Healthy Respect

We learned a valuable lesson last night: Caffeine and Carter don’t mix. He drank about 4 ounces of tea at supper. He was so tired he could barely stand himself, so I figured a little tea wouldn’t hurt. Came up stairs, laid him down and the wiggles began.Not just “I don’t want to go to sleep” wiggles; I mean all out shake it, jerk it, kick it wiggles! It was almost 2 hours until he finally fell asleep. I now have a much healthier respect for caffeinated tea!

This morning we went for a walk after breakfast. Well, the original idea was to walk. The walk turned into me walking and Carter falling down on the ground (because he was mad) and screaming. I kept walking and he would eventually catch up. So, it took a long time to cover a little bit of ground! I don’t know if it’s the age or what, but he can sure pitch a fit lately. I have a much healthier respect for kids acting out in public places now that Carter is in this phase!

So, once we got past  the fits, we went and watched Evans tear down a bunch of trees with a bull dozer. Carter and I watched him push over trees, dig up roots, and pile up the debris for nearly an hour. Ben used the chainsaw to cut the trees into smaller pieces. Jake, Don and Lane drove the Kubota and four wheeler and hauled off the trees and limbs.

After lunch, I washed dishes for Mrs. Carole. Washing dishes up here isn’t like at home. Because the creek is still muddy, which supplies all of the fresh water, we heat up water in big pots on the wood stove. We use pitchers to dip the water out with and then pour it into 2 big bowls in the kitchen- one for washing and one for rinsing. We wait until there are a lot of dirty dishes and do it all at one time to conserve fresh, warm water. I just never realized how nice it is to first have fresh water readily available, and second to have a dish washer. I have a much healthier respect and appreciation for those now!

Well, after washing dishes, I decided to wash clothes. Wardrobe here is not quite like at home. Because of the lack of fresh, clean water into the pipes, there are no washers available to wash clothes like usual. I again dipped water into 2 bowls in the kitchen and put laundry soap in one and used the other to rinse. Our pile of laundry is remarkably small for one week of dirty clothes because we have been wearing clothes over and over again. I picked out some underwear, socks, some of Carter’s things, a pair of pants, and one of David’s work shirts. I washed them in the bowls and then hung them out on the clothes line in front of the house. I’m quite excited about clean pants. These I am wearing are nasty! So, needless to say, I have a much healthier respect and appreciation for our washer and drier at home-much, much respect.

Later this afternoon, David, Carter, and I loaded up on the six wheeler for a ride around the outskirts of camp. This is the first year David has been here with so much snow melt. The usual path around camp was boggy and extremely muddy. We drove a little way and came to a really mushy area. David was sure we could make it through. He charged forward and we did well until we hit a really wet, low spot. Yeah, well, we got stuck. He got out of his side an bogged up to his ankles. I scooted Carter out of the front, Dukes of Hazzard style, and I trudged through the mud trying to keep up with him. We went down and got the Kubota tractor and drove it back to the 6 wheeler. After almost getting the tractor stuck in the muck, we made it to the 6 wheeler; I climbed in through the front, avoiding the mud, and we pulled it free. I have never seen ground this boggy. Snow melt is like nothing I’ve experienced. One day, I’m trudging my way through snow up to my shins in a spot, and the two days later I’m bogging up to my ankles in mud! It’s such a strange occurrence. I have such an appreciation for Florida soil now!

All in all, it’s been a good day. The guys are almost done with the outside of the greenhouse. David and Carter just left on the 6 wheeler to pick up Roger on the runway. He had to go to Fairbanks today and bring back some supplies. Carter really likes watching the airplanes. When they get back we are going to eat the ribs that have been cooking all afternoon. Then I’m going to stand in the shower and pour heated up water over me a pitcher at a time and attempt to clean myself. David and I are alternating bath days. Believe it or not, he’s a shower ahead of me! Who knows what adventures are ahead of us tomorrow!

Until next time…