Happy 2010!

Ralph out playing on the tundra.

Ralph and I passed out.

Ralphy telling off our neighbours dog.

Happy New Years all! In recent years I haven't partied up on New Years Eve as much as I would've say ten years ago, and for good reason I just don't have what it takes anymore. On New Years Eve I had no intention of consuming what I did, (big sigh) but I did. My twenties were spent seeing how far I could go and in general living on the edge, complete with a variety of different drinking games, martinis on the go and all nighters that went on for days. I partied like it was my generations Studio 54 all over again. This past new years we bought tickets to Cambridge Bays New Years bash par-TAY and we had ourselves a great time over at the community center, which presented the first error of my judgement...all they had to serve was beer, which usually I would have no problem with but before our arrival I was sipping on crown....so here's my first mistake...mixing. I did hesitate and for a minute there and I could feel what the hangover was to be like the next day but its New Years Eve and really I'm in the arctic, I had no obligations the next day so hey why not drink it up? Six beers later in a dark gym with Fergie pumping the clock struck midnight and everyone waited for the balloons to drop from the ceiling, which didn't until some of the rowdies, Special K included tried throwing and reaching up to release the improperly hung tarp, 8 minutes later it fell and next all you heard were the popping of balloons. During all of this I was sitting with an elder named Ana having a very deep conversation about Kayaks, yes a deep conversation on Kayaks...Anyways the night was far from over, we ended up bringing the party home with us which included screwdrivers, rockband and eventually the night came to an end when we ran out of mix and K noticed I was resorting to mixing crystal light with rum....That would be another of my fatal mistakes. You know its time to go to bed when you mix anything with crystal light. So off to bed I went and I basically stayed there until today loaded on whatever our medicine cabinet could offer. Minus the hangover it was a wonderful New Years Eve. The one thing I did notice here which is different from a typical Vancouver New Years event is that everyone came up shook hands, embraced in hugs and wished each other a happy New Years and I'm talking about complete strangers. We both noticed how friendly everyone was and how that would never happen in the Southern towns we're from. Happy New Years to all of you out there and We wish you the best for 2010!

Blizzards and Boneheads

We have less than 4 months until our wedding now so while we're stuck indoors due to the blizzard outside we are getting her done and I'm talking about all the crafts and crap. Before we came up I searched for gilded glass votives. The only ones I found were online at 3.95 US each, they happened to look cheap and tacky so it was a no-go. I wanted around 200 so I decided to make my own. They turned out awesome, after burning my hands several times making them I can say they were well worth the trouble. Towards the end on one of my trips into Costco my friend Dar helped me complete most of them. Thats one thing thats been checked off the list. Another is the wedding invites which I designed, well they are done as they are fresh off the printing press. I was going to finish them up here but with the clock ticking my friend down south is finishing them up for us. My printer friend Rob did an amazing job from what I've seen. If you happen to read this Rob, YOU ROCK! So now come the table linens. I have to say somewhere along the line I've come to very much dislike linens at any food/drink establishment, not all are bad but just from experience of seeing a napkin that was still dirty I've become finicky and a slight snob, or maybe a full out snob but whatever. So not last night but the night before we started to get all the sewing done. K had bought me a new Pfaff machine that does EVERYTHING, it has so many buttons its crazy! We still have a long way to go with the napkins we are at 18 with 132 to go and I will embroider them with our monogram once we're done the basic sewing. Next week I plan on getting started on the tablecloths and those will most likely take till the end of January. So while this howling wind which sounds like a locomotive blows through here the town is shut down, which means we are without water until the weather changes :( As well planes can't land so Special K went out and got a few things to last us till our food mail comes in. As for the Boneheads, Ralph and Deo have been playing. The other day we tried to take them both out for a walk which ended up in Deo running wild and Ralph chasing him, and then us chasing both of em..Ralph of course came back and I ended up chasing down Deo. Deo is still pretty thin but he has put on some weight so his ribs aren't protruding through but you can still feel him. He will accompany me when I head down to Vancouver and Ralph will come down with Special K. I know Deos new family will be happy with him. Anyways I need to get back to the sewing and to playing with the two boneheads. Have a great day people!

Merry Christmas

Our tree ready to have those presents opened underneath....

and heres Ralph in his typical look out the window and bark position...

Hey there all. I hope that everyone out there had a great Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate. This was a different kind of Christmas for me. Christmas morning was not as rushed as it has been in the recent years. My Christmas mornings are usually spent speeding to get into the BC ferries line up, a quick drop by at friends and this is the first year of not stopping by Evergreen House to share a rum ball with my recently passed Grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. I have to say I was worried about how I'd feel on Christmas Day but yesterday turned out to be such a wonderful Christmas. It was nice to not have to get out of bed at 4, to blow dry and straighten my hair, down a cup of coffee and then load a car full of gifts. Last year I remember there was snow on the ground when K and I left the house and I was in damn heels. After reaching Vancouver we managed to fit 2 visits in North Van, 1 in Abbotsford, and 2 in Maple Ridge all in the same day. This year I woke up at 4:30, well really the kid in me did. I patiently waited till 6 to wake K, made croissants and coffee and started the water process of thawing out the rest of our turkey. We exchanged gifts and opened the ones sent to us. I was spoiled and shocked when K gave me some earrings he had custom made for me by Emily Illuitok a carver in Kugaaruk. Plus some wicked binoculars which apparently you can use to see the rings around Saturn. Which I had been wanting since our late summer nights of laying in our hammock staring at the endless sky of stars. Which work, well I didn't see Saturn but I saw the detail and all the craters in the moon last night. I was in awe. I can't wait to use them again tonight. Oh and another one of K's presents to me was the all to well known TV infomercial product the Slap Chop! Which made me laugh and we used it to chop the onion for our stuffing. K was spoiled with some shirts from the NBC comedy The Office...one being Dwight Shrutes...Shrute Farms Beets shirt, and also a film still from Forrest Gump autographed by Tom Hanks...one of K's favourite movies. I put the turkey in the oven some time before noon. With a tip from Anthony Bourdains Holiday special I did not stuff the turkey, I cooked stuffing on the side, with drippings from the turkey then baked it. Our turkey was super moist, and the stuffing was awesome good. From now on I will make all my turkeys this way. We had a full spread from swiss cauli bake, carrots vichy, mashed potatoes, home made gravy from reduction of home made stock.....so good! cranberry sauce, pickled beets and home made stuffing. While I was making our meal I was running on high octane eggnog and baileys with coffee, yes not coffee with baileys...baileys with coffee:) When the cooking was coming to an end I was able to take a break for myself and had a steamy bath in our soaker tub. After we sat down to a dinner that I was able to pull off even though much of our anticipated groceries never made it up from Yellowknife due to our recent blizzard and lack of landing planes. We had a wonderful almost romantic Christmas here in Cambridge Bay. We ended our evening watching a not so typical Christmas movie, Freddy versus Jason and then ogled the moon and its craters. Then with a combination of turkey and my high octane eggnog I was induced to a heavy deep sleep. What a great Christmas! To our friends, family and blog readers we hope you had as wonderful a holiday as we did. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

This past weeks pics

Throwing the ball for the dogs.

Amazing colours of the sky.

Special K's creepy mask.

Wind kissed snow.

Saturday night dance off.

Our X-mas lights and moving boxes.

Holiday Spirit and lots of random stuff

Hey all! I'm recuperating as we partied it up last night at K's staff X-mas party. K even started break dancing and really I honestly have to say so far that's the best time I've had up here. I laughed so hard my face hurt. It was good to get to know people better and good to have people get to know me. I like a no BS party where there's no well BS and that's what it was. It was old school partying for me mixing 2 old friends with another, crown and vodka but I'm feeling great today strangely enough. While dancing I had friends on my mind. I was thinking how 10 years ago Friday, Saturday and Tuesday and actually sometimes Wednesday were the days we'd go clubbing. Those days of all nighters, afterhours and waking up in strange places are long gone for me now. Really though now I'm looking forward to the next party on New Years, Good times;) Oh and Arctic Char is amazing, it tastes like Salmon but better, you know how Salmon can easily dry out on the BBQ, well its like a fattier Salmon so it stays moist. I had it cooked and raw with soy sauce and I preferred the cooked of course because I've tried raw meat and sure I like my steak bloody but I never caught on to any raw fish fad. Gary, who I like to call my Inuit father had brought fresh ice from the lake and I had to take a pic because how often you have FRESH ice from the arctic crushed for your drinks, so here's a pic of that. We returned home at midnight which is late to me now, what the hell happened to getting home at 6am? Our dogs were happy to see us, speaking of dogs I have two vets considering coming up here to do neutering and spaying for the community. We put them up for the week and raise the money for the medications and it may aid in slowing down our communities growing dog population. As for our dog Murphy Baby Deo as we call him....long story...he is looking damn good and I'm following the advice of Animal professionals such as vets and trainers. We gave him a bath....and wow he changed colours and the filth and dirt that came off of him was crazy. I spent 2 hours grooming him and he looks completely different and get this his ears are coming up. Apparently its not such a rare thing for these dogs to just go out an adopt people, it happens all the time here from what people were telling me last night. Not everyone here is a jerk to their dog only some are. I also found out why people do starve their dogs, its easier to skin them, I know I was like WHAT? But yeah that's what happens here. Anyways I want all of you to know I'm doing great and that I do miss you during the holidays of course. I've got my family on my mind, and my extended families...The Jordans, The Andrews, The Blancks and The Prowses. Oh the Prowses, The brandy alexander Christmas eve tradition or was it Christmas morning? Go figure I can't remember;) I think of Christmas dinners at the Hart House when Mom grabbed the wheel of my car and nearly took my new car into a tree, the same year my uncle tried to..yeah we'll leave it at that....or the family dinner after Moms newly implanted assets kept popping out of her stylish tube dress and my Grandmother remarking that, You weren't born with those! or how about your mother sending you SARS masks at Christmas, because you can never be too paranoid or prepared....ahhh just more validation that my life is like a chapter out of Running with Scissors. My mother is reading this saying I didn't just send you masks and no she didn't there was other stuff, trust me. I remember opening packages from Mom and saying WTF? I love you Mom, I guarantee there's not many Moms like you out there. My Dad, he's great too just not crazy in the same way she is...crazy in the way that it cost him 200 plus dollars to send me my X-Mas gifts. I love you Dad you rock now take care of yourself, you have an aisle to walk me down in like 4 months.....FOUR MONTHS...till I give up single hood, well actually I gave that up a while ago but WOW I remember when I was like I'll never get married. I don't want to be one of THOSE people, I want to have options but now I'm damn happy and in LOVE with the best break dancing asian I know, Love you K. Back to Christmas, I hope all of you are having a good time gearing up, getting all your shopping done, finding parking spots at the mall...(I remember how trying to find a parking spot at this time of year use to seriously piss me off) getting baked or getting your baking done...I will call you Sue, who makes the bestest closest shortbread cookies to my grandmas.....I need your recipe! I hope wherever you are and whatever you are doing you are having a good time and weirdly because I'm not around the hustle and bustle of it all I can't believe Christmas is just in a few days. Listening to Bing Crosby's Christmas is a tradition my x step mom Lorraine gave me makes me feel like that time of year is here along with my regular morning coffee turning into egg nog lattes, and yes I'm having egg nog lattes in the arctic and damn they are good with some fresh grated nutmeg from a can:) Anyways I need to get out and get some stuff done as its getting dark and KOVIAHUKMILUH as they say up in these parts and MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HANUKKAH!

December photos

Our yummy roast beef dinner and my corn squash chowder

Ralph the Santa dog

Ralphy

The painted kitchen, all done.

Seasons Greetings!

Good day all.
I finished painting the kitchen yesterday and I decorated my tree in the tacky american style. Which means tons of ornaments and none of them match. Most of my ornaments were from both of my grandmothers you know all the old 40's and 50's german glass ones and mom...every year she stuck a new one in my stocking. As I decorated my tree I came across ornaments that I made with my girl friends...which brought back memories of listening to Adam Sandler sing his Hanukkah song, drinking rum and egg nogs while trying to decorate theses glass balls. Ahhh I miss you guys!!!I also came across one that my last german shepherd Kelsey had chewed...a smiling seal with a wreath wrapped around his neck. I wrote on the bottom of it chewed by Kelsey 199- either a 1 or a 2. That year she knocked over our X-mas tree, opened and ate a majority of the presents, barbies heads were chewed off and even a silver candelabra that was for my grandmother...she managed to chew the actual candle holder part off. She even ripped open boxes of chocolates, leaving the chocolates and eating the boxes. She ate poinsettia's and I remember the panic that happened afterward that our delinquent dog may be poisoned from the plants. She wasn't, and some how that dog who would take knives out of the knife block and chew the handles off never had a major accident or rush to the vet like my Ralphy has. Ahhh Kelsey I still miss you and your retarded ways. I also have my Dads bubble lights from the seventies which make this a complete retro tree. As I pulled stuff out of the rubbermaid bin I discovered Ralphs santa costume which he enjoyed strutting his stuff in, his tail wagged as soon as he saw it. So some of our stuff has not shown up, the movers are trying to locate it. I was pleased that a box of our brand new mec gear had shown though and the other half of K's bike.
Anyways I must get back to this chaos and try to post pics when its all done for now heres a couple of Ralph and our kitchen. Cheers and Happy Holidays to you and yours!