Winter Fun in the Cariboo

This morning I packed a cooler with some snacks and a couple of flasks of Sailor Jerry spiked hot chocolate while Blaine organised our fishing bucket. We drove our skidoos up to Jackson Hole and tried some ice fishing. Maybe this is a little like our clam digging failure and perhaps dogs aren't conducive to catching lots of fish. We fished for three hours trying several different spots but didn't get so much as a bite.

We gave up on fishing so drove the puppies home and left them at the house while we went for a ride. It is much easier to drive without 2 dogs as passengers. I followed Blaine along the quad trails through the forest and then over on the 1800 road towards Big Lake. Unfortunately we were short on gas and day light so came home about 4pm. We drove the Suzuki down to Deep Creek gas station and filled up all our jerry cans so we are ready to play again tomorrow.

Sent from my iPad

Merry Christmas!

Call me immodest but I totally rocked Christmas dinner. On Monday I mixed up fresh thyme, rosemary and clementine zest with lots of butter which I then rubbed under the skin of our 12lb turkey. I also baked some soft white bread rolls.

Christmas Day I started cooking at noon and didn't stop until 6pm! The bird  was covered and roasted at 200 for 3 hours with the 2 clementines cut in half and placed in the cavity along with a handful of fresh thyme. 

We like lemony Greek potatoes so much that we eat them at every opportunity and the citrus was a nice refreshing flavour amongst the richness. 

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/31522/recipegreek-style-potatoes

For veggies I made Blaine's favourite green beans, fried in garlic, butter and olive oil, glazed carrots, and steamed Brussels sprouts. For stuffing we had the last of Shalla's yummy stuffing which I had frozen on thanksgiving, and a pork, apple and sage sausage inspired by Gordon Ramsay. Finally we had a big jug of turkey gravy.

For desert I made a peach cheesecake. The base was 200g biscuit crumb and 75g butter. The filling was made by whipping together 4tbsp caster sugar and 250ml whipping cream. Beat 250g of full fat Philadelphia cream cheese until soft, add 1tsp pure vanilla extract and then whip in the whipped cream until it is smooth. Stir in some finely chopped peaches, pour onto the base and chill. Easy as pie!

We drank prosecco, Viognier and Malbec then sank into the hot tub. Merry Christmas everyone!

Sent from my iPhone

the May booze order

At the beginning of the month we placed an order for 16 cans of Guinness, 3litres of JD and 3 bottles of wine. After a week it had not arrived so I called LCBO (the liquor store in Ottawa that I order from) to see what was going on. I was told that they were out of stock on the JD but should be getting some soon. The following week I received a phone call to say that the 3l bottles had been recalled due to a problem with the glass bottles. You can only import what is on your permit so I had to substitute it with another 3l bottle of spirits, I picked Canadian Club and they said it would be shipped out the next day as the shipment for that day had already gone.

I just phoned First Air cargo in Ottawa and was told that it is still sitting there, as it has been since last Friday. Apparently it will probably ship in the next couple of days as they have been really busy and are catching up. Humph. I am particularly annoyed since I had selected the bottles of wine to go well with a nice BBQ steak for Blaine and I to have a date night steak dinner and bottle of wine. He is now duty chief until we go away so can't drink half a bottle of wine, and my back hurts so I am grumpy which would not make for good date night. Ah well I guess that when it does arrive I can put it aside for a celebration after we return from Europe.

more about Healthcare

The doctor who saw me at the hospital asked that I make an appointment to see him in 10 days time. On Tuesday morning I telephoned the hospital and left a voicemail with appointments, they called me back at 4pm and I stated my request. I was informed that the doctor's schedule had him in Pond Inlet that week and they don't have any appointments until May 30 anyway. We had a frustrating dialogue in which I repeated my request and she got more and more rude and her grating Newfoundland accent became even more pronounced and irritating. I should say that as a rule I am not bothered by Newfies but she had a particularly nasal whining voice that was exacerbated by the accent.

I learned that there is not always a doctor available for same day appointments, this week the service would only be available on Wednesday and Friday. For the rest of the month there are only two days on which a doctor is available for appointments, May 26 and May 30. May 26 is already booked with "patients who are coming back to see the doctor" she said this as if it made them more important than me which I found confusing since I too fit in that exact category. She then gave me a lecture that "we are not in the ER you know, the clinic is in the old hospital" informative as this may be I still cannot see the relevance.

Her recommendation was that I wait in line at 8:30 on Friday and get my appointment time, then come back for my appointment. Sure that sounds just fine. I can barely stand up straight, can't sit upright, haven't left the house for a week because I am in so much pain but I'll just pop on up. I have to admit that I got so upset by the whiny-voiced cow that I hung up in frustration.

Blaine is going to go up to the clinic on Friday morning and get my appointment time. Not sure how I will get there though, clearly walking or driving the quad are out of the question but I am not sure that I can get in and out of a taxi, which are mostly beat up sedans, plus they drive like idiots. We may just have to defy city rules and have Blaine drive me there and back, also he can then pay attention to what the doc says. Between the pain and the drugs I am not so good at taking things in.

I did learn that lots of medical supplies came in early this week. My booze order is still sat on the tarmac waiting for its turn and I was informed by the First Air cargo staff that there are other much more important things to ship up like food and medical supplies before personal liquor orders. Really? I have to disagree, you are charging me enough freakin money, now ship it up already! Fortunately we took receipt of a care package so I was able to supplement my meds with a couple of G&Ts last night, most welcome indeed.

Wing Night

Wednesday night is wing night in Iqaluit, both at the Legion and the Storehouse Pub at the Frobisher Inn. We have not been to the Storehouse, but we have now participated in Legion wing night three times. This week was particularly significant for three reasons; I am now an associate member so was able to sign Blaine in rather than us both having to get Craig or Gerry to sign us in; We drove there together on the Quad; Blaine was not on duty so was allowed to have a beer.

At the legion wings are 25c each, beer is (a rather less reasonable) $9 per can. Beer in Nunavut comes in cans or bottles; the bottles are Corona; cans include Rickards Red, Molson, Canadian... all the crappy beers. There are no kegs. There are few glasses.

The Legion opens at 5pm and is instantly busy. Make your way past the smoking shed and join the line up inside the double doors to sign in and check your coat at the compulsory $1 coat check. Canada Goose jackets are bulky so the coat check makes sense and they don't try to screw you by charging another buck for your helmet. To the left of the coat check a short corridor leads to the quiet room which I have not yet explored, the open doorway to the right leads into the main room. As you leave the coat check desk you immediately join the queue which snakes back from the bar. At the cash-only bar you order your beverage and wings then take your receipt to the kitchen hatch at the back of the room. Carefully print your name on the paper and hand it in then take a seat and wait for your name to be called over the tannoy. Depending on who is MCing the kitchen mike you may or may not be able to decipher your name when your order is called. The wings arrive piled high on a paper plate (our landfill is a hungry beast that needs regular feeding) which you then take to the adjacent table to load up from a selection of six sauces; Honey Garlic, BBQ, Thai, Sweet & Sour, Hot and Xtra Hot. I like to combine BBQ with Xtra Hot.

Two Rickards Red and twenty wings makes a happy Wednesday :-)

How to buy beer, wine and spirits in Iqaluit

The very helpful chap at the Nunavut Liquor Commission kindly explained the process to me. 

You can order your favourite tipple from Rankin Inlet, Montreal or Ottawa. Rankin Inlet has a limited selection and cargo rates are high. The store in Montreal has a crappy selection too but is a good option if you are combining it with a food mail shipment. The best option is the LCBO store at 1980 Bank Street in Ottawa because of the selection and favourable cargo rates from Ottawa.

Step 1

Visit the LCBO web site to decide what you want to buy and check stock in the store.

Step 2 

Go to the Nunavut Liquor Commission to buy your permit. You have to specify the quantity and volume of beer, wine, spirits and cider that you wish to import so that the relevant charges can be calculated: 

Spirits are $3.75 per litre plus a $0.29 per bottle deposit

Wine is $2.00 per litre plus a $0.29 per bottle deposit

Beer is $0.56 per litre with a $0.14 per can/bottle deposit

Cider is $0.59 and $0.14

GST is charged at 5% on the per litre fee, but not on the bottle deposit.

Step 3

Send a fax to the LCBO store specifying your order and if they should ship it by Canadian North or First Air. Be sure to include your credit card details so they can charge you and your contact number for when your cargo arrives.

Step 4

Wait for the call

For a permit fee of $41.36 I ordered:

1 x 3l bottle Jack Daniels            $131.95

1 x 4l bag in box French Cross Shiraz            $41.95

1 x 4l bag in box French Cross Cabernet Merlot            $39.95

1 x 4l bag in box French Cross Pinot Grigio            $39.95

8 x 44ml cans Guinness Draught            $20.95 (for St Patricks!)

I also found this GN information today from which I am delighted to learn that Nancy can indeed bring us a bottle of Jack when she visits in June!

http://www.orientation.hr.gov.nu.ca/i18n/english/pdf/Buying%20Alcohol_eng.pdf