(no subject)
So, it's been a while. School has been out for a week, now, and I've been at camp since then. I do love it. I went in Th June 15, and made french toast for breakfast. Only did about 40 pieces as it was staff training week. Today, I made 240 pieces. Groups are here! It is so awesome to be able to work out there!
We have a new cook this year. She's great to work with. We have the same girls in the dish room, tho, and that's lots of fun. We do a lot of laughing while we work. We have three groups we take care of. Guest group this week is a camp for children who have a parent (or both) in jail. It's sponsored by a local church, and they supply all their own staff.
We also do the Ranch. They're about two blocks from the main kitchen, and the kids there sleep and eat at the ranch house. We take food down to them in the van, and set it up buffet style for them.
Day Camp is much less trouble than the other two as we don't really feed them. The counselors come in at 6:30 to make sack lunches which we keep in the kitchen until 10 at which time we drive down there (about 3 blocks in the other direction than the Ranch) and deliver their lunches and the snack for the children attending day camp. Fridays, the counselors sleep in, and don't make their lunches til about 9 as they don't start camp til 12 because it's "family night" after, and all the parents come for a potluck. The counselors eat a LOT of store bought fried chicken on Friday nights as that seems to be the favorite for parents to bring.
We serve staff their breakfast at 7:30, then pull their buffet line, restock it, and serve the guest group at 8. Ranch also eats at 8, so the van has to be loaded by 7:30 to take it down and set it up in time. Lunch is served at 12 for guest, 12:30 for Ranch, but again, they have to be loaded up by 12 so it can be set up. Dinner at 5:30 for both groups. It can be busy, but is great fun, and we enjoy being with each other. We laugh a lot.
I got the back yard mowed! Took 1 1/2 hours on Tues, and another hour yesterday, but it's done! Now if it would only hurry and be summer for real, then the grass would die, and I wouldn't have to mow it any more. It's a very challenging lawn to mow. There are many hills and valleys out there, plus clumps of tough grass that are hard to get over. There are also dog paths that can catch the wheels as I'm going past. Oh, well. It's done. The front is done, too.
Went out to the garage today as I was going to put away some boxes I have from Jeff. There is no room out there. I also looked a bit for my tent and didn't see it. I have a bad feeling it's at the bottom of a pile of stuff that will be hard to move. Oh, well. I have til Aug to find it. There's a smaller one if I want to grab it and go to the coast for a weekend, but oh, well. I just really want to find somewhere to put these boxes.
I'm waiting for an update on my sister and her surgery. I said there was nothing found in the lymph nodes, but there was more found in the breast tissue itself, so she had to go back in for that. Now we need to know if they got it all, and what the treatment plan will be. Radiation only, or with chemo. Just have to keep praying!
The week of July 3, I get to be a counselor for a camp for abused/neglected kids! I got to do it last year, and it's great! The kids are so grateful for everything we do. One girl got a pair of red, white and blue flip flops (See, Steph, I CAN say flip flops! For those of you who want to know what I'm talking about, I grew up calling them thongs. Steph says I can't say that any more.) She danced all over the cabin waving them around yelling at all of us to see her new flip flops! Totally thrilled with them. One girl got a toothbrush in her birthday box, and was so excited she wanted to go brush her teeth right then! Sure makes me appreciate things a bit more! We have a "birthday" day where each child gets a personal sized cake with her/his name on it. They each get a shoe box filled with small gifts--mostly from the dollar store. You would have though they had been given the toy store! One little boy was so in awe of his cake--he'd never had one--that he didn't touch it at all. He saved it so he could take it home and share it with his little brother. Makes ya wanna cry.
I'm going up to Mt Hood in Aug for my annual camp out. Amber says she's coming with me. We're working on talking Sierra into it, too. Don't know which (if any) of my siblings will be up, or if Jeff will have time to come, but whoever can, will, and will stay as long as possible. It's going to be a great week.
I won't have the kids for a while. This week and next, their with their dad. The week of July 3, I will be a counselor, and the following week, it's a closed camp, so they can't come with me as they usually do. Then, two more weeks with their dad, til I can finally have them in August. But, they can't come to Mt Hood with me as they have to be back with their dad by that Friday, and I can't deliver them. I'm going through withdrawl!
Michael got his brown belt! He's in shao lin kempo karate. Brown is level 9 with level 12 being his black. He has to get two more stripes on his brown before he can test for black. In this system, a student must be at least 14 to test for black, but often the teacher will wait for another year or so, depending on the student, to make sure the maturity of having the black belt is there. Michael is pleased with his brown, obviously.
It was a great test, and he and Brett (the other student testing for brown) did great. Students of all ranks test together, based on age. All students do what the black belt master calls out for them to do. As the difficulty increases, the lower belt ranks sit down. That meant that Michael and Brett did everything the others did, plus that which only their rank did. Their level has some pretty impressive forms. They both did great, with clearly defined moves with power and grace. Many people came up to them and congratulated them afterwards. It was good.
But, I think I'm going to go get some chores done so I can sit and eat some berries while I read. Not a lot that needs to be done--just put away the dishes and sweep--but if I do it, then it's done, and I don't have to worry about it. If I sit, then it gets worse, and I can't justify sitting and reading with all the work to be done.
We have a new cook this year. She's great to work with. We have the same girls in the dish room, tho, and that's lots of fun. We do a lot of laughing while we work. We have three groups we take care of. Guest group this week is a camp for children who have a parent (or both) in jail. It's sponsored by a local church, and they supply all their own staff.
We also do the Ranch. They're about two blocks from the main kitchen, and the kids there sleep and eat at the ranch house. We take food down to them in the van, and set it up buffet style for them.
Day Camp is much less trouble than the other two as we don't really feed them. The counselors come in at 6:30 to make sack lunches which we keep in the kitchen until 10 at which time we drive down there (about 3 blocks in the other direction than the Ranch) and deliver their lunches and the snack for the children attending day camp. Fridays, the counselors sleep in, and don't make their lunches til about 9 as they don't start camp til 12 because it's "family night" after, and all the parents come for a potluck. The counselors eat a LOT of store bought fried chicken on Friday nights as that seems to be the favorite for parents to bring.
We serve staff their breakfast at 7:30, then pull their buffet line, restock it, and serve the guest group at 8. Ranch also eats at 8, so the van has to be loaded by 7:30 to take it down and set it up in time. Lunch is served at 12 for guest, 12:30 for Ranch, but again, they have to be loaded up by 12 so it can be set up. Dinner at 5:30 for both groups. It can be busy, but is great fun, and we enjoy being with each other. We laugh a lot.
I got the back yard mowed! Took 1 1/2 hours on Tues, and another hour yesterday, but it's done! Now if it would only hurry and be summer for real, then the grass would die, and I wouldn't have to mow it any more. It's a very challenging lawn to mow. There are many hills and valleys out there, plus clumps of tough grass that are hard to get over. There are also dog paths that can catch the wheels as I'm going past. Oh, well. It's done. The front is done, too.
Went out to the garage today as I was going to put away some boxes I have from Jeff. There is no room out there. I also looked a bit for my tent and didn't see it. I have a bad feeling it's at the bottom of a pile of stuff that will be hard to move. Oh, well. I have til Aug to find it. There's a smaller one if I want to grab it and go to the coast for a weekend, but oh, well. I just really want to find somewhere to put these boxes.
I'm waiting for an update on my sister and her surgery. I said there was nothing found in the lymph nodes, but there was more found in the breast tissue itself, so she had to go back in for that. Now we need to know if they got it all, and what the treatment plan will be. Radiation only, or with chemo. Just have to keep praying!
The week of July 3, I get to be a counselor for a camp for abused/neglected kids! I got to do it last year, and it's great! The kids are so grateful for everything we do. One girl got a pair of red, white and blue flip flops (See, Steph, I CAN say flip flops! For those of you who want to know what I'm talking about, I grew up calling them thongs. Steph says I can't say that any more.) She danced all over the cabin waving them around yelling at all of us to see her new flip flops! Totally thrilled with them. One girl got a toothbrush in her birthday box, and was so excited she wanted to go brush her teeth right then! Sure makes me appreciate things a bit more! We have a "birthday" day where each child gets a personal sized cake with her/his name on it. They each get a shoe box filled with small gifts--mostly from the dollar store. You would have though they had been given the toy store! One little boy was so in awe of his cake--he'd never had one--that he didn't touch it at all. He saved it so he could take it home and share it with his little brother. Makes ya wanna cry.
I'm going up to Mt Hood in Aug for my annual camp out. Amber says she's coming with me. We're working on talking Sierra into it, too. Don't know which (if any) of my siblings will be up, or if Jeff will have time to come, but whoever can, will, and will stay as long as possible. It's going to be a great week.
I won't have the kids for a while. This week and next, their with their dad. The week of July 3, I will be a counselor, and the following week, it's a closed camp, so they can't come with me as they usually do. Then, two more weeks with their dad, til I can finally have them in August. But, they can't come to Mt Hood with me as they have to be back with their dad by that Friday, and I can't deliver them. I'm going through withdrawl!
Michael got his brown belt! He's in shao lin kempo karate. Brown is level 9 with level 12 being his black. He has to get two more stripes on his brown before he can test for black. In this system, a student must be at least 14 to test for black, but often the teacher will wait for another year or so, depending on the student, to make sure the maturity of having the black belt is there. Michael is pleased with his brown, obviously.
It was a great test, and he and Brett (the other student testing for brown) did great. Students of all ranks test together, based on age. All students do what the black belt master calls out for them to do. As the difficulty increases, the lower belt ranks sit down. That meant that Michael and Brett did everything the others did, plus that which only their rank did. Their level has some pretty impressive forms. They both did great, with clearly defined moves with power and grace. Many people came up to them and congratulated them afterwards. It was good.
But, I think I'm going to go get some chores done so I can sit and eat some berries while I read. Not a lot that needs to be done--just put away the dishes and sweep--but if I do it, then it's done, and I don't have to worry about it. If I sit, then it gets worse, and I can't justify sitting and reading with all the work to be done.