S(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO)W

Well, it's finally happened.  Snow has officially arrived in Wemindji.  After a few "preparatory" days of flurries here and there - a little tease for the senses - I awoke this morning to a healthy blanket of white stuff covering as far as the groggy eye could see.  I woke naturally to the bright light (wait, BRIGHT?) shining through my blinds.  I knew immediately something was wrong.  This kind of light was something I remembered foggily from my past.  It wasn't a bright-sunlight kind of light.  It was a reflective, ominous kind of bright light. It was... SNOW LIGHT. If you have ever woken up to a fresh snowfall, you know what I mean.  This brightness shining through was not that of the glorious sun.  It was the glow of a trillion tiny snowflakes resting upon what used to be grass, driveway and road. 

Some see the arrival of snow and chilly temperatures as a invitation from Mother Earth to "come outside and enjoy the new and exciting things I have to offer you!", dressed up in a blanket of white, fluffy stuff!  I see it as a rescinded offer to participate in the world.  Well, there used to be a sidewalk here, lets GUESS where it is now and until June.  There USED to be a road here, shrug! Oh you like hopping in your car and driving away? NOT GONNA HAPPEN EVER AGAIN.  And let the season of complaining begin!!!

Luckily I have a family of hamsters to raise which I anticipate will keep me quite busy over the next couple of months.  Yes, I am still proud Goo Goo to a number of baby hamsters plus Carmonika.  I have done quite well if I do say so myself at not interfering with the nest and just peeking through the bars every now and then to try and catch a glimpse of my new hamily!  Carmonika is friendly but cautious, coming out every now and then to eat and prance around the cage for a minute or two.  From what I can see through the bars there are at least 5 babies in there, maybe more.  If any have died I think they would have been the runts and not been murdered.  My theory is if she was going to murder some, she would have murdered all.  Carmonika strikes me as an all-or-nothing kinda gal. 

There is a plus side to all this snow!  I will again become super teacher (locking myself in my classroom where the snow can't touch me), my house will SPARKLE, my freezer will overflow with baked goods and prepared meals, my eyebrows will be plucked DAILY, blog updated with no real news HOURLY, and I can catch up on all my long-neglected TV shows!  Here I come Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Borgias, Dexter, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead!  Who knows, maybe I'll even have time to finished re-watching ER!  Who am I kidding, OF COURSE I'll have time!  Winter lasts 13.5 months here!!

This year's Halloween door!

This was Friday

Epic muffin failure. Don't want to talk about it.

Carmonika watching me watch her.

Neat frost on my windshield! (Neat frost? Listen to me I've lost my mind)

My view for the next 78 months.

Hmm..

GREAT IDEA picking a white car!! How am I going to find this thing in a snow drift?!?

Goodbye stylish summer/fall footwear!!

I am a Goo Goo*!!

*Goo Goo or Gookum: Cree for grandmother.

Never thought I'd be a granny at my young age but stranger things have happened!

Turns out the wonderful gift of a pet hamster I received from from very thoughtful friends has MULTIPLIED. 

See, I knew Carmonika was in her teenage/adulthood years when I got her. I have owned baby hamsters before and they are pretty darn small. Nevertheless she was adorable and I fell in insta-love. It was not until last night while cleaning her cage that I realized Carmonika had gotten FAT. And not just all-over-girlfriend-needs-a-diet-fat. I'm talking her badonkadonk was out of this world. I mentioned to Carmen and Monika that she might be pregnant, and oh how funny would that be!

Jokes on me, tonight after dinner I heard some strange squeaking coming from Carmonika's cage! I lifted her house and low and behold there were 8 BABIES and Carmonika looking fashionably svelte. So I freaked out, called over reinforcements and quickly looked up what to expect when you weren't expecting! Turns out I shouldn't have lifted her home but how else was I supposed to see if there were babies in there/get a quick photo?!

So I haven't touched a thing since other than to give Carmonika some more nesting material. I will wait (ever impatiently) the 3 week period until I can separate and ween babies from mummy and in the meanwhile hope for the best! Mummy hammies can be mighty aggressive when it comes to protecting their young (even to the sacrificial death) so I am hoping she is merciful and lets them live! Cross your fingers!

Happy (Belated) Thanksgiving!

I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and I know I have so much to be grateful for.  I definitely don't need a single day in the calendar to feel grateful for what I have, but it sure puts things in perspective.  I am so grateful for the life I have!  I have a wonderful job that totally fulfils me, great friends both near and far, and a family who loves me and supports me. 

My amazing mother and fantastic aunt travelled all the way up to Wemindji to visit me and it was so much fun!  They brought with them: a huge turkey (left overs for days), birthday gifts galore, lots of treats and things I needed from down south, and BOBO!!  Honestly, what more could a girl ask for?? I also received a care package from the TRIBES ladies which was filled with goodies for both my students and me, I was totally touched by their thoughtfulness and generosity!  Overall, last week was a winner.

I took my family on a tour of the town (about 5 minutes long since that is about how long it takes to get around haha).  They saw my classroom, had a bonfire at Carmen's, cooked us a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and we even squeezed in a trip to Radisson for lunch!! It was awesome.  Some days were sunny and gorgeous, others were rainy and cool, a good representation of Wemindji weather.  My mom came into the classroom on Tuesday afternoon and read the kids a story and helped them with their art.  They loved her and you could tell she really enjoyed the experience of meeting my students and seeing me at work!  I never thought I would be able to show off my home and community to my family since they live so far away and getting here isn't easy, so I relished in every moment and tried to give them the most well-rounded experience I could offer! 

One of the most astounding experiences however was SEEING A MOOSE!! Now, if you know me, I often describe myself as wildlife cryptonite.  No wild northern animal has ever come within a square mile of me other than seagulls, squirrels and the odd fox.  Well as we were travelling home on the access road, out of the corner of my eye did I spy a MOOOOOOSE!! I slammed on the brakes, backed up and made my way closer to the majestic creature.  It was definitely young, it's antlers small but still a HUGE beast. As we sat there taking picture after picture, the moose just casually walked around, allowing us to get it's best angle.  I even got an obscured shot of our loaner Flat Stanley with him!  Awesome! My mom wanted a closer shot and wanted to open the door to get one, I insisted she not leave the van should she be charged by the moose (a more than likely scenario).  What does she do? Hop out of the van!! Our lives flashed before my eyes as I screamed for her to get back in before she became antler decor for this 2 ton beast.

Anyways, the pictures do not do the proximity of us to the moose justice, but trust me, we were CLOSE.  Thank goodness we left Bobo at home because his incessant barking would have very likely cost us our lives, or at least a good photo op!

Turkey coma!

Ryerson School's Flat Stanley in Rad!

And at the turnoff for the access road!

E

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

At Chez Mika

Amazing sunrise!

Day of Family arrival - 17 degrees! Time to get those plants some much needed sunlight

Take a wild guess at what my favorite breakfast might be...

HIS LITTLE FACE

Turkey before

Turkey after om nom nom

After the access road, yesh

Beautiful Thanksgiving Day!

Table

Monika's pecan turkey. 

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

Obligatory Stanley pic.

Stanley with the MOOSE!

MOOOOSE

Native Arts and Craft store in Radisson

Showing off my swag and my Smartboard

Mama in my classroom

Auntie Melanie!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Well I have to say my friends have really outdone themselves this year! I am now the proud mummy to a hamster, Carmonika!!!!!! Carmonika is the obvious the combination of names of the masterminds behind procuring me this gorgeous creature, as well as an homage to the trend of combining two normal names to make hybrid names that seems to be happening in Wemindji at the moment! Her full name is Carmonika Brandi McCaffrey. Brandi also had a hand in the best present EVER!

Only the creative teachers of Wemindji could have pulled off a scheme such as this and TOTALLY surprised me with a pet hamster for my birthday!! I think I might be the only person in Wemindji with a hamster, something I am very proud of. Apparently many people were involved in this elaborate plan to get me my baby. Some teachers were away for training this week in Val D'Or and my friends took the opportunity to ask them to bring me back a hamster! They surprised me with her last night at a dinner of REAL KFC last night at Brandi's which totally surprised me!! I SCREAMED.  

Perhaps the best part is the Flat Stanley-style picture diary these traveling teachers took of Carmonika's journey up north! I laughed SOOO much as I'm sure you will too at these amazing pictures at all the tell-tale Wemindji drive stops. 

Carmonika is set up nicely with a sweet bachelorette pad, a hamster DUVET (thanks Marsha!) and an awesome travel module, so she can sit right up front with me on our future car rides!!

Now I am waiting in my van (apparently looking like a cop) at the end of the access road in Wemindji for my mom, my aunt Melanie and BOBO as they make their way to my home for Thanksgiving weekend! I can't wait for them to arrive. The weather has been gorgeous here today so hopefully it has been the same for them on their drive up! Happy Thanksgiving!!