the call of the north

Friday morning an email was sent out at work, asking if anyone was interested in helping out at the office in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. They needed someone urgently, and for about 3 weeks. Naturally i jumped at it. An adventure! Another part of this big beautiful world I could explore. I have never been to northern Canada before, so this was going to be a whole new experience. And i love those!!

By Friday afternoon my flight was booked for Wednesday morning. I spent the weekend shopping and packing. I bought a new winter coat and boots (I'd been planning on it anyway, this just spurred me on). I was also told to pack food, seeing as it is very expensive and selection limited. I felt like I was packing for some kind of arctic expedition with my tub full of food. Such a strange trip!

The flight was smooth and all the staff so friendly. Before I even arrived I was getting these warm and welcoming vibes. As we neared the town, flying over nothing but snow, ice, and freezing waters, I wondered why on earth anyone would want to settle down here. It sure didn't look very inviting.

I got off the plane and walked up to the small airport, wisps of snow blowing over the tarmac. I was told that Rankin Inlet was known for its strong, harsh winds, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. It was brisk, but refreshing. Then again, that was the warmest point in the day. I felt quite different walking back to the hotel at 5pm, when it was already pitch black and noticeably colder.

Anyway, time to get ready for work. I will write more later. Especially once I have had a chance to go look around during the daylight (which will have to be the weekend) I really have to bundle up today - it's ridiculously cold out! Check out what the windchill makes it "feel like".

brr!!!

I'm jammin'

i'm jammin' i'm jamming i'm jamming i'm jamming, i wanna jam it wit you. i'm jammin' i'm jamming i'm jamming i'm jamming, i hope you like jammin' too.

but if you've got any sense, you will not like jammin'. sorry, that's just plain old jamming, with the "g". i spent a whole afternoon jamming. as in, making jam. you see, we have all these lovely concord grapes growing on our garage, and every day i looked at them admiringly, smitten with those deep purple spheres that seemed almost fake in their perfection. it seemed a shame to just let them all freeze or rot as winter approached. i should do something with them, i thought to myself. i should be all martha stewarty and make homemade grape jam! yes, what a fabulous idea.

i googled how to make it, and it seemed pretty straightforward. all of the various sites i looked at mentioned that it takes a bit of patience to peel the grapes, but they all kind of breezed by that point. i guess if they didn't, no one in their right mind would make the jam. so let me be clear: peeling the grapes takes a very, very long time. it's easy but mind-numbingly tedious. your fingers will wrinkle and stain. your eyeballs will glaze over. your bowl of peeled grapes will very slowly start to fill.... but the bucket of unpeeled grapes still to go will never seem to dwindle. you will hate the grapes. you will hate martha stewart. you will hate the websites for not warning you that jam making is for crazies.

anyhoo, without further ado, here is the play by play of my jam making adventure.

requirements for jam:
3 lbs concord grapes
3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
immeasurable amounts of patience
glass(es) of wine or other booze to keep you from going bonkers

step 1: ah... beautiful grapes on the vine spark jam-making inspiration

 

 

step 2: collect big pile of gorgeous grapes. continue to admire them and marvel at your wonderful idea.

 

 

step 3: pluck grapes from the stems. they look like a bucket of blueberries. start to nervously realize that this is a lot of grapes

 

 

step 4: squeeze the end of the grape, allowing the inside to plop right out of its skin.

 

 

step 5: peel. peel. peel peelpeelpeelpeel approximately 1200 grapes for approximately 2 hours. stare at pile of grapes. detest grapes. kick yourself over stupid jam-making idea.

 

 

step 6: put all the skins in a food processer and puree with 1 cup of sugar until smooth.

 

step 7: regroup. admire that incredible colour. go have a glass of wine or something.

 

step 8: back to work. put the grapes, purple skin puree, the rest of the sugar, and the lemon juice into a pot.

 

 

step 9: bring to a boil. then turn down heat and let simmer to thicken. stir occasionally.

 

 

step 10: more tedium as you strain out the seeds, mashing the mixture patiently to get out all the sticky purple goodness.

 

 

step 11: i didn't think it was thick enough so i put it back on the stove for a bit. oooh, looks so perdy. my love of the grapes is renewed.

 

 

 

step 12: pour into jars. woohoo, we're done!!!

 

 

step 13: enjoy the unbelievably delicious results. YUM!! 

 

 

 

i was actually crazy enough to do this whole thing twice. the second time around i set up my peeling station so i could sit at a table within view of the tv. much better than standing at the kitchen counter, staring out the window, the occasional squirrel running along the fence my only entertainment.

 

and i have to say, the jam is amazing. thick, rich, and sweet. my mom, brother, and sister have all raved about it. and clearly, if i put myself through this a second time, it goes to show that i think the product is worth the effort :)



Saturday night tv....

Just a quick post from the iPad because I can't tear myself away from the couch and this crazy show about crazy people. I'm watching Obsessions and this episode is titled "Animism". It's about people who have emotional and sexual relationships with inanimate objects. One guy was talking about his relationship with his car, how he mostly kisses her and caresses her, can spend an hour with her and just masturbate. And a woman who was shown with her arms draped around Big Zee, as she described her love for him. Big Zee is a crane, by the way. That's right, a big yellow metal crane. A priest explained that when he gets intimate with his sound boards, he is fully clothed - it's just an exchange of energy. He also wonders about his first sound board love. He has photos of "her" and wonders if she's still "alive" etc. But they don't hold a candle to Linda and her love affair with Bruce. She calls him her soul mate. And she married him. She married him and refers to him as her husband. Bruce is a Ferris wheel. She married a friggin Ferris wheel! How the hell is that possible?

So some people get their panties all in a bunch over gay marriage, but human/steel unions are just hunky dory? What the -

Oh wait, they're showing the marriage ceremony.... which is being performed by the sound board priest.

I guess I'm just not open minded enough to accept the love of these people and their inanimate object life partners. Man, I'm such a prude.

back to our roots

It's been a long, long time, but we are finally going back to where it all began.

I feel like a nostalgic parent, wistfully reminiscing about your first hesitant days when you were so unsure of  yourself. and then you found your voice, made friends, and blossomed. you were very different back then: young and excited because everything was so new and there was always a story you wanted to share. now that you're older you've grown distant, most of your pals have gone their own ways, and you don't say much at all. but you will still always be precious to me. you are, and will always be, my dear, sweet, never-to-be-completely-parted-with blog.

that's right, I'm talking about my blog. and like I said, we are going back to where it all started:

China!!

I really wanted to use one of my own old china pix but don't have any on the computer :(

I confirmed the flights today! We (Blair and myself - the blog doesn't get its own seat) are heading to China in about 6 1/2 months, and staying for just over 3 weeks. Wahoo!! It will be almost a decade since I was there (wow, I can't believe how fast time goes!), and at the rate China changes, I wouldn't be surprised if everything is completely unrecognizable. I am so excited, and yet a bit nervous too. It's always a bit weird going back to a place you once called home. I really want to go to Dalian (the city where I lived and taught) but it is inconveniently quite out of the way. Bah! But I feel really determined to get there. Yes, it is a must (for me - Blair not so convinced).

Anyway, I just had to share the news. At first I wasn't super keen on going back to China, because there are so many other places I've never been to and want to see. But now that it's booked, I'm super excited. I am going to say "tai guai le!" (too expensive!), no matter what the price. I'm going to haggle over 50 cents. I'm going to eat rice noodle soup and real kung pao chicken. I'm going to give bai jiu (yucky Chinese alcohol) another shot. I'm not going to have the version infused with dog penis. I'm going to walk the great wall in spring, just like I did in winter and summer. I'm going to use squat toilets like a natural. I'm going to skip the crappy light show in Yangshuo. I'm going to have a beer and play liar's dice with an old friend. I'm going to remember so many things - the good and the bad - that I'm forgetting right now.

I can't wait. I hope you'll join me :)

my first staycation

Ah, holidays.

I'm enjoying a different kind of holiday this week. a holiday where I have absolutely no plans and nothing specific to do. normally when I take time off work, I try to do something with that time. take a trip somewhere, or even just go to the farm. but not this time. I had booked this time off way back in april, and I thought something might pop up between then and now. maybe a cheap last minute flight, a spontaneous trip somewhere. but nothing. I contemplated canceling my holiday request, but decided to give this whole "staycation" thing a whirl.

So far, I have to say it's pretty great. the weather has been gorgeous: sunny and 30 something degrees. We had our families over for a bbq and everything went super well. it was hot, there was lots of delicious food, and everyone was chatting and having fun. Canada day was another scorcher, and I had a beautiful day riding my bike, hanging outside with family, checking out the various festivities, watching fireworks, and collapsing exhausted at the end of the day. today I discovered the fun of a pressure washer! I decided it would be fun to have a project this week, but nothing too overwhelming or urgent. something that if I don't finish it, it's no big deal. so I decided to paint our fence. or stain it, varnish it, treat it, whatever it is you're supposed to do to fences. how exciting! handyman Amanda, that's what they'll call me! the pressure washer is so cool. i'd never used one before and I was just mesmerized watching the layer of dirt that I didn't even know was dirt come off, leaving a brand new fence behind! well, after an hour of spraying, I was soaking wet and covered in fence scum. But I had 2 and half beautifully clean and new looking sections of fence! ....which leaves about 15 more sections to go. this is where the whole 'no big deal if I can't finish this project' mentality comes in.

I will do more on the fence throughout the week. maybe i'll get the whole thing cleaned, maybe not. for now, at least the novelty of the pressure washer makes it fun, and it doesn't feel like work.

other than that, nothing else planned. other than have coffee outside while doing the crosswords. visit my sister. lay in the sun. make sangria. drink sangria. relax. that's it. nothing else on the agenda! yay!! so what if i'm not off to some exotic destination this holiday. my backyard is exactly where i want to be :)

Oh goodie, another phobia

maybe phobia isn't quite the right word. i mean, i'm not afraid of them, like i am of moths. but i think that's only because these are stationary. i definitely have an irrational and hyperbolic disgust of them, which leads to extremely ludicrous overreactions.

I've discovered that i am revolted by toadstools.

seriously, i don't know how i'm going to get through this blog, because just the thought of them - the mere writing of the word - sends shudders down my spine. we have some growing around a tree on the boulevard (oh god oh god, they're so gross), and now they've even spread so that a few are in our yard (barf barf barf). the clumps around the base of the tree are really big, like the size of cats and loaves of bread (blech, gag), then about half a dozen smaller clusters have popped up along the boulevard and a blob or two on our lawn (i have to stop, i'm going to be sick).


i'm back. feeling queasy, but i shall persevere.

i can't think of anything more nauseating than those mushrooms. repulsive fungal growths infesting our grass. they make my skin crawl. i almost couldn't walk up my front sidewalk because they were only a few feet away. oh so gross so gross so gross! squishy, lumpy, dense, moist, pop-up-overnight, cankerous blight infecting my lawn!!



blair digging out the vile toadstools. I took a photo of him
 while peeking through the blinds in the upstairs window.
this is as close as i could get, and even then i was trembling

ok, i must stop. retching and having mini-convulsions at the thought of them. i made blair go outside and dig them all up to get rid of them. but he's not allowed to talk about it because i start freaking out when they are mentioned and may break into tears. now i must go have a hot shower and scrub the thoughts of them away.

things that make me happy

sometimes I like to complain. but today, for a change, I thought i'd share a few happy things. and i'll put it in bullet point form because bullet points also make me happy!

• I went to Stars on Ice last week (yay!) and at the end of the show Kurt Browning shook my hand (YAY!!!). i practically knocked over the two little old ladies next to me in my eagerness. I wanted to tell him that i'd been coming to the show for 20 years, but couldn't utter a single word; i just shook his hand frantically while grinning like an idiot. but maybe that's ok, because when i went through my collection of Stars on Ice programs from over the years (obsessive nerd), i realized that this was only year 19. so next year i'll have to tell him :) yes, i get just as giddy and awestruck now as i did in 1994.
• i'd been brushing up on my French lately so that i could take a "second language evaluation" at work. i was very stressed about the 45 minute oral test. I took it 2 weeks ago, on a day i was really sick, and.... I got the marks i needed, yippee! so now I've been upgraded to a bilingual employee, which means a teensy bit more money, and hopefully more opportunities. way to go, me.
• i am in love with ataulfo mangos. they are sooooooo delicious and less than a buck each at superstore. yumyumyum!
• we finally had some nice weather and the weekend was beautiful! i sat outside in our backyard for the first time since moving in 6 months ago, drinking a beer and reading a book in the sunshine. so content!
• my 3 year old niece came for a sleepover and we had tons of fun doing arts & crafts and baking. plus, she is just too adorable when she's asleep. when she cuddled up to me and held my hand, i thought my heart was going to explode.

that's it for now. nothing over the top exciting, no jaw-dropping updates, just some simple things that make me smile.

the flu

vomirreah. that's the awful new word i've coined.

i'm sick. not as sick as yesterday, and a thousand times better than the day before, but sick nonetheless. monday at around 330, i started to feel nauseous. i thought i was just getting nervous about the oral french exam i had to take for work the next day. but after throwing up 4 times, i decided even my own delicate nerves wouldn't cause that big of a reaction. my mom picked me up from work to drive me home because i didn't think i could handle the 30 minute bus ride. as it turns out, i couldn't handle the 15 minute car ride either. we had to pull over half way so that i could throw up out the side of the car. how gross.

upon getting home i threw up several more times, then curled up under three blankets with a bucket beside my bed. the next 4 hours were pretty terrible, and i will spare you the gruesome details. i didn't leave my room until the next morning, when i somehow managed to get up and go to work to take the french test. maybe that was a bad idea as i definitely wasn't at my best, but i jst wanted to get it over with. as soon as it was done i left work and went to my mom's where i feel asleep for several hours.

things have improved. i'm no longer vomiting or any of that other gross stuff. but that's just because i haven't really been able to eat anything. a couple of bowls of chicken broth and some toast. i've dropped 8 pounds in the last two days, just because my body has purged itself of all contents! today i'm just lazing about the house with a terrible headache. i have to walk super slowly because each step causes pounding and my vision blackens.

i hope i feel like myself again soon. this sucks.

snow and stupid

ugh. today is not exactly off to an auspicious start. for one, it's snowing. AGAIN. it's april 21st, and it's snowing. come one! am i ever going to get a chance to enjoy my new backyard? afternoon drinks on our sunny deck, evenings sitting around the firepit... sigh... not to be realized anytime soon.

this morning i got up around 830, shuffled downstairs in my housecoat and slippers, and put on a pot of coffee. i plunked myself down at the table to go through the newspaper and do the crossword. my usual routine. as i was drowsily flipping pages, i heard i tinkling noise. huh. i wonder what that is, i thought, continuing to flip. tinkle tinkle drip drip. is the tap on? finally i come out of my sleepy fog enough to consider that something may not be right in the kitchen. sure enough, the coffee maker is pouring coffee straight down onto the element, cascading over the counter and onto the floor. the pot sits empty off to the side. and oh, fantastic, the drawer beneath was slightly ajar so a cups worth of coffee has also poured in all over the cutlery. oy.

yup, today definitely has the makings of a day when i should just laze on the couch, avoid the miserable weather, and not undertake any complicated tasks (like coffee-making!). but i'm off to a birthday brunch at my dad's. gotta go brush the car off. grumble grumble.

Faceless

yup, it's been just over a month since i abandoned facebook. i gave no warning, no countdown to deactivation day, no hoping people would try to convince me to stay. i just left. i'm sure a lot of people haven't even noticed. i'd been thinking about doing it for a while, and finally got around to clicking the button. i haven't gone totally crazy doing the full-on shut down, just the deactivation so that i can go back any time if i so choose. but so far i haven't gone back, and i haven't really been tempted.

my dad asked me why i left, so this is all i have to offer for an answer:

i wasn't doing anything interesting on facebook. i rarely posted my own stuff anymore, and hardly ever left comments on others' pages. but on a daily basis i would scroll through the newsfeed and scan people's updates. the majority of which didn't really matter to me that much. oh, so-and-so is watching the jets game, whatsherface ate the most delicious tacos, someoneorother thinks i should watch a funny youtube vid, it's so LOL. blah blah. i'm not saying i had anything better to write, my status updates were completely mundane. but i was hooked on checking the newsfeed. not even out of interest, just out of boredom. 10 minutes with nothing to do on the bus? i'll look at facebook. commercial break? i'll open facebook.

but worse than that, my use of facebook made me feel like i was maintaining friendships and being a part of peoples' lives, even though i totally wasn't. why don't my friends' kids recognize me? i've been around since they were born and i've seen them grow up! oh, no i haven't, i've just seen photos of them growing up. i want to talk to people again! i want to catch up over a coffee or a beer, not peek in on lives through one-line updates. if you want me to come to a social or a party, tell me about it! i'm so much more likely to go than knowing you just clicked "invite all".

my niece took her first steps not long ago. it was posted on facebook, but the first time i saw her walk wasn't on an iphone video, it was in front of my very eyes. of course i watched the video later :)

now i will have to make more of an effort to stay in touch with the people that matter, and hopefully they will do the same for me. i think there's a very good chance i'll go back to facebook down the road, but for now i want to reconnect with my friends. and to do that i had to unfriend them all.