Sunday, October 23, 2011

Last Projects and a Long Trip

This is going to be one of my quick blogs. The Vikings and Packers are playing soon. The odds are really against the Vikings but I still like to watch the game. While it is on, I am making applesauce. I have some Haraldson apples which will be good. Then I have two pair of pants to hem. Not my favorite job but that’s life.

The lodge is still running pretty full. Our meal business has slacked off because there are not a lot of people on the Trail. As much as I would like to be busier, we are all tired and ready to slow down a bit. Most of the guests are spending their time hiking and relaxing. It is cold and rainy today so the lake doesn’t look very appealing. The last week has been warm and lovely but we still don’t have a lot of people out on the lake. The horses leave tomorrow.

My rabbits are still turning color. They now have white feet, white ears and a white back. The stomach must turn white last. Bruce keeps telling me that we are going to have rabbit stew but I won’t cook it so that ends the talk.

Yesterday Bruce was out on the final harvest in the garden. He cut the last of the chives and parsley and took it down to the kitchen. The next job was to dig up the last of the carrots. I never expect as many as we get. It took me 45 minutes to just wash them all. Tonight I will oven roast them for dinner with a baked potato and grilled lamb chops.

On a cool damp day like today, our fireplace will be cranked up. It seems to add much more to the room than just heat. My job is to keep the wood box full. Bruce splits most of the wood by hand throughout the winter. He enjoys doing it. Then daughter Shawn brings up a nice load of hardwood for Father’s Day. We do pretty well with all of it.

One of my fall projects is placing the spring flower orders for us and many of the neighbors. Ronnie Smith, our gardener, does our order and I gather from the others. As I am typing this, it dawned on me that I forgot to order some new strawberry plants for our garden. Not getting those would be a tragedy. Not to mention that I would be in big trouble with Bruce.

You are not going to hear from me for several weeks. We leave tomorrow for the Minnesota Resort Association fall conference. Bruce is giving a talk on packaging. Then it is down to visit Lee and his family in the Twin Cities. Robert, Miranda, and Zach come next in Missouri. Then it is off to see some friends’ resort near Ponca, Arkansas. Then we visit another friend in Missouri. The next hop takes us out to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where my sister and brother-in-law live. Finally our last stop is the outfitters convention in Sandusky, Ohio. We will be home about November 11.

Needless to say, we will be glad to be home. My butt is going to be sore from sitting in the car.

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