On Wednesdays we Wear Pink

For all those out there wondering about the title, it is taken from one of the fetchest movies of all time - Mean Girls. In our case, today was Math day! The faculty of Math at UW is represented by the colour pink, so we all donned our spiffy tees to show more UW pride (thanks Barry!)

We continued to learn lots on the job site today, and it is so rewarding for us to see the progress we are making in the house. We're painting, varnishing, siding, chopping, sawing, and baseboarding. Even with all the work we are getting done, we still notice that the tiny Whitehorse night fairies sneak into the house overnight...last night they finished installing counter tops and an island in the kitchen!

After work some of us visited the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre where we learned about the ice age and saw the skeletal recreation of woolly mammoths and bison.

 

For dinner we ate at Burnt Toast Cafe which offered superb drinks and even more superb strawberry rhubarb cheesecake.

Our fearless leader Michelle offered up an endurance challenge (reward: a bottle of Bailey's!). We had to keep our arm extended without dropping or bending it. Here's the top three finalists in action. Olivia and Erin are clearly suffering but Bev was cool as a cucumber the entire time.

To cap off the night, we visited a community garden just behind our hotel. A great spot to sit, chat, reflect, and appreciate community.

Olivia

Into The Wild

Day 4


Nothing beats starting the day with an art project!

Our second day of work included more painting, more siding, laying the forms for the driveway, and cutting and nailing baseboards. I can say with certainty that I learned so many new things -- how to use a chop saw, an air nail gun, and  the difference between inner and outer facing angles.... #measuretwicecutonce.

Joy, one of the family members living next door baked us cookies, and Cathy, who also lives in a Habitat home, prepared us a great casserole lunch. I'm not sure any of us can spell Macadamia. We seemed to confuse it with academia... the confusion continues!

 

After lunch, Stu kindly took us out for a little walk to see the eagles, catching the warm thermals. We caught sight of a few playing together. Like so much of the views here in Whitehorse, it was stunning and beautiful.

 (if you look closely you can see there are two eagles flying about)

Stu, giving us impeccable directions, as always

We ended our work day a bit early so we could visit the Yukon Wildlife Preserve, and then visit the Tahkini hot springs.

When one of the guides, Kaitlyn, heard that Barry Ferguson was among us, she excitedly told us that he was the reason she attended Waterloo!! It was no surprise to us that she'd been inspired by Barry. It was a really sweet moment.

 We saw some pretty impressive wildlife, including mule deer, elk, muskox, ground squirrels (that run about everywhere!), bison, caribou, and arctic foxes.

 

 

How many mule deer do you see??

 

Ah and the elusive moose... did you know there are two moose for every person in the Yukon? 

 Then there was this weird animal... really not sure what species it is....

 

 The hot springs were, well, hot. But just what our muscles needed! We'll be rested for tomorrow :)

 

Each day just gets better and better (and more wild!).

debika

Day 3 #finallyworking

So we're at Day 3 in Whitehorse and already confusion has set in for some people...just kidding Ralon :)

In all seriousness, everyone is doing swimmingly. It was our first day on the job site and we wasted no time getting to work! Stu, Ayla, and Stefan kindly led us around the job site - assigning us tasks and ensuring we were all staying safe and hydrated.

Here's Deb, Ann, Jen, and Olivia with one of our lovely leaders - Stefan.

 We worked on different jobs throughout the day, but here is a snapshot (literally - haha!) of what some of us worked on...

Mike and Barry hauling siding

Bev and Ralon wheelbarrowing stones

 

Quite a bit of painting action going on!










No matter the task, we always have a smile on our face!

 We are all looking forward to tomorrow and another great day at work. Top of the lists for tomorrow's tasks include more painting, installing baseboards, and putting up siding. Should be fun!




Olivia

P.S. We went to Antoinette's for dinner tonight - a Caribbean restaurant that was featured on You Gotta Eat Here! All you Food Network fans should be jealous...it was amazing!