Eyes match your PJs?

The one thing I can't stand about living here is the dryness. Who wants to wake up every morning with all of your mucus filled sensories dried up like last years bag of raisins? The only positive thing about living in a dry climate is that I left my frizz problem in the south! We have a humidifier running 24 hrs in the bedroom, but what can you do when the bits in the machine that are supposed to stay wet to add moisture into the air, dry up? I can't win! I will never complain about the humidity in the south ever again!

Tales of Christmas and More

The week started nicely, thoughts of sugar plums dancing in my head and candy cane lane with gum drop houses. Despite the lack of routine that I am used to this time of season, Nathan and I had a great Christmas.

It all started on Wednesday when the whole town went without power for the entire day! We were lucky to have the diesel generator at Nathan's work and we all ended up over there (all for our own reasons, for Nathan it was the microwave so he could eat some pizza pops, and for me it was the working coffee maker). Eventually our power came back on and we were able to get back to some normalcy. It was so nice to see that everyone in town took a very laid back position about their lack of power, despite the fact that it was -24C outside.

Christmas came shortly after and it seemed like every time we would sit down to dinner Nathan would get a call out and we would have to put off eating for a bit. However it all worked out wonderfully and Nathan managed to surprise me with wonderful presents that I never even saw coming. I think he must have woken up in the middle of the night to put out some presents. Tallinn did pretty well also, he has enough rawhide to hide in every corner in the house now.

That's brings us up to today, Boxing Day. Instead of spending my day online shopping for sales, Nathan took me out on the snowmobile. We headed to the other side of the island and I saw the sun for the first time in a month. We do get the light where we live, however it never seems to rise over the hill enough, so for some light therapy Nathan took me over the hill on the snowmobile. It was beautiful, but only when we were stopped, as I was too busy being nerve wrecked when we were moving because he was driving. We made it home in one piece, but nearer to the end he got us stuck in some loose snow and it took us a while to dig it out and maneuver the machine around to get out. I guess karma wanted to take revenge on him for taking me on a crazy bump filled ride, because as we returned home there was an adorable little puppy all by her lonesome looking for a home! She must have been only a month old and extremely tiny. The look on Nathan's face when I brought her home! I brought her in and gave her a bath, but at this point I was still calling her him. Nathan kindly pointed out that it was a girl and not a boy. I have only had male dogs so I guess girl dogs can look a little like male dogs at that early age, needless to say at least one of us knew what was going on. I cleaned her up and fed her and wanted to hug her and kiss her and keep her forever and ever! However there was the matter of Nathan. We obviously couldn't keep her and I had to find her a home. We ended up bringing her over to a local woman we know and she was more then happy to take the freshly cleaned puppy (no dog gets a bath up here, so when they do they look like the million dollar dog, slightly more attractive to take in). I am glad I know she is a warm place right now, but I would have loved to take her south with us and give her to a family where she would be the only child that got truck loads of lovin'. She was pretty cute, but as far as Nathan's concerned I need to keep my hands out of the puppy jar!

Polar Bears, Fluffy Friend? Or Deadly Foe, But Still Fluffy?

That's right I am against the Polar Bear, but only when it strolls into the main streets of town in the middle of day looking for a tasty snack that could be me! If it's me or him, I'd rather he be shot and made into a carpet! Does that make me a horrible person? You may not understand, but you haven't lived where I have. That's right I live in the arctic and do you know why people don't try to save fluffy from getting shot, because they would rather their children not be the tasty morsel stuck in between Fluffy's teeth!

Good Morning, and our top story this hour is that a land shark, or polar bear was seen sauntering into town. It was shot shortly after, just in front of the local grocery store, and all this before I even got out of bed. Do you know what it's like to feel like you might be causally eaten up whilst visiting the store where you get food to eat? Eat or be eaten? I'm sorry I thought I lived in sensible, proper, you don't have to worry about taking a walk in the middle of the day, Canada. Where the hell do I live again?

Don't get me wrong I love animals and would never mistreat the environment, I am the reuse, reduce, recycle, World Wild Life generation, but I also love my own skin! Rest in Peace Fluffy.

Christmas Fun

What a good boy Mr. Tallinn was to sit still while I took some photos (obviously there was a food bribe)! Christmas is fast approaching, so for all of those that I can't be with; MERRY CHRISTMAS!

On the Subject of Snowmobiles...

I had my first ride on a snowmobile the other day. It was frightening to say the least, except for the parts where I was driving and Nathan was tucked behind me away from the controls. I do not have need for speed. Up in the North, the snowmobile is a normal part of everyday life. Most people don't have a car, and most people don't need a car, as a car can not be driven out onto the land to hunt.

I would like to share with you what a snowmobile is like mind, body and soul. It smells like burning gasoline, feels like frozen leather (except for the acceleration pedal, a lever your thumb presses, that part gets really hot), and most importantly it gets you from point A to point B, where the baguettes are fresher and less expensive. The sound of a snowmobile can best be described as a very loud and irritating lawn mower and at night time when the air is is clean and fresh, you can hear every single snowmobile in town and it sounds like the 401 has opened a lawnmower lane! And because the snowmobile is so flexibly moved, there are new paths formed, where there were no paths before. Our neighbours have a snowmobile route that was forged right next to their house, it gets pretty noisy. Block the path you say? Well it's just not that simple. Think of a snowmobile as a renegade machine that goes where it wants, when it wants! If thou path be blocked, it will forcefully be pathed a new, so don't bother pissing off the locals. Nathan and I are extremely lucky though, we managed to get a place off the beaten path and rarely have any one driving around our place, it stays pretty quiet.

This morning Nath lent one of the RCMP snowmobiles to help the search for some lost hunters. It's an incredible idea that would seem scary to anyone from the south. Some people get up one day and decide to go hunting, get dressed, hop on their snowmobiles or dog sleds and head out onto the land. Not just any land, a land with out pit stops or hotels, and more importantly a land without gas stations along the way. These hunters will go out for days at a time and survive in 100Km/h winds and -40C temperatures in only what they have on. I heard a story (this took place in the south) on the news the other day of a family getting lost in the wilderness after running out of gas. The husband tried to make it to a local town to save his family, but died along the way, after only one day of exposure(of probably pretty moderate temperatures). I also heard as story of a group of inuit hunters(from our town) getting trapped on a piece ice heading out to sea. They had all been soaked through after a wave had hit them and still they managed to stay alive for days until they were rescued. It's just incredible the difference in how exposure effects people. But I credit the people up north with a certain cold toughness.

In the Meantime, back to the individuals who were lost today, there is this group up here called the "Rangers", a bunch of local people who know the land very well, and they will travel out on their snow mobiles looking for the lost ones. Nathan came home at lunch and said that they were at least a day out, hopefully they will all make it hope safely. If I know one thing, its that there ain't no Hilton out there, and the sun is almost gone. It's life or death out there and that's not just a saying.

Images

Here is my log of photos that I have kept since the day I arrived in the north. I sometimes find that I can tell a story better with images, rather then words. Here is the address to the site that has more of my northern images; http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h284/CapeDorset/ .

Lesson Learned

Every day the hours of light shorten. It's an extremely confusing thing for my body. I wonder if I am becoming depressed or if I am just lonely. I miss all of my friends, nights out and the amazing social life I left in London. Sometimes my biggest fault is that I don't want to do anything alone and in turn miss out on a lot of cool opportunities. I figured that the hardship of being without all of my friends should be some kind of lesson, so I declared to go out and have a good time on my own. The other night I took out my Crazy Carpet that I purchased from Canadiantire.ca and left the house. I originally purchase two thinking that I would have a partner to share the fun and excitement of hurdling your body down a hill with only a thin piece of plastic between your new fleece lined jeans and the rushing ground beneath you. But alas Nay Nay was working and I ventured out on my own. It's always more fun to have someone share in such an experience, but I had a good time on my own anyways. In the end it was good that I purchased two, not to share with someone else, but to have as a replacement after the first one was ripped apart by rocks. And what lesson have I learned, why would you need another person when you can have more stuff?