My Neighborhood

So I finally took a drive around my neighborhood. I drove to the Takhini Hot Springs, but didn't go in, although the steam rising from the pool did look inviting. The hot springs are about 4 kms from my house so very close by. Another visit was to Bean North Coffee Roasting which is on the way to the hot springs. Nice little coffee house, and they roast the Fair Trade beans right on sight. It was quiet there now, but he said it was quite busy before Christmas. Comfy couches, a wood stove, gazebo, etc. makes for a great hang out...if only I drank coffee...The pic above was taken on the drive to the hot springs. The white is indeed mountains, not clouds.



This pic to the left is of the mountains I passed on a small side road near the hot springs.











This pic was taken from the end of my road. My driveway is just up this road on the right. As soon as I leave my driveway, I can see the mountains. Only I don't see these on the way to work because it is DARK. Once the days become longer, I shall have a magnificent drive into work, surrounded by majestic mountain ranges.

Cure For Homesickness

The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special...when I start missing the east coast, I turn on the Trailer Park Boys for a good dose of the east coast, heh heh. Incidentally, my neice B. owns a trailer in one of the trailer parks they have filmed in. I turned the special on and there Bubbles is, sitting on the sofa, knitting and sitting with his kitties...um, sounds a little too familiar...

Thanks Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles

Remembering Why I Am Here

Not only for the money so I can pay off student loans...I am also here to escape the snow. This pic was taken last winter at a call centre following a snow storm on the east coast.

My shovels are still where the movers left them, leaning against the side of the house. YAAAAYYYY!

shovel on, suckers...

Tis the Season

for filling one's face. You know, I am even beginning to get sick of chocolate...who'da thunk it? I received some chocolate from my daughter, and of course work has been rotten with it for weeks, and then today at my supervisor's house, for Christmas dinner, there were boxes of it everywhere!!! Of course, I ate a bunch...and also had chocolate ice cream cake she made for dessert. The turkey was fabulous, for sure. No sweet potatoes, but that is just fine because I am cooking my turkey dinner tomorrow, complete with sweet potatoes! I'm also having glazed corn. I sure overate this afternoon though...then we got to the gaming part of the night...the "chinese auction" I was mentioning earlier, perhaps on my other blog. I brought a small personal fireproof safe as my contribution, which turned out to be a popular item and was stolen many times, and finally won by someone who truly wanted it. I nearly had my hands on a George Foreman grill, a small one, but it got stolen and I did manage to score a Trivial Puruit, 90's Edition though, which I had also wanted. I had been wanting to begin a game night here this winter and think I'll get some takers, now I have yet another cool game. My supervisor bought Cranium, so we can play that, and I bought CSI earlier this year...now we have the 90's Trivial Pursuit...way cool.

Other prizes at the game were beer mugs, barbecue tools, a sushi making kit with a salmon, a 3 in 1 glass game set (chess, backgammon, checkers), a bottle of some fancy brand of Irish Cream, and some gift kits and so on.

I supervised a visit today with a toddler, older sibling and mom. Yeah, it did a number on any maternal urges I had been having again (to have more children). Yup, I made the right decision. I do not want more children. I am too old for this shit. I was just as happy to drop those little tykes off again after the visit. Nice kids, I just don't like the noise as much anymore....arrrrrrggghhhhh and it was mostly the toys that made the noise.

Then I landed at my supervisor's house where she has two American Eskimo dogs who barked so much I thought my eardrums were bleeding. so very sharp. They finally settled down during the last hour or so, but again, took care of any urges I had to get a dog...

I finally had to leave when I realized supper was about to be processed in the old tummy, and who knew which way the wind would blow...and I was sitting on leather. can't even sneak one out on that stuff. So realized it was time to head home and now am cozied up with the kitties, and still trying to stoke the damn fire again...

Merry Christmas Everyone

This is the sunrise this morning at about 11:25am(this is what I see out my living room windows). I'll get just a few hours and then it will be gone again. The skies are blue with a few clouds and the temperature is about -4C which is real nice. The plan for today is to do some laundry, and keep that damn woodstove going (it is burning now) to dry the clothes. I may scoot over to my neighbors/landlady and put some in the dryer later tonight and jump in the jacuzzi for a dip while they dry, taking along a good book to read while soaking in the warm bubbles of the jets. She offered both to me for looking after her house and what a greater time to do it than tonight.

I usually have a few traditions on Christmas Eve, although this year it will be different without Amber here as they usually involve her. We always read The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson, Amber opens a gift from her grandmother (it is usually an ornament for the tree) and then after Amber heads to bed, I fill the stockings. Sometimes we haul out old pictures and look at them, I have a few Christmas scrapbooks too. My favorite is to find a good Christmas movie and watch it with Amber as well. I have a few Little House on the Prairie Christmas episodes too that always bring tears to your eyes with the dripping sappiness of it all.

Oh, and there will probably be alcohol involved tonight...

The Hovel

Well, I finally have my own office up here. I've been in for a few weeks, but just got around to gettting a pic earlier this week. I still have to get a bookcase and stick at the back for my books in the box on the floor, but otherwise am set up. I want to get a floor lamp as well to take away the darkness. I have a window in my office, but it isn't an outdoor one, however it looks through the office across the hallway and I can see the mountains and sunsets just fine! We can also see that little bastard, the parking guy who hands out tickets. I haven't gotten one yet, but everyone else has at some point. We don't have local parking here (not free anyhow) so I often park my car at the end of the street where it isn't timed. It is a few minutes more to walk, but who cares at $25 a pop...

On the right hand side wall, you can't really see them, are my maps. Anyone who knows me knows about my maps. I have one of Canada and one of the world, with pushpins marking on the world map where I have lived and where I have travelled. One of my co-workers thinks we should get color coding and add everyone in my unit who wants to be on there as many of us are well travelled.

Strangely enough, I have the smallest office in the suite, but many people from the "other side" come and and tell me I have the coolest office. Not sure what that's about, but I'll take it!

I spend more time in the office than I am used to, so that's different. It is only because we don't have to drive very far to see clients, where in Cape Breton I was often on the road for hours on end. So I intend on making it as homey and cosy as I can. I have only begun stocking up the food drawer for lunches and snacking...

Fire In The Hole

I wish. The starting of the fire has become a nemisis for me. I am not a complete idiot, I can start a fire, usually quite easily. After all, I didn't get those girl guide badges for nothin', let me tell you...for some reason the fire in my woodstove is out to piss me off. I often spend the better part of 3 hours trying to get the damn fire to burn well. It often goes out after looking like it was roaring. I think it might have something to do with the wood being cold...maybe I need to bring it in the night before or something. All I know is I have stuffed more of that packing paper and cardboard (MATCO still SUCKS) that I care to count. Flares up nice, seems to draw well enough and then poof...out again. It's a good thing it isn't that cold, and hovering between -10 to -15 at the coldest lately.

Now, I am not constantly AT it for 3 hours, but in the course of those three hours, I have likely tried to start the fire about 3-4 times per hour...

I will get it downpat yet. I have a whole cord of wood to burn...

Winter Solstice

Alright, this is our longest night. I went to a Solstice concert tonight called Longest Night which was a little different. The music was a fairly odd assortment of instrumentation...banjo, cello, french horn, trumpet, electric guitar, piano, and more. Not your usual mix, but it sounded pretty good. The french band that played was quite good, and had a great beat.

So it's the longest night. Thank GAWD that is soon over. It only goes up from here, and by March it will be just wonderful.

The gals I went to the concert tonight with, well one of them has celebrated Solstice for years, and often with a groovy ritual - write down all the negative things in your life and things you wish to cleanse yourself of on a piece of paper and then burn it. Now, don't burn down your house while you're at it...so I thought that would be a good idea...I just don't want to get writer's cramp....

sure is dark in here...wish the aurora borealis would come out and play...

Got Me Some Cake

It's my birthday today. I received 7 birthday wishes from friends via e-mail(thanks K, A, A, M, E, G, and S) and two voicemail messages(thanks K and K) by the time I got home from work today. And no one at my new office remembered it. I wasn't going to say anything, and then when I was leaving, I just dropped a comment about birthday email messages and the light came on - they remembered. I felt bad then, I didn't want them to feel bad about forgetting, but then T. said he was impressed...no one on the intake team had ever been able to get through the day without someone finding out it was their birthday. Then they got mad because I didn't tell them and they would have given me the birthday hat to wear (it is pink satin with white fun fur on it...) OH really? So I just told them not to worry, and chuckled at the thought of having slipped it by them all day. T. is quite competetive too, which is funny, and he doesn't like to be outwitted but will admire someone who does, heh heh. It's funny when someone's personality comes out right off. I'm still trying to figure out some of the others, though all are very pleasant and fun to work with.

So I stopped off at Superstore and bought some cake. I wanted to get just a slice, but there wasn't a bakery counter, just bakery products on shelves, and the smallest portions were two slices, but only in a cheesecake I wasn't too fussy on (no chocolate!) so I HAD to buy 4 pieces of Turtle cheesecake. I am waiting for a little bit and then the cake is getting it!

I got a parcel from my daughter today! She had told me the post office told her it wouldn't get here until Thursday as she forgot to mail it until Friday, and that while Thursday was in time for Christmas, she had also stuck my birthday card in there because she forgot to mail it on time. But it came today! Funny card...I'll tattoo ya... It was the only card I got on my birthday. Thanks kiddo.

I am in my fortieth year now...I sure hope it is spectacular!

Northern Fog

Well, had hoped to see the northern lights at some point, but it is not to be just yet. Today we have a thick coating of FOG. You can hardly see the cars coming in the fog. I have a friend who is someone uncomfortable with fog...right A.? She saw the original movie, The Fog and it scared her something awful...tales of the paperboy not getting paid for weeks because she would not open the door when foggy. She lived in outport Newfoundland so it was foggy often...

It is chilly here though, so I was surprised to even see fog, but I guess it can happen anywhere. There is a sign on the Klondike Highway that headlights are to be on 24 hours a day, regardless of weather conditions. With many new cars, they're on anyhow, but there is the odd person who forgets and they are hard to see on the highway at times.

Dragged my sorry ass out of bed again this morning. I went to bed early too, and still had trouble getting moving in the mornings. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I wish we had a bed here for naps...apparently there is an Intake Suite - complete with bed, computer, desk, bathroom. It's for workers from out of town who want to take on a few on-call shifts. The farthest one lives is only about 45 minutes and I would just stay at home, and if I got called, get there when I get there. The guy making up the schedule for on-call even questioned me as to whether I could make it in in 20 minutes. So I asked him, since when did any on-call page require a 20 minute response??? The standards say one hour, same day, two days, and 10 days. So don't even think of leaving me off the on-call schedule mister. I am about 5 minutes from the town limits, and 20 minutes into town. So then he asked, well, but what about in the winter weather. Um, what winter weather? I am still waiting for it. No snow and hardly cold at all. Compared to Cape Breton, this is a piece of cake. People seem to think they live in such a harsh environment here, whatever! To me, shovelling for 2 hours to get to work is harsh. Extreme cold is not harsh. I don't have to shovel it. I just have to wrap up and carry a flashlight.

Reflections of the Yukon

Driving home last night as usual, much of the drive is well lit with street lamps, then it all cuts off and one is in the darkness. Usually not a problem, but as soon as I drove into darkness, I couldn't see a damn thing! I flicked on my high beams and again, just a dim glow so I thought maybe my headlights were out, but then DING! The lightbulb went on. It has been very mild here and because they use dirt and sand on the roads as opposed to salt, the spray from the roads is very muddy instead of the usual cloudy salted spray. I pulled over, and checked my headlights...covered in mud. So got the baby wipes and old McDonald's napkins out of my car and cleaned them off...lo and behold, I could see the road again! Something to remember...

There seems to be a major cop out here. Whenever something is a little different than expected, such as prices, bylaws, rules, or general way of doing things, people simply shrug and say "welcome to the Yukon" or "it's the Yukon" etc. which to me seems to be a major cop out for behaviour. I can understand higher prices, sure, after all it is much farther north than the rest of Canada, however not as far north as many other northern communities. Another example...our building's parking lot. There is a mix of staff spots, Yukon Government vehicle spots, and paid parking spots. And it is just a regular parking lot, with no real signage as to direction of traffic or anthing like that. I got told yesterday that I was driving the wrong way out of the parking lot. WTF? There are no signs and what I was told to do goes against anything I have learned about parking, formally or through experience. I generally back the YTG vehicle out and to the right so I can see where I am going. I was told this is wrong and that the parking lot is designed for me to circle counter clockwise in the opposite direction. WTF? You want me to back out into my blind side so I can't see any cars coming, and if anyone is coming in that direction, they might not see around the SUVs and trucks everyone seems to own up here and smash into me. So I mentioned this and how should people know because there isn't any signage...guess what she said - well, that's the Yukon for you, and people are just told how to do things. WHATEVER!

Jaywalking - rampant here in Whitehorse. People seem to assume that you are paying attention to your driving and not talking on your cellphone, putting on makeup, eating your lunch, gawking at something else, rooting in your purse for lip gloss or change for the drive-through...heh heh. I generally see them, but I can't believe more people aren't clipped as they simply start walking across, without looking to see if anything is coming, it's unreal. In Ontario they would be eating pavement by now as no one seems to pay attention there and feel it is their right to mow down jaywalkers. Got bumped myself and so did my daughter and we were on cross walks.

The temperature is very mild here...who said the Yukon was cold anyhow? I know, I know...give it time and it will be cold soon enough.

Ok, the sun has finally risen above the horizon and mountains so I have to go soak up my few short hours of sunlight!!!

The Dark of Winter

I go to work in the dark, I come home in the dark. Even mid-day is not all that bright. The sun doesn't rise above the horizon until about 10:03am and it is gone again at 3:46pm, leaving us with less than 6 hours of daylight. That is a lot of dark. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Getting up in the morning is very difficult, and I drag all morning, trying to wake up. Today at lunchtime I was so groggy that I laid my head down on my desk and napped through lunch, something I haven't done since I was in university. And the days are going to continue to get shorter until next week. Then they slowly begin to get longer again until in June we have daylight nearly 24 hours I am told. I have only ever been here in May, and even then it was light most all night, it never really got dark.

I look forward to the weekends most, as I get to be home during daylight! I try to get out during the day if I can, just to be out in daylight. My office doesn't have a window, and I don't like the overhead lights on, so work by lamplight all day, and so rarely see sunlight while at work unless I go out.

I have a the three days off between Christmas and New Years so hope to get out walking a bit and explore my new neighborhood and enjoy the sunshine...just hope it's not completely frigid the entire holiday season!

ok, off to put another log on the fire. I must say, I do enjoy cosy nights with a woods stove roaring nearby to take the chill off.

Yukon Under The Stars

I went for a walk tonight under the moonlit sky of this frosty night. The snow crunched underfoot as the temperature dropped to about -10C. The nearly full moon made the snow glow brilliantly in the dark. It was breathtaking. The forest was tall, the air was still, and the only sound I can hear is the wheezing of my asthmatic breath...

I think I need to get out more. And this is definitely the environment for it. The mountains surround me, the forests are thick and stately, albeit scrawnily built, and wilderness abounds. I see tracks of coyotes, rabbits, and birds. Oddly enough, not a squirrel in sight. In fact, I haven't seen ANY roadkill up here. Perhaps they are all hibernating, or maybe hiding in the woods to scare me on my next walk.

No need to wait until spring to enjoy the great outdoors. I think I shall treat myself to a ski rental over Christmas and check out some of the local trails. Then perhaps I will hear more than my asthmatic wheeze...

Wood for the Winter

Ordered up some wood yesterday and my friends from work have graciously offered to pack it with me this evening at the housewarming party. I ordered just a cord, that's all I could afford at $170!!! However, I can always order more if getting low, after Christmas when financial situation is better. They are to call today and let me know what time this afternoon they shall arrive. I'm hoping to pack a great deal of it on the back step so I won't have to go far to get it, and cover it with a tarp. Then pack the rest just in the trees next to the house. Honestly, I have no idea how much wood is in a cord, as in what it will look like. Sure, we burned wood when I was married, but it was what we cut ourselves and either dragged behind the snowmobile home, or left on the brook and picked up in the spring, carrying it home in the head of the boat.

So now I have to get my little house ready for the party tonight...needs to sparkle! And those damn boxes are STILL out there. STUPID MATCO MOVERS!!! I called them 4 times to come and get them, what losers! MATCO sucks. Now I have about 45 boxes littering my doorstep. I can't even flatten them because they are all stuffed with packing paper. Thanks guys. I moved in two weeks ago and you can't find time to pick up my boxes.

There shall be children here tonight as well, which will be interesting. I've only met one of the children of my co-workers, so nice to meet some more. I hope they're not bored, but there will be a few of them, so hopefully they will keep each other company. They're young and I do have some toys and games to keep them busy too. If it wasn't so dark out at night, they could play out in the woods, as I know that would be fun...however, it's pitch black by then and I don't know what's out there in the woods with regard to holes, ravines, etc!

Nearly Shit My Pants, THREE TIMES!

Well, driving home from work today, I looked in the rearview mirror to see flashing cop lights, and realized I was speeding. SHIT. (almost) Turns out he was only flying by me on his way to some other emergency. I was only about 9-11 kms over the limit anyhow and would have thought he was a jerk for stopping me. So I pull off to the side and let him pass. Phew, dodged that one. And maybe I should slow down a little too.

Of course, I learned absolutely nothing from the first episode and before I knew it, another cop car was behind me, lights flashing. SHIT. (almost) Turns out he was also flying by me. I looked down and I was also speeding yet again. So I pulled over, and let him whip by me.

So then I obviously didn't learn a damn thing and before I knew it, was going faster again and a car ahead slowed down to make a left turn off the highway. I saw him in plenty of time so hit the brakes...SLIPPPYY SLIDDDY SLIPPPY OH MY FUCK I AM GONNA HIT THAT CAR!!! Crappy. Turns out the roads are slippery tonight. And last night they were sanding in force. No sign of anyone tonight. Thankfully my ass is not connected to my brain and my brain remembered to lift my foot off the brake and pump it, while gearing down. SKID to the left, SKID to the right and then SKID to the left again before straightening out. SHIT! Phew, managed to stop in time and not only was the car in front of me stopping to turn, there was another coming in the opposite direction, surely watching me skid along the highway.

So, the morals of the story are, slow the hell down, double up on the underwear and get that bald tire of mine replaced this week.

She's Warming Up!

Well, the temperature is nearing zero, which is great. We have had a frosty spell, but not nearly as cold as Old Crow, the northernmost town in the Yukon - they saw -54C this week...YIKES! And their fuel prices are astronomical. They pay upwards of $3.00/litre for gas...yeah, glad I didn't move THERE. I threw a small hissy fit at Tim Hortons Yesterday when they charged me $2.55 for a medium cappachino and a biscuit...in the REST OF CANADA it's only $1.85. Her lame excuse was that it costs more to ship things in and I'm thinking, for crying out loud, Tim Hortons has millions hooked on their coffee, so I am sure they are making a fortune, you would think they could offer a break in the north. So they don't make a fortune here...would it kill them? So I emailed them. Who knows if anyone will bother to respond. I'm not going to hold my breath on that one.

so my point is, while it can be very chilly here, it costs more to heat up with your Tim Hortons. Dammit.

Impressions of the North

Ok, so I have been here a grand total of 18 days and for some strange reason, I feel like I have been here for much longer. Other than some minor inconveniences, things have been going rather smoothly and I think I like this northern climate.

We have hardly any snow, just a mere dusting on the ground. Certainly have not needed to shovel anything. The temperature has been frosty for sure, once it dropped, it stayed down. Today isn't too bad, only -17C which is about -1F. I have the woodstove blazing, which does a fine job of taking the chill off the room. I have to get a load of wood this week on payday, and am hoping to get wood that is either small or split.

People seem to drive fairly slow around here. Not sure what that's about. Most people drive either 15-20 below the speed limit, or just barely there. Except for the asshole in a truck that was in front of me last night. We were driving along well enough, at about 100km/hr when he just stopped all of a sudden, middle of nowhere, and stopped. Then pulled slightly off the road. No signal, not sure what that was about either. So I made an attempt to drive by him and he moved a bit...ok, now what...so I then gave it the gas and drove by him. Well he then pulled out right behind me and proceeded to tailgate me, lights blaring in my mirrors. WTF? It was beginning to look like trouble, when he then turned off into another road and was gone. Freak.

You have to pay for shopping bags at the Superstore...that's a first for me. And when I dared to mention it to the prepubescent checkout girl, she looked shocked that I questioned it. AND you have to pay for your shopping cart. They have them rigged with locks that you put a one dollar coin in to release it and you get it back when you return the cart. What a crock. They also don't bag your groceries for you. So I am left to wonder, what's so freaking super about Superstore?

There are just as many gas stations here as there are pubs in Ireland. I think I pass about 14 on my drive home...I think it is forewarning that once you hit the Dempster, Alaska, or Klondike highways, you are shit out of luck. The gas station I have been hitting is just 4kms from my home, which is great, AND the price is always cheaper than town, also GREAT! It looks like a log cabin...see below.

There are only 2 Tim Horton's, and only one of them is drive-thru. I know M. told me I wouldn't go back to Tim's once I discovered the many coffee shops...well, I don't drink coffee, just cappichino, and when I tried one at the Chocolate Claim, it was that strong and bitter that I couldn't manage to choke it down, so sorry M., I will be frequenting the one drive thru Timmy's!

Everyone seems to have a dog, and not always small lap dogs either...wolf-husky cross most of the time and freaking HUGE. So far they have been friendly enough to me, sniffing the cat smell on me no doubt. I went to a home the other day and had two HUGE wolf dogs sniffing me up. I'm quite sure they could rip my throat out in one shot.

Everyone has at least one crack in their windshield. I fit right in, for I have two.

Hardly anyone talks about the weather. I guess there isn't much to say. It's cold. Really cold. That's about it. I haven't seen any storms, wind, or anything different. It rained my first week and a half here, then the temperature dropped and stayed there. Fine with me, I heard too much about the weather back east as it was. However, having said that, I was heading out to a foster home the other day, a mere 30 kms out of town, and in town there were a few flurries and overcast skies, but just out of town, it was blue skies. And all roads both in and out of town were clear and dry. I called to get more specific directions about the home from the receptionist and she told me that generally it was about a 20-25 minute drive to the foster home but today it might be more like 45. Huh? WTF? The roads are bare and there is no sign of storm...I made it in less than 20 minutes. Sheesh, come on people, let's not panic about a few flakes...

I have to arrange water delivery. My water supply is in a huge holding tank and when it gets to less than 1/4 full, I think I'll give them a call. How very strange and remenicient of Caye Caulker in Belize. The only difference being that the water in the holding tanks in Caye Caulker was stale and stunk, having been rainwater stored since the rains hit the year before. The water I have delivered is very pure and stinks. I think they chlorinate it. I tried to drink it and nearly threw up.

So, there you go, my week three impressions of the north...stay tuned.

Fishing in the Bathroom

Here is a pic of the bathroom border, hand stenciled. Cute huh?

Little House in the Big Woods, Furnished!

At long last, I have unpacked the last box, cleaned up the piles of crap and located some batteries (at the store because I couldn't find the damn things anywhere. The fire is blazing and darkness is falling this Friday night. What a great night to snuggle in front of the fire with some good television or a movie.

How Much Is That Sundog In the Window, arf arf

Well, saw my first sun dog today! It was pretty cool. I hadn't seen one before, and it was pretty cool. It looked like partial rainbows on either side of the sun, but more like a colorful halo. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so the photo montage to the left is taken from the web. The one I saw today had rainbow like arcs from the horizon to about half way up the side of the sun, and then the halo look the remainder of the way.