Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to you all! Hope to be blogging more in the New Year.

Love, nwtnatalie

Happy Chihuahuas

Clearly they enjoyed summer vacation as much as I did.

Oh hi there.

Like all things, the best place to start is the beginning.

It was a great summer. The best in many years, one of those awesome, fun filled, carefree summers from your childhood.

So the Mother in law came out for a visit in June, she enjoyed Yellowknife and that was nice. Two weeks later my parents came to visit us. Dad always wanted to travel to the territories, he was offered a promotion here back in the day but the crying children and flat out refusal from Mom thwarted that dream. So they too loved it here. Even with the prehistoric mosquitoes and 15 degree weather, they thought it was awesome. We fished, we checked out the shops, the restaurants, picnicked along the Ingraham Trail and had so much fun. Dad and Hubby went for the fishing trip to beat all fishing trips with Hubby's coworker and they came back as excited and happy as two kids in a candy store.

Normally leaving my parents is really, really sad and hard for me. However, two weeks after their departure, Hubby and I (and Malcolm & Olivia of course) had airline tickets booked to go to Newfoundland. Mom and Dad were joining us there, we were going to my university roommate's wedding and taking in Saint John's. So seeing them go wasn't as sad as it normally would have been.

Saint John's and Marystown, NL were simply too much fun. Visiting the Rock was the happiest traveling experience we had in a long time. First of all we were stunned by the friendliness of the people. Example: "Thank you!" "Oh my dear, you are welcome, and you have a great day lovvie." It was simply wonderful. Plus the Terre-Neuviens LOVED my dogs... everyone stopped to exclaim, laugh, pat and just love them. Even in the face of the derelict Marystown Motel... it was a busy, fun filled and happy 11 days.

Then we continued on to the Motherland, Nova Scotia. I hadn't been to the Motherland in the summertime in years, so it seemed extra fun and special. We hung out at Mom and Dad's cottage, spent time with our family and friends and just enjoyed every second.

When I started projectile vomiting all over the place... I thought clearly it was the H1N1. (Just kiddin' Megan!) Well, the cause of the illness was not from any germ or flu to say the least. Hubby returned to the North and I decided to stay home a few more days after him. However, I was so ill, there was simply no way this body was going to make the trip back to the North. In the end, I stayed 3 weeks longer than previously expected and returned as I had a new, awesome job lined up in YK. More good news came from Hubby, he had received an department transfer and is now working in a position that is much more professionally satisfying for him.

After the wonderful summer and three WONDERFUL new things in our life we felt like we had won the lottery of good fortune. Mom joked that we should run, not walk and actually buy a lottery ticket! Have you ever had that feeling sneak up on you when things are going really, really well that it isn't going to last? Something really bad will HAVE to happen to even out the good? Hubby and I commented on that upon my return to YK.

Back in YK, I started my first week at my new job. Things went very well and I was again, very happy and content although still struggling with first trimester sickness. By the Friday of my first work week, I was so excited to be off with Hubby and have some quality time together over the weekend. Again, I couldn't shake that "something horrible is going to happen" sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

When we rolled home that Friday evening, after being back in Yellowknife for a mere seven days, I received the news that my Dad had been in a terrible accident in Nova Scotia. He was killed instantly.

Because I love my little blog, and my blogging friends and even the one reader left, I wanted to share with you where I have been. When I am super happy, I don't really feel like blogging. When I am super sad, I really don't feel like blogging either. I may talk a little bit about the past events, but I do hope to keep the same feel to the blog. If it is a while between blog postings, please keep checking back.

Signing off... over and out... Natalie

I can't make this stuff up...

Tonight while grocery shopping at our wonderful local Co op store, I stumbled across a completely flabbergasted woman at the cheese section of the deli department. She looked at me in utter bewilderment while holding a hunk of cheese in her hand. As I was passing by, she waved for me to come over.

Wheeling my cart over, she stuck out the hand holding said hunk of cheese and asked me if she was really seeing what she thought she was. Taking the piece of cheese from her I was not surprised to see dime sized turquoise and white furry mold spots dotting the surface. Smiling knowingly, I turned the hunk over to reveal what I had suspected, this was a store packaged, heat sealed product. Please see this post for more information on this occurrence.

Before I could say anything she pointed to the cooler where more moldy packages of cheese were laying.

Showing her an example of prepackaged cheese versus store packaged cheese I explained to her what the Deli Manager had previously explained to Hubby regarding why their cheese is prone to mold. This woman looked at me absolutely incredulously and I affirmed that yes, I am being serious. She thanked me and we continued on our way.

Now, to me this is absolutely unacceptable. I LOVE the Co op here in town. It is a beautiful, well maintained and clean store. Their employees are well trained in the art of all things grocery related, and for that I am appreciative. Lately I have noticed an influx of specialty, organic items on the shelves and for that I am doubly appreciative.

However, this bizarre cheese situation still mystifies me. To me it seems a simple solution would be to vacuum seal these products as opposed to heat sealing them in plastic wrap which inevitably is causing mold growth on their hunks of cheese.

What are your thoughts on this situation?

Christmas in July!

So... I just bought this box of cereal last week at the Co op as my EF store boycot is on once again.

Imagine my surprise to see the festive Christmas/Holiday decor on the packaging when I unpacked my groceries.

The good news is that it is not yet expired, so really there is no harm done at all. However, there is something about eating Christmas Crispex in July is slightly jarring to me.

And no, this cereal was not discounted in any way.

Silly dog

Oh Malcolm!

Return to Bullock's!

This evening, I had the pleasure of dining with my fellow YK blogger, Jason, his godmother, mom and my Hubby at Bullock's Bistro. Bullock's is located in the Old Town section of Yellowknife, directly across from Weaver and Devore. Some of you may remember this post which originated this evening's dining experience.

Be forewarned, this summer Bullock's is not taking dinner reservations. This is commonplace in chain restaurants in larger centres, however I was surprised that Bullock's has gone this route. Dinner service starts at 5pm so arrive early to snag a table, as per Jason's advice. Jason and co arrived a few minutes before 5pm and Hubby and I arrived a few minutes after five, which would have been too late. Jason had thankfully saved the table.

Within minutes of our arrival, the restaurant was filled to maximum capacity. Once the restaurant was filled to the brim, the server/owner went to the cooler and called out for people to let her know what alcoholic beverage they would like. If you wanted a non alcoholic drink, you could serve yourself. In the past all beverages were self serve from the cooler, however due to various laws the staff is now required to serve alcoholic beverages.




The server/owner brought us buns and took our orders. There are no side plates for the buns, so just grab one and dig in, eat it right off the bare table top. The choices on the menu were very fresh looking caribou, cod, pickerel, arctic char or the seafood platter. For the fish, you have the choice of grilled, pan fried or deep fried. There is also the seafood platter, where the three fish selection is skewered and cooked to your preference. The server does not give out menus unless specifically requested as the menu varies daily depending on what fresh ingredients they have. The downfall is that you do not know the prices of what you are ordering, however you can expect each entree to be around the $30ish dollar mark, give or take a little.

I was tempted to go with the caribou, as I have never ate caribou before and the muskox we had previously tried at Bullock's was absolutely heavenly. However, I decided to go with Jason's selection, the seafood platter.

From the time we ordered to the time we were served, it was approximately one hour. This is perfectly acceptable as you can see the cook working full blast cooking by herself behind the counter. The server/owner helps the cook to prep the plates. The cook started by frying the french fries, then moved on the the various fishes and finally cooked the caribou. As the meals were ready, they were served. A tip if you are in a rush, is to sit at the bar as their meals were served first. Another tip is do not go to Bullock's if you are in a rush!

Our meal was served with Hubby being told they would bring more fish for him in a moment. When it was ready, an additional piece was brought to the table and plunked on his plate. More fish for the seafood platter that three of us had ordered was also brought to the table on a small dish for us to share in addition to our kebab.


The pan fried fish kebab (AKA seafood platter) was dredged in the most flavourful, tasty, yummy batter I have ever tasted in my life. There is also a dark sauce added to it, which adds a whole new yummy dimension to the dish. There were homemade french fries (crispy and hot) and a romaine salad served with each meal. If you prefer only fries or only salad, let the server know. With the salad you have the option of a feta dressing or herb dressing, I tried the feta which tasted very strongly of feta and garlic, but was quite delicious.

The ambiance in the restaurant is slightly frantic, loud, overcrowded yet everyone is happy, enjoying their delicious food and the unique atmosphere. The music was quite loud at first causing us to have to holler/scream talk, but the request to lower the music was obliged and once it was turned down made for easier dinner conversation.

We had a wonderful meal and the company added to the great experience. If you heading to Bullock's for a meal, leave all your previous dining expectations at home. You are not heading to Earl's or Moxie's, nor the Five Fishermen. Bullock's is kind of like eating at a huge family reunion being hosted at your aunt's house. It will be crowded, loud, someone may yell at you to move your chair or ask if someone can sit at your table, but the food will be great and that is why people keep coming back.

Here is Jason with the leftovers, self wrapped in butcher's paper and placed into a cardboard box to prevent leakage. No environmentally unfriendly styrofoam "to go" containers here!