Conniving Canines

It's amazing how news can pile up when you don't post for two weeks.

To start us off today, I want to revisit an April fool's joke that seems to have come full circle on us. As many of you know, Colleen and I took care of our friend's dog, Miku, for a couple of weeks while they were off frolicking to Cuba. Miku warmed up to us immediately and we ended up enjoying her playful presence MOST of the time (3am being the usual exception).

Here's a picture of Miku making a slide down the hill...interesting for me.

Of course, after Steph and Pat came back and took her away, the house suddenly seemed much emptier and it didn't take long for thoughts of getting our own little puppy to squirm their way into our minds. We mulled it over for a couple of weeks, talking over the pros and cons every morning, noon and night and eventually, it became clear that getting a puppy right now just isn't the rational thing to do. So what's the first thing we do after making this decision. Why, we think it's a grand idea to have Colleen's student come over with her batch of new puppies. The 6 week old balls of fluff were armed with the usual arsenal of cute eyes and playful yelps and within moments they had handily defeated any resolve that remained within either of us. After a couple sessions of observing, poking and proding we've decided on one. He'll be joining the household next weekend, at which point we'll make sure to post pictures and decide on a name.

Otherwise, things have been grand for us both. The combination of Easter and Colleen's birthday brought with it a showering of gifts and packages even more generous than usual. We have to send out a huge thank you to everyone in Germany for their amazing support. This includes Grossmama, Grosspapa, Tante Lina und Luise and all the lovely Schönbergers in Mauern. Of course, they weren't the only ones to spoil us. My mom sent us many gifts and goodies which will be very handy for our upcoming honeymoon camping trip. Brian and Heather also sent us a fantastic parcel from Seattle which included some wonderful smoked salmon and even a little bit of eye-candy in the form of 300.

Oh, and before I forget, even though it wasn't my Birthday, I did end up getting a gift of sorts this past month. I was accepted into Trent and Western for my Bachelor of Education in Mathematics and Technology, and have accepted the offer. This means that I'm going to be spending the next year in London, Ontario close to many friends and even some family.

Before that, though, it's time to get ready for our new fuzzy housemate.

Until next time,

Markus

P.S. We've had not one, but two polar bears in town in the last week. Sometimes I'm very happy that we're only a 2 minute walk from the school.

Back into a Routine.

Our Easter break has come to an end. Mom and Dad made it safely back to Ravenna and Miku (the dog) has gone back to her true owners. (Some of our friends from here went to Cuba to get married over the break - Congratulations Pat and Steph!!) Now that everything is returning to "normal" Markus and I are finding our house a little bit bigger without all of our house guests! I think I may have even convinced him that getting a puppy is a good idea! I'm still working out the logistics of housing a Husky-cross down South and I think I've come up with some feasible solutions.

In other news, Markus and I will be moving home 2 months from tomorrow!! It is wild how fast this school year is flying by.

The weather has finally improved so Markus and I are going to go bask in the -2 degrees celcius weather.

Tootles,
Colleen

Dogsledding, igloos and icefishing

We've been sleeping in and eating well. Tonight Markus is brewing a caribou roast which we are excited to introduce Mom and Dad to. Unfortunately, caribou meat is a bit like cabbage in the gas production department... We'll see how many of us are still breathing normally by morning;)

We have been going out on the land in short bursts because it has been very cold with the windchill (around -26 degrees celcius). My favourite trip so far was dogsledding with a local man. We had no idea what to expect and it was definitely an experience I will not forget. The biggest surprise: the dogs led themselves with us as passengers. The local man, Adamie, rode on his snowmobile while we were riding on a skinny little sled. Markus took over the snowmobile every once in awhile and managed to snap some pictures of us cruising along.

Yesterday Dad and I went for a long hike up to a point called The Beacon. It isn't that far but with the wind in our faces the entire way up it felt like we had bested Mount Everest. The climb was well worth it because you could see for miles in every direction.

Markus, Dad and Mom went ski-dooing to check out some igloos that were built just outside of town. They were also lucky enough to go icefishing. Apparently farmers aren't necessarily fishermen because they stopped that after a couple of hours and came home empty handed. Here are some pics of the inside of the igloo:

Tootles,
Colleen

Mom and Dad have Arrived!

Mom & Dad made it safely to Inukjuak. They have been greeted by good ol' fashioned Tundra wind.

Here is a picture of me, Dad and Miku trying to not be blown away.

Mom made it outside for a walk too. Look at those fancy new boots!!

Hope everyone is having an excellent Easter break!

Cheers,

Colleen

We have a new dog!

Hey Everyone,

We just wanted to share the exciting news that we just got Miku, our new housemate. She's a German Shepard/Husky mix and comes to us very well trained. She's playful and gets us to go out on walks a lot more than we used to. Here's a picture of Miku and me together:



All three of us are very excited that Colleen's parents are going to come up and visit soon. We've already made all kinds of plans for when they come, but now Miku will also be able to join in on the fun. It's starting to warm up a little now, so it won't be quite so bad to go ice fishing or trekking out on the land. Otherwise, things are pretty much the same as ever. A few of our friends have gone off to Cuba for a couple weeks, leaving us behind, but we have our new friend around to keep us company.

Anyways, I better go take Miku for a walk. She's chomping at the bit to get outside.

Till next time, take it easy,

Markus