...and there was a little quote, and there was a big quote, and all were the wiser for it...

"It's better to make people laugh than to make them jealous."
*Comment on Jen Gilbertson's blog.

"So, to become a human being and a Christian...is not to separate ourselves and work to become holy in a space that is defined and protected by religious convention; nor is it to seek for perfection by ordinary social or political activism. It is to be present with Christ in the world. It is to be there in God's name and God's presence in both confusion and order alike, standing with Christ, standing in that place in the world where God has chosen to be. And this is not a place of power or influence; it changes the world not by force but by patient endurance, by making room for the truth of God's alarming compassion to be there in the midst of everything
*Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Sermon Sunday 5th February 2006
Check out more: www.archbishopofcanterbury.org

My life, sans subtitles

QUEBEC
I had a great time and learned a lot. I even had a few stellar moments in stores in Quebec and Montreal where the clerks spoke French to me after they'd heard me say salut. I liked it. Good things about Quebec: Quebec City, poutine at the Cantine D'Amour in Trois-Pistoles, jazz at the Clarindon, Simon's, French, and the Fleuve.

EN ROUTE
I got to the train station at 1:50 AM Quebec time on Saturday and finally arrived here at 10:30 PM Saskatchewan time. In the meantime, I missed a train, thought I missed a flight (the worst feeling ever is thinking you've missed the last flight home), got to visit my dad for a couple of hours, read En Route magazine cover to cover, pondered E.E.Cummings and slept for about 3 hours in total. Sleep deprivation and near-hysteria made for a hilarious evening with Emily and Megan when I finally arrived in...

SASKATCHEWAN
I love Saskatchewan. I love the sun. I love that the rain is welcome. I love that I'm going home this weekend. I love the wind and the space and the pickup trucks. I love listening to the Dixie Chicks and Ron Sexsmith. I love getting letters from my boys out in the bush and having internet access again. I love my house and my girls and... wait on it... I love my job.

THE JOB
That's right, I love my job. I, the reluctant law student, am working in a law office and loving it. Granted, I've only been here for three days, but so far it's totally great. Everyone's nice and I'm working on real issues and they don't make things too hard for me and I'm just generally thrilled with it all. Maybe I won't have to join the circus after all.

AND NOW...
I'm actually kind of looking forward to getting back to Halifax in the fall. I don't want to be there right now, but I think I'll be ready for it when it comes and even a little happy to return to school. Who would've thought? I guess time really does work miracles - or blots out the memory. Either way, I'm glad that I'm happy about it. And I'm glad I don't have to go back quite yet.

So that's my life. This weekend, I'll be having a rockin' good time at the Frenchman River Valley Gospel Music Jamboree (yep, you heard right) working in the kitchen and catching up with everyone from home. I'm so thankful for all the sugary goodness in my life right now and I wish you all the same.

9 days left...

I have 9 days left at Trois-Pistoles and a little time today, so I thought I'd better blog again before I leave and forget the place altogether. I am admittedly beginning to like the town a lot now that it's a little warmer. It's a place worth describing once the rain stops. The town is Shaunavon-sized, with about 3500 residents and more bars than churches. There is, in fact, only one church: an immense stone cathedral in the Baroque style. The interior is decorated with faux-marble pillars, gilded arches, and an overabundance of cherubs. The most impressive element of the exterior is three enormous silver spires, featured prominently on almost every postcard in the town. The church has stood for over a century and the story goes that it was completed by means of a deal with the devil. I always think of legends and myths as something confined to places like Europe and Asia, where the same groups of people have lived in the same places for vast stretches of time. Nevertheless, they have legends here, and lost goblets, dark horses and diabolic pacts are intertwined with fur traders, Jesuit missions, and European warships in the collective memory. It's amazing to a prairie girl like me to live in a town this small that has been settled for so long.

There are lots of other great things about Trois Pistoles. There are good hiking trails in the woods and the Fleuve (the St. Laurence) is absolutely beautiful. The Cafe L'Essentiel has great coffee, the Cantine D'Amour makes the best poutine I've ever eaten, and it's just a short bike ride to the shore. It's great to be back in a small town and I'm getting fat on all the good food my hostess has prepared for us. Most importantly, I can speak a little French, read a little more, and smile and nod at the right places. This is a vast improvement from five weeks ago, so I'm satisfied. I hope eventually to be much, much more capable than I am at present, but it's okay for now.

The bad taste of exams is wearing off and I'm starting to think that returning to school won't be so bad... but tomorrow my marks come back. A month ago I was resigned to the fact that they won't be what I want, but now it's all I can do to keep myself from hoping... and hoping... and hoping... that they're better than I thought. I just want to get them back and have it over with so I can deal with the blow, wipe law school out of my mind for a few months and enjoy the summer.

I can't wait to get back to the prairies! The sun and dryness are completely welcome to me. Whenever I whine about the heat and the lack of rain, just remind me that I'm heading back to the coast in the fall and will have my fill of damp and cold. I'm so excited to get back to my girls and our house - it's been too long. I want to make this a very seize-the-day kind of summer, full of memorable moments and blessed randomness. I can't shake the realization that this might be the last time for a long time that I spend more than a couple weeks on the prairies, so instead of letting the feeling depress me I'm going to let it spur me on to see as much as possible of the people and places who count. Hopefully it works out.

Well, I'm done indulging my English craving. Love to all and I'll see you soon!