Sunday, December 20, 2015

Slow down

If it's the weekend before Christmas then the Great Iqaluit Exodus must be well under way. For all my theories that there would be fewer people flying out this year due to the high cost of plane tickets the lines at the airport were biblical. There were pictures on Facebook and Twitter of the security line stretching out the front door of the airport and down the steps. Nothing quite like having to wait outside in -20C weather.

This is our 11th Christmas in Nunavut and I think we've been out three, maybe four times. And as we get older it's becoming harder and harder to muster the will power to brave airplanes and airports during holidays. I had no shortage of complaining in my social media feeds the last couple of days about people travelling. And yes, it would be lovely to see some friends and family or go some place warm. Today we got hit with the annual cold snap that Iqaluit gets every year around Christmas. It was -56C when I woke up this morning and apparently it was below -60C for awhile this morning. So yes, going to Cuba or somewhere might be nice.

But this morning after I got up, Cathy and I spent the morning in the living room. The dog was being a nuisance, but a charming one (he begged to go outside, discovered it was "oh my god" cold and promptly headed back inside in something under 60 seconds). After that I set up the Apple TV to stream Christmas music from my computer. Soon enough photos started streaming across the TV from past vacations in Hawaii, California, Australia....I mean, it's not the same as being warm, but it's a nice reminder.

Cathy sat on the couch reading a book on her iPad and drinking her coffee. I was in my chair (until Boo stole it when I got up to get coffee) reading Molly Crabapple's autobiography 'Drawing Blood". (initial review - Molly Crabapple was braver and more fearless at 17 than I have been at any point in my life). We both glanced out the window at different times, admiring the light that you get at this time of the year, but pretty much vowing that this was a jammies day and that neither one of us was going outside, although Boo made liars out of us, but only for moments.

Honestly, it was as relaxing a day as either one of us has had in weeks. The last six weeks or so have been stressful. We've both been in to work on weekends trying to catch up on stuff. A weekend of sloth is a nice treat. A break over Christmas where we can spend many days reading or rewatching movies or TV shows - we're currently binge watching Fringe - will be a much needed break.

Oh, and I got to see Star Wars on Thursday, so that was good. I won't write about that yet, but the moratorium on my thoughts about that are probably going to last until next weekend. At that point, I figure nearly all my friends will have seen the movie, so talking about it is fair game.

Last Five
1. Hotel plaster - Nicole Atkins
2. Disaster button - Snow Patrol
3. Set our running - Neko Case*
4. Cold cold heart - Norah Jones
5. Drop the bombs - Matt Mays

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