Mothers Day

Family Time / Happy Mother's Day

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Family Time
So Yes I picked up my mother just after 9 AM - went to McDonald for breakfast - then drove two or more hours to Rosedale to the Minter Gardens
















Then we went to Harrison Hot Springs.
Noni and I soaked in the public pool - Mom would not join us. After which we walked along the beach - and of course I went geo caching.

Mom's first beach experience in many years

Mom has been wanting to go to the Mandarin Garden for over a year now s was her day.
So it was a long day - Mom was home about 10:30pm and I arrived home 11ish.

Scarey or what?

Friday, May 10, 2013

I look like some kind of evil warlock brewing something - and it has only been a couple of days in this crazy - crazy week - what will I look like in five months??


lunch preparation

hungry - hungry


These are the two kitchen girls that are having such a pull on the guys to hang around the kitchen -
-- the saga continues - the boys are making head way with their persistence - I understand each of of them and both of them will be hanging out with my young kitchen helper this weekend. I am not given all the details - not sure if both will have alone time with her- one will be for sure they are going to see a comedian and the other guy will be meeting them afterwards and then I do not know what.. Gone form wanting nothing to do with them to this in a very short time - we still have five months --hey we still have additional 20 staff to come yet before this gig is all done.. more choices of guys!!

- Yes I have had to use my fear factor and tell the guys to leave my girls alone during meal working times - and another time or two they were just hanging around talking while they were doing all the work in the dish pit - so I told them if they were going to talk they had to work also - which they did and the girls finished doing the dishes quite fast - making everyone happy. I like win win situations. Then the boys had to go to their program areas to do their own jobs- so maybe they got the short stick of the deal - well not really they had time with their young hearts crush...

My Love

Cookies

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Cookies - the kitchen girls were in for happy times until they realized just how much dough they were going to have to scoop.
12lb margarine
9qt brown sugar
48 eggs
9 qt AP flour
9 qt rolled oats
12 Table spoons baking powder
1qt chocolate chips
I hope I did not forget anything..










What makes our staff happy?

The first stress es

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

What a week so far - the group here is eating me out of house and home. I am feeding 100 souls and 95% are growing boys. They are eating everything in sight. I am happy they are eating - don't get me wrong - but the more they eat the more I have to do to replace and refill on the salad bar. Salads that normally would last two meals are gone before the end of the first meal.

I have a new kitchen helper and a newer kitchen helper who are still in the training stage of learning how we do things here at camp - how I want things done - and where everything is and where everything goes back too after it is used. Every kitchen equipment has a place - food in the walk in cooler has its own spot - nothing worse than going in in a hurry to get something and it is not where I had left it..

Stress of the first meals of camp - menu ordering - cleaning - cooking for 100 people.

Noni - my wife - found out her father was in the hospital - was sent home - but has a feeding hose/ tube - so she has been upset over that -- and then last night THE phone call came.
We had just gone to bed - her father has passed away. That became a very late night -- In the morning we scramble to get her a flight home -- Jakarta Indonesia -- we do but it took all day to gt the confirmation.. all the while I was also working in the kitchen preparing the meals and accepting and putting away the food delivery. (Started work at 6:30 am)
After work tonight ( 7pm) I drive Noni to Vancouver International airport and see her off.( Home 12:30am)

The week is not over yet - I still have to manage an AGM for our strata on May 1st as I am the president of the council - and we have several issues to bring before the owners of the strata - one in particular is stressful for me as my name is all over a lawyer bill that the strata has to pay - and some think not..

So how has your week been??????/

Relief

Friday, May 03, 2013

Well this day - Today the health inspector arrived just after our delivery truck arrived - bad timing or what. Well not actually. The kitchen crew had everything put away zippy zip and the girls listened to me as I gave instructions on how to organize and reorganize the freezers. Actually last night I was in the kitchen late organizing the walk in cooler and in the dry storage organizing the shelves and cleaning. We were ready for inspection by morning. I had made sure everything was dated and labeled and threw out left over foods that I can't use.
Delivery could had thrown a wrench into the gears - but - no - not this day.
Walk in cooler temperatures recovered well - freezers are loaded to the brim with the thermometer on top - and timing from loading dock to proper storage was almost immediate - Can't go wrong with that.
Then I was able to walk around with Health Inspector answering questions and explaining our procedures for salad bar which is a concern of the inspector - but all is well.
This day's order is large 5000 dollars in preparation for next week - and this is only half -- next week we will be feeding about 120 people for a couple of days and then 200 for three days or so. This is max for our lodging - More blogs later on that....
Relief - I went to the AGM for our condo strata. Remember I was the president last year - well this year I was not voted on council -******* RELIEF****
I did not realize the stress of all this strata business was having on me until I was driving home - I had about a 20 km car ride so I had time to think - and as I was driving I could feel the weight lift off my shoulders literally. Relief indeed...
Eighteen days straight with no days off - Relief is in sight - I got half of today off and tomorrow and half of Sunday OFF.
Noni is safe in Indonesia - Relief - I am not worried about her traveling there - but still concern about her return trip - Funeral is tomorrow I believe - then she will be returning Tuesday evening just in time for our huge group....
--so what did I do today after work - i went geo caching and found three. What will I be doing tomorrow - yes you guest it correct - I will be geo caching. I hope to go to Vancouver area and search a park that I see has several caches.
This should take all day....
I understand that the weather forecast is sunny and hot - perfect - a time to relax - and just chill before the stress of next week. This Day is a day of Relief...

Lighthouse Park - and Time

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Time - when I work I must watch the clock constantly. What time are the meals - when do I have to start cooking - when does the roast or turkey have to go into the oven - out of the oven. How long does it take to prepare the salad bar - how long to make this - am I taking to long - multi tasking - keeping an eye on my staff are they taking too long to do their tasks - Yes I am always watching the time.
Last week or was it two weeks ago - time flies by - I went hiking with the staff to High Falls - so you think I had time off - eh? Well yes I was out of the kitchen - but at the back of my mind I was thinking - what was I going to cook for supper - how long would it take to cook - etc etc. So my point is I am always under time.
I live -breath camp - work for the next six months - always on my mind..
Today as I was driving to Vancouver my first thoughts were I must hurry up - gotta get back to cook - back to work... - Oh -- NO- I don't I am off!!! I can relax - I can stay away all day if I wish - there is no time restrictions on me this day. Noni is away - Dalhouise is with me - I have my bag lunch and if need be I can eat out tonight - I am Free...
Well I am home again - and I had a reasonable day - but now my mind is running like crazy thinking about tomorrow's meal and preparation and thinking about next week - the food order I must do - what food I already have
Pressure - stress I take my job too seriously.. But I love my job...

(I went geo caching today - frustration - joyless is the overall feelings I have about this day.
The area I was looking in had many trails and side trails and unless you were on the correct trail it was almost impossible to find. I had a hard time finding ground zero -
I did find ground zero two times and no cache could be found.
several more times I just could not find ground zero - but wander around on so many paths
I however did find two caches so all is not lost.
There is a little JOY - look what I saw.

Young Love - Puppy Love

Monday, May 06, 2013

Young Love - Puppy Love - so funny to watch.
Ok - the one young woman that I hired is very cute - during the interview I warned her about the possibilities of other staff boys hitting on her - that dating at camp is acceptable but has to be very discrete. She is not interested in dating - she wants to travel when this contract is finished.
Young woman number two has been hired and she is just as cute.
What has this got to do with kitchen and camp life ... well I am getting a influx of young males hanging around the kitchen.
One young lad - well he followed one of the girls around like a puppy whenever he was not required to be else where - my kitchen girl actually told him she had to work and that he should not be in an area that he was in. That was on Friday.
Today Monday - we have another young lad hanging around trying to make conversation with her - and me and when I tease my kitchen girl she turns red as a beet.
When I asked a few more questions - I understand there is even another guy - a little more discrete is hitting on her as well .. I said she was cute.
Ok what about the second kitchen helper - yes she has a guy - but both of them are connecting and keeping it very discrete - I couldn't see it. Now that I do - OK - I see it could be - he is hanging around just a bit more lately than before.
Last year we had a more even pairing of girl and guys on staff and almost everyone hooked up. That was bad - we actually lost staff - after they broke up and the new pairing occurred - the other broken hearted one could not bear working - living with the new coupling...