The Day after the Day after

Ok, so for the last two weeks I have been tormenting my Grocery Supervisor, Preston. every Wednesday and Friday he comes into work complaining and whining about his workout from the night before. "Suck it up" I keep telling him. Can't be that bad! BOY WAS I WRONG. Preston comes in yesterday and tells me again about the Tae Kwon Do classes he takes during the week at the school. OK, I have to get out and do something while I am here. I feel like a couch potatoe here. Before I left for Fort Ware, I was walking almost 5km a day to and from work, weather permitting. I ORDERED Preston to MAKE me go tonight....and he did...

TAE KWON DO IS THE BANE OF ALL THAT IS EVIL!!!! I feel like Seargent Bilko, "Make the bad man stop".

For those of you who have yet to see me in person, well, I am, well....let's just say that I am VERY well indowed in the midsection and I have Redwood tree trunks for legs. These legs are not designed to be swung up over my head in a swift sweeping motion. It's like the hulk swinging a freight train.

All that being said, I have found that the movements of the kicks are surprisingly natural. Some of them are awkward but all in all a very interesting evening. I am definitely a sucker for punishment, I am planning on going back next week. I would also like to put Colby in it and see how he makes out. I left the gym leaving with two parting comments to Preston. "If you think tonight was difficult, wait until I put you to work tomorrow you &%#$#@!" and "If I am late tomorrow, I am either dead or I can't get out of bed." Well that is all for how. I hope to be able to blog again. I have to take it easy tomorrow so I will be able to go fishing after work on Saturday! Take care all!

When the "true" Tina comes out

As you all know, we are being transferred to Saskatchewan right after vacation. That means all our stuff needs to be boxed and shipped before we go. I have been slowly packing things up since Rob left and finally have everything ready to go. Everything we own fits nicely into boxes, except this. I can't tell you what's in it, but I can tell you it can't be folded and doesn't fit into any box I can find. So, I had to make a box. I SUCK at making boxes. I ended up sandwiching "said unnamed unfoldable thing" between two boxes and taping it together. What you don't see is the entire roll of packing tape underneath. Yes, an ENTIRE roll. And it still didn't hold. So, like any true "girl from the trailer park" would do, I got out the duct tape.

That damn spot!

These boats were all lined up neatly before the ice broke.

This is to show you how big some of the ice chunks are

This is the road to one of the first ice roads we drove over when we moved here. Now no one can get down there. In normal times you can't see the water from this point, the water you see is the road flooded.

Take a peek at the Hay River yourself!

I was told about this yesterday by a teacher who lives next door. There is a "live eye" on top of the highrise here in town that pans the Hay River. You can see for yourself exactly how much ice there is by clicking here. Then all you need to do is scroll down to the bottom right and click "Live Shot from the Hubcam". If you keep refreshing your page you'll see it panning the river.

I'm seeing an insight into his soul

I had a meeting at Colby's school with his teacher on Friday. It was nothing serious, she just wanted to let me know how he was doing socially as well as achedemically. Although I'm not going to go into details here, overall he's doing well achademically and socially he is adjusting as well as any kid would who has joined a new school at the end of a term. She did tell me a little story that had be biting the inside of my lip, part to not laugh and more so to not cry. To fully explain this, you'll need to know a little history.

When Colby was in pre-primary, there was a special needs child in his class named Max. I would encourage you to read this story to fully appreciate it, as it was written as it happened.

When Colby was at school in Rae, he had another "moment" with a 6 grade boy with FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) named David. I would again encourage you to read this story to fully appreciate it.

That brings me to Friday. She told me that there was an "incident" that happened in the classroom. Colby had an altercation with another boy in his class, and although it could have became physical, Colby was not punished, but was "spoken to" as to other ways to handle it. She wouldn't go into details because Colby was there. On the way home, this is the conversation that happened.

Me: "So Colby, care to tell me what happened?"

Colby: "George called Alisha fat."

Me: "Oh my, that's not nice. I bet her feelings were hurt."

Colby: "Yeah, and I didn't want her to be sad so I went over to George and told him I was going to kick his butt if he ever said that to her again. I wouldn't have gotten in trouble except someone ratted on me. "

How do you react to something like that? Yes, it was wrong to threaten another kid (although the trailer trash part of me was jumping up and down inside, giggling with glee screaming "That's my boy!") how many 6 year olds, the "new kid" in the class no less, would stand up for someone he really doesn't know? Just because he knew that this comment was going to hurt her feelings and he wanted to protect her from that.

My 6 year old has one of the most beautiful spirits I have ever encountered, and I am so proud of not only who he is, but the person I see him turning into right before my eyes.

"She's stogged me b'ye!"

West Channel This is the same shot, 48 hours before.

The Hay River has officially broken free and now the ice is jamming up. Next to the icebergs in Newfoundland, this is one of the most amazing natural phenomenons I have ever seen.

And yes, for all who notice (Jen, Rob) there is a spot on my lens that I can't clean that drives me crazy. I'm getting it serviced when we go back to Halifax in 4 weeks.

And as for the title? If Dad was still around, this is what he would have said seeing these pictures.

Holy crap

Can someone please tell me where my little Joey went and who this boy is?

Break up

The Hay River finally broke free today. It's quite the sight to see. You can't tell from these pictures but it is moving quite fast.

Schwartzing Around

Thanks Indigo for the great Adjective. I have to say that today really gave me a new appreciation for the Elders. I met a man today, in his late 60's. His name is George. George introduced himself today while he was buying some gas. He was on his way to being, well, Sloshed. Very nice man. He paid for his gas and hiked up to the gas pumps where Aggie left his gerry can.

I decided I was going to go for a run on the quad today to do a bit of shutter bugging and went to the end of the airstrip where I was told there was a trail and I could get closer to the river. This is where I am planning on going fishing tomorrow. I ended up on the right trail but I found that what I really needed was a skidoo. It was still quite deep but luckily there had been another quad through there earlier. I made it down to the end of the trail and came across a nice little house on the water. I shut the bike off and took a couple of pictures. Then, I see a hand in the window and there is Ole George grining from ear to ear. He comes out and is talking about this and that, most of which I cant understand as he is still pretty drunk. He lives there by himself in the middle of nowhere. He motions me over to the out cropping where he stores his 25-30 year old skidoo. He makes a point to tell me that on the really cold days in the winter when all the new skidoos wont start, his always does. He brings me out to his back yard and he has this realy nice shed made of hand cut boards. He brings me inside and shows me hi quad. A very nice machine in great shape. Makes a point of telling me how some kids stole the keys, cut the wires to the ignition switch and he has a tear in the "sleeve" as he calls it, it's the Cv boot for all you mechanical folks. Anyway, sitting on the back rack of the quad is a nice little 4 point Moose rack that he offers to me as a gift. I was floored. I know that this is a VERY small rack but it was the thought. I had only met the man hours earlier and he was thrilled to death that I had come out there and I talked to him. I told him that I was unable to take it back with me on the plane. I thanked him and told him if I found a box that was just thr right size, I would be back and I would mail it home. I think it would make a nice single Rifle mount. I am definately going to see what I can find.

I take a couple more pictures, hop back on the quad with the bald tires and head back up the trail praying the entire way that I can make it back up the couple of small hills through the snow. Here I am...I made it, and I dont think I will ever forget George. I think that I might stop out to see him sometime next week, I will wait and see if more of the snow melts.

Now, I need to talk the DSO into spending some more money on this quad with some new tires and valve stems. Here is a picture of what I saw at George's house.

Today in Hay River

Getting ready to go for a walk.

I found it! They moved this from the water front by my house a few weeks ago and I found it down by the museum. West Channel. Not much ice left now!

Another view of West Channel.

The Hay River by the house. Hard to believe 5 weeks ago skidoos were zipping up and down this!

For Daddy

Front row seat for the Doodlebops!

One of the very rare times I can get them not only to sit beside each other but to smile.

It's official - we're moving again!

In light of the 2 current contests that are running right now (NWT Blogs and Nunavut Nonsense), I am in fun throwing out one of my own. We will need to re-name the blog, seeing we will not be "just below 63 anymore". Any suggestions?

Note: Ile-a-la Crosse is in northern Saskatchewan. I can't find a whole lot of information on it besides bare stats (population etc). Has anyone ever been here? Heard of it? Heard about it? Know anyone there?

I'm gonna be famous!

The interview with Randy on CBC Radio will broadcast tomorrow (Friday) at approximately 6:40ish NWT Time. For those who want a good morning chuckle, jump over to cbc.ca/north - Listen Live - CBC 1 Yellowknife. Enjoy! And for anyone who is new who decided to take a peek because you heard me make a fool out of myself on the radio, welcome!

Taken this morning

Why do kids love boxes so much? This is the box that we received yesterday from David and Connie. I don't know how he fit in it but he did and stayed there for the better part of 30 minutes.

Alright, I admit it. I need help. But, it looks good. :)

At least he HOLDS the spoon while shovelling food in with his other hand.

Hard core blogger

I received a phone call a couple days ago from a reporter for CBC radio news who was doing a story about the NWT Blog awards. He wanted my insite on why blogging is becoming so popular and the "northern blogger'' community. I chuckled as I heard the piece on the radio that night, that also had Megan on it. (Yes I checked and could not find it online). I received a call yesterday from the producer of the CBC morning show "Trailblazer", stating that they were very interested in my blog and wanted to do a full piece on it. I received a call from Randy, the host of the morning show and had a great chat with him about blogging in general and a few Northern blogs in particular. It was fun and quite the little "punch in the arm" for this little blog.

I must say, I'm very excited about this newfound light on the blog. As I'm sure everyone is aware, we are very proud of this blog. I keep saying that this is "my" blog, but it's not. It's become just as much Rob's blog as it is mine. Now that I am not working, I spend a lot (alright, probably too much) time on this and other blogs. But I love it, we love sharing our pictures and stories, and I'm thrilled that it's getting so much attention.

Mail!

Colby was complaining today that he never gets any mail. And by sheer coincidence this package from Connie and David arrived today!

In typical Colby style, the package was quickly forgotten about when he found a letter from Connie addressed to him. In typical Joey fashion, he could smell the chocolate through the plastic and there was no stopping him! Once the letter was read and put safely aside out of Joey's reach, it was "no holds barred" against the bags full of goodies.

Thanks Connie and David for the package. I went to look for your home number tonight so Colby could thank you but we don't have it. They loved it.

Rob won and I'm in the finals!

First of all, I want to say a big CONGRATS to my hubby for winning "Funniest Northern Story!" Voting for this catagory closed last night at midnight and Rob won. Thanks to all who voted for him. And, I guess I didn't read the NWT Blog awards fully. Because there were so many nominations for "Best Blog", Megan decided to do the voting in 2 rounds. The top 3 blogs have moved on to the "next round" of voting to complete against each other. I came in 2nd, by a very small margin of 3 votes. I would like to thank all of you who voted for me the first time, and am now asking you to go do it again. This should be a really close one. The other blogs are very good, and would have been just as happy if there were no "2nd round". But since there is, please jump over HERE and vote on last time.

Captured in pictures

This is Joey's new passtime. He loves to climb. This is him stuck between the end table and the couch.

I apologize for the out of focus, but this was one of those pictures I just happened to snap while taking pictures of Joey this afternoon. Am I the only one that hears "You better sleep with one I open, because I know where the chocolate is!" LOOK AT THE EYEBROW!

The melting Hay River

I took these pictures yesterday. Notice something missing out of this picture??

NWT Blogs

Did you vote??? I forgive you. PLEASE go vote now! My reputation is on the line! :) You can go HERE to vote. Go now. Why are you still here??