Animal days of August

Cats in relaxing mode

Dog days of August

A beautiful sunny, breezy afternoon at the beach house so the animals and this human are living in the moment. Cool tiles under foot in the veranda and the million dollar view. ahhh. But enough bragging from a semi retired soul. It's been a while since an update but that doesn't mean I have nothing to report, simply that I've been enjoying the brief maritime summer to the fullest. DId you know that I've been able to enjoy wild raspberries, blueberries and blackberries  as I walked down the driveway this week from retrieving the newspaper? 

Three of us enjoyed the Magic Winery Bus Tour and yes, it did live up to it's advertisements. We had an uneventful drive to Wolfville and caught the 10:30 departure and wandered our way back to the Blomidon Inn after 4 pm so a full and fun day. Certainly well worth the ticket and we were joined by some other semi retired local nurses with a connection to one of our party, making us five in total who managed to climb our way to the top of the double decker bus all day. Of the four wineries we visited, the consensus was that Gaspereau was the most fun, generous and had the best buys,  Grand Pre was the least to our taste and a bit uppity, we enjoyed the tour and staff at l'Acadie but only found one vintage drinkable and Lucketts was as one would expect from entrepreneur Pete Luckett. - a beautiful view of the valley, great restaurant for lunch, a phone booth in the vineyard and lots of fun staff. The bus tour provided more talks and perks than just arriving by yourself and it was a great way to spend the day. We were back at the inn and able to enjoy afternoon tea, shop at their very unique gift shop and settle in to our expansive suite before the rain began. Downtown Wolfville offers a number of culinary experiences and we chose The Naked Crepe, making it take out and settling in to our cozy suite to enjoy a donair and a chicken cordon bleu as main courses and fresh lemon curd and whipped cream dessert crepes. Yum. A great snooze and up in the morning for the full breakfast as provided by the inn and pleasant drive home. 

This same trio enjoyed a day trip to Lunenburg and visited the market on Thursday. No better spot than a German based community to source some homemade sausages which were delicious. Lots of peasant skirts, long hair and the left over hippies that go with them. Beautiful crafts and the opportunity to enjoy a tasty lunch - my companions enjoying curries as I opted for a sausage roll followed by lasagne. Yum. 

We have enjoyed a multitude of great meals these past few weeks and have considered entitling ourselves BBQs R Us as we hosted a yummy surf and turf (lobster rolls and ribs) and then a family get together which has become an annual celebration of my baby sister's August birthday. The menu is simple - potato salad, burgers and hotdogs with Dan's ice cream cake for dessert. It is an opportunity to visit not only with my sister and brother-in-law but with my nieces, their husbands and the great nieces and nephew (they line up in approximately the same ages as our own offspring and it's a trip down memory lane to our past as well as how much those two oldest great nieces resemble their mommas at the same age). Good times, good times. 

Did the his & hers eye exam / new glasses routine recently and picked out black rimmed frames and then tortoiseshell frames for my sunglasses - very retro and they are more comfortable and larger for the bifocals. Have finished both No Great Mischief (Alister MacLeod) which for some reason I'd never read and The Sentimentalist (Johanna Skibsrud) this past week and they were both wonderful but slightly disturbing reads. Starting Under this Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell now. 

Was also disturbed to chat with a friend and discover that Moe (their lab who is the age of Pete the grand dog) had a traumatic experience. Apparently while out being walked in the morning with another (visiting) dog, the two disappeared through a path and….couldn't be located. Apparently they had been picked up by animal control and taken to the SPCA about an hour away which wasn't open until 11 am the next day. When retrieved poor Moe was dehydrated, had forgotten all his training and only wanted to sit on laps. Happy ending at least. 

And somehow not nearly as disturbing as this article about blind gunmen - yep, the kind with guide dogs:

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28587041?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

Does anyone see a problem with this? I thought so. 

As well as an article (clearly written by a creative person from the sounds) about clutter and creativity:

http://elitedaily.com/money/entrepreneurship/psychology-behind-messy-rooms-messy-room-may-necessarily-bad-thing/708046/

Had some back and forth emails today with work as they attempted to slip by me a day earlier departure - no thanks, only a few days back from Europe - and have finally settled on the original date (I think as no final e-ticket has appeared yet) with the early leave I appreciate to give me time in Edmonton to enjoy daughter visits. The oldest is on the move to North Battleford and will be the downstairs neighbour to her baby sister. They will both get to hang out with their father who is travelling to Saskatchewan on his AirMiles the first week of October to see his girls and watch a Roughriders game, then hunt geese with his buddy in Prince Albert. Considering families, creativity and messiness I came across this table above describing birth order and I can assure you that the shore captain (oldest of five) is neither on time or organized but….the others all fit him perfectly, even he had to admit. 

So as I surfed the net researching ebola and other tropical afflictions I read an ad in the NEJM for a "nocturnist" which turns out to be a Dr who does 1 wk of nights (7 pm to 7 am) a week off and 1 week of evenings (4 pm to midnight) which allows for overlap on the busy evenings - then a week off and repeat. Never thought of myself as being described as a nocturnist but if the shoe fits….

On tomorrow's agenda is the intrepid trio's day trip to Le Village Historique Acadien de la Nouvelle Ecosse in Lower West Pubnico. Although it's only a half hour drive from us, I've never been. A number of my nursing school classmates were Acadien and the teacher daughter of course studied en francais so time to make a visit and travel back in time.  And yes, I'm having rappie pie for lunch in the cafeteria - it's an acquired test and I acquired it in the mid 70s when classmates would bring me back some on their weekend visits home to the Pubnicos - there's Pubnico Head, Upper East, East and Lower East Pubnico, Upper West, West and Lower West Pubnico , well you get the drift - there are 15 Pubnicos named. Rapure or rappie pie is grated potatoes with some meat in a broth, gluey base baked to a crusty top - as I said…an acquired taste so…I'm going to acquire some. A review of the village here:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g3982251-d2441622-Reviews-Le_Village_Historique_Acadien_de_la_Nouvelle_Ecosse-Lower_West_Pubnico_Municipal.html

Found a link from some travel writers about the town where the Nova Star ferry links Portand Maine to Nova Scotia, there has been a real resurgence in tourism in the area which is great to see:

http://www.travelwriteclick.com/7-things-i-love-about-yarmouth

Thinking of travel, I got as far as making a packing list this morning for Europe, have to ease into such things. Will be on the move a bit so keeping the bags to a minimum even with the cruise which requires some dress up - we won't look as classy as all those Europeans anyway so aren't going to try but…don't want to stick out too badly. Always dreaming of travel, here is a link to Greenland which is on the bucket list:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greenland/travel-tips-and-articles/ten-enchanting-travel-experiences-in-greenland

Gotta keep dreaming, but first the kitchen has cooled enough to make shredded wheat bread. Later

Return of the Parrotheads

How does it take me so long to get around to updating the blog? I am not really getting much visibily accomplished these 'days off' so it must be the relaxation I'm enjoying. Dog walks, naps, trolling FaceBook, a bit of baking, very small amounts of housework and visiting. Ah, such is the life of the semi retired. 

For starters, my parrot head travel partner and I had a wonderful trip last weekend to Boston / tailgate party and Jimmy Buffett concert. It began with an early morning meeting and drive to the airport, storing of cell phones in the car, a wait and then quick flight to Boston. Through Logan airport and out to the Silverline bus and in South Station before 10 am. We ask a Jehovah Witness with a display in the station for suggestions….? Chinatown…we quickly agreed. We first scoped out and purchased the commuter rail tickets to Mansfield "yes this will take you to Raynham-Taunton", noted the time for the train making plans to return by 3 pm, did a bit of shopping and headed off to find Chinatown. We wandered through an Asian

Asian grocery store

grocery store amazed by the veggies and very unusual parts of critters eaten, strolled the streets in perfect sunshine with a gentle breeze, marvelled at the offerings hanging in the windows, had a wonderful lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, shopped at various pawn shops for estate jewelry, were astounded at armed security in the McDonald's, heard very little English spoken and generally enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. We made our way back for the train, enjoying South Station's wonderful food court - yes we'll have Pinkberry frozen yogurt - and people watched. The gate for the train was announced so we surged forward with the other commuters in a human stream down the platform to board. Free wi-fi on board, the south end of Boston merging into a passing panorama of suburban leafy green, comfortable seats and a smooth ride as we made our way to Mansfield. Off at the fairly remote station and a glance around for a cab. Hmmm, only a dial-a-bus. We ask the driver about a taxi to Raynham-Taunton and he exhibits an alarmed countenance and says "oh that's miles from here, you need to get back on the train and get off at Attleboro" so we head back towards the conductor at the train door who says "you have to get on there" indicating a platform a ways down the track which as we turn towards it…. the train pulls out from the station and disappears. We use the walkway to cross the freeway towards a strip mall - while strolling across the parking lot we are approached by the dial-a-bus - the driver and his passenger have worked out a (complex) solution to our dilemma. "I'll call my driver buddy and he'll pick you up right here and take you to Norton". We wait briefly and the dial-a-bus appears as promised, we insert our $1 bills and ride to Wheaton College (a small liberal arts school) where we are dropped off and told to walk through a lane in back of the post office and wait for the #18 bus. A very short, senior man is riding the bus and he tells the driver "I'm going that way Frank, I'll show them" so as we walk along he chats about the college, where we're from, our plans and as he indicates where to wait says "oh you're going to a Jimmy Buffett concert to smoke weed - do you have any on you?" My travel partner stares at him speechless and I say "we're going to get ours at the concert" which he accepts and moves on. We wait for a while as the end of day traffic makes it way past us with a few curious glances cast in our direction. As my travel partner says "what else were we going to do this afternoon anyway?" The #18 bus arrives, we insert another $1 bill and are ultimately delivered to the Taunton terminal. We bother a transit driver eating his fried chicken, he confers with two other drivers who arrive shortly about which route the Hampton Inn is on (one suggests we can walk down the highway from WalMart and he is scandalized at the suggestion) "no, that's the Holiday Inn, it's on Rte 44" then I finally offer that the hotel has a shuttle within a five mile radius. The consensus is the terminal is within the catchment area of the shuttle and the driver finds his cell, calling for the pickup. We thank our rescuers and head out front to wait as the shuttle can't enter the bus parking lot. Two of the drivers make a pass by the terminal entrance to wave at us and after about 20 min. (which the hotel had stated would be the time for pickup) a young fellow wearing a transit uniform and blue nitrile gloves comes out to check on us. He's obviously been sent by the drivers to use his cell phone for us as he isn't completely clear on the mission but states "I'm a helpful kind of guy". He phones for the shuttle again and indeed it arrives a few minutes later. We make it to the hotel by 7:30 pm which means this leg of our journey from Boston took us about four hours. As we pull into the parking lot the driver (retired corrections officer so he can obviously handle two trouble making Nova Scotians) informs us that the shuttle can drop us at Lakeville station and we can catch the commuter train directly in to South Station and on to Logan on Sunday - should take about 45 min from hotel to airport - almost as quick as driving. Kind of anticlimactic after the outbound trip. The hotel is full - sports teams, families and concert goers - and conveniently located next to a mall. They provide some phone numbers for taxis and we arrange to call one in the morning. We purchase party supplies for the tailgate party, have a sub at d'Angelos and head back to rest up. 

It's party day - we enjoy our included breakfast, ready ourselves and wait for the cab. We prepay the driver and he agrees to pick us up at 11:30 pm (noise ordinance means the music will be wrapped up by 10:30pm) near the service station at the end of the entrance to the Xfinity Centre. It's about a 25 minute drive from the hotel and costs only $30 each way - certainly would be more than that in rural NS! It's a perfect day weather wise with some sun and cloud, a slight breeze, low humidity and comfortable temperatures. We arrive at 11am and check out the parking lots starting to fill with vehicles loaded with inflatable sharks, surf boards, lumber, swimming pools, sand, coolers, and smiling costumed parrot heads. The VIP parking has limos, tour buses, motor homes and snazzy vehicles. We ask security where to start and he makes some suggestions, takes our photo and chats easily with my buddy 

Pre concert tailgating 

who apparently charmed him completely as she walked away with his unopened bottle of water and drank from it - he waves us on with a grin. We spend the next seven hours having a fantastic time! Very difficult to explain the pre concert party - even the YouTubes don't do it justice. We're surprised to find that at least 1/4 of those attending would be under 30 yrs - not the demographic we'd expected. We visit, sample wonderful food - shrimp, burgers, kebabs, fruit, snacks - and every kind of beverage imaginable, are delighted by the costumes and 

 antics, dance to the music being broadcast, enjoy Chicks with Sticks (a female steel drum band) my friend gets two temporary tattoos, and tries some of the parking lot games. We laugh constantly and the time flies by. By 7 pm we are in line to get in to the concert and are glad to sit down in what appears to be a sold out crowd. A double rainbow forms over the venue as the sky darkens and the stars come out. We rock out to the favourites, enjoying the energy and by the expected hour the magic is over and we make our way out through the gates to meet the taxi. My partner finds a pair of sunglasses on the path (they turn out to be spiffy new RayBans) and the cab arrives as promised. We are back at the hotel, showered and in bed by 1 am. A good sleep in, breakfast and we check out the flea market next door until it is time to catch the shuttle. An uneventful trip in to South Station on the commuter train, lunch at the food court, the T back to the airport as we collected scientists from Paris who had presented at a conference (what is bioinformatics anyway - had to Google it) and a family who had just left a wedding reception and were delivered to the bus stop, still in their glamorous outfits by the groom. Check in, security, snack and wait for the flight while we people watched. A quick return flight, customs, retrieval of car and uneventful drive home. Ahhhh what a weekend! 

Our grand puppy Pete came to stay with us on Wednesday as our daughter and son-in-law are out west for a wedding. He is a 14 wk old golden lab and has been settling in to our

Pete at 14 wks

routine here, or rather we have been settling in to his. He is usually up by 6:30 am and is a going concern for the day where he plays hard. He is learning that our elderly, deaf resident dog does not like her ears chewed on, our cats don't enjoy being chased, has had playdates with a couple of dogs, gets walked, taken to the water (not a fan) and has conquered his separation anxiety and will remain outside with Keely for a few hours without 'losing it' now. He is of course easily distracted, but tries to behave and in fact is a good baby. Every day he is growing - gonna be a big boy! He sleeps well (as does Keely) from all the activities. 

The social calendar keeps full with catching up with all those I've missed. Had a nice BBQ on Friday with friends, good food and conversation. This week, a nice visit, a cup of tea and a ginger cookie with my two summer neighbours while the puppy played with her dog. Then I was off to a friend's house for lunch with a third friend - the three of us lived 'on the corner' growing up (and her husband) and a nice visit. Home in time to have the life partner make lobster rolls while I did a salad. Ahh life is good. 

Tomorrow is lunch for our school of nursing class - 1976 sounds so long along when you tell whippersnappers the graduation date. There are usually 8 - 10 of us locally who manage to make it. Gets easier every year to schedule with more retiring. It's not about the meal, it is the visiting and catching up. 

Plans are in the works for a winery tour in a couple of weeks:

wolfvillemagicwinerybus.ca

Will include an overnight stay as what fun would it be to NOT sample the wine? The beach clean up at Bon Portage is rescheduled (originally the day Arthur struck the area) for August 16th so hopefully the weather cooperates this time. Have wanted to visit that island since I read We Keep a Light and other books Evelyn Richardson wrote. Have planned a birthday party BBQ for my sister on the 17th (her girls are not working that weekend) so will host a crowd of family and friends. 

Less than a month before the life partner and I head off to Europe. I was discussing with him that the friends at lunch (who are going to UK about the same time) had purchased a GPS to use with the rental car. He pronounced "it's a lot more fun getting lost" so we shall see just how hysterical that is when it happens in Portugal. At least I won't be accused of not reading the signs correctly will I if they're in Portugese?

My co-classmate for the LSTMH (tropical nursing diploma) and I booked our return flights to UK for Nov 27 - Dec 20th. It was the 'close to the holidays' December date that caused the most hassle with the blackout for using flight miles and no direct return flight so we opted for a stop in St Johns Nfld (feeling it's just wrong to fly over NS to Toronto or Montreal and then back from Europe). Surprisingly Air Canada was the lowest price (although that is a matter of opinion when you're spending $1100) and at least we'll collect Aeroplan miles. We will have the first weekend in Cambridge, second in Oxford and third in Leeds - my travel partner has connections having lived in UK. We booked the coach (National Express) for the Liverpool to Heathrow journey on Dec 20th as well - likely to fill up with the holiday travel. For some reason I thought Liverpool was closer to London than it is. Hmmm. Now I just have to dust my resolution off to do some pre-course study. The latest news about the Ebola outbreak in western Africa is disheartening - I made an online donation to MSF, it's the least we can do. 

And to end on a practical note, I offer the following 'life hack' for removing those sticky labels off jars:

thatswhatchesaid.net/2013/how-to-easily-remove-labels

Disclaimer - I haven't tried it myself. As well as a link to open courseware (free) from MIT for photojournalism:

petapixel.com/2014/07/17/mit-offers-documentary-photography-photojournalism-course-free-online

So, it's off to bed as that little canine alarm clock is set for early am.

Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys

Now that I'm home in the 'not working' groove and most thoroughly enjoying being temporarily retired….it is time for an update. Well, actually there has been a need for an update for a while but as it often does…..life got in the way. I have however, unpacked my duffle bag, reorganized my action packers / stacked them in the spare room and stored my kamiks for their off season in the freezer. No need to be thinking about paid work if you're not planning on doing any for about 12 weeks. And if you are employed, here is a helpful quote on the left for dealing with all the politics. It's listed online as a Polish proverb hmmm

At last update I was throwing my stuff into tote pans, giving away anything that didn't fit in, looking forward to visiting with my daughter on the Edmonton stopover and hoping to make my connections home ahead of Hurricane Arthur which was predicted to head up the eastern seaboard just after my arrival. The trip home went (considering the above plan) pretty smoothly. I was out of the apartment in good time and over to the airport to check in and wait for departure. No need to do a second version of the difficult farewells, one set of tears is enough. Some distractions by local people and a final heartfelt goodbye and thank you from one of the elders who always expresses his appreciation for "these nurses who come to help us here" on the local radio station, as he was awaiting a departure 20 minutes later with another airline. Beautiful day for flying as we lifted off over the community and towards Yellowknife. A quick trip through security, bathroom stop and then into the lineup for boarding. I find another CHN from NS getting on the flight so she comes to sit next to me and fill me in on all the news (gossip) of the Government of Nunavut casual CHN world. She is a good source of all that is hilarious, tragic and downright scary with GN - with her Cape Breton roots she is as good as any live theatre. In to Edmonton and the electrician daughter awaits at the bottom of the escalator with a cup of tea. "Isn't she beautiful?" I say to my co-worker? She agrees and then says "OMG I'm waving to your daughter as if I know her I've been north too long!" A real nice touch to not have to wait on the shuttle and have a good strong daughter to heave three large pieces of baggage onto a cart and in to her truck for you. Over to the hotel to check in, store the duffle in the freezer (char fillets) for the night and head down to the sports bar for a snack and some beverages. Nice chance to catch up on the news. Daughter # 1 is returning to college for her final set of classes this fall and will shortly be a journeyman/woman/person - whatever the term - she will be more independent in her work. Soft bed and good sleep then up to go and source some breakfast at Cora's before the flight. All that fresh fruit is such a treat! Never long enough for the visits but I have to remind myself that most folks in eastern Canada don't get to see their western residing offspring six times per year. 

I decided to use one of my guest passes for the Maple Leaf Lounge at the airport and was wowed by all the 'free' snacks, liquor and quiet there. On to the flight and seated next to a HUGE Newfoundlander who was going home for a family reunion. He'd 'forgotten' he had a flight in the morning so had to catch the one after lunch. He smelled strongly of ETOH, snored loudly, burped and farted frequently, took up all of his seat and the aisle plus half of mine and had no boundaries ex. leaned over me and put the window shade up as I napped - clearly did not have the Flight Etiquette 101 course. Other than that…I enjoyed the movie The Grand Budapest Hotel - worth watching. As we landed a drama unfolded in the row behind us where a couple was clearly not making their connection to Munich and yelling at each other over who booked the short connection "just pull your skirt down" missy says to her boyfriend, "do you want a xanax? we only have enough for one a day remember" as they push their way to the front of the plane to exit with 20 minutes to make it to the next flight. Sure, that's going to happen. Another stop in the Maple Leaf Lounge in Pearson - it was a 10 minute walk from the gate to the domestic lounge so I was determined. The stroll was worth it as it was much larger and more completely provisioned. Couscous salad, two soups of the day, hummus and pita crackers, multiple choices for wine, fresh fruit , chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies - yes please. Enjoyed in the comfort of large soft leather armchairs, and good conversation of a three year old from Truro who when I asked if she and her mother were travelling on flight # 624, replied "no, we're going on a plane". Ah, a tired old nurse could get used to this respite in the frantic of plane/terminal travel. 

The usual delays on the tarmac in Toronto so behind about thirty minutes. An uneventful flight, a foggy homecoming and then the lag as the Captain says "just waiting for the ground crew to get into position here". Now, I'm pretty sure it occurred to most of us on the completely full plane that with an extra half hour to get ready, we might've expected a more efficient welcome. As we all stretched and stood blearily, my cell rang and someone with heavily accented English asked for me and where I was. It was the prearranged taxi driver  (who turned out to be a Masters in Computer Science student helping out the owner - think Raj on Big Bang Theory and you'd be close) wondering about the delay (turns out he had gotten stood up last weekend with the same gig). I gratefully retrieve the luggage and head towards the ground transportation booth to have them page my cab. As I head outside to look for the large sedan which usually awaits me, I am unable to locate it. My phone rings again and much like an episode of Mission Impossible I find myself following the instructions "I'm in the green Honda Accord, I had trouble with the thing on my car, just walk forward, more forward and across, near the stop sign" in the pea soup fog until I realize my student cabbie is searching for the term crosswalk. Aha there he is, although he appears a bit flustered as he has his head down and is clearly planning a quick exit. As he figures out how to fit two large action packers and a rolling duffle into his compact vehicle, he requests that I "sit in the front here" and I reach for the door handle. I then notice the reason for his discomfort. A large, loud middle aged male is sitting on the back of a red, crew cab, jacked up 4 wheel drive truck and he is having lots to say "you can't park there, you'll have to move that car, what if someone with a handicapped sticker comes?" and such various other opinions at top volume. Now, I am a strong proponent of only those so designated parking in disabled spots but at 1 am, there's not likely to be any competition for this space. I look at the red neck and say loudly to my cabbie "who is that the parking police?" which causes him even greater consternation as he puts his head down and quickly jams my baggage into the car silently. I take a step towards the loud mouth - clearly he's not as stupid as he appears as he immediately ceases his running commentary - then step back and into the Honda. I search for (and don't locate) a disabled sticker on the schmuck's truck - not surprised. My non confrontational cabbie is freaked out by the driving in the fog so I suggest he uses the low beams, he clutches the wheel and peers out through the windshield as we do a zippy 60 km over to Middle Sackville. I suggest that I will be doing the speed limit (or a tad more) on the 103 as it would take days to get home otherwise and if I hit a critter…so be it. He is amazed at my bravery. I am dropped at my car and start my homeward trek. 

I arrive home at 4 am just as the wind and rain are beginning and crawl into my OWN bed. A few minutes after I have slipped off to sleep at 5 am I hear muttering and cussing from the other side of the bed as the shore captain climbed out to begin dealing with generators as the power was out. The next time we flicked a switch without gas powered generated electricity was 3 pm on Monday. In what has become an epic fail by Nova Scotia Power, many areas of the province were powerless for almost a week. Imagine if it really was a hurricane and not just a tropical storm as it petered out. The internet was down until Wed afternoon in a classic 'it was the other guys fault' Eastlink vs NSP match. In the hurry up and wait for power the only winners were the gas stations as generators hummed. We managed to keep our storage freezer as well as fridge contents intact and were able to have running water and lights with the noisy generator. Our friends from out west arrived just an hour after the electricity was restored and so the Plan B of them being housed at a mutual friend was modified to include a joint supper on two evenings. Lots of catching up and it was just like the old days. ahhhh

Spent some time with my soon to be parrot head travel buddy as we sorted out the online course she is doing for CCA (continuing care assistant) and let me just say that if it were me taking the course they would get an earful for the crappy setup. The website looks like someone's child in grade 8 did it for a project - it is very difficult to use - we accidentally located some areas and apparently missed several other sections as her 'navigator' asked where those were when she submitted for the section. Better her than me.  A busy week with a lovely sunny weekend where we made plans to do many things - go watch a movie for example but….haven't made it there yet. The three daughters spent the weekend at the Craven Country Music Festival outside of Regina and by accounts a good time was had by all. The two oldest are now off camping near the Montana border for a couple of days while the youngest headed back north. 

And of course the planning for the Jimmy Buffett concert is ramping up as there are only three more sleeps remaining until I cross another entry off the bucket list. Friday is up early to drive to the airport, flight to Boston, across to Mansfield (outside of Boston) for the weekend. Saturday the tailgate parties begin by 10 am and the concert starts at 8pm so we'll be doing a more than 12 hr. shift - which both of us have training for. Sunday will be recovery day and retracing our steps with a 6 pm flight back. It's all about making the memories. 

Speaking of the logistics of travel….yesterday was a hateful marathon of planning with the life partner. I have been gently reminding (nagging) him on a regular basis that we should complete the plans as only the flights across the pond, the vacation week in the Algarve, Portugal and the Adriatic cruise were confirmed. What began as a simple exercise "you book the hotel for Venice after the cruise" which in my estimation should have taken a couple of minutes, stretched into three hours and four calls to the call centre for support by himself. Can you say PAINFUL?  So, nothing to do but push on and with some encouragement, mister managed to book a rental car and a hotel for our final night in Lisbon before we return to Canada, while I booked a hotel for our first night in Portugal (a castle/convent) 

http://ca.hotels.com/ho224119/pousada-de-palmela-castelo-de-palmela-palmela-portugal/?

and return flight from Lisbon to Venice. Mind you, if the worst thing you can think of to complain about is flying Air France through Paris vs flying non stop Portugal to Italy, all is well. And it is an ambitious crusade. The travel partner did allow today that "we should start planning earlier for such adventures". We have decided that the aspect of travel which I find most positive is the anticipation and research and for him, it's turning off the cell phone as his adult ADD does not lend itself to sitting and planning. He does however enjoy playing with Google Map and checking out the scenic fishing villages so is beginning to get ramped up with six weeks remaining. 

So to close….50 life hacks - my fav is #12:

http://news.distractify.com/geek/science/the-most-genius-life-hacks-ever-i-cant-believe-i-never-thought-of-these/?v=1

Notes for creative writing - note to self to get in gear with the writing:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1yuK5l/1g1i1zqer:CDRSYX9d/www.dummies.com/how-to/content/creative-writing-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Although this isn't New Years, I've made myself a resolution to read / watch or listen to a topic daily on tropical health. I will have to be ready before I arrive in Liverpool as my classmate / social convener already has plans for a visit to Cambridge, a stay at Oxford and dinner at high table, a weekend in Dublin via ferry and more…I started off well today with a webinar from Johns Hopkins University on paediatric diarrhea. Have some open course wear bookmarked and some lectures downloaded on iTunes. Let the learning begin…..except for this weekend of course and that will be learning of a different kind. Fins up!

IQ Day - no not measuring it, enjoying it!

As the final week in this contract rolls around on the calendar, I continue to be awe of the speed of eight weeks away. I have only two more sets of call and I'll be officially 'not working' for about three months as my return flights are September 25 and 26th. Hard to take, but someone has to do it. 

The past almost two weeks (since the previous update) have been busy as usual. The weather is starting to warm up and well it should as summer is officially here, with the following forecast for tonight which is typical of the weather this week :

Sunday
A mix of sun and cloud. Wind northeast 20 km/h becoming light in the morning. High 10. UV index 4 or moderate.
Sunday night Mainly sunny. Low plus 3.

Don't you just love that Sunday night mainly sunny part? So do the locals, as with the 24 hrs of daylight there are kids playing out on the street at 2 am, overnight travel to go fishing at the cabin and just general 'staying up' as it is known. 

In fact the urge to go 'out on the land' is pervasive - as the dentist previously labelled it "spiritual" as in "I can't keep my appointment, I am going fishing". In fact I've been on the fringes of various 'get out of work' schemes this past week. One involved a boss showing up with a neatly written note claiming that a local employee 'went to see the nurse with back pain, was given medicine and told to not go to work'. This was a complete fabrication as the person hadn't been to the health centre for over a month and then not for back pain. The only reason the employer came to inquire was a concern that it was a workers compensation claim which must be reported. "No" I said "you have a problem but it's not related to healthcare" which elicited a big sigh from the foreman. I said to myself 'you had your common law partner write this note and you delivered it with a straight face knowing you had never sought treatment and had no back pain 'did you not consider you might get busted?' The second involved an actual injury where a labourer had a burn from molten metal on to the back of his hand which he worked the rest of the day with and hadn't reported. Slept in the next day and went to work to say he was injured so was brought over personally by the foreman for attention. The 2nd degree burn was fairly small and as I put polysporin and a band aid on it I said "so you're going back to work?". Very furtive look and reply of "not today". "Tomorrow?" Frantic look now and "I can't go back to work, it'll get dirty". Negotiation "do you work the weekend?". "No". Then you get tomorrow off, come here and get your burn checked and back to work Monday. Quick exit. Of course, no visit was made on Friday - how can you see the nurse if you're 'out on the land' getting your hand all dirty? 

The quote of the day is:
Your life is recorded by two dates and a dash - make the best of the dash

No one here has to be told that!

Ice fishing 

In fact, speaking of traditional ways and being out on the land….the staff at the health centre participated in IQ (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangi) day yesterday afternoon. This is where qablunaaq (literal translation - those with bushy eyebrow) or white people are educated in the traditional ways. We took the vehicles outside of the community to German Lake and did ice fishing, collected heather for a fire and boiled water for tea, ate bannock, cheese, pepperoni, biscuits, hotdogs cookies and had a birthday cake (carrot cake) as it was one of the staff's birthday. Traditional games were played and prizes won there and for the fishing

Louise the champ

 derby - Louise caught a lovely big trout and a smaller land locked char. One of the clerk interpreters mother and some other family members were out on the ice fishing and we got some photos of them on the Honda and her ice fishing from her wheelchair. Saw some birds and evidence of other critters - it was fun! There were musings as to whether there were duck eggs in the cliffs surrounding the lake as there were ancient inukshuks all around hills and evidence of birds. I was told that ravens eggs are blue. "Like over sized robins eggs?" I asked. "no sort of speckly". The most excitement of the day was generated by the appearance of a bumble bee. Now granted they are HUGE up here (golf ball size) and make a loud noise (as would be expected by their size) but when I questioned those screaming and running from it I was told that a) no one in the community was allergic to stings b) no one had ever known of anyone to be stung - likely related to the wild shenanigans when a buzz is heard. I would've made an easy target for the bee what with my laying over on the tundra laughing uncontrollably at the antics. We were tired, full and sun/wind burnt when we straggled home. 

love to see those lights coming

King Air - welcome sight

Apparently there are infrequent thunderstorms near the Arctic Ocean, but usually later in the summer. About 10 days ago there were a couple of days of really unsettled weather. The first night we were awaiting a medevac which had to divert to Gjoa Haven and wait out the front. Good thing they didn't try to land as it took two arms and one leg for me to get the door open on the vehicle when I got to the airport. Crazy windy, sheets of rain, crashes of thunder and big cracks of lightening. And the most amazing part of all this electrical activity was that everyone and I mean EVERYONE was either outside, up on their metal roof, looking out the window or generally trying to tempt the weather gods. The next day we had a hailstorm with big hail stones during the thunder storm 

hail storm

again everyone rushed to the window or outside. I was giving a little guy who isn't two years old an aerosol treatment and he stood in his diaper on a chair, with the mask on his face, in front of the window watching the storm. I'd say it's a good thing there aren't too many electrical storms up here or there would lots of defibrillation required!

But some situations are the same regardless of the culture. A mother stopped by the health centre to pick up her travel itinerary for a flight out to a medical appointment and was packing her toddler. This little girl has four older brothers and when I asked the mom if she'd cut her hair as she had an unusual coiffure she said "no, her brother did". When I asked if it was the one who had pulled the TV over on himself a couple of years ago, the one who had a BB in his arm or the one who jumped off the dock and broke his leg she said "no the one who's usually not too much trouble". 

My roommate has gone back east for two weeks to get her children graduated and will be returning this week. In her absence I had an apartment guest in the form of a medical student for four days. The physician who comes in monthly to do a clinic brought his third year medical student daughter with him to give her a clinical experience and she sure got to see lots of unusual patients, experience a new culture, do things she wouldn't have a chance 'down south' and learn to practice medicine without all the technology and resources. She was a great roommie who was well received by the community as she was very approachable and keen. Will make a great Doc. Her Dad I think was proud of her and they had a nice father/daughter trip of it. I am waiting for my roommate to return in a couple of days as I'm rattling around in the apartment with no one to cook for. 

As I get most of my unofficial news from the land of FaceBook (which is sometimes like saying you get serious news from The National Enquirer vs The Globe and Mail) I found the following exchange between two paramedic crews at home a few evenings ago: 

EHS - Halifax Infirmary 

One raccoon later we have arrived!

Go big or go home. Deer is the hunt of choice

Deer are too much paper work!

And speaking of hunting….the moose hunt of last fall which was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime…..has had a deja vu moment. Apparently the shore captain's employee (he who actually shot the moose) won a tag in this years draw. The shore captain being prevented from applying for the next five years. Mancation planning has begun. 

So as I head into the final days of the contract and start my travel plans for heading home I noted that with Air Canada you can now check online to see which movies are being screened on your flight. For those who need time to decide, or who plan excessively, this is a welcome feature. I have already chosen The Grand Budapest Hotel, based on the trailers provided (as I fit into the planner category).  

While on the topic of travel - here is a link to something called smash books - they can be used to document your travels vs the travel scrapbook on return:

http://www.craftsunleashed.com/paper-crafts/smash-books-the-un-scrapbook

$6 for water??

Disneyland from above

Nunavut summer 

So, since I was out tromping around on the hill overlooking the community this afternoon and then visiting both grocery stores looking for cream - going to treat the other Nova Scotian employee here to creamed lobster tomorrow for supper. Now that the 10 pm siren for curfew (which all the kids under age 14 ignore) has sounded…. I am crawling into bed early with my book. 

tundra flowers are small

Sealskin Pulpit and Plastic Flowers

Just finished a brunch of bacon and banana pancakes. Yum. The reward for being only second call today. Paid my dues yesterday with a steady day of calls from sick babies to adults (lots of respiratory viruses on the go this past few weeks) dental abscess, laryngitis, to someone who thought there was a glass splinter in the thumb. If there is anything harder to find/remove I can't think of it. I froze it and probed around unsuccessfully. I suggested a poultice - is that Inuit folklore? Nope, apparently tying a lemming skin on to draw out infection/foreign bodies was though. I was fresh out of those so instructed to soak in epsom salts and it would hopefully work its way out. Couldn't have been too much of a problem with a score of three arctic char fished this weekend. The calls continued throughout the night - not surprising as I had to close the window to the sounds of kids playing at 1:30 a.m. - is benadryl still good from April? "Um, yes but why are you asking?" and "Is this the RCMP?" to the accompaniment of crying children in the background. "No, this is the nurse, you have to call 111 - are you ok?" reply of "Yes, I just need the police" to "my baby is hot and crying" which translated to otitis media and no tylenol when they arrived. Up at 9 am. to unplug the health centre phone as my colleague is now answering. Only five more first calls until I'm homeward bound. I smiled when my co-worker mentioned her countdown, I'm not the only one who does that. Mind you, I've gotten into larger difficulties while being the second call this past week. 

It's been a busy spell here at work in what is usually a bit quieter time of the year. We had a fatality last week where an elder out on the sea ice on his snow machine making his way to the cabin, hit a ridge and was thrown off the skidoo, then run over with the qamatik (sled) which was carrying his 10 yr. old grandson. He was killed instantly apparently. Extreme living in its essence. A large grieving gathering arrived at the health centre as the RCMP went out to meet the local men who had wrapped the body in caribou hides and brought him back to the community. The grieving lasted well into the morning hours and there was little to

Water on the ice

do but support the assembled. I have asked myself before (having lived north decades ago) and recently again 'what kind of place is it that 10 year olds witness such shocking deaths? go caribou or seal hunting and 'catch' (local term for shoot) their first one at age 6 yrs? care for younger siblings and keep them safe? yet wander around during a funeral or go play outside?' I attended the funeral on Friday afternoon as I was the nurse not on call. The Roman Catholic church was full and the MH worker and myself leaned against the wall.

Ready for hunting

The white painted wooden casket was placed in front of the sealskin pulpit and during the service which was conducted completely in Inuktitut (except for one English reading) people made trips to place plastic flowers on the top. It was a long service (over an hour and twenty minutes) of readings, prayers, hymns and eulogies (all in Inuktitut) from family and friends - tears as the accident was described and the grandson was given a token from his Grandpa's jacket pocket, for being so brave. There were large numbers of children wandering, talking, playing, yelling and restless during the service - much as at any northern gathering - I have attended rock concerts which weren't as rowdy. 

Interior of King Air

I also had a 2.5 hrs of sleep night while we awaited a medevac one evening. They left from Yellowknife, flight crew timed out, they flew to Cambridge Bay and exchanged for a new crew and I picked them up at 1:30 am. One of the pilots was an ex- RCMP pilot who knew the pilots I

Early am landing

did from our late 70s posting in Labrador. He had asked to come in from the airport to see the health centre and community as he'd visited Spence Bay last in 1979 just before the present health centre was built. Finally got them underway and back to the King Air and off by 4 am and put away the SUV. Took a bit to get settled down from the adrenalin rush. And just to confirm that I have never had any interest in flight nursing but looking inside the workspace of the King Air confirms it. Seen here above on the right and remember this is going to include a stretcher, a flight nurse and flight paramedic and a parent plus equipment and luggage. 

Pete

Just waiting to have a FaceTime chat with the life partner who I am sure has had some calls from his girls on this Fathers Day. The youngest is spending the day at the Toronto Zoo as she is in the city visiting friends and celebrating her quarter of century birthday tomorrow. Can't imagine that it was 25 years ago that we welcomed her to the family. The middle daughter is likely busy with the new addition to her household as I was tickled to see photos of the new yellow lab puppy - Pete - who has come to live with the daughter and son-in-law this weekend. He has grown so much in just a few weeks…..The oldest will have been in touch as she tends to be the one able to read the calendar and make contact on the day of celebration - not that her sisters don't wish happy birthdays etc. but their timing can be a tad off - daughter #1  must have her fathers math skills and her mothers memory. 

So in the spirit of summer planning / projects I offer the following links:

dontpokthebear.com/41-cheap-easy-backyard-diys-must-summer

viralnova.com/upcycled-products

And to close on a positive note, I am posting a cute online link which reminds me of those media stories where someone breaks into a liquor store or grow up and is found there in the morning by the police:

http://themetapicture.com/this-cat-just-found-cat-heaven

Alcohol was Involved

Time to update on all the news I feel comfortable sharing which means that as a nurse it's information which is non identifying and also because not all readers are healthcare professionals means I won't describe or post photos of the gory bits which nurses revel in. Details to follow. I could at this point make apologies about being sick last week with a really rotten cold - I usually get one on week two of my contract but when I escaped that milestone and thought I was in the clear, I was ambushed in week three, or the fact that we were working with only two nurses (both of us struggling with the virus) instead of three while one of the co-workers attended her daughter's graduation. But no one likes a whiner….

Lots of exciting news to announce this post. The teacher daughter, someone who has wanted to be nothing else but an elementary school teacher, since she came home from school in grade two and announced it, the one who graduated with her BEd in 2010, has begun work on her MEd, has been working a series of assignments of split classes in various schools while awaiting her permanent teaching contract and hoping to stay at the great school she works at this year…..Well, she was not only awarded her permanent contract but went to job fair and scored grade primary at 'her' school. Over the moon is an apt description. This is good for her, but also for her employer as she is an excellent teacher and puts her heart into her work (as do all my children) but mind you, many bright young teachers do and the average length of time from education degree to permanent contract in my home province is 10+ years. So hard work + luck = happy ending. 

I am pleased to share that I have been officially conditionally accepted (meaning send your money) to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene for the Diploma of Tropical Health Nursing. This is an intensive eight week program with two weeks pre-course work, three weeks on site at LSTMH in Liverpool, UK (December 1 - 19) and three weeks post evaluation work. My colleague and I are both accepted so it'll be nice to have a study buddy, especially one with connections across the pond. Sounds like we won't have to evoke the Plan B of Cyprus. And my occasional travel partner (non student) is planning to come along as well to share accommodations which will be good company and fun. So, I must dig out my resources and do some online research into the tropical health world when I'm home for the next 'break' beginning July 4th, but who's counting? 

I have passed the contract milestone of the halfway point and although things move quickly every day, they move at warp speed after the mid-point. Make it so, Mr. Spock. My roommate is going home to get her oldest daughter graduated from high school and pointed in the right direction for UNB in September. She leaves on Thursday for two weeks and I'll be solo except for about four days when the Dr. comes in to do his clinic and brings his second year medical student daughter up with him to "show her that you can practice medicine without a lot of resources" and she'll bunk with me. I might get some reading/writing done if I'm on my own as my roommie (who arrived with the 360+ movies) is a bad influence on me - as if I needed an excuse. Since Wednesday we've watched 12 Years a Slave, Unclaimed Baggage, Promised Land, The Sessions and Thanks for Sharing. They were all worth watching. After reading the book 12 Years a Slave I found the movie had been shortened but mainly followed the story, Unclaimed Baggage is a light comedy, Promised Land was about oil companies buying up land in the midwest but Matt Damon is always easy to watch, The Sessions was about a guy in an iron lung machine and his sex therapist and Thanks for Sharing was about sex addicts - now why did we think those last two would be light watching? I'm going to do more research on the subject matter next time I told the movie holder.  

I had a FaceTime chat with the life partner on my 'day off' and he was sharing the news on the home / seafood industry front. The second daughter and son-in-law had taken him out for supper for his birthday to a local restaurant which has changed hands from our German friends to a young couple who have just moved to the area. The shore captain described it as 'yuppie' and also disclosed that he'd been wholesaling lobsters to them (he keeps crustaceans until end of July in his holding tanks). Mister said he'd delivered lobsters a couple of times to the restaurant but on the last day of the season he'd tasked the boy captain with the delivery - makes sense as the lad lives in the same town as the eatery. When he received a call for another order this week, the owner/chef mentioned that the seafood should be delivered to the side door and the shore captain assured him that he always did. The chef chuckled and said "well the young fellow who delivered them last week came through the front door and dining room and some of the 'up there' ladies didn't care for it". I had visions of our lanky, six ft tall son with a tired, sun/wind burned face with dark scruffy facial hair, ripped pyjama pants, torn and paint stained weathered t-shirt with holes from battery acid or bleach, grubby rubber boots  covered in salt water stains / fish scales, long tanned forearms ending in large likely grimy black hands from fixing something in the engine room, smelling of bait and diesel fuel, carrying a plastic bucket of lobsters. I chuckled to myself and thought….it's okay to see where your food comes from and what the person who catches it looks like in his natural habitat ladies. As my late father-in-law used to say when someone wrinkled their nose at the smell if he stopped at the bank on his way from baiting trawl "smells like money to me". 

Speaking of which….the O/T vs sleep deprivation balance is in the positive monetary balance. When questioning locals on situations/injuries etc. they will often say "alcohol was involved" sort of like the police PR in the media, thus the title of this post. Call on Thursday night resulted in two and a half hours of broken sleep - from 0245 to 0345 and 0600 to 0730 just doesn't cut it. Started out reassessing /fixing up a baby with bronchiolitis about midnight (been a little outbreak in the region this past two weeks) and getting ready to crawl into bed when a phone call came from the front entry from two hysterical females yelling that they were "being chased by drunkers and I should call the police". Nope, but I'll let you in and you can speak to the dispatcher. "Ok". I head down the stairs and hear a commotion in the porch with yelling and thumps and find no one there. I open the locked interior door, keep my foot in the door and open the outside door to look on the steps when a group of males rushes up over the stairs towards me. I manage to retreat back through the door and slam it just as a hand grabs the door. Lots of swearing, yelling, threats to open the door, banging and kicking on the door. Okay, now you got it, I AM going to call the police. I phone the 10 digit emergency number (no 911 here) which forwards to dispatch (two time zones and thousands of km away in Iqaluit) and speak to the dispatcher. He asks if I know who it is "no, and I'm not going to open the door to find out". He agrees and tells me that he'll dispatch the two local officers. I share that this is unusual behaviour for this community in my almost two years experience here. The RCMP were actually out on patrol and drive by shortly after the visitors have absconded. The community is just hopping. I consider attempting bed again and a call for sterile water for a tube feed from someone who "was busy all day". I leave the litre of water in the front entry. I'm in bed reading to wind down at 2 am when the phone call for a sick baby takes me downstairs. My one hour nap is ended by a call from the lobby phone "my friend had a bike accident I think she fractured something". Dressed and downstairs to find a 13 yr old who was riding her bike down the outside steps of the school and holding her elbow "did you tip over or did you mean to ride down the stairs?". She freely shares that she was intending to ride down the steps. Warning - this does NOT endear you to a sleep deprived old nurse. It does get you examined - full motion, circulation, and sensation - motrin, now and to go, an ice pack and return later (which she didn't)  for a reassessment / x-ray if needed and instructions to GO TO BED!!! Another sick baby with respirations of 72/min, temperature and low oxygen sats - fixed and home for recheck later and fall into bed until the alarm. I made it through the busy morning without being too cranky and only started to fade by the 'admin afternoon'. 

My roommate made us shrimp alfredo with noodles for supper and we watched a movie to distract ourselves as I was only second call (backup) with an early bedtime scheduled. Sound asleep by 10:30 pm and when the phone rang in my darkened room I thought 'must be about 4 am and she needs a hand'. My coworker says "I need your help, I've got someone with quite a cut" so I look at the clock and I've been asleep an hour. Downstairs to find a seriously inebriated patient with a below the knee gash measuring 17 cm across, 3 cm wide and deeper than a nurses finger (as in you can see the muscles like an anatomy diagram). Some photos emailed and phone discussion with the on call physician about an hour flight away who reassures that we can do this surgery or he can have the patient sent over to him (meaning he'll send the medevac plane over to pick them up, he'll suture and return) Good thing we didn't opt for that plan as thick as pea soup fog appeared from nowhere about 15 min. after the first phone call. The first call nurse sets up to suture, we flush with 2L of saline, I provide security and assistance to the surgeon and long story short about four hours, three reels of vicryl for interior closing and 32 prolene sutures on the exterior, a couple of photos/phone consults later and two very tired nurses it is all finished. We send the final photo to the Dr. and head to bed. When I open my email in the a.m. there is a message from him reading "great work, you two did a great job". Not often you get that kind of support from physicians. We agree that we'd tackle something like this again if we had to and head to bed. 

Sandy Point

I slept until the noon siren (no church bells here) wakes me. Out for a nice walk to find sik siks, snow

and Canada geese, song birds, ducks, gulls, ravens and the snow retreating quickly. Was nice to not wear my winter jacket thinking 'spring has arrived' until it snowed again last night and this morning. It's -1c which is prime snow weather today.

It's been a stressful week for my roommate who is from Moncton where there was a shooting rampage which resulted in the death of three RCMP officer and injury of two more. Brought back memories of 35 years ago when the shore captain was RCMP for three years and I worried every shift he worked. Haven't worried about him on the water over the years as it seems safer to be dealing with mother nature than cop haters. Sad story. 

Nevada tickets

I am first call again today but it's been a more manageable so far with just a sick baby to deal with. It's 4 pm here now and the community for the most part has been sleeping until just now. Not just drinking but lots of gambling not sure if those are goes on so the comment "I've been sleeping late" pertains to not just the 24 hours of darkness when you might as well sleep but to the 24 hours of sunlight when your schedule is not constrained by hours of daylight - as in you can just as easily ride your bike at 4 am as 4 pm if it looks the same. The nevada tickets here on the left are an indicator of the clash of two cultures. 

Time to wrap up and think of some supper and I'll leave you with two links to explore:

marcandangel.com/2013/11/17/10-harsh-realities-that-help-you-grow

marcandangel.com/2013/11/07/50-happiness-quotes-to-change-the-way-you-think

Small word encounters

All settled in to the routine now and although my roommie says that the two out of three days on call is "too much on call" for her, you do get used to it. And….this is the only work I'm doing now. There are nurses who work in between contracts here, with a contract in another region or territory or 'down south'. For me it's….you're working and it's a steady pace and then….you're not and it's relaxation central. Already almost three weeks into this jaunt. Mind you, we are just starting out on an eight day stretch with only two of us, as one of the nurses is heading out for a week to see her oldest daughter graduate. Hey, that was me just last year this time! Anyway it will mean sleeping with one or the other phones until we have a third CHN again. 

The clinic has been a very busy thoroughfare this past few weeks as we have had the dental team (doing repairs, extractions etc) for ten days and the dental screening team (exams, fluoride for a week, teaching) - they had a list of a possible 220 children from ages 0 - 7 years in this community of 900, the gyne/ob locum (they fly in with the chartered plane which waits at the airport for the morning and off to the next community) and now the GP is in doing his four day clinic. These additional clinics put people in the waiting room who you have to check out as to their destination, add to the bustle and noise level and increase the workload. As in, 'oh, if I have to sit here for 15 minutes while I wait for my appointment I should ask the nurse……insert request here ex. tylenol or advil, to be examined, to have their child examined, to pick up their meds which have come over on the plane from the pharmacy, to ask for test results, etc. etc'. These are usually the same people you are chasing for immunizations, pap smears, chronic disease check ups, bloodwork or generally any morning appointment. A great deal of the not wanting to get up, is that many people have only been asleep a couple of hours by 10 am. When I asked one of the clerks if she was a nite owl she said "no I am not, I go to bed by 1 am always" so it is a matter of degrees I guess. 

The 24 hr. of sunlight, where the sky is as bright at 3 am as 3 pm is in full swing now. We

Canada geese

have resorted to double layers of garbage bags taped/pinned to the bedroom windows behind the curtains. As my roommate calls it 'the first year university look' of either a blanket (most likely with wolves or horses on it) or possibly a towel or a flag. It feels as if one is working perpetual night shifts. I looked out the window at 3:30 am this morning and there were more people making their way around the community than during the day. The geese have returned to their summer home and these two were some of those hanging out at the golf course. 

I've done a bit of baking….scones (as promised for the roommate - it was the bribe to get her to join me here) cookies for ice cream sandwiches (most of which we took to the supper we were invited out to last weekend) cupcakes, and homemade butterscotch sauce.  I had thoughts of baking this evening but instead we watched a romantic comedy (we've also watched Despicable Me - both 1 and 2 and The Book Thief) on the 47" LG flatscreen TV that the Acting Nurse in Charge bought for us - how's that for a Nurses Week gift eh? Well, not actually….the TV in the other apartment was small and so they convinced me (the non TV watcher) to switch. When the roommate arrived, she was not impressed and made it known, as she'd brought an external hard drive with 362 movies downloaded to watch and the ancient rejected TV didn't have the ability to hookup the laptop. When the TVs went on sale for $800 (which I'm told is a good price) at The Northern Store….we hit the jackpot. Good thing my husband aka roommate is handy and could assemble the stand and hook up all the wires. We've decided she's my husband because she doesn't listen well a lot of the time, has good ideas that someone else can do and doesn't walk anywhere. She has been heard to state "I don't walk anywhere, I wasn't hired to walk". In fact one of the home care workers asked her if the headache she had might have come from walking to the clients house (home care truck was begin repaired) as she is widely known to only walk as far as the truck. More on her later. I have downloaded e-books, paid bills, uploaded my photos and downloaded some that others shared from the Honduras trip and have made a valiant attempt at saving myself some income tax. More on that later too. 

My call shifts have been fairly steady - my touch of having entertaining work hours has followed me north of 60. I worked the Friday afternoon of the long weekend which was called as a local holiday and received a call from the Post Office saying there was a parcel there for a person ℅ the health centre. I stated that we'd have someone pick up the parcel on Tuesday and the clerk said "what if it's an emergency?" I assured her that if it was an emergency, it wouldn't have been shipped through the mail. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked the NIC what the parcel was on Tuesday and she said "shoe lifts". My nerves. I've had a 3 year old with a laceration to a thumb at 10 pm (yes because that is when he should be using a knife) and the child was very badly behaved. My first clue was when the mother made several calls for assistance to hold him down for thumb repair and no one accepted. He was yelling before he got to the door, slapping his mother, throwing pieces of the paper off the exam table and she said "he's like this when he has to come see the nurse". That earned him glue on his cut which sealed it and a wave goodbye. The lab called with a 'critical value' of a K+ of 2.8 (low but not critical in my assessment) at 3 am. Since the patient in question was asleep in bed I thanked them and went back to sleep. When I checked in the morning, and found the result had been steadily dropping each of the pat four months, and the patient was being followed by specialists, I phoned the Dr on call and then the patient and advised eating bananas and orange juice over the weekend. When I later asked if there had been bananas and OJ consumed, I was informed "I don't like bananas, I eat country food". A 1 am call from a young mother with a 10 mo. old with D&V. When I questioned on number of poops the reply was "I don't even know". Then who does? A call at 4 am to examine a newborn "crying for hours" who was asleep and had to be awakened for assessment. Another call about an hour later with a ℅ abd. pain. I get up and dressed and then another call to advise "I'm not coming, my boyfriend took the honda to work". I saw an elder who was quite ill in the am and when she came back for reassessment told me "I ate caribou for supper that fixed me" well….A 2:30 am call to say "my knee is bleeding, I'm in the porch" from someone chasing a younger sister past the health centre might mean a laceration to suture but it was just one of those 'scrub the gravel out, debride the dead skin and put antibiotic ointment and a bandage on it' scrapes that mothers handle. The good thing about having a video intercom at the new health centre will be you can say "hold your knee up to the camera, no a little to the left - oh that looks okay, go home and clean it up and come back in the morning" without having to get dressed and go downstairs. 

The health centre construction continues at rapid sped and there is the promise of a December 2014 occupancy date. It is large structure which can be seen from all directions. 

Green siding going on

I met a young fellow working on the site as an electrician who lives about 35 minutes from me at home. He said his coworkers had told him to come over and meet the nurse who talked like him and came from where he lives. One of those small world experiences. Very focused, not creating any troubles in the community group of tradespeople here this year.

I also had a wonderful gift this week as a childhood friend from 50+ years ago shared that she had attended a church conference and met our elementary school teacher from the 1960s. It seems she must've married a military guy (there were two local bases in our area in those days) and moved to Germany and Australia and is now living a few hours away in NS. I dropped her a quick email saying I was working in Nunavut and she sent a lovely reply today saying she reminisced about those days and a bit on what she'd done. I was astounded to read that she had come to Taloyoak in 2011 to visit a teacher friend. Nunavut maybe, but specifically this small remote community? I wrote a quick note to say "I'm in Taloyoak and will write later" what a large country/small world experience eh?

This past week I've seen a few novel things such as some kids flying a kite in the middle of snowflakes and yes it has snowed here last week (I was pelted with freezing rain on my walk on Sunday too) but mostly it is becoming mud season. I watched a pickup hockey game at 5:30 am and no those young fellows did not get up early to play, they were on their way home from an allnighter but the ice is getting weak in the large pond they were playing on so the games have moved to another location apparently. Saw an arctic hare (okalik) in the front parking lot  - but that wasn't the first time I'd seen that. 

I'm slowly working my way through a stack of Inuit history/cultural books lent to me by the Mental Health worker. At present I'm reading 'In Order to Live Untroubled' which is very good. There is a course through Athabasca University which counts as an elective of the BN program, called The Inuit Way. It's a total cost of $777 for registration and tuition, which is a bit steep for just interests sake - auditing and challenge for credit cost the same, before you ask. The plan is to share the materials with the roommate when she takes it as an elective. No, I don't feel guilty, if the cost was more reasonable I would pay the institution for them. Here are a couple of links to videos, for those Inuit scholars amongst my loyal readers:

nfb.ca/subjects/inuit/netsilik

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/1960s-taloyoak-footage-comes-to-light-1.2554156

Speaking of freebies….all of us GN employees here have registered for Aurora Rewards which allows those of us frequent northern flyers to collect points (additional to Aeroplan) with silver beginning at nine segments/year. You know you're in the north when…..the security question on the sign up page uses "what was the name of your first car or snow machine?". Love it!

Speaking of travel….I had an online chat with my nursing colleague who is going to Liverpool, UK with me in December for the tropical nursing course. We've both gotten conditional acceptances (likely the only condition is sending them a significant amount of money) and she was telling me that a RAF friend of hers had won a $650.000 settlement for a sexual harassment claim and had purchased a condo in Cyprus so that is plan B for December. In discussion of how to get to Ireland to visit (flight or ferry? - matters not) another colleague she mentioned the hostess was in Singapore. Okay, hold the bus…the wallet and free time do not allow for Asia. Cyprus yes. 

As promised the update on the roommate who ate dill pickle chips and the Cadbury cookie dough chocolate bar (dry as dust but not as bad as the astronaut food she said)  before having a nap. Got herself wrapped in a blanket and thought she was in a sweat lodge, came out with her eyes all puffy from crying she thought. She was in high school, her brother was a baby, there were mean girls, she wanted to make out with the jock, there were muslims with serious guns (like the ones in the Hansel & Gretel movie she says - not a version I've seen) but the chauffeur picked them up. We both have weird dreams up here - strange beds, isolation, overeating? Not sure. I asked her if she had any more dreams and she said "I have but I didn't share them with you" apparently because they involved her being a pole dance and stripper. Now there's an image I can't get out of my mind. 

Also as promised, I have been attempting to get my taxes reduced at source from payroll and sent to an RRSP so as not to have to pay so much income tax. It is an admirable idea and a saga that is likely to run as long as Bonanza. sigh. It involves the downloading of Revenue Canada forms, calling toll free numbers, mailing the form (can't be faxed or scanned) to my province of residence, not the one where I earn the money and the tax is deducted then waiting 4 - 6 weeks for the CRA ruling. Should happen before I retire, but not sure when. 

The offspring are all doing well. The oldest daughter is talking about a trip to Seattle this fall. I am officially jealous!! just sayin. The teacher daughter has had full marks on both of her MEd assignments in the first course she's taking. They have met the yellow lab puppy (Pete) they wil be parents to in a few weeks and he is a very cute baby - their cranky cat Hank will not be impressed I am sure. The boy is looking forward to finishing up the spring lobster season and moving on to the next seafood harvesting gig. The nurse daughter is making her way through the final weeks of her first year as an RN - hard to believe!

So, it's off to bed with my friend the phone.