Last Saturday was my 30th Birthday. When I was offered this job there were a few things in particular that made me reluctant to move to Iqaluit… my nanny’s 90th birthday party this past summer, Curtis and Pam’s wedding in Calgary this September (which I thankfully still made it to!), and my 30th birthday. I had visions of sitting alone on this significant occasion in my life with no one to celebrate with. I even went so far as to throw myself a 30th birthday party in Halifax four months early, lol! Well, let’s just say my worries were totally unfounded. I had a great birthday with many lovely people to celebrate with.
The first thing I did on my birthday was go to a yogo class the instructor calls Sun, Moon and Hoop. Sun for the sun salutations that we do first, followed by moon salutations and completed with 45 minutes of hula-hooping! It was so much fun! I love a good sun salutation… challenges your body in a lot of ways without too much unnatural bending and stretching… and hooping is a fun way to work your middle. I don’t mean to brag, but I am a pretty good hooper! I went again yesterday, and let’s just say it leaves you surprisingly tender.
That evening Eva and I had people over for drinks and desert before heading down to the Legion for dancing. I invited a bunch of people in the hopes that half a dozen or so people would show up, but we ended up with a full house! It was wonderful, and everyone here is so thoughtful and generous. There were even unexpected gifts! Here’s a story about one of them…
You all know my Ford Explorer arrived last week. Well, on the afternoon of my birthday I noticed that it has a tape deck! I haven’t seen one of those in a while, and I was reflecting on where I might dig up some old tapes without coming up with any good ideas. Three or four hours later Mark and Robyn, who didn’t know anything about the truck or the tape deck, showed up with two stacks of tapes! It was so weird. They were giving them away at the library, so they picked out a couple of handfuls of tapes that I am younger than, and then proceeded to sing a song they wrote about all the things I am younger than. So much fun!
Once at the Legion I hardly left the dance floor for three hours! The whole evening was overwhelming in the best kind of way. I feel very fortunate to be aquainted with such wonderful people.
I was very busy at work this week. I had a workshop that I have been planning for the past three months on Tuesday and Wednesday. It went very well, but it took a lot out of me. I was operating at half capacity for the rest of the week. Not much else to say about that…
So you’ll never guess what league I am going to join this fall? It feels very Canadian of me… I’ll give you a hint: I’ll be a woman with a broom. No, it is not the league of housewives, but the curling league! I have never thrown a stone before in my life, but given that I am dancing at the Legion, it only seemed fit to join the curling league. I practiced for the first time yesterday and it wasn’t pretty. Let’s just say I am not a natural… in fact, there is something very unnatural about the angle of my leg in the picture below (and it goes on for days!). There were falls, bumps and bruises, none more severe than those to my pride… it is pretty difficult to fall gracefully on ice… and I am pretty tender today, especially following two hours of Sun, Moon and Hoop… but I shall not give in! I shall persevere and master this sport on ice! League play starts on Tuesday...
My rubber leg...
Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Iqaluit… I think it must have gone up to 5 degrees! It’s been a pretty mild week altogether, though I suspect we are in for some snow this week. We have been pretty spoiled so far this month, so I am okay with that. Besides, I am going home for a visit in less than two weeks so I don’t much care what it does here. I do find it quite funny though how bundled I tend to be compared to the locals. I walk everywhere and I often have to strip off layers, but I always leave the house prepared for any turn in the weather. I frequently find myself quite comfortably wrapped in a scarf, hat, mitts, two layers of jacket and rain pants… passing people in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Us newbie’s stand out like a sore, or should I say cold, thumb! I have even passed toddlers dressed more scantily than I am. I occasionally catch the locals giving me a look up and down and then stifling a chuckle. I am sure they are wondering to themselves how I figure to make it through an Iqaluit winter at the rate of clothing layers I am acquiring!
Here are some pictures of my walk on Saturday evening…
The sky reminded me of a water color painter's brush storkes on a very large canvas...
So peaceful...
This is my favorite walking path along the coast; reminds me of Newfoundland...
The sun setting behind the Iqaluit dump fire... which is still burning...
I would like to finish with a quote from the first page of a book I just started reading, The Year of the Flood...
"The air smells faintly of burning, a small of caramel and tar and rancid barbecues, and the ashy but greasy smell of a garbage dump fire after it's been raining."
I can relate...
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