I'm baaaccckkkkkkkkk

After a hiatus of over two months (likely my longest blogging absence) I am bacckkkkk. Thanks for your patience and lack of scolding. There's been a lot going on in my life and I finally have some answers so will update you. Although this blog is usually focused on others as patients, I have been on the other side of the curtain for a bit. It's been an interesting experience and the 'research' I've done will allow me to share with patients in the future. The highlights:

I began experiencing symptoms while working north and they increased when I arrived home in mid April. I began a round of Dr. appointments, tests and good news/bad news (much like Curious George who if you remember was a curious little monkey where for example…unfortunately he fell out of a plane, fortunately had a parachute, unfortunately it didn't open, fortunately there was a haystack, unfortunately it had a pitch fork, fortunately he missed it, unfortunately he also missed the haystack) if you get my drift. The first gynaecologist appointment resulted in a uterine biopsy and ultrasound and on April 29th I received a life changing call from the surgeon which is never anticipated "the pathology on the biopsy shows it's malignant". This resulted in more tests with an MRI (almost lost my mind with claustrophobia) and CT (gastrographin - the contrast media - tastes nasty and gives you the runs) to ascertain spread (appears localized) and then referral to the NS Cancer Centre. Depressing spot with great staff (mix up and no appointment but I was fitted in) and saw a surgeon who booked me for a hysterectomy within 10 days. Grandson gave me a cold and I panicked and got some meds pre op so as not to get cancelled. Surgeon advised that chemotherapy would be started in three to four weeks and I'll be doing six cycles with treatments every three weeks as an outpatient in the city. Had a great post op stay in hospital with lots of visits and really swift recovery - only took tylenol for pain, no narcotics. Discharged on day three (they wanted to send me day two) and remembered well we used to keep patients for over a week post op hyst. I ran into problems within a day of being home with abdominal pain and vomiting, feeling the worst I've ever felt in my life. Back and forth over the next week multiple times to ER and finally at two weeks post op a CT was done showing I had two large intrabdominal abscesses and an enlarged right kidney. This resulted in more consults and finally transfer to the city hospital for ten days of IV antibiotics and tests such as oral/rectal CT (which is as much fun as it sounds) and a cystoscopy with insertion of stent in my ureter. Will have a CT in a few weeks and start treatments. So, enough gory details as I'm now home, eating a low fibre/ high protein diet to get myself built back up as I am down to 135 lb. I have wrapped my head around the positive outlook required and am a fighter so this is a just a bump in the road. Tough way to get the summer off work though I am enjoying the sun on the deck as I look at the ducks in the harbour in front of the house. 

I have another few weeks before I can drive myself and that is a pain, now that I'm feeling better. We have never been a couple where mister has to drive me to the grocery store. His version of 'shopping' is running in and picking up several things and rushing out. Yesterday I found myself saying "you have left the cart in the middle of the aisle would you do that with a vehicle?" multiple times as he did not follow any of the direction of flow, park near the shelves rules while organizing meals in my mind sending him sourcing ingredients and lifting heavy (have a 10 lb lifting restriction) bags etc. This was accomplished with audible sighs and eye rolling. It was likely my one 'shop' in a while so I made it count and for my troubles he commented  "if this had gone on any longer I was thinking I needed to bring a change of clothes".  It was a bit more complex with the label reading to switch to low fibre for me (a temporary requirement from all my complications) but really not as painful as the life partner interpreted. I borrowed the juicer machine from a daughter and am experimenting/learning with it as it's the only way I get my fruits and veggies for a bit. 

Have been overwhelmed with the support of family and friends on this journey as I have been spoiled rotten. Visits, offers of help, gifts (adult colouring book is awesome), calls, house calls to mind the kitties and the green house while away, flowers, messages have made me feel so special and a bit overwhelmed. Came home from shopping to find delicious chocolate chip cookies and a good book on the counter. Anyway, enough of the illness talk…I am already scheming as to how I can fit in a cross border trip before treatments (travel insurance wouldn't cover a pre-existing condition once I begin chemo) and perhaps an interprovincial one on good weeks…..gotta have plans. 

I have managed to shirk my baby shower hostessing responsibilities through this journey and the grand baby's other grandmother has stepped up to the plate so next weekend will be spent celebrating a new addition to the family expected in September. Nice chance to see everyone in a positive celebration. 

As my poor job share partner covers my rotation and speaks of all sorts of work related projects it is just background noise at this point as my sick leave has started. Enough chatting, out to source some vitamin D. 

Home stretch

To quote my job share partner….I am on my way home to replenish my emotional and physical stock. As I type this in the refurbished Terminal 3 of Pearson airport, I am awaiting my final flight of the three day odyssey home making the total of 14 take offs and landings. The cab for airport pickup has been booked, my trusty vehicle is in my nursing classmate's yard awaiting me and the weather forecast has changed from periods of rain to nice day. What more could you ask for? Good thing I checked my tickets last night as I had an early morning flight at 7 am and will be arriving in earlier than expected. Bonus

I have met interesting people along the way including a sea ice depth researcher who has a PhD. Made me smile as I have collected up some local knowledge which he was unaware of. He and I exchanged northern info from Inuvik to Yellowknife and it made the flight pass quickly. I fondly recalled a nurse I worked with (who cares deeply for northern folks) stating…well, you're not going to make them PhDs but they are good people.

I had another smile when I noticed the FB post last week of a daughter's classmate who is a physician now…..Mom: Do you have any questions for the doctor before we go? Kid: Mmm... Do you have any pets? I replied that I hoped he'd disclosed he has a cat, as disclosures of conflict of interest are always noted when Drs publish or speak at conferences.

The shore captain has already related the story of his big orange crew cab 4wheel drive truck mishap…Apparently while on his way home to head to the city and taking the oldest for an interview with the Navy (where she was told she was qualified - which we already knew, but is nice to hear from those who want you, to view the house the baby daughter had recently bought and moved in to, and celebrate the 30th birthday of the teacher daughter….he was in the wrong place. A few km from home he happened upon the traffic cones making one lane and a small bucket truck checking lines and stopped, then noticed the traffic control half ton truck stopped in the road. He heard a beep….beep….beep and after a few seconds it registered….oh no, he's backing up. He jammed the gearshift back down towards reverse but only made it as far as neutral before the crunch, sorrowfully telling me that a few years ago with quicker reflexes he might've made it to reverse. I assured him that even neutral would have allowed the truck to move when impacted and likely prevented whiplash, deployment of airbags and even more damage. The entire front of his truck was pushed backwards, but thankfully the radiator was spared so it was drivable and didn't seem to be 'out of line'. The security dudes were quickly out of the truck and apologetic as the driver had just dropped the truck into reverse and hit the gas without even checking his mirror. Needless to say he was late (a not uncommon state for the shore captain) for his city trip.

Have had a good chat with the daughter vacationing in Cuba and a Cuban friend as well as a paramedic buddy who is following behind me as he leaves Alberta on his trek home. The layover has slipped by and our fully sold out flight is boarding after some threats to check some bags…..

Turkey in the porch so I cooked it

The final week of gainful employment for a while and there is a long to-do list but…I am ignoring it. That is until the weekend when I will furiously clean up the apartment and bake some scones for my job share partner's arrival next Monday. It continues to amaze me that eight weeks can pass so quickly. I've done a bit of reading, a couple of courses, watched some movies, did some crocheting and a bit (very little bit) of writing…nothing much to show for my two months. Have ordered a set of tunisian crochet hooks as that's on my to learn list and a bug jacket because the next return will be 'bug season'.

Last week we had problems with flights, which in turn affects just about everything in a fly in community. We usually have three flights per week but Monday all planes were grounded due to a volcanic eruption in Alaska which sent a stream of ash 37,000 ft into the air which was carried by the winds across the arctic. Tuesday there was a make up flight sent in for people and freight but since we'd had no warning were unable to send anything out when the drugstore order appeared mid morning. Thursday came, I collected up the specimens, called folks in to have blood drawn and filled two lab boxes. We called the COOP before lunch for pick up and when 4 pm rolled around realized the plane was likely on the ground and no pickup. Call to the COOP, they were up at the airport and no one was answering the phone. Calls made all around the community and finally the clerk convinced her brother in law to drop by and provide courier service to the airport for us. That was too close for me because if the specimens had missed the flight I would've had to redraw them as the next flight on Monday would've made them too old. When the freight was delivered I called the COOP employee on missing the pick up - he looked alarmed but was speechless. Finally recovering his tongue he told me the COOP manager was out in the truck. Aha, sacrificed you did they? Out to the steps and the manager and his buddy are chatting away in the waiting truck until…I point at them and they put the window down. I ask why the lab box wasn't picked up and….they make the poor decision of accusing me of not calling for pickup. I firmly state the clerk did and I witnessed it, they look at it each other nervously. They deny again and ask who took the call. I name the young clerk and take a step towards them across the deck which causes them to look worried and start putting the window up. At this point the manager says that only the two of them (Dumb and Dumber I think to myself) are to be the one notified of lab boxes. I point and say….you have used up your one chance with me, it best not happen again. Need I add that the lab box was picked up on time and delivered to the plane today?

Speaking of the COOP I suited up in my winter gear braving the -45c temperature on Saturday as I sought milk and eggs. Of course after I shuffled my way across the snow, there was none. There was however key lime greek yogurt , huge sweet oranges and asian salad mix…go figure. I think I know what those who have a retinal detachment go through as my sunglasses (must wear with the glare off the white stuff) frosted up to the point I could only see out of the upper left corner of my left eye by the time I reached the steps. When you can feel the cold through the sleeve of your Expedition weight Canada Goose parka and the strip of your forehead exposed beneath the pang hat and hood fur is burning/freezing….it's cold! The hours of sunlight however are increasing and it's quite light at 11 pm still. 

This particular rotation has been very busy. As I was compiling the end of month report today for the manager and inserting the stats I realized that the visit numbers were double a slower month in say May or June. A lot of those visits were in the off hours as well which makes for less down time. This was due in large part to the influenza outbreak across the north (and North America) this past month. Those who were immunized (myself included) although indignant at first to have caught the flu, realized we had a milder form when watching those who didn't have the flu shot. And of course I've been solo here for the past four weeks which meant no one to share  the workload with, deal with the non copers or back me up when unrealistic requests or inaccurate statements were made…I don't have my magic wand with me, sorry.  As is the case anywhere, the sicker ones were more polite and appreciative than those who demanded immediate attention and weren't as ill as the nurse. Will be nice to go to bed without the work cell phone. 

Ah, but not to worry as the weather is warming slightly and so ice fishing will be more enjoyable. The geese are beginning their migratory return and soon the hunt will be on. There was a fishing derby on over Easter weekend and many from the community headed out to their cabins (large white tents with wooden walls) near the lakes. The clerk had forgotten it was derby weekend, caught a nice char and they had it for supper. She was annoyed with herself until she found out her two sister in laws had entered their fish in the derby, filleted them for supper and left them outside the cabin, only to find that arctic foxes had made off with them. I had a mental image of the white foxes waiting outside the cabins until they heard snoring and then snatching the sushi. 

One morning as the janitor came to work she said "you need to put your turkey in the fridge" which left me with a puzzled look. I followed her out to the cool front entryway which is left open (only inside door locked in case someone needs shelter) and found….a thawed turkey sitting on the shelf. Good thing, she noticed it. I mused as to how and when a frozen turkey was placed there and she said "they were delivering them last night at 5:30pm". Apparently the Community Corp was using up their end of fiscal year money and delivered turkeys to all residents. I'm used to land claim beneficiaries receiving a full hamper of turkey, ham and fixins for Christmas but this doesn't usually extend to non locals. Roasted the turkey on the weekend and have been enjoying it in multiple ways since. Will likely have to freeze some of it as one person + large turkey means LOTS of leftovers. 

The weather in NS has been rather wintry with lots of snow, freezing rain, windy and ice the past few days. I am hoping that is all out of the way by the time I retrieve my little blue car without its snow tires and drive home. The shore captain has been chasing generators in power outages to keep his lobsters happy so has been kept busy with the storms. Now with his 4 wheel drive truck he is off to the city tomorrow to spend time with the three daughters..one having an interview, one celebrating a 30th birthday and the other having bought a house. 

I have just finished up a free online course I've been doing through Future Learn called The Impact of Nursing which was excellent. Have done a few through this program and this is the best yet. The subject matter of course appealed - from the history to the future of nursing and I learned lots but most especially it was well designed, the right length and just made you want to keep on going. I have more time and better bandwidth for such pursuits 'up here' so it might be a while before I do another. 

My greatest annoyance of the day was a difference of opinion with Amazon over whether two day shipping is actually two day shipping. I was told by the customer service rep it was only "for like people in Ontario, not rural folks" when I complained that the Tuesday delivery date morphed quickly into Friday as soon as I paid. She offered to refund the extra shipping I paid. "The 7.98 isn't even worth my time which I've spent on hold". I explained that at my age I make lots of mistakes but attempt to avoid repeating them, and ordering from Amazon now fell into that category. Don't tick off a Nanak trying to order something for her grandson!

Time to crawl into bed with my ebook Crazy Rich Asians which is a pretty good read. I finished the autobiography of Martin Short which was enjoyable and of course funny. Last night was a 'monkey mind' night (as my job share partner calls them) where my mind raced with the change over to 'down south' living anticipated. If it's been a while since you've seen more than 75 people in one place…the larger plane out of Yellowknife can be quite an experience. Just sayin….

Fly out of here flu

Looking at only three weeks remaining….after the mid point the time slips by quickly.  The past two weeks were busy what with bidding adieu to my coworker who headed back to her long suffering husband, 12 year old (thinks she's 22) daughter and 10 year old son. She was not looking forward to the housework which awaited her. They were very much looking forward to her arrival. A number of calls, texts, video chats her final week over various issues that arrive with the developmental age of her youngsters. One afternoon a message said her husband was taking the son for stitches, texted photos and a video chat established that it could be steri stripped back together. Her husband was sourcing paper for a book report (due the next day of course) when she reached him, he sounded exasperated and said "how do you know it needs stitches anyway?" Apparently her son had fallen on his computer but the daughter added that it wasn't just a fall…a buddy of his had tripped him and finished dramatically with "he's too young to have stitches". I gently suggested that leaving (even for a month and with a great husband who works days) gets tougher as their puberty gets closer.  I told her I felt the need to wait until the nest was empty before I did the northern gig, the life partner can fend for himself and now that the dog is no longer with us I feel no guilt - cats certainly don't care as long as someone puts food in the dish. I fed her lobster chowder, biscuits and brownies as her farewell supper and she was ecstatic. I gave the leftover chowder to the clerk for her families lunch as I have pretty ready access to lobster and it's not such a luxury for me. 

There was a community meeting here to discuss the polar bear population, quotas and management plan and although I toyed with the idea of going, in the end opted out. The clerk gave me the overview the following morning, especially as it related to the hybrids (polargrizz) in the area. Some female polar bears have (for over a decade) mated with grizzlies (not racist as they like brown males a community member in Uluhaktuk said at the last presentation) which moved into the area with climate change. Actually, both populations of bears are pretty mobile as a mother and cubs were found walking down the highway in Deline this week and that's quite south in NWT. The hybrid offspring are studied / reported on by hunters and scientists and the polargrizz and grizzlies seem to live in the NE Banks Island and NW Victoria Island areas. The Inuit are respectful of polar bears but after centuries know what to expect from them, grizzly bears at least in this area are new to them and they are (with good reason) afraid of them. Samples are taken from every bear harvested - fur, meat, fat etc. to be tested for mercury, DNA typing, diseases etc. There are 77 tags in the region for polar bear harvesting and 26 of them issued to Sachs Harbour, so we are clearly polar bear central here. The clerk raised a good point when she asked why the hybrids are issued a polar bear tag as they are only 50% polar bear? Still lots of details to be worked out. 

Bureaucracy won the past week as I argued with HR, struggled with the MFU, fought with the computer and attempted to comply with various bureaucratic directives…as we hurtle towards the fiscal year end. 

Watching all the photos posted of March Break fun reminds me of past vacations with the kids from the most basic to more elaborate tropical trips. The teacher daughter and son in law have returned from Arizona so I guess the tradition continues. Some great deals on travel this year, whether it's the uncertainty of the North American economy, reduced fuel prices or just overcapacity in the market….consumers are benefiting. The nurse daughter and husband having just bought a house are shopping for a lawnmower…as I gaze out on lots of winter still remaining here and think of not having a lawn at all to mow at home the concept is foreign. Better them than me. 

I tried to have a FaceTime chat with the shore captain last Sunday who had returned from the Seafood Show with his annual viral illness and that was a performance I don't wish to repeat. He couldn't get the iPad to work, at one point it was sideways, his head hurt and he actually said 'I don't know how long I'm gonna last' his hearing was worse than ever, lots of sighing and moaning. I got the daughter to dial up with Skype and it was perfectly fine so clearly the operator, but even with a good connection….Clearly not a good call on his part to omit the flu shot this year. The chat today went much smoother except for a few reconnections. I noted that he had shaved for the 'other woman' in his life as the CFIA inspection due this week would require wearing a beard net if not. Ha! Always surprises me to see green and trees out the window when we chat. Texted with the boy captain on his way in from lobstering the other night and he said they'd been getting out about once a week due to weather…been a good year he said which speaks volumes. He'd been avoiding his father's bugs, but felt the plant employees had passed it on to a crew member so the bug was on the boat. sigh. 

The entire north has been ill as influenza makes its way across and this community didn't escape it, nor did I although perhaps a milder version due to being immunized. Of course being the solo nurse in community meant I couldn't even use sick time and go to bed (as did the clerk) but had to keep seeing people who weren't as sick as I was and watch them put a cigarette in their face on the way out the door….that dynamic never increases the empathy. Have had the weekend to rest up and feeling much better. Watched a couple of movies, crocheted, read - finished The Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton which was one of those well researched / written books he was famous for. Chased the carpenters working on the other apartments here as they need access to the garage occasionally. 

The time change makes for a lighter evening but messes with the head of course. The days are getting longer exponentially up here so we have more than 12 hours of daylight no matter what time it occurs this week. Locals are already discussing spring fishing and looking ahead to goose hunting. It was warm (relatively) here today at -23c and I had to put on my sunglasses to look out the window across the sea ice. 

Must get back to watching the media coverage of the Obamas in Cuba - pretty interesting developments as it's been 88 years since a USA president visited that country. And just think….we could be watching a Rolling Stones free concert in Havana next weekend if we'd played our cards right! The times they are a changing. 

I leave you with a link to a travel blog by a mature female traveller who is at present in Europe - Travels with the Red Suitcase:

https://sherrillmadden.wordpress.com

Proving that travel at any age is how you make it!

No hot water = cranky old nurse

For any healthcare workers reading this post I'm going to open with "must've been something in the air this week" and you'll know exactly what I'm going to describe. Not as serious as "full moon" or someone carelessly using the Q word but….silly season. There was so much ridiculous going on Friday morning that I phoned my job share partner (who is moon lighting on a home care gig in the other territory) and said "get on the plane, I'm not giving two weeks notice, I am out of here" and for a moment she took me seriously. When I described the shenanigans she agreed that it was tempting for me. Apparently there had been lots of 'sarsaparilla' shipped in on the flight Thursday night and the repercussions were ongoing. The verbal abuse from repeated inebriated phone calls that morning had tipped the scales. She agreed that today was not a great day but suggested I should sleep on my decision, I got the answers to a couple of end of month reporting bureaucracy questions and we signed off. You know you're struggling when…The clerk made an apple crisp for Fibre Friday (which is how we're presenting the Cancer Prevention information - high fibre low fat foods) and headed over to the COOP with it. If they won't come to you, then we deliver. It took a bit of persuading as folks were sceptical of the ingredients and their effects….but free food is free food and so it was consumed. 

Not sure if any of you have watched the animated movie Home which I saw last week, but it is a cute story of space creatures who come to earth. The main BOOV voice is Sheldon on Big Bang Theory as well as Rhianna, Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin. There was an email from the territorial Minister of Health (he doesn't usually invade my inbox) to all of us in health centres across NWT admonishing us to check for inappropriate stickers seen here on the right. There was an accompanying media story of a sticker handed out by a Dr in NB (who clearly hadn't looked at it) to an aboriginal child. Needless to say, the chief of the reserve was quite unimpressed. I was relieved to find we had nothing of the kind and sort of puzzled as to who thought these were a good idea. I don't remember the quote from the movie….

And speaking of ridiculous….last week as I was readying to head upstairs (after negotiating the leaving of cotton balls for a dog's ear treatment in the front entryway but that's another story) at 5 pm, my coworker appeared leading someone (not from the community) who introduced himself as a Census Canada employee. I had a great deal of trouble following the conversation and it wasn't due to his mild French Canadian accent, it was because he was wearing a crocheted horses head hat complete with mane!!! The theme from The Godfather was playing so loudly in my head that I couldn't concentrate. When we finally established that I would be at home in May and likely no one at my house would deal with census forms without my urging, reassured I would not be counted twice, he took his leave. Not sure why my colleague let him in after we locked the door but she seemed as gobsmacked as me with him. Apparently there is no dress code for census workers. 

We (described as my coworker, myself and the DPW maintenance dude) have been struggling with the hot water boiler. Three days of the last week there have been cold showers in the morning. Yes, I realize that large portions of the developing world would be grateful for running water, even cold but….this is Canada, no matter how far north, and it sure makes this old nurse cranky to start her day out that way! Apparently this is an ongoing issue but I made it clear to the hapless DPW employee that ongoing was coming to an end as my patience was wearing thin. He looked suitably worried so hopefully that will result in a solution. Clearly end of year DPW budget cautions were not on my list of concerns. 

I finished up a Future Learn course I was doing on Strategies for Healthy Aging. Overall it was quite good, not a lot of new information but interesting, and some of the participant comments were funny. Someone in the group posted a nice article on emotional retirement planning (vs financial) which I insert for your reading pleasure here:

http://drkathleenmccoy.blogspot.ca/2016/02/emotional-retirement-planning.html

There was an amusing story in one of the videos about 'crystallized intelligence' which apparently us older folks have in abundance. Described as putting together information gathered from various sources to solve a puzzle even though you've not been in this exact situation. The anecdote was from a researcher who said his in-laws arrived in Washington for a visit as a blizzard raged, emerging from the train station the roads were terrible so they couldn't find a taxi. The father in law decided they would cross the street to the take out pizza shop with delivery, ordered a pizza to their daughter/son in law's address and convinced the driver to take them along. I loved it! One of my resolutions is to write more, thus attempting to get my act together with this post. 

Since today was a -41c day I spent it inside on the sofa crocheting and watching a movie…Mud, any opportunity to see Matthew McConaughey with his shirt off is a good movie and Reese Witherspoon is always fun. I also watched a video on mindfulness (living in the present moment) where the lecturer (who unpretentiously described himself as a card carrying human being) advised the audience to "check your watch, it's now again". The intent was to remind us not to rush from one thing to another thinking the future will be better as now is the future of a few moments ago. Ahhhh if only. Both screenings were better than viewing folks tropical photos on FaceBook. 

I shuffled the few steps over to the school one afternoon muttering to myself into the fur of my parka "never lose an opportunity to immunize". Usually vaccines require an ice pack to ensure maintenance of the cold chain (2-8 c) but in this case I put the medication in my inner jacket pocket so it wouldn't freeze with the wind chill. Adaptation to the conditions. 

Mind you, Nova Scotia received a dumping of snow today with gusty winds, so a bit of winter left there. The shore captain headed over with some like minded businessmen to the Seafood Show in Boston who this year opted for a direct charter flight out of Yarmouth. Travel is usually longer than their stay as it takes three days return when you factor in the winter roads, ferry and two nights hotels enroute with only two days at the expo. Those travelling on regular flights out of Halifax were delayed, routed through Montreal and not arriving until late tonight. Just think I'm missing out on all that schmoozing and industry talk. 

One of the positives of this week was to be offered the bread pans from the coworkers apartment. She had attempted to bake brownies in them which (as might be expected) didn't work out well. The red river cereal bread turned out wonderfully, but I sure missed the Kitchen Aide mixer when kneading - haven't done that for a while. As well I found a recipe for molasses cookies which were just like my mother used to make….ahh a taste from my past. Made a large batch and I took them to sewing class and gifted the departing RCMP family with them. Baking is therapy but sharing the results is a better idea without a roommate to consume them.

Back to another winter…...

Settled in to the north of 60 home and life is good. It's a clear, sunny day with temperature of -34c, skidoos out on the sea ice and the usual activities of a northern community. Sunrise is officially just before 10 am and sunset at 5:30 pm but there's a lot of light on the horizon both before and after. A week down already and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the time flies in my working life. 

The six days at home were as expected, full of tasks and then complicated by a snow storm. Since I hadn't opted to put snow tires on my little car for just a week, I headed down to the city on Friday, stored the car with my classmate and overnighted twice. Had a nice supper with two daughters and a son in law on the final night which is a great send off and snuck away for an early flight the following morning. 

The commute is becoming fairly routine and thankfully there were no glitches. One of these days the positive influences I travel under will rebel but heading for four years and no major hiccups yet with connections. This time I took a page from my job share partner's book and stored two nonperishable filled bags at the Edmonton airport. Well worth the $7 each to not have to drag them to the shuttle, into hotel and reverse the process in the early hours again, especially as they're never opened. Did my grocery procurement in Edmonton as those six days post vacation at home were fun filled with snowy roads, plus who wants to schlep an extra box 3/4 of the way across Canada? Canadian Tire for a new action packer and duct tape and then Walmart for groceries. No scale so jammed the food into the tote, fastened it and sent it off to the hotel cooler. Supper, phone catch up with a Cuban Edmonton friend and an early night - miss the sleepovers of the western daughters who are now eastern daughters though, made the stopover funner. The 5:20 am shuttle to the airport and travelling as far as Yellowknife with an agency nurse heading to Kitikmeot…the north is large geographically but small people wise. Retrieval of bags, check in at Canadian North with a very accommodating clerk as in…the scale for my grocery action packer read 72 lb, we both looked at the number and she said "that says 70 lb doesn't it?" and I quickly agreed because that is the maximum allowable and she wrote 70 lb on the tag. It really did average out with the other bags but could've been a pain to shuffle at that point. Seat selection and she said "you need a nice perk today, how about row 3?" so I nodded (row 3 was leg room so deep you couldn't reach the chair back table and the row all to myself :) Quick flight to Yellowknife, picked up 60+ student athletes there and on to Inuvik directly (no station stop in Norman Wells) so in early, very painless. Aklak Air however only guarantees 60 lb (including carryon) will be delivered with you on the flight so the action packer had to be opened, reshuffled and resealed. And of course…..everything came with me anyway. The only calamity of that being a sugar puncture in the duffle resulting in vacuuming. Warmly greeted at the airport by my job share partner as she exited and various community members who said "welcome home". 

Sorting through the emails and discovered one from the clerk in housing who insisted that in order to receive a rent rebate the nurse in charge had to confirm the job share partner and I were sharing the apartment last fall. My counterpart had left that for me to deal with being that for either of us to sign was clearly a conflict of interest but….hey who am I to question? I duly acknowledged that we shared and hit send. Bureaucracy never ceases to amaze me, even at my age! Spent a couple of hours getting stuff put away. Not much of a job to retransition to the apartment as it's very cozy now. Put the food away, found my pyjamas, ate a lobster sandwich and crawled into bed. 

The work week was one of catching up on various paperwork issues, helping the casual CHN understand northern nursing and greeting community members. The manager was away for the week so good timing as for extra tasks etc. being on hold. Easier when you start to know the players and processes. 

A few personal technology glitches including a two hour phone call with Apple support to get my FaceTime working again and a test with a nite owl in the home time zone. Treated myself to Bushnell instavision binoculars at the fishing supply store as the shore captain has a nice pair which we used on the cruise. Discovered when I looked for polar bears and saw two flags at the RCMP detachment that the prism must be out of line as there is double vision when looking through both lenses. Was relieved to find that I wasn't having a stroke, it was truly the 'noclars' as my kids used to say, but annoyed as I'll now have to return them at home. Googled and noted "unfortunately double vision is common with these binoculars". arggh My heating pad power supply had a broken wire so will have to search online for a replacement - it is so cozy for the sofa in the winter. sigh. And the discovery that I brought whole wheat flour and red river cereal (birdseed as the kids used to call it) to make bread, having not checked there were bread pans here….on the list for next time. And yes I fully realize, all first world problems. I shall console myself by eating the dark chocolate covered mangoes I was gifted for Christmas. 

Invited to supper last evening with the RCMP family who will be posted March 3rd so trying to eat up their freezer of food. Lovely ribs and I took cranberry pudding for dessert - walked carefully and didn't have any mishaps. Over to sewing after supper and the on call phone rang as soon as I settled myself. Winter gear and up over the hill in the sharp cold for a  quick, routine call but not worth heading back down afterwards so crocheted and headed to bed with a book. Reading Pierre Berton's The Arctic Grail which is (as expected) well written and certainly apt in my present setting. 

Awaiting a FaceTime chat with the home folks so will sign off. Technology is my umbilical cord. 

To the bottom of the earth and back

Wow! Exciting times….I am updating the blog! Yes, I have thought of doing so multiple times over the past six weeks but…..life got in the way. And now, grab a cup of tea as I'm going to fill you in. And, no I am not going to fix the alignment on several of the gaps, it's late and you're interested in content not formatting. 

As was obvious from the posting of last year, I was heading out of my northern home for my southern abode to celebrate a belated Christmas holiday at New Years. The three day commute went very smoothly considering the holiday volume of travellers, weather and age of this writer. Social time at the airport where I was introduced to one of the newest community members returning from Inuvik. A quick flight via Ulukhaktuk to Inuvik accompanied by the relief RCMP and his wife who were returning to Fort Good Hope and through their kindness I was dropped off at the hotel (circumventing the $30 taxi fee). Catch up online, sleep in, hotel breakfast and readying to the return to the airport. Discovered the desk clerk was from Florenceville NB, the small town a friend inhabits, another of those 'small world' moments. Deposited at the airport by a Sudanese cab driver (told him of the Sudanese family being sponsored locally) and he provided his contact info for them "the first days are tough" he said. Uneventful commute from Inuvik, through Norman Wells, only deplaning in Yellowknife as mandatory to go through security at that point, back on the plane to Edmonton. Check in, supper and bed, sleep in and over to the airport for brunch and a bit of Christmas shopping. 

Only crisis of the day was when I looked at the check in gate and realized the flight was not direct to Halifax but through Toronto. Sigh. Uneventful flight, watched The Intern (good flick) and then into Pearson. The usual dog and pony show there, late departure as the flight continued to pick up connecting passengers (many cancelled flights the previous day). The flight attendant suggested that the station stop would be brief and passengers should remain on board, myself and perhaps four others complied. As I sat wearily waiting a (in my nurse opinion) freaked out passenger with wild eyes stopped in the aisle and said anxiously "where are we?" I replied calmly "in Toronto" followed by "why did we stop?" as I've worked a LOT of Emerg another calm reply "to let passengers off the plane" a frantic "why are we still here?" avoidance of eye contact and calmer reply "so passengers can get on" followed by "where are we going?" reply "Halifax" and "when are we leaving?" reply "no idea" and turning back to my book. I felt his intense stare for several minutes (not seconds) and he finally moved forward up the aisle. When the flight attendant strolled by I casually inquired as the mental status of my visitor who was clearly disorientated to person, place and time. She assured me that he was "different and not dangerous" and I said "well I've worked a lot of ER and I think he's stoned or psychotic and her smile faltered. Clearly she was used to dealing with the inebriated traveller not more exotic situations. I considered how little I wished to be enclosed in a flying metal tube with a deranged individual and sighed. She watched the front of the plane where a male flight attendant and the copilot were now interacting with my visitor (I could clearly hear the passenger shouting) and said "oh there's pushing and shoving and security is here". A ha! We took off a short while later and I assume minus one passenger as he did not return up the aisle. Lots of turbulence, into Halifax late and met by my faithful Pakistani airport taxi driver. Pick up of the car, stop for tea and clear roads home, arriving by 4 am. 

New Years Eve was celebrated with family, games and friends and a toast at midnight. New Years Day brought all our children (and most of their significant others) together for 'Christmas dinner' and it was a wonderfully unexpected event. When those kiddos grow up and move on with their lives it doesn't always translate to large get togethers for the holidays. The usual post holiday busyness and an overnight in the city. A lovely supper invitation to our German chef's place (we supplied the seafood) and good social catch up visit. Last minute packing and it was time to leave on vacation. 

We headed down the night before and stayed over at the airport hotel because a large dumping of snow was predicted (and received) in the city. Our flight was after lunch and by then the runways had been cleared and planes were moving. We had very little extra time built into our itinerary and were lucky to avoid glitches. Halifax to Philadelphia, on to Miami via American then transfer to LAN (Chile) for the overnight flight to Santiago. I sat next to a young fellow who either had ADHD or was on amphetamines! Scratching, jumping up and down, talking to himself and at one point he was conducting the music on the entertainment system. I slept perhaps 20 minutes. Not impressed. Dawn landing in Santiago de Chile, through baggage, customs and out to find a cab to the bus station. The express to Valpairsao was boarding and we stowed luggage and climbed into the air conditioned bus. Lovely view of the valley, wineries and villages along the way. Deposited in the very authentic city centre and a cab over to the Fauna Hotel. Cute boutique hotel where we were offered coffee/tea as the room was unavailable for a few hours. Wandered the streets of this artistic port city with markets, shops, cafes, and multiple photo ops, found some queso y camerones (shrimp and cheese) empanadas for lunch with a glass of Chilean wine so after check in a nap was in order. Opted for the roof top terrace for supper and that was a great choice we repeated the next evening as well - why mess with a good thing? Wandered the streets, visited the

Valparaiso funicular

markets and harbour took the funicular to the

Wine tasting

top of a hill to see the port and generally enjoyed being tourists. In the afternoon we hired the hotel recommended Kristian to drive us out to winery country and enjoyed a tour and two tastings. Saturday we spent relaxing and headed over to meet the ship at lunchtime. The embarkation process was chaos, no system at all and it took a looonnnggg time to fill out the health questionnaire, have our passports, documents for Chile and Argentina examined, be issued a sticker and finally called to join a lengthy line for the bus. Yes, you heard me correctly…the bus to the ship as the terminal and port are quite a distance apart. Another long line up on the Norwegian Sun and we were finally checked in and our passports surrendered. 

Checked out our digs - balcony on the port side was a good choice for the various ports of call - found some lunch and a drink, met the cabin steward Emerson and our bags were shortly delivered so we unpacked. The obligatory muster drill and a late sail away out of Valparisao on our eastbound journey. We visited the Brazilian steak house which was wonderful and very uncrowded - we've learned that if you arrive a day or two early and unwind you are not toast on embarkation day and have the speciality restaurants mostly to ourselves. 

The next day was a sea day which is always a good way to start the relaxing so we ordered room service breakfast, enjoyed the balcony, visited the library, self toured the ship and generally chilled out. We visited one of the dining rooms for supper and it was (as expected) great! Puerto Montt was the first stop and although new to me, the shore captain had visited in 1994 when we were l in South America on an industry / trade mission. We shopped the 

Puerto Montt, Chile

 markets, visited the port and saw the local supply boats readying for a run down the coast, checked out the fish markets and picked up some local crafts. A good day. The next port of call was Puerto Chachabuco which was a picturesque coastal town. We hired a local taxi who took us on a tour through Aysen over to Coyhaique stopping at Virgin falls, past valley farms, mountain peaks, wonderful spots for photos. With my rudimentary Spanish we managed to find out the answers to questions such as "how much snow here in the mountains in the winter" which was measured in feet in June, July and August she explained. We stopped for a sandwich and wonderful hot chocolate at a very nice cafe before heading back. Great way to discover the countryside. Two days of cruising the Patagonian Channel

Beagle channel glaciers

and Straits of Magellan - very scenic fiords and coast, followed by a stop in Puntas Arenas which is the most southerly city in Chile, very windswept and scruffy but interesting. We visited the maritime museum there and shopped the markets, found a cafe for wi-fi and made our way back fairly early to the ship. Although it was their summer….it was chilly. Had the winter jacket, gloves, and hat out for the balcony viewing of the glaciers in the Beagle Channel - stunning. The views reminded us of the Norwegian fiords. We crossed over the boundary to Argentina and the following day found us in Ushuaia, the most southerly city in the world. Some flurries, windy and a really touristy dusty spot where lots of Antarctic cruises leave from. We wandered the shops, visited the End of the World Museum (not post apocalyptic but rather most southern and headed back to the ship. The following day we rounded Cape Horn in "best weather possible" as described by our Swedish captain. It was just a rock and rather anti climactic as we'd heard horror stories about the perilous weather there. The next 

Cape Horn

day took us in to the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas for our Argentine friends) and it was a wonderful day. We'd booked an excursion to see the rockhopper penguins and we were not disappointed. We were met at the port, driven through the very British capital of Stanley and taken to Murrell Farm where we transferred to Land Rovers and bounced out across the peat moors to the cliffs. The drivers were very knowledgeable and chatty so we learned a lot about 'the conflict' in 1982 (still lots of land mines) the British way of life there and the penguins. The colony was feeding chicks and were great fun to watch - an item ticked off the

Rockhopper penguins

bucket list! A small building housed home made treats and a local lady to serve the tea. After bouncing back to town we explored the shops a bit, purchased an internet card and finally joined the line for the tender back to the ship. Wonderful day, needed the next day to be a sea day to recover from the Land Rovers. Getting warmer, the next port of call was Puerto Madryn which was quite a developed city with lots of tourist amenities. We took a shuttle to the Eco Centre which had lots of information on the southern right whales and visited the maritime museum in a beautifully restored classic home. Did not swim in the algae covered beaches. A sea day where we made our way past Mar Del Plata (more on that city later) and the final port of call was Punte del Este in Uruguay which is the playground of the rich and famous. Not really our style with expensive power boats, overpriced restaurants and shops but we did visit the fish market and the fishing boats rigging gear. It was warm and a large sea lion lazed on the haul out. We made our way back to the ship in a timely manner. The next morning saw us docked in Buenos Aires and we were efficiently disembarked from the ship and onto a tour we'd arranged to avoid wandering the streets with luggage

Gaucho dance

until our 8:30 pm flight to Mar del Plata to visit our friend. A city tour with lots of history, a stop in La Boca for some shopping, photos and off to a gaucho ranch in the pampas. A great display of horsemanship, dancing and a  wonderful meal. Deposited at the terminal, found our luggage and had it x-rayed, located a cab (rip off artists who double charged for the fare) to the airport and checked in for our flight. 

Our friend (who we met on our first trip to Argentina when she was young and single) and her husband met us at the airport and dropped us at the Hotel Iruna and we were tired so just flopped. As we explored the next day it turned out to be a good choice in location, staff and food. We had a fantastic week of visiting, eating, beach going, and generally being spoiled. A good time was had by all. Our final afternoon was the only one with rain and we visited till late with our friends. And I mean late by our standards as when our friends retrieved their five and ten year old from the playroom at 1 am they were still going strong. What do you expect from a country with supper at 11 pm? Ahh to be Latin. 

On the last morning we grabbed an early breakfast and caught a cab to the airport for the 40 minute flight to Buenos Aires. We managed to store our luggage, discover there was a free shuttle for Aerolineas Argentina passengers between airports so booked the 6:30 pm run and called a cab to explore the city. Our friend had advised Recoleta which had lots of shops, cafes and the artist market. We weren't disappointed. Had a great lunch at Las Ramblas cafe and the people watching was supreme, not to mention the Jack Russell terrier who thought he was a pit bull! Shopped the market which has some pretty amazing talent and picked up a great leather journal cover and a glass fish

Buenos Aires tango

plate. Enjoyed the shade of another cafe and an impromptu tango display before wandering off to hail a cab. Avoided pick pockets completely. Over to the international airport, shuttle across the city past cathedrals, slums, mansions and motor vehicle accidents. Made our way through parking lots and into the terminal to negotiate an extensive check in and bag drop process. Time for some final empanadas and wine then through security, customs and to the gate where our carry on luggage was hand searched taking an hour in total as the 777 is a big plane full of passengers. Lots of families going to Miami and on to Disney World which is a BIG attraction from Argentina. The eight hour flight was a great sleep and then we landed in Miami for a four hour layover, flight to Toronto (another nap) and then the dog and pony show at Pearson which is completely embarrassing - could someone please show those people how to organize themselves? Thank goodness for Nexus so we did make our connection but really NO NEED! Turbulent flight to Halifax and in a few minutes late but greeted by children and soon on the road. Arrived at 1 am to find that no one had stolen the cats and all was well. 

This week is the usual frantic of appointments, shopping, packing and wrapping up of last minute details because ….I head back to work with an early morning flight on Sunday. Not sure of the travel agenda due to a predicted snowstorm for Saturday and Sunday. I am thinking I will get my little car to the city and in to storage even if it means an extra night in transit. The joys of winter travel. Surely I won't have this problem from Toronto onwards in April! The next update from north of north.