Ridgewalker

Today was the first day Seamus was let out of the house. He enjoyed the chance to hop around outside and make abortive attempts at climbing trees, but he was also a lot more timid than usual. I let him sniff out some territory and was pleased to note that there is no spraying as of yet.

Today is also the first time I climbed the ridge behind my house. It was a pretty steep and rocky climb (not a lot of good footing), but the view was worth it. I have lived most of my life in the mountains, so it felt a lot like coming home. I had a fantastic view of the Potato mountain range, and could even see as far as the lake to the east (name forthcoming).

I think I may just achieve my childhood dream and be a hermit for the rest of my life (except for that whole social profession thing).

Coffee Talk

First thing this morning I had a tense conversation with the Captain, but the less said about that, the better.

I was up late last night, so I slept in. Then I had my lovely phone call. Then I lounged around a bit. When I finally got my act together, I fully intended to go into the school and do some planning, but I ended up driving right past it to the General Store, ostensibly to check my mail with the Postmistress.

Nothing for me today.

So the Postmistress' husband, Coveralls, offered me a cup of coffee. I don't usually drink coffee, but I sensed this is something that you just don't turn down when you're new to the area, so I sat down and shot the breeze with them for an hour or so. It was actually quite nice, sipping on a seriously sugared coffee and petting P.K. Tech Girl's dog and cat (in some order).

I suspect that this sort of interaction will make up the bulk of my social interaction in the next year. Stay tuned for your next round of gossip.

What we do for fun around here...

My friend - let's call her Katya- has picked up the pox while travelling in Finland. Chicken pox, to be exact. So far it looks more poxy than shingly, so let's all keep our fingers crossed. The pox is quite a serious thing when you're not eight.

Yesterday I got a message on my answering machine from Katya's roommate, Tsunami. Apparently Katya was going stir crazy and needed some entertainment; to that end, I was cordially invited to be the phone participant for a game of Trivial Pursuit. I phoned Tsunami and confirmed with her that I would be phoning at 7:00 PM. Thus, plans were made and Katya's surprise was set in motion.

The game was a blast and I actually got some unpacking done while playing. My favourite answer of the evening was when Tsunami (who kicked our butts) had no idea who the US president during some past event was and answered with her previous winning answer: "Wimpy?"

For the record, ladies, here is one of the evening's recurring themes: U Thant.

I had a surprising amount of fun for a girl who lives alone in the wilderness with her cat. We should do it again some time.

Revisiting the nipple situation

According to everyone's favourite online resource, wikipedia, cats generally have eight nipples except for the odd one that has ten.

I wonder if humans ever have an extra set... you know... for holidays.

Serious Nipple Shortage

This just in....

Seamus' sister/mother/relative who was pregnant had some lovely little kittens today. Initially the Innkeeper thought she had six, but I have kick-ass math skills and counted eight. I don't even know if the mother cat has enough nipples to deal with the situation.

*sigh*

I don't think they're all going to make it, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

They saw me coming

This morning, as I was washing the dishes from my french toast, I happened to spy out my kitchen window a truck coming up my driveway. This is rather unusual, as I don't actually know anybody who would come and visit me.

Enter the Innkeeper. She is in her early 50's and, as her name would indicate, runs the local inn around these parts (there is also a motel and restaurant, but that is a different business). I was busy wondering what she might be doing in my driveway when she pulled a small, orange cat out of a rubbermaid bin on the passenger's seat.

Ah.

As it turns out, the Innkeeper's brother is having a few personal problems and when she went to get a few things from his trailer for him, she found two small cats chowing down on a loaf of bread. She told me she would have given me the cat's sister, but she was very obviously pregnant and it wasn't fair to try to foist her off on me.

I thanked the Innkeeper.

This is how I ended up with Seamus. Yes, I've named him which would pretty much signify that I've fallen in love with him. Needless to say I'm planning to keep him.

Seamus is about 6-7 months old and very much an orange tabby. I don't know how I feel about this as my life has always been catted (feline version of peopled=catted) by big black cats. I really don't know how to deal with redheads. Ironic, no?

So I'm sending to Williams lake to get a litter box, litter, and some food and hoping that the living situation will work out. In the meantime, I've got a kitten to cuddle at night, so I won't feel as alone.

It's easier to be brave when there's a cat in the room. They should do a study.

Culinary Aspirations

I had forgotten that I actually enjoy my own cooking.

I have made this discovery by necessity. In a town this small, fast food is an impossibility. Let's face it - "54 Served" just isn't a very impressive statement.

So the menu for the last couple of days has included items such as bran cereal with local fresh fruit, soup and cheese bagel, and glazed pork chops with pasta, corn on the cob, and beans. Most of these meals have been accompanied by a salad.

I have to admit that I wasn't eating regularly before I moved. Money was sporadic and I had become a little paranoid about the capabilities of my refrigerator. I had been meaning to talk to the landlady about it, but eventually I just didn't feel like it would have been worth it. So rather than worry about food spoilage, I ate out when I ate at all.

Luckily, I budgeted for food in the move, and so far I have been eating very well. I am quite proud of myself.

And now for something completely different...

BEST SIGHT OF THE DAY:

The little old lady, decked out in helmet and goggles, roaring around the forest around the school with a Jack Russell Terrier riding on the back of her ATV.

In which we meet some denizens of my little village and determine that cows are jerks...

Yesterday was largely uneventful, save a cow and her twin calves attempting to ingest my car.

Calf 1: (nibbles tire)

Me: (from the vantage point of my kitchen window) Stop that!

Mother cow: (gives a blank look and keeps chewing)

Calf 2: (wraps tongue around antenna)

Me: What kind of parent are you? Get them away from my car!

Mother cow: (eye contact is made and body language says "Screw you, human!")

Luckily I am a Chilliwack girl, born and bred, and have no qualms about chasing creatures of the bovine persuasion away from my house (I will, however, cop to having checked for udders first - I'm not stupid).

Today I took a break from organizing my classroom which is starting to look a lot less like the previous teachers and a little more like me. I had some things to do in town, so I grabbed my purse and jumped into my non-ingested car.

To get to town, you turn left out of the school driveway, head past the gravel pit and a minute later, you're there. There are around ten buildings in the central area, and I was heading to the general store.

Some Introductions:

The General Store is run by the Postmistress and her husband (whom I haven't met yet and thus have not yet ascribed a pseudonym). She is tall, grey, and sometimes stern. She was delighted to present me with mail, however, and laughed when I got excited. They seem to be easygoing and game for a joke here. It's a bit of a relief.

The Postmistress and her husband have a grown daughter, PK Tech Girl. I met her yesterday when she came to sort out a problem with the wireless connection at the school. PK Tech girl is a striking thirtysomething woman who looks very Italian but who I am told is more Scottish. She came in while I was filling out my mailing form, and I waved hello.

While I was chatting and filling out my mailing form (for General Delivery, an option I chose deliberately so that I would have an excuse to pop in and say hello on a regular basis), in came the local mechanic, a woman I will be calling Gypsy, after the mechanic from Gilmore Girls. Although the Gypsy on the show is hispanic and cynical, this Gypsy is actually more Teutonic. She reminded me that she has a couple of kittens that are just about ready to go, and assured me that if I needed a couple of weeks to get a litter box and some food, they would be waiting.

Then bid my goodbyes, grabbed my mail and purchases, and headed back to the school. More classroom organizing must happen before it begins to resemble a workspace.

There isn't enough time!

Welcome to the Chilcotin

The first thing you need to know about the Chilcotin is that the sky is bigger here than anywhere else in British Columbia. There are mountains everywhere you look, but they don't crowd you in the way the coastal mountains do. Your access to the sky is completely unfettered and it can be humbling to take it all in.

The mountains are everywhere, and grassy plateaus. Here you can see the devastation wrought by the mountain pine beetle. The damage done by these insects has rendered the trees red and lifeless. As you pass through the mountains, you can see entire swaths of red across the hills. One mountain was almost entirely red.

Things you will see on the drive from Williams Lake to where I live:

1. The Fraser River
2. Horses
3. Cows
4. Kids on ATVs
5. Out-of-the-way convenience stores and gas bars
6. Cows
7. Rednecks. Honest to god rednecks with camoflage pants, a wifebeater, a trucker hat, and a 70's moustache. It was like he just stepped out of a Budweiser commercial.
   
8. Two First Nations Reserves
9. RCMP pick-up trucks (my lovely car is severely outnumbered by trucks here)
10. Cows
11. The Chilcotin river
12. Numerous lakes and ponds, some partiall dried
13. Cows
14. A proliferation of trees, mostly pine and birch. This is new, as I am far more familiar with the cedar and the occasional maple.
15. A weather station with a very very tall tower
16. Free roaming cows with no fear of oncoming vehicles
    

It looks nothing like the pictures. It's better in real life - more vivid. I know that should go without saying, but I still think it needs to be said.

I sure picked a hell of a place to live.

I'm home now.