02 September 2011

"Friends, Moments, Countryside"

Since this EMP dot com website is primarily a place to share my writing (and yes, I shall write again: frequently and with joyful abandon) and not a place to post endless snapshots of our summer holidays, I have set up a separate blog for readers who wish to flip through our Phillips family photo albums.

"Friends, Moments, Countryside":  http://friendsmomentscountryside.blogspot.com/

Please drop me a line about your special friends, treasured moments and beloved countryside.

Labour Day long weekend

Tomorrow Sir Robin (my faithful co-instructor) and I will go camping with friends in a neighbouring province; he is sweetly sleeping while I pack and prepare for yet another long road trip this season. I've lost count of how many miles we've tracked since the end of May, when we headed west for Vancouver, the Island, and home again via Kamloops.

In mid-June we attended a former student's wedding in Medicine Hat, and for six weeks after that I stayed home (mostly in bed with pneumonia). That took care of July! August found us driving through the Rockies again, headed for Vernon, BC, and colourful Kalamalka Lake. The week of R&R with our Fairman friends did me the world of good.

I also met another of my pen pals in person: see next week's Pear Tree post.

And this weekend we're off to ... actually, I have no idea what our campground is called, but I'll write about it upon our return.

Happy Labour Day weekend, wherever you spend it.

Back to school

Back to school: three little words loved or dreaded by teachers and the taught.

It was pure joy being back in the classroom this week, after last week's New Student Orientation. This semester I teach two college classes in a row, for six consecutive hours (with only a short lunch break at noon), and I wasn't sure how my energy would ebb and flow. But all went well, and after a post-school nap of several hours, I awoke refreshed and ready for an unexpected visit with family friends from Calgary.