Greetings from Dawson

Moving Day

2007-02-19T13:41:00.000-08:00

Okay folks, our blog has moved. http://clearblogs.com/greetingsfromdawson/
That's us. I'll try to keep it updated, I promise

It Worked. Let's try another.

2007-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Me bundled up (still freezing my butt off) on the sled out at the property.

Will it work?

2007-02-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

Trying again. This is a pic of the property we are going to buy.

Just to say "Awwww"

2007-02-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

I stole this, it's damn cute:

vids.myspace.com

More Climate Change Scares-READ THIS

2007-02-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

Since I can't post pics today I'll share something scary I read on the news. It will make me think twice before travelling to Vancouver Island. This sort of thing isn't supposed to happen here.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070209.wfungus0210/BNStory/ClimateChange/home

Exciting news.

2007-02-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

No...my news isn't that blogger is letting me post pictures again. It's not. Boo. We'll be land owners by the end of the month. We're buying almost three acres across the river! And we're gonna build our own house. I know that's what we'd originally planned but then we wanted to buy this place and then we wanted to build a nice house over there but the bank won't loan us money if we build over there for many legitimate reasons: no service, no fire insurance, no title...yet (it's coming). So instead of going massively into debt we're just gonna have measley little payments on the land and that's it. So far the cabin plans are 24 x 24 with a loft. We'll have to make our own power and haul our own water and have little or no plumbing but maybe that's what we really want. We can always add to it as the years go by and we're saving so much money we're laughing.

There are some small issues going across the river namely break-up and freeze-up but Scott can stay in the van if it's not too cold for a couple of weeks or crash at a friends or whatever. It's doable. Probably no internet to start-I'll have to go back across to town to the library for submitting school work and posting here and stuff but it looks like we should be able to get satellite internet over there which we'll likely do by next winter. No phone though. All communication will have to be done via the net. Oh well. No phone ringing does not sound like a big hardship to me. And if there's an emergency we don't have to go too far to neighbours that have phone service. We're very excited. Well be giving our notice here for the end of May and then we'll be living in the van with two cats and two dogs until the house goes up. Doesn't that sound like fun?

Life is good.

Where or where are my pictures?

2007-01-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Anybody know what could be going on with blogger here? It took me forever to get my pics uploaded and now they're all gone! Aaaahhh!

Another Games Night

2007-01-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

Had a games afternoon/evening with our friends Steve and Justine, and Blair (Kim had marking to do:(. We started off the evening with a rousing game of Klondike. How cool to play an old game based on where you live-this one courtesy of Blair. We also played Ticket to Ride: Europe, and Justine's new fave: Jeopardy (I was Alex and Scott kicked butt). We ended our evening of games and margaritas with Puerto Rico, a wicked game with no chance involved at all, only strategy. I highly recommend it.

So, obviously Blogger is suddenly letting me post pics again. Hopefully it lasts. I'm back to my Biology now. Talk to you all soon. Thanks for visiting.

Our Max

2007-01-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

Our newest pic of Max, laying on his towel on the bathroom floor where he spends most of his time these days. Yesterday morning we had our first diabetes emergency: Max hypoed. What that means is that his blood glucose levels were coming down and he registered a fairly low-though still not 'normal' BG before his insulin shot so I gave him a slightly reduced dose. A little later his BG number dropped below normal into the danger zone. See, diabetic cats are diagnosed as having abnormally high BG levels (hyperglycemic) because their cells are not taking in the glucose they need and this results in organ damage over time. So they're given insulin to bring those numbers down but insulin works very well and if their number drops too low (hypoglycemic) they can have seizures and die. Max did not have any seizures nor did he die as I have been researching feline diabetes a ton and so knew what to do. We gave him honey and extra food continuously-we also had the support of the Feline Diabetes Message board which has diabetic cat owners on from all over day and night to give advice when needed and just to generally support each other in their time of need as taking care of a diabetic, especially one that can't "tell" you how they're feeling is a very stressful and trying experience. These people totally talked us through Max's hypo episode which lasted hours and was very scary. He is fine now though his numbers are a little higher than they have been this past week from all the extra food he ate yesterday (including the big no no for diabetic cats: dry food-high in glucose and can assist in bringing the cat out of the hypo episode). We've gone back to square one at the advice of the good people on the FDMB. He will now get 1 IU of insulin at shot time (1/3 of the usual dose) and more food at shot time and less food at snack. Finding the right balance to fix his BG is called the "sugardance". We danced like mad yesterday. And our vet is away in Florida (going to diabetes conferences and such!) and we have no er clinic here for our pets so we managed a full out emergency by ourselves and got through it just fine. Good for us.

I promise not to make this a web site about Max's diabetes but it's a load off to share our journey with others. Thanks for listening. And for those of you who have cats that you cherish as we do please, please here this: dry cat food is killing our cats in the same way that modern food choices are making our children diabetic. It has too much carb for a carnivore. Switch to lower carb wet food like Fancy Feast. Love your cat that much and he'll live a longer, healthier, happier life.

Khan and Milo staying warm by the Woodstove

2007-01-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

Khan was actually sleeping until I pulled out the camera.

Here's Oreo...finally!

2007-01-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Our new friend Oreo. Honey couldn't stay-she'd never be happy here and is indeed very happy to be back with her friends. Oreo is an 8 month old Border Collie/Husky. Her eyes are blue despite the evil red they seem in the pic. She fits in wonderfully and we already love her.

A Moose Last week on the drive home from Whitehorse

2007-01-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

Walking the Dogs in Whitehorse

2007-01-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

Mule Deer in Whitehorse Last weekend

2007-01-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

Max's Diabetes

2007-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. It's over a little too soon, if you ask me. It's been wonderful having Moe here, that's for sure, but today we must return her to Whitehorse to catch a plane to Vancouver. Very sad. We'll miss her tonnes.

It's been a bit of a crazy holiday for us. For those of you that don't know: when we returned from picking Moe up two days before Christmas Max (one of our beloved cats) could hardly walk. He's been sick for awhile: peeing everywhere in big floods, living in the bathroom-we honestly thought he was rebelling against the new kitty litter but he was bad off that day we returned so we rushed him off to our vet. Turns out Max is diabetic. A result of a life lived overweight. I guess most owners put their cats down when they find this out as it is a rather expensive and time consuming proposition to get your cats blood glucose regulated. But we love Max and so out came the Visa card. We've learned how to hometest and give insulin shots, we record everything, and are messing with his food trying to get him well again. He is so grateful it makes me cry. When you get everything together to test and give him the shot he gets excited. He lets you rub his ears (to warm them so you can prick them to test his blood) and then comes into your lap and waits patiently while you do the test and give the shot....all because he knows he's gonna get his Fancy Feast when you're done. And since we always have to do this at the same times am and pm he starts asking for it about an hour before. He seeks you out and meows and meows. It's pretty cute. The sad part is, like so many undiagnosed diabetic cats (he's likely been somewhat diabetic for years), he's developed neuropathy which affects his hind legs (and perhaps his tail, too). He walks on his hocks now. Sad. But we're going to try to get a supplement we heard about in Whitehorse called Methyl-B12 which may help his legs. Since we have to go to Whitehorse for a couple of days I've trained our friend Justine to do the test and the shot. She's running the Humane Society these days and so obviously has a love for animals and our learning experience can be hers too.

Moral of the story: don't overfeed your cat. Fat=Health problems. Low carb diets are best for cats, too. They're carnivores after all.

Anyways, this has kept us hopping this Christmas season. Please think positive thoughts for Max while he's in this hard time. We leave this afternoon and will return on Saturday. Talk to you all soon.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! We sure did. Very relaxing anyways. Here are a bunch of pics taken over the past week. Hope you enjoy.

Aren't I hot in a balaclava and helmet?

2007-01-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe hot isn't really the right word. In fact, with the wind chill factor that high up I was damned cold.

What we did for Xmas Vacation

2007-01-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

We went out on the skidoo several times. It's really nice to go just before 4 so you can catch the sunset from the top of the second dome, just like this pic. What you see is in the valley is the mighty Yukon river-nearly the same view that we see from our place but this is from much higher up.

Moe and Echo Go Sledding

2007-01-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

and ran the skidoo into a ditch. Scott had to enlist help to go pull it out. A learning experience for all. (Moe said she never had so much fun)

A non-traditional xmas dinner

2007-01-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

Sushi and fondue was a hit for Christmas dinner. If you're wondering about the drinks, they're Pina Coladas with raspberries. Yummy.

Happy Non-Denominational Gift Giving Day!

2006-12-25T12:56:00.000-08:00

We're not dreaming of a white christmas....we're having a white christmas! Big Flakes, warm weather (-13), couldn't be better. We're having a wonderful time despite Scott being so sick and our cat's newly diagnosed diabetes, and Moe being fatigued from the extreme change of climate and elevation. Scott's mom gave him a wicked pair of mukluks and I got both a really nice pullover and the game Puerto Rico from Scott's uncle. Scott made Moe a hope chest (not for dowry purposes but for when she moves out) and we got her all sorts of household type stuff for when she moves out on her own. We'll keep it here until then and continue to add all the things a person needs for their first apartment. She seems pretty happy with it.

Anyways, hope you all had a Very Merry Christmas. Wish we could all be together. We're gonna head out to the Humane Society pretty soon to walk dogs. They deserve a Merry Christmas too.

2006-12-25T12:53:00.000-08:00

Scott wearing his new hat and sweater.

2006-12-25T12:50:00.000-08:00

Scott's new mukluks-a wonderful present from his Mom.

2006-12-25T12:47:00.000-08:00

Both Khan and Milo enjoyed all the treats our friend CJ gave them for Christmas.

2006-12-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Sick Scott played Santa this morning!

2006-12-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve PJs. Moe and I switched the tops and slippers! Hers was too pink.

2006-12-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

Moe opening her xmas eve presents (always pjs-it's tradition).

2006-12-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas tree last night.

2006-12-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

The view of Dawson last night from across the river. Moe's first time on an ice bridge, too.

It's a sad day for Scooby Doo

2006-12-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

Co-creator of Yogi Bear, Flintstones dies at 95
Last Updated: Monday, December 18, 2006 7:22 PM ET
CBC Arts
Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said.
Barbera, 95, died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.
With his longtime partner Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters.
The partners, who had first teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1950s with a witty series of animated TV comedies, including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Scooby-Doo and Huckleberry Hound and Friends.
Their strengths melded perfectly, critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons. Barbera brought the comic gags and skilled drawing, while Hanna brought warmth and a keen sense of timing.
"This writing-directing team may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year —without a break or change in routine," Maltin wrote.

"From the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable, the characters he created with his late partner, William Hanna, are not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture. While he will be missed by his family and friends, Joe will live on through his work," Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Barry Meyer said Monday.
Hanna, who died in 2001, once said he was never a good artist but his partner could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known."

More pretty sunsets

2006-12-18T13:03:00.000-08:00

For those of you who are new to our blog: this is the view from our front deck/living room. Even when the town has no sun all day long in the winter we still get a little though you can't really tell if it's sunrise or sunset. I think I took this photo on Saturday afternoon. It's been pretty much snowing ever since.

Secret Satan Party

2006-12-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

Our very nice friends, Nathan and Anne, threw a secret satan party on Saturday night. We had a wonderful time until the grinchy neighbours shut us down for playing the handrums. Oh well. A few of us came back to our place for more tunes. Good times. On the way back to our place one friend got his car stuck in the snow at the bottom of our driveway-our driveway is for driving down people! Not up. Made for some fun the following morning getting it pulled out.

2006-12-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

I especially like the surprised looks on Tim and Marni's faces here.

A Good Night To Look Up

2006-12-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

We had some friends over for games night-a slightly different group than usual but great fun all around. We're getting more people into it but be warned, we discovered that playing Carcassonne with seven players can turn ugly.

The aurora is awesome tonight and according to the site I use (in my sidebar) you all should be able to see it across Canada and even those of you in the northern U.S. should look skyward. We took plenty of breaks from our game to bundle up and head outside-it was only one colour but it was moving and covered a giant area of the sky. We were lucky to have seen it given that it snowed all day. In fact, you can see ice crystals in the air in this picture. The rest of the pics are a little grainy but they give you a small taste of the show we got tonight.

2006-12-15T00:51:00.000-08:00

2006-12-15T00:48:00.000-08:00

A Winter Morning

2006-12-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody, I know I've been a delinquent blogger so I've posted a bunch of pics today to try to make up for it. Nothing very exciting going on here right now. We had a good weekend: played games on Sat night with some friends, went to look at some property across the river yesterday (very exciting!), put up our xmas tree, and I somehow managed to finish the rough copy on my final philosophy paper...whew! Oh yeah, and we watched a fair bit of Battlestar Galactica: I highly recommend it-I've already cried several times.

Hope everybody's doing well. Christmas is almost here! I can't wait to have Moe up! We head down to Whitehorse next Wednesday after school (with passengers this time!) and have a day to do all the xmas shopping before we pick her up and head back on the friday morning. I can't wait!!! It's going to be a very merry xmas!

ps. I took this pic about half hour before sun up this morning. Pretty, huh? If we move across the river we may not have this view but we'll have lots and lots of trees and privacy and quiet.

Naughty, naughty

2006-12-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

look who I found this morning just making himself comfortable on the couch.

Carcassonne!

2006-12-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and... Milo?

2006-12-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of Milo and Honey taken while we are getting ready to put up xmas decorations.

Where did the winter go?

2006-12-06T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's minus one here right now. Yes, you read correctly: -1 degree Celcius on Dec 6 in Dawson, Yukon Territory. I've let the fire go out and the dogs have been out for hours. Yesterday, in about -15 I walked down into town with only my jeans and some thin sweat pants underneath, no snowpants. Today I think I'll wear no second layer! I know, I know. You're thinking, "slow down, Lynne. Don't get too carried away. It's still -1." But really, once you get used to the cold, you really get used to it. I could run around nekkid outside now and not even get the shivers, I swear. It's hard to believe just last week it got to -47 or something silly like that...and stayed there for days! I wonder if this will affect the ice? I guess people here probably don't want it to stay this warm for long.

Anyways, I just needed to take a break from last philosophy paper. It's my last one and worth 40% of my mark. Unfortunately, I put my back out for the first time in at least a month, if not more, and so am currently high as a kite on T3s. Who knows how this will affect my paper. Maybe it will be especially creative, perhaps it will be incoherent. I guess I should be asking myself those same questions about this post. I guess it may disappear magically when I come down and have had a chance to review it.

I know you guys are wondering why the usual pictures have been absent and replaced by long rambling boring-as-hell commentaries. I actually have an explanation for this: Scott has had the camera for the past three days with him while he's at a workshop. He's making a traditional bow and arrow. I'll hopefully have pics of it later today or tomorrow. I'll also try to post a pic of the beautiful winter scene laid out before us. It's quite spectacular, I tell you. Even though the hours of sunlight have become more and more limited as the 24 hour darkness draws near.

Nothing too exciting going on. I'm gonna housesit for a few days down the hill and I'll be subbing the next two afternoons. Call it being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I walked in to the reading recovery room yesterday after school with the kid I tutor to pop some popcorn in their microwave and the grade two teacher and the reading recovery/art teacher I sub for regularly while she gets more training were trying to figure out how to solve their dilemma. The RR teacher had a terrible toothache and needed to go to Whitehorse to the dentist but was supposed to be housesitting for the Grade two teacher while her and her family were in Whitehorse. Suddenly I have a busy weekend. Add that to company tonight, games nights tomorrow and Saturday night, Scott doing more training for the radio station, and getting my papers done for school and an exam coming up in ten days and holy shit. Good thing these T3s have caffiene in them.

Enough said.

A picture to prove the point

2006-12-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

thanks to Andrew for sharing this.

Maybe it's time to move to another Country

2006-12-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I've always been so proud to be a Canadian...that is until lately. Have you all read the news today? http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061202.wsamesex02/BNStory/National/home (sorry, for some reason I can't make the link) They're going to vote on same-sex marriage again on Wednesday. No, not vote on whether or not to reopen the issue. The motion asks: "that this House call on the government to introduce legislation to restore the traditional definition of marriage without affecting civil unions and while respecting existing same-sex marriages.” I ask you, what the fuck?! I agree with some of the comments posted on this article in the globe and mail-next thing you know they'll be bringing back the "tradition" of women not being allowed to vote, and other such issues. This is just wrong. Why is our government doing this, you might ask? Well, it probably has something to do with the massive religious support the Conservatives get. But aren't there rules about keeping church and state separate? It is these people, these Christian/Catholic zealots, that are causing social unrest in our country, not the gays. To me it's like saying that black people cannot get married in this country because they are different than the majority. And hey, don't think that couldn't happen-what better way to bring back the "tradition" of keeping slaves? And don't tell me that slavery wasn't a Canadian tradition, I know that, but neither is marriage. Nor is it purely a Christian tradition. Man and woman have been traditionally paired together for one reason and one reason only: survival of the species. This isn't really a pressing issue right now in case you hadn't noticed. And with the ridiculous growth in population that we've seen these past couple of generations we can't really seriously think that a small percentage (gays) that can't reproduce in the traditional way (as is also the case with many man/woman couples) are a threat to our survival? There are much more serious threats brewing that should be getting the full attention of our governments: our environment, crimes against humanity (Bush!), terrorism (Bush!), etc. This brand of facism we are seeing in our governmentis not what we want in our country. We are better than that. I have no problem with religion as a personal thing, don't get me wrong-there is tonnes of good being done out there because of those folks but when you get together with a large group of people and then, amongst yourselves decide that your beliefs are right and everyone else's beliefs are wrong and therefore they should not have the same rights as your group unless they conform-well, that's just pure ignorance and if you look at it with a logical and open mind I'm quite sure you'll see it the same way. Can't we all just love one another? Really? Don't let Harper do this. Speak up! Write letters! Do whatever you can to tell our goverment to stop prying into our private lives and to keep religion and goverment separate.

Thanks for your patience during my rant. I truly hope that if you are supporting the current goverment that you try to put yourself in someone elses shoes for awhile and realize that just because you want something doesn't make it a good thing for others.

It's Getting Dark Here

2006-11-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Well, it's almost 11:30 am and no sign of the sun, though it should have risen an hour ago. It's just getting light out, in fact. And I see that the sun sets at a quarter to four. I guess the darkness of winter in the far north is upon us once again. That's okay, we're well prepared: we have our vitamin d, lots of games, musical instruments, books, two new magazine subscriptions, and head lamps. Oh, and guess what? It's snowing again. I just now noticed. That means warmer temperatures: it's only -25 out right now and it feels like a giant reprieve from the -45 weather we had last week. I'm not even putting a jacket or mitts on to take the dogs outside! I got an IM from Moe yesterday asking me what she needs to do to keep her fingers warm (it was -6 there yesterday), that her gloves were just not cutting it. MITTS! I told her. When I lived down there I thought mitts were for little kids-you know, the kind with the string that attached them and runs through your coat sleeves so you don't lose them. Well, I love my mitts with the string! Your hands would turn black and fall off up here if you didn't wear mitts. And if you didn't have the string you might get stuck somewhere with only one mitt and then you still lose a hand. Aaahhh, the joys of winter. I guess I'll have to buy her her first pair of adult sized mitts for Christmas. And if she moves up here I'll have to get her some mukluks, too. They rock. I haven't taken them off for days, except to sleep. Doesn't seem to matter if I'm inside or outside: 85 degrees or -45 degrees, makes no difference to my toes with my mukluks. Jeez-they should be paying me commission, huh?

Well, it would appear that I truly do not have anything of any substance to write here today so I'll just keep babbling on and you can always choose to navigate to another link

Our new dog, Honey, is doing very well. She loves me to death and is starting to figure out that Scott's pretty nice, too. She's so affectionate without being demanding. She'll just come sit next to you and wait to be pet. Everything still scares her though, especially Scott with his big boots and loud, crashing way of doing things. Everytime he puts the dishes away I think she's going to have a heart attack. But there is definate improvement. I don't know if she'll ever be able to socialize with strangers, but she obviously will never bite anyone or anything and she has lots of love for her pack (me, Scott, Milo, Khan, and Max-even our friend CJ's dogs seem to be included in that pack as they visit all the time). I see her tail wagging more and more. What a good choice we've made in her. I had to pull what appeared to be a big thorn out of her back this morning...it was really stuck in there and I had to reef on it...it must have hurt her-she bled a bit- but didn't react to what I was doing at all. In fact, she seemed almost grateful. The next test will be our trip to Whitehorse in December. That might prove overwhelming for her but we don't have much choice in the matter. At least she likes riding in the van-of course, Milo liked the van too until we made him spend a month travelling in it in the summer. Not he's not so thrilled about it.

Christmas is nearly upon us. We're going to try to not be so consumption-driven this year. We're making home made gifts as much as possible. We are trying to save money to buy a house. In fact, Scott got pre-approved for a mortgage yesterday. This is all very exciting indeed and hopefully next Christmas will be spent hibernating in our very own little cabin in the woods. So if you want to visit come soon so we have space to put you up:)

I guess that's enough of my boring life today. I just felt like I needed to post something-I have noticed that my favorite bloggers have not been posting much lately and I wanted to make them feel guilty:) My message to them (and you know who you are) is this: we are all cold and bored and at least need something to fill our time with. If I can share my boredom then you too can share yours.

My Mukluks Have Arrived

2006-11-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

Scott also got me a pair of mukluks for my birthday though they arrived somewhat late. I love them! http://mukluks.com It's minus 40 today and my toes are warm!

And the Winner is....

2006-11-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Funny story:

Scott entered Dawson's Grey Cup Pool at the request of a friend, though we are totally disinterested in organized sports (another post for another day). Cost him ten bucks. That was a couple of weeks ago. Today he ran into that same friend at the hardware store and guess what? Scott won the prize for the third quarter! A hundred bucks! How cool is that. I wonder if this means we'll have to rethink our position on this subject. Hmmmm.....

Milo and Khan Sharing the Warmth of the Stove

2006-11-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

A Year of Blogging

2006-11-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

It's been nearly a year of blogging for us up here in Dawson. I know my posts have gotten less interesting and less exciting but we'll keep plugging away at it for now. We'll try to put more excitement in to our lives so we can share it, I promise.

I want to say thank you to our regular readership. We have regular visitors from both Edmonton and Calgary, Florida, Indiana, Vancouver, and more. I reset my stat counter late summer and since then we've had 300 hits. I'm feeling pretty happy with that given that this site was originally meant for our families and friends to keep track of us (and to try to entice them to visit) but has since made us a couple of new friends. I just switched to the newer blogger version and it allows me to limit the people who can see this blog and I seriously considered that but then I decided it would be selfish. There are others who dream of coming north. They need to know that others have done it and are happy. I think of B, from the Ukraine, who was a regular visitor to our blog last winter during the Yukon Quest, which she so loves (I'll try to post more pics this year).
We're having an exceptional experience up here so I think, for now, we'll continue to share it with the world.

Thanks all for being interested in what we're doing up here. I can tell you, we're having a great time!

Global Orgasm For Peace

2006-11-20T10:24:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post sex-related subjects due to the sensitive readership of this blog:) but this was just too good to resist.

San Francisco-area couple calls for global orgasm for peace Dec. 22
Published: Sunday, November 19, 2006 10:17 PM ET
Canadian Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.
But they don't want marching in the streets. They'd much rather protesters just stay home.
The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.
"The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it," Reffell said Sunday.
"Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state."
"And mass meditations have been shown to make a change."
The couple are no strangers to sex and social activism. Sheehan brought together nearly 50 women in 2002 who stripped naked and spelled out the word "Peace."
The stunt spawned a mini-movement called Baring Witness that led to similar unclothed demonstrations worldwide.
The couple have studied evolutionary psychology and believe war is mainly an outgrowth of men trying to impress potential mates, a case of "my missile is bigger than your missile," as Reffell put it.
By promoting what they hope to be a synchronized global orgasm, they hope to have people channel their sexual energy into something more positive.
The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their website, www.globalorgasm.org.
"The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part)," Reffell said.
"And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better."
© The Canadian Press, 2006

TV

2006-11-18T12:32:00.000-08:00

Not the best pic I've posted-sorry about the glare. But I had to take it from inside since it was like -35C out. Too cold for the camera I'm pretty sure. So we babysat last night for some teachers whose kids I've watched a couple times. The kids are angels and go to bed perfectly after the daughter sings me a Christmas song she's been practicing in her perfectly angelical voice and I read them an entire book (I was only supposed to read a chapter or two). After they were in bed we watched tv. Our plan was to play games but we never got there. Just watched tv.

Tv. What a horrible waste of time...yet, when it's on you can't drag yourself away. I've recently come to the conclusion, after taking a little psychology, and having spent long periods of my adulthood with no cable television (by choice), that we are being totally brainwashed. Not only by the constant reinforcement that we must be rich and beautiful to be happy but by keeping us so absorbed in our search for the right product to make our lives easier or the perfect life of -insert famous soap actress here-, that we fail to stand up for all things right. I just deleted like 4 or 5 long rambling, preaching paragraphs from here. Instead I'll get reinstate my point: just cancel your cable subscription or at least ask yourself if what you are watching is enriching your life and those of others, will ya? I think if most people did that here in North America we would live in a much more reality based world.

Early Christmas

2006-11-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

So last night we did a smaller version of games night. In this pic you see Scott, Steve, Justine, and that's Blair with his back to us. It was like Christmas when our games arrived yesterday: you can see the Settlers of Catan with expansion and T2R:E on the table. What we're playing is Carcassonne with the following expansions: the tower, traders and builders, inns and cathedrals and the Count of Carcassonne. The only one left to add is the Princess and the Dragon. We didn't get to the other games as this one took us nearly 4 hours, surprisingly. And we got a late start do to a visit by CJ to pick up her dog (Deuce was playing here all day) and to Justine and Steve's late arrival. So Scott is a tired boy today. Oh well, good times.

Hope all is well for you people living in the rest of the world (we feel so very cut off here...but in a good way). I hear southern BC is getting hit pretty hard by the weather...can't say you weren't warned. It's only gonna get worse due to global warming. You wouldn't know it here right now though: it's minus 35 (that's Celcius) as we speak and I get to walk to town shortly. Lucky me. That's okay. I've got my parka and my yak trax and my long underwear and my two pairs of mittens and my neck gaiter and my scarf and my toque and my Carhartt -30 socks. I think I'm set. It's like an art...avoiding frostbite, that is. You have to make your gaiter and scarf cover nearly every inch of your face and even then you can't go fast for risk of the bite. You have to be sure that there's no exposed skin anywhere and you have to do that before you go out because you do not want to have to take your mittens off to adjust your clothes once you're outside. Another thing I learned this year. It's true what they say about touching metal in this cold. I took a piece of skin off my hand last week on a store's doorhandle and several times I've been slightly stuck to the clasp on the dog chain. Like I said before, good times. Later.

2006-11-15T18:29:00.000-08:00

Here is my honey with the birthday present he made me. Isn't it gorgeous? He'll finish it tomorrow he says:) Oh, and that's Max strolling by.

Games! Games! Games!

2006-11-07T19:51:00.000-08:00

Tonight we decided to spend my birthday money (yes, I know, I'm turning 31 and I still get birthday money from my Grandpa whom I haven't seen in years)on...you guessed it! Games! We ordered nearly every Carcassonne expansion we could find: 4 in fact, Settlers of Catan with the Knights and Castles expansion, and Ticket to Ride: Europe. I hope my fellow game-geek bloggers will approve. Thanks Phollower for your recommendations. You've turned us Magic Geeks into Euro-boardgame addicts too.

So things here are obviously mostly fun and games. Life is sweet. It's freakin' cold outside though. It got to -39 earlier today. Scott is currently finishing the plasticing of the windows: not just for trailer trash up here...no sir. I walked to school this afternoon; my cheeks were burning cold by the time I got there. It's too easy to get frostbite at these temps, you have to cover every inch of skin. Unless you've lived here for years, I guess. The longer you live here, the more impervious to the cold you become, it seems. People walking around with no scarf or no neck gaitor. Crazy. I was bundled until i could barely move, I assure you. Even the dogs want in after a few minutes.

Hope everyone else is good. I'm surprised nobody commented on our video. I thought it was an open invitation to make fun of us. Oh well. Bye!

2006-11-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder what the world looks like when it's minus 34 out? Well, now you know. I guess winter's here.

Games Night

2006-11-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Last night rocked. We actually also have video with everyone who was there but it was less appropriate for public consumption. We played Curse of the Wolfen...fairly successfully. We had 13 people crammed around the awesome removable table top that Scott made for such occasions. Then we played some Cranium for a while but then Steve's dog puked and we moved on to other things. We spent the rest of the evening pounding away on all of the percussion instruments (except Rich, on the guitar). Can't wait to do it again.

2006-11-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hope everybody had a wicked Halloween. We sure did. We only got two trick or treaters but I dressed up anyway, and made roasted pumpkin seeds, and ate shitloads of candy. Kim and Blair came over and played Carcassonne with the Tower expansion with us (our games arrived yesterday) but the other so called "expansion" according to the Titan Games guy turns out to be a stand-alone. So we'll be playing Carcassonne: The city tonight.

Happy Halloween!!

2006-10-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight was grown-up Halloween in Dawson. Went to the local bar-had a great time. Dawson rocks. So do singapore slings:)

Don't we look hot! Scott thought he looked "fruity" and wouldn't take his pants off all night (he had tights for the costume underneath). Personally, I had too many skirts on! I was so hot all night, except when we were outside (-20 or so) and then I was freezing! I suppose we'll let him pick the costumes next year. I'm glad we came home when we did because the aurora was spectacular: 3 colours and moving and unbelievable speeds all over the sky. Amazing.

Change of subject: so, my doctor gave me a new drug for my back called neurontin. It's actually an anti-seizure medication but apparently also affects people with various nerve damage or something like that. Anyways...it's the best thing ever. Doesn't get me stoned, totally takes the pain away in my back, and gives me a clarity I am unaccustomed to. In fact, yesterday I took my very first university exam and got 88.3%, with the drug. Nice, huh?

Another change of subject: many of you will be happy to know that we ordered Carcassonne along with 2 expansion packs (and of course enough MTG booster packs for a draft). So next Saturday night is officially games night at our place if any of you can make it out (lol!) you're welcome to come(still laughing). Bring chains.

2006-10-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Let It Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Last night we had drinks and played Radio Bingo (not so fun), Carcasonne, and Cranium and look what happened while we were all passed out! It was an adventurous drive into town this morning to get breakfast. Time to get the studded tires put on.

2006-10-21T11:24:00.000-07:00

Milo is soooo happy!

I'm Back!!!

2006-10-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

Vancouver sucks, in case you didn't already know. I may have got 8 hours sleep since I left on Friday-the first night was quite pleasant in Whitehorse but the second night I didn't sleep hardly at all (nervous) and my flight was early the next day. Vancouver was a crazy blur but I got to visit with my daughter, Moe who is 16 now and has nearly that many piercings (I love it), my best friend Jeremy, and one of Scott's best friends, Andrew. Both Jeremy and Andrew were kind enough to chauffeur me around town (thank goodness I didn't have to drive) so thanks guys! I also got to see one of my very first boyfriends, Carl, which was great, too. I ate sushi and greek and very nearly got my nose pierced (decided to save it for Whitehorse at Christmas). Unfortunately my hotel room was right by the hospital, due to my reason for being there, and Moe and I didn't sleep at all because of the constant ambulance sirens. I arrived in Whitehorse just past 1 am this morning and flew out again just after 8 am.

My appointment in Vancouver did not go as well as planned. The surgeon was very nice (named Scott) but informed me that if he operated on my back it was unlikely I would get much relief and may, in fact, cause me more problems. He still has referred me for an MRI (yet another Vancouver trip-yuck!) to be absolutely sure he can't help me. This is very depressing as I had been led to believe that this was the answer and so we spent a small fortune on the trip down there. He did however, let me know that in some years my disk would totally disintegrate and my vertabrae would fuse and then I would likely become pain-free or at least see an improvement in the amount of pain I have though I would lose some range of motion. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Anybody reading this that has any experience with this sort of problem (degenerative disk disease), your advice would be appreciated. Anyways....

Got a bit of a scare on the way back. They put extra fuel in the plane because Dawson had such a low ceiling they weren't sure they'd be able to land and if they couldn't those of us scheduled to depart the plane here would have had to continue on to Old Crow and Inuvik (might have been cool) before coming back to Dawson late this afternoon. Luckily that did not happen. When I got here Scott was there to pick me up...I missed him sooo much. And since we've got home I've been finding little love notes hidden all over the house saying why he loves me. I'm so lucky. Luckiest girl ever. Okay...well perhaps Zoe with her most recent post is tied with me for the Luckiest Girl Ever title.

Hope you all had a fantabulous weekend.

There's no place like home.

2006-10-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

My girl is gorgeous. It was so nice to see her. She's coming for Christmas but only for two weeks. Not long enough but far, far better than nothing. Love you Moe!

2006-10-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

I shoulda stole Moe's hat. Pretty cute.

2006-10-15T18:33:00.000-07:00

Quick pic from Whitehorse before I flew out to Vancouver. It's raining here...surprised? I hate the city. I hate the city. I hate the city.

2006-10-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

So last Saturday we got a new dog from the Humane Society. Her name is Honey Bear and she's very sweet but very timid. She's coming around though. Hopefully by the time I get back she'll be comfortable enough to go for walks with us. She actually hasn't been under her chair at all today. Progress. Anyways, I'm off to the big city for a few days. Later.

Sushi!

2006-10-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

So last night we had a sushi and fondue party. We invited a variety of people we knew like sushi. Left to Right: Blair, Kim, Elaine, Liz, Bob, Anne, Peter, and Scott (in case you weren't sure-he looks crazy in this very bad picture). The sushi was soooo good. We had a wonderful time and Kim and Blair stayed after everyone else had left and we played Cranium until 4 am. I am so tired. Hope you're all having a great holiday weekend.

IT SNOWED!!!

2006-10-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Proof of snow!!! Our dog is gonna be soooo happy.

2006-10-06T08:38:00.001-07:00

To the right of our front door-leading over to the shop.

2006-10-06T08:38:00.000-07:00

doesn't look like there's too much snow across the river. hmm.

2006-10-05T19:48:00.000-07:00

Pretty impressive sunset tonight. Check out the reflection off the Yukon river.

2006-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know...these are taken from our front deck.

2006-10-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

This and the following pics arrived today from Scott's wonderful mom. She took them while they were here in June while we were on a little boat tour down the Yukon and since we know better than to bring our digital camera out on the river (I'm sure I posted that story fall of last year) we didn't have any pics of our own. Thanks Lorraine! Great Pictures. This one is looking back at Dawson. You may notice in the last pic of me and Scott that we are soaking wet. It poured virtually the entire time. And I mean poured.

2006-10-05T19:40:00.001-07:00

Just downriver from Dawson is the Paddlewheel graveyard. Click on it. It's cool.

2006-10-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

And a fishwheel.

2006-10-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

We arrive in Fort Reliance a few km downriver. There's nobody left here.

2006-10-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

What greets you if you disembark from your boat at one of the few homesteads downriver. Click on it. It's funny. And true.

2006-10-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Look this is a flash forward to us in the near future. lol.

2006-10-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well we're back and it's currently -5! It did snow, though we didn't really see it happen. We actually passed a bit of snow on the ground just outside of Whitehorse on the way home just after noon but I figured there would be more considering Dawson is further north. But alas, there was no more until we hit the Tintina Trench where there was snow all over the mountains behind Dawson.

We had a good time, though Scott was in conferences for most of the weekend. We did, however, find time to eat sushi...twice!

I'm subbing this afternoon and again all day tomorrow-then tutoring-then training for election day (I'm helping out at the voting booths), so I won't be around much then next couple of days.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend.

2006-10-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

A nice pic of Tintina Trench

Ha Ha. What did I say about snow?

2006-09-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Click on my Dawson Weather Link on the sidebar to see the forecast for tonight. Of course, we're in Whitehorse and the weather here is much warmer. Our drive back tomorrow could be interesting though.

On the way down on Thursday night we saw three foxes within about 50 metres of each other at sunset. We also saw a huge buck (deer) as well as a group of elk, the one the lights caught had a giant rack! Oh and a moose with calf also. Very exciting.

On another note, I'm stuck in a motel room while Scott's off being a responsible citizen representing his school at a YTA conference all day. Lot's of homework to do anyway.

Funny story about yesterday: We arrived in Whitehorse around midnight on Thursday and were woken up Friday morning by massive construction outside before 7am. So after Scott left for his meeting I asked the front counter if we could change rooms, if it wasn't too inconvenient, of course (I'm so damned polite). "No problem" they said. I explained that I had an appointment shortly and I'd be out of the room by 11:15. Again, "No problem." So ten minutes later I'm leaving my room when a cleaning lady way the hell down the hall (I couldn't even tell you what she looked like) yells at me, "When are you going to be out of your room". I explain that I'm moving rooms and that the front desk said I could move rooms just after 11, after my appointment. She gets super snotty and says that she needs to clean the room. It's the only pet room left. I thought for a minute (I'd be late for my appt if I move all my stuff right then) and tell her that all of our stuff is in one spot if she wants to clean around it. She totally gets mad at me and yells, "Fine then, I'll do it tomorrow" I mean, she's yelling at me; giving me shit. So I go out to the van and put the dog in and decide I better say something to the boss, because this lady was sooo rude. The boss is with another customer so I explain what happened to the other lady at the counter and she's really nice. Tells me, "That's bullshit. You didn't deserve that." Anyways, I tell them we'll just stay in the damned sucky room but that we're never coming back here. So, when I return from my hair appointment (Joseph always makes me feel gorgeous) the manager stops me and says that the cleaning lady was out of line and that just before she'd yelled at me, they'd told her I would be moving rooms. She also said the cleaning lady gave her a totally different story and that she was really, "Bitchy today". The other lady later, after I had switched rooms to a much nicer one, said that the cleaning lady was getting fired as this wasn't the first time she was so rude to a customer. Moral of the story: if you are in the hospitality business, be nice to the people who are responsible for your paycheque. We always tip the cleaning ladies, too. That bitch sure as hell won't be getting a tip.

The day was supposed to get better, we'd seen a sign saying that Tanya Tagiq was playing...at the motel we are at! I'm so excited. I love her. Huge fan. (Inuit throat singer, if you didn't already know). So, after Scott gets back, we go for a drive up Fish lake road to walk the dog, planning on meeting people at the bar just after 9:30pm. We get there ten minutes late and the sign says...."Sold Out". Damn! I sure would have like to have seen her live.

We're going for sushi tonight! So today will be a better day. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

2006-09-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I've ever mentioned on our blog that Scott and I met online. Best match ever. And now we seem to be making friends online! lol. Welcome to the twenty-first century.

Our Low Tonight is Supposed to Be -6!!

2006-09-24T17:53:00.000-07:00

that's about 24 degrees for you Americans.

2006-09-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

One more. It got even better later on but we were too lazy to get out of bed to take pics. And yes...we can see them from bed. Windows behind our heads and to our left covering most of the walls.

2006-09-23T21:34:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful evening.

2006-09-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is how light out it was a few minutes ago when we took the pic-this is to the south. the aurora is in the northeast.

2006-09-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

Look! Look!

a good night to see the aurora

2006-09-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

everybody should be looking up tonight-even those of you down south-its still light out here and we can see them. Use the aurora sentry link in my sidebar to see how far south.

Are you listening?

2006-09-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092000893.html

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela. Don't listen to the news. Read his UN speech yourself. He doesn't really sound reasonable at the beginning, but the bulk of his speech is truth. People need to listen to our intellectuals like Noam Chomsky. Not greedy politicians.

(And I'm not saying Canada is any better than the US. We too have a greedy politician for a leader.)

2006-09-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that WINTER IS COMING!
I know the rest of you are wondering what the hell I'm talking about : though technically fall is just beginning it's clearly on it's way out here. The leaves are nearly all off. Overnight the temp is dropping to the minus's. LET IT SNOW. LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!
Anyways, things are good here. Busy, but winding down in many ways. All of the tourists are gone except the few die hards you can't help but respect. Most of the restaurants are closed or are closing on Sunday. We're off on our quarterly trip to Whitehorse not this weekend but the next: I can't wait for SUSHI! And a haircut! The tourists will be gone there too, which will be nice. Scott has all his clubs going: skills (they are building a solar bike for the solar challenge), and drama, and he's sharing Breakfast program duties with me this year since I'll be out of commission for a chunk of the winter due to my upcoming surgery. He's also going to be the YTA rep for the high school part of the school which should prove interesting. It's turning out to be an awesome year. Anyways, sorry for the short rambling post-try not to curse me for wishing winter on-I have to go prep for my next job of the day: I'm out at the musher's place again.
I hope everyone is doing well. We hope to hear from you all!

Fondue Party

2006-09-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

Check out the feast. We need a bigger table! Last night we boned up on our fondues and our fondon'ts.
Do: have cheese fondue! Yummy.
Don't: use your deep fryer for oil fondue! Ouch-see look on Scott's face.
We had both with such delicasies as tofu, yams, mushrooms, shrimp and scallops, bread, brie, and some other stuff. And then we had blueberry pie. And we were stuffed.
Fondue is a recipe for fun! (<-yet more cheese)

Perfect Boyfriends

2006-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a feel good post so if you don't want to feel good you need to go away. This post was inspired by last night's evening of fondue (next post) and amazing aurora. It's really suprising just how romantic standing under the northern lights can make you feel:) It's no wonder really, how easily Northern Exposure (best show ever-it's why I live here) started the rumour that the Japanese flock to the north to concieve their children under the aurora. Anyway...

I've been reading some other blogs in the rare moments I take to myself. It's interesting to get a good look into strangers heads. One of the things that leaves an impression is that some people think that they are not going to get the person they dream of (or the job they dream of )and so they go off in different directions and end up settling. This is just wrong! I've had a different boyfriend for almost every year of my adult life. Not because I can't keep a man but because I figure I don't want to waste my time with someone that doesn't feel right.(same goes with jobs). But look at me now. I got off my butt and found the man I was looking for (internet dating is brilliant) and I really could not have done any better. Really. Most of you know that I hurt myself pretty badly a couple of years ago...to the point where I had to become dependent on someone else to do many things for me. And Scott has never complained-which is amazing when you consider just how much wood one must chop to get through a winter in Dawson. He doesn't see me as less of a person and he just patiently waits for me to get fixed. But you know, even if I never get fixed I think he would love me anyways. He's watched me put on more than 40 lbs, be terribly depressed due to my body's inabilities, and still he loves me. And he's hot, too. I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. So today's post is a tribute to the best boyfriend ever. Don't ever settle, ladies. If you keep your options open the right one will come along....wait! Let me rephrase that: He might come along but more likely you have to go find him. And then you can move to Dawson and live happily ever after! lol.

2006-09-11T20:23:00.001-07:00

Our view this evening. The leaves are falling. Life is good.

2006-09-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

The wasps nest that got Ashland. Glad to have it gone.

2006-09-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our van after our trip up the Dempster last weekend

2006-09-11T20:21:00.000-07:00

Our view about a week ago

2006-09-11T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here's Milo.

2006-09-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago walking by the Yukon River in the morning.

Coming to Vancouver

2006-09-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody. FYI: Lynne will be in Vancouver for a few days over Oct 16. If you are able to help with rides (to/from airport, to/from appt) or want to just to meet up for lunch or whatever -email us! Your help will be appreciated

2006-09-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

I warned you guys we were gonna do the sour toe. Check this out. Click on it. I dare you.

2006-09-03T18:07:00.001-07:00

Here he goes...

2006-09-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

Yay Scott! You're the man!