I must be qualified

I must be qualified to be a bank teller now.  Welfare cheques came out yesterday so both yesterday and today have been insanely busy...lineups all day long to cash these cheques. I realize that there aren't a lot of employment opportunities up here but by 7:30 tonight I couldn't help but feel like 99% of the population is on welfare.

Of course it's a big night for Lotto Max too, so the lineup for Lottery was almost as long. With all the insanity of the day I completely forgot that I was going to buy a ticket too...oh well, I guess I'll keep on living humbly.

Pretty Pictures

If you know me you know I love art, so it's been a bit disappointing that I haven't seen much if it around here. I'm sure there is plenty out there, just nowhere that I can find it.  I recently discovered that one of the guys who works at the store has a brother who is an up and coming artist in the Province. At my request he stopped by to show me some of his pieces.

I picked up a couple small paintings which will be a lovely reminder of my time here in Cross Lake. The one with the raven will remind me of the ones that regularly visit the garbage trailer behind the store. The one of the bear will make me think about Richard because he has a nice one of a Polar bear, done by the same artist, in his office.

The artist's name is Ricky Hamilton and he has pieces in Galleries in Winnipeg.

My most humbling experience to date

Since the time I arrived here I have been wanting to experience the culture in a very real and honest way. The Pow Wow was great but being in an arena took something away from it; making it more of a performance than a ritual.

Every so often we get to experience something that we will remember our entire lives.  I recently got to have one of those amazing experiences.

Richard and I were invited to a traditional ceremony at the home of the Deputy Chief. Obviously since it was a Sacred Ceremony I can't go into any details except to say it was extremely powerful, somewhat unnerving and definitely educational.  I am in total awe and extremely honoured.

This photo conjures up the feeling of tradition which is why I've added it but it has nothing to do with the ceremony itself. I obviously didn't take pictures.

Sunrise in Cross Lake

I love the crisp and clear mornings up here.  Whenever it's like that we seem to have beautiful sunrises. The morning I took these pictures I happened to have enough spare time to scoot back inside to grab my camera. 

 
Even though I was quick the sky changed considerably. The sky was still pretty but it wasn't the brilliant pinky orange that it had been just moments before. The only downside is that the Eastern view isn't quite as picturesque as the Western one.

Bannock

I'm disappointed to say that I haven't seen or heard of many traditional dishes up here with the exception of Bannock.  Bannock is a favorite among native people it seems.  It's a type of bread that can be baked or fried.  When baked it has the texture and a similar taste to tea biscuits...but heavier.  Fried it is more like a heavy donut; tasty especially with some cinnamon sugar on top.

After tasting it a while back, I thought it would be fun to try make it myself.  I did the baked version earlier but this is the fried one.  It's not something I'll make often since it is not exactly low-cal but it's fun to do every so often.  Tobie's wife was kind enough to give me the recipe and a few tips along the way.  If you'd like to make it yourself I've posted the recipe on my "Recipe" page to the right.

The Crossing

Cross Lake is aptly named since it surrounds much of the town in a "cross" formation. As you can imagine it can be a long drive to get from one part of town to another.  Like many other Northern communities the residents look forward to the time that the winter roads open up. They call them winter roads because there's no way you could use them any other time of year...mainly because you'd be under water.

I'm quite a chicken when it comes to ice; a complete nervous wreck walking on ice that's two feet thick so I can't even begin to imagine driving on it.  It seems to me that the lake had just frozen over and a week later people were driving on it. CRAZY!

I actually had my camera out because I liked the late afternoon sun on the buildings at the ramp where the cars head out onto the lake but  I figured you might get a kick out of the cars driving across.

The North hasn't changed me that much...

My friends back home in Ontario will be happy to know that my wacky mind is still intact.  We had this great Coke display at the store for about a week and I couldn't walk by it without wishing I had some rings to toss. I SO wanted to try to win a giant teddy bear!

Too bad it's gone now; I was trying to think up some motivational game for the staff...Alas, much like those coke bottles, I'll have to shelve that idea for awhile.

But mom he followed me home!

I popped out the back door the other day, to dash home for lunch, and startled a poor shivering dog.  I felt rather sorry for him and stopped to pat his head...Look what happens when you do that.

I didn't have my camera with me at the time, but I brought it on my return trip so I'd have a picture for this posting.  I was actually pretty funny walking home. The sun was really bright and was casting long shadows. All I could see was the shadow of two dogs happily prancing along behind me.

It's sad to see these dogs roaming around uncared for and even sadder is when all of a sudden they are no longer there.  It's just one of those things that you have to adjust to up here.

Elephant Boogers

Who knew they have elephants in Germany? Okay so they aren't really Elephant Boogers, that's just their nickname but I was so taken by it I can't remember the real name.

On a recent visit to Brato's house for a dinner with he and his lovely wife, we were treated to some German treats. Elephant boogers are a lot like cheesies but no cheese, they are peanuty...note the shape, then the peanuts...you can understand the nickname now I'm sure.  If you ever get the chance to try them make sure you do, they're great!  We also had lots of German cakes and cookies, but my favorite dish of all was the Rouladin.

When you are far from home those special treats bring you right back...This is "Finger Lickin Good" German style!


Even more enjoyable than the food was the company.  Lots of laughs and great entertainment.  Brato's talents are definately wasted at the "supermarket". Check out his blog for some fabulous videos of his singing and spoken word poems...extremely funny!

http://naknakoverthere.blogspot.com/

I couldn't watch the video's on my computer with my dial-up connection (a.k.a. mouse running on a treadmill) so I especially liked seeing them with the creator!

He's also an inventor...I loved his "Cantenna".

Comments

I've heard from two seperate people that it's a bit of a pain commenting on my posts.  I have changed the settings now so anyone can post. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Chinese Food, Horoscopes, and Prophecies

From that title you might be thinking "Chinese New Year?" Nope just a little get together in Cross Lake.


This past Saturday I hosted a little dinner at my place.  I wanted to have my new friend Roseann, her "fella" Lorne, and her son Curtis over for the first time.  I had heard that Chinese food was Lorne's favorite and since there are no Chinese restaurants here yet (rumour has it that one is coming) I thought I would sweeten the invite by offering to make Chinese food.





It worked! They came over along with Richard and Andrea and we had a wonderful evening.  I do not recommend Chinese food for a get together though, unless it's take out! Very, labour intensive and all at the last minute.  You can see from the picture here that I was a tad warm.

Richard made a really delicious cake which he has posted on his blog, and Roseann made some fabulous steamed buns stuffed with a meat mixture.  I think we all packed on a few extra pounds that night...maybe my next dinner should be "salad night".

I'm sure you've been wondering why those silly trapper hats are so popular...maybe even speculated that it's because of the cold climate...don't be silly; where else would you keep your chopsticks!

Lorne is a wealth of Native culture and an all-around interesting guy and he provided us with an interesting Native Prophecy which was written in 1929 (I think) and was spooky in its accuracy. It was quite long and most of us would have stumbled terribly reading it aloud but fortunately we had amongst us an extremely gifted reader...a tad camera shy as you can see from the picture. She also entertained us with our 2011 year long Horoscope; all I can say is Hurray, finely a good year for me. 


I think I can safely say that we all had a great evening based on the laughter that went on at the very least.

Hoar Frost?

Thankfully it looks better than it sounds! Apparently the lovely snowfall was Hoar Frost with a bit of snow on top.

I had so many positive comments about my "snowy" pictures I thought I'd post a few more.  I love the ones of the old fence so I'm putting in another one.

What a commute!

I find it so cool when I see snowmobiles in the parking lot at work. There are definately more cars than skidoos but when I see employees commuting this way I can't help but think it's a fun way to start, and end, your day. Just look how happy Johnson looks as he heads home for lunch!

Beautiful Blankets of Snow

Living in a basement apartment is a bit like living in a fishbowl.  My livingroom window is right beside the walkway, so whoever walks by can look right in. As a result I tend to keep my curtains closed a  lot of the time which means I sometimes have a surprise when I open  my door.

Saturday evening I had some friends over for dinner, so in the morning I had to dash over to the store to pick up a few things.  I was definely surprised by the sight that met me. There had been a snowfall the night before and everything was covered by the most beautiful blanket of snow I think I have ever seen. Needless to say I dashed back inside to grab my camera so I could take a few...okay several pictures. It's hard to believe how snow caan make an old delapedated fence look beautiful. Another thing that I find amazing is different snow can look depending on where you are.  Up here the snow is dryer and as a result very light and fluffy.  At night, or in the sunlight, the snow sparkles like little diamonds.

I'm sure that Cross Lake couldn't look prettier than it does with a fresh snowfall.  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Where's my English/Cree Dictionary?

Since I have not been blessed with a gift for languages, I really wish there was such a thing as an English/Cree Dictionary. 

I am an ongoing source of entertainment for the men on staff at Northmart...3 in particular.  They love to get me to say something in Cree, telling me it means one thing when it means something entirely different...and always something "naughty".  They all think it is very funny, but the most  hilarious was the one I came up with all on my own; and quite innocently as well.

One weekend just before Christmas Raymond, who races a team of sled dogs, was spending the weekend training his dogs. When I  asked him what his plans for the weekend were, he told me that he was going mushing. Like most of you, I think of the word "mush" when someone mentions dog sleds and racing in the same sentence.  I thought I was just saying a cute little play on words, thinking of "dash away, dash away dash away all"...Cute right? Except that "mushaway" may be an actual verb, but not a made up one for "race away"...it's more like something that keeps you busy for most of your honeymoon. 

Could I come out with this comment in front of only one person? Of course not! this is ME we're talking about it; I had to say it in front of a roomful of men (no women) and the "3  Dirty Old Men" were amongst them.  This has become a favorite story amongst them and I'm sure will be retold many times after I've moved on. Thank God I can laugh at myself.

An Explosive New Year's Eve

There isn’t a lot in the way of entertainment up here so I like to try to organize little dinner parties.  They are a lot of fun but don’t help the waistline much.  For New Year’s Eve we planned a little progressive party and even though the size of our group shrank due to cancellations and illness we still had a fun evening.

Richard challenged us each to provide the best entertainment and food.  Sharon and Rolland are in town while Sharon is doing a relief assignment for our regular pharmacist.  They started us off with a delicious soup and salad and a fun lottery game.  Next was my place with a curry dish (which I sincerely hope Rolland survived) and a game of Taboo.

We finished off at Richard’s house for the grand finale, a spectacular bottomless lemon meringue pie (check out the presentation) and fireworks…like we could compete with that!  Although Richard would love to take credit for the fireworks they are actually put on by the band.  I took these pictures from the front of the store and I’m happy they turned out so well since one of the adjustment knobs snapped on my tripod from the cold.

 

Boxing Day

When we left the cabin on Boxing Day we headed into Thompson to check out the sales. Richard and Andrea missed it, but I saw a wolf cross a side road just outside of town. I couldn’t believe how huge it was.  Too bad I didn’t have my camera at the ready; live and learn.

As for the shopping the only thing I was looking for was some Native handicrafts, but those stores were closed.  There actually weren’t many great deals but I scored the best item…Ok, I feel like such a “Girl” saying this but man I am thrilled with my new pots and pans! The ones I’ve been using here are more like camping pots than actual cookware and I managed to find a fantastic set at about 70% off.  You know you’ve been roughing it a bit when you go crazy for cookware. 

I managed to snap this shot of the giant statue of miner, as we whizzed by on our way out of Thompson.  The pictures of the rapids and island are from the same spot outside Wibboden that the picture on my Newsletter was taken.

It was dusk by the time we crossed the dam at Jenpeg Generating station, but I think they still made interesting shots.

A Tranquil Christmas Retreat

This Christmas was a difficult one for me, as you can well imagine since it was my first one away from my two wonderful children.  So when Richard extended an invitation for me to join him and Andrea at a cabin he had rented I jumped at the opportunity.  It was definitely a lot nicer to spend it in the company of my new friends rather than sit at home a mope.

                                            

Christmas Eve, once the store was closed and everything wrapped up, we loaded up Richard’s SUV and headed off to Paint Lake, which is just South of Thompson.  Richard had his doubts that everything would fit but I put on my “packing Queen” crown and managed to squeeze it all in…even if the turkey did make the trip on my lap.

By the time we got there it was 11:30; by the time we unloaded, cooked and ate dinner it was 1:30; then we opened presents.  Needless to say Christmas day was a very laid back day.  I did keep my morning tradition of Eggs Benedict alive even if Andre and Sonia didn’t get to have any this time around…maybe next year.

We played games, cooked, ate, ate some more and Richard and I went for a wonderful walk and I managed to take a few pictures of this very beautiful area.  In the winter there is skating and a toboggan hill and although they don’t rent skidoos there were plenty around.

As you can see from the pictures, we had a great time; but the highlight for me was of course talking to my two fabulous kids!

I am so grateful to Richard for inviting me along and making Christmas 2010 one I will never forget.

Christmas Concert

Shortly before Christmas I had the opportunity to attend the local Christmas Concert which was held in one of schools here.  There were several performers from both Cross Lake and the neighbouring communities. The M.C. announced that there were many other performers that they had to turn away.

One of the girls from the store performed but unfortunately she did a couple duets and her partner’s mike seemed to be much louder.  I  say unfortunately because Roxy (the Northmart employee) had by far the most beautiful voice of anyone there.  She should be recording.  My other favorite acts were a dance troop who did a kind of hiphop/breakdance routine and a group of musicians who did a rendition of a song by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Watching these performers made me reminiscent of all the talented musicians, singers, dancers, and actors that I know from Ottawa, Toronto, and Guelph. I’m sure if they were to perform up here they would be very well received.  So kudos to my talented  friends both near and far!