Kids started school today. Yesterday we went down to the Northern store to get indoor school shoes for Rachel and Ian, and an elder in the post office lobby told us there was an icebreaker in the harbour. So we went down to see, and it turned out to be a gigantic red coastguard boat with a pointed front. The yearly barge bringing supplies is expected today, I'm told, and there will be a party on Friday to celebrate, a community barbecue. Rachel and Ian went to a back-to-school barbecue on Monday, and had muskox burgers. Miguel and I have been invited to play in a poker tournament this weekend, (we spent a fair amount of time this winter playing Texas Hold 'Em with Miguel's parents and the kids) but it costs 150 dollars each to enter so we think it might be a bit too rich for our blood.

I've been enjoying walking down to the post office to check the mail. It was never quite such a thrill to have it delivered to the door. I'm finding I really like it here, and don't mind the isolation at all. The only thing I've found that I miss is the Globe and Mail on Saturdays. I'll have to find a new source for my crossword fix...

The dogs like it here, too, we can walk out the door and around the corner and be out on the tundra, and they can dash about chasing lemmings to their hearts' content. Kids can wander around town unaccompanied, too, what traffic there is seems accustomed to looking out for kids.