I worked my last Monday morning and tied up loose ends as I'm not going to be back until........September 10th. The usual routine in Taloyoak is to head over to the airport and check in (clearly the only non Inuk name on the passenger list so I'm identified from the door), leaving the bags (no the bags aren't left unattended they're chucked on the back of the half ton baggage truck) and asking what time to return - about 90 minutes the Canadian North employee tells me because they are checking the progress of the flight as it leaves each community. The caretaker drops me at the apartment where I search for my Aeroplan card without success (must've left it on a counter somewhere) but at least locate the number - gotta collect those points. A quick hug for my co-worker aka adopted daughter and bye to Nellie and the gang.
I notice one of the prenatal patients will be on the flight with me going OFC (out for confinement) to wait at the Larga Home in Yellowknife to deliver her baby at Stanton Regional Hospital. Prenatals are booked to leave at either 34, 36 or 37 weeks gestation (depending on their risk/conditions) and then wait. They usually wish more fervently than usual mothers to deliver early and get back home. As she said a sad goodbye to her sister and we walked across the tarmac to the waiting plane, I said "it won't be long and you'll be back home with your new baby". As I thought of my husband in the delivery room, my family and friends visiting me in the hospital when I had my own babies, I couldn't even imagine delivering my children under those circumstances. Lots of dust and a bumpy take off due to the cross winds. An uneventful flight as I visited with a contractor from another community flying out to Edmonton. Originally from Newfoundland (as many in the north are) moving up in the 80s he theorized that northern life isn't very different from Atlantic Canada with the hunting and fishing, close communities and friendly people. I had to a agree. A quick service stop in Cambridge Bay where many families visited with passengers 'travelling through' and my seat mate met someone to drop off documents. A full 20 seat flight as families 'went out' on vacation, people were travelling for medical tests and staff were going home. When the flight attendant asked the three year old next to me if she wanted apple juice and the child raised her eyebrows in the affirmative then the attendant delivered the beverage, I realized she's been 'working north' on this run for a while.
A quick switchover in Yellowknife where it is 23c as we head in through security, past the gate and out to the waiting larger plane. A bit of a delay as we wait for some birds to be removed off the runway by ground crew and we're off. An uneventful flight and we're in to Edmonton about half an hour later than planned. Over to the hotel on the shuttle and the electrician daughter arrives shortly after for a sleepover. We head down to the restaurant for a snack and try to figure out if the flight is on in the morning as there was severe flooding in Toronto and all flights in and out of Pearson were cancelled for 24 hours.
Up in the morning (yep it looks like the flight is leaving at 10 am as planned) and we head over to Cora's for breakfast. I overdose on fresh fruit which I've been missing and missy takes me to the airport for the flight. I've left most of my 'work stuff' in Taloyoak and the empty action packer with her in Alberta so I'm travelling with only half a duffel bag - piece of cake. Usual flight from Edmonton to Toronto, I sit next to two women who are travelling to a career fair to hire IT folks for Alberta (21st time they've done this in the past four years) as there is that much need. We land into Pearson and I post that I've got a hot date meeting me and we're going to Pipa for supper. The Alberta daughter texts and says "Dad couldn't make it?" so I laugh out loud and have to explain it to my seat mate. In to the terminal which is absolutely nuts after the cancellations of the day before, but the flight is still on time. We board and I'm sitting next to a young fellow from Red Deer who does drilling work and is flying home to Grand Falls, Newfoundland for a vacation. Then the fun starts, the preflight check find some problems, the pilots try to reset the system several times, we wait for mechanics, then we are told the problem isn't fixable in the short term so we're heading back to the terminal, another wait and we're told the delay is waiting for equipment to be moved from a gate so we can then get off, finally we are deplaned into the terminal and told a gate agent will direct us as to when another plane will arrive. As we mill around the gate an announcement is made "those passengers on flight 616 to Halifax, a replacement plane will be landing in five minutes, make your way to gate D33" what a crowd of smiling faces make their way through the terminal. By now, two hours have passed and my 'hot date' is almost to the airport and I'm going to be late. sigh. The short flight to Halifax passes as the guy next to me is now (as the Gander passengers got another flight and the 40 people on standby fought for the 12 seats they vacated) a middle aged refrigeration manager who has hired the dog walkers son and we reminisce about people we know in common - talk about the small world stuff. My life partner is waiting for me and my upscale supper changed into a Tim Hortons sandwich eaten in the truck on the drive home. Made it by 1 a.m. so a very long day - good thing I was being paid for it.
I spent my first day at home making the final arrangements for buying my car as an independent mature woman. Decide to take the dealership up on the suggestion of 0% financing and the salesman tells me I must have great credit as it's the quickest response he's seen. I'm taking the loan to make sure I have the good credit I tell him. Insurance. Since this vehicle is registered in my name - first time that's happened since I used my maiden name, although I've certainly paid for every one I've driven - this meant the car can't go on the corporate insurance unless it's registered to the business or.....the shore captain. The final cost was $680 (not too bad for a new vehicle with $2,000,000 liability coverage) and spite can carry you a long way in these kinds of decisions. Best $680 I've spent for a long time. In the end I buy the coverage from a local company and not because I'm afraid to tell people I have Grey Power insurance but because it's cheaper for the same coverage.
Arrange to pick up the vehicle late in the afternoon and the life partner arrives to take me in. The salesman is flabbergasted that I am paying off an invoice from a family bill left there rather than rushing to see what colour the vehicle is. It's a Dodge Dart - blue streak which is a medium dark sparkly blue. I decide to leave the car in the parking lot and we head down to Bistro 138 for supper. Have only eaten lunch there but it was very good - bruschetta to start, flat bread and salad and the partner had chicken penne. Back to the garage to pick up the car, the shore captain leaves and I climb in, adjust the seat and mirrors and......can't get it started. I phone the life partner and he suggests I don't have the clutch in far enough - yep, he's right. I ease out into the street and through town shifting as I go. Ahhh, been a while since I've driven a standard but I'm managing okay. Get to the first stop sign and of course don't want to stall so as I accelerate I manage to squeal my way through the intersection. As I'm headed out of town towards my spa appointment on the rural road I'm feeling more confident and am early for my session so decide to go for a spin. As I attempt to turn around at the end of a small country road I realize that I can't put the car into reverse. Every time I try with the clutch engaged I am rolling towards the steep ditch and am getting dangerously close to crashing my brand new vehicle on its way from the dealership. I wrench the wheel around sharply and drive down the dirt road, there is no cell service to call for help so I am hopeful that at the end I'll be able to call. Two deer jump out in front of me and I stop several times to see if I can find reverse. Nope! At the end of the road there isn't enough space to U turn so I call the life partner. He suggests all the things I've been trying and finally offers to come and rescue me as I'm late now for my appointment. I get out the manual, no mention of a secret button or way to engage reverse. The shore captain arrives and struggles for at least five minutes with the stick shift. I swear that if he had simply put it in reverse as soon as he arrived, I would've kicked the car and then him. Finally (since his hands are bigger than mine) he touches something on the shaft of the stick shift and when he lifts it up to the knob....voila, it easily slips into reverse. Obviously the safety feature to prevent an inadvertent reversal. By then I am so annoyed with the car that I insist he drive it home and I'll take the truck to the appointment. When I arrive home after the spa he says "it's a pretty touchy little car to shift" so I feel better about my rough driving.
Spent the next day around the house, catching up on the mail, walking the dog, visiting with friends and drinking tea. All those things I missed while away working.
Friday was a day to run errands. Went to help a friend figure out how to do PLAR (prior learning credit) for a course. I think the concept is to make it so complicated that you can't figure it out and will go to school and do the program. Completely unnecessary but it takes a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out the rules. And anyone who knows me is aware that I've done my share of independent study. After I picked up my hooked wall hanging (the shore captain aka designer of the home vetoed the hanging on the wall and instead proposed table centrepiece) which I'd bought online from afar. My buddy very generously took me to lunch at the Lobster Shack which is a newly opened upscale eatery in the area:
http://www.lobstershack.ca
I had lobster sushi with sautéed bok choy and she had lobster nachos - both were yummy. We caught up on the news and solved all the problems of the world while we ate.
Saturday we entertained with a BBQ for friends - had salad, biscuits, ribs and steak and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Sunday was a day to go out with my summer neighbour in one of her kayaks in front of the house and along the shore on smooth as glass waters then clean up and relax and. Monday was to run errands again. Took the car to have three year wax treatment and scotch guard the interior so I borrowed a friend's car while she was working so I didn't have to stay in town which was really hot and humid. Went to the Vet and picked up a flea/tick collar for the dog (not recommended to use the topical stuff on older dogs they admitted) and topical worm medicine for the cats - no struggle at all to put that on them. No drama. Made a strawberry/rhubarb pie (with rhubarb from my OWN patch) which was yummy. Tuesday was a run to Bridgewater (test of my skills with all those hills) and a nice outing with the car. I stopped for an ice cream at the dairy treat and the lady asked if my polar bear earrings were ivory - her sister had been in Iqaluit for 18 yrs so she recognized northern art. Caught a bit too much UV on Wednesday as I was reading my vehicle manual and figuring out all the features so was more careful today with the outdoor activities. As well, the large green headed horseflies have struck - evil things.
It has been really warm and sunny this week - perhaps I brought the good weather with me - and those
who don't handle the heat well have been complaining, the rest of us have been smiling. Have to wait until the temperature cools a bit to walk the dog in the evening.
I notice one of the prenatal patients will be on the flight with me going OFC (out for confinement) to wait at the Larga Home in Yellowknife to deliver her baby at Stanton Regional Hospital. Prenatals are booked to leave at either 34, 36 or 37 weeks gestation (depending on their risk/conditions) and then wait. They usually wish more fervently than usual mothers to deliver early and get back home. As she said a sad goodbye to her sister and we walked across the tarmac to the waiting plane, I said "it won't be long and you'll be back home with your new baby". As I thought of my husband in the delivery room, my family and friends visiting me in the hospital when I had my own babies, I couldn't even imagine delivering my children under those circumstances. Lots of dust and a bumpy take off due to the cross winds. An uneventful flight as I visited with a contractor from another community flying out to Edmonton. Originally from Newfoundland (as many in the north are) moving up in the 80s he theorized that northern life isn't very different from Atlantic Canada with the hunting and fishing, close communities and friendly people. I had to a agree. A quick service stop in Cambridge Bay where many families visited with passengers 'travelling through' and my seat mate met someone to drop off documents. A full 20 seat flight as families 'went out' on vacation, people were travelling for medical tests and staff were going home. When the flight attendant asked the three year old next to me if she wanted apple juice and the child raised her eyebrows in the affirmative then the attendant delivered the beverage, I realized she's been 'working north' on this run for a while.
A quick switchover in Yellowknife where it is 23c as we head in through security, past the gate and out to the waiting larger plane. A bit of a delay as we wait for some birds to be removed off the runway by ground crew and we're off. An uneventful flight and we're in to Edmonton about half an hour later than planned. Over to the hotel on the shuttle and the electrician daughter arrives shortly after for a sleepover. We head down to the restaurant for a snack and try to figure out if the flight is on in the morning as there was severe flooding in Toronto and all flights in and out of Pearson were cancelled for 24 hours.
Up in the morning (yep it looks like the flight is leaving at 10 am as planned) and we head over to Cora's for breakfast. I overdose on fresh fruit which I've been missing and missy takes me to the airport for the flight. I've left most of my 'work stuff' in Taloyoak and the empty action packer with her in Alberta so I'm travelling with only half a duffel bag - piece of cake. Usual flight from Edmonton to Toronto, I sit next to two women who are travelling to a career fair to hire IT folks for Alberta (21st time they've done this in the past four years) as there is that much need. We land into Pearson and I post that I've got a hot date meeting me and we're going to Pipa for supper. The Alberta daughter texts and says "Dad couldn't make it?" so I laugh out loud and have to explain it to my seat mate. In to the terminal which is absolutely nuts after the cancellations of the day before, but the flight is still on time. We board and I'm sitting next to a young fellow from Red Deer who does drilling work and is flying home to Grand Falls, Newfoundland for a vacation. Then the fun starts, the preflight check find some problems, the pilots try to reset the system several times, we wait for mechanics, then we are told the problem isn't fixable in the short term so we're heading back to the terminal, another wait and we're told the delay is waiting for equipment to be moved from a gate so we can then get off, finally we are deplaned into the terminal and told a gate agent will direct us as to when another plane will arrive. As we mill around the gate an announcement is made "those passengers on flight 616 to Halifax, a replacement plane will be landing in five minutes, make your way to gate D33" what a crowd of smiling faces make their way through the terminal. By now, two hours have passed and my 'hot date' is almost to the airport and I'm going to be late. sigh. The short flight to Halifax passes as the guy next to me is now (as the Gander passengers got another flight and the 40 people on standby fought for the 12 seats they vacated) a middle aged refrigeration manager who has hired the dog walkers son and we reminisce about people we know in common - talk about the small world stuff. My life partner is waiting for me and my upscale supper changed into a Tim Hortons sandwich eaten in the truck on the drive home. Made it by 1 a.m. so a very long day - good thing I was being paid for it.
I spent my first day at home making the final arrangements for buying my car as an independent mature woman. Decide to take the dealership up on the suggestion of 0% financing and the salesman tells me I must have great credit as it's the quickest response he's seen. I'm taking the loan to make sure I have the good credit I tell him. Insurance. Since this vehicle is registered in my name - first time that's happened since I used my maiden name, although I've certainly paid for every one I've driven - this meant the car can't go on the corporate insurance unless it's registered to the business or.....the shore captain. The final cost was $680 (not too bad for a new vehicle with $2,000,000 liability coverage) and spite can carry you a long way in these kinds of decisions. Best $680 I've spent for a long time. In the end I buy the coverage from a local company and not because I'm afraid to tell people I have Grey Power insurance but because it's cheaper for the same coverage.
Arrange to pick up the vehicle late in the afternoon and the life partner arrives to take me in. The salesman is flabbergasted that I am paying off an invoice from a family bill left there rather than rushing to see what colour the vehicle is. It's a Dodge Dart - blue streak which is a medium dark sparkly blue. I decide to leave the car in the parking lot and we head down to Bistro 138 for supper. Have only eaten lunch there but it was very good - bruschetta to start, flat bread and salad and the partner had chicken penne. Back to the garage to pick up the car, the shore captain leaves and I climb in, adjust the seat and mirrors and......can't get it started. I phone the life partner and he suggests I don't have the clutch in far enough - yep, he's right. I ease out into the street and through town shifting as I go. Ahhh, been a while since I've driven a standard but I'm managing okay. Get to the first stop sign and of course don't want to stall so as I accelerate I manage to squeal my way through the intersection. As I'm headed out of town towards my spa appointment on the rural road I'm feeling more confident and am early for my session so decide to go for a spin. As I attempt to turn around at the end of a small country road I realize that I can't put the car into reverse. Every time I try with the clutch engaged I am rolling towards the steep ditch and am getting dangerously close to crashing my brand new vehicle on its way from the dealership. I wrench the wheel around sharply and drive down the dirt road, there is no cell service to call for help so I am hopeful that at the end I'll be able to call. Two deer jump out in front of me and I stop several times to see if I can find reverse. Nope! At the end of the road there isn't enough space to U turn so I call the life partner. He suggests all the things I've been trying and finally offers to come and rescue me as I'm late now for my appointment. I get out the manual, no mention of a secret button or way to engage reverse. The shore captain arrives and struggles for at least five minutes with the stick shift. I swear that if he had simply put it in reverse as soon as he arrived, I would've kicked the car and then him. Finally (since his hands are bigger than mine) he touches something on the shaft of the stick shift and when he lifts it up to the knob....voila, it easily slips into reverse. Obviously the safety feature to prevent an inadvertent reversal. By then I am so annoyed with the car that I insist he drive it home and I'll take the truck to the appointment. When I arrive home after the spa he says "it's a pretty touchy little car to shift" so I feel better about my rough driving.
Spent the next day around the house, catching up on the mail, walking the dog, visiting with friends and drinking tea. All those things I missed while away working.
 |
| Lunch at Lobster Shack |
http://www.lobstershack.ca
I had lobster sushi with sautéed bok choy and she had lobster nachos - both were yummy. We caught up on the news and solved all the problems of the world while we ate.
Saturday we entertained with a BBQ for friends - had salad, biscuits, ribs and steak and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Sunday was a day to go out with my summer neighbour in one of her kayaks in front of the house and along the shore on smooth as glass waters then clean up and relax and. Monday was to run errands again. Took the car to have three year wax treatment and scotch guard the interior so I borrowed a friend's car while she was working so I didn't have to stay in town which was really hot and humid. Went to the Vet and picked up a flea/tick collar for the dog (not recommended to use the topical stuff on older dogs they admitted) and topical worm medicine for the cats - no struggle at all to put that on them. No drama. Made a strawberry/rhubarb pie (with rhubarb from my OWN patch) which was yummy. Tuesday was a run to Bridgewater (test of my skills with all those hills) and a nice outing with the car. I stopped for an ice cream at the dairy treat and the lady asked if my polar bear earrings were ivory - her sister had been in Iqaluit for 18 yrs so she recognized northern art. Caught a bit too much UV on Wednesday as I was reading my vehicle manual and figuring out all the features so was more careful today with the outdoor activities. As well, the large green headed horseflies have struck - evil things.
 |
| Gary relaxing |
Tomorrow is a massage appointment and I'll drop by the dealership to see if they can set up my cell phone with the system in the car. I called the number in the manual (it was USA) who directed me to a Canadian number where the representative told me she "wasn't technically trained and I should call the dealership" What the purpose of her answering the phone was, I'm not quite sure. The garage assured me that someone would help when I dropped in. Also, I'm invited to a Red Cross volunteer BBQ about an hour from here so that will be my social activity for the evening and there is a writing workshop and potluck on Sunday, so able to do lots of things I had hoped when on vacation.
Had a nice FaceTime chat with the youngest REGISTERED NURSE daughter - you read that correctly - tonight. She is mighty relieved and pleased to have passed her exam especially as the results were slow getting to her. She is settling in to her orientation in a new province and new healthcare system with all it's changes so lots to learn. She is going camping with her sister on the weekend so it's good for them to be close enough to get together. I've already given her my return date so she's requested the day off in September and we'll get together.
A phone chat with the teacher daughter who is just back from a road trip to Ottawa - the trip was great, the 15 hours each way in the car was a bit much though. They are heading down next weekend for the pig roast we have planned on Saturday to celebrate Moncada Day and she is running in the race on Sunday.
Time to do a walk thru inspection to ensure the cleaning lady has surfaces to clean tomorrow.
Time to do a walk thru inspection to ensure the cleaning lady has surfaces to clean tomorrow.
