The Bachelor Life

At the end of our last post, Lily mentioned our posting schedule was going to be intermittent. This is a nice way of saying she was going to the Iqaluit office for a week, and the likelihood that I would remember to post every few days was low. Well, here it is a week later, and I'm finally getting around to it, so good call, honey. 

With Lily away on business, Pepper and I have been relish...sorry, suffering the freedom that only males can fully appreciate. In all honesty, Pepper seems happy enough, but at night, he watches out the window, expecting Lily to come home, and finally gives up each night with a sigh and comes to bed. Other than the part about looking out the window, my routine is pretty similar. We keep in touch by phone usually once a day or so, but it's not the same. 

I'm proud to say that there are no dishes stacked in the sink, and the laundry is folded and put away. This may seem fairly trivial to some of you, but believe me, these are bigger steps than you can appreciate. They shouldn't be, but they are, for now. ;-p

Lily and I recently committed to only eating what we had in our pantry or fridge/freezer, and only buying perishables like dairy and vegetables. On account of this, Pepper and I have been suffering through steak for a few days (the horror!). He seems not to mind as much, because he's a trooper. I just looked over at him for confirmation, and he yawned, which is dog-speak for many things, including "That's right, Jeff!". 

This week has been a lot of cleaning, organizing, and job-hunting (now that school's out, I'm unemployed), and planning ways to make my wife happy (the penguin, walrus, sea lion, monkey, and pony are all on order). Seriously, we can't watch any more films with animals in them, because if they're cute, she wants one. It looks like I'll be better off just buying Marineland and African Lion Safari, and it would certainly be easier than trying to find space for those animals in our house. 

Lily will be back in a few days, and both Pepper and I will be better for it. Come home soon and safely honey. We miss you. 

-J & P

Hamlet Week: Dog Races

Last week was hamlet week in Baker, and there were plenty of scheduled games and activities for the community. One of the big events was a 3-day dog race out on the lake towards a point about 30 minutes away from town. To win, the team with the best combined time over the 3 days got first place. I believe the time difference between the 1st and 2nd teams were a mere six seconds!

I went down with a friend and her kids, and we had fun watching them take off. Teams left at two minute intervals and it was neat to see the different kinds of dogs running.

It was a beautiful evening when we got to the lake, and plenty of people were already there to see the teams set up.

The lake was actually pretty slushy since it's been warm-ish, which made it hard to run, I imagine. But the dogs seemed to be in good spirits and they were eager to get going!

Listen closely to the kids talking in the background. The little one keeps insisting they are reindeer racing, and her brother is trying to explain that they are doggies. My goodness, the cuteness while surrounded by children and puppies...it was almost too much to handle!

The Buddy Fund

We've spoken about the care of animals here in Baker before - particularly of dogs in general. We even ended up growing our family rather unexpectedly when we adopted Pepper from one of the families here. That being said, there is an organization here called the Buddy Fund that does amazing work to care for the family, pets and other animals within the community.

The Buddy Fund was actually recognized in the Nunavut Legislative Assembly earlier this week - this is an excerpt from the transcript:

The Buddy Fund supports the Canadian Animal Assistance Team in bringing veterinarians into the community for clinics, vaccinations, spays and neutering. One of the objectives of the Canadian Animal Assistance Team is also to support local mushers in keeping dog sledding and good sled dog lines alive.


The vet clinic starts tomorrow, and the team of volunteer doctors provide vaccinations, spaying and neutering for the community at no charge to families. We have Pepper's appointment scheduled to have him fixed and to catch up any vaccinations we missed when we were home last, and it's a service that we are so grateful for. (Our vet at home quoted us $700 to fix Pepper). Additionally, the Buddy Fund also provides dog houses, leashes, chains and even food for pets if a family needs it.

With so many mistreated animals around town, it's nice to know that there is a dedicated group of volunteers and animal-lovers who are working hard to provide the basic necessities for these animals to have a good life. I know we feel much better knowing that if we can't get south for Pepper's annual checkups/vaccinations, there are wonderful providers who come here annually.

-L

Going Buggy

It's been cool and windy for the past while here (65 km/h winds! If there was snow on the ground, some of those days would have been blizzard days for sure!), but we weren't complaining. For the most part, that meant that the bugs stayed away and you could actually walk outside without looking like you were doing an interpretive hand-dance in front of your face the whole time. We also tend not to take Pepper for a walk when the bugs are bad because I haven't been able to find a dog-friendly bug spray that doesn't harm him/make him react, etc. and the poor guy gets bitten about as much as I do.

I know we've mentioned it numerous times that these are bugs that travel in packs and swarm you at every opportunity, but I thought I'd show you a little of what we've been talking about. Here's how our window looks on any given day.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! Today we thought we'd share some pretty pictures of all the beauty that is blooming around us, as well as some wildlife that are joining us now that it's warmer. With so much loveliness around us, we're thankful to call Canada our home. :)

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!