Rest and Relaxation

Day 8 – Saturday 17 August

Content by joanne

Saturday, our last full day in Iqaluit.

No work at the build site today, so everyone took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. And what do you eat on mornings when you sleep in? Brunch! Out came all the leftovers, and with some limited purchases Chef Paul and his helpers prepared a feast! Bagels, cream cheese, and arctic char, pancakes and maple syrup, bacon, eggs, muesli – the list goes on and on.

Out townhouses on Green Row - and the Habi-Van

High-School across the street from our townhouses - yes, it is shaped like an ice-cube!

Vision 2020 logo complete with Snow-Goggles

We were hoping to be able to take a boat ride to a nearby Territorial Park, but the price was excessive, so we opted for a late start and spent the afternoon at Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park. Part of the team took a 2-hour hike (each way) to reach some snow that was visible from the Car Park. They did indeed find icy snow, as well as lots of bugs and bones. Some of the treasures that returned from the hike included a caribou skull complete with teeth and a full caribou antler which looked to be over three-feet long. The rest of the group went down to the river and watched people fishing for arctic char. Char is very similar to salmon in that it swims upstream (up a small waterfall in this case) to spawn. There was a lot of fish being caught that day.

Fishing for Arctic Char

Double-Waterfalls

View of the Territorial Park

Supper was at the large Frobisher Inn just up the hill – where people ordered items all the way from pizza to arctic cassoulet, Once again there was a steady stream of artisans selling their goods, and yes, another bear was purchased – this one made from rough-cut granite. We also had an amusing fellow selling paintings. The paintings were nice, but the guy obviously had no talent for math.

There was a beautifully orange sunset that night, and apparently even the locals were commenting on how brilliant the colour was. I think it was our farewell offering.

Sunset over the church (shaped like an igloo) across the street

One final trip to the park to see Northern Lights – where we saw a short period of lights, five or so shooting stars, and a dozen satellites. We also had a number of good laughs, got cold behinds, and then were done for the night.

The next day was packing, food delivery to Tommy out in Apex, one last look at ‘our house’ and off to the Airport with all our bears, bones (anyone know how to pack a three-foot antler?), artwork, frozen fish, and memories. Until the next time…..

Our House... and Joanna's



' To let them know that we were here...'

Cool Winds and Northern Lights

Day 7 – Friday 16 August

Content by joanne

Our last day at the build site and we woke to the coolest temperatures so far – so everyone bundled up against the cold wind. Maybe this was what they were talking about when they told us to bring long johns….

Johanna putting finishing touches on the berm 

 

Today was also the day for ‘Big Work Machines’, since the city had dump trucks and other machines setting up the culvert in front of Joanna’s house, and we had a ‘Zoom Boom’ to help install the tanks in our new ‘berms’. The second tank was in a tricky position, so we rallied the troops to lift the plastic tank into the exact position – angled up, then twisted towards the back. Other tasks included placement of more blocks inside the house (which was nice because it was inside), and construction of a closet area.

Fits Like a Glove...

 

 

Working up high...

...and working down low.

Joanne had to leave today to ‘go south’, so there were hugs all around and best wishes for her in her new home. We are also invited to come and visit her at any time to share her wonderful view from the porch. One final clean-up, a bunch of signatures on the inside studs, and we were off.  

 

Group Photo with Joanna

Supper tonight was salmon, veggies, and pasta. Another excellent meal – after which Caroline learned to play cribbage on her new antler cribbage board and the rest of the group was amused by the ‘MacLeans Book of Lists’. There was also a late-night trip to the Sylvia-Grinnell Territorial Park to see the northern lights. Chilly but definitely worthwhile. 

Perspectives

Day 6 – Thursday 15 August

Content by joanne

Being in Iqaluit changes your perspective of Canada. Previously, people you met were either from ‘out west’, ‘down east’, or (if you are from PEI) ‘from away’. Collin, our site supervisor, however, left to go on vacation ‘down south’ today. Immediately thinking of the Caribbean, or perhaps Mexico, we asked where he would be staying – and the response was ‘Toronto’. Hmmm…I have a feeling we are known as the ‘wacky group of southerners’ who are invading the city with a voracious appetite for art and who always end up being kicked out of the library.

 

Just a bunch of crazy southerners playing at the beach.
Yup - the water was cold!
 

 

At the build site we completely finished one berm, finished insulation on one half of the floor-space, finished work on the soffit and faschia, and started blocking the closets inside the house (anyone for a toe nail?) The berm needs to be finished soon so they can install the tanks. We feel good knowing that the work we do will keep Joanna and her daughter nice and warm.   

Paige demonstrating the correct way to hold a ladder...

 

...and Caroline demonstrating the correct way to hold down a joist.

So that was 20 of 14-inch 2X4, and one 116 3/4 inch Long 2X4
with a 9 degree top and straight bottom.... got it!

For supper tonight we had beef burgundy made by Caroline’s mom (thanks Caroline’s mom). It was excellent – and Matthew says he is going to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow. As an after-supper excursion, most of the group went to check out the waterfalls at Sylvia-Grinnell Park (turn right just before the dump), and were treated to the classic spectacle of people fishing for char down by the river. We also found the store where you can buy fresh char, dried char, and smoked char. Apparently the smoked char is even better than smoked salmon – sign me up!

Handyman Paul playing in the berm-pool.

 

To round out the evening, Charlene was finally able to procure her soapstone bear with the help of Caroline and her ‘backup crew’. They had to work for it, though – there was interest from a number of other sources including the government guy and the guy on the phone. The extended story also included freshly-folded clothes in a dumpster, a bag full of empty bottles, and a local guy who was missing and then returned – it’s a long story that you just have to hear from Caroline. ..

 

Lots of insulation to keep Joanna warm! 

 

Throat Singing, Char and Chips, and Antlers?

Day 5 – Wednesday 15 August

 

Content by joanne

Day 5 was our first cloudy day so people dressed warmly, but the main concern was whether the clouds would increase or decrease the mosquitoes. As it turned out, it was the wind that controlled the bug population, and we had none, so some said it was the buggiest day yet.

Tasks continued on, though, with special-cuts for strapping under the siding, continued work on the berm, and for a couple of team members a special treat – a trip to the dump. The trip to the dump was accompanied (for no extra charge) by another tour of Iqaluit courtesy of a wrong turn, but I think they returned with some Tim’s so I guess it was not all bad. For general information, there are four Tim’s in Iqaluit, but no MacDonald’s, no StarBucks, and really no ‘fast food’. A shawarma place down by the airport is as close as they get.



A Proud Mom and Her Son's First Cut

Maggie-Bridget Does a Great Patch-Up Job
After Ravens Pecked Away the Insulation

We had a half work-day in the afternoon, so we took our lunch (caribou-pulled-pork – without the pork) and ate at the townhouse. After lunch we were treated to a throat-singing lesson, where we all learned this curious and enchanting singing style. Matthew was a clear contender for the honour of top male-singer, and was probably going to be invited to sing in the throat-singing choir. The museum gift shop was also very popular…  

 

The conception of Paige's Bear.....

 

Paige and her baby - the newest member of the 'Soapstone Sisters'

 

 

 

We ate supper at the Arctic Hotel (char and chips – please) with our affiliate friends, and were treated to a stream of artisans coming through showing their wares. I guess if you just sit in one place long enough, they will come to you. A number of purchases were made right at the table, which was made even more convenient by a cash machine in the lobby. Caroline, who has been interested in bone-carvings, was very excited by the caribou-antler cribbage board. I think we are now up to a count of 7 bear carvings… and counting!!    

 

Caroline -Proud Owner of a New Cribbage Board!!

 

Surprising Things & Unanswered Questions

Day 5 – Wednesday 14 August

 

Content by Alex & Paige with contributions from the Peanut Gallery

After spending over half of a week in Iqaluit, the team has discussed a number of things that have surprised us about Iqaluit. There are also many questions we still have that we’ll keep asking around to find answers for.

10 Surprising Things about Iqaluit

1. We haven’t really seen any small cars, only trucks and SUVs. This makes sense when you think of winter conditions here, but it was still interesting to note.
2. There is a lot of very interesting architecture in Iqaluit.  We learned that many shipping containers have been fashioned into houses and small structures, but besides that, many downtown buildings are built with very intricate details.
3. There is only 1 sidewalk in all of Iqaluit, and it is only about 20 feet long. Pedestrians walk along the side of the road, or down the middle and scatter when a car comes along.
4. It seems like there is water in any direction you look. There is an abundance of waterfront in Iqaluit!
5. There are SWARMS of mosquitoes everywhere you look! You think you’ve seen a lot of mosquitoes? Think again.  Whatever you’re picturing, multiply that by 10 and you’re getting there…
6. More on the mosquitoes – they don’t really buzz like the ones we are used to. This cuts down on the annoyance factor at least a little bit.
7. With the airport so close to the inhabited parts of Iqaluit, airplanes sound like a rocket ship when they take off.  You can also hear the take off from wherever you are in Iqaluit! Luckily it doesn’t seem like they do late night flights here.
8. Iqaluit is bigger than we expected.  There are always many people out and about, and the city sprawls further than we thought it would. Our build is located in Apex which is a small “suburb” just outside of the main part of Iqaluit.
9. We were very pleasantly surprised to find how warm it is in Iqaluit at this time of year.  We were sure to pack our layers, and these definitely come in handy early in the mornings, but by lunchtime many of us are down to a single layer.
10.  Iqaluit caters to tourists. For being such a small city, they definitely provide anything a visitor might need.  There are at least 3 hotels here, many restaurants and everyone is so friendly and welcoming.
11. Communication is very difficult for a capital city.
12. Amazon and Costco ship here for free (free shipping anywhere in Canada!). It sounds like when a local finds a company that will ship for free, they tell all of their neighbours and friends, and suddenly that company no longer ships for free to Nunavut.
13. 60% of the population is youth, and we haven’t seen an over abundance of kids around.  This seems a little strange for summer vacation!

Still Wondering…

1. Why are there small red lights on the sides of all of the homes in Iqaluit? Some of these will be turned on, and others off. Some theories include water/sewage servicing.
2. Why are the houses heated to such a warm temperature? This is to the point that we all sleep with our windows wide open.
3. How old does your cell phone need to be to work here? It seems like most smart phones don’t work, but we’ve also been told anything that’s not 3G and is serviced by Bell will work.
4. Why are some stop signs in 3 languages (English, French and Inuktitut), and others are only in 2 languages (English and Inuktitut)? We also think that the Inuktitut writing on the stop signs is different depending on which sign you are reading.  Why is this?
5. What does it feel like going to school in a building that looks like a giant ice cube with no windows? This is what the school down the street from us looks like.
6. Is the RCMP building actually sinking like we have heard rumours of?
7. What salary would someone need to be earning to be able to afford the prices here?
8. WHERE do all of these mosquitoes come from?????   



 

Check out the last symbol...

See - it's slightly different....

Swat First – and Ask Questions Later

Day 4 – Tuesday 13 August

Content by joanne

Mosquitoes. It is not as if they are around all the time. When we are climbing in to the van in the morning, as an example, there is very little concern over the pesky critters. When the wind is blowing, they must be all back in their little mosquito-homes playing poker, and do not go out searching for fresh targets. We even have one window in the house with no screen, and although we were very careful to keep it closed in the first two days (‘don’t let the bugs in’), it is now open pretty-much all the time.

However, when the wind is gone (like today), and there is no rain (like today), and there is a load of fresh meat all in one place (like us) close to the slightly-moist Arctic tundra (like where we were), they have a party – a mosquito party. They were in the crawl space, under the house where we were still putting up insulation, and the cutting area for whatever reason was ‘mosquito alley’.

Mosquito on a Spike: 'He Gave His Life for the Cause'

And it is not as if they really bite that much – although everyone has some bites, and the bites are not particularly itchy, but there are just so many of them buzzing around, and they are large! Once when I stopped to count how many were buzzing within a foot around me, I stopped at 40. I felt like that character in Peanuts with the dust all around him (although my ‘dust’ wanted to bite me), or the commercial for Deep Woods Off where the guy puts his hand in a container filled with them.  Joanna’s friend told me the other day that it is really nice when summer finally arrives in Iqaluit, but it is also really nice when it leaves as well – because of the mosquitoes.
 

So we loaded up with Muskol, Deep Woods Off, and out popped the bug-hats and bug-jackets. Somewhat hard to drink water through a net, but we felt better.

The Mesh Sisters on a Lunch-Break

Work in the crawl space slowed down today – much to the delight of the knees of the people who worked inside. Work on the insulation was still there, though, and the siding was pretty-much completed for now. New tasks today included putting up some drywall inside in areas where there was no electric or plumbing implications, and creation of a ‘berm’.

"Drill" Sergeant Jill

What is a berm? Well – we asked that question also, and were informed that a berm (in this case) was a wooden structure that would be used to hold the water tank and septic tank. It would be lined with waterproof material, so that if the tanks leaked, the water would not destroy the pink insulation. Sounds good – we don’t want to do that insulation task again! So we cut 10 pieces of 6-inch 2X4, and use them to separate (at 16 inch intervals) two 12-foot pieces of 2X4. Forty long nails on each side. Now repeat that 7 times (four 12-foot sections and four 10-foot sections). Very enjoyable – even though we were in Mosquito Alley.

Emergency Call for More 2X4 Wood - Hand Delivered!

Alex and Johanna - 16, 32, 48, 64, 82?

After our requisite internet-fix at the library, we were treated to an impressive turkey supper with all the fixin’s. Jill cooked a turkey at home, sliced it up and froze it for travel – it was delicious! Dessert was ‘Cow Chips’ from Cow’s in PEI. Potato chips dipped in chocolate – yum!

In the evening we went to look for more carvings but this itinerant group of artisans ended up being very elusive. We went to the Frobisher Inn and were told they just left – but to try the Arctic Hotel. We went to the Arctic Hotel and were told they just left and to try the Legion. OK – we tried the Legion and they just left… Oh well – maybe tomorrow. Alex, however, made her purchase before supper from a guy who came looking for us. Funny how that works….

Small Spaces – and Big Girl Art

Day 3 – Monday 12 August

Content by joanne

Another beautiful day here in Iqaluit. The sun is shining (since very early this morning), the sky is blue, and we are all keen to get back to the build site.

Ready and Raring To Go!

 

The work tasks today pretty-much continued from yesterday, with high-altitude siding, deck railings, the cutting tables, and the crawl space. We also moved on to another space-constrained job of putting insulation under the house.

Collin and Paul discussing the relative merits 

of varying architectural styles

I an not sure how much the pictures convey the small spaces involved in the crawl space, but try this: climb up a short ladder (about 5 feet) to a wide hole about the height of your kitchen cupboards. Then crawl back about 20 feet, through another small opening (it’s getting dark now), set yourself in a comfortable position (and I use that term loosely) and wrangle a piece of plywood that is 37 5/8 inches wide by 90 inches long (I know this because I cut them), and hammer them in place. You can do this on your knees or on your behind, but both get very uncomfortable after a while.

Our fearless leader - looking for yet more insulation!

 

 

 

Or if you prefer, there is the insulation under the house. Once again in crawling position, you have pretty-much the same height to deal with. Although you do have light and fresh air for this position, you have to stuff insulation in over your head, crawl on stones, and hope that the wind blows, because when it stops the mosquitoes find you. There were definitely some sore knees and cramped bodies emerging from these areas.

Marrissa showing us the proper technique.

Caroline and Maggie-Bridget - our high-altitude workers.

We also met Tommy today. Tommy is a 12-year-old local boy who cycles to the build site on his bike and ‘helps’ Collin the site supervisor. He is a very engaging boy with a big smile with goals of becoming a carpenter some day ‘just like Collin’.

After lunch of soup and sandwiches supplied by a local restaurant, the group takes a hike up the hill between the build site and the bay, and were rewarded with an incredible view of the whole bay – sparkling water, snow in the nearby hills, and colourful houses dotting the waterfront.

Tommy and his new friends on the hill-top

After work, there was the requisite internet-fix where we were eventually kicked out (due to closure) from the library, and then kicked out (due to closure) from the visitor center. The tech guy from the library was very helpful, though, and told us that the best signal was from around the side of the building, by the stairs, so it must have been an amusing sight (or perhaps ‘normal’ – who knows) to see six or more obvious visitors clustering on the stairs, by the door, and on the ground. It was a good view, though, for skyping.  The blog post yesterday was uploaded from the dirt outside the library (but close to the door) in Iqaluit.

And then there is the artwork. You see artisans on the street, inside buildings, outside building, almost anwhere but not all the time – selling their paintings, sculptures, and creations. They are beautiful. The paintings we have seen so far are either just black on white, or else with these amazing greens, blues, yellow, and greys. There are owls made from seal-skin with big white eyes. The sculptures are either white, or green, or grey, or black – with stone from various areas that is clear, marbled, veined, or with what looks like crystals. It also makes it a very personal experience to buy directly from the artist – who has most likely just finished (or will be finished soon). The problem is that the artisan may be there now, but may (or may not) be there the next day. This makes shopping a bit difficult.

A stone-carver out by our build site.

As an example, on the way back from the library we saw a stone-carver out in the street. He was making a rather large bear from clear black rock that was going to have a green fish in his mouth. At that point he was just cutting the larger outline of the bear and the fish was just a piece of rock – rough on one side and smooth on the other. The price was going to be $400 and we ere told to come back at around 7:30. No takers yet. After supper, we went out for a walk and saw the same guy who was polishing the fish – about 4 inches long and curved. The bear was inside being polished. No-one committed yet, but definitely some interest.

Putting the finishing touches on the fish...

On the way back from the market, the piece was finished and looked amazing. Marrissa, who has a keen interest in the North, and actually wants to come back to live here, was definitely interested. Alex, Paige, and Paul were interested - but perhaps a smaller size. Marrissa was contemplating how much was in the bank account, and if she could get there now, when a reduced price of $380 was made (unbidden) from the artist. There were offers of financial assistance, purses and wallets were opened, and Marrissa was committed. She was so thrilled with her ‘first piece of big-girl art’. When we arrived back at the townhouse we learned that Johanna (who had not seen the final piece) was also interested and had just decided to go back out and buy it. Too late.     

Marrissa and her first 'Big-Girl Art'

 Supper was spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread – which was very tasty, and we all went to bed – tired and perhaps a bit sore, but happy.

Our First Build Day – Let the Games Begin!

Day 2 – Sunday 11 August

Content by joanne

We woke up to another beautiful day in Iqaluit – and yes, the sky was pretty much full-light by 4 AM. Our official build-day started at 1 PM, so we had the morning to finish unpacking, get settled, and try to satisfy our addiction to … internet!

As advertised, cell phones with providers other than Bell do not work. Also as advertised, people with Bell cell service and smartphone data access do not work. The thing that did not sink in, though, was that you had to have a phone that used older technology – which none of us have. One by one people checked their phones when we arrived, and one by one, people stated they were ‘out’. The only cellular communication we have had is when Rogers customers were sent a text message to tell them they were out of the Rogers service are – not quite what we were looking for. So Sunday morning people went out looking for their ‘fix’. Tim Horton’s – no wi-fi. Local café – yes… but only if you stay at the hotel. Market (where you can get access if you hang around the peanut butter) – closed. How about this local school with the gym door open … nope. We did get one hint about the library – that there was a picnic table just outside that we may be able to get a signal at – and we were ultimately successful.  Fortunately the Visitor Center was open, so we did not have to sit outside, and we ended up huddling around the door to the library (also closed)  until everyone was able to check in with home. Just one of our own particular challenges with ‘living in the North’ I guess.

Internet...finally !

We arrived at the build site and were all very keen to get started. After a brief safety talk and choosing our own personal hard-hats, we were off to work. This house is being built over a number of months by local volunteers and Global Village groups, so the walls were up and it was roof-tight. Our tasks today included working on the railings, some remaining siding, and insulation and vapour barrier in the crawl space.

Matthew hard at work in the back section crawl space.

 

Alex and Charlene - Party in the Crawl Space!

 

Houses in Iqaluit are built on stilts – metal poles driven down to the perma-frost. This is done because cement will not cure well, and under the extreme cold will eventually crack. The houses are also built up off the ground, to allow easier access for maintenance. Since our house is in Apex which is ‘truck-fill’, there is both a water tank and a septic tank in the bottom section of the house. To accommodate these big tanks, they have this quite large ‘crawl space’, which needs to be protected from the elements. Most of our team (Alex, Paige, Jill, Charlene, and Matthew) worked on this task – those who were not concerned with claustrophobia went into the far back area, while the rest worked on the area closer to the opening.  Marrissa and Paul worked on the railings (although there was some dancing and general merriment up there on the scaffolding as well). Caroline (our card-carrying carpenter) and Joanne M (a.k.a. Maggie Bridget) were all kitted up with fall harnesses and worked on the upper parts of the house, and Joanne S (aka Jo) and Cathy worked the cutting table. Johanna (our fearless leader) helped out everywhere and made sure everyone was happy.

As you can tell, we have a bit of an issue with the name Joanne – so we now have Joanna (our home-owner), Johanna (our fearless leader), Joanne S (Jo) and Joanne M (Maggie Bridget – it’s a long story).

Our fearless leader - with a very sharp knife!

Cathy the cutting table master!

We made excellent progress, and were surprised to see it was already 4:15 when we got a delivery of lemon squares from another fried of home-owner Joanna’s. They were delicious!

Supper was ‘build your own fajitas’, and after a quick team meeting our intrepid driver Marrissa took us all on a drive ‘to the end of the road to nowhere’. We were really intrigued to see what was there! A bumpy road, some beautiful views, and a nice photo-stop along the way to see the Nunavut version of Stonehenge. Photo-ops galore, until the mosquitoes found us – we were swarmed!!! Our first group photo was taken with us all doing the Mosquito-Avoidance Dance (MAD). A bit further down the road we came to the end of the road and found…. A burned-out van and a shooting range. Now you know what is at the end of the road to nowhere.

Alex - stoic in the face of mosquito attack!

Marrissa - our chauffeur to...nowhere!


 

 

Paul, Jill, and Caroline went up the hill to see the amazing view, while the rest of us retreated to the van to avoid the bugs. A short stop on the way back to see some kids playing in a lake, and we were off home for some rest.

The view from the road to nowhere.

An excellent first day.

Day 1 – Saturday 10 August - Arrival

Day 1 – Saturday 10 August

Content by joanne

We all arrived safe and sound to a slightly-overcast and 7-degree day in Iqaluit. Our mounds of luggage also arrived, which was a good thing since we were on the plane with a large group of hockey coaches going to Iqaluit for their yearly hockey camp, and their priority-status bags could have bumped some of ours.

We were welcomed at the airport by our very-well organized and enthusiastic affiliate team and driven to our two townhouses on Green Row, after which we had a brief overview of the week with Melanie (our Habitat Affiliate contact) and then went on a 2-hour tour of the city with Eric, who has volunteered his tour for all of the GV groups.

Iqaluit is not a big city – but we went everywhere – from Apex to the town dump. Eric (also known as George) explained some of the challenges of living in the north, about the history of the town, and even the differences between global warming and climate change from the perspective of the town residents. It was an excellent tour and very informative.  

Eric pointing out the sights

One of the things we learned about was the ‘road to nowhere’ which is an actual road name (apparently they have great difficulty keeping the road signs up since they keep getting stolen for keepsakes). There is a shortage of gravel in Iqaluit, and for much of the development they had to take rocks and crush them – which is very costly. When a source of gravel was found not too far outside town, there was not surprisingly a lot of interest in developing it – so a road was built to allow trucks to get there. The only problem was that when they built the road – they used up all the gravel! As a result, the road goes … nowhere.

Original Hudson's Bay Store in Apex

The old,and the new - just waiting for the ice to come back..

There was also a lot of discussion about land and land-use on our tour. There is a huge need for affordable housing in Iqaluit, but the Habitat affiliate said that they may not have a build next year because there is a shortage of land. Wait – no land? There is more undeveloped land here than anything else! The problem is exactly that – the land is undeveloped – no road access, no electricity, no water or sewage. Even the area that our current build is in – Apex – is ‘truck-fill’ – which means that the water comes by truck. It costs huge amounts of money to develop a tract of land, and the money is not there.

The home-owner for our build is Joanna, who lives and works in Iqaluit and spends countless hours helping at the build site. She has a special-needs child who lives in Ottawa for specialized care, and comes to Iqaluit for visits. The house is being built with a wheelchair ramp, large-size doors, and specialized bathroom facilities to allow Joanna to eventually live with her child. We may be building the wheelchair ramp this week – which will be very special.

For supper we were invited to a barbeque at the house of a good friend of Joanna’s. It was excellent, very tasty, and we even had strawberry-shortcake for dessert! Some of the group walked back along the Apex Trail to take in more of this beautiful scenery, while the rest went to the grocery store.

The store has ‘Saturday door-crasher specials’ from 6-9 and we arrived just in time to miss the deals but get in at the end of the line for checkout. One family in front of us got three carts-full of groceries (boxes of Gatorade, Chipits, flour, pudding – on and on) for $275 while we got about a quarter of a cart for about $130, including two 2.6 liter jugs of orange juice for 20 – each! Obviously it would take some planning to live here on a budget!

Yes, that is the price for the case of Coke!

Crazy Indeed!!!