Leaving on a jet plane

I used to think that a true Yukoner had to "stay the winter". And I've done that. I've lost it at 40 below when the sun doesn't begin to rise til 10 a.m. Those days included lots of Bailey's, pot, and pierogies. T.V. marathons, dinner parties, wine, long bundled up walks on the frozen river. Going back to bed whenever I felt like it, buried under the covers with a space heater cranked up high.

Now that I've got kids, very young kids to be exact, those days feel housebound and crazy-making. Already I feel myself breaking. It's a battle to get Aedan outside for 15 minutes of running around the yard. I know that when he's a bit older, it may be different, but for now, it's really hard. And I am prone to seasonal depression; it's gotten much worse in the last two years. I could take pills. Or, I could leave.

That's what we're doing. We're headed out for almost 4 months, our longest stretch out of the territory yet. And I no longer feel like that makes me less of a Yukoner. Actually I'm over the whole "big tough Yukoner" thing. I want to be healthy and happy for my kids, for my husband, for myself. So we'll be spending 3 weeks in Ontario visiting with family, and then we'll be spending December and January in Costa Rica. We've rented a house there, and we're so excited to be trying out the snowbird lifestyle. It's something a lot of people around here do, and something that P especially wants to explore. 

I can't wait for fresh, ripe fruit juices running down my chin, seafood, ocean breezes, salt water swims, and walks on the beach. Aedan is in love with sea creatures, and for months now he's been talking about seeing dolphins and fish. I'm excited to explore tidal pools with him, play in the sand and the shallows with him. 

I'm going to try my best to update regularly during our travels, and I hope you'll enjoy following along with us on this new adventure!

Finally...Nicaragua!

Granada was gorgeous, beautifully restored colonial buildings: 

Granada had lots of really unique, colourful doors!

Isla de Ometepe was calm and quiet after the bustle of Granada. It was a bit buggy, but had lots of natural beauty to fill our days!

Volcan Concepcion

Ranchers would bring their livestock down to the lake each day for a dip!

Volcan Madera

San Juan del Sur was the ocean...and not finding quite what we wanted. Still...there were flowers and ice cream and sunsets!

We learned so much about what we want from a vacation, and about travelling with a toddler. Last year, in Belize, we stayed in one spot. We found that got a bit tiresome after 2 weeks...this year, we visited 3 different places over the course of about 2 and a half weeks. We found this to be a bit too much travelling. Aedan was a real trooper, but each move meant resettling of nap times, getting comfy in new surroundings, finding kid-friendly places to play...we're getting closer to finding what we want, closer to the perfect vacation. Learning about yourself, what you're capable of and what you're not capable of, is definitely one of the most exciting parts about travel!

P.S. In case you were wondering...I kept up with my photo-a-day challenge all through Nicaragua...and lost it while visiting family in Ontario. Maybe next year!

Home, home again

Hello, friends and family! I just wanted to get a quick post up to let you all know that we're home, safe and sound. 

The vacation was not always what we thought it would be, but such is life. The visit to Ontario was wonderful, as it always is. 5 weeks is long, though, especially for this home-body, and it is so good to be back! Aedan and I have been nestling in here at the cabin, getting settled again, while P is right back into the swing of things at the hotel.

You can expect a longer post with pictures of Nicaragua, plus an update on all the goings on around here...because there are some real goings-on, I tell ya!

Goodbye January, Hello Nicaragua

I must admit, January has not been my favourite month. There have been moments of joy and beauty:

a warm afternoon with the sun bright in the sky, the wind blowing swirls of snow off the trees;

a cheery bonfire in the yard while Aedan chases the dogs up and down the shoveled walkway;

and my favourite, a Saturday morning, the house filled with golden sunlight, the wood stove keeping us warm, dancing around to the Beatles with the babe in my arms.

But this month we watched my good friend's dog, Suzie, die. We've been caring for her while my friend is away. Suzie stopped eating, and about 10 days later, she passed peacefully in her sleep. I was able to sit with her and comfort her through the worst of it that night. It is never easy to see a beloved animal die; it is harder still to see another's animal out of this life. She was a good old girl, and didn't seem to be suffering. I suspect it was just her time. I wish she could have had her own mama at the end, but I hope I was familiar enough to her.

There have been some downright frigid spells this month, with lows of -50 C at night. These temperatures guarantee crisp, clear days...which are spent indoors. The rest of the time, it's been fairly mild. January has brought a few feet of snow and day after day of grey skies. I'm tired of the monotone....

Sunday we set out on an adventure: we are headed to Nicaragua for 3 weeks! We are so looking forward to sunshine, bare feet and shoulders, swimming, fresh fruit, foods we've never tasted before, a new language, culture, history and landscape.

I'll be in touch, friends!




Rest in peace, Suzie-girl.

Home

Phew! We've just returned from 3 weeks of visiting family in Ontario, with a side trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, to visit with Aedan's doctors. I love love living in the Yukon, but getting in and out of this territory is a real ordeal!

But I will never complain about a chance to visit family.

It does my heart good to see Aedan playing with his grandparents, his aunties and uncles and cousins.
It does my body good to have a break from my own housework.
And it does my tummy good to savour the variety of foods we lack here in the North.

But it is always so good to finally come home! My feet were tired of walking on pavement, my eyes were tired of looking at endless tall buildings, and my ears were tired of the constant hum of a busy city.

It's lovely to look out the window and see only trees! Granted, the trees are now bare of leaves and covered in snow (whereas in Ontario, they were just beginning to burst into radiant autumn colour).

I missed the steady warmth of the wood stove, and the smell of baking bread. I missed the mountains and the quiet and even the cold!

And of course, I missed this blog, too! It's good to be back. I have lots of catching up to do!

Belize!

It’s been more than a month since I’ve written anything! What have we been up to in that time?

Perhaps most exciting was a trip to Belize! We spent almost two weeks on a little island called Caye Caulker, about a 40 minute boat trip from Belize City.

We did lots of relaxing in the shade of the palapa covered dock, swinging in the hammocks.

We went snorkelling on the barrier reef and swam with nurse sharks and sting rays (while Auntie Sue, who happened to be in the country at the same time, hung out with Aedan for a few hours on land!)

Aedan dipped his toes in the ocean for the first time, and had his first mouthful of sand, too!

We took a river boat into the jungle, and stood on top of 3000 year old Mayan ruins at a site called Lamanai.

Mask Temple

High Temple

We ate lots of fresh fish, swam in the ocean, watched the sunrise every morning…and then walked to the other side of the island to watch it set every night! We basked in the sunshine and enjoyed the constant, warm wind blowing in off the Caribbean.

On our way back from that trip, we had a doctor’s appointment in Vancouver. The doctors are really pleased with how we’ve been controlling Aedan’s blood sugar. The Glyburide is working wonderfully! I feel so lucky that we were able to make this switch.

Since we’ve been back, we’ve been enjoying the lengthening days…first light is around 5 am, and it doesn’t get dark until 10 pm. 

All the snow is slowly melting, and the ice on the rivers rots a little more each day.

I’ve started seeds for the vegetable garden: beets, swiss chard, beans, carrots, radishes, cucumber, romanesco and broccoli. This year will be my first real attempt at vegetable gardening, and I can’t wait to get these plants in the ground! (That’s more than a month away).

We began introducing Aedan to “solid foods”!

So far, banana is a hit. Tomorrow, pureed sweet potato—yum!

The trip out of the territory helped us both to gain some much needed perspective. It wasn’t always what we’d expected, but P and I each came back with a better idea of the things we each need to work at and focus on in the coming months.

I’m so happy to be home again, though, and can’t wait for this snow to melt!