I've been doing a piss-poor job of keeping this blog updated, and I have no excuses really. I've been out exploring and fishing and have taken a ton of photos to share with you all.
I recently started a new cardio program called TurboFire, it's pretty intense and it's knocking me on my keester, but I need to beat this low energy phase that has got me in a choke hold the past few months.
So hopefully I will get back on here and post some photos and update you on our whereabouts and shenanigans soon enough. But the weather is nice and the days are long, so don't hold it against me if it takes me another month to keep you in the loop:)
Bye for now,
A
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Day 112 - summer has arrived
Partly cloudy, high of +7, light winds. My day off. Wishing I could teleport to parc lafontaine for the afternoon with a 6 pack of PBR, bag full of snacks, a book, a blanket, maybe even some good company.
Although the weather is what I expected it to be, I am craving a a sunny, sticky 30 degree day, stuck under a tree, or rolling around in grass, or even poolside. Oh to dream.
I shall spend tomorrow sleeping in with the cat, cleaning the house, possibly some baking, (while rocking out to austra) and a mid afternoon stroll. I've started a book on real estate investing - I may just reserve that for bedtime reading.
that's about it, just checking in with the few who follow (I know I've been slacking - sorry). I'm making a concious effort to post more often, even if its not so "Pond" related. This gives you more time to check out that austra video I linked to :)
~A
Although the weather is what I expected it to be, I am craving a a sunny, sticky 30 degree day, stuck under a tree, or rolling around in grass, or even poolside. Oh to dream.
I shall spend tomorrow sleeping in with the cat, cleaning the house, possibly some baking, (while rocking out to austra) and a mid afternoon stroll. I've started a book on real estate investing - I may just reserve that for bedtime reading.
that's about it, just checking in with the few who follow (I know I've been slacking - sorry). I'm making a concious effort to post more often, even if its not so "Pond" related. This gives you more time to check out that austra video I linked to :)
~A
Thursday, May 19, 2011
could you go to the store and get me an ice cream sandwich preeze?
like one of those oreo cookie ones, or the resees pb cup variety - oh my.
The Arctic Girl's Shopping Sanctuary
As much as I like to keep my spending dollars local, the selection can be scarce, and getting mail is like Christmas. If I could order kitty litter online and avoid the co-op (basically $40 for gravel in bag) I would. Thank goodness for sealift.
Now Canada Post is completely locked out, holding 3 of my packages hostage; and several of my co-workers paychecks, I shall digress now before I get myself into trouble. In lieu of making my daily trip to check in on the post mistress, I've created a handy, make shift shopping guide for you to enjoy. I'll try to keep it updated as I try new stores along the way, but as you can tell my blog has been getting the shaft lately (not my fault, I'm reading a riveting book on real estate investing). so here we go:
Well.ca - awesome
These guys get alot of my money. I've placed 13 orders with them in the 14 or so weeks we have been here. The selection is pretty decent and expedited shipping is free! This is a huge deal. I get most orders within 5-7 business days (when Canada post is not in strike mode). You get hand written thank you's and smiley faces with your invoice ,and the customer service is always great (says a lot coming from the queen of CS).
Amazon.ca - thumbs way up
I've placed one order with Amazon when we first arrived to Pond. It was for 4 books, and it was placed on a weekend. Amazon had my order out the door on a Sunday and it arrived on Thursday. Free shipping if you $25 or more order from amazon - other suppliers count but the shipping is reasonable.
I placed another order on Amazon but from an independent seller - that one took a bit longer but the price was reasonable (about 6 bucks)
Sears.ca - thumbs down
5 week delivery, poor poor customer service (after several calls, speaking with several people, the manager I spoke with talked over me, raised his voice when I had objections and then hung up on me). unaceptable. I did hear from someone on the executive team so if you have issues with there CS - I have the hook up. He gave me a partial refund, but the experience was too rotten, I won't be ordering from them again.
Horseloverz.com - thumbs up
Don't let the name fool you, Horseloverz.com also sells items for cats, dogs, birds, ferrets and fish. I stumbled upon these guys on ebay while shopping for kitty supplies. The shipping is based by how much your order cost, shipping starts $16 for fedex (who uses first air from dorval, not canada post for deliveries)
They recently had free shipping on orders over $150, so I gave them another try. You won't find this from petonly.ca who wanted to charge me an additional 90 to ship a litterbox and cat fountain (from ontario). Horseloverz only charged me 25 (from Pennsylvania). Customer service was great to work with, they went out of their way to make sure my order got here, even though they did not have a physical address to give to fed ex. It arrived within 2 weeks. Some cons are an order processing fee and they do charge duty up front rather than leaving it up to customs.
Gap - Thumbs Up
You can also shop at sister sites Old Navy and Banana Republic with one check out and free shipping on a $50 order. Returns are free as well! My order came in less than 2 weeks, the invoice came with a prepaid return label. I just packed up the clothes that I wasn't smitten with & within 2 weeks I had a refund.
drugstore.com decent!
I took advantage of a flat rate shipping promo of $12.99. I was able to get a few items that are hard to find on Canadian sites and are unavailable in the north like Buf-Puf Body Sponges, Dryel and StayPut Elastics. DHL ships to Ottawa and passes the package on to Canadian North.
sephora.com -
Free shipping over $120, items ship through the borderfree service from the US. Tracking is available and the customer service has always been good. My order arrived in less than 10 days. If your reading this from the north or plan on moving here, you have to check this out. PLUS they always give you a choice of at least 3 free samples (guys and girls) and there are tones of promos and codes for extra goodies!
Tiger Direct.ca - meah
M placed and order and had a hard time with getting info from customer service, the order kept getting held for "address verification discrepancies". I think it took a week to get the order out the door but it got here.
Futureshop.ca
Ordered a PSP for M and it got here in about a week - free shipping too!
There are a few other sites I have read or heard about that I will add below, but am not sure how dated the info is so if you have any input please leave a comment :)
Now Canada Post is completely locked out, holding 3 of my packages hostage; and several of my co-workers paychecks, I shall digress now before I get myself into trouble. In lieu of making my daily trip to check in on the post mistress, I've created a handy, make shift shopping guide for you to enjoy. I'll try to keep it updated as I try new stores along the way, but as you can tell my blog has been getting the shaft lately (not my fault, I'm reading a riveting book on real estate investing). so here we go:
Well.ca - awesome
These guys get alot of my money. I've placed 13 orders with them in the 14 or so weeks we have been here. The selection is pretty decent and expedited shipping is free! This is a huge deal. I get most orders within 5-7 business days (when Canada post is not in strike mode). You get hand written thank you's and smiley faces with your invoice ,and the customer service is always great (says a lot coming from the queen of CS).
Amazon.ca - thumbs way up
I've placed one order with Amazon when we first arrived to Pond. It was for 4 books, and it was placed on a weekend. Amazon had my order out the door on a Sunday and it arrived on Thursday. Free shipping if you $25 or more order from amazon - other suppliers count but the shipping is reasonable.
I placed another order on Amazon but from an independent seller - that one took a bit longer but the price was reasonable (about 6 bucks)
Sears.ca - thumbs down
5 week delivery, poor poor customer service (after several calls, speaking with several people, the manager I spoke with talked over me, raised his voice when I had objections and then hung up on me). unaceptable. I did hear from someone on the executive team so if you have issues with there CS - I have the hook up. He gave me a partial refund, but the experience was too rotten, I won't be ordering from them again.
Horseloverz.com - thumbs up
Don't let the name fool you, Horseloverz.com also sells items for cats, dogs, birds, ferrets and fish. I stumbled upon these guys on ebay while shopping for kitty supplies. The shipping is based by how much your order cost, shipping starts $16 for fedex (who uses first air from dorval, not canada post for deliveries)
They recently had free shipping on orders over $150, so I gave them another try. You won't find this from petonly.ca who wanted to charge me an additional 90 to ship a litterbox and cat fountain (from ontario). Horseloverz only charged me 25 (from Pennsylvania). Customer service was great to work with, they went out of their way to make sure my order got here, even though they did not have a physical address to give to fed ex. It arrived within 2 weeks. Some cons are an order processing fee and they do charge duty up front rather than leaving it up to customs.
Gap - Thumbs Up
You can also shop at sister sites Old Navy and Banana Republic with one check out and free shipping on a $50 order. Returns are free as well! My order came in less than 2 weeks, the invoice came with a prepaid return label. I just packed up the clothes that I wasn't smitten with & within 2 weeks I had a refund.
drugstore.com decent!
I took advantage of a flat rate shipping promo of $12.99. I was able to get a few items that are hard to find on Canadian sites and are unavailable in the north like Buf-Puf Body Sponges, Dryel and StayPut Elastics. DHL ships to Ottawa and passes the package on to Canadian North.
sephora.com -
Free shipping over $120, items ship through the borderfree service from the US. Tracking is available and the customer service has always been good. My order arrived in less than 10 days. If your reading this from the north or plan on moving here, you have to check this out. PLUS they always give you a choice of at least 3 free samples (guys and girls) and there are tones of promos and codes for extra goodies!
Tiger Direct.ca - meah
M placed and order and had a hard time with getting info from customer service, the order kept getting held for "address verification discrepancies". I think it took a week to get the order out the door but it got here.
Futureshop.ca
Ordered a PSP for M and it got here in about a week - free shipping too!
There are a few other sites I have read or heard about that I will add below, but am not sure how dated the info is so if you have any input please leave a comment :)
costco.ca
londondrugs.com
thebodyshop.ca
yvesrocher.ca
lush.ca
bathandbodyworks.com
victoriassecret.com
lasenza.ca
Friday, April 29, 2011
about Pond
Now that we are getting settled, it's time to tell you a little about our pretty little hamlet:
The Inuktitut name for Pond Inlet is Mittimatalik - translating to the place where Mitima is buried.
The community is designated as a Hamlet - the largest of 4 in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut on Baffin Island, just above the 72nd parallel, (Santa stops by for tea sometimes)
As of the 2006 census the population was over 1,300, I would guess it is closer to 1,500 now.
There are 2 main stores, Northern and Co-Op, a small convenience store, 2 hotels, an elementary and a junior/senior high school, some government offices.
It's very pretty, and the community is very welcoming. You can admire the mountains and late nite sunsets, and watch the planes land and take off. You can see dog teams playing and waiting for their supper, and huge ice burgs stuck in the frozen ocean. You can even take a Skidoo ride to the flow edge or visit the ice caves.
If your lucky you may see some of the local wildlife: Caribou, Ringed Seal, Narwhals or Polar Bears.
The ravens are enormous and eye the cat through the window as a snack regularly.
The main mode of transportation is skidoo or Honda's (ATV's). The only way in or out is by plane. Most of our general merchandise and food is flown in from Montreal, about 3 times a week.
The Inuktitut name for Pond Inlet is Mittimatalik - translating to the place where Mitima is buried.
The community is designated as a Hamlet - the largest of 4 in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut on Baffin Island, just above the 72nd parallel, (Santa stops by for tea sometimes)
As of the 2006 census the population was over 1,300, I would guess it is closer to 1,500 now.
There are 2 main stores, Northern and Co-Op, a small convenience store, 2 hotels, an elementary and a junior/senior high school, some government offices.
It's very pretty, and the community is very welcoming. You can admire the mountains and late nite sunsets, and watch the planes land and take off. You can see dog teams playing and waiting for their supper, and huge ice burgs stuck in the frozen ocean. You can even take a Skidoo ride to the flow edge or visit the ice caves.
If your lucky you may see some of the local wildlife: Caribou, Ringed Seal, Narwhals or Polar Bears.
The ravens are enormous and eye the cat through the window as a snack regularly.
The main mode of transportation is skidoo or Honda's (ATV's). The only way in or out is by plane. Most of our general merchandise and food is flown in from Montreal, about 3 times a week.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Day 45 - patiently waiting
For spring weather, none to be found in Pond yet. It's a sunny, calm -28, and surprisingly quite tolerable. One gust of wind and I would be eating those words. I don't expect to see anything above 0 until June. By then I should be able to bust out the fishing rod (and maybe a tan??).
Life has been calm and uneventful these past weeks, and even though we are only 6 weeks in to life in the north, I am hoping to have more to offer for people looking to relocate to the north. It took me so long to even begin to find any info on what it would be like to live in the arctic, and blogs were the only means to find decent information. I spent months reading and following and making lists, with out them I would have been ill prepared.
I guess we really haven't come across much excitement as of yet. I eagerly await mail, most recently a pilates mat and some dvd's, phone calls from home, or taking a walk (usually ended by loss of feeling in one or more appendages). In our short time here I am starting to appreciate the slower pace of life more & more, what it has done for my health and my sanity :) My daily frustrations are at a minimum and 'waiting' for stuff is common place. working a 12 hour day sitting behind a desk was exhausting, and although the days can be tiring, I have never been so free of stress and anxiety in as long as I can remember. It's refreshing. speaking of ... Tuesday provided mild excitement and stress relief, office space styles:
Someone returned a defective tv. There was a dent in the box so we figure the screen was damaged in shipping. We plugged it in and no go, so we had to write the sucker off. The manager said we would need to destroy it and take it to the dump so people wouldn't try to take it home. We gladly obliged and pounded the piss out of it. I wish I could do that more often.
The rest of my evening consists of housewifery, supper, laundry, and a long hot soak. The life.
Til next time,
A
Life has been calm and uneventful these past weeks, and even though we are only 6 weeks in to life in the north, I am hoping to have more to offer for people looking to relocate to the north. It took me so long to even begin to find any info on what it would be like to live in the arctic, and blogs were the only means to find decent information. I spent months reading and following and making lists, with out them I would have been ill prepared.
I guess we really haven't come across much excitement as of yet. I eagerly await mail, most recently a pilates mat and some dvd's, phone calls from home, or taking a walk (usually ended by loss of feeling in one or more appendages). In our short time here I am starting to appreciate the slower pace of life more & more, what it has done for my health and my sanity :) My daily frustrations are at a minimum and 'waiting' for stuff is common place. working a 12 hour day sitting behind a desk was exhausting, and although the days can be tiring, I have never been so free of stress and anxiety in as long as I can remember. It's refreshing. speaking of ... Tuesday provided mild excitement and stress relief, office space styles:
 |
| welcome to the Pond dump |
 |
| Matt did the most damage |
 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| but we were not leaving until I had a few goes at it. |
Someone returned a defective tv. There was a dent in the box so we figure the screen was damaged in shipping. We plugged it in and no go, so we had to write the sucker off. The manager said we would need to destroy it and take it to the dump so people wouldn't try to take it home. We gladly obliged and pounded the piss out of it. I wish I could do that more often.
The rest of my evening consists of housewifery, supper, laundry, and a long hot soak. The life.
Til next time,
A
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Whats new pussycat?
I told myself that I wouldn't get behind on blogging, but its not my fault I swear :P
After passing our cap last month we were booted to dial up. This is when A goes on internet hiatus.
This may or may not have trickled over to the last 13 days or so, 4-6 of which our little hamlet has had intermittent internet access because they decided to move the dish without warning - I don't even want to get into the bad timing and havoc, maybe in another post
The Nutrition North Canada program launched on April 1st (replacing the food mail program). There has been some mixed feelings to say the least or the actual savings vs the food mail program. I haven't been hear long enough to see the rise and fall of prices since the program was first announced last spring but, I'm not sure that the commentors are taking into consideration the mother of 4 on assistance who doesn't have the luxury of extra food in the cupboard to wait around for food mail or extra cash to stock up on sea lift. You also have to factor not only the cost of flying all of your groceries into your community, but the cost of staff and shrinkage from damaged goods, bad produce and theft. And please don't complain that bacon and ice cream did not get cheaper, these do not fall under the category of nutritious. I digress.
Lots of new faces in the store as a few people left. Head office decided create an 'office supervisor' position, it would be nice to see someone from Pond get the job. I did mention the position to one of our office staff as I thought she would be a good fit. She spoke with our manager and Winnipeg is making the final call, so she will need to dust off her resume. My fingers are crossed for her.
M finally found a hairdresser - thank goodness because his split ends could poke your eye out.
We both found some pretty sweet bikes, I was expecting to open a box of something archaic looking for $300, but I jumped on an took a little ride around the warehouse and fell in love. Sadly, it's been a long while since I have found excitement in a new purchase. And with all the online ordering I've been doing rarely does the opportunity arise. I can't wait to take that baby out for a spin though the hills of pond, camera bag in tow, snapping pictures of the sites. Fishing and camping trips, drunk nights on the patio. le sigh, hurry up summer!
An 11 year old and her friend stopped to talk to me as I was socking some baby stuff. As one of the girls showed me her new glasses with excitement, the next, buts in with just as must excitement, announcing that she was pregnant. She very clear that she was 11 years old, and she was pregnant. Now I've had people tell me that girls usually start having babies here at 14, and my gut tells me that she was just trying to get a reaction, by for a moment I thought, my god, this poor child is excited.
Your heart breaks a little. How do you respond to something like that? I responded by ignoring it and talking to the other young girl about her glasses. In the south, reactions would be quite different. When I see and hear things that shock and amaze, I always stop and remind myself that I am far, far away from home, and much farther from knowing about the culture and ways of the people here.
So that's are my catch up rambles for now. Provided the internet behaves, I'll post new photos and update you soon!
A
After passing our cap last month we were booted to dial up. This is when A goes on internet hiatus.
This may or may not have trickled over to the last 13 days or so, 4-6 of which our little hamlet has had intermittent internet access because they decided to move the dish without warning - I don't even want to get into the bad timing and havoc, maybe in another post
The Nutrition North Canada program launched on April 1st (replacing the food mail program). There has been some mixed feelings to say the least or the actual savings vs the food mail program. I haven't been hear long enough to see the rise and fall of prices since the program was first announced last spring but, I'm not sure that the commentors are taking into consideration the mother of 4 on assistance who doesn't have the luxury of extra food in the cupboard to wait around for food mail or extra cash to stock up on sea lift. You also have to factor not only the cost of flying all of your groceries into your community, but the cost of staff and shrinkage from damaged goods, bad produce and theft. And please don't complain that bacon and ice cream did not get cheaper, these do not fall under the category of nutritious. I digress.
Lots of new faces in the store as a few people left. Head office decided create an 'office supervisor' position, it would be nice to see someone from Pond get the job. I did mention the position to one of our office staff as I thought she would be a good fit. She spoke with our manager and Winnipeg is making the final call, so she will need to dust off her resume. My fingers are crossed for her.
M finally found a hairdresser - thank goodness because his split ends could poke your eye out.
We both found some pretty sweet bikes, I was expecting to open a box of something archaic looking for $300, but I jumped on an took a little ride around the warehouse and fell in love. Sadly, it's been a long while since I have found excitement in a new purchase. And with all the online ordering I've been doing rarely does the opportunity arise. I can't wait to take that baby out for a spin though the hills of pond, camera bag in tow, snapping pictures of the sites. Fishing and camping trips, drunk nights on the patio. le sigh, hurry up summer!
An 11 year old and her friend stopped to talk to me as I was socking some baby stuff. As one of the girls showed me her new glasses with excitement, the next, buts in with just as must excitement, announcing that she was pregnant. She very clear that she was 11 years old, and she was pregnant. Now I've had people tell me that girls usually start having babies here at 14, and my gut tells me that she was just trying to get a reaction, by for a moment I thought, my god, this poor child is excited.
Your heart breaks a little. How do you respond to something like that? I responded by ignoring it and talking to the other young girl about her glasses. In the south, reactions would be quite different. When I see and hear things that shock and amaze, I always stop and remind myself that I am far, far away from home, and much farther from knowing about the culture and ways of the people here.
So that's are my catch up rambles for now. Provided the internet behaves, I'll post new photos and update you soon!
A
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Day 24 - whole lotta nuthin
Nothing terribly exciting to report. Sorry.
We are just getting settled into our new home and new jobs, so we haven't had much time or means for any big adventures yet.
I've been a bit bored at work lately, stuck working in the office filling in for someone on vacation. It's mundane as hell and I hate it, but I keep reminding myself I have it made here and to suck it up. I think it's cause I've been sitting behind a desk for so long that the thought of a new job where I could move about.
Well I got the chance to move about last night. We had a cargo plane come in with ~400 pieces of freight around 9pm. There was no one left at the store, so I volunteered to help my better half and the manager grab the stuff from the plane. Well, hilarity ensued when 'a lady' hit the tarmac, one guy looked right at me and said "oh no" in the most worrisome voice. There was much laughing and warning me that boxes of KD were "heavy". Mild jerkiness from the co-op guy when he would try to make me miss a projectile box. All in all I held my own and about 90 minutes later we filled 2 vans to and headed back to unload. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the plane, and the laughing/concerned faces.
Tomorrow is my day off and I have just been booted down to dial up, so you may not see/hear from me til next week, but I thought a little follow up was due.
TTFN,
A
We are just getting settled into our new home and new jobs, so we haven't had much time or means for any big adventures yet.
I've been a bit bored at work lately, stuck working in the office filling in for someone on vacation. It's mundane as hell and I hate it, but I keep reminding myself I have it made here and to suck it up. I think it's cause I've been sitting behind a desk for so long that the thought of a new job where I could move about.
Well I got the chance to move about last night. We had a cargo plane come in with ~400 pieces of freight around 9pm. There was no one left at the store, so I volunteered to help my better half and the manager grab the stuff from the plane. Well, hilarity ensued when 'a lady' hit the tarmac, one guy looked right at me and said "oh no" in the most worrisome voice. There was much laughing and warning me that boxes of KD were "heavy". Mild jerkiness from the co-op guy when he would try to make me miss a projectile box. All in all I held my own and about 90 minutes later we filled 2 vans to and headed back to unload. I'm sorry I didn't take a picture of the plane, and the laughing/concerned faces.
Tomorrow is my day off and I have just been booted down to dial up, so you may not see/hear from me til next week, but I thought a little follow up was due.
TTFN,
A
Monday, March 21, 2011
photo time
Long awaited photo time. The camera has a hard time capturing the beauty that is the north, this was the best I could do until I figure out how to use this beast.
 |
| The flag pole we see when we walk out the door |
 |
| our house |
 |
| our house is on top of this hill |
 |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
gorging
This post has nothing to do with the north. I would like to talk a bit about gorging in hopes I will review this later, maybe even next time I decide it would be a good idea to indulge in soda, nacho chips and reese pieces eggies. I feel like a beached narwhal, and could puke rainbows.
Lets review the cost of now nauseating binge session:
1 can soda $2.25
large bag of nacho chips $9.99
large bag of reeses pieces unknown - I'm guessing $7-$9
The end
Lets review the cost of now nauseating binge session:
1 can soda $2.25
large bag of nacho chips $9.99
large bag of reeses pieces unknown - I'm guessing $7-$9
The end
Friday, March 11, 2011
Day 11 - A day off in Pond
What to do when you have a day off in an isolated hamlet
Sleep in
stay in PJ's til at least 1 eating junk food, watching star trek reruns.
Call from online petstore to tell me they need an extra $130 to cover shipping on my order I placed 5 days ago. Politely tell said company to stuff it and boasted the wonders of ebay and amazon's free shipping.
Decide its time to go outside and blow off shipping extortion steam
Go to the co-op and browse around
Make mental note of all things you can not find at Northern that Co-op has
Make another mental note that kitty litter comes in a bigger bag and is $10 cheeper
oh look, they have hazelnut non-dairy coffee whitener - another mental note
buy huge can of starbucks vanilla double shot energy+coffee ( Only 5.99!)
go to hamlet office to find out what you need to bring to get a Nunavut license
back to Northern to replenish junk foods and pick up package from amazon*
Home to drop off groceries, grab stuff for license, grab movie rental
Reorder kitty's stuff, cheaper and no shipping extortion.
Head to Ulaajuk elementary school for bake sale (I'm a sucker for cupcakes)
Back to Hamlet office to get M's license moved over to NU.
Make mental note of gun safety registration:)
Mental note to get fishing license
Share the plethora of cupcakes we bought with ladies at hamlet office
Off to health center to get NU health cards
Back to Northern to drop off movie rental
Share cupcakes with co-workers
Home to nice warm house on the hill
Looks over grocery receipt, shakes head at $20.99 kitty litter, $12.49 bag of fries, $8.65 chips.
Time for some lazing, trolling, online shopping
Cleaned out one of the 4 bedrooms, mysterious coloured doughy substance stuck to bookshelf dresser and walls. Grab mister clean and disinfect area.
Find old TV in storage - disappoint that it does not function
Set up Wii on working TV
update the world on my super stimulating day :)
There you have it, a day off in a northern hamlet above the 72nd parallel.
* free shipping on 4 books, arrived in just 5 days. Amazon is my new shopping buddy, expect your Christmas presents from them.
Sleep in
stay in PJ's til at least 1 eating junk food, watching star trek reruns.
Call from online petstore to tell me they need an extra $130 to cover shipping on my order I placed 5 days ago. Politely tell said company to stuff it and boasted the wonders of ebay and amazon's free shipping.
Decide its time to go outside and blow off shipping extortion steam
Go to the co-op and browse around
Make mental note of all things you can not find at Northern that Co-op has
Make another mental note that kitty litter comes in a bigger bag and is $10 cheeper
oh look, they have hazelnut non-dairy coffee whitener - another mental note
buy huge can of starbucks vanilla double shot energy+coffee ( Only 5.99!)
go to hamlet office to find out what you need to bring to get a Nunavut license
back to Northern to replenish junk foods and pick up package from amazon*
Home to drop off groceries, grab stuff for license, grab movie rental
Reorder kitty's stuff, cheaper and no shipping extortion.
Head to Ulaajuk elementary school for bake sale (I'm a sucker for cupcakes)
Back to Hamlet office to get M's license moved over to NU.
Make mental note of gun safety registration:)
Mental note to get fishing license
Share the plethora of cupcakes we bought with ladies at hamlet office
Off to health center to get NU health cards
Back to Northern to drop off movie rental
Share cupcakes with co-workers
Home to nice warm house on the hill
Looks over grocery receipt, shakes head at $20.99 kitty litter, $12.49 bag of fries, $8.65 chips.
Time for some lazing, trolling, online shopping
Cleaned out one of the 4 bedrooms, mysterious coloured doughy substance stuck to bookshelf dresser and walls. Grab mister clean and disinfect area.
Find old TV in storage - disappoint that it does not function
Set up Wii on working TV
update the world on my super stimulating day :)
There you have it, a day off in a northern hamlet above the 72nd parallel.
* free shipping on 4 books, arrived in just 5 days. Amazon is my new shopping buddy, expect your Christmas presents from them.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
holly wind batman!
Had the day off today, spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and wandered off after lunch
to do some grocery shopping and attempt to find pants. $250 later, no pants. After putting away the groceries I figured I would go for a stroll, it was pretty nice out, I even got to the leave my hat home. Mother nature had other plans:
Cloudy. Becoming cloudy periods this evening. Blowing snow at times early this evening. Wind northeast 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light this evening. Low minus 28. Wind chill minus 45 this evening.
to do some grocery shopping and attempt to find pants. $250 later, no pants. After putting away the groceries I figured I would go for a stroll, it was pretty nice out, I even got to the leave my hat home. Mother nature had other plans:
Cloudy. Becoming cloudy periods this evening. Blowing snow at times early this evening. Wind northeast 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light this evening. Low minus 28. Wind chill minus 45 this evening.
I'd flip her the bird but I can't see 2 feet out my window - mother nature's cloaking device is activated. (and I have been watching to many SNG reruns).
In other news I did get around to taking some shots, the camera just does not do the north justice, but I picked the best few of the bunch - I'll keep practicing I promise. Once the wind dies down and the internet can handle uploading pics, I'll add them :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Day 7 - The Northern Plauge
Just a quick post before heading off to work
Poor Matt has already been hit hard by some sort of bug that has confined him the the couch. Apparently everyone gets hit hard their first few weeks here, adjusting to the climate & new strains of germies floating through the air. Delightful. Lucky me gets to work his shift today in his absence.
-27 cloudy (35 w/wind chill) maybe some fluffy stuff.
A
Poor Matt has already been hit hard by some sort of bug that has confined him the the couch. Apparently everyone gets hit hard their first few weeks here, adjusting to the climate & new strains of germies floating through the air. Delightful. Lucky me gets to work his shift today in his absence.
-27 cloudy (35 w/wind chill) maybe some fluffy stuff.
A
Monday, March 7, 2011
turn up the heat - turn down the suck
we awoke to a very cold house this morning. I assumed we just ran out of oil, no one had been living here for a while so it probably did not need to be topped off that often. I called for oil and within 5 minutes my tank was full, alas no heat. Fiddled with the furnace, restarted a few times, still nothing.
Its been a balmy 17 in the house since about 7am. standing in front of the oven door has provided some relief until now. Bundling up and heading out to working hoping to come home to a cosy warm house tonight.
Its been a balmy 17 in the house since about 7am. standing in front of the oven door has provided some relief until now. Bundling up and heading out to working hoping to come home to a cosy warm house tonight.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Day 6
Ladies and gents,
Today's forecast calls for -24 and sun :)
We've been quite preoccupied with work, unpacking and tracking down packages with canada post ( we have a guitar that seems to have disappeared completely) so with that we haven't had the opportunity to bust out the camera yet, but I have a day off soon - pictures I promise.
We are starting to settle in to our cozy new home, the cat still loves us, and I just spent a small fortune ordering pet supplies, tofu, soy milk, advil etc, and books. Thanks to well.ca and amazon for the free shipping, the will be seeing a lot of me.
Although I can find the most outrageous sizes of coffee mate (no flavored - boo), and did stumble across a $15 tub of Ben&Jerry's, I can not locate any plain yogurt or any decent coffee. Hopefully I can order some in. I packed some beans that I picked up before leaving Montreal, but the magic bullet has vanished. I'll have to be creative and bust out the rolling pin, I will have decent coffee damnit!
These petty culinary grievances are outweighed by the beautiful picture I see out my window every morning, the friendly folk, and the pack of dogs I found under my house yesterday ( that I didn't dare start to play with for fear I would have the urge to take one in).
Off to work, pictures soon, promise!
A
Today's forecast calls for -24 and sun :)
We've been quite preoccupied with work, unpacking and tracking down packages with canada post ( we have a guitar that seems to have disappeared completely) so with that we haven't had the opportunity to bust out the camera yet, but I have a day off soon - pictures I promise.
We are starting to settle in to our cozy new home, the cat still loves us, and I just spent a small fortune ordering pet supplies, tofu, soy milk, advil etc, and books. Thanks to well.ca and amazon for the free shipping, the will be seeing a lot of me.
Although I can find the most outrageous sizes of coffee mate (no flavored - boo), and did stumble across a $15 tub of Ben&Jerry's, I can not locate any plain yogurt or any decent coffee. Hopefully I can order some in. I packed some beans that I picked up before leaving Montreal, but the magic bullet has vanished. I'll have to be creative and bust out the rolling pin, I will have decent coffee damnit!
These petty culinary grievances are outweighed by the beautiful picture I see out my window every morning, the friendly folk, and the pack of dogs I found under my house yesterday ( that I didn't dare start to play with for fear I would have the urge to take one in).
Off to work, pictures soon, promise!
A
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
we made it!
Me, him and the cat made it in one piece to Pond Inlet! With only 5 stop overs, 1 weather delay (nearly missed our connection in Iqaluit) Laavie was quiet the little lady, just calmly hanging out in her carrier, with the occasional meow for attention. She was promised lavish gifts would be ordered for her on account of outstanding behavior.
Our manager picked us up and helped us lug what luggage had arrived with us to the airport. We got a quick tour around our new 2 level 4 bedroom home, and the cat was more than happy to get out of her carrier and explore her new home. She has already picked out her new bedroom (spoiled) and started meowing at the storage room door.
Matt ran out to get a few items to tie us over for the night, then it was a long hot bath and a good nights sleep. Luckily we had today off to settle in.
When the sun started to show are the "fog" started to lift, I spent a good hour just staring out the window at the mountains and the dogs and sleds on the ice (photos soon I promise!). We took care of the internet (that put a big 'ol dent in my bank account) and picked up a few groceries and a much needed new pair of winter boots for me. I still haven't found a scarf though, so tomorrow I'll be busting out the balaclava. Our manager took us for a tour of the town and then dropped us off with our groceries and mail. The ice and the mountains are just beautiful, the air is clean, crisp and quiet but for the hum of ski-doos and the odd truck. The people have been so friendly and welcoming. The afternoon resulted in a mild cleaning spree and nap fest, interrupted by the delivery of our delayed baggage. Hoorah for warm gloves and xbox! Also my tripod so I can take some sweet shots for you very very soon.
PS, it was about -30 today, but no wind, so all in all a nice sunshiny day in le pond.
ttfn,
A
Our manager picked us up and helped us lug what luggage had arrived with us to the airport. We got a quick tour around our new 2 level 4 bedroom home, and the cat was more than happy to get out of her carrier and explore her new home. She has already picked out her new bedroom (spoiled) and started meowing at the storage room door.
Matt ran out to get a few items to tie us over for the night, then it was a long hot bath and a good nights sleep. Luckily we had today off to settle in.
When the sun started to show are the "fog" started to lift, I spent a good hour just staring out the window at the mountains and the dogs and sleds on the ice (photos soon I promise!). We took care of the internet (that put a big 'ol dent in my bank account) and picked up a few groceries and a much needed new pair of winter boots for me. I still haven't found a scarf though, so tomorrow I'll be busting out the balaclava. Our manager took us for a tour of the town and then dropped us off with our groceries and mail. The ice and the mountains are just beautiful, the air is clean, crisp and quiet but for the hum of ski-doos and the odd truck. The people have been so friendly and welcoming. The afternoon resulted in a mild cleaning spree and nap fest, interrupted by the delivery of our delayed baggage. Hoorah for warm gloves and xbox! Also my tripod so I can take some sweet shots for you very very soon.
PS, it was about -30 today, but no wind, so all in all a nice sunshiny day in le pond.
ttfn,
A
Monday, February 28, 2011
The final countdown
I must say (while knocking on wood) that the last 2 weeks have gone by relatively smooth considering all we had to accomplish leading up to this move. In just 10 hours we will have boarded our first plane and will spend the next 11 (maybe more) hours counting the moments until we land in Pond Inlet. The rest of the post will be all over the place cause I'm exhausted, my friend Nancy pants is on her way and I wanted to get one last post in to keep you up to date - who knows how long it will take to get the internet hooked up.
We managed to sell off all the big stuff, and store the rest (although there was some last minute scrambling at 9pm (thank you Rose!) with stuff that was forgot in various nooks of our 3 bedroom flat. I will miss the brick walls and hardwood floors dearly, the random craziness that is the village, and my crazy friends, but am so excited for something new and so happy so many of our friends have been supportive.
We had quite the gathering on Saturday ( thanks to everyone who could make it!) did not plan accordingly and ran out of food and booze way to earlier. A colonel sanders looking fellow somehow knocked down my mailbox and there was a piece of the railing sitting with the trash, all in all a good evening, and some friends even acting a little bitter, but all in all a good evening with some fine folks.
Sunday we had a very hungover sister and her better half help us move all our boxes to storage. I love you even though you reek of garlic, you should have been home studying you silly fool.
We shipped the rest of our boxes today with good ol canada post. We made 3 trips in vain this morning to the post office a block from us as they were having issues with software or something so we had to give a cabbie 20 bux to drive 7 boxes and a guitar 4 blocks to a pharmaprix. It left $1000 dent in my bank account. ( not to mention the $200 I spent last week). We had to bust open the box of records as they were too heavy for the scale to weigh - even after weeding some out they still cost $200 to ship. And Holy Shnikies do people stare at you when you have 2 trolleys full of rubbermaid containers. One particularly elderly fellow was just having a field day pointing and staring at the mess of totes mumbling something in a particularly strong Quebecois accent . It was a process, but I digress.
Surprisingly made it to Wal-mart, stocked up on wool socks, thermals and sweaters that did not consist of cotton. One last trip to Canadian Tire and the pharmaprix for hair elastics because he can not live without them.
Lucky for us Laavie cat has nestled herself in her brand new carrier (okay maybe the cat nip helped) so this should soften the blow when we actually leave the house with her still in it tomorrow morning.( I can hear her screams in the taxi now) I still suspect she will not be pleased with the whole "flying" thing, but mommy has gravol for worst case scenarios ( for you fellow cat crazies, yes I checked with the vet).
I think this is all I can muster at the moment, spell check is working at a feverish pace and my luggage will not pack itself.
Good night all,
A
We managed to sell off all the big stuff, and store the rest (although there was some last minute scrambling at 9pm (thank you Rose!) with stuff that was forgot in various nooks of our 3 bedroom flat. I will miss the brick walls and hardwood floors dearly, the random craziness that is the village, and my crazy friends, but am so excited for something new and so happy so many of our friends have been supportive.
We had quite the gathering on Saturday ( thanks to everyone who could make it!) did not plan accordingly and ran out of food and booze way to earlier. A colonel sanders looking fellow somehow knocked down my mailbox and there was a piece of the railing sitting with the trash, all in all a good evening, and some friends even acting a little bitter, but all in all a good evening with some fine folks.
Sunday we had a very hungover sister and her better half help us move all our boxes to storage. I love you even though you reek of garlic, you should have been home studying you silly fool.
We shipped the rest of our boxes today with good ol canada post. We made 3 trips in vain this morning to the post office a block from us as they were having issues with software or something so we had to give a cabbie 20 bux to drive 7 boxes and a guitar 4 blocks to a pharmaprix. It left $1000 dent in my bank account. ( not to mention the $200 I spent last week). We had to bust open the box of records as they were too heavy for the scale to weigh - even after weeding some out they still cost $200 to ship. And Holy Shnikies do people stare at you when you have 2 trolleys full of rubbermaid containers. One particularly elderly fellow was just having a field day pointing and staring at the mess of totes mumbling something in a particularly strong Quebecois accent . It was a process, but I digress.
Surprisingly made it to Wal-mart, stocked up on wool socks, thermals and sweaters that did not consist of cotton. One last trip to Canadian Tire and the pharmaprix for hair elastics because he can not live without them.
Lucky for us Laavie cat has nestled herself in her brand new carrier (okay maybe the cat nip helped) so this should soften the blow when we actually leave the house with her still in it tomorrow morning.( I can hear her screams in the taxi now) I still suspect she will not be pleased with the whole "flying" thing, but mommy has gravol for worst case scenarios ( for you fellow cat crazies, yes I checked with the vet).
I think this is all I can muster at the moment, spell check is working at a feverish pace and my luggage will not pack itself.
Good night all,
A
Thursday, February 24, 2011
and SOLD
Yeahhhh the place got rented for March!
We sold all our appliances today!
Packing is almost done!
Snow storm coming!
update soon!
We sold all our appliances today!
Packing is almost done!
Snow storm coming!
update soon!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
packing updates
Almost done with the packing, surprisingly I think we will get the comforts we want withing the moving budget they gave us. The Xbox of course is coming on the plane with us, the Wii will have its time through Canada Post. Yes moving via Canada Post, really the only way to get boxes of stuff there. Once we get there we can place orders for big items via sealift, this is how they get things like building supplies, vehicles and other items that are too big to fit on a plane. No one is going to ship you a sofa or elliptical via plane.
We managed to sell off our appliances today for less than we wanted, but the clock is ticking and it was a relief to know that they will be gone this week. I also found someone who just moved and is starting from scratch, she;s going to rummage through the kitchen etc and see what she likes. Less to store :)
Our apartment is gone, but we found out that our land lord rented it for April rather than March so we are stuck with having to pay a months rent. If anyone needs a place in Montreal for a month - make us an offer!
Now to stock up on warm socks and long underwear for the grueling weather ahead. Today's forecast is a balmy -37 with a wind chill of -44, it will be about the same when we land on Monday.
We managed to sell off our appliances today for less than we wanted, but the clock is ticking and it was a relief to know that they will be gone this week. I also found someone who just moved and is starting from scratch, she;s going to rummage through the kitchen etc and see what she likes. Less to store :)
Our apartment is gone, but we found out that our land lord rented it for April rather than March so we are stuck with having to pay a months rent. If anyone needs a place in Montreal for a month - make us an offer!
Now to stock up on warm socks and long underwear for the grueling weather ahead. Today's forecast is a balmy -37 with a wind chill of -44, it will be about the same when we land on Monday.
Friday, February 18, 2011
bad blogger
I've been knocked out with a nasty cold the past few days, so I can't say anything has gotten done. There is talk of a "packing party" this Sunday, the extra company *should* help me keep my focus in making piles of sell/no sell/donate/etc.
I'll update you will more insanity as it ensues.
A
I'll update you will more insanity as it ensues.
A
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The countdown begins
We'll count backwards
Feb 15th
Day 13 - opened my email to find our itinerary for march 1st. MARCH 1st - all happening so fast, I'm so excited I could puke! Luckily I have Wednesdays off so I can get some stuff done tomorrow (My many lists are in disarray however I will try to get around to posting them sooner than later).
Tomorrow's exciting adventure list includes:
1) Finding someone to do my taxes
2) Airline approved carrier for the wee one
3) Shop for boot, socks, scarf, hats, mitts
4) Book vet visit for Laavie
5) Cancel hydro, Internet, Netflix (how i will miss thee Netflix) .
Feb 15th
Day 13 - opened my email to find our itinerary for march 1st. MARCH 1st - all happening so fast, I'm so excited I could puke! Luckily I have Wednesdays off so I can get some stuff done tomorrow (My many lists are in disarray however I will try to get around to posting them sooner than later).
Tomorrow's exciting adventure list includes:
1) Finding someone to do my taxes
2) Airline approved carrier for the wee one
3) Shop for boot, socks, scarf, hats, mitts
4) Book vet visit for Laavie
5) Cancel hydro, Internet, Netflix (how i will miss thee Netflix) .
Sunday, February 13, 2011
what to do in Pond Inlet
I've gotten quite the few comments on how bored we will get when we move. I think city life has conditioned us to believe there is nothing to do outside its glorious gates. A small list on what we will be up to while we're not working:
Kayaking
Fishing
Dog Sleding
Snow Mobile / 4 Wheeler excursions
Whale watching (and other creature watching)
Photographing everything
Exploring the ice caves
Drunken poker games
Camping in the national parks
On those -60 blowing snow blizzard days, there is always a coffee & Baileys, a warm bath and a good book. And cable And the internet. Our time in the north is what we make of it, I think the above is a good start.
Cheers,
A
Kayaking
Fishing
Dog Sleding
Snow Mobile / 4 Wheeler excursions
Whale watching (and other creature watching)
Photographing everything
Exploring the ice caves
Drunken poker games
Camping in the national parks
On those -60 blowing snow blizzard days, there is always a coffee & Baileys, a warm bath and a good book. And cable And the internet. Our time in the north is what we make of it, I think the above is a good start.
Cheers,
A
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pond Inlet
Got the call today - we are going to Pond Inlet. The photos that I have found look pretty amazing and we are both terribly excited to be moving so far north. Now to attempt to concentrate on my last big project before I leave.
--
Today was unproductive at best.
--
Today was unproductive at best.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Nunawhut?
I always get nervous on days like today. I always hate giving my notice under any circumstance as you never know how your boss(es) will react when you give them the news. It can determine just how well the last weeks at your job will go.
Luckily, as I started to spread the news of our plans, I received more kind words and encouragement than the expected "why??" *insert funny look here*. I was assured we'd be missed, and some of my co-workers already started to stock up on hugs. *shucks*
As excited as I am today to finally break the news of our plans, I know the weeks ahead will sadden me when I have to leave my work family behind. I have promises of adventure tales and photos to live up to. I better brush up on my photography skills in the coming weeks.
We should know early next week where our new home will be and how much time we have to get ready. I'm not going to start stressing about all the "to do's" until Monday. I plan on dragging M around the city to enjoy it while we still can. I think a trip to ChuChi is in order.
Till Monday,
A
Luckily, as I started to spread the news of our plans, I received more kind words and encouragement than the expected "why??" *insert funny look here*. I was assured we'd be missed, and some of my co-workers already started to stock up on hugs. *shucks*
As excited as I am today to finally break the news of our plans, I know the weeks ahead will sadden me when I have to leave my work family behind. I have promises of adventure tales and photos to live up to. I better brush up on my photography skills in the coming weeks.
We should know early next week where our new home will be and how much time we have to get ready. I'm not going to start stressing about all the "to do's" until Monday. I plan on dragging M around the city to enjoy it while we still can. I think a trip to ChuChi is in order.
Till Monday,
A
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Dance Off
We got the call from Winnepeg this afternoon! They are meeting with the managers this week to see who needs us, and we will have our offer Monday. I immediately scheduled a dance off for Thursday evening. We are both super ecstatic and can't wait to hear where our new home will be!
Monday, January 31, 2011
a girl shouldn't have to wait by the phone
It has been 10 days since we made the trip to Ottawa.
Our references have tipped us off that they have been called and our adventure clock is ticking. I'm not a fan of having to keep our plans under wraps, but we don't really want to spill the beans at work and find ourselves in a jobless situation (although I am sure M is on the brink of telling them where to shove it). In the meantime all I have is blogs of the northern persuasion to live vicariously through.
Our interviews went very well. We left with a "you'll be hearing from us" so I am confident we are not playing the waiting game for nothing. I'll just sit here on my big orange couch and "make lists" and get rid of things that I have been holding on to way too long.
Fingers crossed,
A
Our references have tipped us off that they have been called and our adventure clock is ticking. I'm not a fan of having to keep our plans under wraps, but we don't really want to spill the beans at work and find ourselves in a jobless situation (although I am sure M is on the brink of telling them where to shove it). In the meantime all I have is blogs of the northern persuasion to live vicariously through.
Our interviews went very well. We left with a "you'll be hearing from us" so I am confident we are not playing the waiting game for nothing. I'll just sit here on my big orange couch and "make lists" and get rid of things that I have been holding on to way too long.
Fingers crossed,
A