Winter has not quite let go of the Northwoods. We had flurries yesterday and temps not cracking 32. Everything is slowly melting. We have been busy fixing and cleaning things indoors and getting ready for the busy spring season. We used to say Memorial Weekend was the beginning of the season but each year we seem to be getting busier and busier in the early part of May so April becomes our month to get things done and ready
I spent part of the week redoing the cabins books. Taking out restaurants that are closed, adding in some fun side trips Steve has gone on and updating some fun new pictures in the books. Pursue through them when you are at the resort you might now some of the characters in the pictures especially on the fishing page
My friend Sue and I spent a day cleaning and reorganizing the office and rec-room. We have some fun new items in the shop like mugs, dice cups, nature books, soaps, loon tunes, loon flutes, campfire forks and hats coming. It was fun to move things around and get the place spiffed up
More is coming and we have room for it
Empty spots will not be open for long
I forgot to take a picture of Steve and Bellas’s most awesome jump ropes. They are making and selling in the shop the best jump ropes for kids.
The rec room got moved around a little and it is not done yet
We made space for our new video games. Pac Man, Centipede and Rampage will be a fun addition to the room
We have already had our first guests out enjoying the games. These guys eyes lit up when they saw the vintage video games. These games are going to be a fund raiser for the Northwoods Wildlife Center. We will put a donation box in the room for guests who enjoy the games to make a donation to the Wildlife Center. The games are not coin operated. We thought this was a great way of supporting the efforts of the Northwoods Wildlife Center.
The guys have been busy working inside at Bear Den. It is rented April 12th so they have til then to get the king bedroom done. The upstairs queen room may have to wait till November. A ceiling fan and wall lights by the bed on either side are coming this week. Knotty pine paneling will cover two of the walls, They other two walls will have to wait until later for new windows and more knotty pine paneling. Just happy to get the dark paneling off these walls. It should be much lighter when they are done
New upstairs bedroom and bathroom doors
Go on Black’s Cliff Facebook page for the video of what happened to the old doors. It is pretty funny
The old stairs got a facelift
The back was of the rec room finally got paneling. We had boarded up an unused fireplace when we bought the house not needing a big fireplace downstairs but never finished the paneling. Soon to come will be the Pac Man and Gallaga video games and a new air hockey table. Ping pong is being retired
Back at the resort we are probably in the final week of the maple sap run. Trees will probably be done by Saturday when we go to 60 degrees. We are ready to finish cooking the final batch as soon as the trees unthaw from their latest freeze up. Unthaw….. I just discovered after using this word my entire life that it is a regional word. Nobody outside of the upper mid west says “I am going to take the brats out of the freezer to unthaw them” I had not idea until it was pointed out to me that unthaw is not a word. Now here is the question how many reading this have suddenly realized like me they have been saying this for years….. an equal amount if not more people reading this will say of course it is not a real word except in Wisconsin. Then again if they life anywhere else and say “I thaw my brats” they probably are not eating good Wisconsin brats, so I will proudly unthaw my Wisconsin brats when I take them out of the freezer
Beach path “unthawing” slowly
