i'd happily kill one, if we saw one...

Where are all the grouse hiding? I was told that there were tons out and about, but could we find one anywhere? No.


The plan was, go for a drive up Hunker road, bring along Dylan's new pellet gun, find many grouse, shoot them, eat them.

What ended up happening:

a lot of ridiculous bushwacking...

a lot of aimless hiking....

looking (don't forget the looking)...

and finally, shooting a can because there was NO way we weren't shooting something.


We didn't get to kill and eat our dinner, but we did get to enjoy the beautiful fall time. I hadn't been up Hunker all summer, so that was nice. This really is the best time of year - right until the sun goes down, it's pleasant outside, the sun is warm, the sky is blue, it's just chilly enough to justify scarves.... good times.

floating is a swimming tecnique right?

My reward for making it through three days of stomach flu hell? An f-ing cold.

Of course, going out and staying out after work last night until 4 in the morning probably didn't help my condition. When i woke up this morning at 10:30, I thought my throat would fall out (is that even possible?), then i realized that i was also pretty hungover.... A half an hour after I took two tylenol cold and sinus nighttime pills (hoping that I could catch a couple more hours of zzzzz's), Dylan showed up to see if I wanted to go for coffee. I told him he should go get us coffee, and we could sit in the backyard in the sunlight. I kind of thought (and, at the time, was secretly hoping) he might not come back, but he did - with Freddie. It ended up being an awesome way to coax my body and head out of sleeping all day and missing the beautiful weather. In fact, Dylan had impressed me so much that I took his advice to go swimming with him at the pool - Wow... he's on to something - like maybe the actual best cure for a mild hangover yet. To be honest, I'm not a very good swimmer - I mostly floated and treaded water - but there was something about physical exertion in the water that made me feel a lot better. And the hot tub was pretty sweet too.

Work was okay.

a day for visits...

Stephen Harper gets here today.... But more importantly, Georgia gets here today for a visit! Dylan made the mistake of being seen in the old post office tower across from the P.M.'s secret service and created quite the security scare.... He does look a little like John Wilkes Booth in his old-timey outfit.

I still feel like shit, so no handshaking for me... It's okay, I'm gonna save my energy for next week and all the birthdays that it brings...

p.s. i love you

I feel much better today - thanks for asking.

Exhaustion has a funny way of forcing you to shut down - I slept for about 14 hours in the last 24. Maybe I was a little tired. I must have been - I watched a stupid romance movie last night (waiting for comments to flood in about my taste in movies) and cried a LOT. Lame. And not the fabric lame. Just lame.

Today, my big plan (so excited) is to do a whole bunch of yummy cooking, fold the laundry that's been in the "clean pile" in my room for two weeks, vacuum (finally), and maybe if the weather turns nicer this afternoon, take out the garden (well, most of it) - I can't imagine much more is going to grow this year.... and the flowers are pretty right now and should probably be enjoyed before they die.

Fast forward to 7pm.

What did I get done today? Nothing. Whatever I had yesterday came back, and I've been camped pretty close to my bathroom all day.

Arg.

It would be really nice to have a day for myself. Maybe tomorrow. I hope tomorrow - Stephen Harper comes to visit Dawson... Don't want to miss that.

why does it always rain on me?

That's it? The beautiful indian summer we were enjoying is over?? Seriously - get it together weather....

I had a lovely day planned with Oliver. And it started great. Janice dropped him off in his pajamas, and we chatted and decided what we would do for the day. Man, he's gotten to be such a little man. Lots of compromising. We ate some breakfast - he even tried some potato pancake against his better judgment. He got dressed by himself (in camo pants and shirt) an we were off to the store on our bikes to pick up some ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. He thought a nice addition would be butterscotch chips - he was right. The day was going great, and Tara showed up for a visit when it hit - I have NO IDEA what happened to me, but I got really sick. It wasn't quite as bad as the food poisoning in Thailand but it was close. Thank god she was here. So, the wonderful afternoon we'd planned was ruined, and poor Shelby (although later I found out that she didn't mind that much) had to take the afternoon off to look after him. Sucks balls.

I'm feeling a bit better now, and apparently, a few people around town are strangely ill... At least that rules out beaver fever (despite boiling water at camp, I am still paranoid), and hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be back in regular form. I have a lot planned for my second day off - unfortunately this one was wasted in agony and sleeping.

Good blog entry. Maybe tomorrow, I'll tell you about that time I bought office supples - that would probably be more interesting.

back in the city

I made it.

Flying in was pretty uneventful, but informative. Last glimpses of random big machinery and old relics...





We picked up another guy - Brian - on our way to the landing strip, and of course there was time for a quick beer. Should I be proud that I finished mine before anyone else did? Probably not. I even got to sit in the front again.

Here's us landing in Dawson:



And some shots of the flight in:















You know, I live in a pretty incredible place. I mean, to get an opportunity to try something completely new is one thing... How many jobs do you get to commute to work in a plane?!? I was joking with my mom in an email the other day - what a crazy thing: to choose to isolate yourself in the middle of nowhere (I mean it's a 30 minute flight and then a 40 minute drive to the Barker Creek camp) to cook for 5 or 6 men, who are strangers (not to mention a shotgun comes with the job) - that's crazy. And awesome.


So, it's Friday - and you know what that means:


Hooray.

And I am very hung over. I ended up working yesterday at Peggy's, but because I wasn't supposed to, I got off at 8pm. Went for a lovely dinner with Sean to the Aurora, where, this time, despite loving the veal, ordered the filbert crusted salmon. I wasn't disappointed. Then, after the $200 meal (we did have cocktails and a whole bottle of wine), we proceeded to get wasted. Fun times... Sang at the Pit, yelled at Gill (who does that guy think he is, not knowing my name and calling me so-and-so on stage - arg. That guy's head is way too big), stumbled home, made popcorn - you know, the usual. Woke up to a phone call from Dylan wanting to take me for lunch. Then the headache kicked in. And what was the first thing I did at Peggy's? Dropped the bowl full of maraschino cherries in the freshly cleaned fridge. Started cleaning it up, and I guess I wasn't overly aware of where my body was in relation to the fridge, so when I stood up quickly to do something else (answer the phone, stop the sink from overflowing?), I cracked my head so hard that I thought I broke the top of the refrigerator. What a start to the day.


Two more days and Auntie gets her first day off in almost a month. And not soon enough - my house is a disaster, and I could really use some catching up on sleep.

somewhere, a friend of mine is going to sleep.

That's all I could think about when I woke up at 5am. With all of the box burning until midnight, I am sleepy..... but I did have quite the time what with all the burning and drinking the last of my beers.


The weather was nice last night - a little cool - but what did I care - I had a huge bonfire to keep me warm.


And what a sunset.
First thing this morning (did I mention how tired I was) a glass EXPLODED into my hand while I was putting the dishes away... awesome... Now I know what salt in an open wound feels like - along with tomato juice, lemon, lime, soap... Although, barely injuries, the little cuts on my left hand from picking bits of glass out of it sure are cramping my style.

I've decided to forgo the morning nap (I had to drink sooooo much coffee this morning to function at all) and cook instead - until this afternoon.

On the (BIG) list for today:

#1. Sweets
Check, and good timing too - the brownies and banana bread came out of the oven moments before Stuart showed up, and Georgia told me it was always a good idea to have fresh warm brownies for him whenever possible... oh yeah.


#2. Chicken Pot Pies
#3. Baked Mac & Cheese
#4. Broccoli something-or-other















Check. I did the pies with leftovers from the night before and the chicken that I cooked Monday. Looked up a creamy broccoli salad recipe on the interweb - man it's awesome having internet out here, and had the mac & cheese done before I had a midday nap. The mac & cheese recipes is one of my favorites - I originally got it out a Harrowsmith's cookbook, but have altered it to my tastes over the years:

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Step 1: Cook a bit more than a cup of macaroni noodles the usual way. Rinse with cold water, set aside.
Step 2: In a medium sauce pan, melt 3 Tbs butter and whisk in 3 Tbs flour. Add 2 cups milk and stir often over medium heat until sauce thickens. Add salt & pepper to taste (sometimes I also add some dry mustard too for a bit of kick).
Step 3: Slowly incorporate 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (cheddar is the traditional cheese, but I like adding some mozza or swiss). Stir until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is thick.
Step 4: Grease a small casserole dish and place 2 cups cooked macaroni noodles. Pour in sauce and stir to combine.
Step 5: Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and baked, uncovered, at 350F for about 50 mins.


#6. Something for dinner for Melinda tomorrow (in case she has a similar day coming out here as I did)

Check. I made a big pot of chili. I figured it's easy to reheat, tastes good, and can be frozen if there's lots left over.

#7. Clean the fridges, toss old leftovers, scour the kitchen
#8. Get a whole bunch of lunch stuff ready

Check and check.

And, yes, that's the Food Network on TV...


#9. Pack up to go
#10. Nap (if there's time) I made time for a nap - there was no way I could survive dinner without one.

As soon as Dave took his last bite, he asked if I was ready to go - a quick clean up and good bye camp....


And good bye Fred - you cute french dirt bike riding gold miner.