A Page Turner: Frontier Spirit

     Today I'm going to try something a little different. I'm going to talk books. Some bloggers

     may share recipes and their accomplishments in the kitchen, but I can't cook. My sewing 

     isn't anything to brag about and the little garden on my balcony doesn't produce much at        all. But what I can do ladies, is read. So here I am, feeling like a fourth-grader during              show and tell, sharing with you my latest read. This won't be a lengthy book review or            anything, just a way to perhaps introduce you to something new and maybe get some              suggestions on what to read next. Not to mention what I read has a profound effect on me      and shapes the way I think, and subsequently, the way I dress!

     Although it was unintentional, I'm glad the book I'm starting with is Canadian - just like          moi! That may not seem like much, but we're surrounded by plenty of British and                    American authors, and sometimes our own writers don't get a chance to shine. While the        author, Jennifer Duncan, travels to the wild Yukon along with the historical females she          covers, I have never had the pleasure of visiting the northern part of Canada and                      therefore, must live vicariously through them. And I did. The entire time while reading          this book all I wanted to do was give up my worldly possessions and go live in the bush.          I'm sure Kobe would have no complaints there. The cat might though. 

    The book revolves around the Yukon Gold Rush of 1896 and the courageously                           adventurous women who wanted more out of life than what the role of mother and wife           offered. Like so many others at the time, they fell prey to the hysteria and the possibility       of riches. But seriously, the Yukon is freaking fracking cold! And I thought Ottawa was. I         haven't experienced cold until I experience -50  degrees Celsius weather. Mama N is all,         "No big cities here." And the stories of survival in this book put my abilities to shame. One     couple, after their rations had run out in the dead of winter, trekked for two days to their       nearest neighbor. On the way, the couple, their dogs, and their sled fell into the frozen             river, killing two dogs and adding pneumonia to their long list of worries.  And this was in         the 21st century.  And they were not native to the land, they decided to move                         there. Perhaps I'll visit the Yukon in the summer time. But if you're like me and unable to       take a trip up North then reading this book will give a little insight to a place many of us           never lay our eyes on. Okay, I hope you got a kick out of this or something. Nerd out.