Whitehorse Air Show

An air show celebrating the nation’s birthday and the role aviation has played in the North was in Whitehorse on Sunday.

The Canadian Arctic Aviation Tour 2017 – Wings Over The North put on a display at the Whitehorse International Airport. It is touring all the Territories and either flying over or flying over AND landing on the ground so the public can inspect the planes and will visit most northern cities and towns (97 in all).  It is apparently an $8 million event.

So, on Sunday we went.  The first show was two planes doing the usual air show loop-de-loops etc.  The thing I thought was spectacular about it was the one plane they called Dad, was piloted by a 81 year old, who, on his 80th birthday did 141 pushups!  (I can do 20)

We did view the first acrobatics from the field with the crowd, but then made our was to the Horizon Helicopters' office and joined the helicopter people and their families there to watch the remainder of the show.  

The show had to stop about four times to allow three Air North Planes to take off and/or land and one Air Canada Plane.  (the air show crowds clapped for Air North).

The day had beautiful blue skies for the event ...  but that wind!  It was constant and strong and cold.  The photo above is looking towards the runway, but I didn't do so good in capturing the planes in the air.  

Lawrence Hill

Went to the Kwanlin Dunn Cultural Centre tonight to see Lawrence Hill.  He was to give a reading from his newest novel The Illegal.  Luckily it was held at this venue as the crowd was quite large.  Different from the last time I saw him a couple of years ago.  At that time it was held in the basement of the Museum - a much much smaller venue.

In case you cannot tell from the photo I took, here is another photo of the author.  This is the same author that wrote Book of Negroes.  I thoroughly enjoyed that novel and am expecting, especially from his readings, that I will thoroughly enjoy this one as well. 

He is also up here doing research for an as yet unwritten novel about the blacks that came north in 1942-3 to help build the Alaska Highway.    He will apparently be in Dawson City (yes I know, SR, that Dawson City is not on the Alaska Highway - and by the way, so does Lawrence as I told him what you said) for 3 months at the Pierre Burton House as resident writer, in January, February and March of next year.  That should give him an idea of the cold conditions they faced building the road.

Leaving the centre I couldn't help but stop to look at the clay cliffs on the other side of the Yukon River.  They were bathed in a golden light and looked quite stunning, so I thought I would share that with you.

May 6 & 7, 2017

The week started off with a big shake (earthquake) and ended with a big BANG.  That bang was Emerson who, early Saturday morning fell off his chair and banged his head hard on the floor - so hard that it knocked him out for a few seconds.  Brooke immediately phoned for an ambulance, then phoned me.  Luckily I was awake and jumped into some clothes and drove to their house.  By the time I arrived the ambulance was there and as I jumped out of the truck the paramedic said, "don't worry Gramma, he is up and walking".  He was just coming out of the house at that point and walked over to me.  I knelt down to hug him and he felt like a limp piece of spaghetti in my arms.   

The two paramedics were so nice.  They asked if the kids wanted go inside the ambulance.  Of course they did and they showed them a few things and gave Emerson a cold-pack for his head.  Then it was time for them to leave so they turned on the flashing lights for the kids to see and said Good-bye on the loud speaker when they were at the end of the driveway.  

Above are the kids inside the ambulance.

They did say that Emerson should be checked over by a doctor, so Brooke immediately took him to Emergency.  I stayed home with Alanna.  On their return, it was confirmed that the little one did have a concussion and had to take it easy.  He was still as pale as a sheet, a little woozy on his feet, and his body was still in shock from the trauma.  So, I packed Alanna into my truck and left Brooke to spend some quiet time with Emerson.  

Alanna and I went garage-saling.  Once in a while I wander the garage-sales looking for age appropriate toys for the twins (for my house).  Our last stop was a sale that took place at SR's old school, Hidden Valley Elementary School.  On our way out, we had to stop at the playground where Alanna enjoyed many runs on a very slippery slide.

I do have to say with all this hullaballoo going on in the USA about Obamacare etc. it is so reassuring that we have the system of health care that we have here in Canada.  There is no added worry about whether we can afford to phone an ambulance or go and see a doctor.  We just go and get the medical care we need when we need it.  And thank you to the health care people for their kind professional help.  When an emergency such as this happens we don't need any additional stress.  Thank you Canada!

All this happened when SR was out of town.  He was at the wedding of his cousin Christie-Anne down Vancouver way (Congratulations Christie-Anne!!).  On Sunday he was home again and brought Emer over to my house for the afternoon.  Alanna was with her Auntie Em at a birthday party and a baby shower.  All that was still too much for Emerson as he still needed quiet time to recover from his concussion.  At the end of the afternoon Alanna was back from the parties and joined us as well.

This was a weekend I hope we don't repeat too often .

Earthquake: May 1, 2017

From CBC News North:  

"The Yukon government is taking stock of the damage from a couple of earthquakes that shook the territory early Monday morning. At least two buildings — a school and a Whitehorse office building — will remain closed Tuesday.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Yukon and Alaska at about 5:30 a.m. local time Monday, causing power outages, damaging buildings and shaking people awake.

Then another larger quake, magnitude 6.3, hit less than two hours later, about 7:20 a.m. PT. There were also a series of aftershocks.

The first quake hit in British Columbia's far northwest, near the B.C.-Yukon border, about 85 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, while the second hit about 80 kilometres west of Skagway."  

The school was Elijah Smith Public School (down the road from me) and the building was the Lynn Building off 4th Avenue in downtown Whitehorse.

Magnitude 6.2 earthquake

133 km from Whitehorse, YT · May 1, 5:31 AM

My story:

I was not only awake at 5:30 AM, but was sitting in bed sipping coffee, watching the news on TV and doing a crossword puzzle on my iPad.  I heard a loud disturbance coming from the kitchen at the opposite end of the house, perked up my ears, then quickly the noise rolled into my bedroom, shaking everything gently at first then stronger and stronger.  I immediately thought - earthquake - and as it became stronger I jumped from the bed and stood in the doorframe between the bedroom and ensuite.  It soon subsided.  Although "they" say it lasted only 10 seconds, it felt like at least a minute.  I still had my iPad in my hand, so I immediately Facebooked : "Earthquake!  At 5:33 am."  Within about 5 minutes it became a breaking story on CTV National News.  I was lucky as the power went out for about an hour in the downtown area and some of the surrounding area, but didn't affect my area (although it was starting to get light outside anyway as we are nearing the approach of the longest day).  I went into the kitchen to get myself a coffee refill and quickly spotted the damage caused by the earthquake - Tiana was shaken off the window sill and was lying face down on the counter.  For a second time I was lucky as that was the total of the damages that I could see.

                              

Poor Tiana.

About an hour and a bit later sisTer (Teri) messaged me saying mom was concerned as she had heard of the quake on the news.  I phoned her to reassure her everything was good in the city as far as I knew then I phoned sisTer to thank her for letting me know Mom was worried.  As I was talking to her and explaining what I experienced in the quake, another earthquake rolled through my house, shaking my bed and rattling the dresser pulls.  It again lasted only about 10 seconds, this one it seemed to be a bit less violent than the first (although the first was recorded at a 6.2 magnitude, the second at 6.3).    It is now about 7:30 and between being shaken and having drank 2 cups of coffee, I was unable to get back to sleep.  Third time lucky for me as I then received a phone call asking if I could Twinsit.  They were just about to get into the car when they received an email saying that due to the earthquake, the daycare was closed for the day.  (Perhaps their building had to be inspected for damage???  I don't know)  So

about 20 minutes later I had two excited little people in my house.

SR told me how the shaking had awoken them.  They both jumped out of bed, ran into the twins' room,  and grabbed the kids.  By that time it was starting to subside.  I was amazed that in the period of about 10 seconds a parent could wake up, realize what was happening, jump out of bed and grab their children.  I don't know if I could react that quickly from a deep sleep.

Anyway, as I said, in came two 2 and 3/4 year olds AND two dogs.  Apparently Lily was quite freaked out by the earthquake and they didn't want to leave her alone.  I did notice that she stuck close to my side for about an hour after arriving.  

I have experienced a few quakes while in the north.  Many were very minor, such as the feeling you get when you step off a boat and it feels like the ground is rocking like the boat was or lying in bed and seeing my dresser pulls vibrating but not feeling much motion.  

The first memorable one was shortly after I arrived in 1978.  I was in a truck that had pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.  I thought someone was pushing the truck up and down and sideways to scare me ... but no one was even near the truck.

The second memorable one was while living in MacPherson subdivision.  I am pretty sure that one was the cause of the pipes going into the septic system  separating.  Thank goodness for plumbers, repairing a job I wouldn't even want to get near.  So hopefully I won't find any fault such as that.  I inspected my walls and they visually all look good.  The outside of my house in under vinyl siding so I cannot see that but so far so good.

Birthday AGAIN (and Earth Day too)

Not only did I receive a flower delivery to my door but it was delivered by Nancy who sang the Happy Birthday song on my doorstep!  That was a lovely surprise all around.  Thanks Sisses!

And, being such a lovely spring day, we were able to bar-b-que AND eat outside.  The table was set with beautiful hand-made dishes and a tablecloth and napkins from Mexico.  The meal was delicious and it was so nice to eat under the sunny blue blue sky.

After dinner came ... ta daaaaa ... the CAKE.  SR made the cake (gluten free thank you) and Brooke decorated it.  It almost looked too good to eat.

I had lots of help blowing out the candles.  (Thank you for only putting on 12).

Then, more flowers.  "They're PINK", said Alanna excitedly.  A dozen pink roses, so beautiful.  

Thanks to all that wished me a Happy Birthday.  I feel so lucky to have so many friends and such a loving family.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday to Debbie and Me

Happy Birthday to Debbie and Me

Happy Birthday Dear Debbie & Me

Happy Birthday to ....  well you get it.

And Nancy and I are not sleeping at the table.  Just resting our eyes apparently.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday with the kids.  This year the Easter Bunny came and they were thrilled, especially as their eggs were filled with chocolates, something they do not get except on very very special occasions.

They were dressed in their finest.

The weather, although a touch on the cool side, was nice enough to play outside for short periods of time without a coat.  We had a lovely turkey dinner with the family and I met their friends who are new to the territory.  I would say they were from England as they both spoke with English accents, but he was actually raised in Vimy Ridge in northern France; his father was caretaker of the graves there.  And they had a 3 month old baby.  Hard to believe Alanna and Emerson were every that small.  All in all a wonderful Easter.

Facebook

Reading Facebook yesterday and who did I see?  My friend Jean.  Here are the pics and the story that goes with it.

Yukon Conservation Officer Services added 10 new photos.

Yesterday at 4:19pm · 

Yukon Conservation Officer Services was well represented at the Dawson District Renewable Resources Council Biennial Fur Show. Our Trapper Education Instructors spent several hours as judges of pelts submitted for the show (and did a commendable job), our trapline administrator was on hand to answer questions from the public and to support the instructors, and the Dawson District Conservation Officer sealed pelts, answered questions and even participated in the trap setting competition, with a strong showing in second place! Thanks and kudos to the DDRRC for organizing it all and to our partners at the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board and the Yukon Trappers Association for their representation at the show. 

Easter is coming

Easter gifts for the kids.  

April 11 - Snow Snow Go Away!!

Haven't written in a while.  Spring always goes slower than expected.  The weather begins to warm yet the ground is still frozen.  My neighbour and I kind of share a front lawn.  We didn't have much snow this winter UNTIL March, when it snowed almost every day and it really piled up.  I pinched a nerve in my back this winter (it took physio 4 months to discover that was the problem) so I am not shovelling any of this snow.  I decided it must just melt slowly and naturally.  Luckily, my neighbour Sevn has a snow blower and he is blowing away a little every day.  

The photo above was taken tonight.  You can see how high the snow still is compared to River and her dog.  Sevn had the snow blower going again tonight so little by little he will attack the snow still left.

Saturday and Sunday, March 11 & 12

Jenn made a wonderful welcoming sign to greet visitors as they entered her house.

On day one "the girls" drove to Lacombe to watch Dawson play Volleyball.  He is on a provincial league team.  We watched two games ( and I hope he doesn't think we jinxed the team ).  Then it was off to a restaurant, then headed back to Edmonton.  

SR & his family went to he West Edmonton Mall where the kids rode many different rides.  They had a great time there.

Alanna fell in love with (3rd ? 4th? cousin) Dawson.  She entertained him all evening, showing him how she could dance ballet, do yoga, run and jump and even taught him how to drink out of a cup.  She couldn't get enough of him and was by his side as much as possible.

I love this photo not only for the people in it but for the fact that it catches Emerson (in the background) sneaking a jelly bean off the credenza.  

And of course we took family photos.  You can see Alanna still adoringly looking at Dawson.

I don't think I realized what was going on in the photo until I posted it.  I think I was concentrating on the smiles in the very back row and didn't realize that Emerson was having some sort of incident, which may be the lack of a small car which his father seems to have found and will soon solve the worry on his face.  Notice Alanna still gazing at Dawson.  Oh well, the back row looks happy.

Edmonton: March 10

At Whitehorse Airport waiting to board the plane to Edmonton.  The flight arrived into Edmonton around 9:30 PM, past the kids bedtime so they were a bit out of sorts (to say the least) by the time we arrived at the rental.  On a brighter side the rental was great.  It was right by Whyte Ave and only about 7 minutes to cousin Jenn's house (if you didn't go through the Second Cup drive-through every time we drove over there).

Used an Air BnB in Edmonton.  This was most of the main floor of the semi detached house.  The 3 bedrooms were on the second floor and conveniently included a washer and dryer which came in handy.

And a view from the living room looking through the dining room into the kitchen.  The house was great.  The weather was COLD.  It was around -15 to -20 during the night and day.  It snowed quite a bit on day two.

Saturday Continued

Then it was to Gramma's house.  They do things here that they don't do at home, for example, being a bridge.

And Emerson is totally into the small cars and trains.  Alanna was more interested in the He-Man figurines but she was partial to the Porsche as well.

Yup, lining up those trains is fun.   We had a good time together.  They even napped, something I have tried unsuccessfully to do with them in the past and failed.  I guess the camera was pulled out when Alanna was still sleeping as I don't seem to have Gramma's House pictures of her here.

The Big Colon

The other half of the floor was taken up with a huge Colon... gross!  It is National Colon Cancer Awareness month so we got to walk through a huge colon.  We saw Polyps, Crohn's Disease, and Cancer as we walked through the large colon.  Fun!!

Saturday Morning

 Saturday.  The kids were coming to spend the day at my house but first they went to the Canada Games Centre.  They arrived there early so there were only two other small children there in the play area when I arrived around 9:30 AM (I think it really opens around 10).  Emerson loves the riding toy.  So does Alanna  but she will only ride the PINK and PURPLE one.  There were about 5 other blue ones free but the other small person there was riding "her" riding toy so she took up a PINK ball throwing toy instead.

You can see by her clothes what her favourite colour is.  When she was an infant she made the cutest little noise that sounded like she was saying "Ning!"  So her nickname became Ning.  She is now called Pink Ning.  You can see why.

It's a great space for the kids to run around and play.  They have fun playing with their parents as well.

I loved watching them play with the BIG BALL.

On the way out we all stopped to watch the soccer game going on.