Into the home stretch now of the contract as I'm looking forward to the last week and since I'll be leaving on Friday of a holiday week a very compacted one. I am eating my way out of Kugluktuk and so have baked chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies, banana bread and have a carrot pie to put together. On Saturday night my roommate and I hosted a turkey dinner (turkey, potatoes, gravy, squash, broccoli and cauliflower and made from scratch butterscotch pie for dessert ) for us plus two other displaced Nova Scotia CHNs and had a great evening of socializing. The guests were impressed with our culinary skills as one brought a McCain pie to contribute and the other admitted to not having turned the oven on when living in this apartment.
Friday of the long weekend saw a mass exodus of people from the hamlet. The rush hour at about 8 p.m. leaving was equal to any southern one. Lots of folks heading 'out on the land' to their cabins on the islands. Tis the season for ice fishing, caribou hunting and just enjoying family times.
 |
| Ice road you say |
 |
| Form a line |
 |
| Out on the land |
As my roommate struggled with documents to satisfy the audit of the professional association. "Never offer more than is asked by a bureaucracy, much like testifying in court" I told her - she is much too forthcoming. Now she is dealing with a personal development plan audit. Bureaucrats practicing self justification, nothing more. While she was muttering at the computer I decided to call the life partner with Face Time. He missed the call but returned it and I was shocked to find that he was not wearing a shirt. "Oh a naked man" I tell my roommate who rushes over to see. He has a learning curve with the etiquette of video chatting apparently. And here I thought it would be all about the technology.
I woke up yesterday morning with a scratchy throat (not surprising with the number of pharyngitis cases I've Rx lately) which got worse as the day went on. I was back and forth to pick up freight, to the health centre to unload it and various minor c/os. After the last callback at 6 p.m. I crashed on the sofa oblivious to my roommate making turkey soup, doing the dishes and going to bed. I awoke at 11:30 p.m. and was just getting myself gathered together, checking the on call phone to see if I'd slept through a call when it rang. The social worker was calling from the RCMP station and had a 10 yr. old whose mother was drunk and had thrown a lighter at him causing a black eye. Cute little guy I'd seen the week before, kind of shook up, very close call but no eye damage. I had a little sniff after they left. Drove past a child of perhaps three years of age playing outside a nearby house at one a.m. no one else in sight. When I got home and realized that I had PeeWee Herman hair I was pleased the social worker was so laid back and the poor child was distracted. Almost ready to get in to bed and the phone again -
 |
| Kugluktuk at 3 a.m. |
this time someone who earns air miles (you know a frequent flyer) - but those are the ones who come back to bite you so .... back for another round. Broad daylight after 3 a.m. (could be 3 p.m by the light) and hordes of young people roaming the street, apparently the older folks all went out to cabins for the long weekend and left them home. Most of them sitting on the steps of the COOP or standing in the middle of the road. It looks rather deserted in the photo on the left but they travel in waves. Finally to bed at 4 a.m.
 |
| Drying fish and caribou |
This morning a switch around of the vehicles after dropping my roommie off to do a homecare visit. Some local delicacies drying on the way. On the railing of the steps are some arctic char drying and on top of the bureau, just behind the skidoo is some dried caribou meat.
We (being my roommate and me) were supposed to have an expedition 'out on the land' this weekend. To this end I switched my call shift with a coworker, we picked up the gas and oil for the skidoo, had a coworker drive the oil products up to the guide as requested and packed some snacks. All to no avail as the weather shut in and there was a white out with swirls of snow. Not much of a photo op if you can't see. Hopefully there will be a chance Tuesday or Wednesday evening after work. If not, my roomie has another week to fit it in and perhaps a coworker will take her up on it. Not sure I was up to such an expedition today anyway but surely understood when weather changes your social plans, after 34 years in a fishing family. My roommate was not so understanding having been married to a teacher/principal. At any rate I am much improved this evening.
I have the last minute program issues at work to try to catch up. When you're responsible for the STI program you can't say wrap it up as it is the gift which keeps on giving, at least in the north. I sat in on a telehealth Friday afternoon about the syphillis outbreak in Nunavut (40 cases in the past 10 months) and learned that the overall national average of 33 cases of gonorrhoea per 100, 000 pop. is about 1800 per 100, 000 in Nunavut. Sigh.
I was thrilled to find out that although I'm only going to be home for a week and some of the time will be taken up with the graduation that I will be able to take in the Town Wide Yard Sale! Not to mention that we'll plan to have friends over for crustaceans to celebrate the shore captain's birthday and our anniversary both of which I will miss being in the northern climes. So, it's just three more days until the big bird ride for moi. Woohoo! Oops, the phone and I'm on second call - possible medevac - will wait and see what the word is.
