Maypole Dancing

I remember being fairly young and dancing around the May Pole on May 1st. I think we were living on a military base then, and we all had these long ribbons coming down from this pole and we skipped and danced around until it was wrapped. It was fun at the time but now it just sounds silly, heh heh.

Tomorrow is May 1st...I can't believe four months have passed in this year already. Go find a yourself a maypole tomorrow...

Dude, Where's My Duck?

Spring Thaw At Dusk

Took a drive tonight to get out of the house. The sun had already gone down, but the sunset was magnificent again, and the lake has finally started to thaw these past several days. There are birds in the open water - Canada geese, cranes, and ducks so far. I didn't have my zoom lens and many had gone elsewhere, but I heard there were hundreds during the day, so will return there tomorrow. I was tromping around with my camera near shore when a young native fellow came roaring by on an ATV and came over to see what I was up to. He looked to be about 12 or so, and was a wealth of information. He then began calling to the geese and ducks and some swam closer. He was pretty good at it too...

Goodbye My Little Newfie

Sad news...I had to have Via put down tonight due to serious illness. I've posted on my other blog, so I'm just going to put a link here to it.

Poor Little Kitty

Via is under the weather today...actually, she looks like she is at death's door for the most part. I wondered what was up when she hasn't been sleeping in the bed with me the past few nights...just on top of the body pillow. Then today when I picked her up, I noticed how her sides were heaving, like something weird was going on. She got worse by lunchtime, barely creeping around, belly hanging low. She isn't drinking or eating much, though did drink a little water a short while ago.

Just what we both needed. I was to leave for a business trip later this afternoon and after some frantic calls to a friend and the vet, I decided to take her along, and will get her into the vet tomorrow. I could have taken her tonight for the bargain price of $135 to get the vet off his ass and into the clinic...um, no. So I am taking her in the morning for $45. It pissed me off enough when I had to pay $68 just to get her on the damn plane today...crooks...talk about price gouging...with Buffalo Air it only cost me $35 but First Air was twice as much...for no apparent reason either. I smell a letter of complaint being drafted. To add insult to injury, the gum chewing teenie bopper behind the counter said to me "sorry, I don't make the rules, the company does". Um, yeah. Like I am a total fucking idiot and actually believed that you, the gum chewing teen is who dictates the business practices of a major northern airline. Go sell stupid somewhere else.

So here we are, hunkered down in the hotel room, Via looking all pathetic in the corner. I've had that little bugger nearly 10 years, having taken her from the rock with her mother, only 5 days old. I am hoping she has a good visit with the vet tomorrow...otherwise there shall be tears...I guaranfriggintee it...

Landing In Fort Resolution

Flying Over Fort Resolution

Great Day For Flying

My WORD it's been a while since I posted...I think because I had nothing to write about, really...until today. Yesterday myself and 4 others were picked up in Fort Resolution by a charter with Sunwest Charters, a Turbo Beaver, single engine 5 passenger plane. Yes, that's right...5 passenger. It was a small plane, but we had inflight service...it consisted of Jeremy the pilot telling us where things were, and that there was a box of drinks and snacks under the back seat. He was an excellent pilot and we had a very smooth ride. He even made me chuckle when he hauled out his Sony discman and THEN began singing along...the engine was too noisy I couldn't hear him out loud, but I could see his lips move, and he wasn't talking to control...having moved his mic off to the side, heh heh. You can see the discman on his left thigh.

The view was spectacular from the plane. The Great Slave Lake is vast, and we could see the tributaries that flow into the lake. The land you see that is to my right is just outside of Yellowknife, and the land ahead is approaching Fort Resolution. I have some video as well and will post that later today once I get somewhere where there is decent internet (satellite internet sucks ass for uploading video).

Dude Where's My Shed?

I went for a walk about town tonight...the drains are having issues...this was a neighbor's shed, a couple of streets over.

My It's Bright In the Morning

We are gaining daylight fast with sunrise now coming at 6:19am, and sunset at 9:01pm for today...and with about an hour for dawn and dusk, that leaves us with less than 7 hours of darkness. Zowie. I have been wearing my sleep mask for about a week or so now, and will wear it until the fall I reckon. It is just too much of a pain in the ass to start covering all windows to block out the light, and much easier just to cover MY EYES. There shall be no covering windows with aluminum foil for me...I don't know why Al Pacino didn't figure that out in Insomnia...I should have sent him a sleep mask...

My Trailer Has Driftwood

There is water everywhere, and my trailer is emerging out of the snowbank I first saw it in. Having moved here in the winter, I had no idea what the grounds around the trailer were like. Turns out there are huge stumps of driftwood along the front under the window. And I think I saw some old grass. I shall see what comes up there and perhaps plant some sunflowers along there as that side gets the morning sun. I have started some smaller versions in peat pots to plan in a wooden crate later this spring, once the frost has left us. Tis a short season, so I have to be ready.

There appears to be some very large cardboard cartons left outside before the snow fell by the former tenants. Nice. Now they are a goopy mess of mushed up cardboard, frozen into the snowbank. I'll get at them once they dry out a little and haul them off to the dump. Thankfully the dump is just a couple of kilometres from here, so no big deal.

There is also a huge television under a movers blanket sitting in the back yard, next to the trailer. Hmmmmmm. Not too sure what that is about or how I'm gonna get that off to the dump. And one of those ugly blue plastic and chrome chairs (rusty of course). I'm gonna see what shape its in before I toss it (if it is broken) and perhaps I'll just spray it into something I can stand to look at.

I wonder what else is coming out of the snow.

Departure of the Easter Bunny

My house guests have departed, as of 8:10am this morning, hoping there wasn't too much water on the Mackenzie ice crossing. They would have crossed there at about 11:30am or so, depending on if she floored it or not in that old truck of hers aka the money pit.

T'was uplifting to have company in the home again. I haven't had any guests from away since moving here. I'm hoping K. makes it out again, perhaps for May 24 weekend, since she has refused to go camping that early again...heh heh...I have typically camped every May long weekend for decades, regardless of location, and this one year we went to St. Ann's Bay in Cape Breton and camped by the ocean...it was a little chilly...and since then she has refused to camp that early, particularly here!

The temps have been up and the water has been running fast and furious. I thought it was raining out, but that is snow melt off the roof. I wish it would just slide off at once and be done with it. I shovelled all the snow off both bridges and dragged out the patio furniture, having been encouraged by the sun and mild temperatures today. Weather reports call for even warmer temps on Tuesday, a possible +15C - WOW!

Turkey day at the nurse's residence - YUM! I usually cook a turkey at Easter, so I'm happy not to be missing out since I cooked at my place this year. There shall be continued indulgence...I love long weekends.

See the eggs the girls and I used decoupage to decorate, they are sitting on the windowsill...K.'s is on the far right, V's is centre front, and mine is far left. Aren't we talented? :-)

Busy Social Calendar

T'was a busy enough week...work was busy, and I had to clean up for my guests. It took an eternity to get my driver's license and new plate, but it's DONE. I even found time to make a set of curtains for the kitchen, using some fabric I dyed the night before.

My friend K. and her friend V. arrived about 9:30pm or so on Thursday night. There has been much indulgence...fresh bread, fresh turnovers, beautiful fresh pineapple, and so on, and so on. K. also played Easter Bunny and brought chocolate for all :-) so I am hopped up (s'cuse the Easter pun) on sugar for the past couple of days. Yesterday we decoupaged some eggs, and then had an egg hunt (I WON) and gorged on candies...I'm still vibrating from the sugar...hence the late night post.

Today was more of the same - cooking, baking, eating, cleaning, squeezing in time for a movie or a show, with some knitting, chattering, etc. Tonight we had company for supper, and grilled some steaks and kebobs and gorged again.

Partway through the night after supper guests had returned home to relax for the evening, V. and I tried out some shooters...the clear winner was the Sour Puss...I have to say. The test tube ones from the liquor store were not much more impressive than melted freezies...and the Fireball whiskey shooters were predictably cinnamon spicey.

My friends leave in the morning - I shall miss them! It's been great to have others around...once they leave first thing in the morning, it's back to the felines and I. We'll have two days of more indulgence...and doing NOTHING...heh heh...it's all about self-care people...

Another Day, Another Ordeal

These are ptarmigan that I saw on the way to Hay River....

It should have been an ordinary day, with some errands in Hay River, 155 kms away. It wasn't. I mean, how could it be. I have been ordeal free too long, heh heh. The start was rough, with about 60kms in and I suddenly need to find a restroom...bwah, ha ha...on the entire stretch of road there is but 2 outhouses, and no restrooms...and for the life of me I couldn't remember what km they were at, but I did know I NEEDED to go. After putting it off as long as I could, I was stomping through the snowbank in my skirt and sneakers, and a box of tissues...sigh...we were off to a fine start already...

My main reason for the trek was to transfer my license and plates from Yukon to NWT. It was the first place I went, as we were on limited time before they closed, getting into town at about 3:15pm, and they close at 5pm. I had a friend with me, who was going in for the same reason. She managed to whip right through but when I got up, thinking I had everything I needed, as Iwas filling out the form in front of her, I realized I did not have my letter from Lasik MD saying I had my eye surgery. Dammit. So I asked to use the phone there...they had plenty of them since the Motor Vehicle Registration is also the Northwest Tel Service Counter, AND an Auto Insurance Company. I called to speak to my boss because she is the only one with a key to my trailer, which is where I left the letter. I called and was hoping that my friend's husband could go to my trailer and get it for me, as he is retired, and my boss was in a meeting. Well she called the husband and there was no answer. Rats, now what to do. My boss then offered (somewhat reluctantly but I can't blame her) to go to my trailer and root for my paper and then fax it to the DMV. Of course, the thought of landlord/boss going into my trailer without me being able to prepare a little (you know, clean up the mess) was cause for anxiety, but at least there was nothing incriminating left laying around, lol...while I wait for her I decide to head out and take my recycling back, dropping my friend off at The Woodshed, a nice coffee shop and craft store.

So then I am off to the recycling depot for the first time. It's a big warehouse and you knock on a wooden sliding half-door. I have to ask how things work at this one, because they're all different I reckon. I was informed I had to sort AND count my pieces, so they know how many are there. WTF? I can see the sorting part, even though there wasn't a thing and site and I was still out in the parking lot, standing at this window, but you want ME to count it? What in the hell will YOU be doing then? Apparently all they do is caculate your money and take your stuff on faith...or is it pure laziness...usually they take it from you and count it to be sure. I wouldn't trust anyone to give you the right numbers. But whatever...so I grope my way through that nasty task, with some of the items being sticky and gross looking. There was recycling left here when I moved in, and that was several weeks old then.

Off to the DMV to see if my paper came in from my boss...nope. Off to the drug store to drop off a script, then into Quick Print to pick up an order for our office, chuck that in the back seat, and I'm off to the DMV again to see if my paper is in...nope...so I go back to Quick Print where I know the guy there a little better and ask to use the phone and phone my boss. She couldn't find it, but faxed in another letter, but it just was some auto mailer from Lasik MD, and had nothing about my prescription or surgery on it. I don't even think it was addressed to me, lol. So that was a bust...I then decided to call Lasik MD and see if they could just fax a copy of the letter they gave me for the DMV. That was a lesson in Duh...after explaining three times what I needed it for, and why I needed her to send me something NOW, the MENSA candidate informs me that she guesses she can write something up and get the surgeon to sign it before he leaves today...um...no. I just told you that I need this in less than an hour, because they close and I live nearly 2 hours away, and my plates have expired. She apparently either didn't get it or didn't care. But then after I told her to fax it in anyway for the next time I'm there and hung up I was actually pretty pissed about it. I mean, I'm sure that the majority of people having laser surgery on their eyes are drivers, therefore requiring EVERYONE who is a driver to change their driver's license at some point to reflect that they no longer require corrective lenses. So you would think that my request wouldn't be that difficult, considering that they burn more than a dozen pairs of eyes a day, and nearly all of us have to get a letter from them to inform the Department of Transportation that we have had our vision corrected. Apparently it was, and I returned home later still without a new license.

After that I headed back to pick up my friend, who surely thought I had forgotten her in Hay River, lol...sorry I.! She was chillin' at the coffee shop, having bought some luscious treats - some kind of chocolate lined crepe cup filled with a creamy mousse...thanks I.! Then we were off like a Jewish foreskin (I think of my friend A. in Cape Breton when I say that...lol...she knows why) to finish up the errands. Funnily enough...we then saw some Bulls Balls hanging off the back of a pickup truck. At first I didn't believe it, but sure enough, we followed him around town for a bit, hoping he would stop, and I could snap a photo, however he kept driving around, going nowhere, and we had errands yet to run...

Back to the drugstore to pick up my meds - and it wasn't as expected so we had a word about that, and got that sorted out. Poked around and picked up a couple of greeting cards. Then we were off to North Mart (the grocery store) and I remembered I had wanted to stop at the liquor store and I never know their hours, moving from place to place like I do, except that in the north they are short for some strange reason (to reduce alcoholism...don't think its working). So I drop my friend at the store with the water bottles for our office (she works in a different one) where she graciously filled them for me (yay I.!) and I sped over to the liquor store. After all, it's a long weekend coming up, I have friends coming to visit. No crisis there, and back to the grocery store for my own stuff, then off to the airport to drop a package off for my boss, and we were then hurling back out of town again. What a whirlwind trip. Nothing is ever easy...and I am still without a polar bear, not to mention bulls balls...

It Just Ain't Fair

My bathtub water was frozen again today. It managed to clear itself early this afternoon, but the drain is still frozen...so can't really have a shower unless I intend on clearing out all the water again when I am done. Dammit. It just ain't fair. Spring should be here and this frozen pipes business should be finished for the season. At least it is going to be repaired this summer when things thaw out under there...that's the word anyhow...

Mother Nature

From Environment Canada this afternoon...Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this evening. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 20. Wind chill minus 28.

Mother Nature is not quite done with spring in these parts it would seem. It has been snowing/flurries all day today, and the temp has been hovering around -15C.

Ick.

But I was out there in my slippers and fleece, BBQing just the same. I laugh in the face of winter. (KIDDING! Nooooooo, I don't want more winter!!!)

It will come in it's own time, like around the end of May.