Category: business

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Hey, wanna see my place?

I realized that all I do is talk about my Bed and Breakfast and haven’t shown you what it looks like.  Well I had to do a lot of work to get it turned into what I wanted but I loved every single minute.  I have already told you about the different rooms that I rent so there’s no need to repeat myself.

This picture was taken when we got an early snow before I got the Christmas decorations put up but I still think it’s a pretty picture of my place.  My new barn and animals are off to the right.  My garden is off to the left.  You can see the gazebo on the back of the wrap around porch.  Now you can see why there are deer, and other animals that come around the house.  Anyway, here it is.

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The house smells of Gingerbread

The house smells absolutely wonderful.  Celeste is in the kitchen making a Gingerbread house.  She has been working on it every night for about a week now.  She’s a very talented young lady.  From what I have seen so far, it’s going to be absolutely beautiful.  Little Joe ends up with more Gingerbread than the house does it seems sometimes because Celeste wants it to be perfect and if it’s not, there stands Little Joe ready to eat the imperfections.

Oh I don’t think I told you that we’re having a Gingerbread house contest this weekend.  First prize is a $100 gift card and a weekend stay here whenever you choose.  Second place is $75 and one nights stay.  Third place is a $50 gift card.  So far we have 10 contestants that I am sure of.  There are 8 other applications that haven’t come back in yet so they could still be in the contest too.  Most of the contestants are locals.  We do this every year and then leave the houses up for viewing by my customers.

Last years winner also sold theirs to a lady that paid $150 for it.  I almost fell over.  It was a big Gingerbread house and it was beautiful but everything has to be edible and I guess they could be kept for a while.  I don’t know.  Anyway, Celeste is making the barn, animals and manger scene.  So far, it’s absolutely gorgeous.  I can’t wait to see it when she’s totally finished.  No I’m not one of the judges.  There are judges that come here from other contests to judge them.  Here’s one from last year.  Isn’t it amazing?

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Decorating for Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of year.  I always get the Christmas spirit before I even get up from the Thanksgiving dinner table.  We put an artificial tree in every room of the house except for the bathrooms and the kitchen of course.  We do decorate a live tree in the gazebo part of the front porch.  It’s where the wind and blowing snow don’t usually get to it because of the other out buildings around it.

We keep plenty of firewood since there’s a fireplace in every bedroom and if there’s not a fireplace, I have installed a wood burning stove so everyone can have a fire to cuddle up beside to watch the snow fall outside.  The trees in the bedrooms are decorated to match the room.

There’s an antique room with only old type ornaments from the period of the furniture.  Then there’s the woodsman room that has a deer head over the mantle and the furnishing is a rustic type.  That tree is decorated with ornaments that reflect the outdoors or animals.  Then there’s the romantic ‘honeymoon’ type room.  All the ornaments are pastel colors to match the room with lots of lace and flowers.  It’s so very beautiful.  The other rooms trees are decorated like those too, to match the room.

The tree that is in the main sitting room is decorated with hand made decorations from either locals and from the many children that have gone through here at Christmas time.  It’s my favorite tree.  This year that tree is especially special to me since my sweet Little Joe has made some ornaments with me to put on the tree.  It’s going to be a wonderful Christmas season.  Now it’s time to go shopping for the gifts!!!!

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Here’s wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving

This is going to be one of the best Thanksgivings we have ever celebrated here.  With Celeste and Little Joe now new members of our family, we have a great deal to be thankful for.  They have brought so much joy into our lives the we are truly blessed.

Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.  I find a new blessing every single day and more than one in most.  We are open for business and have a full house but we also adopt a few local families for Thanksgiving Dinner too.  We’re having turkey of course, deer roast, and all the extras that everyone has.  Desert is of course pumpkin pie, coconut cake, carrot cake, and banana pudding.

I hope and pray that each of you has a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving too.

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Here comes the snow!!

It’s already starting to get cold enough for the ski slopes to make snow and we have gotten natural snow for three days in a row now.  The natural snow hasn’t added up to many inches but the temperature is low enough that what fell has stayed.

Thanks to the snow, we are booked solid this weekend.  People love it when it snows and the mountains is where they want to be.  Once the ski slopes are all up and running, I tend to be one more busy lady.  Oh I’m not complaining at all because this summer has been a bit skimpy to say the least.  Now that gas prices are coming down, people are venturing out a little more but still not like before.

If we have a winter that is just close to usual, then the year won’t end in the red.  If not, somethings gotta give before long.  Luckily I have several hunters that donate deer to us during hunting season so that really helps with the food costs.  People look forward to my deer roast and deer stew every winter.  I just hope it’s enough to pull them back in this winter.

One good thing, I do have a couple reservations for the week of Christmas already.  I was afraid my usual Christmas patrons wouldn’t show this year but they’ll be here as they have for the past 4 years.  They’re more like family now than just people that come here to stay.   That’s what I have tried to build here, a family atmosphere and I must not have done too bad of a job.

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Throwing a Halloween bash

We’re having a Halloween bash!!  The place is all decorated in spooky stuff, have a hay ride through a spook trail, bobbing for apples, and a best costume contest to boot.  It all starts at dark and the whole community is invited.  Well most of it anyway.

I’m Scarlet O’Hara of course, Grace is a clown, Celeste is Snow White and Little Joe is one of the seven dwarfs, Happy!!  He’s always smiling so Happy fits him perfect.  All the adults have to bring a big bag of candy to help with the candy we give out to the kids that come by Trick-or-Treating and other than that, the party is free.

Hey, if you’re in the mountains of North Carolina, stop by and see us.  I promise you’ll have a blast.  Don’t forget to come in a costume!!!

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Now I understand

It all became too clear this weekend why Celeste took Little Joe and left home.  Her father found out where she was, got drunk and came beating on my door last night.  I could smell the liquor on his breath as soon as I opened the door.  He demanded to see his daughter and I told him that he was not welcome here and to leave.  That didn’t go over very well.

This crazy man shoved me out of the way and started up the stairs yelling for Celeste to come down right that minute.  Celeste locked herself in her room with Little Joe and Grace, my faithful friend and help around the house called 911 as soon as she heard what was going on.  By the time the deputy sheriff got there, he was trying to break down Celeste’s door and I had my shot gun on him asking him to stop or I would shoot.

They got him cuffed and as they were taking him out of the house, he yelled to Celeste that she was not taking HIS grandson from him.  He then called her every kind of low person you can imagine for having a baby as young as she was and not married.  She was not only abused physically by her father but he was also abusing her emotionally.  My heart stopped when it hit me.  I went to the sheriff’s department and took a restraining order against him so he can’t come back.

Now to help Celeste and Little Joe never have to go back to that crazy man again.  After a lot of tears and some talking, I told Celeste that I would take her to a lawyer and get custody of both her and Little Joe if that’s what she wanted so she would not have to go back there again.  So we have an appointment with my lawyer today to see what we have to do to protect them.

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It’s been 10 days

Well it’s been 10 days since Celeste and Little Joe showed up on my porch and knocked on my door.  I can honestly say that they have been nothing but pure pleasure around here.  Celeste works her rear off when she’s scheduled to work.  She goes to school every day and studies hard when she gets home.  She is a great mother to Little Joe.  She’s just an all around good kid.

I have to admit that Little Joe has stolen my heart.  That child has brought so much joy into this house that I didn’t realize was missing until the two of them moved in.  I never got the chance to be a mother and now I have found myself mothering Celeste and Little Joe.  He calls me “NaNa April.”  My heart just melts when he says it because he says April so cute.  I never knew what I was missing until now.

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I love these animals

I grew up in the city and had absolutely no idea that I would love these animals but I do.  They have become great pets and have also brought in a lot of people just to see them.  Now that the gas is flowing again and the prices are coming down, people are starting to just come up to see the leaves turning and stopping by to see if I have any openings or just to see the animals.

Oh the animals haven’t MADE me any money yet but it does look promissing.  I figured it would take me at least a year to see any profit from them and until then, they’re more for pleasure than profit.  When they start bringing in profit, that’s all the better.  You got to keep your establishment enjoyable in order to bring in more people and the animals add a little more enjoyment factor in other ways than we already had.  Glad I thought of it……….well glad I let someone talk me into it. 😉

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Celeste

Late Friday night, there was a knock on my door.  When I opened the door, there stood a young woman with a little boy.  She said her name was Celeste and her little boys name was Joe.  She didn’t have anywhere to go because her family had thrown her out that evening and she wondered if maybe I had a job she could do to pay for a room tonight and some food for her and Joe.

This is a 17 year old young woman with a 15 month old beautiful little boy.  I invited her in and got her and Joe something to eat.  I sat with her and talked to see what I was dealing with here.  I sure didn’t need a teenager that was on drugs here but I didn’t see any signs of anything like that.  All I saw that she had a bruise across her cheek that she had tried to hide with makeup but didn’t do a very good job of it.

She said her father was bad to get drunk and take everything out on her and her mother and she just couldn’t take it anymore.  He had gotten angry about nothing and threw her out.  She said she was still in high school and had someone that kept Joe for her to be able to go to school.  She really wanted to stay around here so she could finish school and then hopefully go to college so she could take care of Joe and herself.

My heart almost broke as I listened to this beautiful young woman talk.  I made a deal with her.  I told her that she could clean the rooms and help with the other chores around there and she would have a place to live as long as she stayed in school and took care of her son herself.  No male visitors to her room and no drugs or drinking.  When I saw the tears swelling up in her eyes, I knew this was not a bad kid.  Just a kid that had made a few mistakes and was trying to do right by them.  I guess I now have somewhat of a daughter and grandson if all works out like I think it will.  I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.