Revelling in Revelstoke

Back in the Southern bits of the world, a nice change again. Moved into a wicked pad and just going through the slow process of unpacking and organizing my so called life. The boxes have been collecting dust from past 6 months to 2 years.
Today I found my Braun hand mixer and actually squealed with delight. Such pathetic things excite me these days.

But on to non pathetic things...

Anne Marie and Ryan finally had their baby! Shheeeesh! It's already been nine months of waiting!!

So great! Wee Tobin Gill burst onto the scene on Valentines Day at 7lbs and 2 oz. He's such a cutie! Thatch of hair and high ape index, the child will surely be the design of all the new baby girls in this town.

Have managed to tear myself away from Physics (ahem!) a couple of times to create havoc on the ski hill at kicking horse, and by havoc I mean weaving about like an old lady whose lost control, ever widening turns with arms circling wildly behind me.

Well, it is no quite that bad...the AT gear has improved my downhilling somewhat. As some might say to my former Tele venture, "fix the heel, fix the problem". But I say DAMN them! tele just looks sooooo much cooler (except when I am doing it, granted).

So for now I busy myself bopping around the house, cooking, drinking champagne (that's right, Champagne, not sparkling wine--okay the odd sparkling wine), stoking the fire--ohh yeah--my new favorite activity. I feel so primal splitting kindling and lighting stuff on fire. And doing Physics from time to time. I have noticed an inverse relationship with amount of people I meet to hours spent doing physics.

Which brings me to Saakje and Heenke. Oh how my liver quivers when I mention their names. Many good nights already filled with Saakje's stories from around the world and Heenke's Finnish perspective on everything. Great laughs and equally good wine drinking skills. Hope to be uploading photos of Heenke in his Manties soon. Either that or the leather thong he claims to own.

Lucky for John I didn't have my camera handy after our apres party from two days ago! A mistake I shant make twice. A jovial man when he's heavily imbibed, yet strange sleeping patterns under his desk curled up with a paderno pot under his arm.

Who said small towns are sleepy??

Pond et al

The mountains see the sun before the town. We wait still for 2 days before it crests above the horizon for us.

Jenny and I pick up where we left off in Iqaluit nearly two years ago.

And Apphia, a continued quest to find me a hunter so I'll stay in Pond!

Lap(top) Dance

Ahhh, my shiny mac. How I love you so. How I missed you while ticking away at dial up drudgery for the past few weeks. How I longed to plug my photos onto my websites and check my email without having to make tea while my inbox opened.

So today is Feb 10 and I am in Ottawa for a few hours before getting on my version of a red eye (the 0700h flight to Kelowna).

Pond Inlet was grand. Cold and grand.

The chubby thighs of wee babes that I immunized 18 months ago are now running up and down the health centre, clad only in diapers and slippers. For now a few pics with more details to follow.

Jenny, dear Jenny. Self described as the "crazy lady with two toned hair and clothes that don't fit" was again a great source of energy and laughter during my trip. In the north friendships are made fast and full on, the distance of time and miles doing little to dilute the original concentration. Thank you Jen for the Zin and for, as usual, teaching me many things about patience and patients.

Apphia (my Inuit surrogate mother) cooked an amazing caribou feast on my last day. One of the elders had donated it to the health centre. Earlier that day, the womens auxillary and town elders were in the health centre to bless the building and all the staff. A touching and much needed gesture from the community that let all of us know our efforts were not in vain.

A busy time over the last few weeks there have left most of the staff tired and fighting various bugs. Most days someone was home nursing a strep throat, gastritis, or another all nighter at the clinic. Dr. DeMaio had her hands full helping us with medivacs during the day while watching her ever growin list of referrals grow to over 100. Flo (the nurse in charge) as ever remained even keeled with her dry wit to keep us chuckling even on the bad days...."as good as can be expected, under the circumstances" right Flo??

For now, a pillow. 5 am comes early. Later more photos and yarns from north of 70.