car in weeks; and my weekly walks with Jennifer & Krysta have fizzled out. Bah.
Good excuses? I'm at the homestretch with school. I'm desperately trying to keep my head above water as my last course is run in 5 weeks instead of the regular 11 weeks. Exams are around the corner so my anti-social behaviour will only be temporary.

The much more exciting piece of news is that Alvin & I are on our own again! We're renting a little one bedroom condo that's less than 1km from the bus depot (Al will be commuting to NAIT starting tomorrow) & should be about a 5km bike ride to work for me. I'm looking forward to active commuting...except for the cold weather! My folks have gone over & about the call of duty (& have probably spent more time in the condo then we have)- they've painted, scrubbed, donated & ensured a smooth transition. Guess they were ready to have their basement back*grin*
The new digs















Last weekend we attended Anna & Dan's beautiful wedding- I got to be social for an evening & had a wonderful time.

The new couple!














There were about 4 of us "Reckies" from Uni- it was lovely. Ry & the beautiful bride.

Harper Hangover

Well folk fest is a distant memory and it's very much back to reality. I have started my -hopefully- last course towards my Masters- these five weeks will zip by I'm sure. I only have a few random happenings that I felt like sharing...

1. It was the third memorial of my friend and colleague Chola over the weekend. I thought of her Friday, thought plenty about Zambia on Saturday...and met with Zambian friends (or friends from Zambia) on Sunday & we were able to chat a bit about our late friend. Since some of the ladies from Zed are reading this- here are some photos of Claire, Kel, & their beautiful son Cruz; we were thinking of you all and reminiscing about our special Chola.













































2. I shall savour the prairie skies every chance I get (mostly Alvin teases me for never taking photos...I'll take so many sky shots I'll probably chase away all my faithful readers).
















3. Pop & I working on the beautiful cherries that we picked earlier that evening with the help of Alvin & Trevor. Oh yea harvesting! And all those cherries came from the single Evans Cherry in Tom & Dev's backyard- amazing.































4. The video of Harper's "Heart of Gold" cover will not upload. Too bad for you all, the version was stellar.

5. At coffee break in the office one day conversation turned to eye surgery/ vision etc. I mentioned that I would love to have laser eye surgery for the simple joy of being able to roll over in the night & read the bedside clock. One of the ladies laughed at me and said "Just buy a bigger clock". Well it seemed far to obvious to ignore- we bought an alarm clock that I can read from well across the room. Ridiculous- but that's me, isn' it?

A Night to Remember

I suppose I'll be eternally indebted to my dear friend Ry for the favour he shared with me on Thursday night. Ry has been in faithful attendance at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival for decades...and last year he won the "Golden Tarp". And being the good friend that he is he allowed me to join him so that I could drool over Mr. Ben Harper approximately 10 feet away. (I don't mean to disregard Gord Downie who actually put on a good number despite the incoherent chat in between songs & the final exit of standing on stationary speaker while appearing to surf. I'm sure it was much cooler to him because he looked rather high). In sharp contrast Harper came out looking smashingly sober and was incredibly humble. Who knows what he's like in real-life, but what a pleasure to witness his show at such close range.

Feast your eyes ladies!



It was an amazing show & I was thrilled to be with such dear friends. And the finale: Harper paid tribute by closing out the night playing "Heart of Gold" from Canada's most famous/ renowned/ touted folk-rocker Neil Young. I took a little video but it doesn't capture the vibe on the hill...& it is also unable to upload at the moment. I shall sign off before the Internet crashes (again)*grin*

July Harvests

Oh the joys of long weekends- there seems to be time for everything. Our weekend was filled with delicious food from the garden, one of my fave Edmonton festivals- Heritage Days, swimming (both in the public swimming pool AND down at the Pembina river), & then the usual work bits...

Pembina! Who knew such a lovely sport existed? What a relaxing way to spend a sunny day















Our fearless leaders




























I've always thought that there's nothing more delicious than eating fresh picked home grown fruits & veggies. Don't these photos just make your mouths water?












































I have no idea why I'm trying to coach Pop with the berry picking- he had already picked three ice cream pails full. Ah well














Heritage days
Alvin decided to have a taste of 'almost' home eating some Zimbabwean cuisine. I thought his family would be horrified to see him eating his meal with a fork- one that is traditionally eaten with one's hands.














My dear friend Alison will be getting married later this week in Uganda...we were thinking of her!

Reclaiming my Mornings

It has taken me a while but I've finally remembered that I am a morning person. Somehow in the shift from my life in Lusaka to my new life back in the Motherland I forgot that I really am at my best at the crack of dawn. I've recommenced my morning runs (I'm committing myself to three per week). This may have been triggered by my 'home alone' time, by the increasingly sunny weather, or perhaps because my days are falling into some semblance of routine nearly a month into my new job. In any case, while out on the road at 06h00 I can't help but feel it's right where I should be. I love the yellows in the morning sun rays sifting through the trees, mosquito wings being too wet to interrupt my strides, and how aimlessly my mind wanders when my feet are moving. Convinced anyone yet that morning jogs are truly glorious? I doubt it*grin*.

Apart from my morning epiphany our unplanned weekend was filled up with lots of last minute visiting...it's starting to feel like summer! Proof positive:

The first cucumber of the season. Yes, it was perfect. I should've taken a photo of all the Saskatoons I picked, perhaps the next round, the bushes are still fully loaded.





























My dear Priscilla asked me to take photos of Kel, Claire & Cruz when we got together...unfortunately Kelvin was stuck in Whitehorse so the four of us enjoyed a visit in English (rather than Kel's infamous stories in chiBemba)...











































Sorry Lain- I brought my camera to the BBQ your folks hosted but unfortunately I left the camera in my purse in the front hall. I guess Arwen's beautiful babes won't make this post. Now I'm off to pick up my folks from the airport...I'm dying to see photos from Marty & Pat's wedding!

Sarah Time

The house is empty- the folks are off to Marty's wedding on the East Coast (so excited for you Marty & Pat!!) & Alvin's been sent for a couple of nights to a job site a couple of hours North of the city. Perfect time for me to catch up with all the school work I've been putting off. Bwa ha ha.

I had such a great weekend between a day trip to Sylvan lake for Anna's stagette & harvesting the first batch of Saskatoon berries on Sunday with Dev...surely it's now or never to buckle down & get some schoolwork done, no?

Here's Anna (yes, the bride-to-be sporting the coconut-shell bra) & her sister-in-law with Sylvan's lighthouse in the background. We had such a beautiful day- it was my first jump into the middle of an Alberta lake in a good long time.



















The few berries that escaped my greedy mouth were baked into a rhubarb crumble- there's nothing like fruit/veg/ herbs from one's own garden is there? Is your mouth watering Belle?

















Oh the joys of procrastination- I have busied myself mowing the lawn, collecting herbs to make my scrumptious vegetarian supper, finishing another book in the Scottish time-traveler series (Devo- had to get me hooked on trash, eh) and well now, it's obvious where I'm at. I think I'll take a different approach tomorrow- perhaps starting off with a run so I can settle into studying after work.

What should I cut out?

When the snooze button failed and Alvin scrambled out of bed about 25 minutes later than usual I thought "Oh no, what to axe from my morning routine to get to work on time?"

Should I forget about my morning sun salutations?
No way- I'm a firm believer in exercise- why should it get cut first?
Should I forgo my cup of ginger tea?
Oh I couldn't do that- what is life when it's too busy to savour a cup of morning tea?
Of course, I'll just have a quick shower. Riiiight. I forgot I was supposed to have a quick one while rinsing the shampoo- ha!
And then the skirt I pulled from the hanger needed to be ironed. Drat.

In the end- I pulled up to work a couple minutes early & left the breakfast dishes in the sink- sorry Ma!

I am now enjoying home-brewed mint tea (I love my wee herb garden) after a busy evening of running hills, cookin' up a yummy supper, and trying to get back on track with school. I hope we don't sleep through the alarm tomorrow and have the cycle start all over again...

Excuses excuses

I suppose the computer-tired eyes after starting a new job have discouraged me from posting anything too exciting up I here. I had entirely forgotten that I'd taken photos of:

a) the most beautiful mojito I have ever seen- thanks Dev!















And there was enough to go around...



















b) the first boccie competition of the year for me (I shall blame my loss on the fact that Alvin & I are used to the french version- pètanque...thanks for leaving those with us in Lu Heather- we Looooove pètanque)

The winners (Megan & Devo)














Oooh, the anticipation














7 steps & how many fingers?
















Oh...and Alvin may have laughed almost as hard as me & my folks. The sewing machine was dusted off & brought out to patch Alvin's work jeans. Note that Alvin is no where to be seen and neither is my Mom*muhahahah*. It was a success. Pop & I may open a business.

Rejuvenated

With the first week of work down I'm heading back into Monday feeling rejuvenated after a great weekend. I was laughing with Car, Jen & Code on Friday night out at Sandy Beach- we were still in the hot tub at the witching hour & I honestly couldn't recall the last time I had seen midnight. Hilarious. Funnier still was that I saw it two nights in a row (Guess I was feeling unpatriotic for missing Canada Day fire works & had to make up for it)*grin*! Alvin had his introduction to baseball on Saturday night- the boys hit a ball around while the girls rushed back to the house chased all the way by hordes of mosquitoes.

The rejuvenating part of the weekend probably comes from getting caught in the rain on my afternoon walk yesterday with Al. It was gorgeous...

Sarah's Facebook status

Right...I may or may not have too much time on my hands but I thought a creative blog might include emotions I have noted throughout the week (as per those ridiculous facebook one-liners that let the whole world know when you're going to the loo). Plus not enough people are commenting...I need to shake things up a bit don't I?

Facebook Status #1- Sarah's struggling to move around re: blisters

Explanation- I had an awesome weekend in Ottawa c/o Commonwealth Game Canada's International Development through Sport programme. Dear Uncle Em picked me up from the airport & I was happy to see my aunt, cousins & their kids after a year hiatus. I always love passing through Ottawa & glimpsing into the hustle & bustle of my family's schedules out there. But back to the blisters...my friend Simone took me on a 'walking tour' of Ottawa on Sunday. We took a couple wrong turns but finally ended up in little Italy (it was great- their team had tied their game that morning- World Cup of course). Terribly painful couple of days post-walking; but worth it nonetheless!

Facebook Status #2- I want to go shopping!

Explanation- Woot- I start a new job on Monday (& a real one...not painting fences)*giggling*...I think I deserve a new pair of heels or something to psyche myself up for day 1, no?

Facebook Status #3- Gooooooo Ghana!!

Explanation- Ghana may be the only African team moving to the next round (how I wish Cote d'Ivoire would make the cut too); how sweet it would be to knock out the USA...fingers crossed for Ghana!

Facebook Status #4- What is that smell?

Explanation- After wiping the dog sh#@ from my shoe, realizing that I forgot to put on deodrant before spending 5 hours in the sun painting a fence, hearing the next-door neighbour (who had not seen me) let a deafening fart escape... a gorgeous manly freshly-washed scent drifted to my then delighted nostrils. Still don't know where it came from but it certainly wasn't me.

FB #5- Sarah's enjoying time with her Gran

Explanation- Gran'll be in house for the whole week- the weekend will be busy as Uncle Wal's coming up for a visit. It feels like summer*smile*

A great time of year for the sports fan

I'm inspired to write after a beautiful weekend...

1. Sports:
Yeah Celtics! I've been biting my nails as the NBA playoffs have progressed, cheering for any team but Kobe Bryant and his Lakers. And finally, Lakers have fallen behind in a series. It's been a frustrating series (terrible ref-ing) but also exciting- I really hope Boston will win it in Game 6- I'm not sure my heart can stand a game 7.
World Cup- I'm loving every minute- vuvuzelas and all. I can't believe Ma turns on the TV every morning to check the latest scores and update her Macleans magazine. I don't have a favourite team yet but must admit that I'm hooked!

2. Harvesting herbs
I had my first cup of home brewed mint tea today- yippee! I had been looking forward to spending the summer watching all the lovely things we've planted grow- I plan to learn how to make jam with my folks in the Fall when all the berries are ripe for the picking. For now we're delighting in our little herb garden. Last night Ma made a killer salad dressing with our fresh basil & oregano. I'm having a blast thinking up all the different ways we can enjoy our fresh mint, dill etc. Oh the small joys.

3. Prairie farm party
We were able to celebrate lots of events at Marc's birthday party on Saturday night- belated birthday wishes to Alvin, early ones for George & Marc, as well as 1st anniversary wishes to Tom & Devo - woot! And all of this out at Marc's family's farm; big thanks to Alaina for inviting us city slickers out. I must admit that I did get carried away with the camera while savouring a sunset of the most glorious Alberta blue sky...so you've been warned- if you don't like a prairie sunset no need to view the slide show (yes- another experiment- I hope it works out better than the last photo album I uploaded).

Chinese birthday supper

Alvin had a hankering for sweet & sour chicken so I decided to throw a Chinese feast for my Zambian hubby's birthday.















I was glad my sister-in-law here was able to enjoy my pineapple upside down cake because I know my sisters-in-law in Lusaka would have missed it!














We've actually had a couple of beautiful days that lasted long enough to hit the lake. Here's Pop at his happiest & my birthday boy.

What to write?

Again, I find myself wanting to post up here but there's just not too much exciting happening with me at the moment. I did, however, read an article that suggested job seekers this day in age need to be creative- one example was to advertise myself via blog. What?! Never crossed my mind. So for those of you who for some reason have not already been assaulted with my questions about anyone who knows anybody in human resource management- let me know if you know anyone!*ha ha ha*. I feel like I'll round a corner soon but it couldn't hurt to throw it up here that I'm looking for an entry-level HR position- right?

More seriously things are going well. Highlights?

- Alvin is gainfully employed- yay!
- I've been re-connecting with people slowly but surely; weather permitted a beautiful wiener roast with Anna & Dan yesterday. Ooooh, smores!














- I love YouTube. I could never access YouTube in Zambia due to slow connections but I'm having a blast finding music videos: everything from long forgotten reggae tunes, to French-African anthems, South African and Zambian or unusual tunes we caught on 'trace tropical'*grin*. Everyday is a dance party in my parents basement. Mwahaha
- I'll be attending a Commonwealth Games Canada workshop in a couple weeks in Ottawa. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with sports for development folk & maybe seeing some family out that way as well, fingers crossed.
- Lack of structure to my days has offered me abundant time to start exercising again. I'm slowly beginning to enjoy running, that is, unless I have walking dates with my mom or old friends! Any excuse to procrastinate, right? Which reminds me full well that I should take the empty house as opportunity to do some schoolwork. Sigh. Life is good.
- Oh, and I'm absolutely hooked on the NBA now (blasted hubby of mine). Now that Nash is out of the running- Go Celtics Go!!

The Musonda's wedding

An experiment- now that I'm back to high-speed Internet I thought I should try to post a photo album rather than individual photos. We had an amazing long weekend and got to connect with friends from Zambia as our dear friend Sugar married a stunning Sophie on Saturday. Kieran (aka Mabvuto) flew in from Toronto & we had a blast with Sophie's incredibly warm & generous family & friends. I held onto the camera for most of the day so I'm sorry dear Priscilla that there are no photos of me*winning smile*

NB- if you click on the photo you should be able to see the photos within the album...feedback please*grin*

Sarah T's visit

Alvin & I were lucky enough to host one of our Canadian friends from Lusaka- Sarah T's first trip to the prairies- woot! As always we had a great visit with her reminiscing and sharing stories since the last time we were together.

Oftentimes when I'm taking photos I take them with people in mind- or I start constructing how I will phrase my sentences on the blog (weird I know). Sarah & I both had shirts made from Kutowa Designs (founded by my good friend / fashion designer / yoga instructor in Zambia). We are posing because a) I feel like a samurai when I wear the shirt & b) I miss yoga with Towani...a stretch? I'm not sure. We were going to wear them all day but it was perfect tanning weather so we bowed out.






























The weather was gorgeous so we set out to explore Edmonton's river valley on foot. A lovely passer-by snapped this before we headed up all those stairs.




















And at the top















More stairs...




















Alvin preparing the nshima (we had to cook Zambian with Sarah T around) & she thought the small size of the nshima stick was hilarious, comments Namukolo?




















And that's a wrap.