the 6 o'clock scene

at 6pm this evening i took notice of the lodge. rob was out flying, and the donlin crew wasn't back yet so we staff had the place to ourselves. free for a bit. louie sitting on the couch fast asleep snoring. bill was upstairs on the computer. nat was cutting moose meat and had her headphones on singing outloud, and i was puttering around doing laundry, finishing last minute trip checklist items, and getting ready for a walk with bill (the dog). for just a minute, it seemed a normal household with 4 people who feel very comfortable with each other. it was calming. a calmness that hasn't occurred too often here. because with any given moment, the entire scene changes. and that's just what it did! anyway, a slow work day. it dragged a little..i say that because it wasn't a non-stop day. those days seem to fly. robs cousins flew in and went out for a caribou hunt..very nice family. the new zealand geologists also left this afternoon. other than that, we piddled around. the weather was bad this am but got sunny and nice this afternoon. it's gorgeous out now. the weather inside the lodge isn't gorgeous. apparently there was a tent-fly rod missing from one of tents that went out today. not sure how it happened, but remember i'm not allowed any mistakes. and that is NOT an exaggeration. when the boss got home, i got cussed at and a loud voice in my face. definately not a life or death mistake, esp since we send 2 tarps along with each tent..so the daily walk or jog i do, calms me for an hr. that is the extent. never have had someone talk to me the way my boss does, and the best part, i get to live with him. louie gave me a great bear hug and that made all the difference. thank goodness for louie and natalie. you have no idea. so, i'm pretty whipped but i have another story to tell that i forgot yesterday about louie running over a dog. it wasn't pretty. but it will have to wait another day.