LIFE at LIGHT SPEED

Lately, I started thinking about girlfriends I've had over my lifetime, girlfriends that I never see or hear from anymore and girlfriends who are probably grandmothers like me now. It's true how, as you grow older, life flies by at a rate that seems to surpass the speed of light.

It seems like only yesterday that I was maid of honour to Di on her wedding day in October of 1970. She moved away and gradually the friendship dwindled away to the occasional email.  It doesn't seem that long ago that another friend shared the process of first pregnancies with me through the summer of 1976. We both had daughters and shared the first few years of their lives together. Now I don't even know where she lives. 

Then Margaret came into my life. She lived behind me across the fence and had three children roughly the same ages as my two. What a wonderful woman she was as she took care of my two when I was called in to substitute teach. She was a second mother to my little girls until I realised that I wanted to be the only mother they had, so quit working altogether. We kept in touch even when she moved to another community, but the friendship gradually faded away.

One Linda came into my life as a result of our both becoming single again and we hit it off. But over the years, I found her to be controlling, obsessive, and paranoid. Although I felt sorry for her and her circumstances, she was dragging me down, so I finally stopped all contact. Another Lynda was a co-worker and we'd make dinner for each other once in a while and share stories about our kids and our past marriages. When I moved on to go back to teaching, we stopped seeing each other so often.

My friend Kathy (with a K) was the first of my friends to die. That sounds so blunt - maybe I should say she "passed away" or "was called home to the Lord." But cancer ate away at her for almost 20 years and that insidious disease finally won the battle.

It's not as if I stopped liking these women or that they stopped liking me. I think that our lives change and evolve as our circumstances change. We make friends according to what's going on in our lives at the time. When we're newly married, we socialize with other newly marrieds. When we have children, our lives revolve around our children and so we meet other parents who are going through similar circumstances. School, soccer practise, dance recitals, skating and swimming lessons find parents sitting in the stands or on the sidelines and we get to talking. 

It's the same with people you work with, but when you leave your position for another job or to retire, you realize that the majority of these people, nice as they are, aren't true friends.  And if you are not married (like me) it's even harder to make new friends.  (Please don't suggest church, exercise classes, or clubs - been there, done that, and it doesn't help.)  I love to travel but it gets very expensive when you have to stay in a hotel on your own.  And the friends I do have either can't afford it or aren't interested in the same places I am. 

Anyway, over the years, I have developed friendships with some women who live halfway around the world from me, and I wish that I could see them more often.  Even though social media has become more and more common so that it's easy to "message" each other, stay in touch via Facebook, Skype, or face chat, it's still not the same, is it?  Where did the days go when we would drop over to the neighbour's or have the neighbour over for coffee or tea, go for a walk around the block with the kids, even go out to a movie or a meal with a girlfriend?  Since my friend Cathy (with a C) and I retired, she does a lot of volunteer work through her church and I continue to do tutoring. But we make a point of going out for breakfast at least once a month to catch up and it's great.

So, as the years fly by at light speed, as friends come and go, as we age, and as we gain or lose friends or family, I hope and pray that I will be able to continue to live fully and happily to the bitter end - alone or not. Anyone else feel this way?  And do men experience the same type of thing?

In the meantime, I will continue to dream of more life adventures until the day I leave this world!

K for KNIGHTS

Welcome to Round 20 of ABC Wednesday where, this week, we honour and celebrate the letter K as in kiss, kitchen, kneel, knife, kingdom, kindness, and knock.  This week, I'd like to tell you about Knights. 

The word Knight is a term to refer to a warrior or nobleman in former times or, in these days to refer to a person who has been given royal recognition. The roots of the word knight are connected to the Old English cniht, meaning boy, or German knecht, meaning servant.  During the Middle Ages, the term knight referred to a mounted and armoured soldier. Originally, knights were warriors on horse-back, but the title became increasingly connected to nobility and social status, most likely because of the cost of equipping oneself in the cavalry. Knighthood eventually became a formal title bestowed on those noblemen trained for active war duty.

In theory, knighthood could be bestowed on a man by any knight, but it was generally considered honourable to be dubbed knight by the hand of a monarch. By about the late 13th century, partly in conjunction with the focus on courtly behavior, a code of conduct and uniformity of dress for knights began to evolve. Knights were eligible to wear a white belt and golden spurs as signs of their status. Also, knights were also often required to swear allegiance to a liege lord.

A knight was to follow a strict set of rules of conduct. These were the knightly virtues. However, original knights had few of these qualities because the church deemed knights too bloodthirsty and unruly. The church then intervened and began stressing the importance of virtues until the church became an integrated part of knighthood and chivalry. The virtues included:

• Mercy (Towards the poor and oppressed. They were supposed to be harsh with evil-doers.)
• Humility
• Honor
• Sacrifice
• Fear of God
• Faithfulness
• Courage
• Utmost graciousness and courtesy to ladies

When in Wales last summer, I visited Chepstow Castle, the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain, where I found a replica of a knight on horseback prepared to do battle.  The knight carried a sword and shield with the image of the Welsh dragon on it.  And it was made of straw! 

Imagine hoards of Norman warriors coming on horseback across those fields ready to cross the River Wye and scale the cliffs to conquer the castle and its environs!

Now, those of you who read my posts probably know by now that I love history, especially anything to do with my ancestry (English, Welsh, Scottish).  However, one of my daughters and her husband have gone one step further and are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.  This is an international organization dedicated to researching and re-creating the arts and skills of pre-17th-century Europe. It consists of 20 kingdoms with over 30,000 members residing in countries around the world. Members, dressed in clothing of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, attend events which feature tournaments, royal courts, feasts, dancing, and various classes & workshops.

In fact, my son-in-law is becoming quite the artisan by creating leather armour not only for himself, but also for other members.  He makes every kind of armour that can be made from leather for from the neck down as well as purses, pouches, belts, and accessories. He has also given classes in making armour of all kinds and participates in the actual "battles" after many hours of practise.  He has worked his way to becoming a "Lord," which is the first of a slew of titles. Currently, he is known as Lord Ewen Mac Dughglas of Lions Gate. My daughter is Lady Eva de Lille, but not because of her association with her husband.  She attained the title of "Lady" through her own achievements by volunteering for behind the scenes and helping to organize events.  She finds hundreds of small ways to help others at all the practises and events she attends plus she and her husband run a kitchen and do the cooking and serving at events.

Here are a couple of really quick You-Tube videos SIL said I could show of a couple of practises.  He is in the red outfit in the first one.  Apparently, if you get hit in the leg, you must kneel, if you get hit in the arm, you have to forego using it, and if you get hit in the head or body, you're dead!

Hope you enjoyed this post.  I know I learned a lot more about knights and my daughter's and son-in-law's association with the Society for Creative Anachronism just by writing it.

Jane Austen

Welcome to the world of J as in jam, juggernaut, jumpsuit, jack-in-the-box, jaunty, and my two dearest British friends Jane and Jill.  Last year while in England, I had the pleasure of visiting the Jane Austen Museum in Chawton, Hampshire, and learned more about her as a person.  In Wikipedia, it states that "Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security."

Jane published most of her mature work while living in the lovely village of Chawton only a few miles from her birthplace, Steventon.  She was born December 16, 1775, and died July 18, 1817.  Most people are aware of her major works that, to this day, are read worldwide - books like "Sense and Sensibility," "Pride and Prejudice," "Mansfield Park," "Emma," "Persuasion," and "Northanger Abbey." 

In 1997, I visited England for the first time and my hostess took me to Blickling Hall where the movie "Sense and Sensibility" had been filmed.  It was while wandering the gardens there that I had an overwhelming feeling that I belonged there - in the country of England.  I've since returned many times and always feel that I should have been born there, even though my grandparents felt the urge to immigrate to the "new world " of Canada.

Last year, 2016, I was so pleased to visit the museum which had been Jane's home and where she wrote many, if not most, of her books.  It was almost eerie to wander inside the house, peeking into rooms where she had not only written, but had taken her meals and where she had slept. I wanted to try out her bed, but thought it wouldn't be very genteel to do so.  Instead I took a photo but it didn't turn out well. Here are a few of my photos from that day.

Outside, at the back of the house were several outbuildings where there was an antique donkey cart, which probably took Jane and her family to friends or relatives to visit. Also, there was an old brick oven and cooking area where the hired help would prepare their meals.

The best part of my visit, though, was the gardens! Like all English country gardens, they took my breath away.  I sat on a bench where Jane might have sat contemplating how her characters would develop while she breathed in the gentle English breezes.

After my own private contemplations, I began to wander around taking photos of various flowers and plants.  I was in my glory and my hosts finally came looking for me. All they were concerned about was that I was enjoying my visit.

And if you are ever in England and are a Jane Austen fan, I'd highly recommend a visit to the museum.  There is a lovely pub  called The Greyfriars immediately across the street where you can get a nice lunch either before or after your visit.   Here's a photo of it:

Hope you enjoyed a virtual visit to the Jane Austen Museum and may you have a jolly week!

I is for ICE FLOES Over Greenland

Welcome to ABC Wednesday, Round 20, Letter I as in ice-cream, igloos, icicles, iditerod, idioms, and illuminating. 

Notice that 4 out of 6 of my examples above refer to ice and did you know that the 2017 Iditerod is starting in Fairbanks, Alaska instead of Anchorage because of the lack of snow in Anchorage!  They have sent it all down here to Vancouver, British Columbia, where we've had THE worst winter EVER with so much snow that it's sometimes been difficult for me to get out in the car. And today as I write this, (March 5th) I woke up to another dump of this incessant white stuff!  No one can remember us ever getting snow in December, let alone March!

So with that in mind, I decided to show you some photos that I took from the airplane as I flew over Greenland last summer on my way home from my immensely memorable trip to the United Kingdom. I used my new Canon SX720HS camera with 40X telephoto lens and I think the shots are incredible. When the pilot announced we were approaching Greenland, I got into position at the very back of the plane (where I was sitting) and started focusing.  If you click on the first photo, you can see them in full screen and will see much more detail.  We start with a few shots of some clouds and then possibly some land.

This next one looks like waterfalls, but they're clouds.

Could that actually be land?

Then, for sure there was land!

 Notice the wing tip at the upper left corner!

These last two (above and below) are of ICE FLOES! 

I was so excited to get decent shots of this intercontinental area of the world.  And thrilled to share them with you all.