Well here we go. Our first blog and our first trip up to the Great White North. Wow. We currently live in Halfmoon Bay in Beautiful British Columbia and I will be sad to leave but am looking forward to our new adventure in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. I have been religiously reading blogs of others that have gone North and am so happy to have their knowledge on what to bring, what to pack and what to smuggle (food).
My other half won't really be participating due to his workplace confidentiality agreement, but I'm sure he'll be over my shoulder at times with his input.
So we are both in our early thirties and we have Ralph the dog, we did also have Tippy the cat but after having her for 16 years, she decided it was time for her to move on and go to kitty heaven. So its kinda strange I think mainly for me because she has just recently gone (last week), so for me not to mention that we had a cat would be weird....I know strange...Anyways we have Ralph the German Shepherd who at this moment is too tired to move after chasing the sprinkler (a new fetish for Ralph) and has barked at the landscapers nextdoor enough for one day. Mr K, my other half was raised inToronto Ontario and I in Vancouver BC We both love the outdoors and new adventures so a move up North is quite fitting of us. We will be married back here in Halfmoon Bay in late April 2010 and I'm crazy excited about it. Before Mr K got the job all of my time was dedicated to making save the dates to embossing glass votives. Now my time is spent more so planning and making lists of everything we may need for the move and afterwards. Once we have moved I plan on sewing all of the tablecloths and making a few decorations and then shipping them back to our Halfmoon Bay address. I'm into photography, took some film school back in the day and am all about the leisure and enjoying life as much as you possibly can. I have to say my biggest hobbie is cooking, which reminds me to call Gourmet Warehouse to see what their shipping rates are to Nunavut.
I'm so excited but also kinda scared. We went and did the big costco shop and now have 3 years worth of floss, toothpaste, deoderant, body wash, nyquil, neocitren, advil, tampons, LAUNDRY DETERGENT....I say this in big block letters since I thought the back tires of my VW Golf were going to give out considering the detergent took up 70% of the back of my car, bounce sheets...when you have a 3 years supply in your car its great to get the dog smell out of it but I grew quite ill, maybe even possibly high from the intense mountain fresh scent that took over the car. People were also looking at us as if we were crazy, with 3 carts loaded, one just for the Tide. But hey it was fun as Costco always is.
This weekend we are heading back to Costco to get toilet paper and some paper towels and whatever else I can think of...oh tin foil for sure and if anyone can recommend stuff to bring pack or smuggle please let me know.
Other things we will be bringing is a memory foam pad. I've noticed quite a few bloggers have said they are glad they brought one and I'm pretty big on the whole sleep thing done in clean places so hey memory foam it is. Anyways if you have any tips or advice please give it.
Have a wonderful day.
Christina.
Mark Kalluak’s Traditional Stories from Arviat
1 month ago
Reading this brought a failiar warmth too me. I hope you read our Costco experiences!
ReplyDeleteGood job with the "3 years worth" . . even when we thought we had enough. We realise that we could've used some more (selfishly). Let food take over your every room. It's worth it.
Again, all the best!
if you like to cook...trust me...
ReplyDeleteany type of specialty oil you'll have to take (olive, sesame,etc.) as well as various vinegars (balsamic, white, rice, cider, etc.). for a small bottle of crisco (which i generally don't use unless it's for baking) you have to pay about $16 in pangnirtung. cambridge bay is bigger, so perhaps it won't be too bad.
also, pure vanilla extract does not exist here, nor does dillweed. spices. important and light.
AND...i'm not sure if you like to bake (you mentioned you liked cooking), but if you do, expect the crazy price of flour. $40 or a 10kg bag. i couldn't believe it. i'm going to be hooked up with foodmail sometime soon because i love having dinner parties and, well, i don't get paid enough to buy the ingredients.
if there's any type of candy or something you like specifically, get it. foodmail will charge you for 'junk' and it's incredibly expensive. i went to costco and bought all the expected things, but i would like some more swiffer wet cleaners, lysol wipes, and antibacterial wipes.
i got used to the 'northern' store prices pretty quickly. expect everything to be more expensive and you won't be shocked. i always have fresh cheese, milk, and eggs...chicken is expensive, but beef is well-priced and pork costs the same as it does in the south.
bring a brita water filter thing if you're into that. they're incredibly expensive here.
buy some of those energy efficient lightbulbs and some rechargeable batteries to go with the flashlight you should have. the silver blanket thing that you get in survival packs is a good thing to bring with you too. do you know the ones i mean? the ones used if you're stranded out in really cold temperatures? you can use those for the windows instead of trying to foil it (which may lead to a frustrating ripping frenzy).
anyway, let me know if you have more questions!...check out some of my archived posts. my prep time was rushed and crazy and, well, you can read the rest.
t
Thanks Jordan and Steph I will let food take over all of our rooms!!We have been warned by the movers of not to pack food and that an RCMP official will be present when the movers unpack it. Hence the hockey bags that we will check as luggage when we come up. Thanks Tara too! Yeah I kinda figured that I'd need to buy the specialty ingredients and oils but I had no clue on the flour so I will go get some of that today.
ReplyDelete