Open For Business

  The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.  Walt Disney   Click, click, click, click, click...  That's the sound a roller coaster makes as it begins its journey, slowly ascending to the apex.  Once you crest that summit and start down the other side gravity takes over and everything speeds...

Finishing Touches

Stopping at third adds no more to the score than striking out. It doesn’t matter how well you start if you fail to finish.   –  Billy Sunday   Well, most of the work is done.  Most, but not all.  On a project like this it's hard to say when it is actually complete.  The construction...

Come And Sit A Spell

Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.               Abraham Lincoln   "Oh, the blessing of a porch," sighed Earlene.  "When Jack and I walk out our front door, we just drop off into the yard...

The Garden

“God Almighty first planted a garden.  And indeed it is the purest of human pleasures.  It is the greatest refreshment to the spirits of man.” Sir Francis Bacon “Men come to gardens by many roads and learn to be gardeners by many chances.” Beverley Nichols We are calling our bed and breakfast "The Garden Gate". ...

A Family Affair

“Do you have a million dollars, Daddy?" Bill asked. “No," said Dad a little ruefully.  “I have a million children, instead.  Somewhere along the line, a man has to choose between the two. Quote from Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey Having a large family comes with its challenges and rewards.  Sometimes...

Cans Of Worms

I know I've said this before, but let me just reiterate that we are opening a bed and breakfast.  As the name implies, we will be providing our guests a comfortable place to sleep (bed) and something delicious to eat in the morning (breakfast).  And although it sounds pretty simple, there are governmental agencies whose...

Woosh

Wow!  Six months gone, just like that!  First, there were the holidays,  followed by our son's wedding in February with reception in our back yard, then a slew of commitments and deadlines, all the while working like Trojans on the cottage renovation.  We had a lot of help from our contractor and another crew he...

Straightening

True.  Plumb.  Square. These are words used to describe buildings that are as they should be, unless you’re illustrating a Dr. Seuss book.  Ten out of ten carpenters and drywall installers prefer perfect ninety-degree corners.  Unfortunately, after the battering we took from Hurricane Irma last year our cottage was a little out of square.  Racked...

Down the Drain

Although Homeland is an actual community, it’s very small and at least five miles from the nearest “big” city.   So, I guess you could say we live in the country.  That has its advantages and disadvantages.  One of the disadvantages (or is it an advantage?  I’m not really sure) is that there is no municipal...

Getting Started

"We're opening a bed and breakfast!"  Doesn't that sound lovely?   Like unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning or tearing into a package delivered via Amazon. “Gee, what’s this?  I don’t remember ordering anything.  Oh look, it’s a bed and breakfast.  How nice.” In reality, we are building, creating, sculpting, designing, fashioning, establishing a bed and breakfast. ...