-1 degree with light snow in Tsiigehtchic today.
Sunrise at 9:43 and Sunset at 19:36.
Things have changed quickly. There are 10 hours of sunlight now and I was just starting to get used to the midnight sun!
BINGO TALLY Conclusion - The stats are too dark and dismal - Luck has not been on my side!
I have to start looking at job postings now. My contract is up November 30, 2011 or when the ice road opens if it delays past that point. We are only a week or two away from the river freezing up. There has been some major snow this week. It may be here to stay. The dogs had a good run in the fluffy snow on Monday. Charlie and Shakespeare are doing fine. I have made arrangements to get food for them from Whitehorse. Charlie has to have Royal Canine food from the vet so it was good to figure out how to get it here. I will be getting it this week. Just in time for freeze up.
I have settled into the community well and have enjoyed my time here. It was not as difficult as expected as far as accessing resources but I was not expecting to have to do everything on my own. I have had to ask questions about everything and learn everything for myself. You all know that I leave books of information for the people who follow in my footsteps. I will leave another one of which I will be the sole author. There are some things you should be told or shown. Seriously! The catch phrase I have learned by heart as the answer when you complain is..."welcome to the North." It is not so very welcoming but it allows you in and eventually you survive long enough to fall in love with it's beauty.
I have learned some new language and syntax such as...
There is more of a Haa than an Eh at the end of sentences. Are we going to play scrabble today? If there is not a quick enough answer you will hear. Haa and your name followed by an implied question mark? You have to be quick. "Killer quick." Perhaps, "Killer" as an adjective is used as often as "like," in the South.
The weather in the winter is "killer cold" but the right clothes are all you need to be comfortable.
A camp out at a friend's house does not necessarily mean outdoors and may refer to the traditional sleep over. Always clarify with your kids if they will need "killer warm" outdoor clothes or if they are going to sleep indoors. "Playing out," is similar but more straightforward. At least it implies that you are playing outside but it may mean you are going over to another friends house to play as well. In short you can move your magnet to out on the board. I will be out. Where? There are only so many places to look so it will not take you long to find me anyway!
A pair of mittens that belong to you may be referred to as (your name here)'s one. The four wheeler is ___'s one. The skidoo is ___'s one. Whose one's that? This blog is Jojogirl's one.
And finally...
A Delta Braid does not have anything to do with hair. I am in the Beaufort-Delta region of NT.
Doing the Delta Braid
Lynn Lau Northern News Services
Inuvik (Nov 19/01)
They call it a Delta braid, even though it's not a braid at all. From far away, this special parka trim looks like any store-bought riffraff, but up close, you can see it's not. Each Delta braid is unique, made up of hundreds of little squares of coloured cloth meticulously folded and sewn to form a ribbon of intricate designs.
The Delta braid distinguishes the parkas worn in this region from other parkas. And it all began with one woman. At least that's what Maureen Elias has heard. "My granny invented it, that's what they say," says the 60-year-old Inuvialuit woman, who has produced many of the parka and trims seen in the Delta.
Perhaps, Elias considers, the Delta braid was named for her granny's long locks, which she wore in plaits so long that she could wrap them round her baby pack and tie them at her waist. Elias learned how to sew from watching her mother and especially her aunties, who wore beautiful parkas.
Over the years, she's made countless parkas and trims for her large family, and for the many people who see her work and want something of their own. Elias has sent Delta braid to Alaska, the Yukon, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, Aklavik, Yellowknife and Tuktoyaktuk.
Back in the days when she was working for the local sewing centre, she even made nine parka covers for the British royal family. "Queen Elizabeth, her husband and her kids, I made parkie covers for. They were a nice light blue." Elias sews so much, she wears out a machine every two years. Two Singers sit on the floor and one stays on her sewing table -- she alternates "when one of them goes funny." She's got even more machines under the house.
In every corner of the bedroom that doubles as her sewing room, she has crammed treasures that will one day become parts of parkas - beautiful floral muslin for the "Mother Hubbard" style parka, two tanned wolverine furs under the bed, bits of lace in boxes by her sewing table.
Ironically, Elias was named for a woman whose sewing was known to be slow and sloppy. To make sure Elias wouldn't turn out like the woman who was her namesake, her grand-aunt called on some magic. Everyday, she would rub Elias's hands to make her sewing fast and neat. Six decades later, ribbons of that magic can still be found on the hems of parkas just about everywhere in the Delta.
