I miss about Nouvelle-Ecosse:
1. Family / friends
2. Ocean
3. Downtown Hali and everything in it
4. Driving (Plows, straight roads... the ability to drive anywhere)
5. Familiarity
6. Shopping
7. Lobster
8. 4 Seasons
9. Memories
10. Love
I miss about Pen:
1. FRIENDS!
2. Laughter
3. 648 sq ft condo
4. Mountains
5. Lake
6. Beauty
7. Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun
8. Wineries galore
9. US border
10. Walks
I like about the North:
1. Quirkiness
2. Unique
3. Northern Lights
4. Handcrafts
5. "Oh you're from BC? / NS?"
6. Parkas
7. It's like 1988 all over again
8. Kids in sleds
9. Time flies
10. Light, fluffy, powdery snow, snow, SNOW
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Things to know before you move to YK...
Now that I am an expert on Arctic living (Ok, not really!) here are some Southerners Tips for the fellow crazeeeyyyyy people who may feel that living north of 60 would be a "great" idea.
Isolation
You will drive for hours into the northern wilderness and only pass one small settlement by the name of Fort Providence on your way to Yellowknife. During this time, if you are not driving in the winter season, you will see numerous bison clumped along the highway. Sometimes they wander onto the actual highway. This is certainly very novel to the traditional Southerner, such as myself. However, when you are in the dark season, this is dangerous as bison are big, dark animals. The last statistic I read said that between the middle of October to middle of November, there were seven separate incidences of motorists striking bison on the highway. (Sigh, if only these animals had the classic Sherman lecture on the importance of wearing reflective tape while walking on dark, nighttime roads!)
After driving for hours into the tundra, you will stumble into mighty YK. You have now arrived to THE place. THE BIG CITY. With an approximate population of 18,500-20,000 peeps... there is nothing "Big" in relation to Yellowknife. However, in comparison to the other various settlements of the North, some boasting a small 100, 200 per capita population, Yellowknife is a large, sprawling metropolis.
The happy news is that Yellowkife is one of the few communities of the north that you can drive to and from for the majority of the year. Not ALL of the year though! During the end of December, early Jan... or something like that, the MacKenzie Ferry is no longer able to cross the River due to the Freeze Up. Since the River is in the process of freezing, it is not safe to drive on. (Yes, a la "Ice Road Truckers")
Flights to and from YK are expensive and my favourite airline, Westjet, does not service our community. Be prepared for some major airline sticker shock. I am sure the optimists are musing why wouldn't you just drive to Edmonton and fly from there? Please see the above paragraph... it just isn't always possible.
Culture Shock
While you will still be in the country of Canada, you may find yourself wondering (quite frequently actually) if you were secretly abducted by aliens and shot into the realms of outer space to live on a planet in a galaxy far, far away. The North is a land truly unique in various cultural and geographic aspects.
As I wouldn't want to spoil all the hidden gems of this land, I will summarize by saying that experiences as simple as going to the grocery store or Canadian Tire often times will result in baffling (sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing and sometimes downright heartwarming) occurrences unique to the North. I feel confident in saying that as I have travelled all over this beautiful world of ours and never witnessed something such as a ten person lineup at a Canadian Tire store, well any store for that matter, with no cashiers or workers in sight for at least five to ten minutes causing a disgruntled shopper to pick up the phone and page a staff member to come to the front cash. Hummmmm...
Winter
This was one of my greatest concerns when researching what living in the North would be like. I was so very concerned with winter wear, warm bedding, boots (for both us and the dogs :-D ) that I worried about little else. The good news is that literally EVERYTHING you need to survive a winter in the Great Canadian Arctic can be found within the confines of Yellowknife. Yes friends, even the elusive Muttluk can be purchased at various retailers around town. *Gasp!* There is actually a whole new world of winter wear waiting to be discovered in the North, one visit to Just Furs or Weaver and Devore will leave you quite well prepared to be toasty warm in the extreme cold of the North. (I shouldn't forget Marks either!)
There is a Kal Tire in town, among other tire retailers so shopping for winter tires is not a problem at all. Speaking of winter tires, spare no expense when purchasing these for your winter driving. The roads in and around Yellowknife are by all means, treacherous. They are coated in thick sheets of ice, snow, rocks, rutted with various dips an holes and ridiculously slippery. This was something I was not prepared for by any means.
Winter activities are varied in Yellowknife and include, skidooing (Known as "sledding" in the North, don't be alarmed when grown men start hooting about how excited they are to go sledding and shoot a caribou...) hunting, ice fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, broom ball, curling, hockey... I am sure there are more. If you are into these activities, you will be in seventh heaven. If you are not, well, it's time to break out of your confines and pick one that appeals to you!
Great Things You Didn't Know About YK!
Ok girls, breathe a sigh of relief, you can purchase high end cosmetics, such as Clinique and Estee Lauder at the Shoppers Drug Mart in the Knife. Shocking - I know. Whenever I open my medicine cabinet and see the unopened boxes of various products I can't help but roll my eyes, as all of this is readily available in YK (minus M.A.C. friends... that would have to be purchased online).
Yes you can purchase your favourite Okanagan wines here! Well... not "all" but they have a wonderful selection at the various liquor stores in town.
M&M Meat shop is in town! Who would have thought! Caution: do not overdo it as you will tire of this quite early. All major junk food restaurants are in town... McDonalds, A&W, Kentucky Fried Poulet... Then there is Subway, Quiznos... um... Pizza Hut, BP's... There is even a GREAT sushi restaurant, Sushi North that will satisfy your craving for a delish California roll. Two restaurants that are not to be missed are Le Frolic and Bullocks Bistro. If you are in the mood for a fancy Sunday Brunch, head over to the Explorer Hotel's Sunday Brunch! Go first to the crepe and waffle station... absolutely fabulous.
There is a plethora of unique to YK boutiques that are simply fab. My favourites so far are Langlois and Just Furs! And in two months I have not yet been to all of them.
There is even a movie theatre! And it is just great there, it has two small theatres and one largish one. The popcorn is great with a nice selection a popcorn seasonings. (After 2 years sans my dill pickle in BC... it is a relief)
So basically with a positive outlook, you too can survive the North! Be prepared to roll with basically everything as little to nothing will be as you expect it and you will be just fine. And as Elliott always says, "It could be worse dear". Words of wisdom to live by. (Tee hee!)
Isolation
You will drive for hours into the northern wilderness and only pass one small settlement by the name of Fort Providence on your way to Yellowknife. During this time, if you are not driving in the winter season, you will see numerous bison clumped along the highway. Sometimes they wander onto the actual highway. This is certainly very novel to the traditional Southerner, such as myself. However, when you are in the dark season, this is dangerous as bison are big, dark animals. The last statistic I read said that between the middle of October to middle of November, there were seven separate incidences of motorists striking bison on the highway. (Sigh, if only these animals had the classic Sherman lecture on the importance of wearing reflective tape while walking on dark, nighttime roads!)
After driving for hours into the tundra, you will stumble into mighty YK. You have now arrived to THE place. THE BIG CITY. With an approximate population of 18,500-20,000 peeps... there is nothing "Big" in relation to Yellowknife. However, in comparison to the other various settlements of the North, some boasting a small 100, 200 per capita population, Yellowknife is a large, sprawling metropolis.
The happy news is that Yellowkife is one of the few communities of the north that you can drive to and from for the majority of the year. Not ALL of the year though! During the end of December, early Jan... or something like that, the MacKenzie Ferry is no longer able to cross the River due to the Freeze Up. Since the River is in the process of freezing, it is not safe to drive on. (Yes, a la "Ice Road Truckers")
Flights to and from YK are expensive and my favourite airline, Westjet, does not service our community. Be prepared for some major airline sticker shock. I am sure the optimists are musing why wouldn't you just drive to Edmonton and fly from there? Please see the above paragraph... it just isn't always possible.
Culture Shock
While you will still be in the country of Canada, you may find yourself wondering (quite frequently actually) if you were secretly abducted by aliens and shot into the realms of outer space to live on a planet in a galaxy far, far away. The North is a land truly unique in various cultural and geographic aspects.
As I wouldn't want to spoil all the hidden gems of this land, I will summarize by saying that experiences as simple as going to the grocery store or Canadian Tire often times will result in baffling (sometimes hilarious, sometimes disturbing and sometimes downright heartwarming) occurrences unique to the North. I feel confident in saying that as I have travelled all over this beautiful world of ours and never witnessed something such as a ten person lineup at a Canadian Tire store, well any store for that matter, with no cashiers or workers in sight for at least five to ten minutes causing a disgruntled shopper to pick up the phone and page a staff member to come to the front cash. Hummmmm...
Winter
This was one of my greatest concerns when researching what living in the North would be like. I was so very concerned with winter wear, warm bedding, boots (for both us and the dogs :-D ) that I worried about little else. The good news is that literally EVERYTHING you need to survive a winter in the Great Canadian Arctic can be found within the confines of Yellowknife. Yes friends, even the elusive Muttluk can be purchased at various retailers around town. *Gasp!* There is actually a whole new world of winter wear waiting to be discovered in the North, one visit to Just Furs or Weaver and Devore will leave you quite well prepared to be toasty warm in the extreme cold of the North. (I shouldn't forget Marks either!)
There is a Kal Tire in town, among other tire retailers so shopping for winter tires is not a problem at all. Speaking of winter tires, spare no expense when purchasing these for your winter driving. The roads in and around Yellowknife are by all means, treacherous. They are coated in thick sheets of ice, snow, rocks, rutted with various dips an holes and ridiculously slippery. This was something I was not prepared for by any means.
Winter activities are varied in Yellowknife and include, skidooing (Known as "sledding" in the North, don't be alarmed when grown men start hooting about how excited they are to go sledding and shoot a caribou...) hunting, ice fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, broom ball, curling, hockey... I am sure there are more. If you are into these activities, you will be in seventh heaven. If you are not, well, it's time to break out of your confines and pick one that appeals to you!
Great Things You Didn't Know About YK!
Ok girls, breathe a sigh of relief, you can purchase high end cosmetics, such as Clinique and Estee Lauder at the Shoppers Drug Mart in the Knife. Shocking - I know. Whenever I open my medicine cabinet and see the unopened boxes of various products I can't help but roll my eyes, as all of this is readily available in YK (minus M.A.C. friends... that would have to be purchased online).
Yes you can purchase your favourite Okanagan wines here! Well... not "all" but they have a wonderful selection at the various liquor stores in town.
M&M Meat shop is in town! Who would have thought! Caution: do not overdo it as you will tire of this quite early. All major junk food restaurants are in town... McDonalds, A&W, Kentucky Fried Poulet... Then there is Subway, Quiznos... um... Pizza Hut, BP's... There is even a GREAT sushi restaurant, Sushi North that will satisfy your craving for a delish California roll. Two restaurants that are not to be missed are Le Frolic and Bullocks Bistro. If you are in the mood for a fancy Sunday Brunch, head over to the Explorer Hotel's Sunday Brunch! Go first to the crepe and waffle station... absolutely fabulous.
There is a plethora of unique to YK boutiques that are simply fab. My favourites so far are Langlois and Just Furs! And in two months I have not yet been to all of them.
There is even a movie theatre! And it is just great there, it has two small theatres and one largish one. The popcorn is great with a nice selection a popcorn seasonings. (After 2 years sans my dill pickle in BC... it is a relief)
So basically with a positive outlook, you too can survive the North! Be prepared to roll with basically everything as little to nothing will be as you expect it and you will be just fine. And as Elliott always says, "It could be worse dear". Words of wisdom to live by. (Tee hee!)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Day 50 in the Arctic
For those of you who have read the December issue of Canadian Living, you may have read the following little gem:
"This is the true north strong and free, and cold and wet and icy and dark-sometimes all at once. It's why God invented long johns. This is Canada. We have winter. Life sucks. Get a toque. And embrace it."
- Rick Mercer
Words to live by - especially when you live in the Knife!!
With the weather hitting -20 degrees Celcius, we definately are feeling the need to bundle up more and more. I cracked and bought winter boots from Weaver & Devore, which are wonderful as my feet are staying toasty warm and I am not slipping and sliding all over the dense ice packed roads. I am surprised at how "not bad" -20 is in Yellowknife when you dress for the weather! ("Not bad" is my discription for all things Yellowknife -tee hee!) I think I may have to purchase snowshoes... maybe cross country skis, the winter wonderland outside looks far to enticing to not be out having some fun!
Elliott and I have been meeting many new people in the past little while, which has been great. A few days ago we watched the Santa Claus Parade, which was an absolute hoot! All of the quads, skidoos, trucks and floats in the parade were lit up with christmas lights, all the townsfolk were just a waving away at everyone. When Santa came it was sheer magic. Even Elliott was waving and cheering for Santa. (Actually - he did the same when the fire and police floats drove by... lol, how old is he?)
Life continues to roll along in the Knife!
A wintery scene in Old Town
Malcolm in his personalized snowsuit
And Liv
My two babies
Ell et moi on our one year wedding anniversary!
Friday, November 7, 2008
When I was a Southerner...
I thought the Arctic was a wild, untamed, bitter land of nothing. Hey, I wasn't that wrong as it turns out! Just kiddin, Yellowknife thankfully has most of the major requirements for any city dweller to survive.
Here are some of my favourite photographs to date that I have taken with my new camera! (Old uploads! Still boycotting uploading new ones until the new XPS arrives!)
My beautiful girl!
(I love that Alex P. Keaton is on t.v. in the background of this shot... lol)
Before the Big Move, I became somewhat deranged and obsessed with finding the warmest parkas manufactured for the average Arctic dweller to survive in the ridiculously cold -50 degree Celsius weather. So I set about Googling, as any gal would do in my situation, and then weeded out the imitators and discovered the mighty Canada Goose parka. Ever heard of them? I sure hadn't, however, numerous internet sites and blogs rated them as being a must for every North of 60-er. Excellent. Next came the process of locating where to buy them, I mean, surely they would be hard to come by in YK....... Surely they would.
I located a retailer in Kelowna who sells them and Elliott and I set off to discover the magic that is the Canadian Goose. When I first saw these fashion "nightmares", I was sure I would Never don such a garment. There was just no way. These things are gigantic, heavy as all get out, and sport a massive, coyote fur lined hood. I remember clearly standing in my cute summer outfit, starring at myself in wonder and revulsion in the tiny mirror in the store. I had FULLY convinced myself that I would just have to freeze "up north", when my wonderful husband said these life changing words... "Awe Hunny, you look so cute wearing that!"
Seriously. My husband who does not compliment me after I say, change my hairdo, or sport a fab new outfit... thinks I look cute in a Canada Goose parka? Sold.
Last night Elliott and I tried the Muttluks on the kids once again. Strangely and somewhat miraculously they "got it" and did not resist the Muttluks! All of a sudden they were prancing around the house in ALL 4 booties!! Even Malcolm!! Unbelievable! So out we set to try them outdoors. That was the second time I wore the parka, and I must say I am very, very happy with it. Not a breath of cold air can penetrate the beast that is the Canada Goose. They truly are a must for every Arctic Adventurer. (And I filmed some hilarious "Malcolm barreling through the snow" actionnnnn! Tee Hee!)
Life in the Knife continues on!
xoxo
(P.S) When we were at Mark's Work Wear House the other day, I noted that they probably had... oh at leaaaaaaaaast... maybe... two hundred or so CG parkas in stock...
Here are some of my favourite photographs to date that I have taken with my new camera! (Old uploads! Still boycotting uploading new ones until the new XPS arrives!)
My beautiful girl!(I love that Alex P. Keaton is on t.v. in the background of this shot... lol)Happily celebrating a Rangers win! Livvie looks disturbed by all the commotion!
Handsome Elliott
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Pictures!!!
Here are some photos from the past month for your viewing enjoyment!
Since being in the Arctic, I have aged another year and Elliott and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary.
For my birthday Elliott bought me beautiful flowers, a lululemon outfit and took me to the nicest restaurant in town. It was a beautiful meal with a lovely bottle of Okanagan wine! So delish. So thoughtful and well planned by my wonderful husband! *Tear* ;-)
We also made it through Halloween and had lots of cute kids come collecting candy. (My kids being the cutest, of course!)
In celebration of the big ONE YEAR of marriage, Elliott and I went to the swanky Sunday buffet at the Explorer Hotel. Again, it was fab! For all of you who are planning a trip to visit us... (Haha!! Please, someone come!!) we will hit up both of these places as they are a must.
Miss you all!!
xoxo
Since being in the Arctic, I have aged another year and Elliott and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary.
For my birthday Elliott bought me beautiful flowers, a lululemon outfit and took me to the nicest restaurant in town. It was a beautiful meal with a lovely bottle of Okanagan wine! So delish. So thoughtful and well planned by my wonderful husband! *Tear* ;-)
We also made it through Halloween and had lots of cute kids come collecting candy. (My kids being the cutest, of course!)
In celebration of the big ONE YEAR of marriage, Elliott and I went to the swanky Sunday buffet at the Explorer Hotel. Again, it was fab! For all of you who are planning a trip to visit us... (Haha!! Please, someone come!!) we will hit up both of these places as they are a must.
Miss you all!!
xoxo
Snow
Ahhh!! It is working!! For the past few weeks, I have been unable to write anything on blogspot! Tonight it works.
It's snowing in the Arctic. Let me clarify: I am not talking about "scattered flurries". Not "light snow". It is full on heavy snowfall. The last time that I have saw snow at this magnitude was back in the day of good old White Juan, when the snow in Mom and Dad's driveway higher than my waist. Sigh.
It just keeps falling. In the Okanagan we would have flurries. Scattered flurries. I grew up with snow in NS. I grew up with cold in NS. However, after two glorious years sans neige et sans froideur, I feel incredulous at the amount of white stuff coating everything and the dry, bitter cold seeping into my bones. Last night Elliott went out shovelling and was up to his knees in snow on our back patio. He was wearing snow pants and his Canada Goose and was so hot from his gear, steam was coming off his head when he stopped for a break. (Will post photos soon! Waiting for the new laptop to arrive before I upload new photos.)
Life in Yellowknife continues. The roads are ridiculously snow and ice covered. There are already mammoth snowbanks growing on the sides of the road and in parking lots. People are zipping around towns on their skidoos, or sleds as they are called in YK. (Wanna go sledding?! Has a totally different meaning north of 60 than at home!)
Tonight was grocery night, a night I a beginning to dread. A LOT. Walmart in town is tiny and very gloomy feeling inside the store. It is like a mini warehouse with Walmart crap plunked down inside. It is a common sight to walk down an aisle and see the majority of the shelves empty. However success was had tonight when I found a new shower curtain!!! Yippeee!! For all of you "Southerners" (This is what you are called by the population of us crazy north of 60ers) finding a shower curtain at Walmart may not be a "BIG DEAL". In the Knife, we have maybe 3 stores that would even sell them, selection is paltry to pathetic on a good day, so I almost leapt out of my skin with JOY! when I found my treasure.
Then we slipped and slided over to Extra Foods. A lovely store for this town with the same phenomena occurring, where half the shelves are empty at times... For the most part, I love this store. It carries an amazing selection of items for this tiny, isolated town in the middle of nowhere. For that I am thankful, believe that. HOWEVER. The checkout system at this store is enough to make my worn, fragile nerves dissolve into thin air.
Picture this: Elliott and Natalie, cart full, overflowing even, heading to the checkout. Normally there is a line up of fellow townsfolk about ten people deep. Of the 12 or so checkouts, two, MAYBE three will be open. Everyone stares at the closed checkouts praying and plotting on how to overtake the crowd, incase a new one opens up. (Ok, maybe that is just me. ) The cashiers are all young, teenyboppers possessing zero experience in the cashiering world. Ok. Just breathe. So, Natalie starts to unload the groceries from the cart onto the conveyor belt. Teenybopper is deeply engrossed in a conversation with "SHUT UP!!!" "No WAY!!!" "OH MY GAWWWD!!" being exclaimed numerous times throughout her important, work related conversation with her colleague and customer. Natalie then discovers the cap to her Organic Milk (Which she was so DARN happy to find... seriously, organic milk tastes soooooo much better than the regular) So the cap is half off, and the contents of the container are half leaked all over her massive cartload of groceries and there is now a big blob of organic milk spreading along the conveyor belt. Danggggggg y'all, that sucks. So, very politely, professionally even, Natalie interrupted this worldly and highly important conversation. Teenybopper glances at Nat and continues chattering away. Natalie stays calm as that is one of her finer qualities in life and repeats, "Excuse me, do you have a cloth or something, so I can wipe up all this spilled milk that is everywhere." Teenybopper is then able to acknowledge this ridiculous request from this clearly crazed and unreasonable customer. "No." Natalie maintains her cool and requests if maybe she could find something as there is milk covering her groceries and now the conveyor belt. Crying over spilled milk would of course, be silly. Teenyboppers starts shouting out..." Umm, Nicoleeeee, do you like have any paper towel or something. Yeah. I need some. No. Ok. Marrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk. Um, do yooooou have any paper towel or something? Yeah, there's milk spilled. Oh you do? I don't have any. Can I like, borrow your roll? Yeah, Thanks!!"
Natalie cleans milk like a trooper. Elliott has gone off in search of a non faulty topped milk. Groceries are being scanned. We had many, many groceries. (I only grocery shop once every two weeks as I cannot handle the continuous bizzare behaviour of the staff of the Extra Foods... I digress. ) Sigh, back to the Great Grocery Escapade... Once I get all the groceries loaded onto the conveyor belt, I realize that the scanned groceries have ended on the other conveyor belt, *surprise* there is no one bagging them. Elliott has at this point just returned with the wondrous Organic Milk. (SERIOUSLY... it will be worth the hassle.)
Now the process of bagging one zillion groceries with no help begins... fine, I am not physically handicapped in any way that would prevent me from doing this, but after spending $350 at Extra Foods, wouldn't it be nice to have a littllllllle help? Am I out of line on this one... clearly I am. I'm such a dang southerner. So, the grocery order has been paid for and Elliott and I are madly trying to bag and load up the cart. Teenybopper, starts ringing in the next customer. Before we realize, their groceries are piling up next to our groceries... it was a madhouse. (Where did Third Person Go? I was enjoying it... )
Then I realize that my orange juice carton has also been half ripped open and is leaking everywhere.
BIG SIGH.
I alert Teen. to this fact and request she call someone to get me a new one. Teeny2 comes along, repeats "Tropicana" and is on his merry way to find me a replacement. By the time we finished, Teeny2 was not to be found. I had to set off to find him. He was just stopping to chat to his coworker, then couldn't remember what oj he was searching. Not kidding.
Should this be highly complicated procedure of buying groceries? Nope. Is it every time I go? Yep. (Coop, the "other" grocery store in town has much higher prices than EF. So I shop at EF.) Intentions people, it is all about intentions...
Snow... crazy grocery shopping... waiting for new laptop so I can upload photos... that basically sums up my life to date.
Till the next time,
xoxo
It's snowing in the Arctic. Let me clarify: I am not talking about "scattered flurries". Not "light snow". It is full on heavy snowfall. The last time that I have saw snow at this magnitude was back in the day of good old White Juan, when the snow in Mom and Dad's driveway higher than my waist. Sigh.
It just keeps falling. In the Okanagan we would have flurries. Scattered flurries. I grew up with snow in NS. I grew up with cold in NS. However, after two glorious years sans neige et sans froideur, I feel incredulous at the amount of white stuff coating everything and the dry, bitter cold seeping into my bones. Last night Elliott went out shovelling and was up to his knees in snow on our back patio. He was wearing snow pants and his Canada Goose and was so hot from his gear, steam was coming off his head when he stopped for a break. (Will post photos soon! Waiting for the new laptop to arrive before I upload new photos.)
Life in Yellowknife continues. The roads are ridiculously snow and ice covered. There are already mammoth snowbanks growing on the sides of the road and in parking lots. People are zipping around towns on their skidoos, or sleds as they are called in YK. (Wanna go sledding?! Has a totally different meaning north of 60 than at home!)
Tonight was grocery night, a night I a beginning to dread. A LOT. Walmart in town is tiny and very gloomy feeling inside the store. It is like a mini warehouse with Walmart crap plunked down inside. It is a common sight to walk down an aisle and see the majority of the shelves empty. However success was had tonight when I found a new shower curtain!!! Yippeee!! For all of you "Southerners" (This is what you are called by the population of us crazy north of 60ers) finding a shower curtain at Walmart may not be a "BIG DEAL". In the Knife, we have maybe 3 stores that would even sell them, selection is paltry to pathetic on a good day, so I almost leapt out of my skin with JOY! when I found my treasure.
Then we slipped and slided over to Extra Foods. A lovely store for this town with the same phenomena occurring, where half the shelves are empty at times... For the most part, I love this store. It carries an amazing selection of items for this tiny, isolated town in the middle of nowhere. For that I am thankful, believe that. HOWEVER. The checkout system at this store is enough to make my worn, fragile nerves dissolve into thin air.
Picture this: Elliott and Natalie, cart full, overflowing even, heading to the checkout. Normally there is a line up of fellow townsfolk about ten people deep. Of the 12 or so checkouts, two, MAYBE three will be open. Everyone stares at the closed checkouts praying and plotting on how to overtake the crowd, incase a new one opens up. (Ok, maybe that is just me. ) The cashiers are all young, teenyboppers possessing zero experience in the cashiering world. Ok. Just breathe. So, Natalie starts to unload the groceries from the cart onto the conveyor belt. Teenybopper is deeply engrossed in a conversation with "SHUT UP!!!" "No WAY!!!" "OH MY GAWWWD!!" being exclaimed numerous times throughout her important, work related conversation with her colleague and customer. Natalie then discovers the cap to her Organic Milk (Which she was so DARN happy to find... seriously, organic milk tastes soooooo much better than the regular) So the cap is half off, and the contents of the container are half leaked all over her massive cartload of groceries and there is now a big blob of organic milk spreading along the conveyor belt. Danggggggg y'all, that sucks. So, very politely, professionally even, Natalie interrupted this worldly and highly important conversation. Teenybopper glances at Nat and continues chattering away. Natalie stays calm as that is one of her finer qualities in life and repeats, "Excuse me, do you have a cloth or something, so I can wipe up all this spilled milk that is everywhere." Teenybopper is then able to acknowledge this ridiculous request from this clearly crazed and unreasonable customer. "No." Natalie maintains her cool and requests if maybe she could find something as there is milk covering her groceries and now the conveyor belt. Crying over spilled milk would of course, be silly. Teenyboppers starts shouting out..." Umm, Nicoleeeee, do you like have any paper towel or something. Yeah. I need some. No. Ok. Marrrrrrrrrrrrrrrk. Um, do yooooou have any paper towel or something? Yeah, there's milk spilled. Oh you do? I don't have any. Can I like, borrow your roll? Yeah, Thanks!!"
Natalie cleans milk like a trooper. Elliott has gone off in search of a non faulty topped milk. Groceries are being scanned. We had many, many groceries. (I only grocery shop once every two weeks as I cannot handle the continuous bizzare behaviour of the staff of the Extra Foods... I digress. ) Sigh, back to the Great Grocery Escapade... Once I get all the groceries loaded onto the conveyor belt, I realize that the scanned groceries have ended on the other conveyor belt, *surprise* there is no one bagging them. Elliott has at this point just returned with the wondrous Organic Milk. (SERIOUSLY... it will be worth the hassle.)
Now the process of bagging one zillion groceries with no help begins... fine, I am not physically handicapped in any way that would prevent me from doing this, but after spending $350 at Extra Foods, wouldn't it be nice to have a littllllllle help? Am I out of line on this one... clearly I am. I'm such a dang southerner. So, the grocery order has been paid for and Elliott and I are madly trying to bag and load up the cart. Teenybopper, starts ringing in the next customer. Before we realize, their groceries are piling up next to our groceries... it was a madhouse. (Where did Third Person Go? I was enjoying it... )
Then I realize that my orange juice carton has also been half ripped open and is leaking everywhere.
BIG SIGH.
I alert Teen. to this fact and request she call someone to get me a new one. Teeny2 comes along, repeats "Tropicana" and is on his merry way to find me a replacement. By the time we finished, Teeny2 was not to be found. I had to set off to find him. He was just stopping to chat to his coworker, then couldn't remember what oj he was searching. Not kidding.
Should this be highly complicated procedure of buying groceries? Nope. Is it every time I go? Yep. (Coop, the "other" grocery store in town has much higher prices than EF. So I shop at EF.) Intentions people, it is all about intentions...
Snow... crazy grocery shopping... waiting for new laptop so I can upload photos... that basically sums up my life to date.
Till the next time,
xoxo
Saturday, October 18, 2008
We Made It!
Hello Everyone! Here we are in the good old Arctic and what an eventful past month we have had!
We finally left Penticton the day after the packers packed up the moving truck. There were still a million little ends left to tie up so we left Penticton after lunchtime, continued to Kelowna and picked up our Canada Goose down parkas, a must-have for every Arctic adventurer! From K Town we continued up to Kamloops then drove to Jasper.
Originally we had planned on spending the night in Jasper, however we did not prebook accommodation and there was zero availability. (Unless we wanted to spend $1000 for the night at the Fairmont!! One day... ) When we hit Jasper, it was dark and Elliott and I were absolutely and totally zonked. Those of you who know me well are aware of my slight fear of the woodland creatures who prance at the edges of roads and highways, awaiting to leap in front of innocent motorists. I therefore refrain from driving in the land of the Canadian west. Our first stop in Jasper was at the Husky station for fuel and maps. After deciding we would continue on we pulled out of the Husky station only to see... Three gigantic elks prancing down the streets of Jasper toward the Husky station parking lot. Now. If you have never saw an elk up close... and I am talking a few feet of distance, they sure can get really, freaking big! I pointed toward them, unable to formulate a coherent word and Elliott did not see them. It was truly unbelievable how the locals were just out strolling around next to them. I took the following photo and we were on our way.
Continuing through the park in the pitch dark at midnight is also a slightly mind numbingly terrifying feat, one that I would recommend NOT doing! However we escaped unscathed and saw one white wolf and a few more elk and deer.
The next day we set sail for Edmonton where Elliott stayed at his brother's home and luckily was able to spend time with his uncle from Ottawa as well as his other family. I stayed with Kimmie and we had the greatest weekend wedding planning, shopping at Ikea and of course, the mighty West Edmonton Mall. H&M was heart stopping, and who knew - Bath & Bodyworks has come to Canada!!
Driving through Northern Alberta was long and straight. Same scenery... kinda boring and sure enough, for the first time of our adventure, I dozed off due to the sheer and utter dullness that surrounded me. That was a mistake. I awoke from my short nap to a scene from a Bruce Willis action movie... in front of my eyes was the side of a semi transfer truck, Elliott was screaming like a woman and Livvie had been flung onto the dash and was skidding back and forth as Elliott expertly manouvered the vehicle (which was driving in excess of 100km/hr) into the ditch. Big sigh. I scream cried, like anyone would after such a fright and the trucker and Elliott lept out of their prospective vehicles to check out the damage. Now, I was still scream crying. The trucker's wife came sauntering over to my window to see how I was... took one look at the dogs and hollered, "Whaaaaaaat the Hellll ahrr those thaangs?" Not, how are you, are you ok. We were fine, dogs were fine (Livvie was of course shaken up) and the vehicle was fine and Elliott drove out of the ditch and we continued on our merry way.
Hay River was our next overnight stop, to "Hay River's Premier Inn and Conference Centre", the Ptarmigan Inn. That may be true to the people of Hay River. The next morning we happily left for Yellowknife.
Driving to Yellowknife on the MacKenzie Hwy is a must for every Canadian, I have now decided. Elliott and I had so much fun stopping in Fort Providence and counting buffalo on the side of the highway. We were so happy to arrive in Yellowknife... it was so very strange to see a big city plunked down in the middle of nowhere, after driving and seeing nothing but bison for hours. 
Yellowknife is a surprisingly progressive town, very eclectic, close knit with happy, friendly folks. All is well and we continue to get our new home organized.
Until next time!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Not long now...
Here it is, our last week in the Okanagan! Last week the weather hit highs into the 30s. Yellowknife hit a high of +3. Thankfully this weekend cooled off down to the low 20s and to about 15ish during the night, which will make our Arctic transition MUCH easier!!
Elliott & I will be busy getting ready for Yellowknife this week, we both have two more shifts each at our workplaces and then the packers/movers will come and pack up our little nest! I am feeling happy/sad, scared/excited... so much will have changed in our lives by this time next week! We plan on spending next weekend in Edmonton, Elliott will spend time with his brother and uncle while I will be shopping and wedding planning with my best friend Kimmie!
The "kids" are all ready for the North, following are a few pictures of them in all their glory!
Here they are attempting to get used to their new "Muttluks"!
And here they are modelling in their brand new stroller... and yes, both times they are waiting to get treaties! (Hence the serious faces and perfect poses ;)
Now... we subjected Livvie to wearing all four for only a few mintues... but as you will see the results are prettttty funny!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Eleven Days Left in the Okanagan...
So here's a quick summary of ME and why I have decided to chronicle (blog) the next chapter of my life!
Born in raised in good old Nova Scotia, I lived in a few different communities but mostly grew up in Bedford. After graduating high school I set off to Pointe-de-l'Eglise (a teeny, weeny fishing community on la Baie Sainte-Marie with a teeny, weeny francophone university, Universite Sainte-Anne) where I completed a french dipolma and a BA.
Then I made the huge decision to travel to Penticton, BC to live with my fiance. We're now married, own a condo, have two adorable doggies and own two vehicles. Since moving across Canada wasn't enough of a change (oops, that's sarcasm!), we are now transferred to Yellowknife, NWT and have 11 days left in the beautiful, sun drenched Okanagan Valley.
One of my strongest childhood memories is when my dad was offered a promotional transfer to Tuktoyuktuk (sp?), NWT. Being 13, my daily concerns were limited. I lived to go to the mall, hang out with my best friend Erica, go to the theatre and babysit to make money to spend at the mall and theatre. The thought of moving to the Arctic literally sent icy chills of horror up and down my spine. I was certain there were no malls and no big movie theatres in Tuk... and that rendered me in almost a catatonic state of sheer horror. That same week, National Geographic arrived in the mail with a special on (of course)... the Canadian Arctic. This did not help my dislike of the concept of Arctic living and I am certain floods of hormone driven tears were shed in protest and fear.
Dad never did take that promotion and I am pretty certain he never intended to.
Thirteen years later, I find myself wondering if I am just meant to head north as this question was once again presented to me. After doing lots of research on Northern Living, I fully supported my husband in a transfer to Yellowknife. (NAT, they have Walmart!! You'll be FINE dear!!)
With eleven short days left in the Okanagan, I am overwhelmed thinking how darn fast the past two years have flown by. I have made amazing friends here and I am sure we will always stay in touch with them. I have an amazing appreciation for wine and actually like it when it is 35-40 degrees Celsius. What I like the most is my little family and I am completely excited for the next chapter in our life!
Stay tuned for more entries and I hope you all enjoy this! xoxo
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