Dear Adelaide & Sarah ,

A night on our own is over rated! My heart is lonesome without you & the house is too quiet with you gone...DON'T get and ideas about my "quiet" comment though ;) Was it ever strange hearing your excited little voices on the phone today...I couldn't tell who I was talking to! Daddy talks to you every day on the phone, from work, so he could tell you apart but... I'm the one always home with you both so, I'm not use to hearing your voices over a telephone! No matter, you BOTH sounded extremely happy and that went a long way to making me feel better!

Sounded like you were rather thrilled with your hamburgers & fries from last night's dinner and the ICE CREAM was a definite success given your resounding cheers over the telephone receiver ;) !! And when you said that you were enjoying the pretty Dandy flowers, only your Dad & I could possibly know that you were referring to the Dandelions, I could imagine your shining faces as you picked them, making a bright yellow bouquet. I wish I could have seen, first hand, your big eyes when you entered the hotel to see all of the beautiful old things, and again, when you saw the big ship in the harbour! I wonder, as you grown older, will you remember this trip?

Have a wonderful time, absorb all that you can & remember ...Mummy & Daddy will be waiting, with hugs & kisses, when you return home!!

Love you bunches...Bisous Bisous

Mummy XO XO

And they're off...

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This is Sean & me saying good-bye to our girls!

I think they were laughing

at their silly parents...

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Here they are for that one last pose

before buckling into their car seats...

As you can see...both were more interested

in getting on the road with

their travel companions,

then getting another picture taken by Mum!

Dear Aunt 'Reen & Helen for taking these two on...

I wonder if they will remember to

say their "Pleases" & "Thank-yous"

or the all important

"May I please be excused from the table?"!!

I wonder if they will remember to

hold their Aunt's hand & to stay close at ALL times

and to, "Listen to their body so they can go Potty

(the oh so important chant we recite through out each day)

.

And as they drive out of sight...

I wonder if they will remember that

nothing in the world is more precious

nor more important than

my two little girls...

that I couldn't exist without them

and that I love them?

There isn't, I couldn't, I do.

*

So...now that they are gone

I think I'll go to bed...

the time always goes by faster when you sleep right?

I wonder if I can sleep for three days & wake up

just in time for my girls to return home?

Or...maybe just maybe ,

in the morning,

I'll wake to find myself enjoying the time apart...

Not likely but one never knows

.

.

.

Canning for the winter has begun &

the final harvest is here!

It is rather bitter sweet...

On one hand I love the canning,

on the other,

I hate to bid farewell to my fresh veggies!

.

Hopefully this colourful batch is

just the beginning of the canning fun!

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Our first potatoes of the year...heck,
our first potatoes EVER !!
.
.
Zucchini madness!
13 inches long
11 inches around
.
Washed & ready...a colourful feast for the eyes,
not to mention the tummy!
(Carrots, compliments of Yolande's garden ;)
Our carrots are tinny little radish shaped things...
too cute for words ;)
.

.I was thinking that the zucchini & tomatoes looked
just as awesome, once cooked,
as they ever did raw!!
And those taters....WOW...
what a treat for the taste buds!!
.
A friend said,
"What a powerful feeling, to grow your own food"
She's right...
I felt a sense of pride when Sean & I
sat our children down to eat this meal.
And you know, they eat every scrap!!
.
I can't wait till next year's growing season!!!
Well, maybe I can as, the coming Winter
will hold it's own special magic...
;)
.
.

.

.

.

Well.....I got the best e-mail recently :)

My childhood neighbour read my last post, the letter to Mr Sutherland,

ands she (Pam) decided to do something special with it!

What a wonderful woman she is!

Pam took it upon herself to find Mr Sutherland and,

proving to be a wise and crafty sleuth, she succeeded!

As it turns out, he never received my e-mail, well,

not up until a few weeks ago when Pam saw to it that he did!

With years gone by, to turn on my computer, open my email &

find a note from my this long lost teacher,

was something of a tremendous surprise!

It was equally amazing to read that he remembered me!!

It was heart warming to read that my letter caused him to smile.

I have Mr Sutherland's proper e-mail address now...

Turns out, I had the wrong one so, my letter to him

found itself floating aimlessly in cyberspace.

It's isn't floating anymore...

instead, it has found its way to it's intended destination,

even if a bit delayed, it made it...

with a bit of help (actually with a huge nudge)

from a dear friend...

Thanks Pam!!

And Mr Sutherland...

I'm flattered that you choose to remember me as an astute student :)

I am sure I was something of a pain in the tush

and far from thrilled with much related to school,

but YOUR class was different!

You allowed us to be ourselves & you believed in putting fun into learning!

I needed that!

I wonder how many teachers picked up

The Ammityville Horror

and read it to their class?

Crazy scary book...crazy fun memory!

So...

somewhere along the line I grew up ;)

We all do...

Now, soon it will be MY turn to sit down at my dining room table,

as my parents did with me,

to drill my girls on the current week's

timetables & spelling words!

I sure hope my girls are more keen that I ever was!

Wish me luck on that one, would you ?

.

.

.

.

.

.

I just came across a copy of this letter that I wrote on March 16, 2006.

It all seems so very long ago and yet...

the feelings are still as fresh and true

as they were the day I wrote them down!

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(the following photos were attached to the letter)

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. On the trail with Sean

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The perfect winter trail
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Working my way up Bear Creek Summit
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Home again (October 29, 2005)
.Christmas morning in the cabin 2005

. The chute - My first race!
.

.
Dear Mr Sutherland,

Back in about 1977 you taught a group of interesting young kids (at least, I'd like to remember us as such!!) We were in Gr 7......

"There are strange things done in the midnight sun
By the men who moil for gold
And the Arctic trails have their secret tails
That would make your blood run cold.
The Northern Lights have seen queer sights
But the queerest they ever did see
Was the night on the marge of Lake La barge
Where I cremated Sam McGee..."

Did you know that there actually is a Lake La Barge just outside of Whitehorse??

You made us memorize the first 1/2 of that 4 page poem...I never thought I would survive the assignment!! Instead, I more than survived it....Dad helped me the night before I was to stand in front of you & the entire class to re-sight it. He said, "It isn't just words...it has passion...you have to tell the story!!" & I did!! The next morning I stood there. I delivered a story that would follow me all of the days of my life! I didn't stop at the 1/2 way point...I delivered that poem right to the very last word...ALL 4 pages!! I (with very little prompting) still can!!

I tell you this because, on July 7th 2005, just eight months & 8 days ago, I arrived in the Yukon. As a teacher you affect the lives of children even when you don't know it! You, along with Robert Service, inspired a dream in a little grade 7 student some 29 years ago. It's taken YEARS to get here but not a day has gone by that I haven't dreamt of meeting the soul of Sam!!

It's easy to let dreams remain only that. If we take a chance on them we could be disappointed. How could reality ever live up to the images conjured in our minds eye?? Well Mr Sutherland, let me tell you about THIS dream!! Eight months ago I was living in Bowmanville, a quaint little town. I was not thrilled with life or overly happy in my work BUT I was surrounded by the security of friends & family (not discounting my dog, Wellington). Today, I am living at the foot of the Saint Elias Mountain Range in a community called Haines Junction. You might find it on a map 100 miles west of Whitehorse. It is the "Gateway to the Kluane National Park". The mountains are like nothing I've ever experienced...they greet me in the morning, often against a bright blue ski with their snow peeks rugged & high. I mush dogs (I can run up to a team of 6 now) down a trail that would take your breath away, some days by its beauty & others, by it's COLD! The Rubby Range is to the Gee (right) and Mt Decoli & Archibald are to the Haw (left). The moose tracks are often fresh & the Ptarmigan plentiful. A X-fox crossed my path one day....It's a good thing the huskies were too tired to take notice!! The Northern Lights are like magic!! When I woke the first morning after seeing them, it felt like they had not been real!! First Nations people believe that if you whistle at them they will come down to you...you can be sure I will give it my best try when they are back again!! I have a heard of Elk that I see on a regular basis. They are about 100 strong & a sight for any passerby. In my travels I've seen the wild Bison so close to my car that, you’d think I was stretching the truth...But I am not. Oh, and you should see & hear the Ravens!! They play games, hang upside down in trees, steal the dogs’ food bowls & then hang them from branches. They "talk". Their vocabulary is more extensive than any other in the animal kingdom except for humans!! I climbed a mountain for my 40th birthday & sleep every night to the sounds of my 37 sled dogs howling in a ring...I live in a cabin in the woods. I have no running water, no electricity, no indoor plumbing, The TV/VCR has been hooked up to the generator on the rarest of occasions to watch a movie so, I'm a bit at a loss when it comes to the Young & the Restless these days!! THIS is my Yukon....People are happy...they are free to be themselves & the land itself is medicine for the soul. I could not have dreamt this!! The North has far surpassed the images in my mind's eye!!


I have 39 dogs (2 in the cabin) !!!!! One travelled across Canada with me...I've adopted the other 38 (& one cat) since meeting Sean FitzGerald.....Can you believe it has taken me 40 years & 3000 miles to find my best friend & partner?? And to think, he has relatives in OSHAWA!!

I am the happiest girl on the face of the earth & it all started with a grade 7 lesson on poetry in OUR class so very long ago!

I work in a school here. I love it dearly. Some days are trying as you well know. But I think back to my favourite teacher & how he had such an impact....I wonder, 29 years down the road, will someone remember something that I did or said?

In the eyes of your students, you were always the greatest Mr S!! Thanks for "Sam McGee" - my road map to the North :) You know, Sam really should have "sucked it up" & survived the winter.....it really is awesome when the sun comes back!!

I hope this finds you well.
Cheers,
Heather
1977 Gr 7

.

I never did get a response to my letter, it doesn't really matter though. I just hope he received it and that maybe, just maybe...

it meant something to him!

.

.

.

Happy memories of winter

flooded my mind today...

And I smiled

.

Loic & me running across Kathleen Lake

.

Angie & me have quality girl-time
out on the lake!

,
My beautiful AlPine (front) & Duchass (back)
getting ready for a run
.
My Duchass & Ivy (back)...
two brilliant females in my life!
.
My pups were trying to get Sean to move faster!
The trail was waiting & he wasn't going
fast enough for these girls!
.
Only seconds before take off the energy is
always so intense...
.
... and when we are finally on the trail,
there is nothing so peaceful!
.
Here, I was working the vet-check
for the Yukon Quest...
What great folks & What awesome dogs!
.
Wellington LOVES winter
and he always looks so handsome in the snow
;-)
.

And the girls do too

but in their case...they look beautiful

:)

.

.

Now that Adelaide & Sarah are

getting so much bigger

I'm thinking that this winter sure could shape up

to be an interesting one!

.

.
Hummm

As much as I love

winter snow & Northern Lights

the Yukon is magical

no matter what the season
.

.

.

.

.

.

This is an example of a

welcomed guest!

A week or so ago, 50,000 lbs of Sockeye Salmon

were making there way south on the Alaska Highway.

The transport truck carrying them turned over.

All on ice & neatly gutted,

they waited for the locals to claim them...

This is the only one we got but...

I'd call this fish,

a welcomed guest

in my humble cabin ;)

What a shining example of road kill

;-)

I'm good with that

.

.

This is an example of

unwelcomed guests!

This has been the best summer for bugs ever,

but the worst for wasps!

Everyone is getting stung &

these huge nests are cropping up everywhere!

They are nesting under decks

in dog houses

under garbage cans

and in the ground!

Stepping outside of the cabin is like

stepping onto a battle field!

The ground actually hums from first thing in the morning

till bed time rolls around

and what is even more horrible...

and they have taken over my lettuce & spinach beds!

Now that is WAR!

God love the propane torch

that Sean lights up to greet these most

unwelcomed guests!

.

Wether it be 50,000 lbs of Sockeye or

billions of angry wasps,

it just backs up the saying...

.

"Yukon...

Larger Than Life"

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