It feels like I’m running as fast as I can, but the race hasn’t even begun yet! We are still in the throes of preparation. Preparation to get the house and guest space finished, preparation to get the business set up, preparation for the first real event at Iowisota. So much preparation!
It may seem strange, but I’ve been getting ready for Spring. I’m getting the new maple syrup boiler ready. For years I’ve had my maple syrup fire under a simple metal frame with stainless steel restaurant plans perched on top: crude, but moderately effective. This year I will have a new StarCat evaporator; it is basically an outdoor wood stove. It comes from Smoky Lake as a box (actually, 3 boxes) of pieces that I get to paint and assemble. It is well designed and straight forward, but it needs to be put together BEFORE winter, so that we’ll be ready when the sap runs. So that has been ONE of my preparations in the last fortnight.
Another preparation is continued work on getting the kitchen put together. Nathan is about ready to install the cabinets. Making over 30 raised panel doors for the cupboards is no small feat! He does the hard work, but I get to do simple things like do the staining and finishing. Two weeks ago we had ash cabinet doors strewn all over the garage floor; by the end of the year we should have the cupboards installed! Then we can order the countertop and install the appliances; so many steps!
It will be a while before we’re ready for “Go!”, but progress is being made. We are looking forward to welcoming folks to Iowisota early in 2024.
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