Oh you're home? When do you leave?

As I ran some errands yesterday in the community I grew up in (hardly recognizable over half a century later) I encountered folks I knew through various stages of my life and the surprised statement "oh you're home" was followed by "when are you leaving again?" each time. It does at times seem a misnomer to call my house 'home' as I've not spent much time in it since last summer. It was wonderful though to sleep in my own bed, with the trio of cats Wednesday night.

So....a brief recap of the last six weeks adventures..... Often when you're a teenager you say 'when I get married I will never' and of course....you do, or before you have children you say to yourself 'I would never do that as a parent' and again...of course you do. But rest assured at my age when I say "I am NEVER doing that again" it is a certainty. If something isn't enjoyable...I'm just not doing it. Doesn't matter if I'm being paid well, visiting parts of our country I'd never see otherwise, not on call or up at night,  or working with great support staff - of course you always meet good people along the way. Nurses talk - which hospital, unit, region, manager has a bad rep? News travels fast in the nurse world. With all the studies, business plans, recruitment, bonuses etc. out there, the correct answer to nurse retention is ....R-E-S-P-E-C-T. If you treat old nurses well, they are loyal and...if you tick them off, they walk away. The warning signs were all there in the previous post and the slide continued.

On January 2nd at midnight I drove on clear roads to my nursing classmate's house, left my car and was met by the taxi I'd booked, then whisked to the airport. I hadn't been able to check in online and this was repeated at the kiosk so I was relieved that the counter agent found my ticket and attempted to check me in, couldn't check my bags all the way through to Igloolik so another lengthy wait in another line before my bag disappeared on the belt. Through security (thank you Nexus) and up to the departure gate where I was joined by friends of ours heading to Ottawa then on to New York to catch a cruise, Panama Canal, Fiji, Tasmania etc...ahh. Quick flight/nap to Ottawa and through the airport to the gate where I was told that Canadian North baggage allowance is no longer two pieces so I must pay $39.55 for the second bag which was now enroute. I encountered a retired RCMP buddy/insurance salesman heading in to do security in Pangnirtung and we caught up on the news. A routine but fully packed flight with breakfast, nap and no issues until...we approached Iqaluit and as the pilots attempted to put the wing flaps down, only one set would move. This required that we circle the airport while the flight crew ran through the checklist, a warning about a faster and harder landing than usual and eventually a clear runway with every emergency vehicle present and flashing, but down safely on the snow covered ground. The departure lounge full of passengers didn't get to leave as the plane 'went mechanical' and they were delayed until the evening flight. After a bit of a delay I boarded for Igloolik and my security buddy headed over to Pang with plans to get together should I make it over for the second half of my contract. About an hour and a half flight northwest into Igloolik through noon twilight then a sudden blizzard as we attempted to land. Still not sure how we made it down. No one to meet me, so I asked an RCMP officer if he recognized anyone in the waiting room from the health centre, he didn't but offered to call them and informed me that "Mark" would be along shortly. The caretaker arrived in the health centre vehicle and as I gazed forlornly at the collection of baggage I realized neither of my two flowered duffle bags had made it. I was deposited at the health centre (fortunately the same floor plan as Pond Inlet so I could find my way around) where I wasn't expected until the following day. The nurse in charge (we discovered we had met in Sachs Harbour last July as I was leaving on the charter) found me keys to housing and instructed the homecare nurse to drive me to the apartment to get settled - not a big job when you only have a backpack. I insisted on directions to return to the health centre in the a.m. as I'd be walking in the dark and he obliged by saying "walk towards the mushroom" and went back to work. I scavenged some food from the communal cupboard and crawled into bed at 7pm and was out until the morning. Never doing that travel in to a Baffin community in one day again, especially as we are paid a maximum of two 7.5 hr travel days only if it takes you two days and GN works at trying to save the cost of the hotel and the second day!

Nunavut Research Centre

Sign on an elder's wall 

The next morning, I walked in the dark and -48c temperature past the mushroom to the health centre where I stumbled in the door to report. I spent the first week in Igloolik getting to know the caseload and routine so I could orientate the full-time homecare nurse who had been hired. One of the larger challenges was the CHNs expended large amounts of energy attempting to have homecare do their work - a big problem as their scope of practice is much wider. On my first day of work the nurse in charge said "I know you're a CHN, are you interested in working as one here?" When I protested that I hadn't done a CHN contract for over a year she corrected me and said "I met you coming out of Sachs Harbour as not just CHN but NIC in the summer" for which I just stammered "I'm not up for it here, this looks like a busy sick community" and let me tell you, I wasn't wrong. As a buddy says "glad I did it then, even more glad I'm not doing it now" about his time in Nunavut. At the end of the week, a positive development was two CSAs arrived for me to sign with step 4 for Igloolik and Pangnirtung. The clients were lovely elders, the interpreter and home support workers were wonderful, the vehicle was a new crew cab truck and after I cleaned my way into the apartment I had a quiet first week. I picked up my Filipino replacement (and her husband) on Saturday and we settled into the household. The husband was a wonderful cook who prepared lots of Filipino dishes, kept the house immaculately and used up all the water by Wednesday! There was a  lot of entertainment at the community centre as 'return of the sun' activities were on the second week and I took in games night (won a prize) a fashion show and craft sale. When the nurse in charge changed, it was the young Ugandan guy who had been in Clyde River last year with me, so another familiar face. Our homecare manager came over for the week of orientation, but mostly worked

remotely while we did our thing. My replacement caught on very quickly and was often mistaken for Inuit until she spoke, so wasn't immediately viewed as a foreigner. Soon it was time for me to move on, leaving her to make the position her own.

Quick flight in to Iqaluit, over to the Frobisher Inn for supper and overnight. An early Saturday morning wakeup and cab to the airport for check in. Met the NP who'd been in Pond Inlet in May and one of the fulltime CHNs flying back in to Pond, the north is a small group of nurses. A clear 45 minute flight over to Pangnirtung past the mountains, up the fjord with wingtips VERY close to the mountains and finally into the bright yellow airport in the center of the community. Met by the manager and she gave me a tour of Pang with lots of photo ops of the breathtaking scenery. As there was no housing available for me in the nurses residence the first week of my stay, I spent the first night at my manager's and then moved on to a house sitting arrangement for a regional dietician who was away for the week. By Friday I was able to move into the residence for my final two weeks. I felt like a homeless person dragging my stuff with me and living out of bags.

Towards the National Park

Although Pang is physically beautiful, it is a very troubled place with lots of alcohol and drugs, suicides, violence and disrespect - thus the 24/7 health centre security. The nurses residence might have one intact window in the entire place. It is not a community where I would ever make a home visit alone without the interpreter, although the elders are lovely people who are quite dismayed at how things are now. As the regional office for department of health is in Pang, there is a sense of entitlement and frequent administrative interference, as well as overt aggression. I had found myself backing away with hands held up on more than one occasion while out and about and was almost creamed by a young couple (with very small infant in amauti) on a careening skidoo.

Out for a spin 

Further to this dysfunction, I found myself coming in to the community after an agency homecare nurse who clearly couldn't organize herself or the workplace. The office was a disaster, there was no schedule or plan, she sat in the office and gave me tasks to do, she called in sick my second morning, afterwards saying she'd taken a vitamin D tablet which caused a stomach upset. I wasn't introduced to the clients and when I insisted on day four that I must have a master list of clients with diagnosis to practice safely, she was unable to tell me any information. Our manager had fractured the head of her right humerus and so was off on medical leave with emergent situations being handled by one of the directors who stated she had NO homecare experience - helpful I thought. I didn't have online access for the first week as IT is still scrambling from the network crash and the homecare clerk was out for medical travel so I drove the home support workers around to their visits. As I said at report "I'm going better, only got lost once yesterday". I made it my goal to try to get the situation under some form of control to handover to my replacement and worked hard all week towards that plan. There were a series of young, new to the north nurses who arrived at the health centre as CHNs and although very keen, required mentoring. I had two of them as roommates before finally making room for my replacement. On Monday I picked up my replacement as we had 3.5 days together to get her up to speed. She had never been north before but had lots of nursing and homecare experience, so working in a remote area was her major challenge. We discovered we were both Parrot Heads and so got along famously, although she had been to more Jimmy Buffett concerts than me for sure! She's since updated me that the past week was a doozie as in...interpreter got in an accident with a skidoo, no one hurt but right front panel smashed off vehicle and windshield washer container is broken. One of the clients called the Director to state that my predecessor is not to come to her house and two of the staff have stated they will quit if she returns. Glad to have made my exit and those were tears of joy when the flight landed! It'll be good to not work for a bit as I'm headed back to Taloyoak in the fall for a six week public health contract and really looking forward to visiting the community after six years

I spent a lovely long weekend with the parents to be of my fourth grandchild and things are coming along with the new Canadian son in law. He is studying English Monday to Friday mornings and has begun work at Farm Boy (upscale grocery chain..think Pete's Frootique) in the produce department. He's thrilled to be making $15/hr (shhh don't tell him it's minimum wage) and enjoying his fellow immigrant coworkers. I smiled as he ran through the various types of apples with me - previously his knowledge as a Cuban of apples would've been...it's an apple :) Lots of new fruits and vegetables for him to write in his little notebook. Enjoyed a great Persian supper and also Vietnamese.  Yum. We did some shopping and planning for the baby. As daughter #1 said...we can pick these things up now, or you'll be the one getting them in April. I booked my flight to Ottawa for April 25th and will either be to see or wait for the grandchild. The weather wasn't great as we made our way to the airport on Tuesday morning, but at least no cancellations as in Toronto and Montreal. The shore captain was heading south so his flight to Cuba out of Pearson was delayed but did leave.

Uneventful flight with a beautiful arrival across Halifax. Can't recall flying over the two bridges with Halifax/Dartmouth spread beneath us. My nursing classmate met me at the gate as she volunteers at the airport and drove me home to her house/my car...that's service! I made my way over to Dartmouth, arriving shortly before the family made it home. We ordered pizza/garlic fingers for supper and an early bedtime for all was in order. The early wakeup time followed and I spent some time with the grandkids, then headed out to my rhuematologist appointment for realilgnment and injection. Stopped at two Frenchy's and scored great finds, finally making it home after dark. Ahhh

I've spent the past two days unpacking from north, doing laundry and storing northern gear/repacking for Cuba. I've gotten a haircut, a spa appointment tomorrow and run lots of errands to pick up last minute things. I've managed to get my travel claim submitted (hoping it'll be paid out before I get home in five weeks) opened all my mail/packages and paid some bills. Checked with the house/cat sitter that all is in order and I've cleaned out the freezer and the son in law stored it in the bait freezer...take that NSP! Collected up my study materials and am really looking forward to getting back to class. This weekend the oldest grandson is visiting and he enjoyed a 4H builders meeting as he's signed up for three projects which he hopes will take him to Pro Show next fall. He's a social guy and a big fan of public speaking so is pretty pumped.

He was more pumped when we booked accommodation for our Easter get away to Vancouver as I'm using my WestJet companion fare for a six day trip. And yes...Breakfast with the Bears is still on the list he Googled of 'what to do in Vancouver'. Let the planning begin tomorrow.

Looking forward to the fire hall breakfast on Sunday, some time with the grandson, then my 6 am Monday flight to the warm. Life is good.

In closing....to quote the physicist Richard Feynman...if you think you understand it that shows you don't

How messed up are ya?

As the year, and decade roll to a conclusion, I am moving closer to thinking that retirement vs employment is a better option. And this is before I actually get to work. Here’s the abbreviated scoop….

I have travel booked in to Iglulik for January 2nd, meaning I’ll leave just after midnight, drive to my nursing classmate’s and leave my car, taxi to the airport and catch the 0530 Air Canada flight to Ottawa, then Canadian North to Iqaluit and First Air to Iglulik..arriving (hopefully) mid afternoon to -22c weather. I began my quest on December 2nd and was originally told by the manager that there was an opening for Homecare Supervisor in Iglulik and she would pass my dates along to the scheduler. After a week, I contacted the staffing person to be told that she was awaiting direction from the manger as there was an indeterminate (full time) homecare supervisor booked for Jan 10th in Iglulik who would need orientation. I’m sure with my first time there and only for a week, I’ll be pretty disorientated myself, so we’ll see. I received an email from the manager asking if I’d work the first three weeks in Iglulik and move to Pangnirtung for the final time. I asked about per diems if being relocated and was advised that ‘GN process is for two separate CSAs’. I was assured they’d book me to relocate during the week when I’m being paid, not on the weekend when I'm off - I have since received a hotel booking for Iqaluit on Friday Jan 24th and flight to Pang on Saturday. I requested a two day layover in Ottawa without accommodation  when my duty travel was being booked for February and initially the manager agreed to this, then stated it wasn’t allowed ‘due to GN liability’ even though we aren’t paid for our travel out of community. Since I’d already planned a visit with the daughter and son in law, I advised I’d book my own travel from Ottawa to Halifax…apparently no liability with this plan. I have since received a booking for the Hilton Garden Inn in Ottawa for Feb 13th (one day too early) with flight in to Ottawa for Feb 14th at 10 pm and out the morning of the 15th at 7:30 am. Haven’t dealt with any of that yet because….on Dec 20th I received two CSAs to sign for Iglulik Jan 2 - 24 and Pangnirtung Jan 26 - Feb 14 stating I’d receive step 2 on the 6 step salary scale. This was particularly annoying as I know an RN with two years experience who receives step 4 on every contract. I requested amended CSAs to sign, the Director advised that HR had to make the change, not line managers and she would contact me Dec 27th. On Saturday Dec 28th I had an email exchange with the Director who advised (as I expected) that HR wasn’t available until January 2nd and would I fly in to Iglulik and HR could check the pay scale upon their return? I responded that I was expecting step 4 but was advised that there was no way to promise this so….I replied that I would sign the CSA for Iglulik only with the understanding that the pay scale would be amended to step 4 or I would not move on to  Pang. My thoughts of the nurse eagerly heading home from Iglulik on Jan 2 was the only reason for my capitulation. If anyone asks me about the staffing crisis in the north or retention…I think I can provide some background. And unfortunately, this sort of tale is becoming the norm. How messed up are they? I'm certainly glad that we've had a great holiday visit with the family which has helped settle the priorities and distract from the silliness of the government bureaucracy. 

It's been a busy month since I arrived home with baking, social activities and I even managed to get some gifts completed. The shore captain and I were a team with crocheted shawl (me) and shawl pin (he) for the baby daughter, a Saskatchewan Roughriders poncho in white, green and black (complete with my first ever graph of their logo) according to his specifications for the firstborn daughter and a jeans top for the teacher daughter (which I created in Cuba) plus last minute three cowls for three daughters. Fun to have your creations appreciated. I had a few Frenchy's shops (always good therapy) and for the first time I experienced a 'heist' of my basket (granted before I paid but there were some great finds in there for my next grandbaby). Did a bit of online shopping - as did many on our rural route - the Canada Post driver had to make additional deliveries on the weekend before the holidays because he wasn't sure he could fit the 160 parcels in his van saying "you've all discovered online shopping" as the reason. 

The house is suddenly quiet without several extra generations being accommodated and no sounds of little feet. It was wonderful to have the oldest daughter and her new to Canada husband with us for a spell. Gave us a chance to show him some maritime hospitality and introduce him to local foods. We had roast beef the first evening he arrived and he said with a grin "what is this - beef? shut the door!" as it is only served at resorts in Cuba. We were able to provide an ‘almost’ surprise baby shower for them under the guise of a ‘meet n greet’ for our son in law which saw at least 45 people drop in. They received lovely baby gifts, lots of cash and gift cards while having great visits with neighbours, friends and family. There was the usual extended family supper and catching up on the news, the grandkids hanging out with their cousins and lots of excitement. Santa came to visit, especially as Grawmp put out reindeer food for the sleigh pullers, and both grandkids and newest son in law were very pleased. Christmas supper was served to over a dozen and we had multiple delicious meals with various combinations of family members (depending on who was working at the time) and ate WAY too much. Yesterday the last of the houseguests moved on, the tree went out the door, and lots of reorganizing and purging was done. 

Today was spent….packing. Sounds like a simple activity but it took over the day. Searching through travel accessories, lining up my travel clothes, unearthing the northern gear - parka, snow pants, Pang hat, sealskin mitts, scarf and kamiks into the stuff sack to wear from Ottawa onwards. Sorting through the scrubs, shoes,fuzzy pjs,  humidifier, headlamp, external drive of movies, choosing books and craft projects, charging the UV light, iPod, power pack and finding all the documents for work. Packing my knapsack, partially packing two duffels (45lb remaining for groceries) and developing to do lists. 

Tomorrow the oldest grandson arrives for a sleepover and will accompany us on our New Years Eve date. We've gotten movie tickets to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Staying up to ring in 2020 will likely not be an option for the three of us. Speaking of grandkids, I discovered that gramping (also called grandcation or a skip-gen getaway) is the latest travel trend...grandparents taking their grandchildren on vacation, even tours booked according to age (grandkids not the seniors) We're on trend it seems. 

The next update will likely happen after return from Nunavut as I'll just use data on my phone to keep up online and with the ransom virus attack the network is (belatedly) vigilant about visiting non government sites. Happy New Year and looking forward to 2020...what a date! Another great year coming up!

Yes, yes I'm still here...helloooooo

This morning, after putting the oldest grandson on the bus (thinking yet again that bus drivers are really earning their money today) making a cup of tea and sitting looking at the snow, freezing rain and gales, I realized….this is the first day in over three months that I don’t have a long MUST DO list, usually in a country other than Canada. Finally a chance to update the blog with lots of news….while I ignore the cleaning needed before the Christmas decor goes up.

September / October saw the six week adventure across the pond completed with seven newly visited countries added to the bucket list.Lovely weather for the most part, great food, smooth travels and amazing scenery. Flight to London, negotiated the express bus/underground system to St Pancras Station and our nearby boutique (funky decor) hotel. A bit of wandering, supper and an early bedtime to deal with the jet lag. A day spent on the Hop On Hop Off bus touring all the tourist sites of London with a River Thames boat tour to Greenwich and return. Perfect day. Off in the morning on the Eurostar (high speed train) from London to Amsterdam and it’s a great way to travel with lunch, wifi and scenes of France, Belgium and Holland speeding by at 345 km/hr.  Lovely small hotel in Amsterdam, local suppers, visit to Anne Frank House (waited 50 yrs for that after reading Anne Frank’s Diary) strolling by the canals, enjoying hot chocolate and stroopwaffels at cafes. We joined our rivership the AmaSerena and spent a week cruising the Rhine, viewing castles, excursions to medieval towns and learning so much European history through France (Alsace) Germany and into Basel Switzerland. After an additional three days touring Basel, Lucerne and Zermatt by train we put our travel companion (shore captain’s office manager x 27 yrs) on a flight home as some people aren’t retired yet, and made our way to Davos, St. Moritz and area then back through Sargans. Spent three weekends visiting with our Argentine friends in the Bodensee area and managed to fit in a visit to Gundelsheim and supper out with our summer neighbours who own a winery there. Enjoyed the south of Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein then off through Luxembourg and Belgium to catch the Eurostar back to London. A rainy pub afternoon in London and supper with a (could be our daughter) friend we met in Mendoza two years ago. Early morning ride on the underground to Heathrow, flight home through Montreal and a stop to see the grandkids in the city. They change so much in a couple of months at age one and three years! Just a sampling of the many trip photos:

St Pancras Station

Rhine River cruise 

Swiss rail

Cog railway...Matterhorn

Lindau, Germany

Mainau Island, Germany

Regensburg

Belgian waffle 

Salzburg, Mozart in the palace

Wine in Lichtenstein

Brussels, Belgium

What was my favourite country? Switzerland, followed closely by Lichtenstein....both expensive but lovely. We enjoyed all the destinations, with slower travel managed a deeper experience and felt sorry for those on tours rushing from one distant destination to another. Just because you can....should you?

Arrived home Friday 10 pm and out the door Monday 1 am for my next adventure, so a very busy weekend. Essentially, opening the mail, unpacking the backpack, laundry, repacking, organizing gifts for Cuba and off to the airport. Uneventful flights, prearranged taxi to the bus station in Holguin and….3.5 hr delay as the the bus was broken down in Camaguey. Finally underway just before 9pm and napped my way through except for Bayamo then Palma Soriano  arriving in Santiago de Cuba at 1am to a waiting son in law with the vintage side car motorcycle who efficiently delivered me to my casa particular, woke the family and I was shortly in the shower and bed after a long day. Spent a busy first week as two days after I arrived our son in law’s passport was returned from the Canadian Embassy in Mexico to Canada and the shore captain was tasked with being the mule to deliver it. So, after all the waiting on November 7th our Cuban son in law flew to Montreal, navigated Canadian Immigration and joined our oldest daughter in Ottawa. They’ve since moved to a new apartment and are getting settled as they’re booked to come home for a visit over the holidays. Exciting times! The remainder of my four weeks in Cuba was calmer with visits with friends, Spanish lessons (took a while to reestablish it in my mind), ballgames, trying new restaurants and acclimatizing to the 33c days. This November was much hotter than last year this time! 

Guys Frenchy's

Back to Canada at 1 am last Tuesday and in to hang out with the city grandkids as the teacher daughter headed back to work after maternity leave. This milestone was further complicated by conjunctivitis…first the baby, then his older sister and of course the inability to go daycare while infectious. We enjoyed two lovely days of walks to the playground, reading lots of books and playing and an ice cream cake party for the birthday boy. I left to pick up my car from my nursing class buddy on Wednesday evening as required by a Thursday morning dental appointment. Friday brought another appointment and two Frenchy’s stops. The quote of the days at the checkout….cashier to senior customer…..I’m gonna sell it to ya, no need to explain :) Then one of the clerks posed in a mascot head for a customer to take a photo and said…I get paid by the hour, so whatever. It’s the happiest place on earth…like a visit to Disney World but a whole lot cheaper. Scored some lovely finds and had fun while doing so. 

The oldest grandson (9th birthday last month) spent the weekend and we had lots of good times. Had gotten him NHL-OPOLY for his birthday and we played that Friday evening - of course Grawmp won. Good thing when the question was ‘name a team which has won the Stanley Cup’ and he answered Toronto Maple Leafs, they didn’t ask for a timeline eh? On Saturday the grandson and I took a trip to the Ten Thousand Villages annual sale which was a great opportunity to study geography, fair trade, social justice and pick up some neat things. He insisted on a drum from Indonesia (grandfather’s rule that it can only be played when he is not in the house) and was amazed by the collection. We made our way to Simply Pho You which is a new Vietnamese restaurant in town…won’t be our only trip as the spring rolls, pho, salad rolls and noodles were wonderful. Nice to see new Canadians doing well. Over to the Cineplex and we (and a sold out crowd) took in the matinee for Frozen II…overwhelming number of Elsa gowns, just sayin. Sunday saw us enjoying a video chat with the electrician daughter and hubby in Ottawa, a game of Battleship which Grawmp won as well, lots of books, making a batch of chocolate chip cookies to share with the grade four class. We even managed to fit in some writing practice and multiplication….what is with this boxes of numbers vs memorizing a times table now? My nerves!

Have set myself a goal this week of navigating the labyrinth of northern nursing contract for January/February. There has been a huge issue with the government network being hit with the ransom virus in October so all the hard drives have to be replaced or factory reset. This has taken out all the government email so faxes and phone are the new normal. I sent my proof of RN registration to a hotmail address....yes, this is the level HR is functioning at two months in. The short version is that the former jobshare partner is urging me to come to the first community we were roommates in (where she has returned to do homecare) and I could do a public health contract - no TB, not many STIs but a large population of babies and children so lots of immunizations which sounds ok to me. We'd be able to hang out and catch up and I could revisit folks. However, tracking down the manager to see if this is possible (see above communication snafu) is nigh on impossible. And of course it wouldn't take me to the eastern region of the territory....meaning the gateway is Edmonton not Ottawa. Another option is homecare (or alternatively public health) in the Baffin region, which would allow for Ottawa visiting so I'll pursue that as Plan B. If I don't get a few weeks in January/February...I'll run out of year with all the plans which come up. I can see how semi retired people talk about being too busy to go to work. 

Speaking of which, tomorrow is a retired nurses luncheon and I'm looking forward to visiting with former coworkers and colleagues. Haven't been able to make the event for a couple of years what with work and travel so will be nice to make an appearance. Got to get those pies baked which I promised.

Well, enough procrastinating with the cleaning/decorating, even the kitties are suggesting I get busy. Lots of holiday prep this year as it's the first year for the Cuban son in law to experience a Canadian Christmas. He's heading down for a visit a few days before his wife as he's not able to work until his permanent resident card is issued so is taking advantage of this. He'll get a chance to check out the lobster industry and see some of the local landmarks, hopefully the weather cooperates. We'll have an open house to welcome him to the family/country so lots of good times. 

Packed...18 lbs in my knapsacks for 6 wks

The end of August and the evenings sure feel like autumn now. I've been surprised to find the occasional fall foliage appearing and I guess it's good to have a preview since we will miss the autumn show this year as we'll be across the pond....hence the post title as I spent the morning packing. Hard writing is good reading? Well, it's harder to pack a backpack than just throw everything in a suitcase, but the reward of no wait at the luggage carousel, no lost bags, no dragging a suitcase from place to place on trains and down cobblestone streets is the pay off. I'm also arranging the next ten weeks of my life as I'm home Friday evening then off early Monday morning for a month in Cuba, so really have to have all the arrangements done for both trips. And yes...lesson learned for ordering a swimsuit from China and water-socks online...you get what you pay for.

Have enjoyed visits with the grandkids this month as I'd picked the oldest grandson up at the airport on the Sunday when he flew back from his Ottawa visit (after a great summer camp) as an unaccompanied minor. Of course the flight was delayed, but that allowed for my stop at Michael's to yarn shop. He was thrilled to be given a can of Pringles, Canada Dry and be spoken of in the flight attendant's announcement as in "you better watch your language as we have an unaccompanied minor on this flight" which I assume was WestJet humour. As the gate clerk delivered him to me he said "he's quite a guy" which I quickly agreed with. The week flew by with swimming lessons, three grandkids inhouse, a Grawmp assisting with house construction for the baby daughter and my absence for three of those days. 

Because...although I'd planned to stay home after my unexpected summer contract I found myself flying again a week ago. Our Cuban son in law is attempting to make his way to Canada to join our oldest daughter and Canadian bureaucracy has been thwarting that plan. With the Canadian Embassy closure in May (supposedly due to workplace illness from noise - only Canadian employees affected? don't get me started) and files moved to Mexico, the latest wrinkle was the request for a new criminal records check as the original had expired to be submitted within 30 days (impossible due to the slow bureaucracy in Cuba and no courier system to Mexico from there). Next was applying for an extension to submit, a trip to Havana for our son in law including a several week wait with relatives as the date for pickup was August 6th. Our daughter was granted vacation and flew down to bring the paper back but....it wasn't ready before she had to return. The search was on for a tourist returning to Canada who could courier the document and there were several kind offers made but after discussion with the life partner it was decided I'd fly down, pick up the paper, return it to the daughter to have translated in Canada (long backup in Cuba for translation) and FedEx to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico. Which is what I did August 20 - 22. 

I booked a ticket for the day after pickup, then I had to ensure the son in law had the document in his hands before leaving for the airport and I was off. Everything went smoothly with the drive, check in and wait until I was called up to the desk (I have frequent flyer status) and was offered $1000 to fly later to Toronto arriving at midnight.....I didn't weep but it was close - no way to make my 9pm Havana flight doing that so the offer was withdrawn, announced and quickly pounced upon. One of these days I'm going to be able to take up an offer like that. Off to Pearson, smooth (if dysfunctional as usual) connection and wait at the gate with Cubans going home to visit and a few European tourists. After a bit of excitement getting away - stairs detached, coolant on the engines, every fire rescue truck in Pearson responded - an uneventful but turbulent flight down and in to Havana about 1:30am to find my waiting son in law. Taxi back to the casa he'd gotten for us and we crashed until 9am. Up for

La Habana Vieja

breakfast, a walk on the malecon and Hop on Hop off tourist bus. Managed to get my dollars exchanged at the bank, see lots of Havana I'd never been to and even make it home for a siesta. Up for supper at a local restaurant - lovely! An early bedtime and up at 5am for the

morning flight. The arranged taxi didn't show at 5:30am but my son in law woke the man of the house and a neighbour with an Americano taxi (58 Chevy) was summoned and arrived within ten minutes. A quick goodbye, off to the airport as we coasted through every red light and deposited safely at the end of a long check in line. When I greeted the flight attendants who had enjoyed a layover I assured them I planned to return to weekly vacations on my trips. I was seated near two Somali passengers (one a Canadian) and was at first hopeful he was a cousin of our Minister of Immigration but sadly no. An uneventful return trip to Pearson, the usual shenanigans to move from international to domestic where I felt moved to apologize to first time visitors, a good lunch and off to Ottawa. Picked up by the first born daughter, a few adult beverages in the sunshine at her place, then we walked to a great Persian

Yummy supper 

restaurant for supper and back. Morning saw me dropped a the airport on her way to work, a quick flight back and the usual drive home - mission accomplished for La Mula. By the next day the translated, certified and couriered document was on its way to Mexico via FedEx and the waiting continues. We had all hoped our son in law would be in Canada by this summer as it was a year ago this month the application was sent in but now (even with the colder weather coming) we'll take anytime he can obtain his visa. Fingers and toes crossed as it's not easy dealing with bureaucracy....especially the Canadian variety! 

 This week saw us having our travel partner (former office manager for the shore captain) over for supper to do some last minute trip planning - decision for the Hop On Hop Off bus tour for London and some scheduling details. Only ten days to go....woohoo. 

Future summer contract? That's a hard nope!

A beautiful early August day with sunshine, sea breezes, a swim in the pool, reading a great book on the deck, fresh fish and veggies from the shore captain’s garden for supper, only thing missing (which is becoming a bit of a habit) is a stop for ice-cream in the vintage sports car with the sun roof out…life is good! Well, life is good everyday but especially good on ones such as today. 

lots of muktuk (blubber) to harvest

We all have those decisions entitled…it seemed like a good idea at the time…and this is the perfect description of my impromptu July ‘short contract’ which saw me bite for a one week return to my former jobshare location. But, you know the saying “you can’t go home?” well, it rings true in this example. The learning from this endeavour is having divested myself of the romantic notion that I could ‘go back anytime’ leaving me free to move on. The most positive event of the contract being that the hunters got a beluga whale to share with the community. 

It began with a former coworker (who had been very kind in my first CHN contract) asking about the community and I described it nostalgically to her, then my former jobshare partner (who was in the next community) encouraging me to take a short contract to visit with the clerk and catch up on the job we’d both walked away from two years back with my 8wk casual contract being the only contact since. I expressed an interest in the July 11 - 18 opening and was quickly taken up on it. When I checked with the former coworker she disclosed that she had declined as she hadn’t realized it was two days travel in and three days out impacting a family vacation. Hmmm so now I’m heading in with an unknown coworker…oh well, travel being arranged for Wednesday and Thursday. A weekend away in the River John area for Read by the Sea (wonderful - highly recommend it) with the teacher daughter and two grandkids was just getting underway as we settled in to the cottage when the emails about travel started…..on first standby on the way in, could I travel in Monday and Tuesday? Not wishing to be stuck in Inuvik, I agreed. On third standby on the way out, don’t expect to make it out of community until the 23rd and home by the 24…whenever. Then as it was after 5pm in Inuvik by the time I responded with my preferred flight times, hotel etc. the travel clerk simply looked at my file and used the previous parameters. When I flew early am and direct to maximize my time in Edmonton visiting the western daughter, this got me a 7:30am leave out of Halifax, with the timezone change into Edmonton by 10am and not leaving until 8am the following day. Oh well. Sunday morning out of the cottage, quick stop in the city, home to throw northern stuff into the duffle and knapsack, one last swim, supper and a few hours sleep. 

The life partner drove me to the airport in style…..1995 yellow Corvette all original that his sister passed on to him and he swears isn’t an example of a midlife crisis…sweet ride, but you have to watch the gas gauge as it’s pre electronic low fuel warning…glad for all night service stations….just sayin. Check in at WestJet and no sign of the flight on the board - delayed an hour  - lots of time for breakfast. An uneventful flight with a nap and time to watch the Clint Eastwood movie The Mule which is really worth the time! The usual airport, shuttle and hotel checkin all made easier by the less luggage situation. Time to catch up on my reading, chat online, have an early supper and bedtime. Morning routine and over to the airport to find a familiar face in the departure lounge who I finally work out is from Taloyoak so I hold the grandson while she does last minute prep. The flight from Edmonton (via Yellowknife and Norman Wells) to Inuvik passes quickly as I chat with a young helicopter mechanic going in for a rotation - he educates me about the 737MAX situation and assures me it’ll take years to be corrected through the system. He also tells me about his previous rotations working wildfires in the northern areas and clearly adrenalin is not in short supply.

beauty of a commute

In Inuvik airport I grab a sandwich at the Cloud 9 cafe and then board my flight with all my luggage guaranteed (a first). Still lots of pack ice in the Beaufort Sea and then we’re into Uluhaktuk and a quick station stop - my former jobshare partner working there comes to the airport as I’m ‘traveling through’ as northerners call it for a quick visit. We agree to do our best to overnight in Edmonton and catch up over supper on our way out of community. Off we go out over Banks Island with its frozen lakes and shortly we’re touching down in Sachs Harbour. Nice to see familiar faces. No one to meet me so I bum a ride with the COOP truck delivering freight and Fred says “that’s your blue flowered duffle right?” and we both grin as that bag has made enough trips in and out to be familiar to him. I call the nurse on call to get in to the health centre - apparently no one updated my early travel schedule to those on the ground and now there are three nurses here for 100 people. Good chance for me to catch up. I quickly settled into the transient unit (missing the cozy apartment we’d jobsharered) and fall into bed. 

I spend a couple of days (only moderately successfully) trying to get my head around  year of changes. Some things were logical, for example…the handbook Bugs n Drugs which we use to prescribe antibiotics is now online and more current than a printed copy but being advised to just “Google it” when I asked for it’s location is a bit disconcerting, although apparently what CHNs are doing now. I’m of the opinion that it’s not a hardship to print the physician on call schedule - being told to “just call IRH and ask for the Doc on call” isn’t helpful for someone who is no longer familiar with the roster, names when pronounced by their owner are often spelled very differently and I’m recording them on an electronic health record for Pete’s sake! My thoughts when heading up were that at least I’d be able to physically find things, but the entire health centre had been completely reorganized and since accreditation is looming there were multiple teleconferences, education sessions etc. It may have only been a total of seven clinic days plus on call but…it sure felt longer. The community is struggling too, the weather was really crappy and there was only one scheduled flight which actually made it one time while I was there and then…the really hungry mosquitoes arrived.The good thing is that this reality check has dispelled any illogical notion I had of being comfortable doing CHN (community health nurse) work even here in a quiet, known to me community. When I handed that cell phone over to my

Replacements yeehaw!

replacement in the airport, it was a great feeling! And to think my jobshare buddy was trying to tempt me to come work with her in the neighbouring community. When she disclosed that in less than three weeks she’d amassed 150+ hours of overtime….game over, I am no longer interested in the excitement or compensation for such work - sleep is much more important to me at this point in my life. As my buddy says about his northern contracts  “really glad I did it when I did, even happier I’m not doing it now”. So yes….it really is retirement planning one day at a time as I ‘shuffle off to Buffalo’. I can handle 10 to 12 weeks annually of homecare (or public health if the location is really enticing) nursing with the ability to keep current and no on call.  With the Baffin region being a shorter commute and only one time zone I’ve gotten spoiled.  But I digress. 

On Friday late afternoon (a flight delay of one day due to weather) the two nurses exited with specific instructions (one an expert after a week in the community and the other now ‘in charge’ after my mentoring of last year) to the point I was pleased to see them off. My coworker (a 55 yr old Iranian RN with a strong critical care background - a real asset if the bad thing happens in such a remote location) arrived and I attempted to get him setup with tech access as all health records are now electronic - that was a circus that took almost two hours and was only partially successful. Would’ve been nice if the departing experts had set this up instead of micromanaging my to do list. Manouchehr turned out to be quite a mover and shaker and I opted to stand in his shadow and enjoy the benefits. He tortured management with requests for second on call pay (my jobshare buddy and I had lobbied for years, approached the union, HR etc to no avail) threatening to leave if not paid and was quickly advised that we were both told to claim. When I suggested we would not be exiting the community on the 18th as third standby didn’t look good, he again called management and reminded them he had a seminar to attend on the 20th (he later revealed it was a Warren Buffett investment seminar) but I’m sure the powers that be thought…nursing seminar (which caused me to smile). Ultimately we were booked on a charter as there were two nurses in both directions and not enough total seats on the scheduled flight - shift changes require as many staff arriving as departing. The charter was originally booked to leave Inuvik at 9am and my jobshare partner sadly noted that we wouldn’t make the daily flight south with that timing so, I alerted my coworker and he sprang into action. I diverted his first suggestion to rebook the charter earlier explaining that we weren’t paying the piper so someone authorizing this pricey mode of transport ($7164.40 in total) would be making that call. His first management contact suggested he ask Canadian North to hold the flight for us - when he disclosed this I snorted and said “what are we royalty?” so instead he asked for the latest possible check in time (1:25pm) and called the general manager at Aklak Air who agreed that the charter flight could depart anytime from 8am onwards. The only variable he couldn’t deal with was the weather delay on our departure day but that was just a minor glitch. We had the usual quiet week in clinic and I was welcomed warmly back by the community which is always comforting and I had missed the clerk so it was good to see her. I was glad that it wasn’t two new nurses who didn’t know people which was the case when we did handover. 

We had an uneventful flight to Yellowknife, off for security screening and then on to Edmonton through lots of turbulence and thunderstorms. I overhead a passenger chatting with the flight attendants about Pond Inlet and her father passing away so at the baggage carousel I mentioned that I'd been in Pond Inlet a few weeks ago working as the homecare nurse and she quickly said "oh you must've known him" and named her father, who's obituary I'd seen. I had been surprised to read that he'd been an MLA for decades, critical to the formation of Nunavut etc etc. as he was a very humble, down to earth man. We chatted about his passing in Iqaluit and his strength and I wished her well. There really aren't any random occurrences in the universe eh? I grabbed my bag, caught the shuttle and checked in to the hotel. 

About an hour later there was banging on my door, my jobshare partner yelled "hey let's go, the pole dancers are here" and dropped her bags in her room down the hall. We headed to the sports bar for supper, adult beverages and a few hours of catching up. It was SO good to visit after a couple of years. I miss her. With early morning flights looming for both of us we headed back to our rooms where she bragged about having a king sized bed and we parted ways after midnight. Following my four hours of sleep, the 5am alarm woke me to find a message from my buddy saying that she'd checked her email before climbing in the shower and found her morning flight had been cancelled and she'd been put on the red eye (which she'd already missed at midnight) so she phoned the airline and was told the flight was delayed until 0227 so she was sitting at the airport when she messaged me. Not even a chance to catch a decent nap as the flights to Moncton stopover in Toronto. By comparison I felt privileged to have had at least an abbreviated sleep and a direct flight. The shuttle over to the airport, a breakfast taco in the restaurant as the lineup at Tim Hortons was just too painful and an on time departure. I was seated next to a three year old whose mother quickly assured me that she had lots of entertainment for her...no worries, reminiscent of my granddaughter I told her. As we chatted, it evolved that we had mutual acquaintances previously in Slave Lake - one of my son in law's good buddies, now in New Zealand - they had attended the wedding which my son in law was a groomsman for. Again that universe! Met by the shore captain and off to supper with the city kids and grandkids where we ordered double desserts for the toddler then sped away in our sports car, leaving them to deal with the sugar high. Bwahahah 

The following ten days have been filled with swimming, good food, family visits and generally enjoying the very brief maritime summer we have here. Looking forward to some more company and then just a little over a month before we head off on our adventure across the pond. Ahhh

Photos as promised

A quick photo post to catch up on the visual aspect of my time in Pond Inlet. 

Approach into Pond Inlet 

View of Bylot Island

Health Centre front view 

Health Centre side view

House 2 of the nurses own

View from my apartment

Theatre group

Over the Baffin Mountains

Coming into Kuujjuaq, Nunavik 

yarn storage with Ikea bins

Although I've finished work two weeks ago, the pace has been the usual homecoming frantic...in a good way, but still not enough hours in the day to update the blog. The first week is usually spent on appointments such as haircut etc and this one was no exception. Some grandchildren visits, supper guests, swimming in the pool (thankful for the heat pump), and finishing some crochet projects such as a mandala vest (think leftover hippy) for the baby daughter and...here we are on Canada Day weekend. I came home to find the shore captain had created a yarn storage area in the bedroom (seen here on the left) to house the fibre collection which had accumulated by the couch in the living room and really didn't need to live there. There was a fair bit of sorting, organizing to get it to this state and resulted in the purchase of a new binder for my patterns. I've done some coasters, started a shawl and am contemplating a few more projects as it's easy to see what you have for materials this way and makes you think you're in a yarn shop. 

The weather since my return has been for the most part...crappy, meaning coolish, rainy, foggy and lots of bugs. Really doesn't lead to planning camping trips. There are plans for a football game in Montreal which the shore captain, oldest grandson and Ottawa daughter will take in. This will be followed by a week at Little Ray's Reptile day camp for the grandson as he visits his auntie, then he'll fly home escorted by flight attendant and I'll pick him up. Lots of excitement on both sides of that planning. 

And speaking of planning...I've taken to listening to podcasts when I crochet and learned today on Frommer's that there's a program which allows you to spend a few days apprenticing with artists around the world. It's (logically) called Vacation With an Artist and allows for a number of different types of experiences - anything from learning to tango in Buenos Aires to stone carving in Tanzania or dyeing fibres in Vietnam. Check it out:

vawaa.com

Seriously thinking of trying on the cooking, but deciding on the country will be the problem....

First name Elder last name Tea

Although I’m in the final stretch as far as my northern contract goes, I’m just getting myself together to update the blog and due to data limitations/use of the network the photos will have to be posted when I’m further south. Have certainly filled my time here well, and as expected, the four weeks are flying by. With the awful weather in the Maritimes, I’ve been pleased to have avoided the heavy rainfall, black flies and ticks for a month. Hopefully the weather will have improved when I make it there next weekend. It’s been quite mild here and only snowed twice. I’ve graduated to my spring jacket, headband and gloves and really only need those for walking to and fro the health centre (which is about 10 minutes) vs being in and out of the vehicle.

Springtime in the north is a glorious season with the 24/7 hours of sunlight (takes some adjusting to return to sunsets and not having to wear sunglasses at any hour) tundra flowers and willow popping up and the majority of the community heading out to hunt. In the northern Baffin region this means “out on the ice” or “at the floe edge” as the various members of the food chain come together there. Lots of seals, narwhales, polar bears, various birds, and….tourists. Apparently a guided trip to the floe edge costs $8,000 + depending on the outfitter. We tagged along with a group of about 12 (who were heading out on the floe edge the following day) for an evening performance by the local Inuit theatre group and it was great! Began with O Canada in Inuktuit, authentic amautis (parkas), throat singing, drum dancing, Inuit game demo, history and culture. This is a performance put on for the cruise ship passengers in the summer, so they’re quite polished. We had a representative in from Quark Expeditions (one of the adventure cruise companies) who are interested in partnering with the elders and I was astounded to learn that last year there were 24 visits to Pond Inlet by cruise ships, usually it’s 17 - 20 but apparently they did a turnover of passengers here vs Resolute Bay due to ice conditions. Even with the smaller ships of 120 - 180 passengers (plus crew of 70 - 90) that is a LOT of people to put through a community pop. 1200. The smaller vessels are in the $14,000 per passenger for 14 day cruise price range. And that’s not factoring in the Crystal Serenity with the 1100 passengers which has done the NW Passage transit twice - $23,000 per passenger is a hefty fee. I’m glad to be on a working vacation here vs cruising.

 I’ve really enjoyed my contract as Supervisor of Homecare (pretty official sounding title) which means I make home visits with a homecare worker to interpret, help with the weekly Elder’s Tea (more on that shortly) and see homecare clients should they present at the health centre with non life threatening injuries. I have standing orders and consult with the NP or CHN if I require additional Rx for the caseload of 16. It’s not as frantic as Public Health and although the office is in the health centre, I’m out of it at least half the time. It’s the usual caseload of management of chronic conditions, footcare, palliative support, medication delivery, occasional blood draw, although there’s lots of bureaucracy to case manage, on the whole it’s a very enjoyable job. The elders are without fail, lovely, appreciative, independent people living in multigenerational households so we see lots of cute kiddos too. On Wednesdays we host an Elders Tea at the Visitors Centre. A recent decree from the manager in Pangnirtung for homecare client activity forms completion stated that the various clients must each have a separate form completed as it would no longer be acceptable to simply write for example, Elders Tea on the top. When Levina, my assistant said “what do you mean we can’t use this?” and showed me the form she’d filled in with First name Elder and Last name Tea…I was weak. The first week she kept a tally of attendees, this week she simply said “I’m just not doing it, no one ever looks at it anyway” which I’m sure is entirely correct. And how is anyone going to enforce that? Get on a plane and come make us? Hahaha go ahead. I start my day with the health centre morning report at 8:30 am, usually out by 9am and we sort out the bureaucracy, then can usually pull off a late morning visit somewhere. The problem being that with the 24 hrs of daylight some households are up all night and sleep all day - it’s like visiting in the middle of the night, sometimes a child on the couch, but no one gets up. There are struggles with finding a vehicle to use, although we are supposed to have one for homecare use. Home for lunch and back by 1pm to do a few visits and hopefully back in time to do some documenting. The dreaded Meditech has followed me here so we register the visit, write notes, order and search results on the electronic system. Of course there are still paper charts (both homecare and acute) as well as a CHMIS form (statistics) to complete, so lots of redundancy.

The Elders Tea routine - 10 am to the Hamlet office to pick up a purchase order for $375, then the COOP, which has just opened, for food and prizes for the games. At 1pm we head to the Visitors Centre and begin a full meal defined as a main course (such as roast, shepherds pie, ribs etc) salads, cheese, salami, veggies, fruit, yogurt, cookies, tea and coffee. By 2:30 pm one of the elders in the Catholic church says grace and we sing the Doxology in Inuktuit (well I hum….praise God from whom all blessings flow….) and enjoy the spread. Then following cleanup there is a dice game with prizes in the middle which sort of resembles Yankee swap and involves lots of running, squeals and aggressive grabbing of coveted items. I didn’t win the bannock this week, although I had my hands on it several times. Those elders in their late 80s are quick! By about 4pm they disperse and I can usually fit in at least one home visit before 5pm. For the most part, the work is Mon to Fri but an ill client can mean a callback.

My replacement is booked to arrive on Monday and I fly out Friday so that will be good for the switch - no handover notes to write, can introduce her to the clients etc. There is coverage booked for the summer, but it seems that agency nurses are the majority. The nurses here were surprised to find that I’m a government casual. The agency nurse I replaced wasn’t well received here and I’m not sure if she was new to homecare, new to the north, just not a good fit, but if the stories were true, she was in really over her head and mean to the elders..…there was some major trust rebuilding required when I began. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the clients and will miss them. A crochitchy old fellow who teases me every visit had bumped his elbow getting back into the house from the Dr clinic and when I asked to look at it told me (through the interpreter) that I was trying to flirt with him and in front of his wife. Going to miss this place and its people...only four more days to work.

Housing is an issue in this community as it’s dated (the group where I am was built in 1986) poorly maintained (original carpets) and not well cleaned when staff leave. I am far from a fastidious housekeeper but spent about four hours cleaning on my way in. Good thing as the psychiatry resident stayed with me the first week and arrived without warning that afternoon, it looks like your dirt when you’re there. The physician and resident stayed in the adjoining apartment last week and had to do laundry to make the bed, empty garbage, clean the kitchen etc. on arrival. Yuck. Clearly no one checks the apartments on exit here. I’ve eaten most of my food, was gifted more by those leaving and will pass on any remaining to Levina when I exit so that I can likely buckle the two duffles into one. I’ve used up the yarn I brought in making a shawl which I’m keeping for me, a scarf and dishcloths which I’ve gifted as well as two hats which I learned new stitches from. I’ve worked my way through various seasons on my recorded hard drive, finished my book to leave here, studied some Spanish and worked on my Mom journal, which after seven years is getting more complete. Always good to have solo time to work on those projects.  

On my homeward commute I’m flying down to Iqaluit and then through Kuujjuaq, Quebec, on to Montreal then Halifax. I’m disappointed to not connect through Ottawa for a family visit but when I left with the last minute ticket booking, there was no chance to argue as the duty travel office was closed by the time I got my flights for the next day and there is only the 24 hr. grace period. Sigh. It’ll be a long day and in late but I’ll be home.

And with my plan to enjoy (hopefully the weather cooperates) a Maritime summer for the next three months before leaving for six weeks in Europe, followed by a month in Cuba...that means there will only be a time for a very short contract in December...if at all. We'll see what the universe allows.