February 14, 2026--Happy Valentine's Day

 Good morning!!

Happy Valentine's Day

A bright and sunshiny morning, not too cold, about minus 15 and no wind.  What a break from the sub zero temperatures, big winds of 60 k plus, and blowing snow that we had Wednesday and Thursday.

So sad about that--we were supposed to have the leaders of the cross country ski program with us for training on Wednesday, but because of the weather, they did not come.  We have our fingers crossed that they will at least come this afternoon for 1 day of training!!  No room at our local co op hotel, so I have opened the Helene Hotel, with help from my colleagues.  I have a single mattress, sheets and extra towel for one guest.  Hope my water lasts!!!  It was kind of sputtering this morning.

With the school closed for 2 days, and being very heavily encouraged to stay home, I  got a lot of practicing in, and what fun.  I have this great Hal Leonard play along book called, Swing with a Band, and it has some great music in it--not at all easy, quite the challenge.  I am proud to say, I had the time to just pick away at the difficult passages, and to conquer them.  A big shout out to my friends who encourage and advise me on how to make my practice sessions work!!  The big secret is, feel the pulse!!

This weekend the local church is having a spa day for women--I am thinking of going later today.  Someone will have to pick me up because the church is about 2 k away, and there is still too much snow to slog through.  I also have been invited to visit an Inuit elder, tomorrow, Sunday.  She is one of my colleague's mother.  My friend said her  mother is full Inuit, and her dad is French and Inuit.  They met when they were resettled way up north during the time the government moved families to the remote places for settlement purposes.  When the supply ship came in, there was a priest aboard, and he married them--they were 16 years old.  The grandma got busy, and sewed them a tent of animal hides, where they lived and started their family.  In those days, Inuit families aimed for 16 children.  They had 11 children, with one child dying from disease.  This lady is now in her mid 80's, living with a daughter.  She had a stroke last year, and is going down quickly.  I look forward to meeting her.

So nice to be invited into the community.  It takes a long time for this to happen, if ever, because the Inuit know you are really just visiting, and that you will leave.  It breaks their heart when you go because they bond.   Once you become friends,  you are friends forever.

I am heading to school this morning to get caught up!  Have a great day.

Homemade cards for my little darlings.

The blizzard--you can barely see the village.

Guest room

One month--cucumber, tomato, lettuce and green peppers.  We will soon be potting.

Sliding, the day before the blizzard.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Back to Kangirsuk, 2025, August.

Image
 Greetings all Back to Kangirsuk, you say!!  Are you crazy?  Well, yes, I guess I am a little on the crazy side! I had the call, and I just could not ignore it.  It is fabulous being back, I must say.  Meeting former students, parents, community members and colleagues has been more fun then my Alaskan Cruise.  Seeing how the kids have grown, seeing what they have accomplished, and seeing how the community is beginning to prosper--a real wow experience. The usual frustrations of getting here-a 30 hour delay.  And then, the usual agony of moving into the living accommodation, cleaning, unpacking boxes and settling in.  The worst was, of course, getting the internet at home and at school, and re learning all the tech that I must use including smart board, printer stuff, and internet stuff.  But, that is all behind me.  My classroom is already, house is up to snuff, and I am ready for those four little darlings on Monday morning. I will also...
Read more

Week 2 of the Kangirsuk Adventure

Image
 Greetings all Can you believe that I have been here for two weeks--and the first week of school done!! Weather has been interesting--never really hot, but we sure have had some beautiful blue skies, with little or no wind, and the biggest mosquitoes I have ever seen!!  You have to keep your mouth closed!!  We also have had some snow, rain and sleet, so it is just the tease before that weather comes--usually the snow flies in October--so we have some nice weather to come. Berries are ripening, so everyone is out scouring the landscape, trying to pick as many as they can.  They are small black and red berries--not terribly tasty, but when you mix them with the whale blubber, they taste ok. Everyone is fishing.  Kangirsuk has the best Arctic Char fishing in the world.  NO commercial fishing here--just the locals--and it is fishing every day after school--the fish practically jump into the canoe!!  My neighbour keeps me well stocked. The students usually ...
Read more

January 17, 2026

Image
 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...
Read more