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Horseshoe nails

21 Apr

On the way from the playground back to my house to make supper tonight, I stop to talk to Tom over the fence.

“We’re taking that big pine tree down this summer,” he tells me. It’s impressively tall, towering at least 20 or 30 feet above the height of his bungalow. The roots are starting to threaten the basement, and the ground beneath the tree moves when the wind blows. It stands barely two feet from the wall of the house, and I can understand why it’s time for the tree to go.

“It’s full of horseshoe nails,” he adds.

“The tree is?” I ask in astonishment.

“Yes,” he says matter-of-factly, an amused smile twitching his moustache.

Our neighbourhood is 70 years old. In days gone by, before there was a playground behind Tom’s house, there was a corral, with dozens, if not hundreds of horses. The Jocko Brothers (I think he said) used the horses to move freight. In fact, that path we use almost daily in the summer to run down to Paddy’s Pond is a horse trail, one of the trails they used to take freight out to Fish Lake and beyond.

With so many horses around, it was inevitable that some horse would lose a shoe. Horseshoe nails were cheap, and they were sharp.  So the men who worked there would just stick a bunch into whatever was around — a nearby tree, for example — so there would always be some nails handy for reshoeing a horse.

Over the years, the unused nails were simply absorbed into the tree as it grew, wrapping its woody flesh around intruding metal.

I stared at the tree some more. Imagine that tree, holding 70-year-old nails. That’s a piece of living history right there.

For a little while longer, anyway.

Julie London in Whitehorse

1 Nov

Jazz in the Hall, November 3, 2011

Tonight is the final rehearsal for the concert I’m giving at the Old Fire Hall on Thursday.  I am thrilled and excited and totally battling butterflies.

Once a month from September to May, Jazz Yukon holds “Jazz in the Hall”.  It starts with an “educational vignette” by Steve Gedrose (who used to have a jazz show on CBC radio), then there’s a 45-minute set by a professional local jazz group.  Then there’s a jazz jam to close off the night.  This month, I’m the featured act.

The butterflies are pretty significant because not only am I being billed as The Professional Act of the month, but the whole concert is going to be recorded and videotaped.  That ups the ante right there.  I’m trying not to think about it too much, though, and just focus on have a great live gig.

Fortunately, I have a fantastic band to back me up.  Dave Haddock on guitar, Anne Turner on upright bass, and Ken Searcy on drums, are an ah-MAZE-ing rhythm section.  Plus we’ll have Colleen McCarthy for a trombone solo on one tune and Lisa Preto on flute for another tune.

I am singing all Julie London tunes; she’s the one who first recorded “Cry Me a River”, which I recorded as a demo this past summer.  If you Google her, you’ll find YouTube videos, of course, and lots of pictures of her in all sorts of fabulous gowns.  I wish I could have a costume change between each song!

So, if you’re in Whitehorse, come on out to a great night of jazz.  If you’re not in Whitehorse, send some good vibes my way on Thursday night, would ya?

Fawn at Arts in the Park 2011

7 Jun

Arts in the Park, June 14, 2001, LePage Park, noon to 1. Featuring Fawn Fritzen with Marg Tatam on piano. Hot vocal jazz in the summer sun.

Here’s one of the projects that is keeping me busy this month: rehearsing for a one-hour set at Arts in the Park next week.

Please keep your fingers crossed for good weather, as this is an open-air concert!  The show will go on, though, come rain or come shine.

Spread the word!  And if you’re in Whitehorse, I would love to see you there.

Where in the world is Fawn?

16 Aug

My Oma berated me for neglecting my bloggy duties.  Oops!  I have been dropping that ball quite a bit this summer, haven’t I?

Highlights for the last few weeks:

  • Visiting with Gran and Buddy (Michael’s parents)
  • Playing tourist in our own town by visiting the Beringia Centre, the S.S. Klondike (as documented by Michael), and the Takhini Hotsprings
  • Sailing on Atlin Lake (check out Michael’s picture-ful posts of Day 1, Day 2, Day 2 continued, Day 3, and Day 4)
  • Letting Jade ride our neighbour’s horse, which she took to like a duck to water.  Everyone exclaimed that she was so comfortable on Rocky, it was clear she is destined to be a rider.  I wish I weren’t so darned allergic to them.  (Horses, that is, not riders.)
  • Lots of musical activity, including playing at Arts in the Park twice.  The second time at Arts in the Park I was part of the finale show, which was broadcast on CBC radio, which was exciting and terrifying all at the same time.
  • Having a girlie morning with my mother-in-law getting pedicures
  • Trying to mentally prepare myself for returning to work which starts… tomorrow!  Ack!

As you can see, Michael has been blogging, and I have not.  However, somebody has to do the dishes.  Plus Marian and I were too busy visiting with each other while Michael and his dad worked away on their respective computers.

I had to take Gran and Buddy to the airport today after what seemed like and all-too-short visit.  (I must insert here that I completely lucked out when it comes to in-laws.  I love Michael’s family!)  They were flying out on the very aircraft that brought up four more visiting family members: my aunt, uncle, and two cousins from Germany.

I am so happy that these guys have tacked on a few extra days to their three-week holiday in the US of A just to visit me.  I also find myself at a loss to explain to them why I love living here.  They’re bewildered as to why so many Germans come to the Yukon every summer and wonder what the heck there is to do around here, anyway.  How can anyone stand to live so far away from everything?  (Just what exactly is the “everything” that is missing?)

Of course, the stuff that you do when you live here is not necessarily the same as the stuff that you do when you are a tourist, and the answers get all jumbled up in my mind.  But either way, I truly cannot comprehend the idea of being bored in Whitehorse.  I know I’m a bit of a Debbie Domestic these days, what with cooking, sewing, dog-walking, child-rearing, and some flirtations with gardening, and that might not be everyone’s cup of tea.  But, the music scene here is amazing.  Okay, not everyone loves jazz as I do, but there’s also folk, rock, country, classical, and hip-hop, just to name a few.  We have belly-dancing.  We have breakdancing.  We have roller derby.  We have a kick-ass recreation centre with swimming, yoga, soccer, hockey, skating, volleyball, and Lord knows what else.  It’s true that we don’t have a Princess of Wales Theatre, but there is theatre and there is film, with some pretty awesome cutting-edge stuff happening.  We have artists and artisans galore.  And history.  And culture.  And community.  (Okay, so that’s not something to do, per se, but I’m reeling myself in from a full-on lecture here.  And I haven’t even mentioned the hiking or other “bush” activities.)

Anyway, I’ve got two days to show them what the Germans, Austrians, Swiss, and Japanese flock here to see every summer.  Just a whiff, if not a taste, of Yukon life.  In between some good old-fashioned visiting, of course.

Oh, right, and that going-back-to-work thing.

Northern lights

7 Mar
Photo by Bjørnar G Hansen, stolen from Tromsø – the Gateway to the Arctic

I don’t remember the first time I saw aurora borealis.  In fact, it seems that my memories of specific aurora displays are pretty sketchy as a rule.  What I do remember is how they make me feel. 

I remember seeing them, half a lifetime ago, walking to Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit for an evening music class.  The lights were so bright and active I had to stop and watch, even if it made me late.  It was quiet around me, not a soul to be seen, and I was sure I could hear a faraway tinkling and crackling.  It was just me and the sky and the frosty air and it was absolutely magical.

Far and away the best northern lights I ever saw was on a 9-hour drive that Michael and I took, travelling from Yellowknife back to our home in Fort Liard.  It was early November, I think, and chilly, but the lights were so spectacular we had to stop driving and get out, resting against the car, snuggled together for warmth.  The aurora rippled across the sky faster than sweeping searchlights, and they burned not only green, but scarlet, too.  It was awesome in the truest and most reverent sense of the word.

Since moving to Whitehorse, the only time I remember seeing northern lights worth any mention was during a drive home from Atlin back when I was pregnant with Jade.  Our friend Lara was visiting and we’d spent the day hiking Monarch Mountain and exploring Atlin.  On the way home we were forced to stop driving because the aurora were so distracting, we simply had to pause and enjoy them.  I was so pleased that Lara had the opportunity to see such a quintessentially northern phenomenon during her visit, and I was delighted to be sharing it with her.

Aurora borealis, we are told, are caused by “solar wind”, which evidently has an eleven-year cycle.  These past few years have coincided with a low point in the cycle, so sightings of northern lights are less frequent and less spectacular.  That’s why last night, when someone posted on Facebook, “Quick! Go outside! Northern lights!” Michael and I sprang into our boots and scurried out into the night.

At first all we could see was a dim band of green low in the sky to the north, but it had been so long since I’d seen northern lights, I wanted to watch them for a while, even if they weren’t spectacular.  The dim ribbon slowly lifted higher, brightening as it ascended.  And then the rippling started.  At times streaks of pale green shot upward, reminding me of footlights in a theatre; at others, they would “wave” across the sky, like a diaphanous curtain blowing in a summer breeze.  The night sky was beautifully clear, with sparkling stars punctuating the darkness between the veils of northern lights.  I was caught up in their spell again, in the wonder and admiration and simple enjoyment of witnessing something beautiful.  Magic.

The day of reckoning

6 Jan

The day, it has come.  Since we moved to Whitehorse almost five years ago, there have been signs at the airport, telling you to pay for parking.  But even if you really, really wanted to pay for parking, there was nowhere and no one to pay.

I just dropped my dad off at the airport (hello, windshield ice scraper at 5:30 in the morning!) and thought I’d actually park instead of stopping in front of the terminal.  And lo! there was a barrier, a meter with tickets, and everything.

Whitehorse must really count as a big city now.

(But don’t fret, Whitehorsians.   In true Whitehorse style, the first 60 minutes of parking are free and the daily rate for parking is a mere $1.50.  I wish I had seen the rates before I backed the hell out of there and parked in front of the terminal.(  Because I’d forgotten to bring my purse with me.)  I wonder how long it took for the barrier to come back down?)

Tooting my horn

23 Dec

I just found out that CBC Radio North is going to play Angels Are Smiling on the Morning Show tomorrow, sometime between 7:30 and 8:00.  Whee!!!!

Thanks heaps, Dad! (And thanks to Aroma Borealis!)

6 Oct

Well, Mother Nature sure rained (or, rather, snowed) on my parade by cutting off the game before it really got a chance to get started.  As you may have read in my updated post, I declared Dave and MFA Mama as winners when I closed the contest around 10:30 a.m.

Luckily for you, my Dad gleefully pointed out how complicated things really were by using my carefully-worded rules against me.  In case you missed it:

Alright, kiddo, hold them horses. Before you declare winners, you may have to do some serious sleuthing yet. Let’s see – if there is one cm on your deck on October 5th I will readily concede defeat for myself, but if you are going to declare runners-up, it gets one whole lot more complicated.

First of all, Stacie bet on “today”. But Dave beat her to “today”, so by your rules, Stacie should be moved to October 6th, which will make HER runner up.

Then there is the question of Murray – your “update” was not time-stamped. This leaves the serious question as to whether or not Murray posted his comment before or after your closing notice. If it was before, then by your rules, Murray would have to move in line after Stacie, which would make him second runner-up. And by the same immutable logic, MFA Mama will be third runner up.

And since you already promised a win to MFA Mama, I hope you got lots of Kleenex in the closet, including the extra box you’ll need to dry off your tears of laughter.

Dang it, I hate it when he’s right.  (Which, he would tell you, is always.)  Murray did indeed post his comment before I closed the contest (which I totally meant to “time stamp”, argh).  So instead of one winner, I now have four!

Mailing out four boxes of Kleenex would totally break my budget for this game.  Happily, I was able to find a prize that I think the four winners will enjoy a lot more.

Aroma Borealis LogoI called up the lovely folks at Aroma Borealis, which is a local company that creates herbal skin care products, aromatherapy products, and herbal teas, all inspired by the northern boreal forest.  (I luuuuurve their hydrating facial cream and their all-natural shampoos and conditioners!  And I love going into their store because it smells so good in there without being overwhelmingly perfumey.  *happy sigh*)  

ab-tea-pouchAroma Borealis has agreed to make up special bags of their own Arctic Wildflower Tea for our four winners, perfect for boiling up one pot on a cold autumn (or winter) evening.  There’s even an extra bag for Dad, since all you winners can thank him for making sure I didn’t cheat you out of your prizes.  (Do you think he missed a calling as a lawyer?)

Well, it was short-lived, but I declare this game a success on the basis of raising the humour quotient around here.  Thanks to Dad and Aroma Borealis for stepping in when they were needed.  This time again next year, okay?

Taking bets on the first snow

4 Oct

Michelle over at Scribbit is playing a game where readers can guess when the first snowfall of the season will happen in Anchorage.  Fun! 

Here in Whitehorse, we’ve also got snow on the mountain tops.  Last Monday, I saw a few cars around town with snow on them, so somebody around here got some of the real stuff.  We even had a few flakes in my neighbourhood this past week, but nothing that stayed on the ground.

But!  That train is definitely coming.

So, in my ongoing quest for levity, I am happy to host the “When do you think we’ll get the first Whitehorse snowfall?” game.  I can’t offer a baby moose calf as a prize, but there will be a prize.  To be decided at my whim.  (Because you’ll play along even if I give away a box of Kleenex, right?  Right?  C’mon, it’s cold and flu season.)

I usually don’t expect the first snowfall until Halloween, but last year we got real stay-on-the-ground-snow at least two weeks earlier than that, so it really could be any day now.  (I just hope it isn’t tomorrow, or this contest won’t even get to see the light of day.)

Okay, so here’s how to play (with major head nods to Michelle, since I am totally copying and pasting her game here):

  1. Pick a date, any date, from October 5th on.
  2. Leave me a comment with your day, making sure I have a way to reach you should you win. (That means no fake e-mail addresses!)
  3. I will update this post with a list of the days taken with the names of participants as they come in. If you have a blog I’ll link to it.
  4. Only one person per date (because I don’t have anywhere near as many readers as Michelle!). If your date gets filled up I’ll just move you to the next available day following.
  5. When it does officially snow with a measurable amount of white stuff in my front yard (that’s my measuring stick) I’ll give a shout out to whoever picked the winning day.

Sound like fun? What better way to start looking forward to the first snowfall?

  • October 5: Dave
  • October 6:
  • October 7:
  • October 8:
  • October 9: MFA Mama
  • October 10:
  • October 11: Beanie
  • October 12:
  • October 13:
  • October 14:
  • October 15: Kara
  • October 16: Roger
  • October 17: Nai-Nai
  • October 18: Susan
  • October 19: Tammy
  • October 20: Tanya Leclerc
  • October 21:
  • October 22:
  • October 23:
  • October 24:
  • October 25:
  • October 26: Kathleen
  • October 27:
  • October 28:
  • October 29:
  • October 30:
  • October 31:

UPDATE: THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!  Damn, I knew I should have posted this sooner!  It appears that there is already about 1 cm of snow on my deck and front yard (which, sadly, means it’s a measurable amount).  I’m not so sure that it’s not going to stick around for at least the afternoon, Dave.  So I guess that means you win, although seeing as you were actually getting snowed on when you guessed, I won’t credit you with any psychic powers.  Next closest was MFA Mama, so it only seems fair that you both win… um… something.  I haven’t decided yet since last night, but I’ll let you know soon!

A family sailing day

5 Sep

Sailing Collage

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