Second newsletter

Hi again, this is the second newsletter I sent out Sept 18th and it is a little more organized, just like my life. After this posting I will have everyone up to date and can start.

Happy reading

Kel

Good day everyone,

I thought it was time to send everyone an update on how things are going up here in the great north. It is still an adventure and it is a wonderful adventure that can test anyone’s survival skills. Today it is raining, a pretty solid rain to say the least, and is about 6. I had to laugh this morning. I walked from home and there was no real wind, as I came up the hill to work and went to cross the road the wind hit me at about 20 km/hr. It was a bit of a shocker. Overall the weather is "fall" for up here...Overcast, windy and wet. I guess this goes on now until is snows.

Ok, so where was I with my last newsletter, oh yes, I was just waiting to have my sewage tank hooked up. I have had the tank hooked up and a little trouble with sewer gas (this was one time I was worried about lighting a match. The smell was getting really rough and open flames didn’t sound safe and my fire extinguisher is from 1990…remember children, safety first). Turns out that when you have any sewer work done you need to fill the water pipes of your house to create a water barrier. Boy, that was a stinky lesson to learn. Actually one of the ladies at work mentioned that if she knows that the sewage guys are coming she fills the tub and sinks with water before work and then when she comes home she runs some water to make sure things are ok and then pulls the plugs and flushes the toilets. She is one smart lady.

The latest adventure that we have to talk about is how I am starting to run low on water. Yup, my new challenge has been to conserve water until we can get things set up to get a regular water drop-off. You see, when they dug out the sewer tank they broke the ladder and a bunch of piles of dirt and a hole. I have been able to see the wonderful glacial moraine around here…LOL what you expect me to not look at a soil profile that was dug for me? So we shall see if I do laundry this weekend. It isn’t like I create a lot by myself, but the last of my underwear is still in Saskatoon.

Water update, I checked my tank on Wednesday when I got home and I have water…I can do laundry, I can have a bath rather than just a shower, do the dishes and clean the house. Yup I have to clean the house even though I have very little right now to clean. Humm, think I will work on cleaning the house after the bath. LOL.

Oh yeah, and the latest on the saga of my possessions. Well, my parents and uncle went in this past Monday and went through and took out 3,000 lbs. They were asked to take out an additional 500 lbs, but they drew the line. I am not sure what would have been left if we did that. I think the only things that would have been moved up would have been my son's toys and a couple of pieces of clothes each! My heavens for an allotment of 4,000 lbs I am not sure what I get to have. Good thing this place comes with furniture otherwise we would be sleeping on the floor under our winter jackets. Ok, that may be a bit melodramatic but it kinda feels like I am slowly being stripped naked! I knew I had to learn to downsize in my life and live simpler, but my heavens I need books, movies and a few more changes of underwear :P~~ Ah and the best part is until I pay $1100 my stuff gets to stay in storage for awhile longer…AHHHHH. I will get life organized soon. Thank heavens for family that are able to help you when you are down too. Yah to Dad, Mom and Uncle!!

Other than that, I have spent all the last couple weeks in my house and enjoying it. The view is such a treat to watch. The bay is always changing and you can look and see fog one minute and look again and things have cleared off. I have taken walks along the bay and taken pictures of the waves last Friday. The wind was gusting up to 80 km/hr and the bay looked like the greek god of the sea Neptune was upset. The waves had washed up some seaweed and I had fun looking at that. Yes, I know “geek”, but I wear that title with pride and can’t wait for Cam to be here to look some more at “stuff”. yes, geek geek geek!!!...LOL

I have also agreed to join the local daycare board that my son will be attending. The current manager of the day care is a wonderful lady that has really turned the place around. He will be learning the local language, about drum dances and throat singing!! There is a program there so he can start to learn to read and some kids that have been through is go to kindergarden already reading! The little one is really going to have fun with everything and everyone there. The people here really love their children and I can’t wait to be a part of that.

I have also talked to a speech pathologist in Yellowknife and if I can time things right in November we can have him assessed and set up in their program and on the list for Cambridge Bay. They are also looking at doing some teleconferencing and I said I would be willing to try it to see how he do es. I think as long as he gets along with the individual in person then things have a potential to work out and the worst that will happen is that it doesn’t work so that isn’t too much to lose. He will just make faces at the camera or wonder what he is talking to. Oh yeah, we have the word “why” in our vocabulary now so life is going to get fun. I know that Grandma hears it a lot. I can’t wait to hear it. Please remind me of this moment when I get frustrated for hearing why enough times to make me scream ; )

Well, I have a little challenge yet with the photos as my new cameras take some nice images that have really big files. So as soon as I figure out how to resize my images I will be putting them on my facebook page and sending others of you who don’t have accounts.

Life is simpler here and I love the fact I get a lunch hour and am done at 5. I have time to make supper at night and enjoy a little TV, go for a walk, write e-mails or play with photos. It is nice to be able to have a life outside of work. I am going to be able to spend time with my son and Mom and actually have an opportunity to have the family life I have always wanted. I want to watch my son grow up and be a part of that process rather than the one that is just passing through. I think about his birth (his birthday was on Wednesday, turned 4) and he is the best thing that has happened in my life. They say children are our hearts, they are right. I see my heart everytime I look at my son. He is my heart and he will be my greatest gift to the world. He has brought people together in my family, I only wonder what he will do with others as he grows. I think Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young said it best when they sang "teach your children well and feed them on your dreams the ones they fix". Ok, so I missed a few of the lyrics but you get the idea.

Have a great couple of weeks everyone and things are beginning to level out here. They may not be normal, but at least they are becoming predictable and that is close enough for me. So, in my next e-mail I will tell you the adventure of food mail as that is my next challenge to undertake here in the great white north :)