The week in review

All the staff are here as you can see by their blogs. This summer they will each be blogging and I will fill in where needed. I enjoy their blog updates and hope you do to. It is fun for me to wait until the end of the day and log in and see what they wrote. They have an interesting perspective of what is happening.

After a busy holiday weekend we have had a slower week. It has been nice and has given us a chance to get everyone acclimated to their jobs and start the season out a little more slowly. We are doing all the small projects needed in the cabins. Erik has been gone for the week fishing with his Dad in Canada so we don't have our supervisor!

This is also a good project week. We have torn up the old carpeting in cabins 5 and 6 in preparation for new carpeting in the living areas and tiling in the kitchen areas. We will have that work finished by early next week.

Must to the dismay of Peggy and I, under that old carpeting was some good hardwood floors. Unfortunately, years ago, or even decades ago, someone had glued the carpeting down. Everyone has told us to get that carpet glue up and refinish that wood floor is nearly impossible. Too late now anyway because the new carpet has an installation date. It will look quite nice when it is done so we will be happy with new flooring but that wood floor sure looked like it could look very nice in those cabins.

Another big project we have underway, which will last throughout the summer, is underbrush and tree clearing. Part of a fire wise initiative with the forest service, lake owners mid trail are clearing underbrush and thinning out the trees to minimize the chance of fire. This will be a summer long project partially done by our staff and partially contracted out for the larger trees and areas. When I look at pictures of 7 years ago when we started at Clearwater I am amazed at how much everything has grown up so this is a good project to tackle now.

One project soon will be to upgrade our fire sprinklers. We are talking to contractors now. Our fire sprinklers work just fine but they are from 1999 following the blow down so it is time to upgrade the pumps, lines and sprinkler heads with more efficient equipment. Maybe when this is done Mike will let me water the lawn around the lodge with the fire sprinklers but I am doubtful.

An ongoing project is new refrigerators. Since we have been here we have replaced all the mattresses in the cabins and lodge and are now working on refrigerators and freezers. I counted them one year and we have 22 and all could be upgraded for better energy efficiency. But like everyone else, we have to budget these purchases so we are working on getting several a year. At this rate, it will only take us another 10 years to get all new ones! By the time we are done, the new ones will be old. Oh well, such is resort life.

Tori and Michael are in the kitchen experimenting with outfitting foods. Tori is drying apples, peaches and pears and Michael is trying out a recipe for a new breakfast bar. Homemade applesauce will be next and then we may dry some that. We like to sample what they bake. What fails the outfitting test of being easy to pack out is left for the rest of us to enjoy.

Lynn

Eggs and Sausage

As the kitchen rapidly filled with smoke I lunged over to the stove, killed the burners and looked down with a mixture of frustration, disbelief and latent amusement at the skillet of burnt butter. Mental note number 37: Keep a low flame and close eye on butter, this stove gets hot in a hurry. Hello, I'm Michael and I'll be cooking breakfast this morning. Would you like to hear mental note number 1? Don't blow up the kitchen trying to light the oven. Lynn knows how to get to the important stuff first. Those who have done any sort of cooking know the importance of familiarity in ones kitchen. Everything has its place and in order for things to run smoothly you gotta have your bearings. With each passing day I pick up countless nuances, tricks, and lessons about my new office. By now (it's been two weeks already!!) I can find my way around and feel a comfortable confidence shufflling around the stove or running between the refrigerator and table. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a spatula in the other I am enjoying the morning hours of my day as much as ever. This late-sleeping college kid is strangely enough becoming a morning person. Maybe it's the buzz around the early-day-hub of the kitchen beginning around 8:00AM when people dart in and out grabbing coffee or a bite to eat as they get their day started, or perhaps it's the inherent satisfaction that comes with the act of feeding people. Did I mention I get to cook on a stove that is three times my age? Cool! Whatever it is I am ready to fully embrace the days first meal, and lately, although I rarely have it all figured out until that morning, I have begun to relish being asked, "What's for breakfast, Michael?"

Stay tuned for more tales from the breakfast table...

hello everyone

Hi I am Lily from China. Now I live on clearwater lake with my husband John and my dog Dodo. This is very different from china, the air is always fresh. I like people here they are very friendly, and I am very happy to live in such beautiful place. Clearwater, my idea of heaven.

Hey, My name is Matt and I am the final member to join the clearwater crew for the summer. I go to school at the University of St. Thomas and am going to be a junior. This week we have started the new renovations to some of the cabins. This would include ripping out some of the carpet and placing tile in the kitchens. The weather is still a little cold in the mornings but warms up nicely during the day. This picture was taken near Ram lake on Tuesday the 26th.