How many of you still write Christmas cards? How many of you still enjoy receiving Christmas cards? While listening to the radio this morning about Decima polls which study this phenomenon, I had to ask myself the same questions. Do I write Christmas cards? Well, it’s been awhile. Email. Blog. Skype. Facebook. Sure it keeps you ‘in touch’, but can it replace an honest-to-goodness snippet of snail-mail? Something that will be lodged in your mailbox between your Northwestel and Qiniq bills?

After listening to a conversation of radio station employees about their Christmas card writing and receiving habits, it somehow made sense to me to roll out of bed at the ungodly hour of 5am and go searching for my collection. Sure enough, there among the recycled bows and tangled wrapping ribbons was a handful of memories. I’m sure everyone has that stack somewhere – read them again this year.

I’ve moved around so much in the past 15 years it’s actually amazing to see how many cards I have amassed. Most, of course, came during those Christmas holidays I couldn’t make it home, but the fact that I still have them – in northern Canada no less – is pretty amazing. The oldest one I have at this point is about 6 years old and it’s the only one which has the distinction of being ‘internationally traveled’, for it found me as I was on my way out for bulgogi and aloe juice in Seoul, South Korea.

Inside: 'And that was the last year Aunt Connie told the family Christmas story.'

How is it that my ever-growing and rotating collection of suitcases has been able to keep this piece of sturdy paper safe? I don’t have an answer for that. I can say, however, that finding it with my yet-to-be-used wrapping scraps every year is a lot nicer than sitting in front of a computer and rediscovering a note when you’re cleaning out your email inbox.

And then there’s always the note. Ok, sure, you always get those cards which just have a name after the pre-written Hallmark message, but the personalized ones are the ones that have real staying power. For example, despite the memorable picture of a ‘crazy Aunt Connie’ on the above, the real enjoyment comes from reading the scratchings of my brother on the inside; they make me think of the mischief we got up to around the holidays when we were kids. What’s funny, though, is how my parents’ cards may mirror the exact event yet describe it as ‘cute’ and what they miss. Ahh, what badness. Sean, do you remember? Gift-giving until our next ‘fight’? Bananadoo? Cu-roo-coo-coo-coo-ru-coo-coo? Perfect alarm clocks we were.

Anyway, it’s Christmas and, I’m sure, the blogoshere will be hopping again this year with nostalgic stories of ‘way-back-when’ and family and traditions…I imagine this blog will have some of the same. However, from now on I’ll try not to make it overly-sappy. Or smooshy and sentimental. Again, I will try. No promises.

Now it’s time to logoff and pick up a pen – egad! [That's what Archie and Jughead used to say, right?] It’s time to write some Christmas cards because, although people don’t particularly like writing them, market research has proven they love receiving them. But who needs market research when it comes to some things? My imaginary ‘Aunt Connie’ has traveled the world with me and every season I get a visit – that’s proof enough.

Gryphon enjoying his candy-cane striped rawhide chew...

Another Christmas past and another horribly neglected blog…this time I have an excuse, though: no bandwidth to help me along! The computers running in this apartment for the past two weeks have eaten up every extra byte and has left me ‘net-less’. Ahhh!! I believe it’s because of the extra person living here…sounds about right.

I had a lot going on this year. I was here in the north last year for the holidays, but I don’t remember them as being so busy…good busy, though.

Like I mentioned in my last blog entry both my Macbook Pro and Arctic Cat arrived in Qik just in time to make the season enjoyable (or so I thought). Withing 2 days I was as frustrated as h#%* because the computer wasn’t working the way I’d been promised…plug in and go. It was painfully slow to load and, whenever I could access safari, it would “quit unexpectedly”…after awhile I got to expect it. So there I was, days before Christmas, with a bum Mac. Now I realize that a lot of it was because of internet usage.

The Arctic Cat? When it arrived, it was still clicking and scraping with horrible protestations if it were ever put in reverse…sometimes to the point of “outta here bee-otch…I’m not workin’ for you!” with an immediate shut-down. I decided to order a ring plate for the clutch (you could see it was bent out of shape), 2 belts, an extra shock system, skis, and carbides. A bit pricey. Unfortunately, this was all before anyone had a chance to really look at it. When the mechanic in town finally had the opportunity to peek under the hood, he was a bit perplexed as well (having no experience with the new Cats). What we decided was to perform a type of snowmobile appendectomy…he just completely removed the electric start system leaving the pull-cord its only source of life. Gone are the crazy noises and reverse problems as well as the smell of burning rubber. Not bad, right? Bill from the Arctic Cat dealership in Iqaluit? Bad.

Today, though, things are well with the world. My internet anniversary date has passed (resetting my bandwidth allowance), I was able to download firefox, I’m working on downloading the Apple software updates now, I go for a ride-around on the Kitty Cat at least once a day, and I’ll be able to replace the skis and carbides sometime soon. Better steering…yay!

Ready for a trailride!

Aaaaannd…polar bears. They are still everywhere but, as you can see from my picture, I’m more prepared for an encounter than I have been in the past. And don’t worry, there’s someone else with me to do the aiming and actually pull the trigger!

What else? Hmmm…both Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner were spent with recent friends, and it was nice to finally relax over a cup of Keurig coffee. What an awesome rig! Hazelnut coffee brewed to perfection flew me south for just a wee spot of time. I think New Year’s Eve will be another great gathering.

Gryphon and Scarlett, resting after the excitement of tearing open the presents...

Gettin' chilly up here!

So here it is, the shortest day of the year. Not too bad, actually. We were still in a twilight state until around 2 pm, and tomorrow we will start moving towards those wonderful sunny days…the days when kids are outside playing at 3 in the morning and time is spent wishing you could forget work and head out on the land. Though there’s still no reliable sea-ice, snowmobiling out and around the island is still a possibility.

Snowmobiling? Yes. Do I have mine? Has it arrived from Pang? It flew in yesterday. On par with its reputation, it refused to start; however, after several people fiddling around with it, today it has enough juice to run. Though I think the battery might be fried, the pull-cord still works. There is still a problem with the clutch and the possibility of the belt getting damaged, but it will run until I get those parts ordered in.

I also have news on the kamik front! My duffel socks are done and trimmed (though not yet embroidered), and I’ve already bought the sealskin needed to complete the uppers of the main boot. As for the bearded seal required for the sole…I think that will be the one thing I’ll get someone more experienced put together. I’ve been wondering, though…just how comfortable is this sort of footware? My Baffin boots are pretty rockin’ – especially when snowmobiling. Are kamiks just a fashion accessory these days?

BREAK FOR AN AWESOME SNOWMOBILE RIDE AND CONTINUED THE NEXT DAY…

Last night, when Clint got back from work, we decided to take the Arctic Cat out for a spin around. Now, for anyone who followed my blog last year, you would know how nervous I am around the thing. In fact, it rarely made it above 30 mph! Last night, as a passenger on my own machine, I thought I might die…I’m not used to just sitting there, nor am I used to going very fast. Ahhh!!!

…and you know what else I learned? I’m not overly paranoid about the Beast! Last year, whenever there were problems, I had no idea whether it was something I did or because I just didn’t know what a snowmobile should feel like. How much pressure do you have to apply on the throttle to make it move? Is it normal that it seems to slow down after riding for awhile unless I squeeze harder? Is the smell normal? Apparently the answer to all of those questions is ‘no’.

Another problem? The shocks. Yes mom and dad, I think that trip we took out to the fishing derby last year killed them. The reason I didn’t notice was because I prepped it for summer-storage not long after as well as the fact that whenever I rode it, my relatively light weight was on the front. As it stands now, I can take my puny arm and push the back almost to the ground! Money, money, money…lots to fix.

…and, since we didn’t take the gun last night, we didn’t want to venture too far away with the roaming polar bears…it was still pretty awesome though!

Just a few more days till Christmas, and I’m already set with my treasures. The packages my family sent (from Nova Scotia and BC) have arrived as well as the treasure I ordered for myself. I’ll have a report on the previous gifts in a few more days but the latter? My Macbook Pro has finally wound its way into the small hamlet of Qikiqtarjuaq, and I now sit tapping away on the backlit keyboard. Saa-weet! Lovin’ it. For sure, it’s going to take awhile to get used to it, but I’m going to figure it out at some point. Right now my netbook is sitting there on the table looking a little forlorn.

Today I’m finally in-line to get someone to help me cut my sealskin and show me how to put it together…time to start sewing again! What I’m worried about now, though, is actually where I’m going to sew. Does the smell just fade after awhile? The dogs were super-interested in just licking everything as soon as I brought the skins in, and I’m not really interested in fighting them off every time I do some work on the boots.

…I guess we’ll see how it goes…

Warning: This post is an incredibly jumbled mess…gives you an idea how my head works these days…

The temperature has finally turned. It was only last week that I considered taking my chihuahuas for a walk; hovering around zero for weeks was insane. Realizing there might not be sea-ice for Christmas was a glaring reminder of global warming. People dying in Poland because of a cold snap while people here were foregoing coats…it’s just not right.

This is a weird icicle thing outside my door...getting dark at 11:30 am!

Anyway, back to the good news. -15 degrees Celcius is the warmest that it’s been in awhile…right now it’s -21. Of course, that’s with the windchill, but it’s still a good sign. Qikiqtarjuaq has bunches of snow, and this type of weather gives me the feeling that we’ll actually be able to head across the ice sometime soon. Apparently there’s some point nearby with really cool snowcaves to explore.

The one thing that’s bothering me right now is that my snowmobile, the infamous Arctic Cat, is still in Pangnirtung. Though I don’t really like the texture of the snow that’s fallen recently, there’s enough of it to bury the large rocks as opposed to just enough to cover them and blinding you to the fact that they’re there. That type of nastiness threw me on a flight last year.

It’s almost Christmas!!! Well, every now and then I get a reminder of that. One might think that should be every time I look at my tree, but that’s not exactly it. Let me explain…

Last week I organized a Christmas dinner for the teachers here. I’m like Monica, from ‘Friends’ in that way…I have to host the dinners to feel good. What’s that about? It’s just an extra stress and more money, but it’s how I’ve always been (though my friend, Siovone, always throws really kick-butt get-togethers).

…back to the Christmas dinner. Since all the teachers are heading south for the holidays, I didn’t really have a lot of freedom in scheduling. I didn’t want it to be last minute for them, so we have a potluck at the beginning of the month. The theme? Go international. All the food was from other ends of the world. It was awesome. I mean, the traditional turkey’s good, but you can only put up with so much! Stupid me…I forgot to take pictures.

See my beautiful tree, my ugly chair, and my crazy dog?

I decorated early. It felt early. It was warm outside. The tree just seemed like something cluttering up my living room.

…but now it’s time for Christmas. I’ve made my first batch of gingerbread (still need to be decorated and hung on the tree), and my holiday spiced candles have appeared!

I’ve decided to give Sophie a chair. It’s the ugly one in the picture, but it’ll be covered with a crazy blanket. So far, I think she likes it…

…but she doesn’t really fit…

Yes, she uses it as butt support.

Anyway, that’s the news these days. Oh wait! No! One more thing…I broke a few nights ago, decided to pull out my credit card, and ordered a Mac online. Can’t wait till it gets here!