2016 is off to a great start!  Last week I sent off sample books to 9 different book stores in several major cities in Western Canada, and I have already heard back from one!  Shelf Life Books in Calgary has catalogued "The McDonalds" and put it on the shelf... If it sells, they would be interested in taking more!  It is a very small step, but definitely a step in the right direction nonetheless.  I am waiting to hear back from bookstores in Vancouver, Victoria, Grande Prairie, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Yellowknife and New York!  I knew being a self publisher would be difficult, and I would really have to work to get my book and story out there to the public.  After a year off to expand our family, I am back atter, full tilt! 

I have also been asked to speak to a class at one of the local schools, which I have been dreaming about doing for quite some time now!  I will be going to the middle school here in Fort Nelson to talk about Aboriginal people and the way they lived years ago.  I am very excited, I can't wait to share my knowledge, and let the younger generation know some of the hardships that people went through before all of this technology and convenience took over.  I look forward to doing my best to educate and inspire the younger generation, and practice for our upcoming Alaska Highway Road Show in 2017!!

I am so excited to announce that I have been invited to join a roadshow to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Alaska Highway!  Kathy Jessup, Bill Dolan and I are working on a show including storytelling, songs and pictures, celebrating the making of the Alaska Highway.  We will be kicking off our tour July 2017 in Edmonton, AB, and bring it to a close in Dawson City
Since writing "The McDonalds," the opportunities have been starting to come forward, and I am so excited about this one!  Quite a few of our venues have already been confirmed.  If you are anywhere between Edmonton and Whitehorse, be sure to get out there and catch our show in July 2017!

2015 has been a blast!  And I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels like it flew by!  It has been a whirl wind for us, as we welcomed a beautiful baby boy to the world (Norman Jay Dee) and finally got our cabin started at Moose Lake (it's only been a dream in my head for about 6 years!). 
Now that Norman is getting into a good schedule and sleeping through the night, we are getting into a routine with work, home, play, etc, it's time to start getting back into selling BOOKS!  I've slacked off pretty good for the whole year, but it's time to lose the excuses and get this book and history out there to as many people as possible!!   If you have any suggestions or questions to move and sell books, I'm open to ideas.  I'm starting to reach out to the major surrounding cities, hoping that the book and the awards it has won so far will speak for themselves!  I know a lot of bookstores are wary of and won't take books by self publishers, and will not deal with the author directly, but I am ready to do the best I can to get this book out there to be enjoyed!

Also, there is some more excitement coming in 2017!  Stay tuned for this fantastic news!  (hint hint, next year, the Alaska Highway will be 75 years old!)

 At the end of 2015, the McDonald family lost two of our beloved Aunties.   On November 9, our Aunt Maggie passed away at 442.  Less than a month later, her sister Rose joined her on December 1.   Maggie has been with Rose her entire life, and the ladies have always lived together, often sharing residence.   Both women were laid to rest in the family cemetery at Sheep Creek, just a short ways away from the home they have shared for several decades.  After living their entire lives in the Toad River Valley, both were able to live out their final days there as well.  In my heart, I know that is where they would have wanted to be.  A big thank you goes out to Mark and Irva Steward of Toad River, BC for looking after our dear Rose, allowing her to stay in her familiar surroundings, at the same time staying safe, warm and comfortable.  Their love and kindness has really gone above and beyond and we can't thank them enough!

I will always remember my aunts for their hard working nature and feisty attitudes.  These were the last, honest to goodness "bush women."  Women who lived their entire lives in the bush, only recently starting to use generators for power, and 'indoor' plumbing.  They sat by the campfire and drank tea, gathered firewood and water, and literally worked their fingers to the bone.  I am at peace knowing that the sisters were only apart for a very short time, but at the same time my heart breaks knowing that we are losing our elders and this way of life is truly going to be gone.  I smile every time someone stops me on the street, or in a restaurant, to tell me that they stopped to see the 'old girls', that they stopped to drop off magazines, or meat and fish, to just say hello.  Many times, people would walk away with fresh moose meat or drymeat, or unused Christmas gifts that the girls had; that the way they were and the way they were raised, if you have something, you share it.  It's a trait that we are seeing less and less of, everyone seems too worried about getting ahead, about better their own lives. 

I hope when people think of these strong, fearless women, they are reminded to grab life by the horns and do what you need to do.  To practice the Golden Rule and take time to reconnect with your past and nature.  Stop and breathe.  Go outside in the evening, take in the silence and the stars.  Stare at a crackling fire, and learn to enjoy your own company.  Step away from the rat race and enjoy life and the little things that matter most. 

Although the campfire has gone out (I still love that one, thanks Auntie Linda!) I know we will meet again. 

Negahnesta' se
(I'll see you later)