Week 35

Day 238: Apr 5, 2015

Happy Easter! Most of our easter celebration was last night but our food celebration was today. We had two feasts, brunch and a dinner of both pork and lamb. The only other celebration that was particularly different than any other day was the easter egg hunt that the kids and kids at heart partook in. The eggs were hidden around most of the village and were filled with all kinds of treats. It was a nice day and was also my final shift in the kitchen. The shift was filled with a bunch of great people and wound up being a great shift. It has been really wonderful working with these people. Even though there were times when I really wanted out I will miss working with these goofballs.

Day 239: Apr 6, 2015

Construction season has officially begun. We cooked all three meals of the day but ESS has arrived and we are transitioning. I was given some extra duties during the transition. Most of the kitchen staff are completely done with the kitchen and will have nothing to do with it from now on. I, on the other hand, will be a point person for the next few days. If ESS has any questions or needs anything I will be on hand to help.

Day 240: Apr 7, 2015

So I am helping ESS transition in today and I am amazed by what they can and cannot use. For example, they can't use the deli slicer which unless you are not using it correctly is about as safe as a sharp instrument can be. There is a hand guard so your hand isn't even touching the food as it goes through the blade. A plain knife is more dangerous. If they need to use a knife they have to wear crazy large cut-resistant gloves which get in the way of your cutting and, although they protect from cuts, probably make the whole process more dangerous. It is like working with a dull blade makes it more likely to cut yourself. Apparently, they are not allowed to use the bread slicer because the bread this morning was hand-cut. That is another machine that definitely makes the process safer. In order to cut yourself on the bread slicer you have to put your hand awkwardly in front of the bread while using a lever to push the bread in.

Day 241: Apr 8, 2015

Another day of making sure that ESS is settled in. Today was much smoother for them. I only needed to answer one question for them and it was about where dried ranch packets were (aka we don't have any but here is the recipe we use). They are really getting into it and are learning really quickly. It only took one day for them to label foods as gluten-free which was a really big step. The head chef did not even know that gluten was in anything other than bread. Considering that they do not have internet at this point to look up a list of things with gluten I think it is impressive but I also have a crazy amount of sympathy for the kitchen. I am a little biased, though.

Day 242: Apr 9, 2015

Today's meals were pretty much the epitome of ESS food. There were french toast sticks and chocolate eclairs for breakfast and ribs and chicken for dinner. On the other hand, they made a chicken and rice soup for lunch that was pretty darn amazing. I went on a lovely walk around the loop because it was beautiful outside. I was going to go down to Ten Mile Falls because I prefer the walk through the woods to the walk along the road and through the construction but Leah said she would come with if I did the loop. I figured the loop is going to close soon so I agreed to go that way. Also, the ticks are out in mass right now. Apparently, there is only a two week period when they are really bad. I have bug spray with deet that I can use when I go out though. Some people are weary about deet but honestly, I worry more about ticks and diseases they carry. Plus, with ticks I can just put some around clothing joints (where the shirt meets pants, where pants meet socks) and maybe a little in my hair because even the idea of ticks in my hair makes me cringe.

Day 243: Apr 10, 2015

Just a relaxing uneventful day.

Day 244: Apr 11, 2015

We had our first official spring snow today. It actually stuck too. I think we ended up with maybe a half inch on the ground. It was mostly melted by the end of the day but while it was still snowing it was great packing snow. The kids have been playing outside a lot lately and the snow did not change much. They still played only this time it was in short sleeves and in the snow. The only other event of the day was my first day back at the coffee cart. I went in a little earlier than I had to because I knew that there would be some organizing that I would want to do. Other than that it was a nice shift, shorter than before because there are only 15-20 construction workers here right now so I didn't open at 6am. It just isn't worth it to open 2 hours earlier if only one person is going to show up. This also meant that I didn't get the internet to myself or much spare time to read but those opportunities will come soon enough.