On Sunday, I heard it was once again going to be a high of -17 degrees celcius. When I looked at my thermometer it read -2 degrees. Happily I donned my light coat, grabbed my camera and shot outside. I made it to the end of the driveway and quickly turned back to pull on my silk long underwear and 3/4 length down coat with down hood and insulated gloves. It was COLD out there. Once again, now sporting more clothes I began my walk. 4,000+ steps later (I'm counting my daily steps now) I knocked on my friend's door. It was there I discovered that it was -18 outside and with the windchill it was -28. I still had 2,000 steps to my house, but glad to tell you, I made it.
I walked through the new subdivision (top pic) and found the perfect lot (bottom pic) (although I am certain it is already sold) with the best view of any lot in the whole subdivision. Why does the scenery look so beautiful when it is so bloody cold outside? Of course, I blame this weather on my cousin Joe, who wrote about the warm spring weather in Ontario on his blog - just to make me jealous - it worked.

Watched a couple of good movies again this weekend, for those of you who don't know what to pick up at the movie store: 1. Million Dollar Baby - it took me a while to watch this one as I am NOT a fan of boxing...just like last year's Academy Awards said, it was excellent - and the ending took me by surprise. 2. The Secret Window with Johnny Depp - of course he is so cute to watch, almost any movie with him it it is worth watching, but the story was good as well, and again, the ending took me by surprise. So, two I am glad I watched.

As I was trying to capture the the vivid colour of the room against the new dark floor I spotted a little head in the window. Ren was sitting on the deck watching me take pictures. Obviously he often looks in this window if the nose marks are any indication.

Tonight is Academy Awards night and yup, I will watch. Just saw Walk the Line last night, and I must say that Joaquim Peonix should win for his part as Johnny Cash. He played the part so well and his singing was as close to Johnny as you can get without being Johnny.. If you haven't seen this movie yet I highly recommend it. And another note - everyone does their own singing - no voice-overs. It was made with the help of Johnny Cash and June Carter, so it is true to life. Also just watched Hotel Rwanda. Another excellent movie even though the subject is not one we wish to be reminded of. Haven't seen Brokeback Mountain yet. I'm waiting until I get in the mood for watching gay cowboys and that mood hasn't hit me yet. Well, got to go and see if my pick for Best Actor wins.

So now I'm on my 10,000 steps a day program. To reach this amount, I walk for about an hour each day. My walks are taking me through the "top of the hill" subdivisions. I am learning which properties are good ones, and when I pass an open house, I go inside. I also pass a lot of friends houses at which I stop for a cup of tea as well (not all of my steps have to be done at one time!). Today I stopped at Sue's house. She just had new hardwood flooring installed (looks fabulous!) and is just finishing off painting her whole house. This visit brought back fond September memories (when I painted my whole house). Good work Sue.

Rendezvous is over but the sculptures remain. Was downtown this morning so took a walk through the snow sculptures. Really enjoyed them. They did a wonderful job. Seems to get better each year and the 20 below temperatures are keeping them in good condition. Thought YUKONG (above) was funny.

And right beside the airport is the Transportation Museum with the old Paddlewheeler outside. That was it for my walk as I had to rush home to make a pot of tea and watch Coronation Street (when will Shelly find out Charlie's no good??? how will Steve tell Tracey he doesn't love her???.....)

Since I was at the airport, decided to take a pic of the largest weather vane in the world. It's the old Canadian Pacific plane (DC3??) that used to fly here many moons ago. It does turn depending on the direction of the wind. And on such a beautiful day, the mountains are spectacular against the bright blue sky. Hard not to take picutres of them.

Whoa, what a beautiful day. It may get down to 30 below at night, but it warms up to about minus 15 during the day and you can now feel the heat of the sun ... finally. This is the path out my back door. About a 12 minute walk will lead me right to the airport (you can see the air traffic control tower on the 2nd picture). This will save me cab fare when I travel, although lugging the suitcase will be a chore!

Luckily my favourite busker was playing his flute inside - he's such a pleasure to hear. Had our coffee and a nice chat, saw a few people I knew then headed home. Passed the Canada Games Centre, went inside to look for SR's stolen soccer boots (on the feet of a soccer player), didn't find them, so decided to sign up as a volunteer for the Canada Winter Games, which happens here in 365 days time. Apparently Rick Mercer is in town and is going to be interviewed by CBC at the centre, but he wasn't around while I was there. Too bad, I wanted to see how short he really was.

The place was packed. Drinking coffee was one of the few things to do downtown on this cold day.

The craft fair was in the Elijah Smith Building. It was small but the work was very nice. By the way, the slippers cost $125 to $150 now.

And that was ALL there was to do. The streets were filling with people looking for a venue and nothing else was going on. So, we went across the street to Zola's for a hot coffee.

Well, it's RENDEZVOUS time once again. Considering I am a Rendezvous scrooge, I bit the bullet and decided to venture forth to be part of the festivities. It IS a holiday today and the sun was shining bright (little did I realize when I made the plans it was -31 c at night and "should" warm up around noon) so off I went to Main Street. The snow sculptures were being created - as you can see there is still a lot of work to do. My fingers froze taking this picture, so I put my gloves back on and went next to the First Nations craft show.

Here is an article I heard on the news. I think it is quite funny: You can access this video through this link:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/mashup/archives//003599.html

A short video showing Hungary's prime minister impersonating British actor Hugh Grant could boost his chances of winning April's parliamentary elections, analysts say.

In a 45-second video clip available on the internet, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany imitates a scene from the 2003 film Love Actually in which Grant, playing the British prime minister, dances around 10 Downing Street to the tune of the Pointer Sisters' Jump (For My Love).

Gyurcsany made the clip last summer as part of a wedding present to government spokesman Andras Batiz.

"[Batiz] asked if it would bother me if he showed the clip to his friends and relatives, if it would embarrass me if my clowning around gained wider distribution," Gyurcsany wrote in his blog. "I answered that it would not."

Analysts said the clip, along with his blog, was a clear attempt by Gyurcsany to appeal to younger voters and help lighten his image.

"The scene is particularly surprising for someone who is widely seen as the epitome of restraint and seriousness," Availo Vesselinov, a London-based analyst for German investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said in a report released today.

Vesselinov said Gyurcsany's Socialist Party, while still trailing the centre-right Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union by a few points in the polls, could make gains among the nearly one-third of voters still undecided.

Oh, those honkys!

And this is what our mornings look like, if you're up by 8:30 AM. A great start to the day.

OK as I wrote this I did think about sailors' warnings, but please note, there are NO sailors where I live, so the remainder of the day turns out quite well.

This a week for brunches. Ev (Mrs Church) and Helen (Gramma) dropped in for coffee and muffins the other morning.

This morning was another, with 4 of us in total. What a lovely way to spend a morning. We then went out to McRae to visit the art gallery. We had a good look around at the newest pieces and a good chat with Patrick Royle and Jackie Ziehe. And the weather was glorious - sun, sun, sun and above 0 temperatures. We couldn't have asked for more.

Just heard that my own son never reads my blog so thought I would show you what I made. This is for his girlfriend. They use Xmas stockings for their gift exchange and are presently using Wal-mart cheapos, so I thought I would make them stockings for gifts. As she is high fashion (aren't they all at that age?), here is the stocking which will be her Birthday present.

Just a quick northern update. The weather is April weather already. Plus 5 and sunny and melting during the day. Down to a whopping minus 5 at night. Has been like that for the last few days and should continue that way for a few more. Love it!

Want to see a good movie? The Constant Gardener.
Want to see a boring movie? Memoirs of a Geisha.

And I'll bet you're all watching the Olympics. And you already know Canada won a gold in moguls and the score in Women's hockey against Italy was 16-0. Good start. I also watched part of the opening ceremonies last nights and saw Yoko Ono talking about peace, heard John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance and saw Sofia Loren and Susan Sarandon carrying the flag.

And for all you soccer fans - Man U won again today AND Chelsea lost 3-0. So, if Man U wins the remainder of their games and Chelsea loses the remainder of theirs, Man U will come out on top - although there is not much hope of that happening.

That's it for now. Ciao!

This is where I went on Friday to visit the surgeon re my carpal tunnel. I told him I had an operation already on my left hand - he looked at it and said, "this looks like my work" - I thought it was funny that he could read his signature in a scar. Now we just have to set a date and perhaps my right hand won't fall alseep all the time (although after 24 years, I'm kind of used to it). 

Time for a wee celebration - 2 birthdays and one visitor from New Brunswick, so we gathered at Debbie's house for a glass of wine and appies. 

The day was miserable weather-wise. Although the temperature wasn't too bad (around minus 15C) the WIND was. If we had snow on the ground, we would now have 6 foot drifts. Making our way from the truck to the dog show and back to the truck cooled us down enough that we had to stop in for a piping hot latte and FINALLY, we now have a Starbucks, hooray!

Did you watch the Super Bowl today? Although it took place in Motor City, we didn't see any Motown action at half time - we DID see the Rolling Stones. People can say whatever they want, but Mick sure performs well for 60+ years old. And they sang Satisfaction, a song that takes me back. I don't even know who won, but Craig Ferguson (my newest favourite comedian - I try to watch at least his opening monologue nightly - he's one of the few that make me laugh) says the Steelers will win because the Seahawks have a hawk on their logo and the hawks would want to fly south and wouldn't be interested in hanging around Detroit in the cold weather. So there you have it, I don't have to watch.

And for any Man U fan out there, they won again this Saturday with some fabulous goals. The game was a pleasure to watch.

Until next time....

I went there with a purpose in mind - to pick out my next breed of dog. What I was looking for was a knee high non-shedding model, but stopped at the Labrador Retriever and the Hungarian Sheep Dog - my two favourites in the whole show - not exactly knee height. The most interesting dog was this dred locked Hungarian Komodor (it's the dog lying down that looks like a mop). The white dog, whose head you can see in the picture is the same type of dog with its hair shaved short. Once again, they are not wee dogs but I somehow cannot help but feel a connection to them. 

Went to the dog show today in the Convention Centre. Yes, we do have a convention centre - for those who lived here in days of yore, it is the old Lions Pool - of course with the hole filled in. And for those of you who know Bonnita Ritchie, she was the MC and did a wonderful job. 

Last Monday in January

Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know I haven't been too attentive with my blog but it's been cold and dark here! Since I last wrote the federal elections have come and gone. We have a new Prime Minister - we'll see what that means soon enough, - although the Yukon stayed steady and revoted Larry Bagnell into office (Liberal) once again.

The temperatures have dipped in the last week and a half. It may warm up to minus 25 C if we are lucky. It was in fact about that temperature when 90% of the Yukon had a power outage. The power station at Aishihik went down yesterday, and with that power drain, so did the power in Whitehorse, which left most of us without power - me for about 4 hours - some people for up to 9 hours. Right now we're running on full power, but Yukon Electric is advising us not to use anything that isn't necessary as they still don't know what caused this outage. (This blog is necessary, isn't it....I promise to get off the net as soon as I'm finished).

I've been doing inside stuff - re-caulked all my windows and painted the sills, been sewing making disasterous creations which I now have to re-think, and even started knitting again even with carpal tunnel (which I hope to have operated on by the end of February, depending how busy our surgeon is).

SR is doing well enough - still in school of course. He and Tara will be tripping down to Puerto Vallarta for reading week to meet up with his dad on the ship. He's already tanning to get ready for the sun (although we have had heated discussions about the dangers/benefits of tanning). That trip will be in the 3rd week of February.

And Debbie and I are starting to make some plans for our trip to Greece / Italy, which comes up in mid April. One month in Greece, 2 weeks in Italy. Can't wait...Then you'll see a good blog if I ever find an internet cafe!

Just watched a good soccer game last week - Man U v Liverpool. Both vying for 2nd place. It was good because my team won 1-0 in the last minutes of play. In case you're wondering, Chelsea is on top once again this year and Arsenal is in 6th place, much to Arsen Bengers's dismay.

So that's about it from the north. Until next time....

And here's what I do when it's too cold outside to play. I refinished this '60's table. I think it looks groovey. 

Just a few more steps and I'm at the mailbox. Pretty view. 

The path from my house to the mail box which I walk daily. Cold today - minus 25 degrees C. We're not used to that any more! 

So, to end my tour, here is a picture of where I live - 3 minutes up the road in this direction.

Also wanted to give y'all a heads up on a great CBC television series that I previewed this weekend. Reliable sources state that it may be available to run on CBC in October. (I'll try to keep you posted). It is called Northern Town, and here is an exerpt on this series:

"The story for Northern Town was written by Yukon's Daniel Janke, with Don McKellar as story editor. Bob Martin, artistic director of Second City Toronto, is co-writing the scripts as well as providing his editing talents to the series. Janke is also a producer of the series which is a Yukon/Ontario co-production."

The story revolves around our big meteorite happening from a couple of years ago (interested? you can find out more at http://www.ufobc.ca/yukon/ykfireballjan2000.html or at http://www.cbc.ca/north/story/meteor-whitehorse-08122005.html). I found this series to be funny, witty, and very very Yukon. Keep you eyes opened for it.

P.S.: (whew! will she ever stop talking???) You know you can double click on any picture on my blog if you want to enlarge it.

My friend, Deanna Slonski also has her paintings displayed here. And I forgot to mention the aquatic centre which has a leisure pool, waterslide, swirlpool, lazy river, tots pool, sauna, steamroom and lap pool. 

The art work is fabulous also. Here are the copper swans. 

This is a partial view from the facility. Here you are looking at the intersection of the Alaska Highway and 2 Mile Hill (which takes you down into city centre) The large green structure is Takhini arena which is also a hockey arena. There are also 2 ice rinks, a "flexi-hall" used for volleyball, basketball, etc., the soccer arena (did I mention that??), a weight/training room and a running track and a children's play area. 

Of course, first on my list is to show you the first ever (in our town) indoor soccer arena. This is where SR spent his days while here for Christmas. 

Here is the entrance. 

I told you that one day I would tour the new multi-plex facility with my camera. Well, today was the day. It was sunny! I drove back from Lake Laberge and was kicking myself for not having my camera with me, so when I arrived I scooped my camera and went down to the new centre (also called Canada Games Centre). There are pro's and con's regarding this facility - one being lack of seating for the games, another, the 20+% increase in property taxes to pay for it!!! But, disregarding the con's it is a pretty nice place to get active.