Pics around town

I took some random pics outside yesterday because it was sunny (but definetely not warm). We lasted about 10 minutes on the ski-doo because it was so cold. It wouldn't have been as bad if I didn't have to take my hands out of my mitts to take these pictures.


These are a couple of Inukshuks built between the town and the airport. The middle one is about 20-25 feet tall and is the official symbol of Nunavut (it is on the flag).


This is the middle Inukshuk from the previous photo. Inuit traditionally used these as markings for trails. Everything is flat here and there are no trees so it is easy to get lost. On some trails to people's cabins, you see one of these inukskuks (in much smaller scale at about 3 feet tall) about every 50 yards or so.


An old abandonned sailboat located just east of our house. It is on shore but is covered by snow and ice.


This was earlier this week outside of our house. The sun was almost up when we went to school. In about a week, we will enjoy the same amount of daylight as Sault Ste. Marie. We currently have about 8 hours of sunlight.


An old Bombardier snowmobile. Not sure if this is from our town or just visiting. This was the first time we saw it and it was flying around in the fields. Looks very cool!

Return of the Sun Festival

The long winter darkness was not as bad as we thought it would be. Everyday, we had some twilight at noon and it was never completely dark for 24 hours. Annually, there is a festival called Return of the Sun that happens at the beginning of January when the Sun shows its face again (for about 2 minutes then it sets).

The Festival is a big deal in town and a very cultural event.


This is the lighting of the qulliq. It symbolizes the start of the "warm" season again and is the "olympic torch" of these festivals. Traditionally, the qulliq would be the only source of heat in an igloo. The wick would be made with Arctic cotton (a wild plant) and the oil from be scrapped off of seal meat.


The drum dancing competition was very interesting to watch. The gym was full of people and it was very difficult to get a spot close to the action.


This is my favourite picture. There was a red light shinning from the right side of the picture. It makes the drum glow!


This guy was the best dancer. It was a team competition. One person would dance with the drum while the other person would be on stage singing.

Random pics at Christmas

Here are some pics I took at Christmas of family. Sorry I couldn't upload a picture of all of you...the internet in the North is pretty slow sometimes. Hope you enjoy! Hopefully, I'll add more pics if I get the time.


Danno cooking up a feast on the BBQ.


Mom doing her share of the feast. She was defrosting the crab legs while Dan was on the BBQ. Surf and Turf!


My mom's cooking instructor, Memere. After 50 years of cooking, she still enjoys preparing the meal for reveillon. We are looking forward to her baked beans in the summer.


Pepere and Chantal at reveillon.


Kev and Munchkin at the new pad on New Year's Eve. He can thank Laura and I for bringing the chairs to London.


Mel and Isaiah. Mel works in Collingwood with me and we visited them at their home in Wasaga Beach on our way to London.


Elyssa with her favourite ogor, Shrek.

Jamie's birthday

We had a "social gathering" at our house for my birthday.

Here is a picture of Ellen and Jeremy. Ellen is the significant other of Marty (the fish smoking guy) and Jeremy just had a baby boy.


This is our principal Paul. He was "making tracks" at an early hour (check the clock) so we made fun of him until he stayed.


Doesn't Paul look happier staying at the party for longer?


Here is Jeremy's better half, Christy, with the new addition, Alexander. This guy was a monster and should make his dad proud as a football player some day. I believe he is only 6 weeks in this picture but, I also can't even remember what I ate for breakfast so am I to know?


The "piece de resistance". Laura comissioned Marty to make this birthday cake in honour of the Steelers National Championship. I hope Albidone is still checking this page and that is lips are watering up in Thunder Bay. The cake was delicious!!!

Games on the ice

During the return of the sun festival, there were activities planned throughout the week. On Tuesday, there were games on the ice for the kids


Here are Laura and I with one of my students, Sippora. This picture was taken at about 1:30 in the afternoon. We now have sunset at about 3 o'clock.


Here is the 2nd place finisher in the Inukshuk building contest. They had 10 minutes and the highest inukshuk won a prize. The winner was over 16 feet tall.


The folks made the blog. They are anxiously awaiting the winter cold of the North and have purchased new jackets for their adventure. I hope that they are aware that it is still cold in those jackets. We are expecting a blizzard as we speak and it was about -35 today without the wind chill.

Northern Lights

Here are a couple of pictures that I took of the Northern Lights. I am just starting to use my new camera so the quality of the pictures isn't the best yet. These pictures were taken directly behind our house.



It was hard to get a full view of the Lights because they stretched across the whole sky.

Ice fishing in the New Year

With the New Year, the energy in town seems to be on the rise. The only thing not on the rise is the mercury inside the thermometers. We had a beautiful day on the ice but the temperature was a chilly -30. As an experiment, we would like everybody to dump a tray of ice cubes down their shorts so they can truly appreciate the sensation of ice fishing in the North.


Our first glimpse of the sun. This was as high as it got and it only stayed for about an hour or so. It's a small amount of time but it is very significant.


Mike, Steve and I took a couple hundred pulls on the auger before we could get it going. There is about 2-3 feet of auger that you can't see. The ice is about 3-4 feet thick right now and the coldest month of the year is coming.


Finally breaking through the ice. There is a lot of mist from the "warm" water hitting the cold air.


Mike and Jamie after a job well done. We were definetely happy to have the power auger because chipping the ice would have taken a long time.


I think Laura is really loving the return of the sun.


Here is Laura and Steve. He's a nurse in town and joined us on our fishing adventure.