*much* better

After eight days...

My gravitometer arrived on the Twin Otter that took away the rest of the drilling team. And I got a shower! Yay, I'm cleaner and my hair doesn't itch for the first time in days! Not that anyone outside this tent really cares, admittedly, but I feel better for it. My mid-stay cleaning has become a ritual for me, over the past few seasons here. Preceded this time by a nominal chat with a friend. :)

The procedure this time... go to the kitchen. Ask them if I can use the hot water heater (direct heating type popular in Europe, no tank). Valve is switched over. Get clean underlayers, towel and soap. Hang "occupied" sign outside unheated wooden booth. Strip, layer by layer, breath condensing. Turn on shower. Nothing happens. Cold breezes on bare skin. Knock on wall. Nothing happens. Knock again. Put clothes back on and go back to the kitchen. No one knows why it isn't working. Trace water lines... another valve was shut. Go back, strip, and this time it works! It's a garden hose attachment, a hose through a hole in the wall, dangling. Squeeze the trigger. Hot water spray! Dive in, practically purring in delight. It gets... hotter. Must be set for dishwashing. Ow. Reduce the spray and hold it at arms-length so that the freezing air chills the spray. Then lather and rinse... aahhh. :D

And the plane brought fresh bread, too! Well, only a few days old, up from Ottawa.