 Saturday, October 21, 2006
I’m dusting the cabins - walls and everything. It’s one of the most boring things I’ve ever done. I did Cabins 9 down through 5 today. I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. On Thursday, I ran the skill saw and cut some boards for Isaiah.
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 Tuesday, October 17, 2006
It snowed about two inches last night. It melted today. It started snowing again. It is round, foam-ball-like snow. Keith doesn’t seem to care much about cooking. Meals are last minute and slip-shod. Last night he was sitting around, playing on his computer and even with comments from us, he showed no signs of concentrating on getting supper finished. We know he had chili on the stove, so by 7:30 Isaiah and I decided to eat. Keith’s response was, “It may not be hot yet.” It wasn’t, but it was warm enough to eat. Keith never tells us when supper is and doesn’t keep a consistent time. We’re all fed up with him. Keith’s in town today, so I cooked lunch. I made baked macaroni and cheese. Keith left steak and fish in the fridge and Isaiah is going to make supper. I started baked onions for lunch, but they didn’t finish, so we’ll have those for supper. I finally finished all the cabin bedding laundry! Next step - wash the bathroom walls in the cabins. We will start staining the cabins’ outside walls this week, so maybe my wall-washing will have to wait.  Saturday, October 14, 2006
After work, Isaiah let me shoot his .45 Llama. The first time I rested against the golf cart for support and almost smacked myself in the face from the recoil. After a few times with the golf cart, I tried it on my own and liked that better. The gun isn’t heavy, but it kicks and is loud. I was glad for the ear protectors. I got a tiny blood blister where I pinched my little finger when putting in the clip and some tiny speck burned my cheek. The revolver is so much easier to sight with than the rifle. I was right in line with the target, but always too low or too high. I kept feeling like I was missing a step because I didn’t have to chamber each shell. It gives you the option of shooting faster, though. I hope he lets me shoot again. I liked it.  Friday, October 13, 2006
This afternoon, I went to town to get presents. I saw herds of bison and people getting out of their car to take pictures of them. Thursday, October 12, 2006
I sat on the back balcony and enjoyed the warm sun and intense blue sky. Farley sat on my lap and purred. I tried to play with Alex, but her idea of play is to lie down and have her tummy rubbed. I’m washing all the bedding from the cabins this week. That’s 4-6 hours a day stuck in the lodge so I can change the laid as soon as it is done. It’s good reading time, but I’m about to go stir crazy. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be reading during working time, but I do what I’m supposed to,then I have extra time. I don’t want the others to get jealous and think I'm not working, so I read in the laundry room with the door closed. It’s a beautiful, clear sky tonight. Does the Milky Way move east to west as the night progresses? It seems so.  Wednesday, October 11, 2006
About a week ago, my right elbow hurt to move, was swollen, and felt stiff. Filip, who is trained as a pharmacist, looked at it and gave me anti-inflammatories to take for one week. I don’t like taking pills, but there seemed to be nothing else to do. Today, only a small spot on the bone hurts if I put pressure on it. The bone seems to be protruding more than on the left side, but as I don’t study my body, maybe it was always like that. A few days ago, Filip asked how it was doing. I told him it was better and he was surprised. “I didn’t think it would get better,” he said. The drugs seemed to make my whole lower arm ache and threatened to give me a headache for the first 15 minutes after I took a pill. Do they dissolve and spread that fast? I don’t know what the drug was. The foil was printed with French. Now that the summer staff have gone, I am the only woman among four men. I pray they find a female housekeeper for the winter. I am staying in the bunkroom this winter. It is a bit chilly with only a plug-in radiator-style electric heater, but the view is worth it. Also, I feel better being slightly separated from the others.  Tuesday, October 10, 2006
The snow melted today. Filip left for France today. That gives us some breathing room. I started making friends with Farley, the cat. I want her to stay in my room when it gets cold this winter. I had her following me when out of nowhere, Alex comes flying. She chased Farley onto the back balcony. Isaiah let me drive the tractor. That was exciting. I’m glad to learn something new.  Monday, October 9, 2006
We got about 6 inches of snow today. Snow is exciting and mysterious, especially when it is falling. Mila moved to town yesterday. Wes left for a vacation, but Alex stayed here. She looks lonely and lost.  Friday, October 6, 2006
Keith let me make spice bread. It wasn’t sweet or moist enough, so we made a butter and powdered sugar frosting. I’ll see how it tastes at supper. Keith’s been really nice lately. I keep waiting for him to blow up. I appreciate that Keith tries to watch his language around me. It surprises me, though, because he’s not helpful in any other way.  Thursday, October 5, 2006
I went to town for the first time since I got here. I really didn’t want to go, but the drive was pretty and lifted my spirits. I got an oil change and full-service check on the car, so I feel ready for winter. I went to the post office. I spent $70 at K-Mart, but I didn’t find jeans. I wasn’t really in the mood for shopping, so walking around downtown to find presents was fruitless. I saw many bison. They’re so big and have sharp horns. How can people not see that they are dangerous? On the way home, I made several stops to take pictures. The road is smoother in the morning than in the afternoon. Gravel feels more slippery than dirt.  Monday, October 2, 2006
I’m getting everything ready so that I can go into town on Wednesday and not forget anything important. Top priority is an oil change. It has rained ever since lunch. They changed supper to 6:00 p.m. It’s so much nicer to only have 6 hours between lunch and supper and more time between supper and bed. I’m glad Keith was kind enough to knock on my door and tell me about the change. I wouldn’t have known, otherwise. I watched The Two Towers this afternoon. Today, I also paid bills, uploaded pictures, cleaned the bathroom, did laundry, and wrote four letters. I haven’t been bored all day. Isaiah overheard that I like cream soda and today surprised me with a six-pack. I feel awkward when people do things like that. I want to know the reason and if I owe them. In this case, I just said “thank you” and showed appreciation. Of course, when I had one at supper, everyone had to tease me and ask what kind of beer I was drinking. It was as silly as when I would drink apple juice in college and people would ask if it was beer.  Sunday, October 1, 2006
All guests left today, except Sam’s sister and brother-in-law are staying a few more days. After lunch, most work stopped and by 4:00 they were grilling bratwurst and drinking. After lunch, I watched A Series of Unfortunate Events. Then I went down for a few minutes, had a brat, and basically just made an appearance so they wouldn’t think me rude. Then I walked to the headgate, watched The Fantastic Four, went to the lodge for tea, met Wes and borrowed Mr. Deeds after returning the other two, watched the third movie, finished at 9:00, and went to bed to the sounds of a very drunk wrangler in the next room. She was vomiting and shouting, but I shut all the doors I could between us and quickly went to sleep.  Wednesday, September 27, 2006
I took a ride on Wyatt. Got the stirrups figured out. I like Wyatt’s gaits. Between getting the stirrups a good length and some experience, cantering was easier. When walking, I keep wanting to close my eyes and absorb the rhythm, but I figure that’s not safe. My heater was leaking oil. I told Sam, and before dinner Filip told me that he had turned it upside down and it would be fine for one night. At 8:30, I went back to my room, opened the door, and was assailed by smoke and burnt-oil smell. I quickly turned off the heater and unplugged it. I opened the doors and turned on the fans. Even the bathroom was full of smoke. It took half an hour for my room to clear enough to go to bed. The bathroom took longer. I sprayed Febreeze and left my door open a crack for a while to let the last bits out. Even this morning the bathroom smelled and some of my clothes did, too. Of course, people knew about it last night. It’s hard to miss smoke pouring out of your living quarters. Keith and Wes looked at the heater and said, “Well, I’m going to have a beer.” Sam gave me his heater. I’m just thankful there wasn’t a fire.  Sunday, September 24, 2006
All the snow melted by Friday evening, except for in shady places or the hilltops. Yesterday, I went on a ride and rode Wyatt, the most perfect horse I could imagine. We saw a coyote in the elk-feeding valley. The coyote was pouncing about, hunting mice maybe. His movements looked more like a cat’s than a dog’s. I’ve wanted to see a coyote ever since I heard one when I first came. Now I am content. |
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Jill Hames is a writer, musician, biblical studies teacher, and ESL tutor who finds life too interesting to pick a niche. She has a B.A. in Music and Spanish, a Masters in Library and Information Science, is TEFL.org 168-hour certified to teach English as a second language, and is working towards a Master of Divinity. Jill is a member of Delta Omicron and the International Women's Writing Guild.
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Copyright 2025