24 May, 2000

'House Mouse' is such a quaint little term that belies the day of servitude that each person - VECO staff, lab tech, researcher, or teacher- must contribute at least 1 time during their stay. All dishes from 3 meals plus the pots and pans that our overachieving

cook can dirty, must be hand washed and sterilized. The list goes on and on with vacuuming, cleaning toilet areas, dusting, and the

BIGGIE, getting water for the house. No city plumbing and water access here - no wells either. Where do you suppose we get our water? Snow must be shoveled into a bin connected to the generator about

100m from the house. Pretty nifty set-up. The whole process is rather long and strenuous, as packed snow is rather hard to shovel

and it takes a long time for a 200gal carboy (large plastic water tank) to fill. The one neat thing about the whole ordeal is that you get to drive the SkiDoo to tow the water back to the house. Certainly makes you appreciate how valuable water is and how carefully it

should be conserved.

After 'House Mousing,' one is ready to get back into that cold science trench with little reservation.

Warm regards,

Besse Dawson

Part of the long process of gathering water for the Big ouse.

> The "scullery," where dishes became sparkling clean. < dawson.jpg>>