As anticipated, yesterday was a FULL day in Dryden. We ate breakfast at the Sunset around 8:00 and headed to town. It’s a hair over an hour’s drive–especially with Steve at the wheel–so we hit town right at the start of business. We had at least 10 stops to make; some are pretty quick and painless, others take a while. We finished our errands and picked up our friend Rose, who’s helping all week with spring cleaning, around 3:00. That got us home by 4:30 with a ton of unpacking to do. Holy cow. We could not have put one more item in that Envoy of mine! It was hilarious when we stopped to get Rose–she had a cooler, a couple of suitcases, etc. I had told her to pack light!
The spring cleaning crew started at 8:30 this morning. They like to start with the Bear’s Den because it is the hardest. There’s a crew of four this year. They run like a well-oiled machine–I just stay out of their way. They Murphy’s Oil all the walls, super clean the bathrooms, windows, kitchens, etc. So what does Andrea do, you may be wondering…
I go into the cabins before the cleaning crew and take down window curtains and shower curtains, remove mouse baits, try to remove pictures, mirrors, etc. from the walls. After the cabin has been spring-cleaned, I go back in and treat all of the coffee makers with vinegar, make all the beds, hang all the shower curtains and window curtains I’ve washed. I decide if any new curtains need to be made and go about that (a seamstress I am not). I have a checklist of items I want in each cabin: all the dishes, silverware, cookware, broom, matches, flyswatter…you get the picture. I trade out items that need it: microwave, glasses, pans, etc. I see if any minor, Andrea-style repairs need to be made–hanging shelves, adding hooks. I make a list of major, Steve-style repairs. The nicest thing about this is doing it at my own pace. I have two weeks to meander through behind the crew and get things done. Of course I have to integrate those duties with waiting on Steve hand and foot while he eats bon-bons and watches Oprah;) I may be exaggerating a bit but I did make him chocolate chip cookies today.
The economy up here is probably worse than in the U.S. Ear Falls had two major employers shut down which has really affected their area. Dryden’s mill is on shut down now, as well, and we noticed fewer people shopping, dining out, etc. yesterday. We get mixed reviews from the Dryden businesses we frequent: some admit they’re hurting and hoping for things to pick up, others say they’re doing fine despite the unemployment.
The grocery prices right now are a bit shocking. Produce is actually pretty good. Dairy, on the other hand, has taken a hit. Cottage cheese, for example, was $4.95 yesterday. That’s high even by Canadian standards. Cheese is always high. I guess meat is still pretty reasonable–I don’t buy much of it (since I have a freezer full of moose, deer, bison, etc.). Bread seems higher than usual. Both frozen and canned veggies are much higher than I pay in the States. A small pkg. of frozen lima beans (maybe 8 oz.) was $2.99. Locals say I should shop at IGA or Extra for better prices, but I really like Safeway’s produce…which is what I purchase the most.
This morning I saw the golden eyes sitting on an “iceberg” close to shore. I sneaked out and snapped a couple of pictures.
The males are so pretty right now. Think that's what the eagle had.
Those drakes parade around in front of the hen…puffing up, tossing their heads back, flapping their wings. She doesn’t seem interested. We also saw a hen merganser today (great haircut). Anyway, when these guys saw me they took off. I got a photo but liked it more for showing the lake.
Big gusty winds today and warm temps early in the week should make for steady progress on ice-out.