Our stuff!

So, our things have finally arrived.  Mostly.  The house that we are renting is furnished, so it already had the basics: 2 couches, table, chairs, full kitchen, beds, etc.  It was just missing the warmth that I really wanted.  On our trip here last fall we heard one thing time and time again from locals: "You need to be comfortable." Its so cold for so long, most of our time will spent inside our home.

We had the choice of moving into Government of Nunavut housing, which would have been much cheaper, or finding a rental home.  Government of Nunavut housing (or GN housing) would have meant an apartment complex. We were fairly certain (but not guaranteed) we'd be able to get a 3 bedroom apartment.  Some GN apartments are quite comfortable with hardwood floors and stainless steel new appliances, but some are small and decrepit. (The one we stayed in previously smelled strongly of cigarette smoke at times.) Some are in nice areas of town, others not so much. There is an area of town called "Slaughter Hill", so in my mind the neighbourhood we are in is kind of important. With GN housing you can't pick and choose, you have to go wherever there is a unit available. Also, we've been told the furniture in a furnished GN apartment isn't very nice or comfortable.

After a real-estate tour and some research, we decided we'd rather have a stand-alone home for our time up here. We wanted the kids to have more space to play in, as most of our time this winter will be spent indoors.  Local friends started "asking around" for us, and after a few deals that fell through, we found the home we are in now.

Um...since when?

So, I was super excited to finally be able to unpack area rugs, blankets, lamps, etc. and start turning our rental house into our "home away from home".  When the moving company showed up (early, no less!) they were friendly and professional.  Then the lead mover casually announced that three of our boxes just "didn't show up".  Normally its fairly easy to tell which boxes get lost during a move as every box is numbered. Apparently, this matters less on an air cargo move, where boxes are just re-packaged with other boxes to fit whatever space is available on the plane. So.....11 of our boxes now had no tracking numbers at all, and 3 were missing.  Also, our bookcase had been repackaged and labeled "broken bookcase".  Hmmmm.

Bam!

Ooooof...

Pow!

THAT wasn't the interesting bit though.  Many boxes were crushed or damaged during transit. I'd been warned that Air Cargo was notoriously hard on belongings, so I was disappointed but not shocked by this. One box though, looked unusual.  The side of the box looked torn, but not like anything I'd ever seen before.  "Um," I wondered aloud to the moving guy. "What happened here?"  He gave the box a cursory glance and said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice "Yah, the ravens got into that one."  Sorry, what? RAVENS?!  I had to register that for a few seconds before thinking "Where the heck were these boxes being stored that they were open to attack from ravens?"

Ravens.

Despite the crushed boxes all our belongings were OK (except of course the bookcase).  The kids were thrilled to see some toys show up, and JJ and I were thrilled to finally stop living out of suitcases.

Damn packing tape.

Living room before (with boxes)

It took a couple of days, but the living room is finally complete.  I added soft throws, an area rug, artwork, and a trunk to help with storage. The homeowner already had dimmer-switch lighting in the room, which helps with a feeling of warmth in the evening. For decor I decided to go with faux-fur (this is the north, after all), lots of texture, and of course, bright Iqaluit colors.

Living room after. 

 The dining room already had turquoise walls. Turquoise and purple seem to be common colors up here. They feature heavily in Inuit artwork, clothing, and home decor. I guess when there is nothing but snow and darkness for months, people enjoy a pop of "bold" here and there. I threw a nice crazy area rug on the floor, and done!

Dining room with new area rug.

Happy cat.

Happy dog.

Cap'n Jack chillin' on the couch.

Next: We can buy beer!

PS: It is September 10th and today was our first touch of snow.  It was just blowing in the air, but its definitely coming.  The kids were wearing mittens and touques outside. ("Touque" is Canadian for "winter hat" for you Americans.  Its pronounced "tooook".)