Helenenorth

 Hi there!! A very good Saturday morning to you!  It is minus 20, wind 27, and snowing.  Very unlike the beautiful weather on the island and elsewhere in BC! Ah well, I am sitting here, enjoying my third cup of coffee .  Last night I did my weekly chores of shopping, cleaning and laundry.  I also spent some time making home made Valentine cards for my students.  Today, I am having the local pastor for lunch.  We are having a navy bean soup, cucumber, tomato and onion salad, and frozen raspberries and ice cream for the dessert.  The smallest container of Haagen-Dazs was $14!! Saturday and Sunday are my favorite days because I get to have at least 3 practice sessions.  One session is technique, one session is jazz/blues/ play along/ and one session is for more classical music.  A friend and I are putting together a set to perform, so I am playing through possible selections--all fun.  I especially like a Klezmer selection.  It ha...

 Good morning The story this week is the weather!  It is darn cold.  The temperature fluctuates between minus 18 to minus 60.  The cold temperature increases as the wind picks up. Because there are no trees here, there is nothing to stop the wind.  It is not uncommon for the force to be between 20 and 60  or 70 k an hour. All you have to do is to dress for it.  I have snow pants, parka, gloves, goggles, balaclava, toque and fur lined boots with retractable spikes.  I also use walking sticks for balance.  The secret is to keep every inch of your skin covered, and to keep moving.  The Inuit don't move quickly, but they are always moving.  There is a lesson in there for me! We have had  a couple of blizzards, with heavy fog, blowing snow.  The ice on the ocean has formed, and it is getting pretty thick.  Occasionally the polar bears get lost.  Their eye-sight is not very good so they really can't see where they are ...

 Happy New Year! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season--I sure did!! My holiday was rather early, leaving here in November with a very bad root canal that needed a redo.  It finally settled down on December 24, so I was able have a great holiday in Nelson, with no pain Returning north was an adventure in itself.  First my plane from Victoria to Vancouver was delayed.  After another delay in Vancouver, the flight was canceled so I had a lovely overnight at the Sandman courtesy of Air Canada.  The trip to Montreal was lovely, and I stayed there overnight.  My usual flight plan was altered because of  the earlier delay,  thus missing my flight north.  The only thing that was available was a trip to the Hudson Coast, Puv, and then across to the Ungava Coast, Kuujjuak where I spent another night.  I finally arrived last Saturday morning, right in the middle of a huge wind storm!! I always view travel as part of the fun, and I really had...

 November 1, 2025 Good morning-----well, it is November already, and 6 weeks until Christmas Holidays, but who is counting!! We had a terrific Halloween day at school--it wasn't over the top, but very manageable.  Regularish class in the morning, and then an afternoon with the costume parade, class room door decoration contest and the choice of gym activities, story reading, face painting or movie.  I did the story telling, and my room was full to the brim of excited students of all ages.  I read the Robert Munsch book, BOO.  You should have been there--total focus and total participation at the repetition parts--really loved it. I am so glad I brought my own books for the fall because there is NO library in the school.  It was totally dismantled last year, all the books given away, put in the garbage or burned because the library was thought to be a waste of space, and because it wasn't being used very much.  This is the trend in the north. It is beli...

 Hello and nearly Happy Halloween Wow, where does the time go when you are having fun!!  We have pretty much settled into a good routine. My students are coming regularly, even the special ed kids.  We are beginning to see progress academically, but more importantly, I am seeing a lot of smiles, hear a lot of laughter and over hear kids talking to each other and encouraging each other.  What more is there!! Weather is mild one day, and rainy and windy, and I mean windy.  Winds of up to 60 k per hour.  There are no trees or anything to break that wind.  So far, only flurries of snow mixed in with rain, but we are expecting that to change in the coming weeks.  The first big storm usually comes on Halloween Day, wrecking all the trick or treat plans!!  That has been my experience here.  I wonder what will happen this year?? It is getting darker--and after the time changes next week, it will be going to and from school in the dark.  Goo...

 Hello everyone What a crazy busy week we have had.  The most fun, of course, was the primary Excursion.  Grade 3 to six went by canoe, up river, to the best berry picking and seal hunting area.  Unfortunately, it was very windy, and very choppy on the water, so I didn't get a chance to try out new found rifle skills. But, I did pick quite a few berries--so now I have a lovely freezer filled with Arctic Char and berries. Getting in and out of the canoe was a real challenge, no place to tie up--just rocks and a rugged shore line.  Our driver actually carried me from the boat to the nearest big rock!!  The return was even harder.  Tide was changing.  First, we had to exit from a different place, straight down a very rocky path, and we had to walk in the water up to our knees.  The place was very rocky, and the wind was blowing.  Only one canoe could pick us up because of its flatter bottom.  Once we were out a ways, we had to move int...