Temperature: -26
Windchill: -36

Big news for the 12 plex! Tania and Chad got a new puppy named 'Sable'. She's a Collie and she's a really unique color. Her body is pretty much all white and only her head and a patch by her tail are brown. She's beautiful. And dozy. The dog really likes her naps. Oliver isn't really sure what to make of her as she isn't very rambunctious and is quite dainty. The polar opposite of Tila (who spends most of her time herding Sable from anything that could be perceived as hers - including all people, toys, Oliver, and air). :-)





Here's just a couple funny pictures of Marie, one of the teachers at our school, taking a parcel to the mail. First off, if you don't own either a red or black sled in Baker, or know someone you can borrow one from, you are just not prepared. Secondly, never expect to receive stamps at the post office in bigger denominations than 52 cents. Even if your parcel comes to $49.00. :-)





This last one is a picture my sister sent me from her trip to Mexico in November. And I thought I was having a bad day...



And to end things off, I got these two links sent to me and they are absolutely hilarious! Check them out.

Crocodile Hunter clip
http://www.youtube.com/v/pa_7P5AbUww

Flying
http://www.youtube.com/v/J3UDCoQnXjA

Well, off I go to bed soon. Hoping against hope that the predicted blizzard by the Weather Office actually comes to be by tomorrow morning. It's not looking good but glass half full!!

Temp: -40
Windchill:-57
Ouch!!

Well, I awoke this morning to -57 temperatures. We are in one heck of a cold snap up here. The Weather Office had issued a 'Windchill Warning' last night, which puzzled me because it's been this cold before or just under it, say -54, but I haven't seen a warning issued before now. Interesting. Anyway, I went out with Oliver and it was darn cold. Skin freezes in under 2 mins and I can so see how it happens. The wind was so cold it went through my parka! It's 7:28 right now and I'm just waiting the last couple of minutes before I dry my hair in case we get the call that says to stay home (they have to let us know by 7:30 for cancellations). It's likely not going to happen though because the last time we had a blizzard day it was -52 with farily good visibility and wow, you should have heard the older people in the community complaining that 'When they were young, this wouldn't have stopped them...' Hmm... maybe so but when my mom was young she had to walk to school in 5 feet of snow uphill both ways and that's just not something I have a desire to do either (being from the lazier, softer generation and all). =o) Ahh well. It's 7:35 now so the call isn't coming and off I go soon to get ready.

This weekend was pretty tame. Friday night we all went over for a potluck at Shane and Erica's which was nice. Good food, good music. But I wish I knew the words to more of the old songs that they know how to play. I'll have to do some searching on the internet I guess. Oh, something that is new is that I'm learning the guitar again. I say again because I made a futile attempt in the fall but Tania and I are doing it together so it's going better this time. Well, I need to practise a lot more because I don't have calluses yet. Never thought I'd be looking forward to the day I'd have calluses.

Then Saturday night a friend named Andrea had a house party for everyone. That was nice. There were a lot of people there so it was good to catch up with people you don't normally have time to go see (or don't really feel like getting bundled up in -57 weather to go see even though you'd really enjoy their company). Anyway, it was nice.

Then Sunday was Coronation Street, of course, and cleaning up around the house. Tania flew off to Ottawa for meetings for the week and when she returns she's bringing with her a Collie puppy!! How exciting! We found them surfing breeder websites a couple weeks ago and they are SO CUTE!! I toyed with the idea of getting one myself because I've always loved them but two big dogs is a bit more than I relish having to travel with. However, were I down south... :-)

Well, I better get ready for work. Doh!

Oh man, 'Doh' reminds me of a hilarious commercial that is running on TV right now. It's about quitting smoking and it shows a flight attendant, very irritable, quitting smoking and just how she reacts to the passengers. Holy cow it is some kind of funny!! At one point she stomps down the isle to a man standing up, reaching into the overhead compartment and yells at him 'THE SEATBELT SIGN IS STILL ON!! GOD!!!!'. Man, if you have ever tried to quit smoking you can so relate to it. It is too funny. And I bet that all flight attendants get such a kick out of it because it's what they wish they could say to the not so swift.

Well, hi ho hi ho it's off to work I go.......

It's -47 outside and I just paid $28.99 for a 10 kg bag of Robin Hood flour. :-{

This week has been flying by and I can't believe that tomorrow is Thursday already! Soon we'll be putting another week to bed and Spring will jump up and smack us in the face before we know it. Crazy....

Well, I'm off to try and figure out something for supper. Oh Swiss Chalet, do I miss you! Heck, at this point I'd even take McDonalds!

Oh, but before I forget, I watched 'The Illusionist' this week and if you haven't seen it, you should! It seems a bit slow in the beginning but the end is really worth it.

Temp: -37
Windchill: Not tonight, thank goodness!

Well, it's been a cold seven days here in Baker Lake. The coldest was -54 and let me tell ya that is just plain bloody cold!! We had -52 for a few days and they actually shut down the school for one day because of windchill and not just lack of visibility (which is normally the only reason we close due to weather). Man, I can remember in Peace River when we didn't have to go if the weather was -32 or colder because the bus might break down. Sheesh! How spoiled were we?! It's funny because I was telling a friend how cold it was up here and he said, 'But how cold is it without the windchill'? -38 technically but when there are no trees to shelter you from the wind, -52 IS the actual temperature!

Anyway, what else is new up here? I attempted to do the FoodMail thing through Sobey's in Thompson again but was disappointed. Again. Frozen potatoes, cucumber and smashed/frozen eggs. Good times. I guess I'll just have to limit my orders with them to non-perishables. Ahh well.

Not too much else is new so I'm just going to put on some random pics.

Here's a picture from out on the lake. Just a cool little snowdrift that looks big but is only about 6 inches high.



Oliver with 'Earl'. I LOVE the tattoo on his arm (MOM) and the hair on his chest. Too funny! I'm tempted to bring him to AB and take pics of Earl travelling the world and post them. :-)



Getting bundled up to brave the weather.



Oliver and Tila playing. Poor Tila couldn't get out to be fixed before going into her first heat, hence the diaper. Todd and Jenesta don't have kids yet but they'll be pretty skilled with diapers when they do! :-)

Just some more pics. We went ice fishing Saturday. It was chilly and we didn't catch a blessed thing but it was pretty cool to see the ice. Not so cool to hear it cracking mind you. Can't say I like that sound at all but it was good to get out of the house. If you click on the ice pics I think they should enlarge. They're more impressive bigger.

Chad and Todd testing out Todd's new ice auger.




Ivan chipping his hole.

Temp: -17
Windchill: -25
Colder than AB but still not actually that cold

Well, it's January the 7th and I am back safe and sound in Baker after the holdays. I flew out on Sat, Dec 16th and as soon as I left Baker it was go, go, go.

I spent 4 days in Edmonton seeing friends and shopping like a mad woman. I had great visits, got good deals, and had my first ever car accident. I rear-ended a young lad on Whyte Ave while reaching for my falling purse. After a while in the North, I realized two things: 1. One should pay attention that much better when one hasn't driven in a while, and 2. A falling purse is not worth saving if it will prevent a car accident to not do it. Lessons learned. :-) So anyway, we pulled over, I prayed he wasn't big and wanted to beat me up, and it turned out the little fella (There is a God!!) actually thought he'd hit the person in front of him, not me hitting him. Too funny! Then, after we established that no, in fact it was me that hit him, and no there was no damage to the cars, we parted ways calling it just one of those things. Until we realized that the little darlin' had locked his keys in his car. Great. So we used my AMA, waited in a store for them to get there and he helped me pick out a new purse! Not only should it sit better on my car seat, but it was on sale! Sweet...

After my short stint in Edm, I got back to the farm to hurry up and relax with the fam for a bit. It was so nice to see eveyone. And, when I woke up one morning this is what I saw out the bedroom window. Growing up in AB I never ever thought that I would be one to miss seeing Moose but apparently I do because I was in awe of it. What a beauty.



All in all my holiday was a really good one. I got to spend time with some friends, see a lot of family, learn how to play dice poker then try to teach it to my mom, and just enjoy driving again. It was really really busy but worth it. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see near as many people as I had hoped. In the summer I promise I will get to see more friends and reconnect with people that I haven't in way too long (you and me on a patio with a Corona in June Natalie!). And yet as much as I enjoyed it, it's good to be back in Baker. I really missed everyone here and, oddly, work. I guess it's a good sign when you enjoy your job.

Here's a few pics from before I left. This one is of the two barges that were frozen into the lake by the company that is building the Gold mine 100 kms out of town. It's full of barrels of gas. Nice...



Here are some pics from us going Caribou hunting the week before we left for holidays. There are hundreds of Caribou surrounding the town. They're beautiful and peaceful animals.







This is from the VERY long flight back from Winnipeg to Thompson, to Churchill, to Arviat, to Rankin, to Baker Lake. I was in the Calgary airport at 6:45 a.m. and landed in Baker at 10:30 p.m. I was some tired!