Air Creebec food didn't disappoint and I am planning on a late-night stop at McDonald's to feed this deprived beast.
Stay tuned for what I can only imagine will be a wicked weekend wedding celebration :)
Thursday 30 May 2013
The Bridesmaid has landed.
After 7 hours of travel, 5 stops and 1 connection, 1 very turbulent ride (my butt left my seat 3 times), being seated beside the emergency exit (hold my purse, I got this) and in front of an amorous drunk man, and forgotten at the airport, I AM HOME.
Tuesday 28 May 2013
Sunny Weekend
I forgot to mention that the weather, when not snowing, has been beautiful up here lately. By beautiful I mean that the sun is shining and of course, no snow is falling at that current time. I take these rare opportunities to get outside, sit on some generous friend's back deck and soak in the rays (with SPF 50 of course). My goal since Goose Break was to even out the weird arrangemet of color I get yearly from wearing tank tops. I call it the "bib", where only the chest and arms get color and the rest stays white for the whole year. So, I brave the temperatures for the sake of some even sun and hopefully I will be bibless by the wedding this weekend (strapless dress, not a pretty look with uneven skin colors all over this place).
This week the school has begun their annual Cree School Board testing. Yesterday was an interesting experience and Monday morning is no time to try and conduct a standardized test but there you go. Hopefully today will be mildly more successful, I have bribed them with bubblegum for good behavior so we'll see how that goes. Otherwise the countdown is on, I will be flying out Thursday afternoon to Toronto and having a ball reconnecting with old friends, eating wedding cake and most likely making a fool out of myself.
I scrounged up a few more pictures for friends and family back home to see of my new place! Enjoy.
This week the school has begun their annual Cree School Board testing. Yesterday was an interesting experience and Monday morning is no time to try and conduct a standardized test but there you go. Hopefully today will be mildly more successful, I have bribed them with bubblegum for good behavior so we'll see how that goes. Otherwise the countdown is on, I will be flying out Thursday afternoon to Toronto and having a ball reconnecting with old friends, eating wedding cake and most likely making a fool out of myself.
I scrounged up a few more pictures for friends and family back home to see of my new place! Enjoy.
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| The spare bedroom sans mattress. |
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| My bedroom! Matching bedroom furniture for the first time in my life ha! |
Laundry/Utility room - every mother's dream.
Yes, that would be floor to ceiling SHELVING
Oh Lawd, this room could easily be a third bedroom for its size, imagine how quickly I am going to fill it up with my junk.
Hallway with cupboards on the right wall/
Kitchen/Dining area.
Front door with "mudroom" type thing behind that door. TONS of room for all my unnecessary and impractical shoes.
My backyard
My backyard!!!!!
...the treehouse... deathtrap
The temperature on Sunday - perfect for sunbathing, a balmy 9 degrees :|
Getting crispy.
My bathroom! Storage galore! Ahh!
Sunday 26 May 2013
Moving Day!
Life has been crazy busy for the past week or so. Getting back into the routine of school after Goose Break was hard for the kids and attendance was still pretty spotty last week. I spent much of my week planning for the coming weeks and slowly starting to pack up my classroom for cleaning this summer. My evenings were pretty preoccupied with packing my house and taking car loads at a time of boxes to my new house a few minutes away.
I had the opportunity to move to a bigger, newer house up the road which after some debate, I took. I am all settled in after a long week and weekend of moving, unpacking, cleaning and setting up. I have all my pictures on the wall, laundry done, chachkies on display and have spent the first night in my new home! It is probably 3 times the size of my old place on Beaver Road which is fantastic for someone who owns SO MUCH STUFF like me, but also sucky because it there is so much more to clean! However, it is brighter, newer, no mold, 2 bedrooms, an open concept living room, kitchen and dining area and best of all there is a wood burning stove! Awesome! I can't wait to use it in the winter. I also have a nice big deck the wraps around the front and side of the house, a large supply of cut firewood thanks to the previous owners, a place to put my BBQ (newly acquired, best investment of my life!) and a beautiful private backyard. There is, however, a treehouse to the side of my yard which I found out I have a perfect view of when I STEP OUT OF THE SHOWER so I am either going to have to sadly tear it down (I also want to avoid having to be the first responder to a broken neck/skin tear from a rust nail situation) or leave it up and risk the kids from all over the town seeing my goodies when I forget to close the curtains (bound to happen at least once!!).
I am also taking off back to Ontario this week to participate in my friend's wedding! I am a bridesmaid and while I am only in town for the weekend, I plan on making the most of it!! I am super excited to have an awesome time at this wedding and plan on partying like its 1999 at the reception. I fly back on Sunday afternoon, spend the night in Montreal and will make it back to Wemindji and RIGHT back to work Monday afternoon! It is going to be a long week but the countdown is on for the last day of school. It will be a mad dash to fit all the rest of the curriculum in while we also conduct some Cree School board standardized tests during class time over the next 2 weeks. We shall see just how far we get but I have some really fun Fairy Tale stuff planned so I hope to get to it!
Otherwise things are generally the same. It is still very frosty but some nice temperatures are predicted this week so I hope to get the class outside for some deserved fresh air after their tests.
Last week the school and community also celebrated Annie Whiskeychan Day which is a day that recognizes the efforts and contributions to Cree Language and Culture of a now-deceased Cree Language activist. The school worked hard to set up a nice display of Cree culture through children's dancing, teepee building, a walking out ceremony, cooking and feasts. I was able to witness the Walking Out Ceremony for 3 children of the community. The Walking Out Ceremony is supposed to celebrate the first steps a child takes on the Earth as they exit a teepee in traditional dress with their parent. Until that moment, children are either too young to walk or walk on protected ground (the daycare actually has a wooden structure built to elevate the children from the Earth so they don't take their first official steps on Earth until the ceremony.) There is a mock hunt where the children (sometimes still very young) pretend to shoot a goose and then pass cigarettes and candy around to the crowd (cigarettes, LOL I KNOW). Anyways it was really adorable to watch and even the dead geese being propped up, while revolting, was cool. The geese are propped up on sticks and a piece of twine is tied to them and when the child pretends to shoot the goose, the father or family member will pull the cord and the goose will fall. Super cute.
Anyways, overall an eventful and busy week and I can't wait to come home to Oakville and celebrate my lovely, beautiful friend Clair and her man Ryan's wedding. Enjoy the pictures!
I had the opportunity to move to a bigger, newer house up the road which after some debate, I took. I am all settled in after a long week and weekend of moving, unpacking, cleaning and setting up. I have all my pictures on the wall, laundry done, chachkies on display and have spent the first night in my new home! It is probably 3 times the size of my old place on Beaver Road which is fantastic for someone who owns SO MUCH STUFF like me, but also sucky because it there is so much more to clean! However, it is brighter, newer, no mold, 2 bedrooms, an open concept living room, kitchen and dining area and best of all there is a wood burning stove! Awesome! I can't wait to use it in the winter. I also have a nice big deck the wraps around the front and side of the house, a large supply of cut firewood thanks to the previous owners, a place to put my BBQ (newly acquired, best investment of my life!) and a beautiful private backyard. There is, however, a treehouse to the side of my yard which I found out I have a perfect view of when I STEP OUT OF THE SHOWER so I am either going to have to sadly tear it down (I also want to avoid having to be the first responder to a broken neck/skin tear from a rust nail situation) or leave it up and risk the kids from all over the town seeing my goodies when I forget to close the curtains (bound to happen at least once!!).
I am also taking off back to Ontario this week to participate in my friend's wedding! I am a bridesmaid and while I am only in town for the weekend, I plan on making the most of it!! I am super excited to have an awesome time at this wedding and plan on partying like its 1999 at the reception. I fly back on Sunday afternoon, spend the night in Montreal and will make it back to Wemindji and RIGHT back to work Monday afternoon! It is going to be a long week but the countdown is on for the last day of school. It will be a mad dash to fit all the rest of the curriculum in while we also conduct some Cree School board standardized tests during class time over the next 2 weeks. We shall see just how far we get but I have some really fun Fairy Tale stuff planned so I hope to get to it!
Otherwise things are generally the same. It is still very frosty but some nice temperatures are predicted this week so I hope to get the class outside for some deserved fresh air after their tests.
Last week the school and community also celebrated Annie Whiskeychan Day which is a day that recognizes the efforts and contributions to Cree Language and Culture of a now-deceased Cree Language activist. The school worked hard to set up a nice display of Cree culture through children's dancing, teepee building, a walking out ceremony, cooking and feasts. I was able to witness the Walking Out Ceremony for 3 children of the community. The Walking Out Ceremony is supposed to celebrate the first steps a child takes on the Earth as they exit a teepee in traditional dress with their parent. Until that moment, children are either too young to walk or walk on protected ground (the daycare actually has a wooden structure built to elevate the children from the Earth so they don't take their first official steps on Earth until the ceremony.) There is a mock hunt where the children (sometimes still very young) pretend to shoot a goose and then pass cigarettes and candy around to the crowd (cigarettes, LOL I KNOW). Anyways it was really adorable to watch and even the dead geese being propped up, while revolting, was cool. The geese are propped up on sticks and a piece of twine is tied to them and when the child pretends to shoot the goose, the father or family member will pull the cord and the goose will fall. Super cute.
Anyways, overall an eventful and busy week and I can't wait to come home to Oakville and celebrate my lovely, beautiful friend Clair and her man Ryan's wedding. Enjoy the pictures!
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| My new school jacket! It also says my name in Cree on the arm |
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| Morning of Annie Whiskeychan Day |
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| The day's schedule |
A regular old Swiss Chalet up in this teepee!
Carmen thoroughly disgusted by the goose being speared!
A bebe walking out!
Girl's night of creeping on Facebook
A neat shot of Wemindji stolen from somebody's facebook
A hare on my front lawn!
At first glance it looks like a lake of geese. But in fact it is a lake full of DECOYS. Mission accomplished, I was fooled!
My new house!
Kitchen/dining room!
Living room!
My wood buring stooooooove!
Snow. AGAIN
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Aaaaaaand we're back.
So Goose Break has come and gone. It felt long to be honest, but the 2 day drives back to and from Southern Ontario really did me in. I left in a convoy of vehicles on Friday April 26th immediately after the bell rang at noon. We drove pretty much straight through to Amos that day (about 8 hours) and stayed the night in the good ol' Amosphere. I shared a room with Monika and got dibs on the hilariously cool hide-a-bed complete with mood lighting. It was something to write home about. The we left early the next morning and with typical 400-401-427-403-QEW traffic, we made it home in about 10 hours. Not being used to bumper-to-bumper traffic, I almost killed Monika and I twice but what's life without a little thrill!?!
I spent the next two weeks shopping, shipping, hanging out, seeing family and trying to catch up on my sleep (not possible it turns out.) I also spend an astronomical amount of money on my little green machine (new brakes, new seat belts etc etc.) but got a very good deal at Preferred Muffler compared to what the evil Toyota dealership was trying to charge me. NICE TRY BUDDY. I may not know A THING about cars but I do know when I am being ripped off.
It was really nice to catch up with friends and family and I managed to squeeze some sunburn time in as well, oh joy! I am going to look SPLENDID in the strapless dress I am wearing for my friend Clair's upcoming nuptials. I am hoping to even out my "bib" burn this weekend with the predicted warm, sunny weather we will get up here!! (Fingers crossed).
Another fun and exciting thing that happened was I got a tattoo!! I have always wanted to get something to remember my father by (he died of cancer May 10th 2007) but I couldn't decide where or what. Once I began working here I saw that the Cree written language, known as syllabics, was really neat looking and now held significance for me. So I decided to have a trustworthy Cree teacher write out my dad's name, Michael, in Northern Cree syllabics (Carmen then took the paper around the school and had it verified haha) and I got it tattooed on the back of my left shoulder. I went to Nick at Way Cool Tattoos in Oakville and he did an amazing job. It was my first tattoo and I wasn't totally sure what to expect pain wise but it was pretty manageable. It helped that it only took about 20 minutes so there wasn't much time for me to complain haha!! Anyways, it is healing nicely and I am trying to take good care of it so it doesn't fade or rub off and I am left with some completely different word like "crap donkey" instead of "Michael".
After 2 nice weeks in the sunshine I was ready to go back to my routine and my kids. I am totally spoiled by having my own home and living out of a suitcase was a little annoying but at least I had a bed to come home to! I got to spend some really nice quality time with my mom and family and for that I am grateful.
The drive back was pretty nice as well however not without it's own drama! The day before we left we heard reports of washouts on the James Bay Highway that closed down the roads completely in some cases. Luckily the washouts were repaired by the time we got there. We left southern Ontario after a delicious "last meal" of EXCELLENT sushi (FYI I now eat raw salmon. I know, this coming from a girl who pukes at the sight of onions and tomatoes). Arriving in Amos again on Saturday night we had a quick bite at the ever-reliable Mike's and straight to bed. The next morning it was SNOWING huge chunks of slushy snow which made visibility really poor and we had to drive quite "slow" for the first couple of hours. After that the clouds parted and we were sailing. We made it home to Wemindji at about 6 and I quickly unpacked and went to bed. I am still not fully recovered from the lack of sleep the days before leaving and the draining drive but I am glad to be home, back in the classroom and back into my routine.
Don't worry too much though Oakville, I will be back at the end of the month to be a bridesmaid in my aforementioned friend's wedding, a quick weekend trip!
PS!! I am famous!! Actually, Wemindji is and I am famous for a split second. The CBC came and did a story on the success of Northern Quebec Cree communities. Very informative and you get to see where I live and work!! Go Cree Nation of Wemindji!
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/The+National/ID/2385270324/
and the accompanying article:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/story/2013/05/14/pol-james-bay-cree-northern-quebec-attawapiskat.html
Enjoy!
I spent the next two weeks shopping, shipping, hanging out, seeing family and trying to catch up on my sleep (not possible it turns out.) I also spend an astronomical amount of money on my little green machine (new brakes, new seat belts etc etc.) but got a very good deal at Preferred Muffler compared to what the evil Toyota dealership was trying to charge me. NICE TRY BUDDY. I may not know A THING about cars but I do know when I am being ripped off.
It was really nice to catch up with friends and family and I managed to squeeze some sunburn time in as well, oh joy! I am going to look SPLENDID in the strapless dress I am wearing for my friend Clair's upcoming nuptials. I am hoping to even out my "bib" burn this weekend with the predicted warm, sunny weather we will get up here!! (Fingers crossed).
Another fun and exciting thing that happened was I got a tattoo!! I have always wanted to get something to remember my father by (he died of cancer May 10th 2007) but I couldn't decide where or what. Once I began working here I saw that the Cree written language, known as syllabics, was really neat looking and now held significance for me. So I decided to have a trustworthy Cree teacher write out my dad's name, Michael, in Northern Cree syllabics (Carmen then took the paper around the school and had it verified haha) and I got it tattooed on the back of my left shoulder. I went to Nick at Way Cool Tattoos in Oakville and he did an amazing job. It was my first tattoo and I wasn't totally sure what to expect pain wise but it was pretty manageable. It helped that it only took about 20 minutes so there wasn't much time for me to complain haha!! Anyways, it is healing nicely and I am trying to take good care of it so it doesn't fade or rub off and I am left with some completely different word like "crap donkey" instead of "Michael".
After 2 nice weeks in the sunshine I was ready to go back to my routine and my kids. I am totally spoiled by having my own home and living out of a suitcase was a little annoying but at least I had a bed to come home to! I got to spend some really nice quality time with my mom and family and for that I am grateful.
The drive back was pretty nice as well however not without it's own drama! The day before we left we heard reports of washouts on the James Bay Highway that closed down the roads completely in some cases. Luckily the washouts were repaired by the time we got there. We left southern Ontario after a delicious "last meal" of EXCELLENT sushi (FYI I now eat raw salmon. I know, this coming from a girl who pukes at the sight of onions and tomatoes). Arriving in Amos again on Saturday night we had a quick bite at the ever-reliable Mike's and straight to bed. The next morning it was SNOWING huge chunks of slushy snow which made visibility really poor and we had to drive quite "slow" for the first couple of hours. After that the clouds parted and we were sailing. We made it home to Wemindji at about 6 and I quickly unpacked and went to bed. I am still not fully recovered from the lack of sleep the days before leaving and the draining drive but I am glad to be home, back in the classroom and back into my routine.
Don't worry too much though Oakville, I will be back at the end of the month to be a bridesmaid in my aforementioned friend's wedding, a quick weekend trip!
PS!! I am famous!! Actually, Wemindji is and I am famous for a split second. The CBC came and did a story on the success of Northern Quebec Cree communities. Very informative and you get to see where I live and work!! Go Cree Nation of Wemindji!
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/TV+Shows/The+National/ID/2385270324/
and the accompanying article:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/story/2013/05/14/pol-james-bay-cree-northern-quebec-attawapiskat.html
Enjoy!
Snacks for the road!
Can't see it too well, but - leaving on time, early even! 11:57 on Friday April 26th
Access road
My super-sweet hide-a-bed
Brandi behind me
Civilization Burgers!
Ugh. Traffic
BOBO!
Ahh, home sweet home.
Brand new seatbelts!
Beautiful Oakville weather
CHARCOAL FOR MY NEW BBQ
Aww how sweet.
Crawford Lake
Cutest dog ever.
The contents of my storage unit...... Tetris
Oh Hai
My packed car!!
The Last Supper!
This truck was full of goats.
My work here is done. (No I did not use it all I stole it all.)
Detrimental to stealing success.
Great...
Driving through floods in Amos for breakfast!
Which of these does not belong?
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