308 of 365 of What it is Like to Run a Resort

Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The picture is of Orla on the couch in our living room. She can get up there all by herself now. She's getting so big and now she weighs 30 pounds.

Today I had a lot to do since it was so nice outside. When its nice out, that usually means work around here. Dave went for a motorcycle ride, and then he moved the refrigerator into Alder, finished the trim on the outside of Alder's windows and caulked them.

I have been meaning to do two small gardens by the entrance to our resort. So I set out with the wheelbarrow, sifting screen, perennials, shovel and puppy. I dug up all the dirt in the areas I wanted and sifted out all the weeds. Then I placed rocks in a circle next to each rock pillar. Then I dumped the sifted soil into the circle of rocks. After I planted the perennials in the fresh soil, I took Orla back home. I had lathered myself up with an all natural bug repellent. It worked but after I took a shower, I noticed some of it was still gooped in my hair along my hairline. Yuck. When I was working on the gardens, a "neighbor" stopped by. His name is Ike and he originally came from Denmark. He and his wife have a place on Mills Point which is down the road from us. He and his two nephews from Denmark visited with Orla and I and then they left. I felt so dirty and icky with the bug repellent smeared on my face and all the dirt all over me but there was nothing I could do.

I took Orla on a walk down by the lake on the shoreline trail. She drank a lot of water and walked around in the lake a lot. Then we went in the house so I could clean up. She slept the entire time it took me to shower and get presentable.

Later I sanded and stained 9 trim boards for the Alder cabin, put my dahlias outside, did two loads of laundry, moved furniture and rugs back into Birch, and some paperwork. The sanding and staining of the trim took a toll on my hands which were already sore from shoveling. Later that evening I couldn't even scoop my own ice cream because my hands were too sore.

I checked on the finished cabins and noticed they needed some items like tablecloths, the 3-ring informational binder, etc. I also noticed that the cleaning girls forgot some things so I made a list for them. They will be back on Friday and Saturday.

John came home around 7 p.m. and so I helped him move the mattress back into Maple. He had it strapped to the top of the car for the ride back from Door County. My son called the cell phone, which John had, and asked if he was in Wabeno. Apparently someone my son knew had spotted our car and asked Joey if that was us. Its funny sometimes how small the world is. I guess a car with a mattress strapped to the top isn't inconspicuous.

While I was working outside, I could hear a hawk calling to another. The hummingbirds were fighting over the nectar, loons called on the lake and the buds were coming out on the trees. It was a good day.