December 20

It was a beautiful day on Haida Gwaii; just had to share.

Last week the Tahayghen Boys and Girls Volleyball team brought home the banner; or the 'chip, the cup, first place, a blue ribbon! Check out J's killer serves and digs.

And here are my weaving projects. I hope the little girls like their gifts :)

VOTE for MASSET on GAMESTOWN 2010

I thought I would post this in an attempt to get some more votes for Masset to get much needed $$$ to rebuild the recreation centre by winning www.gamestown21020.com. Polls close in 19 days!

This town is in dire need of funds to rebuild the recreation centre. There was one built by the CFS in the 70's and it closed the doors September 2009 because the fund to keep the lights on, pool heated, and make repairs had run dry.

I found some base history and the following description of the recreation centre at http://www.troywoodintarsia.com/cfsm/cfsm.htm

-a recreation building containing a swimming pool, theatre, snack bar, gymnasium, weight room, squash court, bowling alleys, beauty parlour and barber shop. In later years a 2 sheet curling rink was constructed-

Because there is no recreation centre, children can not learn to swim in a safe environment (maybe they are supposed to learn in ocean waves and currents and then be comfortable in the water when they are out on fishing boats?), teenagers now hang out on the steps at the corner store (apparently the old rec centre was popular with local youth) and programs are currently scheduled into already busy elementary and high school gym space.

We are a northern community and with December 21 coming up next week, I am very glad that the hours of darkness will soon start to get shorter. Today it was only getting light as the kids went to school about 8:45am and it is getting dark soon after 4pm. Now throw in some rain, fog or storm clouds and there is only dim light all day. For the sake of the dark winter months, we need a recreation centre!

So if you have a minute, check out www.gamestown2010.com and Vote for MASSET (and you can vote for Port Coquitlam too.)

Christmas countdown...

I feel like it is December 22 with only a few days left to get everything organized; reason being I am sending (via the Pacific Coastal flight) down a box-of-gifts-and-cards for my dad to pick up and play Santa on Thursday. I have almost everything ready; not done the cards which always take longer to do that anticipated, and I have one more weaving project to finish. The little Gitksan dancing girls are getting a very special gift this year from auntie. I work Monday, I have an errand to run in Charlotte on Tuesday, I work Wednesday... Get the picture of my time crunch? I will get a pic posted of my handiwork soon, but don't show the girls :)

After that, the next few weeks are looking good; the boys have their final volleyball game-day in Port on Friday, D's birthday is on Saturday, and the Christmas concert, school pancake breakfast, and my work party is the following week. Good times. B is just laughing with 17 days off over Christmas while I am working the whole time. My co-worker is going back east for the holidays so I am covering for her. She owes me some time off in the New Year for sure. We have an invite for Christmas Eve and Christmas day dinner so that is really great.

Back to my weaving.

Storm by Lifehouse

All that talk about rough seas... here's my favorite STORM lyrics :)

how long have I been in this storm so overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form water's getting harder to tread with these waves crashing over my head if I could just see you everything will be alright if I'd see you the storminess will turn to light and I will walk on water and you will catch me if I fall and I will get lost into your eyes and everything will be alright and everything will be alright I know you didn't bring me out here to drown so why am I 10 feet under and upside down barely surviving has become my purpose cause I'm so used to living underneath the surface if I could just see you everything will be alright if I see you the storminess will turn to light and I will walk on water and you will catch me if I fall and I will get lost into your eyes and everything will be alright and I will walk on water you will catch me if I fall and I will get lost into your eyes and everything will be alright I know everything is alright everything's alright

Crazy days...

With the shorter days, low sun in the sky and cooler temperatures, the road out of Masset is a skating rink; or maybe an ice roller coaster with the hills and curves on the way to Port. We had a cold spell a few weeks ago and this pic was the evidence of slick roads; a car with organic matter still stuck in the door from sliding off the road and down an embankment. There is no shoulder room on the roads here. Ice or not, if you leave the pavement you are quite likely to slip down into the water filled ditch, trench, pond...whatever you want to call it.

And the storm season is upon us evident from the empty grocery shelves, no mail for almost 2 weeks and the terrifying ferry crossing last week. Talking with some people that were on the boat, they thought they were going to flip right over and with 10 metre seas in the middle of the night, no one would have survived. People were in the main passenger area, lying on the floor, hanging into the chairs for dear life as the boat goes sideways almost to the point of no return. Several people were injured, some vehicles were damaged, the kitchen was a disaster, the gift shop was all over the floor... and this went on for hours! They were on the boat for 14 hours before it returned to Prince Rupert. The noise of plates breaking and tables, chairs, garbage cans rolling around, the boat crashing down on the waves, the wind howling, the vehicles on the car deck shifting and banging around, people crying... it is something right out of a movie. If this ferry crossing is news to you, it is probably because we are such a small population and so far away from the powers that be no one hears about it or cares for that matter. If this happened on a Tsawwassen to Victoria crossing it would be a different story. I just laugh when I hear the Vancouver traffic reports about a ferry being out of service, or delays at the terminal and the news crew is there interviewing people in their cars who have to wait in long lineups. And the reporter asks if they think another boat is needed for the Lower Mainland-Vancouver Island run on busy holiday weekends... Give me a break people!

The kicker is that our 'new' ferry, the Northern Adventure, was a used boat from the Mediterranean (with a flat hull, no good for rough waters) and a quick purchase by BCFerries after the Queen of the North went down and needed to be replaced. It is not meant for crossing the Hecate Strait where huge waves and big storms can come up suddenly. Sure it has lovely estate rooms and nice viewing decks but when the boat is rocking, who cares! BCFerries has since purchased a brand new boat, the Northern Expedition, but it does the Prince Rupert to Port Hardy run. Apparently this boat is far too big for service to the island... but at least we would get on and off this rock safely! I am getting far too political for this blog. I digress.

It is expected that rough weather will delay the delivery of food to the island. No point going out for milk when there is none to be found. And the craziest thing is that I don't mind it a bit! We have a freezer full of deer and fish, I have a huge bag of grain for making bread, lots of cans in the pantry... I only suffer from a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables; the boys could care less.

found it!

The garbage can was discovered in the neighbours yard behind a broken fence that also came down in the same wind. A secure lid and can are an essential household item when there are ravens around. I didn't price out a new one at the Co-op but it I would guess it would be a $50 investment, if they have it in stock :)

The cake flopped :(

I thought the Chocolate Orange Cake looked a bit off. I've made it a 100 times before. When I took it out of the oven it was not quite the right height and the colour was a bit lighter than usual, but the knife came out clean even after an hour in the oven so I thought it was good to go. I wanted to taste it but how can you sneak a piece from a bundt cake without birthday boy saying 'who ate my cake?' It could have been our shotty oven, the tin-y bundt pan I borrowed from the neighbours or maybe the Co-op sale eggs... I served the first piece to B and almost cried. I had invited some of our peeps over and they were all very gracious is saying the cake was 'kinda like fudge cake', 'it's not so bad', or 'it doesn't look raw'. I was so embarrassed. End of story.