Helping bring in the musk ox (yes that is Craig second from the right)

Some of my co-workers

Qamutiks on the ice

He was sure wondering what I was up to

Enjoying the sunshine on a Sunday afternoon

Very playful Arctic fox;  sliding down a small snow drift.

From a distance this hare looked like a snow covered rock.

Hello there!

Working for a Livin'

What a week I had working at Kitikmeot Foods.  I started off the week working in the office and then in the end I was working in the abattoir.  My jobs this week consisted of helping Monique with her filing, trimming off the meat from the bones in the meat plant to doing the final trimming at the abattoir and back to the meat plant to tie the meat before going into the freezer. 

Annie, a co-worker of mine is a little power horse doing whatever is needed to get the job done.  I have learnt alot from Annie this week of how the plant works to her life living in Cambridge Bay.  She is an interesting and very fun loving person with a laugh or smile on her face at all times.  Annie and other co-workers have tried to get me to eat the musk ox meat; raw, dried and frozen but I have passed everytime.  Maybe one day I will try it but for now I will say 'quana' or thanks but no thanks. I will miss working with her this week as she is off to Yellowknife with her husband. 

Monique runs the meat plant and abattoir like a well oiled machine.  She organizes the hunters and makes sure their snow machines are filled with gas, oil checked, etc.  If anyone needs something done she is their go to woman.  She arranges meals for the staff at the abattoir and the hunters.  She not only over looks after the operation side of things but she also does the administrative jobs.  I have no idea how she does what she does but she does it.

I have met some great people working at Kitikmeot Foods and have learnt alot from everyone.  There is one more week left for the harvest and I am looking forward to helping out where ever needed. 

The pictures today are of Kitikmeot Foods and some of the workers.

Talk soon!

Myself and my trimming partner Annie

Part of the abattoir

Annie, one of my co-workers

This is where I work at the meat plant - very clean environment

This is where the meat first comes into the plant from the abattoir

Doris and Ray

David one of the hunters taking a break

A hunter with the day's catch

Musk Ox Harvest 2011

I know, I know I promised you all a post yesterday but I was having a lot of trouble with the blog/internet.  It would not allow me to post some pictures but I found a way around it tonight so I here is goes.

It was a busy day here yesterday, I started a new job helping out with the musk ox harvest.  Our friend Monique is the manger of the meat plant here in town and she offered me a job.  The plant is called Kitikmeot Foods Ltd. and she is in charge of the harvest of musk ox and Arctic char in the summer.  Both meats are federally inspected and are shipped all over North America.  The harvest is only for a couple more weeks, the weather here has been stormy so the hunters can not get out onto the land, they are all hoping that the weather calms down tomorrow.  Sunday and yesterday I was helping in the office as her year end is around the corner and she needed some help organizing files.  Today both Craig and I helped out in the process area and after we suited up we were ready to work.  I think Craig was a little green around the gills when he first walked in but by the end of the morning he was trimming meat off the bones.  She hired both Craig and I and wanted Craig to help out as a driver but because there has been no harvest she asked him if he would like to work in the plant today.  Stephan, Monique's right hand man showed us the ropes today and answered any questions we may of had.  There were 9 of us today working with the meat and I asked Monique if I can bring my camera to the plant and she said yes so hopefully I will get some pictures tomorrow.  If you ever have the privilege of eating musk ox (I would suggest the French rack) from Kitikmeot Food I may have been the person that packaged the meat. 

Oh yeah...musk ox + dogs eating it = very smelly farts!  Just thought I'd share. haha

Before we left for our trip last month we had ordered a new fridge and dishwasher as the ones that come to the house were not energy efficient.  We had to order and have it delivered before March 31/11 to be eligible for a rebate from the Nunavut Government, we just may see half of our money back...well worth it. 

We had a few boxes that we needed to ship from Manitoba and we received our first 9 yesterday and 4 today, we are just waiting for two more shipments.  It felt like Christmas here these past couple of days, between the new appliances and our boxes arriving, even though the items in the boxes are some of our belongings that we had left at my mom's.

There was a blizzard warning here for today, it was windy mind you but no blizzard formed.  The temperatures have been hovering around the -40'c with the wind, boy do I miss Florida.  The sun is suppose to shine here for the rest of the week and even though it is cold when the sun beats down on your exposed skin it feels warm and good.

There is just a couple of pictures today of our new appliances, nothing too exciting for my readers but very exciting for us.

Talk soon!

Our new fridge and dishwasher

Now we just have to fill it