She's Baaaaaaack!

Alright, so I've been a horrible blogger, and yes it's been pointed out to me by those who are more faithful to the keyboard. I DO have an excuse - moving across the country has tied up my time some what.... I am now re-located to the centre of this glorious country we call home. No, it is NOT Toronto...I am literally in the centre of the country - a little place we like to call the 'Peg.

After four days of driving, 3800 + kilometres and lots of coffee we made it, caravan style, from the East Coast to the centre of the Prairies. I have called this place home for more than half my years on this earth, so it's for all intents and purposes, where I come from. I've missed friends, family, and good kielbassa :) I have also left good friends behind in the Fax. You know who you are and you will be missed. Know that I am happy out here, and promise to stay in touch!

I've only just begun to get back in touch with my roots out here - slowly the word is out that we are back in town and I expect the days to be busy with lots of catching up. We have seen many friends, but there are still some to touch base with. I only hope they will be patient!

I had a meal that I have been waiting two years for - Number 28 Deluxe Vermicelli at Viva Restaurant on Sargent. It was TOTALLY worth the wait. I remembered it being good, but the bowl of delightful vermicelli yumminess was beyond my wildest imagination. The flavours were amazing and it was packed with goodies such as spring rolls, bbq pork, grilled shrimp and loads of flavours! It's GOOD to be home!

I am in search of a new horse to ride with a couple of leads - hopefully I shall fill the pages with riding stories once more.

Adieu for now...hopefully the drought is over!

Fabulous Freddy

...Fredericton, New Brunswick that is!

Fredericton was great - I had a fabulous time and my co-presentation went really well. Lots of time to catch up with old friends and make new ones besides! Ate at two really fabulous restaurants: Caribbean Flavas and a little Vietnamese noodle place. The latter was a little more expensive than you would expect for Vietnamese, but it was the closest I'd come to Winnipeg's Viva No. 28 vermicelli dish! Flavas was FANTASTIC! The staff were friendly and the food was amazing. Their roti is definitely the best!

without a horse, but not without the dream

Alright...so it's been awhile. Probably way too long. When I started this blog, it was mostly to document my riding - the training, the ups and downs, and the relationship I was building with my horse...the one that wasn't really mine. After a year of wonderful riding and training, Billy went to a different location with his owner. I didn't think it would effect me that much, but I haven't ridden since and that was over two months ago. I still think about riding an awful lot, and I've already started to look into other riding possibilities.

Until then, I guess I'll blog about other things. It's not like riding was ALL that I was involved in, lol. So I guess I"ll begin with where I'm blogging from....

I'm in Fredericton, New Brunswick this week for a work-related conference. It's been really great so far - I've seen lots of old co-workers and class mates and caught up with like-minded professionals. My colleague and I even gave a paper and it was well received.

Freddy is a lovely little city...definitely a small town feel. I have done some exploring, but the conference has kept me busy. It's odd being here - my parents were married in the church down the street and my father lived in Old Government house while it was the RCMP headquarters and barracks. Wonder what sort of trouble he got into on these streets....

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!