Photos from This Canadian Yurt

i realised that living in this canadian yurt is a bit like camping in a circus big top...at burning man.  Except without any other people around.  

We take the best of both worlds: a wood burning fire, peeing outdoors (hey, i LOVE it!), the feeling of satisfaction from the 'honest hard work' of living close to nature, like fetching water...

Antoine invented a system to pull the 25 kilos of water on a sledge.

And our big-top-camping-life is mixed together with western luxuries:  wi-fi (which last week i discovered is weather dependent!), electricity (admittedly the lights dim when we use the oven - but compared to the 17 hours EVERY day without power i got accustomed to in Nepal...) and we have a fully equipped kitchen - this week i made veggie sushi, 

veg sushi

bean burriots

mexican bean burritos, veg lasagne, marinated tofu stirfry with pak-choi & shitake 'shrooms.  We baked bread & made a spiced apple crumble.  Plus... blueberry-raspberry-banana-chocolate-chip-vegan muffins (yeh you read that right!  i got slightly overexcited & added extra ingredients!). 


 THIS CANADIAN YURT PHOTOS....
The yurt finally looks homely enough to share photos...

We melt snow (in a pan on top of the stove) to prevent the yurt getting too dry.

The wi-fi connection is strongest by the door.

i'm making notes about props for a cowboy themed studio we're going to take photos at in a couple of weeks. (Antoine's experimenting with b&w for the shoot.)

i love the design of the yurt...it's like living in sunrays!

On the left is our (single) bed, beneath a HUGE yin yang hanging.  Antoine won that 'discussion' and it's still there...giving me trippy dreams!

Taaa-daaa!  The kitchen!  Behind the curtains is all our dry food & veg.  We have a proper italian espresso machine, oven/grill, kettle, 2 gas hobs (gas cylinder under the yurt), blue jerry can full of water above the silver bowl (which sits on nails in a hole cut into the counter) - it's not a sink & all water must be emptied outside but the birdies pick the food scraps from where we pour it!  Mugs hang on nails (top left).  There's compost, recycling & a bin.  Our fridge is on the right with one of the best views in the world - the Annapurna range!

Welcome to my office.  I love working with Le Petit Prince looking on.

The heat from the chimney melts the snow from the transparent plastic, so we can see the blue/stary sky.  Sometimes the difference from indoor/outdoor temperature means there's ice on the inside of the roof.

A WALK IN THE GARDEN 

Surrounding the yurt are miles of gorgeous, quiet forest.

baby christmas trees!

Yesterday it was warm & i took a walk...

sun-bathing is essential even in subzero temperatures

Antoine likes looking at pictures of himself on the big screen!

...and one night we borrowed a projector and so the yurt was converted into our very own circular circus cinema:
Thanks for sharing in and caring about our adventure! All comments & 'likes' appreciated...fuels my motivation to update each week :)

week one

Weather & Washing

Québec has been messing with me.  The first week in Montréal, the temperature dropped to -38C/-36F (with windchill).  Then the following week in Gaspé (1,000km north of Montréal) The temperatures reached +10C.  One day i brushed the snow from the pegs and hung out the washing...


...it kind of froze!  We thawed it out over the fire later.  

Wood
This Canadian yurt is heated with a wood burning stove.  It's a great feeling walking in from a freezing snow storm, to a warm-woody-fire-smelling-cozy place.  We made the most of the rare absence of snow to do some wood-piling.

Kitchen Organization

After finally getting washing-up equipment, the next stage was organising the kitchen.  Antoine's method of deciding where different items are located in the kitchen area, is solely dependent upon the order which he takes them from the shopping bag.  Thus, pasta, spices, saucepan lid, cereal, soya sauce, screwdrivers & random veggies could be found in one box.  after finding a bag of 4 month old onions, which had been frozen for a month, then defrosted and were now smushy and smelly...i was at times scared to put my hands into boxes.  

Antoine also discovered this...

which, once upon a time, is believed to have been a turnip.

Wintery Walk
On Friday we woke up with the sunshine & went to the beach.  We didn't go swimming because it looked like this...

Douglastown Beach - 20 mins walk from our yurt

Ice slabs on the beach

ice along the beach

that under-rated combo of sand n snow

just to prove we do 'wrap up warm'

A normal week, in this Canadian Yurt!

our snowy window this morning

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments (Nicola, Simon & Katrien) & support.  It motivates me to write more! If anyone has any questions about the yurt life - i'd be delighted to answer them!

Dirty Dish Discussion

"Should i use shampoo or a bar of soap to clean the dishes?" i ask Antoine on my first morning in the yurt. My boyfriend’s been living here for 5 months now, there’s no washing up liquid.

"No, no, baby" he replies, in ‘is accent très français, "there’s no need to wash zee dishes."  i look at him quizzically. "we just lick zem clean.  Eet saves on zee water."

hmmmm.  i look for a sponge.  A cloth.  Anything fabric like which could scrub dishes.  i find an abandoned, blackened tea towel.  "No no, Baby, that ees for zee floor!"

Le sigh!  i opt for a bar of soap and use my hands to clean the grease and leftovers from the plates.  We don’t have a sink in the yurt.  We have a silver bowl, like one you’d use to mix a cake.  All the water has to be emptied outside.  It’s a relatively warm day for January in Gaspé, Québec.  It’s -10C.

But i clean the dishes with a smile on my face.  Even when i have to use my nails to scrape the more resilliant muslei flakes from the bowl.  i smile, even when i find a whisk still caked in last week’s batter, mixed in with the clean(er) utensils ("eet ees hard to clean without a sponge" accompanied by puppy dog eyes).   i smile because i’m so happy to have arrived in this Canadian yurt.

First morning in the yurt!