A hectic week

We had a hectic week juggling work and family commitments, Steve and I worked split shifts with a couple of very early 4am starts to try and get everything sorted at work before heading off on vacation. Lucky we packed on the weekend. By the time we headed off to the airport at 4pm on Thursday afternoon we were worn out. We flew Air Canada so this meant a stop in Sept Iles then Quebec City before arriving in Montreal at 8pm. While waiting on the tarmac in Quebec City the flight attendant invited inquisitive Ryder up to the cockpit where he spent the wait sitting in the co pilots seat, wearing the captain's hat and jacket and chatting about all the buttons and lights!

We arrived at the Montreal Marriot at the airport and kept an eye out for our good friend Paul who was passing through Montreal from Australia this evening as well! We have hooked up with a few Aussie friends at this hotel which is amazing. We spotted Paul and it dawned on us just how long it's been since we last saw each other, it was when we left Boyne Tannum! Cliched, but time really does fly. We had a nice meal and made plans to catch up when next in Australia.

Ten snowflakes....

I have been slack blogging but to be honest not much has been going on apart from cold weather and working.  This weekend is gorgeous at just below zero degrees except the boys both have a cold.  We have just come in from outside playing on the snow fort in the front yard and sliding down the hill behind the back yard.  Steve dug the snow mobile out and took the boys for a ride up to Smokey Mountain and Ryder fell asleep on the way back.

Today is the start of Cain's Quest, Canada's longest snowmobile endurance race.  The race started in 2006 and has grown in popularity each year.  It is now 2500km long through rough terrain, deep snow, dense woods and across lakes.  There is plenty of hype in Labrador City around race time as many of the teams are locals including many team members who work at IOC.

The other news of the week was a rabid fox handing around Cooper's school.  The fox attacked three dogs in town and has not been caught yet. Plenty of panic ensued.

Cooper brought home some homework this week which I will keep forever as a reminder of jsut how different it is in Canada compared to Australia.  He was practicing his numbers and had to draw:
1. Ice skate
2. Snowmen
3. Ear muffs
4. Hats
5. Snow shoes
6. Skate guards
7. Ice creams
8. Icicles
9. Snowballs
10. Snowflakes

Off to school in his fur boots

It's cold out

Almost the end of February and I am looking forward to some warmer days.  For the past two months the temperatures have been in the minus twenties and thirties so our time outside is short.  It certainly doesn't stop the boys from being outside and they are so good at gearing up now which makes it a lot easier for me compared to last year.  The past two weekends have been lovely because the temperatures swung up to about -8 degC which is perfect for playing outside.  Last Friday we spent two whole hours playing on the snow fort (as the boys call it) in our front yard!

On the weekend just gone Steve took the boys for a ride on the snow mobile to a friends cabin.  Cooper sat on the seat at the back and hung onto the handwarmers while Ryder sat in front of Steve.  This was the first time both boys had been on a long snow mobile ride and they loved it!

Our driveway

I often get asked about driving on the ice and snow.  We have winter tyres on the car and the speed limit in town is 40 km/h and you rarely see anyone doing more than 50 km/h.  The ice forms a lovely pavement over the top of the road which is often smoother than the potholed road below.  The roads get a workout due to the deep frost and thaw cycle so there are plenty of road repairs for the town once the ice melts.  The town sands the roads continuously to avoid slippery conditions.  Sand is used because it is too cold for salt here apparently.  This means our car is so dirty and we can't clean it until summer time because it's too cold and of course the hose does not work.  The worst road conditions are during snow fall or just after a snow fall because the snow lays on top of the ice making a slippery layer.  I am now used to taking corners very slowly, not darting out into traffic and applying the brakes gently and well in advance of the intersection.  It can be very unnerving when you have your foot flat to the floor on the brake and you just continue to slide.  This has happened to me several times when I have least expected it, my car slowly movong towards the rear end of the car in front, my foot pressed on the brake and the tyres crunching on the snow.

Looking down our street

We park our car in the garage, which is uncommon here, snow mobiles and quad bikes are parked in the garage with the car out front.  This keeps the car warm and we don't have to plug it in.  Both of our work cars are plugged in though and yes I have driven off with my car still plugged in!  I drove all the way to Walmart with people waving and pointing at my car, half way there I realised "Oh, shit! The extension lead."

Where else in the world?

I was looking through the paper on the weekend and saw this:

Where else in the world would you see an ad like that?

A Typical Labrador Day?

Woken up by a loader clearing snow from the driveway at 4:34am.  We parked the cars in next door’s driveway last night so the snow from yesterday’s snow storm could be cleared properly as the snow was half way up the garage door from the wild wind blowing the snow everywhere.  Got ready and out the front door by 6:30 to find that snow had covered our bridge (pathway) and most of our steps.  Shovelled for 15 minutes to make sure Steve and the boys can get out to the car easily this morning.

Called past Tim’s for a double double and a cream cheese bagel.  Windows frozen so had to open the door to order at the drive through.  At my desk for a 6am start before the New Year weekend.  The snow storm has passed now so I am sure today will be cold but the sun will be shining on my typical Labrador day!

Snow Storm

Short break at the cabin

On Boxing Day we headed out to the cabin.  We let Steve get out of the car first to go inside and get the oil stove going.  When we did finally get out of the car, the snow was knee deep and the cabin was still -15 degC inside!  The boys were crying because of the cold so we sat in front of the oil stove with my Canada Goose jacket on top of us.  We talked Steve into lighting the wood stove for us as well to get the cabin warmer quicker and then he went back outside to shovel more snow.

We watched the temperature guage slowly creep up towards zero degrees, funny how goals and expectations change, all I wanted was for the cabin to get to a positive temperature.  It took at least two hours to warm up and we even put our propane stove on to warm up the other end of the cabin!

Our cabin in the snow

On Tuesday Steve and I tested out our snow shoes, they are awesome.  You can walk in deep snow, sinking far enough to give you a good workout.  A nice solid track is laid as you walk so Cooper and Ryder had fun following me on our adventure into the woods.

In my new snow shoes

Getting a ride

 By Tuesday afternoon heavy snowfall was setting in and we were worried we wouldn't be able to get out.  At about 3 o'clock we headed back to Lab City as a snow storm hit, we took the drive very slowly as visibilty was extremely poor all the way home.  A relaxing time again at the cabin.

Another white Christmas

We had a very relaxing Christmas this year, avoiding the rush of Xmas day by celebrating with friends on Christmas eve.  Despite seeing the massive turkeys for sale at the IGA we decided to go with roast pork and finished with a delicious pudding made by Simone. 

Santa was good to all of us, Steve and I received some awesome Canadian made snowshoes, Taylor got some seal fur winter boots and the boys were very impressed with their snow moto's.  We got some great Aussie gifts from Nat & Jus, tea towels, pencils, an Aussie icon calendar, very Australian books for the kids as well as koala and kangaroo tattoos!!

Cooper and Ryder on Christmas morning

We spent the day playing with gifts including some time outside testing out the snow moto's.  Our evening meal better known here as supper, was spent with our neighbours, the Whittington's.  A great Christmas Day!

Taylor with her gifts