The trip that nearly wasn't...

Well...what a rigamarole trying to get out for our PD training! On Wednesday, our plane was delayed leaving Salluit on its return flight. At 4:00 pm, when it SHOULD have been here, it was clear. At 4:30, the fog began to roll in and at 6:30, we were so covered in that the plane skipped right past us. Sigh. Call hotels, cancel bookings, rearrange all appointments. We got out by Twin Otter Thursday afternoon and got into Montreal at about 10:00 pm, enough time to go to bed. No shopping...

We had an uneventful flight to Iqaluit, for which we were thankful. My laugh came on the airplane. A young mom was trying to manage three very active young ones, one of whom was hysterical during the take-off and landing. The other two bounced all through the plane, and the steward stopped the older of the two. "What's YOUR name?" he asked. "You look like trouble!" The little one pondered this. "I do?" he asked, and then turned to his mom. "I thought you said I looked like Daddy!" I was still chuckling when we landed.

Our conference was good, and I managed to get in a couple of runs. Good news: my average running speed has increased from 4 mph to 4.7 mph, thanks to the hills here in Sanikiluaq! I'm looking forward to the big run coming up, and am contemplating taking on training for a half-marathon with my core runners. And what can I say about the lovely prime rib dinner we had other than YUMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!!!!!!

Then we tried to leave...we got as far as Kuujjuaq, where we found out (after waiting over an hour for a 20-min stop) that our cargo door was damaged and not shutting properly. YIKES! We could have been sucked out over the Frobisher Strait! We waited, and waited, and waited...finally got sent for dinner around 7:30, and when we got back to the airport we found out that the flight was cancelled and we were stuck for the night. Sigh...Call hotels, cancel bookings AGAIN, cancel appointments again, goodbye shopping and our one rest day...

I did get to Montreal about 2:00 pm, had a massage, ran out to Walmart and got my Halloween candy, hit the bank to deposit my travel expense cheque, and got to Staples to exchange my printer ink for the right kind. And the three gals did have a wonderful dinner together with a glass of wine or two...

And the Running Club takes flight again on Wednesday night to Montreal for the 10K run. We are all very excited, and I will post pictures and the events of the day as we take the Nunavut flag to yet another province and show off our dedicated students! YAY!

TTFN!

Terrt

Running to stand still....

We're in full swing now with the running club, and in the last two weeks of training before the big trip. Today we did what one student calls the "One-dump run"...a loop out to the dump, which is uphill for 2.5 km, then back and all around the outskirts of town (uphill another km) then back to the school. A total of 8.2 km...wow! My hip is sore, which is why I, standing still tonight as much as possible, LOL! At least I am not limping as much as I used to, and the cane is still resting unused for now.

Movie nights are back on, and the kids going out on the trip are doing a great job looking after the canteen and supervising for me. I manage the minutiae, such as any kids causing a ruckus. We have had a full crowd and it is nice to have something for them to do on a regular basis. Our recess canteen is also doing well, and we had a cakewalk on Friday after school. Music night will be on October 5th and that will be our last fundraising until after the trip on October 10th. The only disappointment, there won't be a chance to take the kids to a Canadiens hockey game. The boys are crushed...but we will at least take in some movies and play laser tag, so they will have lots to do along with the Science Centre, Montreal Tower, and the Insectarium!

I leave Wednesday on another 7-day travel jaunt to attend two days of training in Iqaluit. I leave on Friday for Iqaluit and return on Monday to Montreal, then home to Sani on Wednesday again. I have a day lay-over in Montreal each side, so hurray for time to shop for Halloween candy! I have a great costume idea, thanks to Katie, and the kids will be SOOOOOOOO grossed out, ha ha! We're having a Halloween costume dance with a music night, and I plan to wear it then.

Hee hee, I can't wait!

Anyhow, a short post today, and I will fill everyone in on details of my trip when I arrive in Iqaluit.

TTFN!

Terri the trekkin' traveller.

Home again, home again, Lickety-SPLAT!

So, some of you have heard the adventure, and seen the gruesome photo story, but let me retell it anyhow. It gets funnier as I picture it, but it sure was not so much of a thrill at the time!

Packed up after a great summer in Ontario. Went to clean the cat's litter box and I knew it was going to be trouble...there were no new "additives" in the pan. Tigger got packed into his carrier anyhow, and off we went. He left a puddle in the back seat of the cab. I mopped it up. He puddled when we got into the plane. I tried to mop it up but had few paper towels. He pooped. I apologized to all the passengers near us. Then he really let loose...ick! Stinky stress ball. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I thought it would be good to clean him and the carrier out when we got to Montreal. Into the bathroom we went.

I opened up his carrier and took him out, fully harnessed and safe (I thought). I pick up his carrier and start to shake out the droppings into the toilet, and Tigger managed to wiggle out of his harness and ran out of the stall into the bathroom. I quickly threw open the stall door and lunged for him. Before I got him, I managed to step into one of his poopy paw prints, and slid full-speed into the edge of the door (I had thought it was the toilet paper dispenser, but I realized after that I hit metal full-force). I did manage to grab him, and washed him off in the bathroom sink. Then I realized how tilted my glasses looked, and took them off. That's when I saw the goose egg on the side of my forehead where I had slammed into the metal door...OUCH! Ergo the "splat" in the title for today's post...

Over the course of the next two days, the bruising migrated across my face and eye, giving me one heck of a glorious technicolour shiner.

Lovely, ain't it? The bruise goes from my eyebrows to the bottom of my nose, and from the side of my nose across to my hairline. At least I got even with the poor fur-ball. As soon as we got into our hotel room I put his carrier right into the tub and started to run warm water. Poor Tigger...he tried so hard to back up away from the water but there was nowhere to go once he got to the end of the carrier, LOL! So he got scrubbed, then I dried him off, cleaned the tub, and scrubbed myself off! He was so stressed by the ordeal that he meowed all night long. Quietly, luckily for other hotel customers, but non-stop...I slept a lot on the plane from Montreal to Sanikiluaq! That flight was completely uneventful, for which I was eternally grateful!

I am busy at school, cleaning cupboards and trying to find where I put the work I had prepared in June. I took time to do some brief running yesterday and today. I had forgotten how persistent the wind is here...today, I ran in the rain (which was a surprise as the sun was shining when I left!) and uphill into a 40k wind...I must be (a) completely nuts, (b) very dedicated, or (c) bit of both and TOTALLY scary! LOL!

Well, I'm heading into the staff room now to nuke a bit of soup for lunch. Then back to the grind for another year at Paatsaali.

TTFN from the far north!

Terri

Would you believe...3 teaching days left!

Wow...another year has come and is almost gone! And what a year it has been.

Therre are only 3 actual days left of the academic year. Report card marks are in as of Wednesday. We have a Sports Day on Thursday, school clean-up on Friday morning and a picnic on the land in the afternoon. Monday is class clean-up and graduation. Tuesday is awards in the morning and report cards in the afternoon. And Wednesday is a PD Day and then a race to the airport to make the 4:00 pm flight. Home for the summer!

I am already working toward next term. I have my first few days planned. I have my first term's fundraisers booked. I have booked the four senior running club boys and I in for a 10K run...YIKES! I need to bump up my training!  I've ordered them to stay at the finish line until I finally get there, LOL! We're headed to Montreal on October 10th and will take part in the Wishmaker Run with the Children's Wish Foundation. And coincidence of coincidences, they are sponsoring 5 kids from Nunavut this year! What an amazing tie-in! And of course, we hope ot take in a Canadiens game while there...I have no shortage of hopefuls for the trip. And we are going to do a Ghost Walk through Old Montreal as well. Very cool just before Halloween...

Anyhow, this will likely be my last post until the start of the new term, unless something very noteworthy occurs. So have a safe and healthy summer all, and I will be back to you in the fall from the Belcher Islands in the middle of Hudson Bay.

TTFN!

Terri

The Running Club's Run!

We did it! I am sooooo proud of my girls! And we were the talk of the race with our Nunavut Flag...

People all stopped and asked if we came all that way just for the run. 

We were proud to say, "Yes!"

We all made it across the finish line, and none of us were last! Woohoo!

But we did look a little tired. (Or at least some of us did, no old people's names mentioned...)

Here's a shot of Diane crossing the finish line...

Lunch "on the land" so to speak, LOL!

The girls all got a free foot-and-leg massage. Then we headed back to the hotel for clean-up. 

Off to Value Village to shop. Dinner at Red Lobster to celebrate. A movie before bed.

And home tomorrow. It has been a fantastic trip!

TTFN!

Terri and the Pirates.

To the Zoo with the animals...er, the girls...LOL!

Today was a perfect weather day! Not too hot, gentle breeze, bright sun and blue sky. We took a taxi over to the Assiniboine Zoo after breakfast and walked around for our exercise in the fresh air.

The gift shop is always a good spot, and Diane models the latest in fashion accessories for us.

There were a fair range of animals, and tons of peafowl who made the loudest screeches I have ever heard from a bird. I tried stumping my cane at them, and the girls tried chasing them, but we couldn't get them to fan their tails out for us.

After lunch, we tottered around a bit more and then came back to the hotel for a rest.

We walked up for a quick bit of shopping to the Portage Place Mall where we ate dinner. I got my second chance to have sushi...omigosh I am in heaven!!!! The girls seem to be enjoying A&W.

We had tickets to the movie, "To The Arctic" in 3D at the IMAX.

And it was a good film. But the fun of the night was apparently to be had in the lobby, where they had a small "Hurricane Simulator". Basically, you pay $2.00 and let gentle breezes (in Sanikiluaq terms) waft over you. Of course, it had to be tried out...

Yes, it was fun!

We are back in our rooms now, the girls are visiting with some folks from home who are out on medical for check-ups. I thought I would be creative and write in syllabics on my run shirt to advertise our community. So I carefully wrote out "Paatsaali, Sanikiluaq, Nunavut" on a slip of paper and asked if it was correct. I guess Diane was distracted because she did nod, but the laughter started after I had drawn, in permanent marker, that I am representing "Paatsaal-ah" school. D'Oh! Oh well. At least I got the Sanikiluaq and Nunavut right. Two out of three ain't bad!

An early night, for the big event is tomorrow! Wish us luck! 

TTFN!

Terri and the troops.

Day 2-1/2 of the Running Club Trip

So, another busy day has come and is winding down. We started off walking down to the West Broadway Youth Centre on Furby Street to collect our running kits and t-shirts. The girls are very excited and keep swearing that they will kick my proverbial behind in the run. ha ha, we shall see!

From the run centre, we took a taxi to the Polo Place shopping mall, and had a good day of shopping and browsing. The girls were able to get most of what they wanted, so that was good. And best, there was a Black's camera shop and they charged my camera battery for a small fee. It felt good to be able to capture our trip on film once again! It had begun to rain as we left but we hoped it would clear for the ball game, We ordered in KFC for dinner...yummy but so not good for the diet, LOL!

We walked in sunshine (yay!) to Shaw Park for the game.

The girls wanted their photo with the mascot of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, Goldie himself. He was very happy to oblige us with some shots. And I had them announce a welcome to the Paatsaali Running Club from Nunavut during the game.

I gave the girls a little bit of spending splurge money so they could get a souvenir. I had "helping hands" to spare, LOL! My sillies, pictured below! :-D 

They were the happiest at the end of the game because (a) we won!, and (b) they got autographs and photos from almost all of the players, who were great sports and very patiently signed everything from tickets to iPods to foam hands as mementos for the girls. 

They were certainly happy! 

A walk home, cheering back to the cars full of fans that passed us. I know I'll be in bed early tonight, LOL! 

All in all, a great second full day. The Assiniboine Zoo tomorrow and our run on Sunday!

TTFN!

Terri and the gang.