Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Preparing for arrival

So I seem to have survived the household cleansing purge that's been ongoing in the mansion since this weekend. Cathy does go on these anti-clutter jihads from time to time. We have differing views on what is dirty and what is cluttered and, to the absolute surprise of no one, my tolerance is considerably higher than hers.

However, the past few days have been different as her mom and dad are arriving for a 10 days stay in Iqaluit. I don't know if Air Canada is making any money on the Iqaluit-Ottawa run, but they surely are helping people get rid of all those extra Aeroplan miles they've been unable to properly use with First Air and Canadian North, I'll say that much.

Anyway, yes, her parents are coming for a visit. I'd gently tease her about her attempts to make the place spotless, which I consider to be a touch unnecessary, except I'm sure every woman friend I have would pop up and point out that if their mother was coming up to take a look at the very first home you've ever owned, they'd be busy scrubbing the floor in the attic.

So there has been no teasing, merely helping as much as possible. Besides, they're bringing a couple of deeply packed suitcases, and I doubt much of it contains any clothing for them, most of it is stuff for us including, incredibly, new curtains for the entire house.

Cathy and her mom are very, very good packers.

It'll be nice to have them up here for the next 10 days. I'm not 100% sure how we're going to entertain them for quite that long. They're insisting on helping with some painting around the house and putting up the curtains. Dan would like to do some fishing, but that depends on the state of the Sylvia Grennell River. And there will be some other things, I'm sure.

Oh, and Megan? I'll do your question meme tomorrow. I suspect there may be more cleaning in my future before I head to bed this evening...

Last Five
1. Into temptation (live) - Crowded House*
2. Old man - Neil Young
3. Because - The Beatles
4. Past imperfect - Lloyd Cole
5. Squeeze box - The Who

3 comments:

Karin said...

My folks are due to arrive in sin city on Aug. 4th. At this point I'm hoping to have a semi-complete house for them to sleep in. ;) Have a great time!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I came across your blog while I was looking into working in nunavut for awhile. I studied social work and I've heard there are opportunities to work up north where they pay your living expenses while you are there. I've always wanted to take a bit of an adventure for a year or so and when else woud I have the chance to see Nunavut right? Also, I'll be honest, the pay scales are incredible! I am trying to pay things off (I'm 24) and doing so while having the experience of a lifetime is appealling to me.

When did you move to Nunavut? What is it like? What do you do for a living? Should I consider going?

towniebastard said...

You may notice on the sidebar I have a FAQ if you are considering answering moving up here. That will likely answer most of your questions.

Also, while I admire your honesty for your reasons for thinking of coming up here, it won't make you many friends, especially if you're going to be in such a serious field as social work. There are obviously a lot of social problems in Nunavut and while I hesitate in telling someone in that field not to come up here, I would be very careful if your reasons are:
1. It's only a year.
2. Wow, look at the money
3. It's an adventure.

It might work, it might be great. But people who tend to come up for those reasons, well, I think things don't always work out the way they envision.

There are a lot of people up here for whom Nunavut is their lives and trying to change it for the better is serious business. Coming for an adventure might be fun for you, but I'm not certain what kind of reception you would receive.

But that's just my opinion. But if you do decide to come here, I'd advise you to consider it very carefully.