When Your Age Matches the Temperature

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Eli celebrated his 38th full trip around the sun on Thursday, March 1st.

It was -38 degrees Celsius with the windchill that morning.

Coincidence?

I think NOT.

OK, it is.  But read on, because this post gets better.

He had to wait one extra day this year, because 2012 is a leap year.

It was not a leap year when he was born, so he wasn't almost a leap baby.

He was kinda cute, though.

That's Eli on the back of the tricycle, with Emerson pedalling. 

He's an outdoor boy at heart. 

Gramma came over to help us celebrate. 

Having Gramma in person for birthdays is a total perk to living in Yellowknife.

The cake is on fire! 

Make a wish.

(Wanna bet it had to do with fishing?)

Now, the interesting story related to Eli's birthday this year actually has nothing to do with candles or his cake, but it does have to do with the meal that Eli wanted to eat for his birthday supper.

Read on, my friends...

Grampum's coworker got Eli this Arctic Char when he and John (Grampum) were up North in Tuktoyaktuk on business.

I'm told that it's a beautiful fish.

To me it is a fish in my sink.

My sink.

And, Eli took a picture of it with his BlackBerry.

Clearly, this was not me. 

So, Eli did whatever it is you do to fish to prepare it to be barbecued.

Eli's a devoted barbecuer and barbecues all winter, even in this Arctic winter. 

Here's the cooked fish.

(Photo credit to Eli.  Duh.)

I will admit that it was yummy.

Eli tried very hard to give me a piece of fish with no bone in it.

Everyone at the table will be served a piece with no bone.

Mine?  It always has bone.

Doesn't it look juicy?

Well, it was.

I have proof.

I was putting the girls to bed when I saw Eli carrying the fish in on MY cookie sheet from the barbecue.

I didn't have my glasses on.

I heard Eli say, in a panic, to my Dad, "Quick.  Hurry!  Shannon's gonna kill me."

Dad was mocking and ho-ho-ho-ing at Eli to make his shame sink in.

I thought that he spilled fish juice all over the floor.

But no...

Eli did manage to douse the floor with fish juice.

And, Gramma's jacket.

Gramma's jacket was efficiently drenched in water, and she reports that it's quite fine.

But, in truth, what got the brunt of the fish juice was...

MY PARKA.

Eli's initial sentiments were close to on the mark:

I was about to throw him in a frozen lake.

I ran the affected area under water, and we set it up in the garage under the big heater fan to dry over night.

Friday morning, Eli gave it a swift sniff, and said that it was "not so bad."

I wore it to school.

All day in the staff room there were comments about a hard-to-pin-point fishy smell.

I avoided eye contact.

I took my middle school kids outside to skate on the beautiful rink on the school property.

"Miss, do you smell fish?"

"Yup.  That's me."

"It IS??"

Telling them the story helped us to bond. 

That night, we went with my Mom and Dad on a dog sled run to see the Northern Lights.

The dogs liked me. 

A lot.

"Eau d'Arctic Char.  It's the arctic aroma that just won't quit."

On Saturday morning, Eli went ice fishing.

He totally used his birthday as an excuse to go out for the day.

He also totally used his birthday as a reason for the purchase of the boat, the rifle, the snowmobile... 

Eli's birthday lasts all year long.

I digress.

He was a good blogger's husband and took pictures for me.

This is the ice fishing tent. 

Here is a buddy. 

Here is some evidence that they were "roughing it" like real men. 

More of said evidence. 

Eli was thoroughly amazed at the preparedness of his cohortians. 

Eli was fishing with some people not living in Yellowknife.

Eli caught a fish.

They did not.

So, they took pictures of themselves with Eli's Northern Pike (32 inches-ish). 

Meanwhile, I took a trip to the drycleaners'.

As part of Eli's birthday gift, he is paying for it to be dry cleaned.

Fifty-five buck-a-roos.

Thanks, Eli.

Oh, and any doubt that I love Eli should be completely eradicated based on this story.

If I can forgive him for pouring fish juice on my beloved parka, I love him.