I am not a happy camper today

Ok, I nabbed some links re the Mame's camp threads. Not meaning to skulk, they just happen to be favorites.


http://able2know.org/topic/112440-1 Kootenays
http://able2know.org/topic/118596-1 South Kootenays
http://able2know.org/topic/122745-2 more
http://able2know.org/topic/134048-1 Yukon

Whadya think I'd be doing in the meantime (besides weeding..)? See last post. Unfortunately, I had to stop and reread some of Mame's other threads..

Nice to see you know when to take advice.

No, no, I beat you to the punch! That was slippery..

Oh. Well, I guess you did post first. My mistake.

No, no, you posted first..

I've been getting eaten alive by mosquitoes here in ABQ this year. Hardly ever got bit in Sacramento while surrounded by all that river water and farm irrigation ditches. Out here in the dry highlands, they seem to breed in moist soil; don't need any standing water.

The best thing I found to immediately relieve the itching and reduce the redness and swelling is some benadryl cream. As soon after you're bitten as you can, just put a dab on each bite.

I swear by the stuff. See if you can pick some up next time you go to town. Any pharmacy or drug aisle should have it.

That is good stuff!
Benadryl comes in a spray, too. It works even better for me.

This is the stuff.

Thanks for the Benadryl tip - next time I go to town, I'll look for some. I could sure use it...I look like I have the measles. These bugs are vicious, and you can't sit outside because the deer flies do that "plane coming in" thing around your head. Brought my watercolours but am too leery to try to paint outside because of them.

So the guy that hooked up my sink brought a wooden stall shower system and the guys started putting it together last night, then stopped for some reason before they hooked the water up. They never tell me anything Well, let's face it, I wouldn't understand much, anyway.

Juicy Burgers went over well last night, as did the apple crisp. Today it's roast, yorkshire puds, 3 veg and more apple crisp. Lots of cookies made, so I'm sitting on my laurels today. Might start a wall hanging of camp and the people in it. It really is gorgeous here. But I'm looking forward to a hot shower, I can tell you. Finished both my books and know darn well I'll only find French ones in town... maybe I'll get a French phrase book or dictionary or even a young kids' book. I study French online about 1 hour a day and then practice on them in the evenings

Beetroot.

Garlic butter

So, the latest on dit is that we work a full day Friday, I serve dinner, and then we drive 4 hrs home. Not happening! Sorry, but when you get up at 4:00 a.m., arriving back at 10:00 p.m.+ is a little too long for me. I'm in bed at 7:30 p.m. Apparently the troops are not happy about this either. I mean, we'll be back 4 days later - what's so important that can't wait 4 days? Actually, what they're doing right now is working on claims to keep them active and Alex says there's nothing there anyway, so nothing's that important.

Well, the crew mutineed so we left at 10:00 a.m. instead of 5: or 6:00 p.m. Showered, showered, and showered! The VP Ex(ploration) was horrified to learn there was no running water, but I told her Daniel fixed it up for me and I was good. They're installing a water heater onto the shower - she offered to put it onto the dish water line but I said the shower would be better. I like to boil the lake water anyway.

So we're sampling the restaurants, sleeping (Alex is, anyway), doing laundry and wandering about this little burg. Nice, nice people in this town. Tonight we're off to the VP Ex's place for a little shindig - dinner and lots of French conversation and Gallic gesturing, no doubt.

Alex has an opportunity to go to Namibia for several months - if he takes it, I could go, too! Not to work, of course, but hey, I've never been there and that would be a hoot.

Nambibia is not a place i would ever have considered a... hoot

No, but I've never been so it'll be an experience - that's the hoot part. I've read up on it, and they're certainly poor.

Okay, more problems. We got in yesterday about 4:30 p.m. They hooked up the new (small) generator (Honda EU2000) and we have electricity. But they tell me they're going to shut it off when they're asleep and when they're out of camp. WTF? They're gone from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and I'm supposed to sit here in the gloom with no internet, no lights, no nothing for 11 friggin hours? The geo said it's because we were running the other EU2000 so much that it blew an O-ring. I don't believe it! It was because the dumb doofuses let it run out of oil - how do I know it ran out? Because when I refilled it one of the last mornings, I checked the oil (am I the only one doing this?) and it was DRY as a bone! I put almost a whole litre in it and it ran fine for a while then pooped out. Not my problem. Anyway, screw that. How can I bake without my eggbeater?

Anyway, that's one thing. Second thing is, they took off this morning and didn't check the propane on my stove or hook up the new propane to the bbq. The stove ran out right in the beginning (thank goodness) of baking a carrot cake. So I go out to take a look at it (and believe me, I know NOTHING about changing these things), but anyway, I see I need a crescent wrench, so off I go to the gen shack and nope, not a wrench of any kind to be found. I come back in and google "How to change a propane tank" and sure enough, I need a wrench. I look all over the cabins and nothing. So, I'm screwed. And start cursing and stomping around the field. What a bunch of knobs for not checking this **** before they take off for such a long time.

Then I think, well, I'll just boil water and do **** on the bbq. So I get the new tank, rip off the seal, and try to screw the hose end the tank piece. It doesn't want to stay on, so I look at the - ahhh, there are no threads inside, but O see the tank does... where's the bit that it screws into? Now I'm really cursing. should have asked them to hook it up last night.

Anyway, I come in and see the wood stove - aha! Lots of wood, no kindling, of course, and no axe, so I start cutting up all my grocery boxes and start a fire. Great. Got my mushroom soup made, coffee rewarmed, and dishwater boiled. But I'm severely ticked off.

I've never seen such a Keystone Cops caper in my life. They don't have flashlights, matches, axes, nothing. Buncha bums.

Anyway, just venting

You truly are a pioneer woman, Mame. In all honesty, I would never even
attempt what you're doing let alone continue. Kudos to you, especially being
such a good sport under such conditions.

I don't feel like a good sport; right now I'm pretty darn resentful. Good thing they won't get back for hours and I have time to cool off.

How do I change the damn propane tank and hook up the other one? I'm assuming the pilot light for the stove is either in the broiler area or under the top of the stove (I think you have to lift it off) - but will it blow up? Do I have to turn something off first? I don't know the first thing about it.

It's all moot anyway since I can't find a crescent wrench. No way it's loose enough for my fingers - I had to ask Alex to loosen the cap on the gen so I could refill it. I think they really tightened it because when Alex told them it should stay on, they said it could stay on till it ran out of gas Alex told me that was nuts and just refill it (ha ha ha) so I did.

And the ants are taking over my kitchen.

But at least it's raining - no mosquitoes or deer flies.

See, there's always an up side And I have internet!

You're too generous. They should've eaten cold soup concentrate right out of the can.

(What kind of idiot pisses off the cook?)