30 July, 2001

Helping out with the chores.

Today was my day to be the “house mouse” at Summit. Over the course of the summer, everyone has a turn helping out with the daily chores around the camp. In between my snow collecting routine, I added dishes, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and getting the water for the big house. It was a fun diversion to my regular routine. I enjoyed helping Elsie in the kitchen and having a chance to be in a different space for the day.

Camp life is like living in a large family. There are twenty one of us here. Each has a job of his or her own, but in order to keep the place running everyone helps out with the little things. Being the “house mouse” meant that I had a chance to do some mingling with all the different folks around camp. Here are some pictures from my day.

Doing the dishes for 21 people was a large task. It took over an hour each time. 3 meals 3 sets of dishes.

Elise Gowdy is our cook. She has cooked in field camps in Antarctica, owned a resort and raised a family. She is a very capable woman. We have had incredible meals the entire time we've been here. She cooks very diverse styles of food from Mexican to Chinese to good old spaghetti!

Here is a picture of the well organized cup and plate storage area and pantry. We make our own breakfasts each day, usually cereal. There is every kind of food imaginable here. Including a large stock of candy!

Vacuuming in style! This is in the greenhouse. The greenhouse has two science labs. It also has a common space as well as two bedrooms and a bath. I work in the lab in this house.

More of the water process.