Daily Grind

Another exciting week in the middle of nowhere. No really, the middle of nowhere. It's still absolutely gorgeous here, although there is smoke in the air from fires outside of Mountain Home, but by the middle of August, living and working with the same people has its moments of tension.


So here are some pictures of the people that have to put up with me day and night. Erica and Barbara work in the office with me.












Rosie and Andrew are in the kitchen. Edward is chopping. Pat is lounging in the bakery (okay, he usually works harder and longer than I do, but I caught him lounging, just this once).














Then we have Andrew showing his son, Quinn, how to play ping pong during the Thursday barbecue. Andrew, generally known for his temper, also spreads sarcasm and bad puns throughout the day.






We get to eat breakfast in the dining room with the guests, however most lunches and dinners we outside. The staff outside seating, unlike the nicely woodworked benches in front of the lodge, is a solitary picnic table behind the lodge. When it gets to full for any more of us to squeeze in at the table, don't worry, there are always extra milk crates to pull up. Yes, the picnic table is next to the dumpster. But I have to say, atmosphere or not, mostly not, I have had a great many laughs around the dinner table with our dysfunctional "family of employee" dinners.




Random other parts of my day. Filling the beverage jugs on the front porch with home-squeezed lemonade, water and ice tea. This part of the job also includes cleaning up any mice or squirrel droppings, as they make the lemonade less appealing.


Walking on the employee path to home.

Watching the housekeepers barrel around the ranch in the golf carts. We're hoping to have races at the end of the season. Maybe even an IRMR Iron Man: biking to the pond, (which is very cold, nobody swims in it), swimming across the icy cold pond, racing the golf carts down the driveway, across the highway and to the hot springs pool....for a celebratory soak. I don't know yet if we can make it happen, but I'm willing to flag the start line!