Saturday's walk

I went for a walk after brunch today (so about 1230 hrs). It was beautiful out, no wind and surprisingly bright out.


Here is what I got to see when I turned the corner around the main Station building.





This was behind the Station, looking out to the hills.

Some signs around the Station. Who knows how long they have been there?

A great walk, some fresh air and some neat pictures - a pretty decent start to the day! Now, to get on the bike trainer and get today's scheduled training done ;)

Colleen

Time is flying!

Wow, I have been here for almost two and a half months and time is going by really quickly.

Only about 43 more days until I depart the Station for my mid tour leave trip home. I can't wait to get back and see everyone - that is about the only bad part about being here, the people that I miss (okay and the no sun yet part).



We are getting twilight and the horizon is brightening up for a few hours each day - the first sun rise is February 27th, everyone is getting excited to see our long lost friend.

I've managed to get out ice fishing after New Years - tiny little Arctic Char, catch and release of course! It was fun to get out of the Station for a few hours and do something different - some days feel like the movie "Groundhog Day", you get up, shower, eat, got to work, eat, go back to work, eat again, go to sleep and then do it all over again.

We try to mix things up and there are bunch of social activities on the Station to keep us busy. Then again, some days you just need a bit of piece and quiet and you hide in your room and watch a movie, lol.

We have had more exciting times - the C17 Globemaster came for a visit. That plane is huge, before it left the Station it was loaded with three pieces of heavy machinery and still had a ton of space for passengers and cargo! I managed to get out to the airfield to take a peak at it before it left, since I didn't have any inbound passengers to look after that day (I have to look after the baggage inspection when people come off the planes).

That is it for now, more to come once we can see more outside!

Colleen

Plane Day!

Today was plane day.

We had a Herc land, drop off passengers/cargo (more about the cargo in a minute) and take outgoing passengers and cargo.

The planes our our lifeline up here. They bring us everything that we need to survive - food (that they feed us way too much of!), supplies, equipment and of course the mail.

The mail always brings an added boast for morale - even with the internet and email, it is always nice to get something sent to you. A letter, card, parcel - you name it. You kind of feel like a little kid again when it is your turn to get something.

Since we only have one flight left until Christmas, today's mail filled three dollies! There were tons of parcels and lots of cards. It was pretty neat to see.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received a package. There was only a return address (no name) and I didn't recognise the address. It turns out that it was from my Aunt Pat and Uncle Omar in Burlington!

It was filled with goodies and treats - it absolutely made my day!
















(Some of the Turtles may or may have not been eaten already when this picture was taken...)

I also received a couple of cards from friends as well - I need to start a string to hang my cards on in my room. I will see how many more I get next week.

I had almost forgotten how nice mail and parcels are when you are away from home for a long time - it has been almost twenty years since I was last at cadet camp and had parcels sent by Mom to look forward to.

Colleen

Alert!

Well, I made it safe and sound to Alert on Wednesday.

I had to spend an extra day in Trenton, since my flight out was delayed a day and no one bothered to tell me.

I am settling in, learning my new job and exploring the station. Today was a tour around the station area by truck.

The station is pretty big - bigger than I expected and everyone is very nice.

There are normally a lot of social activities happening, but a stomach bug has been going around (about 1/3 of the station has been sick so far) and limiting group activities is one of the ways that they are fighting the spread of the illness. Luckily, it is just a 24/48 hour bug - so no long lasting effects for those that have had it.

I even met a new friend today.
















More to come!

Colleen

Ho, Ho, Ho

I found out on Friday that I will be deploying to CFS Alert for six moths - in two to three weeks from now. This is a very short notice deployment, but that is sometimes how life goes in the military!

I will be able to run, spin, strength train and yoga up there (thank goodness they have two well equipped gyms there) but alas, no pool.

I am thinking that this blog will switch over more to a 'my life in Alert' while I am gone, with some training updates thrown in. I think that life in the high Arctic (approx 800 km from the geographical North Pole) will be pretty interesting and I want to be able to share what I experience.

For the next two weeks, life is going to be pretty crazy - getting everything ready to go. Have to make sure that I have a UV lamp - no sunlight in Alert until the end of February, eek!

If you want to read up on Alert: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFS_Alert

I'm baaaaack!

Sorry for dropping off of the face of the planet (just in case anyone is still reading this).

We had a beyond crazy summer. Our son was in Steinbach getting his Private Pilot's license, so what better to do then decide to move? Over the course of the summer, we bought, sold and moved houses.

Then one week after getting possession of the new house I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. It turns out a pesky stone had been making me so sick.

I am happy to report that we are (mostly) settled in the new house and I am completely recovered from my surgery (laparoscopic, thank goodness). I am back to training and loving being back, except after almost three months off it is hard work!

This week is week three back at it and thankfully a recovery week - I am feeling downright lazy with just hot yoga today :)

I am really looking forward to training with a healthy body - the past three years have kind of sucked being sick/diet restrictions. I am really excited to see what I can do now that I can eat without worrying about a 3 am emergency room visit!

More to follow, I promise.

Back at'er

Well, I got home a week ago from being in Quebec for three weeks and all I can say is that life has been crazy. It was a good course and I have come to the conclusion that I really need to learn more French - the course wasn't an issue but it bothered me not being able to fully communicate when I was off the base (the cab ride from the Montreal airport to the base being one example).

Training wise, I got some decent runs in (after I was finished having a cold) and one swim in (the pool was way too hot to train in). No cycling, as my bike could not come with me and I really do not like spin bikes at the gym.

Work has been nuts, new boss, end of fiscal year headaches and a command structure re-organization - ingredients for a stressful week. On top of that, we have had two family events since I got back - one was basically just after I got off of the plane (with a quick stop to drop off my bags at home).

I did manage to get some good training this week, so not a write-off just not quite how I wanted to jump back in to things.

I dearly missed my regular pool (the one in Quebec was as warm as a bathtub, ugh) and I even missed my bike trainer (yes, I am nuts).

February already, this winter is flying - only four months until the first duathlon of the season!