As I ran some errands yesterday in the community I grew up in (hardly recognizable over half a century later) I encountered folks I knew through various stages of my life and the surprised statement "oh you're home" was followed by "when are you leaving again?" each time. It does at times seem a misnomer to call my house 'home' as I've not spent much time in it since last summer. It was wonderful though to sleep in my own bed, with the trio of cats Wednesday night. So....a brief recap of the last six weeks adventures..... Often when you're a teenager you say 'when I get married I will never ..read more

This morning, after putting the oldest grandson on the bus (thinking yet again that bus drivers are really earning their money today) making a cup of tea and sitting looking at the snow, freezing rain and gales, I realized….this is the first day in over three months that I don’t have a long MUST DO list, usually in a country other than Canada. Finally a chance to update the blog with lots of news….while I ignore the cleaning needed before the Christmas decor goes up. September / October saw the six week adventure across the pond completed with seven newly visited countries added to the bucke ..read more

A quick photo post to catch up on the visual aspect of my time in Pond Inlet.  Approach into Pond Inlet  View of Bylot Island Health Centre front view  Health Centre side view House 2 of the nurses own View from my apartment Theatre group Over the Baffin Mountains Coming into Kuujjuaq, Nunavik  yarn storage with Ikea bins Although I've finished work two weeks ago, the pace has been the usual homecoming frantic...in a good way, but still not enough hours in the day to ..read more

Well....not retired yet and....not going to be (at least until June) as I've booked in for a spring Public Health Nurse contract returning to Arctic Bay. I feel the need to see the community in the sunshine and April 27 to June 8th is a wonderful time to be in the high arctic. Several of the casuals from this winter will be returning as well. Everyone is in a good mood and prepping to get 'out on the land' camping and looking forward to the short northern summer, 24 hour daylight, there is still snow (no bugs, easy to get around, no dusty roads) but the temperatures are comfortable. And by the ..read more

Although I’m in the final stretch as far as my northern contract goes, I’m just getting myself together to update the blog and due to data limitations/use of the network the photos will have to be posted when I’m further south. Have certainly filled my time here well, and as expected, the four weeks are flying by. With the awful weather in the Maritimes, I’ve been pleased to have avoided the heavy rainfall, black flies and ticks for a month. Hopefully the weather will have improved when I make it there next weekend. It’s been quite mild here and only snowed twice. I’ve graduated to my spring j ..read more

If I were counting....which Blogspot is apparently...this is post number 800! Imagine that. Who would've thought such a milestone would be reached, especially since I've been very sparse in my updates. Here we are welcoming in a new year, marking the second anniversary of a global pandemic and struggling with a major outbreak of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. 2021 was an intense year for our family with fantastic outcomes during challenging times so glad that's behind us.  Considering the title of 'retirement planning' and that I am actually receiving and spending pensions as a ..read more

Although the calendar tells me that we are moving through October, the weather is very September like....we are experiencing an autumn slide with warm days and only cool not frosty nights. The garden/greenhouse is continuing to yield its bounty without additional heaters...yet. Because, even with climate change, all good things must come to an end...even Indian summer (likely a politically incorrect term now). Speaking of which...am wondering what the official name for Cape Negro (island, harbour and community) are now. Originally named in the 1600s by French settlers for the large black rocks ..read more

It sounded so simple to say...awaiting my travel for my next contract didn't it? Nothing is 'that' simple when you work for the government....any government, but apparently especially GN (Government of Nunavut).  In February I'd given dates of availability from May 17 - June 17th so was anticipating travel arrangements. Having received a general email stating all duty travel bookings were seriously delayed, I waited until last week before emailing the travel department - no response. I was determined to receive my CSA (agreement to sign) before leaving home. The contract in January I'd a ..read more

It's the middle of September! This brief summer (as they usually are) is slipping  away. The weather was great in June, July was kind of iffy and August tortuous. Very high humidity....either foggy and cool or cloudy and muggy....not much sun. Pretty regular showers so not much watering required in the garden but some intense thunder and lightening storms causing local damage. This month we've been enjoying the pool even on the cool days as the heat pump makes the swim (not the wet dash) fun. Makes it tough to plan outings as the weather forecast can be....sunny, cloudy, windy, showers, f ..read more

As I reviewed my last post I realized....it's already July. And not the first week of either. The past few weeks have really sped by. June was warm and sunny and great days spent by the pool but July not so much. It's been cool, foggy, rainy, windy, humid...you name it. Hard to plan any outdoor leisure activities.  This week I provided some crochet classes for a student who quickly picked up the craft. We agreed that crocheting is fast and interesting enough to keep our interest. We have arranged for a followup session after some self study as there is pattern reading and more to be conq ..read more