blizzard day (number 2)

well, i got my wish of wanting to experience an arctic blizzard. it started yesterday, cleared for a bit in the evening, and is back even worse today. the wind is gusting to 80km an hour, and with the windchill the temperature is now at -57C. our office is closed for the day, along with much else. i went out for a walk yesterday and it was pretty cool. i snapped a few pictures, but in the 5 seconds i had my hands out of my mitts, it felt like my fingers were being crushed in those medieval torture device thumb screws. pain right to the bone!

at first i thought "woohoo, snow day!" but a few hours into it and i'm just kind of bored. i've had my breakfast, talked to a few other hotel guests, watched some netflix, done some knitting, started another puzzle (my third), refreshed facebook a squillion times, and stared blankly out the window at the indistinct building across the road.

i've purposely held off having a third cup of coffee so that i could venture out to get one later, as my big activity of the day.

i also keep glancing over to my box of wine. but it's not even noon, so i'm trying to hold off.

here is a photo journal of today's very brief jaunt outside:

there's my hotel. and you can just make out the apartments across the street.

let's go a few steps closer....

yup, they're coming into focus now. a few more steps...

there they are, the first one clear, its neighbours fading behind it.

and that's enough of that, i'm freezing. back to the hotel. still visible! 

and a couple of pix from yesterday that i like:

wind sweeping across the lake.

someone pushing their way through the wind as they cross the lake.
this is my favourite photo

and hey, look at that, it's after noon now!

soapsto- bloodstone carvings

i'm reeling. i don't even know where to begin. this beautifully calm and quiet town has shown me the evil hiding within. drugs, abuse, violence, death. i was a part of it and didn't even realize it.

one of the cleaning staff at the hotel is the girlfriend of the guy from whom i bought my soapstone carvings last time. a cute little polar bear and an innukshuk. so cool. she approached me and asked if he'd tried to sell me anything, because he had stolen some carvings from her uncle. and then she told me more.

he is a drug addict. he steals soapstone, carvings, materials, money. he doesn't want to work, just get quick money for more drugs. he is abusive. he wants her to keep her mouth shut so she asked me not to tell him we spoke. she showed me bruises on her arms. he has knocked her out, broken her eye socket, kicked her with steel toed boots until blood came out her ear, and ruptured one of her kidneys. she said she feels "slow, like a half person" since the injuries. she told me another girl committed suicide because of his emotional and physical abuse.

you aren't still with him, are you? she told me she tries to stay away, she hasn't seen him in a few days and she doesn't know where he is. but she wants to help him. she wants him to go to the counselling he is supposed to be attending (since he was released from jail and is still on probation). she is trying to keep an eye on him, and others also want him to get better. but he doesn't want to.

i don't understand it. the whole thing about the abused staying with the abuser. i don't get it at all. she knows he's bad. she knows he doesn't want to change. and yet she said that isn't really him. i tell her she should protect herself and stay away from him. she says yes and that her mother is helping her.

i hope she is okay. i hope she gets out.

i hate those fucking sculptures now.

chill weekend in rankin

haha, a weather pun.

but i'm not going to waste time talking about the weather. it's cold here. the end.

today i had a lovely relaxing day. i woke up and watched the american/russian hockey game while having coffee and a bagel. then i did a couple of crosswords with more coffee. finished off a puzzle with another coffee. not surprisingly after all the coffee, i felt a little antsy and needed to get out of the hotel. showered and bundled up and headed out to nowhere in particular.

i decided to go visit alice (aka: my mitten maker). yup, i just popped by. well first i popped by the wrong house, and was told that alice lived next door. oops. backtracked one house. her daughter and grandson were there too and we had a nice visit. i apologized for just showing up but they said that's how we do it here, and to come visit again.

wandered around town a bit. went into the two grocery stores. no, not to buy anything, just for something to do. but really, there's more than just groceries. the Northern is like a mini department store, with clothes and groceries and toiletries and sofas and washing machines all squeezed into the size of my normal safeway.

walked down to the edge of town and sat down on a snow mound for a while, just enjoying the peace and quiet. then headed to the arena for the raffle. talked to a few people as we waited for the draw. didn't win anything. oh well.

came back to the hotel and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich (which i burnt) and some sweet potato fries (which i also burnt). just watched Blackfish (about killer whales in captivity) and it was quite sad and disturbing. now for some red wine and my knitting. ahhhh...

i can't believe i still have a whole other day off!