A few days ago it was so sunny and warm here in Baker Lake that you could actually see the snow melting! Fast forward to today, where we are cuddled up inside and watching a blizzard carry on outside. A simple and not-so-subtle reminder that we've still got a few months of snow ahead of us. I can't complain too much though, since a snow day/long weekend at the end of April isn't all horrible. :)
Today I'd like to talk about little things we do to stretch our grocery budget while living here in the north. It is no secret that it is expensive to live here and prices are much higher than in the south; however, there are small things we do that help us eat healthy and not spend outside our means.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Overcoming Paranoia...and Feeding Paranoia
***Warning*** This post contains scenes which may be offensive to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
We are approaching the beginning of May, and my mother mentioned today that it is surprisingly chilly in Mississauga this week. We know what she means - we still have 15 foot snowbanks in some parts of town, although it is warming up. Today was only -18°C, a veritable heatwave by Baker standards.
We are approaching the beginning of May, and my mother mentioned today that it is surprisingly chilly in Mississauga this week. We know what she means - we still have 15 foot snowbanks in some parts of town, although it is warming up. Today was only -18°C, a veritable heatwave by Baker standards.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Baker Lake's Wildlife
Where has the day gone that it's so late to be posting a new entry right now? My week's been fuzzy and I keep thinking it's a day later than it really is, so I thought today was Thursday and not a posting day - hence why it's after 8pm and here I am!
Monday, April 22, 2013
Baker Lake Dog Race
For the first time in many, many years (the people I spoke with weren't sure how many, but at least 20), Baker Lake held a big dog race here in town! Teams from all over were invited to join, and I believe there were a total of 5 teams in the race.
The race was originally supposed to run for 3 days, 30 miles each day, but one of the days was cancelled due to weather. Dog teams could have a maximum of 8 dogs and one musher, and the winner was the best combined time of the 2 days.
We walked out to the ice on Saturday afternoon hoping we would catch the teams coming back, but we were too late and they had already come back and had taken the dogs off the ice. There was still one more team to come, but with only 4 dogs pulling the sled, we were told we would be waiting for a while so we stayed out as long as we could but never did see him come in.
Thankfully, a fellow Baker Laker let me "steal" some of the pics he took so we could show you what a dog race looks like!
The race was originally supposed to run for 3 days, 30 miles each day, but one of the days was cancelled due to weather. Dog teams could have a maximum of 8 dogs and one musher, and the winner was the best combined time of the 2 days.
We walked out to the ice on Saturday afternoon hoping we would catch the teams coming back, but we were too late and they had already come back and had taken the dogs off the ice. There was still one more team to come, but with only 4 dogs pulling the sled, we were told we would be waiting for a while so we stayed out as long as we could but never did see him come in.
Thankfully, a fellow Baker Laker let me "steal" some of the pics he took so we could show you what a dog race looks like!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Boston
With everything that is happening in Boston right now, it doesn't feel right to post something trivial about our lives today. We have family who live there and are keeping them and the rest of the city in our thoughts and prayers. It's hard to fathom the trauma they must be experiencing right now and we hope it's all over soon.
Hold your loved ones a little closer today.
- L & J
Hold your loved ones a little closer today.
- L & J
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Open Call for Guest Bloggers
Our guest blogging series has been really well received and we would like to formally put out an open call for more guests to post on our site. Our readers love hearing from people other than us...we're not sure if that's a good thing or not though, ha! ;)
Do you have something you would like to post about that is Nunavut-related? It can be anything from having lived here, to knowing people who live here, to just having a really strong like of the territory. Or perhaps you've heard about Nunavut in the news and would like to touch on something that's been nagging at your brain.
Whatever it is (as long as it is family-friendly), we would be happy to host your story here on our blog and feature it in an upcoming blog post. If you're worried about "not being a good writer" to that we say "pffft. If you have something to say, it will be good." We can help you with it if you like!
If you are interested in writing for us, we would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment with how we can contact you on this post and we will go from there.
Looking forward to lots and lots of comments!
-L & J
Do you have something you would like to post about that is Nunavut-related? It can be anything from having lived here, to knowing people who live here, to just having a really strong like of the territory. Or perhaps you've heard about Nunavut in the news and would like to touch on something that's been nagging at your brain.
Whatever it is (as long as it is family-friendly), we would be happy to host your story here on our blog and feature it in an upcoming blog post. If you're worried about "not being a good writer" to that we say "pffft. If you have something to say, it will be good." We can help you with it if you like!
If you are interested in writing for us, we would love to hear from you! Please leave a comment with how we can contact you on this post and we will go from there.
Looking forward to lots and lots of comments!
-L & J
Monday, April 15, 2013
Guest Post: Jeka of Nunavut
Fellow blogger Jeka moved to the picturesque hamlet of Kimmirut (a hamlet in the Baffin Island region that only has about 500 people!!) and has been blogging over at Jeka of Nunavut to share her adventures. She is super smiley and tells lovely tales about her life and working at the Northern! :)
Here's Jeka's story!
Here's Jeka's story!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Food Insecurity: Why is This Ok?
Through plenty of media attention, many of you have probably heard about how expensive food is in the north, and how Canada needs to look at the issue of food security as a priority when it comes to social and economic planning. I have also spoken about it here on the blog in my post, Feeding the North. It is an important issue that has very real and serious consequences right here in Canada.
Recently, I went to the stores here in town and was browsing through some of the sale items. Upon closer inspection, these are items that have passed their "best before" date and were on their way out the door. Amazingly, I found things that have been expired anywhere from weeks to months, and even one item that had expired in early 2012. Yet, the stores continue to sell the items and people buy them because they are more affordable.
Why is this an ok thing? How is it safe for consumption if it is past the "best before" date? Stores in the south can't get away with blatantly selling expired items, so why is it ok in the north? I decided to find out...by reaching out to the sources directly.
Recently, I went to the stores here in town and was browsing through some of the sale items. Upon closer inspection, these are items that have passed their "best before" date and were on their way out the door. Amazingly, I found things that have been expired anywhere from weeks to months, and even one item that had expired in early 2012. Yet, the stores continue to sell the items and people buy them because they are more affordable.
Why is this an ok thing? How is it safe for consumption if it is past the "best before" date? Stores in the south can't get away with blatantly selling expired items, so why is it ok in the north? I decided to find out...by reaching out to the sources directly.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Thawing Out
Monday, April 8, 2013
Guest Post: Sarah on the Road
So without further ado...
Friday, April 5, 2013
What Happened to Spring?
I've heard of "April showers" but never of "April blizzards" before. Guess it can be pretty typical for these parts, because we find ourselves in the midst of a blizzard today. The wind's been gusting for the past week or so, and we knew something was coming our way when the communities in the region started having bad weather. It's still not quite something I was prepared for, considering last week was warm and beautiful outside. (Warm being a relative term, as it was still -20 but it felt balmy compared to our current temperature of -41 with the windchill.) We've been told that the last blizzard last year happened in June (and it lasted for 2 days), so maybe we shouldn't be too excited for spring yet...
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Easter 2013
4 day weekends are great, but it was confusing because we kept thinking yesterday was Sunday, when it was actually Monday but we had the day off...all this to say that we accidentally forgot to post on the blog because we were behind a day. Oops! Not to worry though, we didn't forget you, dear readers, and I'm here to regale you with stories of our lovely weekend!