I've never watched ice freeze before.  Who knew it was actually kind of fun?

Friday afternoon N and I were out for our daily walk and we happened to meet up with a teacher friend who was on her way home from school.

We decided to head out for a walk up to the point.  I've never headed up that direction before so I was more than happy to head out.  I've been so nervous about a bear encounter that I've just never trekked up that way before.  So I stuffed my bear bangers in my pocket and off we went.

It was a fun little walk.  On the way up we walked along the shore.   There wasn't any ice yet, but the snow was packed between the rocks pretty good so it  was getting a bit slick.  Thankfully we didn't see any bears - I found out a few days later they were hanging out around the corner up by the airport.  Not too far away, but far enough.  We did see a beluga whale......head.  What was left of it anyway.  You could definitely tell what it was but it was in rough shape.  They have a mouthful of teeth, nothing to scary looking though, I'm sure a beluga and a great white have vastly different teeth.  I had my camera, almost took a picture but then I didn't.  It just didn't seem right.  I don't know what is so different about about a caribou skull and a beluga, but something inside me stopped me from snapping.  Maybe if it was just the skeleton it would be different, but there was still some white skin on it, and it just didn't look anything like the majestic animal they are.

Walking back along the shore we looked out and noticed the water looked like it had diesel fuel on it.  How could that be?  It couldn't be, so we realized that we were actually watching the bay start to freeze up.

I snapped this picture around 5:30 pm.  You can see what kind of looks like diesel fuel spilt on the surface.

I took this picture an hour later.  There is clearly ice there.  1 hour.  CRAZY!

This was the next morning.  It looked like the bay was actually opening up again.  It was short lived.  Every morning there is an opening, it gets larger during the day and the next morning, the opening is smaller. 

I took this picture this morning.  Not too many openings left.  BUT, see that black spot in the picture, it's a seal.  I had to zoom in on my KA proof camera to catch him.  He slipped back into the water not too long after this. 

There have been a few news reports lately about the Arctic Ring Seals.  There is some sort of illness infecting many of them this year.  Reportedly there have been 6 dead ones wash up along our shores and many more in Alaska.  I heard from a local lady in town the a Dept. of Ocean and Fisheries officer was up her last week trying to figure out what was going on.  They found two, one healthy and one sick one.  Whatever they have is causing lesions on there back flippers, in their mouth and they are losing their hair in large patches.  It doesn't sound nice.

So that is my picture story of the ice freezing.  I went out to movie night at the health centre Friday night.  We watched a funny Australian movie "Kenny".  It was about a porta potty "plumber".  I thought it was funny, my Mom likely wouldn't.  Anyway, while I was there everyone was talking about the ice freezing up.  I felt a little relieved I wasn't the only one actually watching the ice freeze.  I don't think I am going too crazy from the isolation up here, but the good news is, if I am going crazy, so is the rest of the town.

On second thought,  I guess that doesn't bring much relief after all. 

Saturday afternoon we headed out to the river.  We were all bundled up, ski pants and all.  Surprisingly enough my feet didn't even freeze.

This is what is left of the campsite by the river.  One of the tent frames is there, but the canvas tent I'm assuming has been packed up for the year.  This is the tent where the goose plucking was going on during the picnic.  The other then was just a tent.  There was no elaborate frame so it is totally gone. 

If you look closely at this picture you can see the bed frame in back, the wood stove and a shelving unit.

N spent quite a bit of time playing with the door.  He thought it was fairly important that the door was closed while he was in the tent.  I guess that way it would be totally secure in there.....the invisible walls would obviously keep Mom and Dad out, as long as the door was closed.

I chuckled when I saw this actually happening, and it still makes me smile.  N had been playing with his Dad so I took off and headed out the tent site.  I looked back and this is what I saw.  N trekking over, full steam ahead.  That kid makes me smile!

It's a TREE

Do you think we should be worried that N saw this "tree" and ran over to it and said "Uh Oh"?    Uh Oh is right.  This giant was definitely out of place.  It made me think of The Lone Cyprus along the California coast.  It's an old tree along the very beautiful and scenic #1 hwy that is now growing on a rock out on it own.  It looks like it was once attached the the the rest of the land but the ocean worked it's wonders and now it's out on its own.  It looks out of place.   It's a marked tourist picture spot.  We have the picture.  Do you think I should mark this one, maybe it will draw the tourists....you know, to see the 3' tree.  

N is quite the nature lover.  He took off on a little nature hike down by the river.  He was actually getting a little far away so I was keeping a close eye on him and was getting ready to start after him.  I turned to talk to R and turned back around and N had taken his mitts off and was pointing to something.

  I walked over to find this:

He found a patch of little flowers.  They looked like a smaller version of the straw flowers I had in my garden in Yellowknife.  He was smelling them.  UM - CUTE!!!

Of course since this was a great find he had to show his Dad.  So back we went with flower in tow. 

Dad had a good sniff and the everything was perfect with the world. 

Our days are definitely getting shorter now.  It seems the days are getting shorter just as quickly as the ice is forming.  Just a few weeks ago I was saying, "it seems like the days are normal length".  Not any more.  The official time for sunrise yesterday was 9:36 and for sunset it was18:27  (6:27).  I say official because as I am currently sitting here typing this at 10:11, I am watching a beautiful sunrise.  It's not light out, but it's not dark either.  It's dusky.  Another 45 minutes or so and I think it might be light. 

This is a picture of the sunset on our ride home. You even got a shot of my finger. I'm quite the photographer hey? 

This was sunrise yesterday.  This was around 9:30.

It looks pretty in this picture - but you know it was way nicer than that. My camera doesn't do it justice. Not a bad view from the kitchen.

N has started to find it really funny to hide.  He started just covering himself in blankets and walking around.  It's pretty funny, and yes he has run into a few walls but he thinks that is pretty funny too.   The dogs don't think this is such a great trick.  It freaks them out.  Morley (English Mastiff) is a bit of a nervous guy to start with so anything that is out of the ordinary is not really welcome in his world.  Athena (Great Dane) just follows him around.  She waits for him to drop the blanket and then tries to lay on it, and Scotia.....well she's just Scotia.  Sometimes she's interested and sometimes she's just too busy for that nonsense.

Monday morning N kicked the hiding up a notch. 

This is where I found him.  I just happened to catch a glimpse of him just like this.  He had stolen puppy from his crib and was happy as a clam tucked inside his nightstand.  He thought it was great fun.  I watched him maneuver himself in there a few times.  It was no easy feat.  When R came home for lunch I told N to show him his new hiding spot.  Sure enough, he tucked himself inside as R watched in disbelief.

It made me laugh, but also caused me a little worry.  That's a pretty good hiding spot.  What would he find next? 

I am happy to report that Tuesday morning he was hiding again.  Behind the curtains in our bedroom.  The curtains covered his head and shoulders, so as I walked in I could see his belly and legs sticking out the bottom.  Oh, and his hand holding the curtain in place.

I like this hiding place much better.

All is perfect with the world again.

Let's take a walk

The past couple of days have been dreamy in Paulatuk.  Winter wonderland dreamy.

The temperature has been hovering right around zero.  There is a blanket of snow covering the ground which actually makes it more picturesque because the thin layer of white is prettier than the brown mud.  I can actually say that I am really enjoying this temperature. 

I use to LOVE the heat.  30 degrees was bliss.  The past few years the hottest I wanted see is 25 but I've decided 22 is my perfect outside temperature in the summer.  It's warm but not sweltering.  You can still do whatever you want during the day and be comfortable and it cools down enough at night so that you can sleep comfortably.

Nothing beats the Fall.  Who doesn't love dressing up in a comfy sweater and heading out for a walk.  Kicking leaves as you walk down the sidewalk or down a path leading to some sight that Mother Nature cast a special spell on all while breathing in the crisp fresh air that only Autumn can provide.

The past few days have kind of been just an extension of Fall.  True enough I bundled N up in his snowsuit for the first time today, but it's not freezing, it's nice.   Yesterday we went out for our walk which normally takes around 45 minutes once it's all said and done.  I measured town the other day too.  Just to see how far I've been walking.  Let's just say I'm not walking any marathons. 

Town is shorter than I thought.  I guessed it was around 2 km.  Nope.  From one end of the road to the other it is 1.2 km.  So it's only a 2.4 km walk.  Before you start snickering to yourself that it takes me 45 minutes to walk 2.4 km I'd just like to remind you that I do have N with me and N likes to walk now too.  He pushes his stroller down the road, chases the Sik Sik's (ground squirrels) and runs after any kid he sees within sight.   Yesterday he literally took off across the street to play with the kids leaving school.  No need to worry about traffic.  Everyone goes slow on our 1.2 km road and 4 wheelers by far out number any trucks on the road anyway.

 

Yesterdays 45 minute walk turned into 2 hours.  It was so nice outside.  It was warm (ish) but soooo foggy.  The crazy thing was that even with all the fog there was still a rainbow.  I just can't get over how many rainbows there are up here. 

We met up with a group of kids on their way home from school and walked awhile with them.  The boys took turns pushing N's empty stroller and sliding down the road on their knees with just there regular pants on.  I'm sure their Mom's will love that.  And you know monkey see monkey do.  N wasn't too far behind them practicing up his sliding skills.  We do have a sled, but I'm not sure he'll want it once he polishes up his new trick.

The kids went their own way once we got the cemetery.  They said they missed their Grandma and were going to go visit her.   Isn't that sweet!  I watched them with a heavy heart as they went into the cemetery and gathered around a white cross.  These kids were 13, 9 & 8 - they were there for awhile because they were still in there when we came back around the loop.

There was a new sight in town yesterday too.

I did a double take when I initially saw him.  But yup.  It really was a grizzly.  Different seasons bring different sights.  July was muktuk, September was Char (fish) hanging and now  this.  

We also walk past this everyday.

Caribou. 

Which reminds me.  Today at playschool one of the kids brought dry meat for a treat.  It's kind of like beef jerky except it's made with caribou.  N tried it out.  He kind of just gummed it but seemed to like it.  He went back to it a few times.  The other kids LOVED it.  I tried it....

On our walk home yesterday we were almost home.  Just coming up to the house when we got buzzed by a plane.  We looked up and it was literally right over top of us.  Remember I said it was really foggy.  Well the plane did 4 loops around before he decided land.  N and watched as he flew over, did a loop, and continued to do that 3 more times.  It was starting to make me really nervous for him, but he landed safe and sound.  N got a kick out of seeing the plane do loops and being so close.  He had a huge grin on his face.  It's the little things. 

It would go well with my plane story if I could also tell you that this was on the plane.

But, it's not.  It's going on tomorrow's plane so it will be at it's destination next week.  Then it'll be official.

On the road again!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Thanksgiving week-end brings back so many memories for me.  Some recent and some from childhood.

I can remember spending Thanksgiving at our cottage on Lake Paul.  Sometimes it was just our family of four but other times Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins took the drive and spent the week-end  with us.  Adults and kids would play hide n seek, pictionary outside at night under the street light  that was attached to a tree and spend the evening gathered in front of the fire pit eating some form of the  combination of cracker, peperoni and jalapeno pepper.  I remember an uncle with sensitive taste buds eating the pepper, running to the end of the wharf and submerging his entire face into the lake to cool off his tongue.  I was a kid then so maybe I wasn't privy to all the details of the story, but JAF, that made me laugh.  Of course we always had the big supper too, and to the adults I'm sure it was not just an after though, but as a kid running around having fun, supper wasn't how I remembered the week-end.

As a teenager I remember spending Thanksgiving week end much the same way, just in a different location.  Grandparents, uncles and cousins would come down from "the city" to spend the day at our house in the country.  We'd head down the road to Oaklawn Zoo for the last visit of the year - we'll everyone except Dad because they had a snake there so for him that meant "Do Not Enter".  It didn't mater that it was in a barn, in a cage and I don't think there was ever a single escape story, well a true one.  We use to tell Dad once and awhile "did you hear" and then go on with some elaborate story of how the snake had escaped and was spotted making his way up the mountain towards our house.  I guess it shouldn't have been a surprise when he wouldn't go.  We almost went to Bush Gardens in Florida.  That is until Dad spotted a pamphlet that showed snakes on it.  Opps.  I'm not sure if we all knew there were snakes there and didn't tell him or if we were just as surprised as him to find out about the snakes.  But even having tickets in hand didn't mean entrance to Bush Gardens.  If there were snakes, all deals were off.  Period. We went to Wet N Wild instead.  We did have a blast there, it was a good distraction from the Bush Garden debacle.

 Whoa, way off topic there.   Back to Thanksgiving.

 There was always a few games of soccer, we'd jump the neighbors fence and run around the cow pasture.  My sister and I would try to gross out the city kids by throwing the cow patties at them and we'd try to find the cows in the pasture and scope out where the bull was.  I don't know we always did this.  It scared the bejebers out of me, the thought of that bull charging me and knowing I likely couldn't out run him, but we did anyways.  I guess that was just part of living in the country. 

More recently there have significant events that happened around the Thanksgiving week-end.

Four years ago we were living in Yellowknife and were among the many shocked and horrified people to learn of the murder of an RCMP member in Hay River, NWT.    It hit close to home.  R was immediately sent to work in Hay River (5 hours away) and I spent the day with close friends and their family.

For a few years we were lucky enough to have friends and family travel to Yellowknife to spend the week-end with us.  We had a blast.  The weather is still fairly nice in Yellowknife at Thanksgiving.  Nothing a toque and a pair of mitts can't fix.  We walked around Frame Lake, went to a few local hot spots like Pilot's Monument, hike up Cameron Falls and maybe even hit a few local beverage establishments........ 

One time we went to The Gold Range.  Anyone who knows this place is either smiling or cringing right now.  I'm pretty sure The Gold Range should be considered a National Historic Site.  It is a bar, a really divey bar.  The first time I was there they had faded pink terry cloth towels on the tables as table clothes.  Smoking was still allowed in the bar so they had cigarette burn holes scattered on them.  So picture it:  Smokey, terry cloth table cloths, carpet on the floor BUT don't forget the band.  The band is what makes all that worth it.  The band is awesome.  It is a dive, but I've never had a bad time there.  Classy, I know.

Another time we took our guests to The Black Night Pub.  This pub is more like the traditional English pub.  Alot more tasteful than The Gold Range.  The night that we went over Thanksgiving we ended up meeting up with a Canadian Coast Guard crew that were getting ready to sail again the next morning.  We spent hours talking about all their Northern experiences.  Those guys have some great stories to tell. 

And then there was last year.

As I sit here thinking about how I am going to phrase this I am getting goosebumps. 

What are the right words to describe the moment and days that changed your life forever?  How do find words to describe how your heart literally doubled in size in a moment of minutes?

I don't think there are words to describe the feelings, the emotions and the thoughts.

One year ago we met our son.

LOVE

Really

You know when your talking to someone and they ask if you've ever tried something, or done something and you say "no". Often the reaction you get is "really?"  I'm sure it's a universal response.  I know I'm just as guilty as everyone for saying this.

Most times my  reaction is a pure and genuine reaction of surprise.  Things that I do all the time, or have done before that seem like everybody is doing it or that I'm the last one to have done it so obviously everybody and their dog has already done it, tried it, seen it.....you get the point.

Other times you hear this and  it's a "really" with a whole other tone to it.  The tone that is meant to make you feel at least a little inadequate.  It's a bit like a sucker punch.  It takes you right back to high school when someone asks you where you got your shirt.  If you say the wrong store then your blacklisted. 

The first time I remember hearing the other "really?" was in grade 7.   I was trying, quite unsuccessfully I might add, to fit in with all the new kids.  Luckily I knew the "right" answer when someone asked me my favorite band.  Somehow I knew the right answer should be  Bon Jovi.  I knew that but as I answered that question I knew the next question was going to be "what is your favorite song?"  I had no idea.  I'm not even sure how I knew who Bon Jovi was.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to list a specific song song so I stuck with the ol' faithful answer "I like them all".  I knew I had been busted before it was even said, but the telltale "reeeeeeeally" sealed the deal.  Being the "new kid" was tough, and when you hear "really" with the extra emphasis in the EEEEEEE  you know the answer was somehow inadequate. 

For the record I know who Bon Jovi is now, and I've even been to one of their concerts.....really.

How's this for a random picture?

It was too cute not to share and I couldn't find the perfect spot to post it

so here looks good.  He has on his Dad's boots and is quite proud of himself!

Being up here I've heard "really" more often lately.  Not in a mean spirited way, but in the genuine surprised kind of way.

"Ever tried goose?"

Me: "No"

"really?"

It's actually kind of a funny story surrounding this encounter

N and I had gone to play school.  Snack time at play school is actually a full lunch.  On this particular day it was goose soup, homemade bread, banana's and juice.

N was sitting at the table with the other kids waiting for lunch to arrive.  Which was sooo cute by the way.  He looks like such a little boy sitting there with the other kids.  Lunch is served and I am perched in my spot right beside him because he is still mastering the art of eating brothy soup with his own spoon.  He eats about 2 spoonfuls of soup all by himself, when one of the instructors walks over with a little urgency.  She looks at me and says:

"That is goose soup, is he allowed to have goose soup?"

I say "yes" and we all continue on.  N did great with his soup.  He ended up with just a few noodles stuck to his shirt and a little extra broth scattered about.  He is becoming so independent.  If soup is getting me all nostalgic I can only imagine what play school graduation is going to do to me.  I'll be a mess.

A few minutes later another instructor come in with a plate full of goose.  As she is eating it and I can tell she is loving every single bite, savouring it.  She looks over at me and says:

"Ever have goose?"

Me:  "No"

And then the famous

"Really?"

I thought she might offer some up, but nope.  She devoured it.  I'm sure if I had of asked she would have loved for me to try it.  If she knew I would have tried it she'd likely feel bad she didn't offer.  But I didn't have the heart to take even a single bite from her.  I'll get another chance to try it, and I'll take it.  Just to say I did.  Really.

Here's another "really?" story for you from this past week.

One night we were sitting on the couch watching tv.  I glanced out the window.   It was dark out, really dark and the street lights across the bay were reflecting off the water.  It was really pretty so I thought I'd take a picture. 

Unless it's first thing in the morning when I'm donning my trusty slippers I'm normally barefoot.  This evening was no different in that aspect.  Instead of finding some shoes, boots, sandals, crocks, slippers, anything to put on my feet I went out barefoot.  I figured I'd only be a second since it is only about 5 steps outside, so I went out on the deck to get the picture.  My Mom and Dad likely already know at this point where this story is going because they have had the pleasure of living with our precious little Bichon ShihTzu;  Scotia.  You likely know where this story is heading now too.

I snapped the picture and was midway back to the door when I felt it. 

IT

If it is wet out, too cold out, too windy out or she's just feeling lazy -  darling, precious little Scotia uses the deck as her bathroom. 

How could I not have thought about this before I trampsed out there in my bare feet.



I told R what had just happened and guess what he said.

"Really"

I'm not entirely convinced this was the surprised kind of "really".  Enough said. 

Except that on top of getting cr*p on my foot, the picture sucked.  My ka proof camera might have to get upgraded at some point. 

Here's one in the daytime just because that picture is so horrible.

As you can see the snow is slowly inching closer to town.

THIS might REALLY shock some of you. 

I have become quite the little baker. 

I bake bread every week, seriously, we've never bought bread in Paulatuk.  This is quite the accomplishment for a girl who's home ec teacher told her parents she had a disability.  I'm not even joking.  One of my close girlfriends and I had a blast in that class, but it had nothing to do with class.  It had everything to do with spit balls and whatever else we could do but home ec.   Lets just say after that parent/teacher meeting I was in some serious trouble. 

This morning we went to a breakfast get together.  It was really centered around a rugby game that happened to be on at breakfast so we melded it all into one.   We all brought something and had a nice little pot luck breakfast over Rugby.  There were about 10 or 12 of us there.  2 real fans.  The rest of us where there just to go somewhere with other people and socialize a bit.

  The real fans picked one team, the rest of us picked the other, the Magpies????  The Magpies were winning for awhile, but it went down hill in the last quarter.  I think they the final was 118 - 80.  Oh well.  The nurse in town is from Australia, hence the early morning rugby game.  We even had Vegimite. 

 I made carmel peach french toast.  It's was actually a casserole type of thing that you could make the night before and cook the next day.  It would have been super simple to make if I didn't need to make the french bread.  But I did need to make the bread and lucky for me I made two loaves because one was the right size and the other for whatever reason didn't rise much at all.  The one that looked good went into the casserole for others to enjoy at the early morning Rugby game and the other I made into bread pudding.  REALLY.

I'd never had bread pudding before.  It's gooooood. 

Ever have bread pudding?

Really?  ; )