Back on Track

Sorry for the delay in posting - a lot has happened in the last few days, some of which I will detail here. First, let me tell you how our tiny hamlet is divided into areas, much like Toronto. Indiantown, which is the part of town where we live, is north of Chinatown - which is closer to the "downtown" area where all the shops and such are. I know what you're thinking - Toronto has little India and Chinatown, but they have 3 million people. How come a hamlet of 1,800 have these population designations as well? Good question, and the answer is simple enough. 

From what we understand, years ago, a Chinese and and an Indian person lived here, and the locals gifted them with an area of town based on their ethnicity. Obviously, that wouldn't work back home, but back then, if you weren't Inuit, you stood out. Granted, there are a couple hundred Southerners now, so they're fairly common, but we're still considered a minority up here.

Saturday: YAY! Our blinds were finally installed - previously, we have been using cardboard in the master bedroom to block the moon/streetlights, which had been fairly successful, but looked pretty ghetto. At least now our house looks more typical for the neighborhood, although someone down the street appears to be using an Ottawa Senators flag to achieve the same result. I don't imagine the flag is any better at blocking light than their goalie was at blocking shots, but it wouldn't be neighbourly of me to point that out.

Lily and I spent the morning going through our freezer and prepping ready-to-cook meals. She taught me how to make a meatloaf and we made a couple of batches of meatballs, and Lily applied her secret rub to the ribs we'll be having for dinner before making her own sauce to baste them. I'll let you know how they taste after we try them. She also made a sweet Asian pork tenderloin, and a honey dijon one for the freezer as well.We're having the meatloaf later this week, so I'll let you know if I did a decent job. I have to say, not having easy access to restaurants has been a blessing in disguise, because we (and by that I mean, mostly Lily) have been cranking out recipes and eating a lot healthier. Between that, all the walking I've been doing, and the P90 and Jillian Michaels workout videos, we should be in great shape for our return to Ontario.

Update: Best rib sauce EVER. My only complaint was that I was expecting side ribs like what you'd get at Montana's, and these were half-sized, but still delicious. Lily knows sauce, I'll give her that.

Sunday: Ever the baker, Lily served up homemade oatmeal cakes for brunch (peanut butter chocolate, and cinnamon), and despite how delicious they were, she insisted they were low-calorie. Otherwise, Sunday was a pretty low-key affair, although we did get our booze orders in. I don't know if it's been mentioned before, but we are allowed to order alcohol once a week, and our per person limit is either 5 bottles of wine, or a case of beer and three wines, or two 26's and 3 wines...you get the idea. We've hardly touched what we brought with us, but whenever you have people over, it's wise to have an overstocked cupboard. That was eventually followed by homemade chicken cordon bleu (I helped pound the chicken) with roasted potatoes, which is in a tie for best meal since moving to Baker Lake.

Today I am re-organizing our pantry (which is a separate room from the kitchen), working out, walking to town, and expecting a call related to potential employment - fingers crossed on that one.

More to follow tomorrow, so stay tuned and keep those comments coming.

-J