Saturday, December 29, 2007
Christmas 2007
Well after a day's delay due to weather we finally arrived home from Colorado last night. We had a great time with the kids and grandchildren. We went to a wonderful restaurant that is accessed only by cross country skis, snowshoes or horsedrawn sleigh (you can guess which we took).
It was a cold and snowy night when we left the small shack that loads everyone onto the sleigh. Each sleigh holds around 20 people and is drawn by two enormous horses. It was a beautiful mile to mile and half run up to a log building that housed the restaurant (Pinecreek Cookhouse). There were six of us (our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren aged 10 and 6). We immediately went for hot chocolate, ours laced with Bailey's. The meal came and was delicious. Our son-in-law had called ahead and talked to the Chef about Yvonne's gluten issue and I was somewhat disappointed that they had done nothing to accomodate her. But we did find enough scrumptious items to satisfy everyone.
I was somewhat shocked when the time came to pay and they handed us a bill totally nearly $1,000. The grandchildren had mac and cheese and we were charged $65 per plate. That seemed really outrageous to me, especially when you consider we paid $25 each for the sleigh ride.
My broken finger and Yvonne's bum knee kept us off the ski slopes on Monday at Sunlight, but we made the best of it by having the kids around and playing Monopoly in the lodge. All in all a great day.
Christmas morning came early (around 5:30) as Hunter and Michal we up early looking to see what Santa had left.
Had a superb prime rib dinner with a couple of Jeff and Jessica's friends and topped off the evening with a nice chat with Jeff's friend Bobby who is somewhat of a landmark in Aspen. He used to ride his horse into bars back in the good old days.
I managed to slip into some mittens and ski Snowmass on Wednesday and had an Epic day on the slopes. Michal and Hunter are turning into real pros on the slopes. The last time I was able to ski was with them two years ago and it was their first day ever. Now they are both on the ski team and shooshing double black diamonds. Kind of intimidated me.
The weather moved in and our flights were cancelled on Thursday so I had to conduct a little business via phone and make sure our dogs were fine at the kennel. I had
Barbara send over more food and she actually picked them up for us on Friday and put them in our car so we could make it home last night, rather than stay a night apick them up this morning.
Pretty much a great Christmas. Unfortunately we have to cancel our New Year's plans on White Pass because of the delay and Yvonne is really sick. I beleive she caught something on the plane going down as there were lots of kids and most were coughing and hacking. We were going to friends who own a motel on the pass and have converted it to a private retreat of sorts. Last year they had about 60 people for New Year's and a few of us special ones had a room right on the river. I was really looking forward to repeating the experience. Oh well.
It is very nice to be back in the green northwest. The snow is nice, but as a rule I would rather live here and visit there.
Hope you holidays are going as well as ours.
TTYL
It was a cold and snowy night when we left the small shack that loads everyone onto the sleigh. Each sleigh holds around 20 people and is drawn by two enormous horses. It was a beautiful mile to mile and half run up to a log building that housed the restaurant (Pinecreek Cookhouse). There were six of us (our daughter, son-in-law and 2 grandchildren aged 10 and 6). We immediately went for hot chocolate, ours laced with Bailey's. The meal came and was delicious. Our son-in-law had called ahead and talked to the Chef about Yvonne's gluten issue and I was somewhat disappointed that they had done nothing to accomodate her. But we did find enough scrumptious items to satisfy everyone.
I was somewhat shocked when the time came to pay and they handed us a bill totally nearly $1,000. The grandchildren had mac and cheese and we were charged $65 per plate. That seemed really outrageous to me, especially when you consider we paid $25 each for the sleigh ride.
My broken finger and Yvonne's bum knee kept us off the ski slopes on Monday at Sunlight, but we made the best of it by having the kids around and playing Monopoly in the lodge. All in all a great day.
Christmas morning came early (around 5:30) as Hunter and Michal we up early looking to see what Santa had left.
Had a superb prime rib dinner with a couple of Jeff and Jessica's friends and topped off the evening with a nice chat with Jeff's friend Bobby who is somewhat of a landmark in Aspen. He used to ride his horse into bars back in the good old days.
I managed to slip into some mittens and ski Snowmass on Wednesday and had an Epic day on the slopes. Michal and Hunter are turning into real pros on the slopes. The last time I was able to ski was with them two years ago and it was their first day ever. Now they are both on the ski team and shooshing double black diamonds. Kind of intimidated me.
The weather moved in and our flights were cancelled on Thursday so I had to conduct a little business via phone and make sure our dogs were fine at the kennel. I had
Barbara send over more food and she actually picked them up for us on Friday and put them in our car so we could make it home last night, rather than stay a night apick them up this morning.
Pretty much a great Christmas. Unfortunately we have to cancel our New Year's plans on White Pass because of the delay and Yvonne is really sick. I beleive she caught something on the plane going down as there were lots of kids and most were coughing and hacking. We were going to friends who own a motel on the pass and have converted it to a private retreat of sorts. Last year they had about 60 people for New Year's and a few of us special ones had a room right on the river. I was really looking forward to repeating the experience. Oh well.
It is very nice to be back in the green northwest. The snow is nice, but as a rule I would rather live here and visit there.
Hope you holidays are going as well as ours.
TTYL
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Day without Keta
Thursday came bright and early. I was at the plant at 6:30AM getting paperwork done before the troops showed up. Keta, our floor manager, was not able to come in this morning, so that left me to run the cookie depositor. With a broken digit that becomes a problem. I needed to figure out how to get a glove over my hand so I could work around the food. I finally found a system that worked. I was able to take one of our larger gloves and put it carefully over my finger, then put the splint over that. I do not have to touch the dough so there are no health concerns, however I try to keep everything as far above the standards and humanly possible.
As I have stated before, we are meticulous about our plant. We strive to keep it absolutely clean at all times.
We run at maximum 50,000 cookies per day. That translates into 30 batches. Today we had 18 batches in before lunch, so I look to hit the 30 easy.
Christmas is next Tuesday and we are looking forward to the snow. I'm not nearly as excited about the 2 degree weather though. I kind of like the 40 degree weather offered here in the coastal area.
Yvonne flew from the island to the mainland yesterday and had quite a trip. The winds were picking up and she was in a four seater. She's not much for flying in small planes and was white as a ghost when she arrived. Her hands didn't stop shaking for half an hour.
We're closing in on the private label project and should have it out of here on schedule. That will be a big relief. Now we can concentrate on the new flavors and packaging and Canadian orders and rebuilding some inventory on the current four flavors, and, and, and, it just goes on and on.
I'd better go back out and check the floor. Enjoy the holidays if I don't talk to you before.
TTYL
As I have stated before, we are meticulous about our plant. We strive to keep it absolutely clean at all times.
We run at maximum 50,000 cookies per day. That translates into 30 batches. Today we had 18 batches in before lunch, so I look to hit the 30 easy.
Christmas is next Tuesday and we are looking forward to the snow. I'm not nearly as excited about the 2 degree weather though. I kind of like the 40 degree weather offered here in the coastal area.
Yvonne flew from the island to the mainland yesterday and had quite a trip. The winds were picking up and she was in a four seater. She's not much for flying in small planes and was white as a ghost when she arrived. Her hands didn't stop shaking for half an hour.
We're closing in on the private label project and should have it out of here on schedule. That will be a big relief. Now we can concentrate on the new flavors and packaging and Canadian orders and rebuilding some inventory on the current four flavors, and, and, and, it just goes on and on.
I'd better go back out and check the floor. Enjoy the holidays if I don't talk to you before.
TTYL
Monday, December 17, 2007
A new week
It's Monday and the plant is up and running once again. Not much to report on the cookie side. We are mixing and packing like little crazy elves. Last Friday we worked an extra shift and packed just under 3 pallets of cookies. This is the private label project and the pallets carry three times the product as our branded pack. 70 cases per pallet and 24 dozen per case. That translates into on heck of a lot of cookies.
I took the ferry home Friday and thought I would nurse my broken finger back to health, however the wife had different ideas. Spent a few hours bucking hay bales for the horses. Didn't seem to hurt anything so I guess I am on the mend. Today was the day to have the stitches come out. I was going to go back to the hospital, but the schedule would not allow the time, so I pulled out the trusty pocket knife (complete with scissors) and took them out myself. The cut healed just fine, but the finger is not moving at the joint and is still pretty swollen. I hope I do not lose mobility. Two of the finger nails are pretty black, so I suspect I will lose at least one if them.
We went and saw Will Smith in "I am Legend" yesterday. Pretty good movie. Scared the heck out of the wife (she said she had nightmares). I found it pretty predictable, but well acted. If only I hadn't eaten that box of Milk Duds. I felt sick all night.
We were going to have teppanyaki last night (yes we do have a teppanyaki table at our house), but after the movie, neither of us wanted to go to all the prep work, so we pan fried the filets, had some rice and wine and called it a night.
Had to get up at 4:30 this morning to make the ferry, and that still puts me at work a half an hour later than I would like.
We did ship the first pallets to Canada last Friday, so watch for us in the store near you soon. As soon as we get a list of the retail outlets, it will be posted on http://www.glutenfreeda.com
Going home last week I had my video iPod in my coat pocket and it must have gotten crushed by the seatbelt latch, because when I got home and went to fire it up the screen showed lines and what looked like ink spreading down and all over it. I was truly bummed. I have over 7000 songs on there (they are backed up on a hard drive). I was going to order a new iPod but thought I would see if this one could be repaired. I found a site online www.kopellimusic.us and it gives you options to fix the device yourself. I ordered a new screen and it is supposed to come with all the tools and instructions needed for the repair. They also give you the option to send it to them and they will repair it. I thought their prices were reasonable. I will update you when the screen arrives and I take a crack at the repair. I am not mechanically inclined, so if I can fix this anyone can.
The old broken finger is beginning to throb, so I guess I will sign off. BTW we are leaving for Colorado on Saturday to visit the kids and grandkids. Hopefully I will be able to get a few runs in on the slopes. I'll try to take pictures (not much of a camera bug any more).
TTYL
I took the ferry home Friday and thought I would nurse my broken finger back to health, however the wife had different ideas. Spent a few hours bucking hay bales for the horses. Didn't seem to hurt anything so I guess I am on the mend. Today was the day to have the stitches come out. I was going to go back to the hospital, but the schedule would not allow the time, so I pulled out the trusty pocket knife (complete with scissors) and took them out myself. The cut healed just fine, but the finger is not moving at the joint and is still pretty swollen. I hope I do not lose mobility. Two of the finger nails are pretty black, so I suspect I will lose at least one if them.
We went and saw Will Smith in "I am Legend" yesterday. Pretty good movie. Scared the heck out of the wife (she said she had nightmares). I found it pretty predictable, but well acted. If only I hadn't eaten that box of Milk Duds. I felt sick all night.
We were going to have teppanyaki last night (yes we do have a teppanyaki table at our house), but after the movie, neither of us wanted to go to all the prep work, so we pan fried the filets, had some rice and wine and called it a night.
Had to get up at 4:30 this morning to make the ferry, and that still puts me at work a half an hour later than I would like.
We did ship the first pallets to Canada last Friday, so watch for us in the store near you soon. As soon as we get a list of the retail outlets, it will be posted on http://www.glutenfreeda.com
Going home last week I had my video iPod in my coat pocket and it must have gotten crushed by the seatbelt latch, because when I got home and went to fire it up the screen showed lines and what looked like ink spreading down and all over it. I was truly bummed. I have over 7000 songs on there (they are backed up on a hard drive). I was going to order a new iPod but thought I would see if this one could be repaired. I found a site online www.kopellimusic.us and it gives you options to fix the device yourself. I ordered a new screen and it is supposed to come with all the tools and instructions needed for the repair. They also give you the option to send it to them and they will repair it. I thought their prices were reasonable. I will update you when the screen arrives and I take a crack at the repair. I am not mechanically inclined, so if I can fix this anyone can.
The old broken finger is beginning to throb, so I guess I will sign off. BTW we are leaving for Colorado on Saturday to visit the kids and grandkids. Hopefully I will be able to get a few runs in on the slopes. I'll try to take pictures (not much of a camera bug any more).
TTYL
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Tuesday
Not much happening today. We built the Canadian pallets and the pallet for the NW region. No mishaps today and things are running smoothly. The parts came in for the Hobart and I have it back up and running.
Weather was cool today, but not cold. Did inventory this morning and made sure we had enough raw materials to keep us going. We have run out of the initial products with the first labeling and are now fully shipping the new labels. Again if you haven't seen them go to our home page and take a gander. I would appreciate your comments as we are about to do some more labeling and I would like to hear some comments from you.
Today was my son's birthday (he's 27) so wish him a happy birthday when you sit down to supper.
I see the Fed's have lowered interest rates by a quarter point. Boy I'll bet that really stimulates the economy :).
Have a great evening.
TTYL
Weather was cool today, but not cold. Did inventory this morning and made sure we had enough raw materials to keep us going. We have run out of the initial products with the first labeling and are now fully shipping the new labels. Again if you haven't seen them go to our home page and take a gander. I would appreciate your comments as we are about to do some more labeling and I would like to hear some comments from you.
Today was my son's birthday (he's 27) so wish him a happy birthday when you sit down to supper.
I see the Fed's have lowered interest rates by a quarter point. Boy I'll bet that really stimulates the economy :).
Have a great evening.
TTYL
Monday, December 10, 2007
Broken finger
Well it's been a few days since the last update, but I have a good excuse. Last week while working in the plant I broke a finger on my right hand. If my typing is not so good that is the reason.
Here's the story. The day was going along fine. We were working on production for our Peanut Envy and the day was progressing on plan. Then we ran into some dry product that caused the dough to clog the cookie depositor. Now if you've never seen one of these machines operate, it is a marvel. The dough is mixed in a 140 quart Hobart mixer and wheeled into the warm room (a room we keep temperature controlled so the dough stays above 70 degrees). It is then placed in a hopper that feeds two grooved rollers that grab the dough and pull it down into dies cut to the right size. A wire cutter then moves forward and slices off the appropriate amount of dough and drops it onto a cookie sheet. There are a pre determined number of rows (programmable) per sheet. The operator then takes the sheet and places it on a rolling rack (stacked 20 high) and it is taken to the freezer.
Anyway, the dough was coming out dry and it was not allowing the wheels to grab it. So we had to make some adjustments for this. It is something that has happened before and we have a fix. However we lost a batch (140 quarts) due to the problem. Before discarding the dough I thought we would experiement to see if in the future we could save the product. So we wheeled the dough back to the mixer and my floor manager got it ready to remix. She doesn't run the Hobart often and forgot to secure the bowl. I was standing in front of the machine when she turned it on. As the beater turned it started to lift the bowl which in turn pushed on the safety shield. I saw it was going to break the shield and put my hand on it to keep it from breaking. At that moment the bowl lifted above where my hand was and three of my fingers where caught between the bowl and the shield. It hurt, but I thought it was not serious.
After work the third finger on my right hand was very swollen and the cut looked like it needed more than a bandage. So I went to the hospital and had it checked. Sure enough before I left it was discovered that I had broken the finger and I had 4 stitches in the cut. So now I have 4 to 6 weeks of wearing a finger splint. And this a couple of weeks before a trip to Colorado and some skiing. Bummer.
On the good side, Yvonne and I went to Seattle on Friday and saw "The Jersey Boys". Excellent show, especially if you are a fan of the Four Seasons. I grew up with that group and found the show and the music extremely entertaining. Had a nice time in Seattle on Saturday. I have wanted to go to the Experience Music Project for years and we finally made it. Wasn't overly impressed. They do have a Sci-fi exhibit that was interesting and there were parts of the music history section that were well done.
Back at work today getting ready to send the first order out to Canada. We are getting the containers ready (all new labeling for Canada). The order should be ready to go by Friday.
Hope you are all enjoying the holidays.
TTYL
Here's the story. The day was going along fine. We were working on production for our Peanut Envy and the day was progressing on plan. Then we ran into some dry product that caused the dough to clog the cookie depositor. Now if you've never seen one of these machines operate, it is a marvel. The dough is mixed in a 140 quart Hobart mixer and wheeled into the warm room (a room we keep temperature controlled so the dough stays above 70 degrees). It is then placed in a hopper that feeds two grooved rollers that grab the dough and pull it down into dies cut to the right size. A wire cutter then moves forward and slices off the appropriate amount of dough and drops it onto a cookie sheet. There are a pre determined number of rows (programmable) per sheet. The operator then takes the sheet and places it on a rolling rack (stacked 20 high) and it is taken to the freezer.
Anyway, the dough was coming out dry and it was not allowing the wheels to grab it. So we had to make some adjustments for this. It is something that has happened before and we have a fix. However we lost a batch (140 quarts) due to the problem. Before discarding the dough I thought we would experiement to see if in the future we could save the product. So we wheeled the dough back to the mixer and my floor manager got it ready to remix. She doesn't run the Hobart often and forgot to secure the bowl. I was standing in front of the machine when she turned it on. As the beater turned it started to lift the bowl which in turn pushed on the safety shield. I saw it was going to break the shield and put my hand on it to keep it from breaking. At that moment the bowl lifted above where my hand was and three of my fingers where caught between the bowl and the shield. It hurt, but I thought it was not serious.
After work the third finger on my right hand was very swollen and the cut looked like it needed more than a bandage. So I went to the hospital and had it checked. Sure enough before I left it was discovered that I had broken the finger and I had 4 stitches in the cut. So now I have 4 to 6 weeks of wearing a finger splint. And this a couple of weeks before a trip to Colorado and some skiing. Bummer.
On the good side, Yvonne and I went to Seattle on Friday and saw "The Jersey Boys". Excellent show, especially if you are a fan of the Four Seasons. I grew up with that group and found the show and the music extremely entertaining. Had a nice time in Seattle on Saturday. I have wanted to go to the Experience Music Project for years and we finally made it. Wasn't overly impressed. They do have a Sci-fi exhibit that was interesting and there were parts of the music history section that were well done.
Back at work today getting ready to send the first order out to Canada. We are getting the containers ready (all new labeling for Canada). The order should be ready to go by Friday.
Hope you are all enjoying the holidays.
TTYL
Monday, December 3, 2007
High Winds
Quite a ride in this morning. As I have mentioned earlier, we live on San Juan Island in Washington state. The only way to and from the island is by ferry. Our ferry ride is over 90 minutes, one way. Well this morning we woke to a low front blowing in from the Pacific. Winds are being clocked at over 80 mph on the coast. We are not far from the coast and I was anticipating a bumpy ride and was not disappointed.
I am a boater and used to the motion of a boat and I get excited when things get out of the ordinary. So this morning (I catch the 6am ferry) I was looking forward to the ride. The ferry tried to stay inside the islands as much as possible ( see a map at: http://www.guidetosanjuans.com/maps.htm). but had to take a detour south in order to stay faced into the waves. We leave from Friday Harbor and go to Anacortes. I am not sure the exact route we took as it was too dark to see until we were arriving in Anacortes.
For those of you who live in the southern climes. Here in the northwest are days get exceedingly short this time of year. The sun comes up around 7:30 am and goes down around 4pm. Contrast that with our summers when daylight lasts 18 hours. It is kind of depressing when you don't see the sun for a week or more (you go to work in the dark and leave work in the dark).
Anyway the ferry plowed into some sizable waves and the boat did some significant shuttering. These are not small boats and carry quite a few cars. This is the second such crossing I've made this year and the storm season is just beginning.
At the cookie plant we are expecting to get our container delivered tomorrow with the packaging for our private label project and the labels for Canada.
Canada is kinda interesting in labeling. Here we do everything bilingual in English and Spanish. Up north they require us to print in English and French. So that requires us to do all different packaging for our friends up there.
Canadians are ahead of us on the recognition of celiac and gluten intolerances. I assume that is because of their close ties to the EU.
We are scheduled to run 25, 140 quart batches today.
WAIT A MINUTE! Just received a call from the trucking lines and the container will be here today. Just ran out to the floor and adjusted everyone's schedule to make sure we have enough people on hand to unload (they only give you and hour to unload a 40 foot container, none of which is palletized).
This is a good thing and saves us an extra step in the packing process.
Enjoy your day everyone. TTYL
I am a boater and used to the motion of a boat and I get excited when things get out of the ordinary. So this morning (I catch the 6am ferry) I was looking forward to the ride. The ferry tried to stay inside the islands as much as possible ( see a map at: http://www.guidetosanjuans.com/maps.htm). but had to take a detour south in order to stay faced into the waves. We leave from Friday Harbor and go to Anacortes. I am not sure the exact route we took as it was too dark to see until we were arriving in Anacortes.
For those of you who live in the southern climes. Here in the northwest are days get exceedingly short this time of year. The sun comes up around 7:30 am and goes down around 4pm. Contrast that with our summers when daylight lasts 18 hours. It is kind of depressing when you don't see the sun for a week or more (you go to work in the dark and leave work in the dark).
Anyway the ferry plowed into some sizable waves and the boat did some significant shuttering. These are not small boats and carry quite a few cars. This is the second such crossing I've made this year and the storm season is just beginning.
At the cookie plant we are expecting to get our container delivered tomorrow with the packaging for our private label project and the labels for Canada.
Canada is kinda interesting in labeling. Here we do everything bilingual in English and Spanish. Up north they require us to print in English and French. So that requires us to do all different packaging for our friends up there.
Canadians are ahead of us on the recognition of celiac and gluten intolerances. I assume that is because of their close ties to the EU.
We are scheduled to run 25, 140 quart batches today.
WAIT A MINUTE! Just received a call from the trucking lines and the container will be here today. Just ran out to the floor and adjusted everyone's schedule to make sure we have enough people on hand to unload (they only give you and hour to unload a 40 foot container, none of which is palletized).
This is a good thing and saves us an extra step in the packing process.
Enjoy your day everyone. TTYL
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