Alright, so much for regular “diary” entries!! I have been horribly remiss. Not that I’m writing ground breaking, earth shaking stuff here, but I was hoping to add entries a little more regularly. Life has been hectic, and my computer time has been limited at home. My dear boyfriend has been hard at work in the evenings, and I don’t feel it necessary to interrupt his productivity to “blog!” My evenings have been busy too though – I’ve been thoroughly occupied with a knitting project. It’s my first “non-scarf” project – a baby blanket (NOT for myself!!!) knitted on the diagonal. It’s coming a long, and is quite pretty, but knitting up 180 (!) stitches is taking up lots of time. Pictures to follow…

I’ve been getting out to ride quite regularly and to visit “my” horse a couple times a week besides. He is such a lovely boy and has a great desire to bond. The days that I just go out to “hang out” and play, he is SO responsive. I’ve been doing some “horse play” games, loosely based on Parelli natural horsemanship. It tells a lot about his personality. I think he really enjoys working, and once he’s warmed up and “on” he is very receptive. The other night we played a bit of “yo-yo” where I would drive him away, and then beckon him back. Back and forth we went, and he seemed to really enjoy it. We also did some amazing free lunge (without a lunge line “at liberty” in Parelli terms). I directed him by pointing in the direction I wanted him to go, drove from his hind end (by clucking and driving with my eyes – looking directly at his hind end) and he took up a 20 metre circle naturally. It was so amazing. When I dropped the driving, he stopped, turned, and faced me – as if to say “okay boss, what next? I’m listening” It was spectacular! I’m curious to see how our next ride goes after that session. I’m afraid I’m bonding to him at a rapid rate – great for our riding relationship, but it will be tough when reality sets in and his owner either a) decides to start riding again or b) sells him. Wish I could figure out how to get that money tree growing…

Went to a fabulous restaurant last night – “Mezza” – it’s a tapas style restaurant serving Lebanese food. It was amazing. The flavours were wonderful and the food was freshly prepared and beautifully presented. It was obvious that the kitchen staff took pride in their job. It was my first time eating true Lebanese food, and I would go back in a heart beat!

A blissful way to spend the first day of the year...

New Year's Eve wasn't a big deal for us this year...in fact, it hasn't been for some time. The days of planning like mad, and being disappointed when things didn't happen the way you wanted are long gone. We were home quite early,and spent the evening watching movies (Shrek 2, The Kingdom...quite a contrast!).

New Year's Day I spent doing two things I love: hiking with my "boy" and our two dogs, and paying a visit to "my" horse. Although the weather here is fairly mild, some of the hiking trails we use get a bit more snow then others. The one we visited over New Year's was beautiful and serene. It followed the powerlines back into the bush, over a stream and out towards a lake. We didn't make it out that far, but hope to explore a little more in the future. It has great potential for mountain biking too...

Well, it’s the start of another year, and here I am, first time blogger running a self-experiment. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep this up – if it will become a regular habit, a log of major events, or a running commentary on life in general. I don’t consider my life to be overly exciting, so I don’t expect major readership. I’ve always kept some form of diary off and on, so this is just taking it to the technological level I suppose. I remember faithfully dialogue with the locked diary kept safely under my bed as pre-teen, documenting the crushes and the ups and downs of junior high. As I grew older, I wrote poetry filled with teenage angst over unrequited love, and perceived inequities leveled against me by my parents. When I moved away from home, I started a travel diary, thinking it would provide a venue for dealing with the stress and anxiety of travelling so far to truly begin life as an independent adult. Alas, it did not last long…I guess it didn’t cause me as much stress as I thought it would! So, here goes…

As you may be able to discern from my blog title, I’m a bit of a horse-lover. For those of you unfamiliar with Celtic mythology, Epona, the “horse goddess,” or “divine mare” was a protector of all things equine. She was a goddess of fertility, but I use her name with reference to my love of horses. (See Wiki for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epona) I’ve loved horses ever since I can remember – a love that was fostered and encouraged by my dad. I loved all things horses and desperately wanted to have one of my own. I did have the privilege of owning a beautiful mare for a little bit, but had to sell her before I moved. I hope to one day own another of these gorgeous creatures. I still ride, and am training under an amazing coach.

I hope to keep this blog fairly anonymous, so I probably won’t give up too many details about myself. Maybe that will make things interesting, maybe not. So, what will I reveal? I guess I can say I’m a government employee, a university graduate, and a musician. I love to cook, and I love to learn. I have a wonderful partner whom I am very much in love with. We have a “kids” of the four-legged, furry variety…and that’s good, for now. I am looking forward to exploring our new province a little more thoroughly this summer, and perhaps getting in some camping and hiking.

That’s about it for now – I’ll start slowly and see where it leads….

Happy New Year!