We have the power

This morning the power went out just before 8am. The coffee pot comes on at 7 so at least we had caffeine and there was plenty of hot water left in the tank for showering. After I dressed I came upstairs to the kitchen and chopped up fruit (whole pineapples were on sale in Northmart for $7) for a healthy breakfast. Blaine fired up the generator to iron his shirt. For real. I drove to work hoping that the issue was city wide but alas it was not. The power corp is replacing the poles (our electricity comes along above ground wires like phone lines) so I guess they were working in our area. Everything was back on by lunchtime and it was another successful test of our household resiliency and preparedness. Go team wiggins!

Taking wing night to another level

Last week at wings our friend Caleb had a "Legion Burger" and it looked really good. Further investigation revealed that it was basically a bacon cheeseburger with fried mushrooms. This week we ordered one of our regular meals; wings and a cheeseburger with poutined fries. About 3 minutes later Caleb and Maureen sat down at the next table with their Legion Burgers, reminding us that we had meant to order a bacon cheeseburger (no shrooms) with poutined fries. Alas this realization came too late as our order was already in at the counter. Ah well next week I guess.

Sunday Brunch in Iqaluit

There are three restaurants in Iqaluit that serve brunch on Sundays:

• Frobisher Inn
• Discovery Lodge
• the Legion

We have been to the Frobisher Inn twice, and today we went to the Discovery. This is an incomplete review as we have not been to the Legion for brunch yet but I shall correct that soon.Aesthetically the Frobisher wins with its windows with a view and linen napkins, whereas the Discovery offers no view and has paper napkins. But we didn't go for the decor, we went to eat and they both win on food. Both have a manned waffle and omelette station and offer a carvery with prime rib.

The Frobisher has a more breakfast vibe with lots of cooked pig, fruit, smoked char, peeled prawns and a massive desert selection. They also have a good range of salads and a number of hot dishes with both meat and fish. We haven't been recently and can't agree on the how much it costs, I think it was $40 each, Blaine says it was $35.


At the Discovery there is more of a lunch focus, with a French twist thanks to the croissants and nutella. Most of the dishes were hot including coconut shrimp, lasagne and stuffed pork tenderloin. There was a cheese selection but no crackers, but that is ok as it left more room! Brunch is from 11am to 2pm and costs $38 each.

I enjoyed both and they offer a great opportunity to eat some fresh fruit and Eat for a whole day. I will be back for more. But first I must check out the Legion...

 

Riding the Hog

For the past two weeks the weather has been beautiful (with the exception of snow on Tuesday) so I have been making the most of the bug-free sunshine and riding to work on my quad. My colleague Jen has dubbed my 350cc Yamaha Big Bear "the Hog". On Saturday, inspired by the Sons of Anarchy image that this evoked, I dressed Johnny Cash up in his Orange County Choppers biker jacket and we cruised around the city. In the evenings I have been taking Johnny and Sage (Johnny stands on the gas tank, Sage sits on the passenger seat) to the Road to Nowhere for a run. Sage runs the whole length (2.5km each way) of the unpaved road, which goes to the gravel pit, while Johnny runs a bout half the way out and rides the rest with me. Blaine takes them to the beach in the same fashion. I don't like going there at the moment because of all the melt water and gaps in the ice.

Arctic Mosquitoes

My mind keeps wandering to the important questions when will the mosquitoes come and how long will they last.

But how do we even have mosquitoes here when it is below freezing for most of the year? The answer is adaptation. This week I learned that insects up here have anti-freeze for blood and sort of hibernate/freeze over winter. Once out and about they can handle the low temperatures because they are dark and hairy, which helps a cold-blooded insect gain and retain heat.

Unlike southern mosquitoes who enjoy the luxury of a long season, our critters have a whole lot of living to accomplish in a short time. Assisted by almost 24-hour sunlight and the pressures of time, Iqaluit's mosquitoes operate 24hours a day.

I have mixed feelings about this early spring. I am sad that my skidooing season is over so soon, but I am happy to be out on the quad. I like not having to wear layers upon layers and huge clompy boots, but I hate mosquitoes. Presumably an early spring means a longer bug season... Well I am going to  find out whether I want to or not!

This evening after wings I took the dogs on the quad to investigate Road to Nowhere and I was very surprised to find the whole length of the road completely clear of snow. It was a little chilly so I didn't send her in, but I did note that there is a big swimming pond where the Apex river is backed up by the bridge so I will take Sage up there for a swim one sunny day soon.

References:

http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/backissues/coldhardiness.pdf

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674look_out_nunavuts_home_to_bugs_galore/

Iqaluit is melting

Last night our friend Norman Qavvik from Kugaaruk taught us a new word: "snowmo".

Boy am I glad that we got lots of snowmo-ing in during then last weekend of April because spring came upon us in a flash and the snow is receding daily. Fueled by the awesomeness of the trip described in my last post, John led another boys only trip on Saturday. Matt took my skidoo and I took the dogs skiing. The boys were out from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm! Blaine struggled to stay awake through Linda and Craig's Wii party, no reflection on the quality of the party nor the company, he was just bagged. We were all jealous of his goggle tan.


On Sunday we took the dogs and a picnic up to the cabin for a few hours. Sections of the river were pretty slushy. I loathe riding throu slush so asked Blaine to ride my sled over while I walked the dogs around, except I didn't walk far enough around and Blaine had to come dig my foot out of the slush. After dozing in the sunshine we headed home, sticking to the high ground this time!

All week it was around -2 to 0 so the melt started early and shows no sign of abaiting. Last week I wore my headphones at work to drown out the torrential rain like sound of the snow meltin off my office roof. At the beginning of the week I climed four steps to the front door, now I climb the full six and the parking lot is sand not snow.

We are moving house at the end of June. The rapid retreat of the snow prompted us to move our snowmos and qamutiq over to our new house while we still could. I declined Blaine's invitation to join him on the relocation ride, preferring my happy memory of skidooing to be my last of the season. Instead I drove the truck to shuttle him back and forth. This decision proved wise as Blaine said the trail was either slush, pavement, or gravel. Our sleds are now safely locked up by our new house and I have my quad ready to roll when the mood takes me.

The forecast is for continuing warm (+2) weather so we expect the snow around town to be gone in a couple of weeks. I suspect that the sea ice won't last much into June this year.

Skidoo therapy with Dr. Kavanaugh

After work last Friday Blaine and I joined our friend John on a skidoo ride. With John revelling in the role of tour guide we travelled North past the end of the Road to Nowhere and then onwards to the spectacular Johnson's Canyon. We then backtracked a ways to to trail to Pangnirtung which we followed for a few miles before heading home. Sunset was well after 8pm and with little wind and mild temperatures (maybe -10c) it was a perfect evening. Of course I didn't take my camera.

After almost three days of non-stop snow the tundra was covered with a soft, thick blanket of snow. My skidooing experience thus far has been limited to travelling on ice and barely covered rocks. This new surface took some getting used to as my machine seemed to float at times, and get bogged down at others. I was happy enough pottering along feeling out my confidence on the flats and closely sticking to John's trail on the hills (the boys kindly placed me in the middle of our convoy to keep me safe).

My favourite part of the evening was watching John and Blaine having so much fun riding through deep snow, and up and down steep hills. John's sheer joy was particularly infectious and I found my confidence growing as the boys frolicked on their machines. The journey from our house to Dead Dog Lake was extremely stressful for me as we had to cross several roads and the trails were sometimes steep and narrow. I can't say that I enjoyed retracing the same route on our homeward journey, but I didn't have a meltdown.

Conclusion: Happiness is good for you