Moving Over to the New Blog!

I've started my new blog to keep track of my new adventures.

Visit From the Arctic to Australia for the latest updates!

See you over there!

Temperature: +5C
Sunrise: 7:01am
Sunset: 10:46pm

Trying to Keep My Head Above Water...

Ahhh!!!

We're getting down to the wire! 2½ weeks left before I fly out. Things have been crazy at work and I've done almost 20 hours of overtime this last week. That leaves a whole lot of time for... NOTHING.
Cue me freaking out...

A friend came over tonight to kick my arse into gear so that I could finally get a bit more done since the movers can't give me a quote or - of course - take my stuff until it's all packed. I'm almost there. I'd say if I do a bit more in the next two or so days I'll be ready... It's a lot of work... And it's a lot of work I'm not so thrilled to be doing myself. It's mostly because I severely lack the motivation to do it. There's so many other things I'd rather be doing like sleeping. I've also given up any hope (or illusion!) I had of having a garage sale which was evident by me letting my friend take home 3 rubbermaind bins (PLUS) of stuff home for free lol...

We had a crazy heat wave two weeks ago and now we're back to it being cold, rainy and miserable... There were even murmurings of the "S" word... That's right... Snow... I was kind of hoping to miss all of that lol. I'm actually kind of hoping that if I sleep late enough into the day I'll miss it haha
It's actually getting dark at night now which sucks. It makes me pretty sad to know that summer is definitely over (I know I'm moving but man, I love the summers up here).

So yeah... I plan to take a picture of the apartment when everything is all packed I just need to get it all packed...

I really wish I had a more exciting update!


Temperature: +5C
Sunrise: 5:59am
Sunset: 11:55pm

Yowza!

It's hot!!!

I missed what is typically the nicest part of the Inuvik summer - late June/early July. We had one really nice day during the festival and I missed it because I was inside all day. Since then it's been a combination of rainy and rather chilly (you know it's bad when you cheer when it's +16C!) so I figured that was it for summer. A few days ago I thought I noticed that it was a bit smoky (just enough that the sun was kind of orange) then the next day there was noticeable smoke in the delta and a faint smoky smell. Well, with the arrival of the smoke came some warmer weather and humidity (very typical).

This is what we're dealing with right now:

(taken from the site where I get my temp/sunrise/sunset stats 29C = 84F).

It's actually a little less humid right now than it was when I got up (hovering around 50%). The Arctic is like a desert so even 35% humidity makes it feel very muggy out.

I think I've acclimated too well to Arctic life and this kind of heat feels hotter than it should!

In other news, in exactly one month I'll be in Edmonton and officially moved out of Inuvik. I called to confirm my flight today (I didn't book it so I wanted to call to make sure it was for real lol). I still haven't done any extra packing. I need to get that done ASAP. I have a BBQ to go to tonight and then I might try to get a few things done.

Temperature: +29C (feels like +32C)
Sunrise: 4:42am
Sunset: 1:21am

One Week Down!

I've almost survived my first week back to work. It's gone surprisingly well - and quick! (the parts before and after work are kind of dragging though.. The house is quiet and boring! I of course have no motivation to pack or clean!)

This past week I got to meet a fellow knitter/Ravelry member while she was on her way home from an adventure of a lifetime - a trip to the north of Banks Island. We went out for dinner and I took her and a fellow research team member on a tour of Inuvik then we went and hung out by the river and got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Fireweed close-up

I saw a grizzly bear in the back of a pick-up truck* (ENR I think?) drive through the first half of town on Wednesday. Of course CBC North hasn't updated on why that would be. Hopefully the newspaper has some juicy info this week. I was walking from my doctor's appointment to work when it passed me - it took me a couple seconds to register that it was 1. a bear and 2. not normal! I first though "dead thing in the back of a truck, nothing new" and then "!!!!!!! That's a grizzly!!!!"

(*to clarify, I'm pretty sure the bear was dead because it was just in the back of the truck - no cage or anything. I don't think they'd drive a sedated bear back into town.)


Temperature: +16C
Sunrise: 4:30am
Sunset: 1:25am

Surfacing After the Festival

Now that we're on the other side of the festival it seems like it went quickly even though during the festival things seemed to drag on. Things were different this year. Different in a bad way. People were grouchy and rude and there was complaining from the start. This was probably my last festival due to the move so I went into it with excitement. I was especially excited to see old friends and to see what they've been up to this last year. That excitement quickly drained after listening to person after person complain about such-and-such a thing not being perfect and listening to a few racist comments from artists from isolated communities. Then there was the high school politics that crept into things.
I think I'm only disappointed because I might not get a next year so my final festival was a little less than stellar.

On the upside, I made a few new friends, I got to see some fabulous art and I got to do some experimenting in my own art.

While I was there I decided to do some 3D needle felting. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time but haven't really had the chance. What better time to do it when you're sitting there anyway? (all the "non messy" artists like sewers and even water colour painters can sit in the gallery and demonstrate their art).

I thoroughly enjoyed creating something new and pushing myself to try something on a whim (especially to try something new with a bunch of people watching!). Just to give you an idea of size, the tree is about 15" tall from the base of the tree to the tip of the longest branch.

Here's a blurry picture of my display at the beginning of the festival (my stuff is just the three large and five small pictures on the centre panel):

A few days ago it was moved to a different spot and I didn't really end up getting a good picture of it after (it turned out to be right beside the stage so I have a few shots from the closing ceremonies that have my work in it).

So there you have it! Now it's time to go back to a regular routine of work, home, sleep, repeat. I have a month of work left before I move. I'm going to take today to relax and sort out the emotions of the last 10 days and then I might get some packing done. Turns out I have a little more artwork to pack than I was anticipating.



Temperature: +18C
Sunrise: 3:38am
Sunset: 2:11am

It's Good To Be Back

You know how it's always great to go on vacation but it's almost greater to be back home in familiar surroundings? Your own bed, your own fridge, your own TV, your own bathroom (some people might not care about this but I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to use my own bathroom!).

Our trip was great even though it was a pretty emotional trip on a lot of levels (wedding, memorial, seeing family, parting ways for a while). I'm glad Glen and I got to spend his last few weeks in Canada doing fun, touristy stuff and visiting with family. The only bad thing about being back home is the fact that he's not here with me. I think it's helped that I was travelling the same day and I wasn't left in Inuvik while he spent a day and a half flying across the world. We both flew out of Vancouver the same day (he flew out a few hours later) and due to me having to stay the night in Whitehorse we both got to our destinations a few hours apart. Another thing that makes this whole thing easier is knowing HOW happy his family is to have him home. I'm glad they have the next little while together to get reacquainted before I arrive.
I'm hoping to keep myself as busy as possible the next month and a half (especially) so that I can enjoy my last few weeks with family in September. The arts festival starts tomorrow (!) and then after that's over I have about a month left of work before I fly out.
When I got home yesterday, my festival prints were already waiting for me and they are incredible. I'm not bragging about my actual photo taking skills (bad form) but my photos look the best that they can possibly look. I'm really impressed (impressed enough that I called the place I got them from to tell them). So I did festival inventory yesterday and got some groceries. Today I'm going to borrow the landlord's truck to go pick up some heavier groceries and that's pretty much all I have planned for today. Tomorrow is the opening for the festival and then it's pretty much 10-12 hour days demonstrating and catching up with old friends (someone described it as summer camp and that's exactly how it feels).

So, a recap of our trip:
We spent 10 days in Victoria hanging out with family and doing some touristy things. We went to the museum and an IMAX show (Ocean Oasis - unfortunately it was crappy), went whale watching on my birthday which was probably the highlight of the whole trip.

We also spent the weekend on Galiano Island with my Aunt & Uncle.

Bodega Ridge, Galiano Island

We were so lucky to have fabulous weather the whole time. I think it only rained once the whole time we were there. We also got to meet up with an old friend from Inuvik so that was also a lot of fun.

After that we flew to Edmonton and spent a few days in my hometown with my mum at her best friend's then drove to Fairview for my cousin's wedding.

The wedding was great. Typical Prairie wedding complete with perogies and cabbage rolls.
The day after the wedding we drove half an hour north to Hines Creek to do a memorial thing for my dad. He passed away in 1996 and we've been waiting to do something with his ashes (I was 12 and my brother was 10 so my mum wanted to wait to make sure we were old enough to make the right decision as to where the ashes would go).
My dad's grandparents homesteaded in the area and they are buried in a small cemetery just outside of town near the homestead so that's where we decided he should go too. My grandparents drove up from Edmonton to be there and my Aunt, Uncle and Cousin (the ones from Victoria --- it was my Aunt's son getting married) were there as well as an old friend of mum's. It wasn't a big thing, my Aunt read a passage and said a few words and that was pretty much it.

Glen and I spent the night in Vancouver and met up with one of his old school friends before our flights.
After staying at our modest hotel in Whitehorse, the room we had in Vancouver was pretty awesome - we stayed at the Sandman and got upgraded to a suite (?!!!) so besides an awesome king sized bed we also had a living room lol it was insane.

So yeah! That's pretty much it! It's taken me a few hours to get this done - between phone calls and running errands.

Also: thanks to Teri for hanging out in Whitehorse and keeping me occupied for a few hours! I hope you enjoyed the leftover sushi! I'm definitely craving it now!

Temperature: +18C
Sunrise: n/a
Sunset: n/a

mini update!

So I realised I forgot to write a "OK we're going on vacation now!!" post.

So yes, we're about a week away from the end of our vacation (and a week away from Glen and I parting ways for a few months *cries*). We're having a great time and have been extremely busy. Our internet access is really spotty but for some reason my laptop has connected to the wireless upstairs and has been working for almost an hour (this is a first!!).

So I'll leave you with this and hope that everyone is well. I'll hopefully have more updates and pictures when I get back north!

(yes I really did take this)

Reflecting and Looking Forward

Now that I have all my flights booked, things are starting to feel a little more real. Calling Air New Zealand to confirm things and have my booking actually be on their computer, waiting for the charges to show up on my credit card, weeding through the endless piles of stuff and packing...

In general I read a fair amount of ex-pat blogs - part by coincidence and part because I enjoy reading about people discovering new places. Seeing the world through the eyes of someone seeing it and experiencing it for the first time is something I enjoy. I've started searching for a few more ex-pat blogs - specifically people in Australia and I've been thinking a lot about what my own experience is going to be like.
The thing with reading about ex-pats (and if I'm lucky, Canadians) in Australia is I'm interested to see what they found difficult and then gauge what my reaction to the specific situation would be.
I've had the privilege to do a bit of travelling. I spent a total of 6 months living in Germany (1 month the first time as a "tester" and then went back a few months later for a 5 month stay), I've been to England, Holland and Australia.

I've thankfully (? haha) had my rough ex-pat experience (Germany) and I think my time in the Arctic has prepared me and might even make the transition a bit easier.

When I first moved up here there was a HUGE list of things I couldn't get here (and there's still a pretty sizeable list) so even though I'm still in Canada it's almost like living in a different country - the culture and customs up here are even different. I've gotten used to things not being like they were "back home", I've managed to survive for the last 6 years and I even kind of forget how things were before. I almost get culture shock when I go south (especially with all the people, the traffic, the bright lights, loud noises/etc).

I think with this move I have more things working for me than against me and the major "for" is my support system. For me, it's not about having a hard time finding my favourite foods it's ALL about being homesick and missing family (#1 reason my experience in Germany was tough). This is going to be the first time that I will have family and a built in network of friends ready and waiting for me.

So this long winded post is basically me saying that I'm optimistic that this is going to turn out OK (because trust me, when you have one bad living abroad experience, it makes you worry!).

I hope you guys aren't getting sick of all this trip talk!


Temperature: +9C
Sunrise: n/a
Sunset: n/a

Needle Felting! (and a confirmed moving day)

The arts festival is almost a month away so this week I have started a little more in earnest to get ready for it.

My workshop supplies arrived on Monday (needle felting again), I sent a disc with pictures to my Aunt in BC to get printed and I've started doing a bit of needle felting. This is what I finished yesterday:

For those of you that don't know, it's the Igloo Church - Inuvik's most famous landmark. I've been wanting to do a needle felting of this for quite a while now and finally sat down and did it.
Needle felting doesn't really photograph well --- the grass at the bottom is significantly more filled in than it looks and I don't think the cross on top is as crooked as it looks there (that spot might not be as filled in as the rest so the colour doesn't show up in the picture). The piece of felt is 12"x12" so it's pretty big.

My landlady comes back today which means I'm going to be truckless again (after having it since February I think?) so I'm going to haul out the bike again this year (I didn't use it at all last year :-( ). I have to run by the hardware store to get a new lock and a tire pump though.

I got confirmation today that I have a flight booked to leave Inuvik (it was booked on points so it took a few days). I'll be leaving on August 28th - almost a year to the day that my brother left (and actually the 28th is his birthday). I have mixed feelings - I mean, I really want to move and I'm excited but I've been here for six years it's kind of hard to imagine not being here - if you get what I mean?

Temperature: +14C
Sunrise: n/a
Sunset: n/a

What's That Sound?

So we were laying in bed last night (more accurately, this morning at 5am) chatting when we both stopped and were like "What is that?!". I crawled over the bed to the window and it was... RAIN! I don't think we've had rain in 8 or 9 months!
Even though rain is awesome (because well it means it's at least warm enough that it isn't snow!) I'm kind of glad it didn't last. The reason for this is because weather up here in the delta is kind of funny. It seems that weather kind of gets "stuck" so if we have sun we'll have sun for a while and then if it rains it seems we have clouds and rain for weeks. (this happens a lot in the summer, we'll have a few weeks of AWESOME weather and then it'll rain and then our summer is over).

So I've been spending a good majority of my time packing and I have 8 boxes sealed up with another 4 in progress... I have one empty 2cu box left and I'm not done the packrat room yet so I'll have to go get more boxes tomorrow I think.
I think the packrat room is the biggest packing job and once I'm done that things should go quicker.
My tentative leaving date is the end of August (my boss is actually trying to book me a points ticket right now) but I'd like to be packed up before we go to Victoria on the 19th. Just because then it's done and I won't have to worry about it since I won't be back until July 8th and then I have the festival to concentrate on.

So I thought that once I had my visa a lot of the stress & anxiety would be gone. Yeah, SO wrong. I had the WORST dream last night (why I was up at 5am). I suppose having anxiety attacks in the middle of the night is preferable to having them during the day while I'm at work or the grocery store or something though...


Temperature: +13C+
Sunrise: n/a
Sunset: n/a

The Wait is Over!

Look what I got in the mail today:

We weren't sure how I was going to find out. A lot of people get emails from their case officers and I got a surprise when I picked up the mail (I'm not going to lie, I cried a little at the post office).

*phew!*

Here is my timeline in case anyone is interested:

16/03/09: Sent application to processing centre in Ottawa
20/03/09: Application received by Australian High Commission in Ottawa, case officer assigned.
08/04/09: Letter received requesting medical check and passport to be sent to AHC in Ottawa.
22/04/09: Medical complete.
29/04/09: Medical information received by AHC in Ottawa.
07/05/09: Passport sent to AHC in Ottawa.
12/05/09: Passport received by AHC in Ottawa.
20/05/09: VISA APPROVED!!
25/05/09: Passport received by me with visa sticker!!!!

So it turns out that on paper my visa was approved exactly two months after my application was received by them.

We are SO relieved that it's been approved and we can start planning how the next 4 months are going to go. I can actually start packing, I can start selling all the stuff we won't take with us and I can start just "letting go" of all the stuff that doesn't matter - especially when it comes to work.
Now to start making lists of stuff I have to do and figure out the logistics of it all... Getting there isn't what I'm worried about, it's the whole forwarding mail/taxes/CPP/EI/keeping credit cards stuff that I'm most worried about actually.

Wow!


Temperature: +9C
Sunrise: n/a*
Sunset: n/a*

*We're a day or two into 24 hours daylight now. Worrying about my visa being denied had me TOTALLY distracted and I forgot about it until today. It's such a gradual thing so you don't really notice when you have sunset for 2 hours vs 0hrs.

Whole Lotta Nothin'

There hasn't been much bloggable activity going on up here lately. I've been way stressed out with everything that's been going on so I've been trying to not do too much besides relax and lay in bed.

No news on the visa front (they've had my passport for a week now) which is the source of most of my stress and is actually causing me to have anxiety attacks and really awful anxiety dreams. Fun times. Yay for ativan!

One semi exciting thing we did was go to the Giant Colon Tour. The nerd in me was super excited to go (I've gotten pretty acquainted with this body part over the last year with having Crohn's) but I was actually a bit disappointed. The sound wasn't working properly inside the colon and with all the air pumps (it was inflatable) you could hardly hear all the nifty facts on the TVs inside.

Our weather has finally gotten a bit better - we had over a week of snow, clouds and freezing cold (sorry Alberta, I think you got it from us!!) so that's improved my mood a bit -- SUN!! We're probably about 4 days away from 24hrs of daylight and even though we have a (brief) sunset now, it's not getting dark.

There has been no crafting going on (maybe another source of my misery?) so I've got to get back on that... I need to get some pieces for the arts festival done (as well as order prints... Oh man :-( ) and I need to start working on my quilts again.

Anyway! I better get ready for work!


Temperature: +8C
Sunrise: 3:56am
Sunset: 1:52pm

mini update

About a week ago I emailed my Immigration Case Officer regarding sending in my passport (basically my question was if I should attn it to him or send it to the regular address) and I asked if they were able to let me know if/when my medical had been received by the office.

The date that my passport had to be in was coming up quick so I sent it on Thursday before I'd heard back from my CO (they want it by the 14th)
I got an email yesterday letting me know that they received my medical on the 29th of April (I wasn't expecting it that soon! And of course I get the email the day after I send my passport!)

So I wonder if we're getting close? Yesterday was the 7 week mark from when they received my application and they told me that decisions are usually made between 12 and 16 weeks. 12 weeks is on June 12th (yes, we printed out a calendar and we've numbered the weeks and are crossing off the days!) and I'm wondering if it's going to take that long or if we'll hear back soonish?

You better believe I've been scouring the internet for stories of how long it's taken other people (even joined a few forums!) but there aren't a lot of people in a similar situation (applying offshore for a spouse visa). There are A LOT of people applying for skilled worker visas and those take waaaaaaay longer than spouse ones.

Definitely resisting the urge to spend all my time looking at the photos from our trip to Australia in 2007!

Temperature: -3C (feels like -9C ---- we had snow yesterday!! booo)
Sunrise: 5:05am
Sunset: 12:39am

Furniture Tetris

So you'd think that not blogging for a few days would mean that I'd actually have something to write about today, right? Wrong!
I haven't been doing a whole lot (of interesting things) since I got home. I worked on the weekend and had two days off which was spent rearranging the house. Normally I don't mind moving furniture around but this was kind of done to save my sanity. Someone extra has joined the two people that live upstairs and he stomps around the apartment right above my head while I'm trying to sleep. We've complained which didn't change a damn thing so the only thing left to do was to move the bedroom. I didn't think that our bed was going to fit in the other room but it actually does (I swear I measured it when we first moved in otherwise our bed would've gone into that room the second time we moved the house around).
Granted I sleep a little later than most people due to my work schedule but this dude's stomping starts the moment he gets up (so y'know if I liked to sleep until 9am I'd be outta luck). The last straw on Monday was that he woke me up stomp-stomping at 10am so I got up for a few hours and AS SOON as I went back to bed he started again. It was like he knew I was going back to bed!***

Anyway that's seriously what my life has been filled with since getting back from my trip. So now the "packrat room" is in the room where our bed used to be and it's the biggest disaster EVER. So that's what my life is going to be filled with.

I desperately want to be doing some sewing but I don't have the time or the space right now (our apartment is so small that in order to move rooms around things have to be emptied into the kitchen AND livingroom and the livingroom hasn't quite recovered). Hopefully soon!

A beach on Galiano Island
(totally random lol but I figured I'd throw in something nice after my angry rant)

Temperature: -7C
Sunrise: 5:15am
Sunset: 12:29am


(*** We never heard the other two people upstairs -under normal circumstances- Sometimes the teenager would have friends over and they'd run around and scream at lunch time. But their daily comings/goings/watching TV/walking around was never heard. This whole getting woken up thing is new since this dude has started spending A LOT of time up there.)

I'm Back!

I made it back home yesterday after two very long days of travelling... I can't even tell you how nice it is to be back home in my own space. Not that my trip was totally crappy or anything, it's just nice to be back home (my bed! my computer!). And without sounding too sappy, I really missed Glen. 10 days is a long time and I really missed his company.

I just put all my pictures from my camera onto the computer and there actually isn't a lot. I think it means I was really busy -- too busy to carry my camera around with me. I'm pretty sure there will be more picture taking when we're back in June.

So a summary... Monday I flew to Whitehorse and did some running around (yay Wal-Mart and A&W!) and went to bed super early so I could catch my flight to Vancouver. I was so paranoid I'd over-sleep (since I normally wake up at 1pm) or that my clock would malfunction that I set my alarm clock, my phone alarm AND called for a wake-up call. It did prove to be over-kill but better safe than sorry! I don't think I would've been so paranoid if I didn't actually have things to do on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday I flew into Vancouver and took the PCL bus from the airport into Victoria. This turned out to be a nice stress-free/affordable way to get over to the island. I met a really nice South African woman at the airport and we hung out on the ferry. It was her first time in Canada and she was really nervous about making sure she was getting on the right bus/right ferry and getting off in the right place. The only hitch about the whole trip down was the fact that PCL misplaced one of my pieces of luggage. It came on the next bus so that was good but pretty annoying none the less.
Tuesday night I dragged my cousin with me to see Leonard Cohen. It was SO awesome. Our seats weren't the greatest (to the right of the stage on the side - so basically a profile view) but it was still pretty awesome to be there.

Wednesday I had my Immigration Doctor's appointment. Despite being sent on what felt like a treasure hunt, I think it went well. The place I had my x-rays done was pretty far away from the doctor's office. It had the same street name so it sounded close - thankfully my cousin came with me because I would've walked (and walked and walked) and it would've taken a billion years to get there.

Friday-Sunday was spent at Galiano Island where my Aunt & Uncle have a place. It was REALLY nice to be out there. We went down to the beach on Saturday and it was SO warm. We nad a nice afternoon looking for shells and other treasures.

Monday I met up with someone from the knittyboard for lunch - yay! (mmm Noodle Box!) I have to mention I was really good about resisting some beautiful locally made yarn. I think I deserve a prize in general for resisting many (many!) shopping temptations!

Tuesday I went with my cousin and her friend to the Maritime Museum.

Thursday I got up at the crack of dawn (seriously... 4:15am) to catch the first PCL bus out of Victoria to get on the first ferry to Vancouver. I was so nervous about getting on the bus and about them possibly losing my bags again that I didn't anticpate another kind of delay... Our bus broke down on the highway!!!! Thankfully (if you can say that?) it didn't break down until we were on our way to the airport so we didn't miss the ferry or anything but geez... What a pain. We had to wait an hour for a new bus to come and get us and I made it to the airport right on time (I checked in and basically had to go straight through security).
Once in Whitehorse, Teri picked me up from my hotel and we went back to her place where she cooked me dinner (mmm spaghetti! Seriously one of my favourite home made meals) and we went for a walk. It has to be said that her daughter is probably the happiest most relaxed baby I've ever met. We were best buddies by the end of the evening.

And that pretty much brings us to yesterday/today. All the days where I didn't list something specific were pretty much spent walking around and window shopping. The weather was fabulous the whole time I was there so I managed to get out every day and do something (that pretty much equals walking over to the mall to hang out and getting my fountain pop fix!)

It was SO strange to go from ice and snow to green grass and flowers (oh, the flowers!!!) but I think I went at a good time because it really feels like spring here now. There's water on the lake, all the roads are clear (I'll be putting the truck back in 2WD today!) and it's A LOT warmer than it was when I left!

So it's back to work today for two days before my days off. I'll go through my pictures and post a few more in the next few days. I have a panorama or two to put together. Right now, I'm going back to bed for a few hours.


Temperature: -1C
Sunrise: 5:45am
Sunset: 11:59pm

Million Miles an Hour

That's how my brain feels right now!

Normally I'm not nervous about a trip south but I'm VERY nervous about this trip. First I think it's because I'm actually going down with a purpose and I'm worried that I'll forget something (like my passport, the forms the doctors have to sign, my retainer, my meds, etc etc) and another reason is I'm pretty broke. Typically trips south are for SHOPPING and this trip is going to be pretty light on the shopping. I need a few essentials I can't get here (like dress socks) but I can't shop with wild abandon ;-)
One major (MAJOR) splurge that I've purchased already is.... Leonard Cohen tickets! I actually think I bought the last two! They aren't the greatest seats but I'm SO excited. I pretty much grew up listening to Leonard Cohen and to see him live is going to be pretty awesome.

So I'm sitting here mentally running lists and details in my head (what times I'll have to get up, where to get the PCL bus at the Vancouver airport, what I'll be filling my afternoon in Whitehorse with tomorrow etc) and instead of packing I'm procrastinating!

Posting will be pretty light for the next 10 days or so. I have no idea what my internet access is going to be. My uncle has their connection locked up so tight that the last two times I've been there I couldn't connect to their wifi even with him doing all sorts of things that would apparently let me.



Temperature: -15C
Sunrise: 6:41am
Sunset: 11:07pm

*Drumroll Please!*

And the winners are:

1st: tea-na

2nd: merlinthecat

3rd: fireweedroots



Thank you all for entering and for all of the wonderful comments!! I'm really pleased that you all think posting the temperature/sunrise/sunset is a cool thing. I enjoy looking at it every time I post and seeing how much it's changed. I get immense joy in the summer when I can write n/a! (I don't know if anyone has noticed but I've started putting the temperature in the labels so you can click on it and read posts from other days with the same temperature. The nerd in me LOVES this!)

I'll be emailing the winners shortly! (I seriously wish I could send a present to everyone, all the comments really cheered me up this week - it has been a seriously INSANE week... My vent on the knittyboard doesn't even cover it!!).

Now for some Q&A:

Q: One of my favourite parts is the sunrise/set and temperature part. Will you keep doing that when you move?

A: I'll definitely keep up the temperature thing. I'm not sure about the sunrise/sunset. Not because I don't want to but I'd have to find a website that lists it. Right now I use weather.ca/theweathernetwork.com and they don't post Melbourne's sunrise/sunset. I'll look into it though!


Q: I still think that New Zealand is the land of your dreams.

A: Ok I know this isn't a question but I wanted to say that we actually thought about moving to NZ because then it would be a little more fair to not be somewhere that's "home" for either of us. The thought of going through this immigration process for two people makes my head spin! I don't think NZ has a special "Eligible Australian Citizen" section like Australia has for NZers so it would probably be impossible for us to get in because neither of us are skilled workers. I can tell you though that we'll be heading to NZ soon after I arrive for a nice vacation!


Q: My daughters (8 & 10) and I read your blog from time to time. Since we watched the ice road truckers they are fascinated by living up in Inuvik - so different from us - they have so many questions - like do you get to eat bananas?

A: We're just getting to see ice road truckers this year! Yup, I eat bananas! Actually, it's one of the only fruit (besides apples and oranges) we can get up here all year round that is pretty reliable, quality wise. They do get VERY expensive in the winter though (and during freeze up/break up) I took a picture and posted it on this entry - click - on November 30th Bananas were $8.38/kg (one kilo is 2.2lbs). Yikes!

Q: Where did you live before?

A: I grew up in Alberta, Canada but essentially before I moved up here I was living in Germany. I went to Germany for the fall 2002/2003 semester and then when I got home at the end of February and didn't have anything better to do my stepdad (who was up here teaching at the time) suggested that I move up. So I decided on a Friday and hopped on a plane on the Monday. And I'm still here! My whole family (mum, brother, stepdad) lived up here at one point and my brother has been back and forth a few times but I'm the only one that has stuck it out. (side note, besides my boss who is technically disqualified due to the kerfuffle that happened this fall, I've been at my job longer than anyone else. A lady that I work with now started a week after me. I know it's only a week but I'm pretty proud of that week!)


Q: I assume the merino is extra lovely because it's grown in a colder climate?

A: Quite possibly? I don't know actually (shame)... I haven't used it much even though I have a TONNE of it (my mum's friend has the sheep and he gets the yarn commercially processed and dyed). BUT!!! Guess what project I've used this yarn for? (long time readers will laugh).... The Hat of Doom!!


Q: Did I ever show you the cowl I made with the lovely blue yarn you sent?

A: I don't think so! I remember the tea cozy! (my memory is insanely bad ATM so if you actually have, I feel really bad!)

--------------------------------------------------------

Thanks again everyone!! If any of you have any other Arctic/life in the Arctic type questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best!


Temperature: -13C (feels like -21C)
Sunrise: 6:45am
Sunset: 11:03pm

6 Years in Inuvik & 100 Posts Give-away !

Ok! So today marks my 6 year anniversary in Inuvik and it happens to coincide with my 100 post mark.

To enter my give-away all you have to do is leave a comment. In your comment please let me know if you're a long-time/regular reader, occasional reader or if you've just popped by for the contest (it doesn't matter if you just commented for the contest, I'm curious ;-)). Also please leave me your email address so I can get ahold of you (see bottom of post).
There are no restrictions on where you live but I can't guarantee shipping times.


I've put together 3 prizes:

1st:

Inukshuk bag with zipped top (100% cotton), Inukshuk mug, Northern Delights Tea, A book on the Western Arctic, a 50th anniversary Inuvik license plate and yarn (the green yarn is 100% Saskatchwan Merino and the other is dyed by me).

2nd:

Inukshuk mug, Northern Delights Tea, 50th anniversary Inuvik license plate, and yarn (the teal and blue is 100% Saskatchwan Merino and the other is dyed by me).

3rd:

Inuvik license plate, and yarn (the pinky/maroon, green, and blue is 100% Saskatchewan Merino and the other is dyed by me).

The contest closes Friday April 17th at midnight and the winners will be emailed --- please leave me your email address in the comments! If you don't leave your email address you need to check back on the blog after midnight on Friday. The winners will be notified and I'll need to hear back from them by Sunday so things can go in the mail on Monday before I head to Victoria.
If I can't get ahold of you I reserve the right to give the prize to someone else or cancel that particular prize altogether.


Good Luck!


Temperature: -2C
Sunrise: 7:03am
Sunset: 10:47pm

Bor-ring!

Holiday Mondays make for boring blog material.
I have Mondays off and when the rest of the world does it means I can't go out and do my running around because all the stores are closed. booo... I had to get up early today to drive one of the residents to the airport only to find out AFTER we get there that the flight was cancelled. Nice. So I spent a lot of the day napping (because I can). I get to do the whole getting up early thing again tomorrow now.
But tomorrow is an exciting day! 100 posts and 6 years in Inuvik! Check back to find out what to do to enter to win some awesome Inuvik and yarn-y presents.

We went for a walk just a little while ago so that I could maybe have an exciting story or picture to share but nope. I got a bunch of pictures of Glen pulling funny faces. I think he might kill me if I post those :-p


Temperature: -4C
Sunrise: 7:08am
Sunset: 10:43pm

Unexpected Vacation

We got word on Wednesday from immigration that I have to go and have my medical check done... By May 14th. So I get an unplanned and expensive vacation. I can't just go to any doctor, I have to go to one of their designated doctors and of course there aren't any in the territories (mind you, it would probably be more expensive to see one in Yellowknife or Whitehorse because I'd have to pay for a hotel). My choices were basically to go down to Edmonton or go to Victoria. 4 months ago I would've just sucked it up and gone to Edmonton but after finding out how cheap it is to fly to Vancouver (comparatively) I pretty much can't justify spending the extra $400 to go to Edmonton. There's also the pain of finding my way around Edmonton and a few other kind of annoying things. I know my way around Victoria and it's pretty hassle-free as far as seeing family goes (mostly because if I want to take the bus downtown or go for a walk they tell me to have a good time instead of "you want to go WHERE?" "I don't know how to get there" "I'm too tired to take you" blah blah).

I've been reading more northern blogs lately and we all seem to be writing and thinking about the same thing. The cost of air travel in the north is FAR too expensive. As it is, my "cheap" ticket to Vancouver is costing us the same amount of money as Glen's ticket back to Australia. Where does that make sense? (and yes, I got the lowest available fare give or take $40).
If we hadn't already planned a trip out in June this probably wouldn't be so annoying but now I'm having to pay for a second vacation we can't afford (being that the work contracts got switched in December I don't have much vacation time as it is and I'm using it in June/July). Also, what happens if for some freak reason they have to re-do tests? There's no way I'm spending another $1100 to fly back down!

So, I'm finding it hard to get excited about this trip even though it's to my absolute favourite place in Canada. The last time I was in Victoria was in 2003 so it's been a while. I've been looking at pictures from my last trip and thought I'd share one of my favourites.

Galiano Island

Temperature: -12C
Sunrise: 7:21am
Sunset: 10:31pm