To the beat of their own drum

The town has developed a beat all on its own. There is a drum festival taking place here in town. Communities surrounding us have flocked to our school gym to partake in the festivities. Hughie and I attended the festival last night and we ended up staying way over an hour. At 10:30pm last night they were still going strong, although the crowd had thinned greatly. The festival is taking place all this week and possibly into the weekend. It all depends on when the drummers are drummed out.
The play by play is fairly simple - each community that comes sings (throat singing) for their drummer who beats to rhythm of the song. It is quite beautiful and the throat singing lulls you into this semi-relaxed state where you just want to lay down and listen to them sing for hours.

On a different note, I'm almost able to breath again - I have been fighting this cold since last Tuesday/Wednesday and I think I have it just about beat. It was a doozie - I'm very happy to say I can almost smell the vanilla febreeze candle that is burning on my counter.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sekaya!

April 23rd, 2007
Sekaya came into this world with her 7 little sisters, that's right all little girls. Hughie and I were looking for a second female Husky for a while, a friend for Chakotay and a puppy for us. We looked pretty much all over Canada and looked at adopting a 4 year old named Kia. However, we always fell into the same problem they were all dominant females and if anyone knows Chakotay he doesn't have a dominant bone in his body..he is my little sook.

Low and behold we found out there was a Husky breeder. Her husband raised dairy cows while she raised Huskies & Pomeranians right down the highway from us. Hughie went and took the first look and he was ready to take one home right then.

The final decision was an easy one, puppies tend to be shy and reserved. When we walked into their makeshift kennel all of her sisters ran in the back to cower away from two tall strangers, Sekaya stood her ground and protected her litter daring us to try and get past her! Hughie picked her instantly! His little girl.

She continues to be a bright blonde spot in our house. She is quickly tempered and feisty but she is loved by us all. She is spoiled and catered too on a daily basis, as is Chakotay - they are our furkids and we treat them with as much respect as we would any human being.

Happy Birthday Sekaya!

Earth Day 2009

Happy Earth Day Everyone!
I feel weird celebrating Earth day on one particular day! Shouldn't we be celebrating Earth Day 365 days per year. We only have one planet and while it may be here for our stay we have to look for ways to extend its life for our future families.

Here are a few "Green" tips

*Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer to save on heating and cooling costs.

*Unplug appliances when you're not using them. Or, use a "smart" power strip that senses when appliances are off and cuts "phantom" or "vampire" energy use.

*Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water.

*Use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying. If you must use a dryer, consider adding dryer balls to cut drying time.

*Take shorter showers to reduce water use. This will lower your water and heating bills too.

*Install a low-flow shower head. They don't cost much, and the water and energy savings can quickly pay back your investment.

*Plant drought-tolerant native plants in your garden. Many plants need minimal watering. Find out which occur naturally in your area.

*Walk or bike to work. This saves on gas and parking costs while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.

*If you eat meat, add one meatless meal a week. Meat costs a lot at the store-and it's even more expensive when you consider the related environmental and health costs.

*Buy locally raised, humane, and organic meat, eggs, and dairy whenever you can.

*Purchasing from local farmers keeps money in the local economy.

*Whatever your diet, eat low on the food chain. This is especially true for seafood.

*Skip the bottled water.

*Use a water filter to purify tap water instead of buying bottled water. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates large amounts of container waste.

*Bring a reusable water bottle, preferably aluminum rather than plastic, with you when traveling or at work.

*Check out garage sales, thrift stores, and consignment shops for clothing and other everyday items.

*When making purchases, make sure you know what's "Good Stuff" and what isn't.

*Borrow instead of buying.

*Borrow from libraries instead of buying personal books and movies. This saves money, not to mention the ink and paper that goes into printing new books.

*Share power tools and other appliances. Get to know your neighbors while cutting down on the number of things cluttering your closet or garage.

*Buy in bulk. Purchasing food from bulk bins can save money and packaging.

*Wear clothes that don't need to be dry-cleaned. This saves money and cuts down on toxic chemical use.

*Invest in high-quality, long-lasting products. You might pay more now, but you'll be happy when you don't have to replace items as frequently (and this means less waste!).

*Keep your cell phones, computers, and other electronics as long as possible.

*Donate or recycle them responsibly when the time comes. E-waste contains mercury and other toxins and is a growing environmental problem.

*Recycle your cell phone.

*Make your own cleaning supplies.
The big secret: you can make very effective, non-toxic cleaning products whenever you need them. All you need are a few simple ingredients like baking soda, vinegar, lemon, and soap.

(Tips taken from www.worldwatch.org/resources/go_green_save_green)

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Now I'm not telling you all to go out and rearrange your whole life style to abide by each and every one of the tips above. If we all just took one of the tips and lived by it each and every day we would make a difference. All it takes is just a little consideration and respect for our Earth.

"Here comes Peter Cottontail...

Hopping down the bunny trail"

The Easter bunny found us in Kugaaruk and left behind Chocolate and Peanut butter & chocolate..mmmmm...and gifts! (As you can see from the photo).It isn't hard to figure out which present is Hughies...

Although the best gift was that Hughie was home for 4 days. He and Corey had an interesting week leading up to the long weekend so it was well deserved and needed. We managed to get outdoors and take the dogs for a nice walk *yes it was warm enough* and played in the huge snow drifts that built up the night prior from all this soft happy snow that fell. (we hardly, if ever get snowman snow but we do get this nice powdery soft stuff that makes the ground look pretty; especially with two dogs in the family)
We also curled up together and watched a few movies: Bolt - was AWESOME it is a must rent, purchase or download - It is the type of cartoon that you could watch time and time again and enjoy it each and every time. I'm a huge SHREK fan and this movie actually may have pulled ahead of it. We also watched Max Payne: While it started out good and kinda creepy it ended up being really confusing and the ending was over so quickly I felt like I was missing out on something...

Well in a eggshell that was my weekend.

Perks!

Everyone automatically thinks when living in the "North" that you suffer from S.A.D, Depression, Lack of Motivation and just outright boredom. After realizing that I've posted about the top 10 things I miss the most about being up north verses being down south.

I'm going to list my top 10 perks to LIVING in the "North"
[No particular order]

10. Fresh [non-pollutant] Air.

09. Fresh crystal clean ice cold water - that isn't put through a huge water purifier 5 times with the addition of a lot of fluoride and chlorine.

08. Peaceful [not rushed] living - while sometimes this can be a headache you have to appreciate a culture that doesn't live by the hands of the clock.

07. $$$ You really don't have a place to spend it, so you spend it wisely on debt. Today I officially paid off a major credit card that has been in my wallet for years. I've chopped it up and now I'm on to paying off my one and only.

06. Eating healthy - while some in the community do not, Hughie and I have been eating 100% healthier now while living in Kugaaruk then when we lived in Manitoba. We have access to ordering only nutritious foods from Sunspun [food mail] and what M&M meats offer [I realize they have cakes, ice cream, squares etc - but everything in moderation].

05. Getting excited about the little things in life. For example: Produce Wednesday at the Co-op or receiving a care package in the mail.

04. Conservation - Down south I would leave the water on while I was brushing my teeth, removing bath water after a 45 minute soak, only to add more hot water to extend my relaxation, rinsing my dishes with the tap verses filling up the additional sink to do the rinsing etc.

03. Vacations that allow us to visit the Maritimes more often. I had the realization while home in the Maritimes that prior to this last visit the last time I was home before that was almost 15 months prior.

02. Spending more time with Hughie. While he is on call 24/7 - he is home in the evenings/weekends and stat holidays. We are no longer two ships passing in the night.

01. Playing in the fresh fallen snow with Chakotay & Sekaya and watching Chakotay bury and dig himself a hole to find the mysterious treasure waiting for him at the bottom.

The Grindstone

So we have been back for 5 days and I still have a mound of Laundry to finish. I guess when your life is controlled by the water/sewage truck you have to do things in small bunches.

We are slowly getting back into the swing of things. Hughie is just getting over a nasty cold *that he got from me* where he didn't have a voice for a while. So this weekend was very low key. Speaking of which, the big hockey tournament that we thought we were going to be missing while we were gone happened this weekend. Kugaaruk made the final but by the time they were in the first intermission last night Hughie and I were making our way to bed. I'm hoping that Kugaaruk won, this town deserves some happy memories instead of the seemingly sad ones that surface. From what I gather it was a good organized event and Hughie didn't get called out all that much, so that is a good thing!

There are some massive Igloo's being built out on the bay for a drum festival at the end of the month. To be honest those Igloos scare the crap out of me; so many people in one snow made *handmade* house...I feel my claustrophobia kicking into overdrive. I guess I will have to attempt the drum festival *which I truly want to see, I love percussion!!* even know being in a small space which could technically collapse at any given second...regardless I have to attend.

The dogs are pretty much back to normal. They are driving each other crazy and getting back into their routines. Sekaya is now a 9am riser and Chakotay soon follows suit. Sekaya is loving her little "Carlton" and Dolphin that we got her for a present and Chakotay is loving stealing them from her and trying to dismember them in front of her...they are like two big kids and I love them!

So it is back to the grindstone and while I love being on vacation, planning for the next one is just as fun!

There and Back Again.

The month of vacation has come and gone as quickly as I thought it would. The first two weeks were a god sent, nice and slow although as soon as we ramped up to the 3rd and 4th week things hit autopilot and took off quite quickly. I'm not sure if writing a long post about each little detail is worth the time, as my memories are somewhat foggy about certain situations.

So grab a coffee and a snack, I'm going to give you my top 30 memories! [I apologize if I forget anything as I go through]

(No Particular Order - although I tried to keep with the Province Order)

30. Leaving Kugaaruk - We were barely up in the air when I turned to Hughie and said "You are not on call anymore". At that very moment it was like a weight was lifted off our shoulders and we were ready for vacation.

29. Winnipeg - My first Starbucks coffee - we didn't have a lot of time in Edmonton on our way thru so my fill had to wait til we arrived in Winnipeg. I ordered a Grande Non-fat Latte...mmmmm I can almost remember how my toes curled as I sipped my favorite and first Starbucks. On a side note: We purchased this coffee at the Chapters where I had to run into the change room and take off my long johns!!

28. Winnipeg - Driving a Dodge Calibre around town. I always loved those cars, and after having the chance to drive one I can honestly say I would purchase one if the gas prices were crazy insane when we moved back south and owning a Jeep was not economical.

27. Vancouver - The Sutton Hotel (see photo's on my facebook) - Our room was fantastic and when pairing that with the Chocolate Buffet I would definitely stay there again! Side note: The Vancouver Canucks stay at this hotel when they are in town, I ran into Jason LaBarbera coming out of the elevator and #42 in the front lobby who was being kissed on the cheek and being told "See you soon dear" I'm assuming it was his mom!.

26. Vancouver - A. Aggressive bums trying to nab our beer and homeless people on every corner except when we made it down to Stanley Park where strangely there was hardly any. B. Running across a busy road when around the corner cars were racing towards us as the light turns green. All for a chance to make a pit stop at the local Costco to pee.

25. Vancouver - CANUCKS! GO LU GO! GO LU GO!..The Canucks won over San Jose, when I had the sinking feeling that I was going to have to get really drunk to give me false memories of them winning when really they lost! The game was fantastic and I got a zillion photos from that game. I love GM place - just the feeling you get when you walk thru the doors.

24. Vancouver [Stanley Park] - After leaving the ice and snow of Kugaaruk I was very happy to see flower and grass and trees with leaves blooming. To go for a walk through Stanley Park and ending up at the Vancouver Aquarium was a great way to spend the afternoon.

23. Vancouver [Aquarium] - Dolphin SHOW! I got to see real live dolphins finally! Along with Belugas (Which was sad considering the last time I saw them was in their natural environment) and Otters and Seals...Lets just say I had a great time and highly recommend going there if you are ever in Vancouver. Although make sure you give yourself enough time (4 or so hours at least).

22. Vancouver & Maritimes & Toronto [Shopping] - Shopping was a highlight for me in every Province. Coming from a community that has a co-op grocery store I was in awe!

21. Vancouver - Drunken Chapters shopping where I was able to purchase Treehouse & Max and Ruby DVD's for Brookie. I also recall typing in nasty words in the search computers...can't remember if anything I searched came up with anything viable.

20. Vancouver - Granville Winter Ale. I know it seems morally wrong to give a beer its own number in this countdown but this beer isn't a "get drunk" type of beer it is a relaxation beer. One sip of these will have any person craving and wanting more. It is like a comforting sip of fresh vanilla. I will go to Vancouver again just for this beer.

19.. Nova Scotia - Being welcomed into the Maritimes by driving to Antigonish in Snow without a plow to be seen.

18. Nova Scotia [Antigonish] - Meeting my nephew Kaelen for the first time. Wow what a little cutie he is. So curious. I look forward to seeing him grow up and maybe having the opportunity to visit him in Peru!

17. Nova Scotia [Halifax] - A. Being able to hang out with friends and to reconnect was a highlight of this trip to the big city. Hanging out with the newlyweds Jen & Kevin and the new parents-to-be Angela and Blair while playing boardgames and watching the Halifax Mooseheads was what this vacation was all about. B. Build-A-Bear - we went off to the Mic Mac Mall to build bears for Brookie & Dawson. I'm not sure who had the most fun, myself or Hughie who took building his Edmonton Oilers Bear for Dawson very very seriously!

16. Prince Edward Island - A. The best thing about Nieces and Nephews is that you get the spoil them and feed them full of junk food and then pass them back over to their parents! That is just what we did! B. Having Kelly remember who I was and almost immediately asked Hughie for a Cookie.

15. Prince Edward Island - Being able to hold my little solid Nephew Dawson for the first time and realizing that he loved Hughie more than me ;). Seeing the personality changes in Brookie was almost staggering she has grown into such a little lady with a bit of a princess/devil attitude. I would expect nothing less considering I know who her mom is!

14. Prince Edward Island - St. Patty's Day - A. Partying it up at the Ol'Dublin Pub with Ryan, Cortney, Amy, Mark, Tiffany and Chad. After wading through all these OLD folks we finally got a table where the food was served hot and the beer was served cold! The only downfall to the whole evening was that "Brown Eyed Girl & American Pie" are not IRISH SONGS! B. Stealing 14 straws at the local Wendy's and bringing them home to Mom the next day. C. Ryan placing his St. Patty's day hat in the middle of the street on the way back to the Van after drinking a few drinks at the Ol'Dublin Pub.

13. Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown - Hughie knows what this means and if he ever does anything like that again he will be wishing he was in the Hospital.

12. Nova Scotia - Back in Antigonish we had to complete a few necessary things! We managed to eat Wheel Pizza and Wong's Chinese food all in one day! The best way to accomplish this is to eat small portions of both.

11. Random - At this point I was starting to miss my dogs like crazy. I did call to verify their airport drop off and found out they were having the time of their life hanging outside in the outside kennels and being lured back to their inside kennels with treats! Knowing my dogs they were being stubborn just to receive the treats.

10. Nova Scotia - Leaving Nova Scotia the same way we arrived in Nova Scotia with snow, slush..and not a snowplow to be seen.

09. Toronto - A. Having Andrew's, Hughie's and My Visa cards be rejected in the parking pay terminal on the way back to Andrews place...weird! B. Taking Andrew grocery shopping with two people that are in awe at Grocery stores and all the selections. (Not sure he will ever shop with us again)

08. Toronto - Hockey Hall of Fame - A. Seeing all the history of the hockey world and realizing that Hughie will spend alot of money in the adjoining store when he gets his own basement. B. Finn McCools for Supper with Laura and Andrew - it didn't disappoint - lots of cold beer and great food. The fact that the waitresses are very cute with short kilts wasn't lost on Andrew & Hughie.

07. Toronto - Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals - I am going to hell I cheered for the Toronto Maple Leafs! Although it was a great game and Gerber was worthy of being cheered until he was THROWN OUT and Cujo came in to save the game.

06. Toronto - CN TOWER! HOLY CRAP that building is high. I even stepped on the glass floor without being too scared. I felt like Chakotay when you pick him up, he puts on the brave face and freezes!!

05. Toronto - Eaton Centre & Younge Street - A. We had to spend two days downtown to complete the whole Toronto shopping experience. I love this city. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe which was fantastic and shopped our little hearts out in the Eaton centre and HMV! B. We took the TTC & The Go bus on a couple of different occasions, and except for a few sketchy people we didn't get mugged or shot!

04. Winnipeg - Louie Riel Hotel - while looking sketchy on the outside housed the most modern room I've ever seen. The bed was comfy and was walking distance from the MTS centre.

03. Winnipeg - MOOSE VS Bulldogs - MOOSE WIN! Hughie and I have a winning record in that arena and that game didn't disappoint except it was a fairly boring game for the first two periods. It was like a Sunday afternoon skate with a few hockey players mixed in for a bit of excitement. Although we had club seating which had our own bathrooms & bar.

02. Winnipeg - Shopping at Costco & Safeway - we filled up two action packers full of goodies to bring back with us to Kugaaruk! Lots of treats, rice and movies to get us through the next 4 months!

01. Yellowknife - Kugaaruk - Yellowknife - We arrived in Yellowknife without a lot of fan fare. We jumped on our plane to Kugaaruk like we normally would and about 20 minutes outside of town we got detoured to the next community on the route. There was high crosswinds blowing across the airstrip....BLAH!!! So we had to fly back to Yellowknife where we had to spend a day and two nights in our local Super 8! The dogs were well behaved and it gave us a chance to pick up a few more things for the next 4 months.


So as you now know we are back into the old routine. Hughie is back on call and back at work. This week will prove to be busy. There is a big hockey tournament in town that will add approximately 50-75 people to our town, and considering they come from communities that are not "dry" things may get a bit crazy.
Nunavut had their 10 year anniversary on April 1st. I don't believe our community did anything to celebrate, although considering we flew into town on that day we were in no condition to partake in celebrations if there was.

Well I hope you enjoyed my first long post in quite sometime. I apologize again if I forgot something vital in my post about my vacation. I will make any addendum if need be as I remember things!