Hello long lost internet friends. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since my last post.
Well, I've certainly been busy.. or preoccupied anyway.
As if moving to a remote northern village isn't scary enough, but starting to work as an independent doctor up here... straight out of training... now that's terrifying! That's the real reason I haven't had the time or energy to post on the blog lately. I've been working for the past 12 days straight, and spending my evenings reading medical textbooks about illnesses I never thought I'd ever have to deal with.
But I finally have an entire weekend off to do some more exploring (and some much needed sleeping).
Here's what I've been up to lately...
I've been riding my bike everywhere... they get 9 months of winter up here, so I have to soak up the warmth while I can! The days are very long, and it doesn't get fully dark until around 2-3am... which is very cool to experience, but it also means that I haven't been able to see any northern lights yet.
There is a little grocery/general store up here where I can buy semi-fresh produce. I find myself becoming much more reliant on my own cooking and baking. I've started baking my own bread (in a bread machine) and growing herbs and sprouts in my windowsill. I didn't think of bringing up plant pots, so I'm using tin cans to grow basil out of.
I've become very aware of all the little luxuries I took for granted while living in a big city. It's very humbling.
They other day I realized I was experiencing shopping withdrawal.
I was wandering down the aisles of The Northern (that's the grocery/general store) desperately looking for something to buy... Anything! I even caught myself longingly looking at a Glade plug-in! I settled on a little dish scrubbie-thingy and a chocolate bar, and I surprisingly felt better!
And then I realized how ridiculous that was.
As I write this post, I realize that I've only shared pictures of the beautiful side of things up here. And it is beautiful, but there's a lot of less beautiful sights and realities as well. I'll try to take some pictures of the actual village this weekend.
I hope you're all doing well, and that you have a wonderful weekend.
oxo
Vanessa.