January 17, 2026

January 16, 2026

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 a good time. I especially enjoyed going to the Hudson Coast because I met several colleagues from there. It was fun to catch up. I also had a very interesting drink in the bar in Kuujjuak. Ask me about it sometime!!

3 people still have not returned from break, and one who has returned will be leaving soon for the rest of the year because of a failed eye operation. We are always short staffed and always playing catch-up.

The weather is something I have never experienced. Very little snow here, but very cold. Average temperature is minus 30. There is a thick layer of ice on the ground, and on the roads. There is no sand or salt, so everything is just like a skating rink. I have spikes in my boots,that helps. But I sure need my walking sticks, and I need to really focus on walking. It is so slippery. Last night we had another big wind storm and a little bit of snow. What snow there was has now drifted, so it is much easier to walk. The loader just need to leave some snow at the side of the road so that we can walk. The 10 minute walk down hill to school is now a 20 minute walk. I don't come home for lunch now--take it with me, so I am getting less exercise.

Because of that storm and the extremely cold temperature, school was closed today. I was thankful because I had a lot of catch up to do, so the janitor and I were there all day!!

I have returned to the simple life. I make a big pot of something on Sunday, freeze it, and have it all week. I am getting my hour and a bit of practicing in each day and I am catching up on day old news on tv. My house is very comfortable, and I am warm. No water for a few days, but that is now corrected.

Already one week has passed by, leaving only 10 weeks until March break. It will go too fast for all the work that we need to get done. My prediction is that we will continue to have weather days at least once a week, and then there will be other disruptions like funerals, water issues, sewage issues and power outages.

I will do my best and use every moment I can to try and make a difference.

Re planting our garden--starting all over again.