The great polar blizz...

This really was the storm that seemed like it would never end. I thought the one in November when Deon was gone to Yellowknife and I was pup sitting was bad... well I was wrong! We have now experienced the worst blizzard I've seen since moving north 2.5 years ago.

On Wednesday morning we were provided with a weather report that indicated that we'd have high winds and perhaps low visibility beginning that night, and perhaps continuing on until Thursday. We were pretty happy with this news at work, because blowing snow usually means that the town shuts down (I know, I know, we have such a long commute, from upstairs to downstairs!).

On Wednesday night we went to the Kitti Hall to do our Loonie Auction and Canteen to try to earn some much needed money for the upcoming Jamboree. At around 9:30 we decided to do a last call for tickets, and then do the draw. Just as we sold the last tickets, the power in Kitti Hall went out. Of course everyone immediately yelled at Richard, the NTPC worker who was there playing checkers to go fix the power so the games could continue on. That is one job in Tuk that I don't envy (along with the "Swamper" for the $#(@ truck).

We carried out the Loonie Auction by the light of our trusty keychain flashlight (note to self- don't poo-poo the junky corporate swag at next year's Petroleum Show, collect as many keychain flashlights as possible!). The draws were done, and we were offered a ride home by some friends. Just as we got home, the power went back on, despite the ever-increasing winds.

We got up the next morning to low visibility due to blowing snow, and some drifting as well. Deon and I went to the office, because we could easily (with the exception of not being able to get out of our side door) get to work, while everyone else called in to say that they wouldn't be able to make it in. We decided to shut down the office, and wait to see if the weather cleared. Luckily for us, it didn't clear until the end of the day, just in time for work to be closed anyway. However, it did provide us the opportunity to go for a walk to check out the damage. It was only -6C after dark on Thursday night, plenty warm to check out the town.

When we walked around town, we surveyed the drifts, and here is what we saw:
*if you want to see a bigger version of the picture, just click on it!


Our building's side porch when the weather cleared on Thursday afternoon. Can't get out the door, but not so bad!


Looking onto the porch- keep these pictures in mind for the upcoming comparisons!


Trying to plow some of Thursday's snow accumulation from the main street.


Drifts along Beaufort Drive.


Gizmo and me by the Bingo station on our evening walk. Pretty tall drift.


The drift in front of Northern is all the way up to the wheelchair ramp. For those who have not seen the Northern, the top of the wheelchair ramp is probably 12 feet from ground level where I'm standing.

On Friday morning we woke up to larger drifts, high winds, and blowing snow again. We closed the office once again, until it seemed to be better around 10:30am. We opened up until lunch, when it got way worse again. In the mean time, we were some of the lucky ones who got a fresh water truck delivery and sewage pump-out. I stress that this was lucky, because by the end of the blizzard on Sunday, some people hadn't had water or sewage since Tuesday because they were too snowed in for the trucks to reach them.

Here is how the porch snowdrifts had grown by lunchtime on Friday:



It should also be mentioned that although the trucks were able to deliver services, they did have some trouble in some areas:


$@#( truck #1 towing out $@#*( truck #2.

After our brief moments of relief, it started to get really bad- 80km/hour winds, and it didn't let up until around noon on Sunday. Deon, and his love of weather and storms just had to go test out the winds and the snow to see exactly what it was like to be in an Arctic storm, so I took the opportunity to get some pictures from the window in our apartment, giving some perspective on just how poor the visibility was:




Can you spot Gizmo, the perfectly blended polar lapdog?



Finally, on Sunday morning we both had cabin fever and needed to get out. The winds were still strong, but we could hear the faint backup beeping of snowplows, graders and loaders, and knew the town was awake and ready to move on from this blizzard. Despite the winds which were biting, and probably still 60km/hr, we decided to go inspect the damages once again.

Here is the porch comparison for Sunday morning:








Here I am on the drift in front of our building- it took about 4 hours to plow out with a loader this afternoon.


The snow was drifted into some interesting shapes... and this is also an example of the perfect blizzard investigation winter gear!


The drift at the end of the rowhouse next to us- it was entirely blocking the road and must have been 15 feet high. (keep in mind southern readers that all houses here are on pilings, or stilts, to begin with so they are higher than your average house down south, for perspective).


Cool drift across the street.


Drift beside the house on the corner behind us.


Animal's old house- probably the most drifted in house in town that we saw.


Yes, that's a house (and maybe a truck?) under there.


Not sure they were going to be using their front door or deck today!


The drift went all the way across the street and still hasn't been plowed out.


Taking a break from shovelling.


The garage entrance at the RCMP detachment.


Stella, Ben and Jen's dog, after their porch has been dug out. Originally they only had about 2 feet of space at the top of their door, and Stella had to be lifted out to go to the bathroom!


The RCMP compound. They haven't had water since Tuesday, and it might be a while longer until they're shovelled out!

At any rate, sorry for the picture-y post, but I hope the pictures give a better idea of what we were up against.

Oh, and I forgot, the best part of it all. We were in the middle of buying a new truck from Edmonton (i.e. filling out paperwork, credit card payments, etc.) when the long distance phone service AND internet dropped out on Friday morning until Monday afternoon. Fun times!!

Crafting...

Before we get to the pictures that everyone's waiting for, those from the great blizzard of Tuktoyaktuk, here are some pictures of the Christmas wallhanging I've been working on (irregularly) over the last 2 weeks.

I decided I should pull out my sewing machine, and try a wallhanging pattern from a book that I received in my stocking 2 Christmases ago. I also have quite a bit of Christmas material just waiting to be used, so it was the perfect combination of inspiration.

I decided on something very simple for my first go at sewing in quite a while, since keeping everything square and straight is not my forte, and I become easily frustrated.

I decided on a simple heart applique pattern, which were wonder-undered on to some sparkly ivory coloured squares, and then appliqued by my sewing machine. I then used some driftwood to create a dowel, and some yarn to braid a string with which to hang the wall hanging.

I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet- it turned out surprisingly well, and surprisingly straight and neat and tidy- I guess I used my patience with this one to make sure it was just right. I might use it for a raffle item for King and Queen, or perhaps it will make a nice gift. It's not really my style, but I still enjoyed the process of making it.

I might do another one with some of the jewel box scrap fabric that my Grams gave me a while ago... it would be more of an all-season wall hanging.

My new (and hopefully temporary) shadow...

About 3 weeks ago, we went down to work in the morning, and outside on our side porch was a little dog. I knew right away that I'd seen this dog before, because I had let it into the house about a year ago during Jamboree when it was just a pup, and was loose outside. Since, I've seen the dog, and its siblings around town off and on. It was not that cold on the day we found her, but still, -20C is cold for an 18 pound dog with very thin fur.

Despite her smell (like fish, and wet dog), we decided we should take her inside until we could find out more about where she lives, and why she went astray. She didn't have a collar, and we didn't have one either, so we fashioned a noose (basically) out of some rope, and tied her to the bracket on our wall where the fire extinguisher hangs. This was the perfect location so that she couldn't reach anything worth chewing. She cried a bit when we left her, but otherwise she was fine.

At lunch time that day, we got a small bag of kibble from the store, and fed her that. She also had a huge drink of water. We then decided that a bath was in store if she was to stay indoors with us until we found her owners. She smelled so bad, that we could smell her when we came in the apartment entrance downstairs, and of course, our apartment smelled as well. It was time to light some of my scented candles!

When we put her in the bath, the first thing she did was drink a lot more water. I think she was very dehydrated, despite being outside in the snow. She was surprisingly calm in the tub, and gave us the chance to give her a good scrub down. We used Sunlight dish detergent to try to get any fish oils out of her fur. We dried her off, and gave her some towels to curl up on.

In the mean time, Barry and Patrice lent us Nugget's kennel which she doesn't use anymore and a leash, and Lorrie lent us a little collar.

That afternoon I phoned around to the potential owners in town, who eventually led me to the most recent owner (she's had about 4 in total). They said they didn't want her back essentially. So since then I've put an announcement on the radio station, facebook posts, and have emailed our co-workers in Inuvik to see if anyone would like her, but there have been no takers. The next option is to take her to a shelter perhaps in Whitehorse or Yellowknife, where she'd likely be adopted pretty quickly.

She is a very nice dog, and it is not that we don't like her. However, we travel fairly frequently for work, and often times both Deon and I are gone at the same time, meaning we'd need to find a sitter for her quite a few times a year.

It seems as though she is trying to impress us, as her behaviour improves every single day. We've got quite a few "rules" down pat:

(a) She must sit and stay when her bowl is placed on the ground before she can chow down on her food.

(b) She cannot cross the invisible barrier (loosely marked by two bar stools) between the kitchen and living room.

(c) She cannot cross the threshold to the bedroom.

(d) She is supposed to sit still when being put on her leash to go for a walk (we've almost got this one down).

(e) She is not supposed to jump up on our legs when we are standing, and she is not supposed to bite our toes when we are walking (this one is taking some work, but she's doing pretty well).

(f) I'm also trying to teach her "in your crate" so that she'll go in her crate at nighttime and during work by herself without us having to coax her in. I know that she sees her crate as a safe haven, because she goes in when the vacuum is on, and also when she's tired of being elsewhere in the house.

We're also making good progress from a hygiene aspect. We've bathed her 5 times now, and she's getting whiter. She came to us with a lot of iron staining from being wet all of the time, especially on her paws, underside, and around her face. I think my most recent dose of Herbal Essences orchid/coconut shampoo really helped to bring out her white highlights, haha. We've also cut some of the hair around her eyes. Unfortunately she's one of those dogs who has runny eyes, and it really shows up on her muzzle. We've trimmed her hind end as well, where she has feathery fur. We thought we had everything straightened out until yesterday out of curiosity, I lifted her ears, only to see that they were filled with black gunk. It turns out that this is where the remaining smell is coming from, and we did our best with q-tips to clean them out... however, that is a work in progress. Lorrie might give us some of the medicine the vet recommended for Dodger.

At any rate, we're torn on what to do with her. We already have a dog, but he doesn't live with us. We can't just turn her back out onto the streets. And she is a good little dog, and deserves a caring owner. We are more than capable of keeping her, and Deon's not even allergic to her... but I don't like the idea of having to rely on people all the time to look after her.

So without further adieu, here are some pictures of the little mutt... whatever you may call her. Deon calls her Stinky, I call her Gizmo, because she is as crazy as a windup toy. But we don't want to come up with anything firm, because we hope to give her away!


Here is how she looked when we first found her.


This is after her first or second bath... the picture I used to try to find her a home.


I made her a small dogbed out of a spare pillow, and some material that my grams gave me. The cover can go in the wash when it gets too furry.


Closeup and personal.

Sorry about the photo quality- taken with the iPod out of laziness.

Soupy Sundays...

Yesterday I made another soup for lunch. Soup seems like such a good thing to make on Sundays, because there are often leftovers for lunches during the beginning of the work week (some people in this country had to go to work today- I'm looking at you, family members in ONTARIO!).

This week's soup was Fleuri's Curry Lentil Soup, which I found on Rachael Ray's website. The recipe is described as "Indian spices give lentils an exotic touch. Add spinach for color and extra nutrients and serve with naan bread." I don't add the spinach- who needs those extra nutrients? Ick.

Here's the recipe, for those interested in trying it (unfortunately I didn't take a picture this time).

Fleuri's Curry Lentil Soup
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¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 small chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1½ cups yellow, red or green lentils
Salt
2 rounded palmfuls curry powder blend (recipe below)
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
2-3 cups water

Curry Powder:
3 parts coriander
1 part cumin
1 part turmeric
1 part hot chili powder
1 part garam masala
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Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO, four turns of the pan, garlic, carrot, chili pepper and shallot and cook until the mixture softens, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the lentils and toss to coat in the EVOO; season with salt, to taste, and the curry powder blend or Ras el hanout. Add the stock and water to the soup and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Season with salt, if needed. Cool completely and store in the refrigerator for a make-ahead meal.

Whatever Wednesdays- Some mid-week humour

Wednesdays will now be "Whatever Wednesdays," the day on which I'll blog about whatever I please. Today, I thought that I'd share with you a comic that was in our local newspaper a few weeks ago.

I found the comic to be quite fitting, and I've expressed my opinion in the past about the airline service to Tuk here.



I like to think that this is a comment on the speed of our airline, as opposed to a comment on the runner needing to run fast to escape the northern elements.

The comic references the fact that there is a runner who is planning to run from Inuvik-Tuk on the ice road. I think it's pretty crazy, and I wouldn't want any part in it. I saw the runners when they got to Tuk last year, and their feet were as large as footballs, with swelling. Some had frostbite. Not my cup of tea. I understand that people like to do things that are unique, and "extreme," but I personally wouldn't want to sacrifice my health to complete such an activity.

Tasty Tuesdays- Curried Lamb and Potato Pot Pie

I think that Tuesdays would make a good day for sharing recipes for tasty delights, and thus Tuesdays on the blog will now be "Tasty Tuesdays."

I will start off with a recipe for Curried Lamb (or Beef) and Potato Pot Pie. I found this recipe in the 2009 Holiday edition of the LCBO's Food and Drink magazine. I've changed it a bit to suit our tasts, and our ingredient availability.



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Curried Lamb (or Beef) and Potato Pot Pie

Ingredients
1 lb boneless lamb shoulder or beef cubes
3 tbsp Shan Rogan Josh curry mix (check an Indian food store for this)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh ginger
3 cups (750 mL) beef stock
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño or other hot pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3 medium)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 frozen deep dish pie shells, thawed

1. Trim visible fat from lamb or beef and cut into 1-inch cubes and place in large bowl. Add curry mix and stir well to coat lamb or beef pieces. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

2. Heat oil in large shallow saucepan over medium-high heat. Brown lamb in batches. Remove to plate. Add onions, garlic, ginger and 1/2 cup of the stock to saucepan and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until softened. Add red and hot peppers and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Return lamb to saucepan with remaining beef stock and potatoes. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or until lamb and potatoes are tender.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

5. Whisk together flour and 1 cup (250 mL) water until smooth. Drizzle into lamb mixture and bring to a simmer and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Let cool, stirring occasionally.

6. Place the thawed pie shell on baking sheet. Pour in lamb mixture. There might be some leftover for eating from a bowl the next day!

7. If you have any extra pie shell material, cut out shapes from the pie shell. Place all over the lamb mixture and bake on bottom rack of oven for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.
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We like to have this recipe on its own, or when we're having "Indian Night" (which happens almost every Sunday at our house. We always make Butter Chicken (a healthy version, which I can share the recipe to in the future), and cilantro naan. We usually make a vegetable dish, like Aloo Gobi, but it is replaced with curried lamb and potato pot pie on nights like last night!

Soupy Sundays...

In an attempt to regularize the blog and my blog postings, I'm going to try to do different themed postings each day of the week. Obviously one thing we have a lot of time for here in the north is cooking... so I figured some days should be devoted to sharing the good (and bad) recipes that we've found, tried and think other people should know about! So we'll start with "Soupy Sundays." I think that soups are the easiest thing to make, and they're great because they spin out for lunches for at least a couple of days. Makes things nice and easy!

I'll start with a soup recipe that I have made before, and that I just made the other night when we were having asparagus chicken (I'll save that recipe for another time- it's a must-try as well) for dinner. This is called Onion Mushroom Soup, and is from Canadian Living Magazine.

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Onion Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
5 cups (1.25 L) thinly sliced onions, (about 2 large)
1 large clove garlic, sliced
2 tsp (10 mL) packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp (1 mL) dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups (500 mL) thinly sliced small mushrooms
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1/3 cup (75 mL) dry sherry or wine
4 cups (1 L) sodium-reduced beef broth or vegetable broth

Preparation:

In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; cook onions, garlic, sugar, thyme and bay leaf, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft and starting to brown, about
20 minutes.

Add mushrooms, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Add sherry; cook, scraping up browned bits, until no liquid remains.

Add broth and 1/2 cup (125 mL) water; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf.
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Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of this one! The Canadian Living Recipe calls for the soup to be served with french bread covered in cheese. In an attempt to cut calories, we don't do the bread with cheese.

Enjoy! Next week I'll share the Lazy Turkey Jerky Soup!