In the deep mid-winter

Hi all. We had a marvellous weekend here. The temperature was relatively mild, (-20C) and there was virtually no wind. I got out on my skis both yesterday and today for about two hours each time. There was a polar bear shot just by the airport (about 200m from my place) so I have borrowed a gun to take with me. It's a .303 British pretty much like the one I've used for years in Ontario so it didn't take too much getting used to. The only problem was that the whole thing hadn't been cleaned properly before being put away so it was almost ceased up with rust. I played gunsmith and managed to get it working well after taking it apart and dousing the parts with WD 40. It is working well now and I took a few shots today just to see how it was sighted. I will be taking it on all future hikes and skiing outings. People up here have a great deal of respect for the polar bear and think that anyone going out of the hamlet should take a gun. Wolves are common in the area as well but I don't think they are quite a bold as polar bears during the day.
I worked at the school for a couple of hours late this afternoon and then came home to watch the super bowl. I broke down and got cable TV this week. Prior to this I only had CBC north and APTN so it is quite a luxury to be able to pick and choose channels. While watching the game I decided to make some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and took a picture. Just now I got a phone call saying that our girls volleyball team won a tournament in Iqaluit and will represent the northeastern region of Nunavut at the Arctic winter games in Alaska next month. Wow! There will be celebrations when the girls fly in tomorrow. I don't expect I'll teach too much tomorrow morning.