Wishing my Chinese friends a Happy New Years !!! the following photos were from a lunch hour student display at the University of Alberta with samples of green, black and "gunpowder"  tea; a lovely spread of different samples with sweet and salty flavours; details on the different years of the Chinese zodiac; much use of the colour red; and an attempt of calligraphy; this is my name!

Well, I have not learned Estonian but have spent some time exploring other northern blogs and found one from Liina in Estonia and also looked up some history on this little but very modern country near Sweden and Norway...http://linnaliina.wordpress.com/2011/07/21/andide-aeg/#comment-234 She takes some great photos and if needed also discovered google translator! http://translate.google.com/translate

December and January are often some of the coldest and often darkest months of the year, especially if you are in northern Alberta or even more so in the arctic. That is one of the unique features of where I live…there are four distinct seasons well marked with temperature, light and precipitation changes. Winter is often the “ hunkering down “ season…cold, snow and short days.

With the rush of the holiday season over and slower pace in the last week or so I have had some time to reflect and ponder abit and just sharing a few of my random thoughts.

When I do hospital work over the holidays and may be tiring I think of what a good friend Dianne, a retired RN, said about working Christmas and giving others a break... it is often the small moments and one day, it was a conversation with an older lady in geriatric rehab with some current dementia. She was worried about where she was and where she would be after hospitalization, but as a former botanist, sharp as a tack. We talked about hiking in the mountains, northern plants in the Rockies and in the arctic and she said was one of the editors of Ben Gadd's books.

Mild touch of global warming in early January when weather just above freezing and was raking leaves in the yard, cleaning up after the dogs and used the outdoor fire pit as a confidential shredder of old exam booklets! Last time I remember raking this late was just after Christmas in 1997.

Had a lovely gathering of about 20 people on Saturday, Jan. 7 a drop-in potluck with cousins and friends and neighbours. Lots of good stories, laughter, and good shared red wine and food including the arctic char that many months ago I toted back from Hall Beach Nunavut. Stuffed with rice, tarragon, lemon, ginger and celery…lots of left overs! Only unfortunately, forgot the cases of Alley Kat on the back porch...frozen beer is interesting! frozen popping caps!

Other funny moments have been the dogs with their chewy items. Dysis older and calmer contently chews on the rawhide bones while younger and more active Nanuq, destroys and “kills “ the stuffed toys.

We are in a deep freeze at minus 30oC and that is quite fine…after all it is January and not May!

Weather report as follows… “Wind chill values of minus 40 to 50 developing tonight and lasting through Wednesday morning. This is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Cold Arctic air has invaded much of Alberta and will bring temperatures of minus 31 to 39 overnight. These temperatures combined with winds of 15 to 20 km/h will give wind chills of minus 40 to 50 in the above mentioned regions overnight into Wednesday morning. At these extreme wind chill values frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 10 minutes.”

Dress for it in layers and remember to plug in the car….no, this has to do with the battery not an electric car. I did so and yesterday was fine, despite trying to plug in the car the only extension cord that fits is still attached to the outside Xmas lights and splits due to the cold... but today…. 12:15 PM needing to be at the University by 1 PM...My car flooded and died in the cold weather...on hold for taxi company and rushed out of the house in the minus 30oC to miss one bus and catch another just making it to the exam room minutes before scheduled to start.

The grand daughter staying with me for this term was sure that school would be cancelled every morning this week...NOT!!! but I drove her! it is minus 30 out and one daughter called locked out of her apartment needing me to come in the middle of rush hour traffic...she needs cigarettes and some food..I proceed to get...a car almost runs into me driving out on 76 Ave. in the process.

and the internet fails in the basement as it usually does when for some reason the furnace goes on...

so ' bunky you think you have trouble"...one only survives with a reasonable sense of humour, layers of clothing, a good book, a glass of red wine and heading to bed early!

HAPPY January all!

The following came from a friend who has recently moved to Gjoa haven to work.....one of the arctic hamlets i did a stint in 2010.

Most frustrating call of the day... trying to change my mailing address...

What province is Gjoa Haven in?

Nunavut... it's a territory. It's like a province....

What province is Nunavut in?

Nunavut is the province...

What is Nunavut and which province is that in?

10 minutes later... I gave up... address unchanged...