Sleep walk.

I awoke early this morning to the sound of Ezri crying. I had forgotten to turn on the monitor and was jolted awake by the idea that I was hearing her cry from her room, rather then the monitor beside my bed. I jumped straight out of bed and then realized this was not an emergency. Ezri had put herself almost back to sleep immediately, but I was still wide awake. After a visit to the washroom, a BEAMING sun filled visit to the washroom, I took a small peak out the window and saw this:
Some of the stillest water I've seen up here. So I decided at 5am to grab my camera and walk down to the beach. I told Nathan I was going for a walk and he looked at me like I was nuts, rolled over and went back to sleep. I know someone who didn't think it was such a crazy idea. Tallinn was having a blast sniffing every rock and blade of grass from my house to the beach.It was the most calming feeling, there wasn't a sound or even a small breeze. Everyone was asleep tucked in their beds, even the ravens and dogs. It wasn't until a bunch of birds that sounded like ducks and seagulls combined started SCREECHING, breaking the silence that I remembered 3 summers ago around this time of year and hour in the morning there was a bear chilling out on the beach behind our house.

So Tallinn and I booked it back to the house and I went back to bed.

Shots

Today Ezri went in for her 6 Month shots. I documented the day with the NEW camera Nathan got me for my birthday. New camera you ask? Why do you need another camera? Well, let me explain. Firstly, let me point out that I do have 2 hands, so why not two? Second of all I wanted one of those little point & shoot cameras so I could take movies of Ezri, avoiding possible future incidents of holding my lap top over the bathtub trying to capture bath time. For most people this is the staple camera, for me it's a fun camera. My meat and potatoes camera weighs like 20lbs, so shooting with this 2 gram of a thing is like a party in my hands. Sure the image quality isn't what I'm used to, but I've had a BLAST taking photos today. (for those of you wondering, Kennie, Julie & Aleks it's a Canon powershot sd960)

So like I was saying we went to get Ezri's shots. Fun? Not so much.

To cheer us both up we took a little walk and shop in the Northern store. Ezri was incognito. Incognito from the sun. See what I'm saying about taking fun shots with a camera that doesn't need bulging biceps just to hold. I was able to take this shot with one hand. ONE!Here is also something I can not do with my SLR (easily), it's just too damn heavy. Take a shot of myself from above without risk of camera falling and crushing baby.

After shopping, we started to get a little cranky.Mommy to the rescue with a cookie. Smell that baby crack.Oh yeah, that makes it feel all better.


P.S Announcing another Nunavummiut Blogger. Morena at Babies & Bulldogs. Her little boy Oliver is Ezri's Boyfriend. And her Bulldog Tank is Tallinn's boyfriend. This is yet another CD blog. WE ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD. Eat dust Arctic Bay! :)

The blogger formerly known as Jen of Nunavut

As you already know, I'm moving down south and therefore will soon no longer be "Jen of Nunavut", but Jen of MASSIVE city in southern Canada. I will want to continue writing and showcasing my photography. I figure I'm going to (try to) start a business when I get back south and I might as well start up a full fledged website that will allow me to blog and dabble in a photography business. So the question is "what in H.E. double hockey stick do I call it"?

I WANT your opinion. You can either vote on the side or leave me a comment. OR both, any suggestions are welcome.

Oh Sugar!

For my birthday Nathan and I took out some left over sugar from last year's sealift that had solidified into bricks. We had a bet how many bricks we could shoot through with a single bullet. Nathan won. No surprise.



You can see how solid the sugar actually was. It's too bad the now powdered sugar was unusable. Damn lead.

We then walked about 100 metres and shot at a target.
I hit all my shots on the board. Maybe not in the "important scoring section", but who's counting...it looks like I got an ear or nostril at least. That's worth a pat on the back.It was a good birthday.

Out to sea

I have to say this is the longest I've seen the ice in the bay stick around. It's almost the end of June and there is still a fair amount left to break up. People are taking advantage of it, using it to cross over to the mainland for fishing, or using it as a jumping off point to take their boats out beluga hunting. The other week a few hunters drove their snow machines down to the edge of the ice, parked them and jumped into their boat to go out hunting. Meanwhile I'm hanging out in my pajama pants on the couch when I notice that the 5 unattended snow machines have broken off and started floating out into open sea. Can you see from this photo below?
How about now?
I was shocked to see that everyone was taking a totally laid back approach. I had watched a few people prepare a boat and go out towards the drifting machines, to only see them head in a totally different direction and disappear. I expect they were going out hunting as well. Morena, Meaghan, Kim and I headed down to the park to catch a better look at the machines floating out to sea. Kim took this photo of the three of us, totally unplanned, wearing our babies, bjorn style.
I was prepared to say goodbye as I could noticeably see the ice moving towards open water.
I guess everyone was so laid back because they knew they would get their machines back and there was no point wasting time worrying or loosing out on hunting. Later that evening the ice came partially back in with the tide and EVERY SINGLE machine was saved (by loading one machine sideways on a fishing boat, driving each one back one by one). It was truley a happy ending.

INTRODUCING a new Nunavummiut blogger. I've mentioned Meaghan a few times on my blog, she writes about raising her beautiful daughter Mercedes and family life in the north.

Celebrations - June 21st

Two days ago it was Aboriginal day as well as father's day and it was a busy day making sure to celebrate both. The RCMP across the country celebrate Aboriginal day, in Nunavut each detachment throws a community BBQ. Who could pass up hotdogs, hamburgers, games and face painting even if it was cold and snowing. Yes it was also the first day of summer, let me repeat that it was cold and snowing. We all still had a great time. Especially Morena and myself, because we were cozy inside the garage doing the face painting.
Kids and elders alike were playing games, this one where you toss a rock and try to knock off another rock 15 feet in front of you. The prize was a basketball (if only we could have used that to knock over the stone it would have been a little easier). I had scoffed that this would be an easy game until I tried it myself and failed miserably. Over and over.Nathan catching a warm moment inside holding Ezri and giving my back a rest. That baby is getting heavy indeed. I guess their supposed to grow.
Later on in the evening we switched gear and had a "small" campfire out back. My gift to Nathan for Father's Day, letting him burn stuff. Here we are burning last years sealift create. It was in such a blaze that one of the rangers came over in a hurry worried that the Ranger's shed was burning down.
He was pretty pleased with his efforts. I had a few flashes from that movie Backdraft.

The Scoop

Usually when I disappear for an extended period of blogdom time, there is something going down in the land of Jen. My last large posting absence was related to keeping secrets, secrets about being pregnant. This time (not pregnant) it's news about Nathan getting transferred with his job. The big news is that we are leaving Nunavut, after 3 years. It's seems like this is a common trend with a few of my other favourite Nunavummiut bloggers as well. It's a bummer. It turns out we are heading back to Canada's deep south, back to starbucks and shopping. Maybe it's not all a bummer. I can tell you a piece of me is breaking off and won't be taken back with us south. The good news is that we get to spend the rest of the summer up here before we make our transition back into the hustle. That's right the south, where your hustling or getting hustled. It's one big pimp show down there. We are happy, however that we will be closer with family.This is Nathan and I, June 2006, when we first moved up to Nunavut. Don't say it, we've obviously gained a few pounds these few years. We all know that if your looking to loose weight, you shouldn't fool yourself into thinking the answer is up north where there are no fast food joints. There is plenty of yumminess, and you'll buy it no matter what it costs. Since there is no fast food, I have found myself a better cook, experimenting with many new recipes. I've been eating well these last 3 years.

Coming north and leaving again is a sob story I've seen and heard too many times now. I'm bummed it's my turn, and so soon. Unfortunately and fortunately Nathan's career takes us to many new and exciting places. It's hard to move, no matter where you have been living. As the story goes, when Nathan was starting his career, I told him that I would follow him anywhere, except I jokingly said "Not Toronto or Nunavut!". Turns out I really didn't know what I was talking about (big surprise!), Nunavut was a blast. I just hope that I don't have to learn my lesson about Toronto, too many people.

A lot of other bloggers have started other blogs to document their non-Nunauvt adventures. You can bet I will as well. I am worried however that when I move back down south I will have lost my identity. I will no longer be "Jen of Nunavut", but "Jen of Massive City where Jens are a dime a dozen". I have the entire summer to think about it. So don't think about dropping this blog yet because I still have a whack of adventures left in me.