My Vacation in Northern, Northern, Northern, Saskatchewan!

Dear Friends and Family,

Wish you could have come with me, did I ever have a good time!  This was the furthest north I’ve ever been, and the air sure was clear and crisp!  I was amazed when I got on the plane with all my new friends in Saskatoon, it was the first time I ever did not show ID or go through any security check whatsoever.  After the two hour flight north, we went directly to work since everyone does 12 hour shifts from 7-7 pm.  But I didn’t mind, I was raring to go!  The views were wonderful, look at all that white stuff:

Miles and miles of snow, trees, and small depressions that for one month a year are filled with non-frozen water.  How pretty.  The weather was a balmy -20oC, which we all have to admit is much better than the -40oC that is the norm up here.  Plus the snow wasn’t too bad, and the cloud ceiling was high enough on Friday for the plane to take off.  The planes don’t have a lot of “modern” equipment, so they have to take off and land by sight, which means if you can’t see the run-way, no planes!  They tell me it was really lucky that my plane got off on time.  Good thing I love snow in March, cause there is so much they use this to plow the parking lot:

I didn’t want to take too many vacation pics of the mine, you know due to security.  But here is the sneak peak of the top of the mine shaft which extends a huge amount underground.  As someone who is slightly claustrophobic, I cringe every-time I think about this:

Trust me, there is a lot going on under the ground up here!  No wonder, its probably much warmer down there.  The workers come up and work for a week, then go home for a week.  While they are working, they stay in “Man Camps”, since by and large they are all men with the odd woman thrown in for variety.  As there are no towns, or roads even, all the facilities must be built by the company.  This camp was decent, but I wish they had warned me to bring my own towel.  Two people say in each room, and rotate in and out each week.  So some people have made their room a bit more “Homey” shall we say.  My room is usually occupied, but the person was on vacation.  He left up his girlie calendar (her favorite things are hairy men and long walks in the snow) and the Periodic Table of Sexual Positions.  It was very informative. The food was pretty good, as it has to be in order to keep the guys coming back.  They serve up 4 entrees for each meal, with a rocking salad bar.  I realize I am a very strange person, and like things the average person does not, but they had a great broccoli salad.  Since I was testing the water, I did not drink it, I knowse too much! 

I had an almost disaster, but my back-up project saved me!  I had placed my Invino socks onto my NEW Rosewood needles, thinking that way I’d get through security okay.  One of the NEW needles was starting to split a bit on the end, which I could live with, but then another needle split near the middle!  That I could not live with.  I switched over to my other project which was on metal needles, which also got through security without a hiccup, so no worries.  Word to the wise: when a shop only sells Rosewood needles, go to the next on that sells bamboo!  The good news is that my Scottish Kilt Socks are growing a little bit!  I got home safely late Friday, and slept after a very enjoyable vacation, and dreaming of the next one!

For my Dad, who named me:

What Anne Means

You are usually the best at everything … you strive for perfection.You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.You have the classic “Type A” personality.You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What’s Your Name’s Hidden Meaning?

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