ĭn'də-strē

great canadian adventure

I'm home :) I left Fort McMurray, Alberta 10:00 hrs on Friday, February 20 and arrived home in St. John's, Newfoundland on Wednesday, February 25 at 21:00 hrs. I have not seen a blade of grass since October 2008 as the entire country is blanketed in snow.

I slept over at Rueben's house Friday night and Saturday morning while brushing my teeth I froze and convinced myself this was a horrible idea and didn't want to go through with it. Friday night I curled up in my old bed with Rueben's dog Cosmo curled up against my leg. I was warm and at peace and felt ok. The thought of driving 6585 km in winter seemed even too big of an idea, even for me.

I did it though. Once I made it to the Manitoba border I started to relax a little. The drive through southern Ontario was monotonous and took two days. I slept in my car in Thunder Bay, ON and North Bay, ON. I had to stay over in North Bay because the OPP pulled me over outside of Sault St. Marie and told me to get a burnt out headlight fixed. I stopped in Ottawa for my second meal in 3 days. Yeah, I know but I get motion sickness.

I made it from North Bay, Ontario to Riviere Verte, New Brunswick in one day considering I drove through a snow storm from Montreal, Quebec to Quebec city, Quebec. Quebec was sketchy as all the signage is in French. I got turned around in Quebec City because I missed my turn off. That added an additional 20 minutes onto the journey.

Riviere Verte, New Brunswick to North Sydney, Nova Scotia was easy driving and I made it to the ferry terminal by 18:00 hrs. The MV Joesph and Clara Smallwood set sail at 23:00 and it arrived in Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland the following morning at 08:00. One cool note, at about 03:00 the ship felt like it was slamming on its brakes and ramming head first into something. Dudes, it was ice! Apparently the ship is also an ice breaker of sorts. Ice jam on the North Atlantic. Coooooool. Anyways, once I drove off the ferry it took about 13 hours of driving to get home to St. John's. I'm tired, I have a headache of epic proportions and I have no idea what I'm going to do now. I do know, however that tomorrow is my 33rd birthday and the start of Project Noble Beaver.

Darren and I. This photo was taken about 30 minutes before I left so this was the last time I saw Darren. I don't know how to explain my friendship with Darren except that it's complicated.

Talk about adding insult to injury. These 3 pictures of my new office. My supervisor had me move everything from one building to another. Two minutes after I finished the task, that's when I found out I was laid off. Yeah. Whatever, I got paid.

Looking out towards Plant 92 and the Evaporator

The Kastle, where I spent the better part of the last 2.5 years.

Ironic, since I was actually leaving Fort McMurray. I stopped at the tourism Canada kiosk and picked up some free travel guides to all the Canadian provinces I would be visiting.

Outside of North Battleford, Saskatchewan

Leaving Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. I do love Saskatchewan and will miss living there.

Heading towards the Manitoba border.

Manitoba border. By then my nerves has finally settled and it was an uneventful drive to Brandon and onto Winnipeg.

I know what your thinking but no, they are not the same lake. This is southern Ontario in the winter. You drive through the woods, you go down a hill, you see a lake then you repeat this ad nausea for 2 days.

Nova Scotia :) The home province of my mother and also of many of my friends. If Newfoundland doesn't work out, this is where I'll be heading next. Beautiful province. I love Nova Scotia.

The Table Mountains outside of Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland.

On the way to Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.

Overlooking the city of Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.

Springdale (I think....), Newfoundland. Beautiful town. They enticed me to visit by putting out a sign on the road saying they had coffee.

Sunset outside of Gander, Newfoundland.

west wind

last night I scuttled to the parking lot and raised the dead. Over the holidays, the maintenance crew buried my car in snow-- heavy, compacted snow. But I prevailed and shoveled the snow then took a deep breath, sat in my car and turned the key. It's alive! I knew Slepniir would not let me down. Afterall, we have been an item for 7 years. We've driven over 3 provinces and many, many towns and cities together. We've driven through every conceivable weather condition to be found in Canada. We've driven through mountains, over hills and dales, relaxed on a few ferries, and conquered the great prairie. I love my car and my car loves me.

Tonight I continue to pack and get ready for the last great trek home to Newfoundland. I was also happy to see I didn't overpack my car last December. I guarantee I'll be able to fit my stash and my book hoarde into my car-- even my duvet.

I'm really excited to be going home. I have a plan and it's good. Though, I might not be home for long. I have a lead on another job here in Alberta and it's left me torn. On one hand, I want a nice, relaxing 4 month vacation so I can catch up on being me. On the other hand, I don't want to be without a job, especially one that pays well. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll make the call because who knows, I may be able to take some time off while I wait for the new project to ramp up. I don't want to get ahead of myself though. First priority is to get home alive.

Even though I've found myself unemployed, Project Noble Beaver is still a go. Today while reading the comment board on the CBC I saw these two posts; "what the hell is made in Canada anymore? Can you give me some products I might consider buying?" and "Seriously, have you ever tried to buy only things made in Canada? It's almost impossible unless all you're buying is Quebec maple syrup and Alberta beef..."

Obviously they are not knitters and they are not me. I've found a lot of products that are Made in Canada. I have a wonderful group on Ravelry that have been brilliant at providing me with even more companies that sell or make products here in Canada. It's not impossible and I'm going to prove the pessimists wrong. So far I've been given the names of Canadian companies that sell and make paint, furniture, mattresses, cosmetics, soap, medicine, coffee, tea, chocolate, linen, wool, yarn, vegetables, dairy products, meat, fruit, tools, and clothing. This project is not going to be easy, but it's not impossible and doomed for failure.

tangled up in plaid

I wrote letters for two people I care about with all my heart. It was the only way I could say goodbye without crying. I figured out long ago that I can use writing to short circuit my girlmones to say what I feel. I can cry heroically. I don't cry very often but when I do, I rival Niagara Falls. It can be epic. I have a few more letters to write, but those two were very difficult but also very honest.

5 more days until I drive home from Firebag, Alberta to St. John's, Newfoundland. I figure that's roughly 7000 km. If I stay at a good steady pace, I'm hoping to be home on February 26 that way I can go out and celebrate my 33rd birthday on the 27th.

I know my posts have been rather dire straights lately so here is a list of which and what makes me happy despite recent events:

1. My car and I are finally going to be reunited. It's been over 2 months since I've taken Slepniir for a drive. Not only are we going to be together, we're going to do something quintessentially Canadian; drive the Trans-Canada highway across the country. We also get to take a ferry and that is so cool :)
2. When I get home, I will have my stash, my camera, my ipods, my macbooks, my journals, my sewing machine, my bathtub and a goodly amount of my books. With most of my stuff with me I know I couldn't possibly lack for creative inspiration.
3. I'll be home in St. John's! What could be better than that? well...besides really good sex...
4. Good food. No more gross camp food. The food is so foul that after almost 3 years, I surprise I haven't gotten the scurvy.
5. If I do find a job at home and it pays well, I am so getting a puppy!
6. Knit night. Now I can actually attend since I won't be stuck in Alberta in the ass-cold which is a level of hell not even Dante could comprehend.
7. Sewing. I got fabric and I got my sewing machine so now I can finally get the time and space to work through my sewing queue. Hellz yeah.
8. Doctors. It's been awhile since I've had blood work done. Now I can get a check up on the important things like how my liver is doing and whether my blood sugar is ok.
9. Newfoundland culture. I moved to Newfoundland for a reason; the people and the culture. I'll finally get to be home long enough to appreciate it.
10. Last but not least; there are a few people I would love to never, ever see again in my life. I hope they rot especially the ass-clown that pushed to have me laid off. I have a feeling that by going home I will be relieved of a lot of stress.

me vs. january

it's 06:24 and I'm sitting in the departure lounge at the St. John's airport. My flight was supposed to leave at 06:20. At 00:00 hrs the weather was fine. At 03:30 I awoke to a snow storm. I have a 09:50 flight from Toronto to Winnipeg. Then I have a flight from Winnipeg to Saskatoon and a final flight from Saskatoon to Firebag. I'm supposed to be in Saskatoon by at least 18:45. However, my flight from St. John's to Toronto has been delayed due to the poor condition of the runway.

I'm flying back to work today. After a month off my financial resources are stretched thin. I need to go to work in order to make money and rebuild my savings. When I got stuck in Calgary at Christmas, lady luck was on my side and I still made it to Chilliwack to visit my family.

Now it's January and as usual, my run of bad luck continues. I swear it's only because this flight is so important that the fates mock me and January continues to fuck me over royally. It's only January 12; plenty of time more shenanigans. I quit you January.

shenanigans

Today, I'm back to regular posting now that I finally got myself settled into my new apartment. I had my heart battered and bruised 3 times last year. I think that was a personal best. I have to give up hope that I'll ever have a successful relationship with the opposite sex. I have to stay as far away from men to save my sanity and have a good year; maybe even a vintage year.

I've been knitting and walking for 2 days straight. I am currently knitting 2 scarves for myself and 1 scarf for Daire. On Wednesday, I'm going to meet with the Newfoundland & Labrador Knitters Group from Ravelry, at the Starbucks on Kenmount road. I look forward to it. Plus I get to hang around a bunch of other women. Might work out since I have had no luck with the men.

a noble fleet of whalers

Happy Holidays :)

Today is my last day in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Tomorrow morning, my friend Rueben will be picking me up at 0500 as we're both flying to St. John's, Newfoundland. I've packed up, moved, donated or tossed everything I own. I've cleaned the apartment from top to bottom including steam cleaning the carpets.

I ended up giving away about 10 boxes of books worth approximately $5000. When I contacted the library about a donation, they said they could use the books to sell at their fall book sale. I kindly explained to them that I wasn't donating ratty paperbacks and pulp fiction.

I kept my wits about me, closed my eyes and breathed deeply, trying to cope from the trauma of her cruel words. I then explained to her that the books were non-fiction, mostly hardcover and published within the last 2 years and they were worth more than $1. I almost didn't give the library the books. It wasn't until I had her promise they would actually LOOK at the books being donated before tossing them onto the bargain table. I didn't end up with my right eye twitching or a nose bleed so I declare it a success.

Today I have to make one last donation to the Salvation Army and then sit and drink copious amounts of coffee and wait. I believe that I exist happily and naturally in a state of perpetual over-caffeinated bliss. Combine that with knitting and this last day will be bearable. Only sex and beer drinking could possibly be better but alas, today my options are limited to coffee drinking and knitting. good times.

paper airplanes

I'm in Calgary, Alberta. I've made it this far and yet I wait and knit very patiently. I left Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan at 1200 hrs to catch my 1500 hrs flight to Calgary, Alberta then a 1850 hrs flight to Abbotsford, British Columbia. My flight to Calgary was delayed 4 hours and my flight to Abbotsford has also been delayed 4 hours. It is currently 2102 hrs and I still have an hour wait.

I can only hope that the weather and the flight situation improves. I spend 3 days with family then fly home to Moose Jaw via Calgary. Then I spend 3 days in Moose Jaw before flying home to St. John's, Newfoundland via Toronto, Ontario. I've done a lot of knitting and am currently working on my Cape Spear scarf. I've made good progress but I'm sure that's because today I've had a lot of time to sit and knit.

good times.

a break from our scheduled programming

home day :) finally. I have a lot of travelling to do over the next month so my goal is just to take things slow and steady. I admit to being nervous. I'm moving across the country and setting up my home in St. John's, Newfoundland. I will be very far away from my family as they all live in British Columbia. With the economy in a downward spiral, I don't know how stable my future will be come July, 2009.

I'll try to save as much money as I can and streamline as much as possible. That's all I can really do; think different. As always, and true to my nature, I expect the worst, and hope for the best. First thing though is to get the hel outta camp and go home for the holiday.

by and by, I have renamed my blog industry as I feel it better reflects my current direction in life now that I finally have my big creative on. Hope you all like it. Heima isn't going anywhere, it will resurrect in a new way in the future.

hoist up the john b's sail

I got the tickle. So tomorrow I'll either have the full blown sick or barely avoid it. I can feel it in my throat and since it's close to December, it's right on time. Better sick now then at Yule.

Moe's scarf is too short. I will need to add length so that will delay completion by a week probably; maybe less. I don't really have much to talk about since I've been busy working and sleeping. My body still needs more rest especially if I'm indeed getting a cold.

big fish

So today I started working out the details of my move to St. John's, Newfoundland. I have my apartment and today I bought my plane ticket to St. John's for December 30. I'm actually travelling with a friend who is also going to St. John's for New Year's. I still have to get my stuff into storage, my car up to camp and all personal business cleared up before then. yup, no problem.

tonight is dedicated to knitting. I have to finish Moe's scarf because I have to get my sister's scarf completed and work on Daire's. I'm feeling a lot better now. I got a lot of sleep last night which made a huge difference.