Category: money

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Well there was more to Valentines Day

We were absolutely booked solid for Valentines Day.  With the excitement of moving Celeste and Little Joe into their new apartment, I forgot to tell you about how we celebrated Valentines Day here at my Bed and Breakfast.  We had special packages for our customers where they could get a dozen roses, rose peddles on the bed, champagne, strawberries dipped in chocolate and a special dinner served in their rooms.  It’s always a big hit and this year wasn’t much different.

In face, we’re usually booked solid for Valentines Day by Christmas.  Most of the people that made their reservations were ones that have been here for Valentines Day before.  Love is definitely in the air here and it’s a wonderful time for all.  This year we added a couple of things that we didn’t have before to help bring in more customers in a tough economy.  We threw in the whole weekend instead of just Valentines Day.  So for what they usually paid for just the one night, they got the complete weekend.  It worked I am so glad to say.  I just hope all of you had a Valentines as full of love as my home was.

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Time to do some remodeling

Celeste and Little Joe need a place of their own.  This isn’t something she is saying, it’s something I realized.  As long as she’s here in one of my rooms, she feels like she’s under my thumb.  I don’t want her to feel that way.  She has her independence from an overbearing father and sure doesn’t need to feel I’m watching her like a hawk either.  I sure don’t want her to leave so I have come up with the perfect solution.

There’s sort of a studio over the 2 car garage.  I have decided to turn it into a two bedroom apartment for her and Little Joe.  That way, she has her own place to call home and can work for me part time to pay for the apartment and everything that goes with it.  She also has a part time weekend job waitressing so she has some extra money of her own.  That will allow her to buy her food for them and pay her own insurance too.

My guy that does all of the work around here for me has already looked at it and said it will run me about $4,000 to do it.  That’s not bad at all so I told him to get the material list together and I’ll take care of it.  I guess you could call this a graduation present for her since she graduates from school this year.  I haven’t told her a thing about it and won’t until she asks what’s going on.  She doesn’t ask many questions so hopefully the apartment will be close to being finished before she asks.  We shall see though.

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Ready for a quiet week

Boy am I ready for a nice quiet week.  Time to take down all of the Christmas decorations and start looking forward to some peace and quiet for a change.  January is typically a slow month for us.  That is unless it snows and then it picks up on the weekends only usually.  We had a blast for New years and I’m so glad to see the old year go just as I’m sure everyone else is.

I lost quite a bit of money in the stock market but I’m not worried.  I know everything will turn around soon enough.  We just have to get the new president sworn in and then things will begin to settle down.  It happens just about every time one party has had the White House for a long time.  It seems like everything goes to pot but then the new party takes over and within 6 months, things settle down.  With as big of a mess as we have this time, it might take longer.  We shall see, huh?

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New Years Eve

Well we’re completely booked for New Years Eve through Sunday.  What a wonderful way to bring in the New Year.  I really hope it will snow.  That would only make it better for my guests.  That’s one of the things they look for this time of year, snow.

We will have a buffet set up with all sorts of finger foods, eggnog, wine, and champagne for midnight.  There are plenty of noise makers and Little Joe is one of them!!  He’s been running around since Christmas laughing and squealing like crazy.  I love it too.  Nothing like joy in a child to bring this old house to life.

It’s been a year full of blessings, surprises and additions to not only my bed and breakfast (the barn and animals) but to our lives in the form of Celeste and Little Joe.  I can’t wait to see what the new year brings to us this time.  If it’s half as good as last year, I’ll have another wonderful year.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

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Contest was a huge success

Well the Gingerbread house contest was a huge success I must say.  Celeste got a ribbon for best newcomer.  How about that?  I’m so proud of her.  The competition was about the toughest I have seen it.  There was even a merry-go-round with reindeer on it.  In fact, it won because the detail was absolutely amazing.  Everything was edible on it and it was just absolutely wonderful.

The crowd that passed through here was surprising.  I got several reservations for New Years and in fact, we’re booked up for New Years.  What really surprised me was how many people we have for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We don’t usually have any ‘guests’ then but we actually have 3 couples.  They’re each getting married on the 22nd and 23rd of December.

Sure surprised me but it’ll be nice to have all that new love in here for Christmas.  Well as long as one of them doesn’t turn out the way one of my honeymoon couples did.  It was last June and they got into a fist fight right in the dining room.  I must admit it was her that threw the first 5 punches.  He sat there patiently and tried not to hit her but he finally slapped her silly.  I had to call the police.  She came back about 5 hours later and got her stuff.  Thank goodness they were paid in full.  I have often wondered if they split then or made it work.

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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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Michael Vick and Pit Bulls

Now there’s a name that invokes a gamut of emotions.  When he was the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, he was both admired and idolized by people everywhere.  When he was found guilty of dog fighting, he was despised by more.  What a shame that a young man with such promise would succumb to such a savage thing as dog fighting.

My brother raises Pit Bull Dogs.  He is one of the top breeders around.  He once told someone that was offering to pay him $1,500 for a puppy that let something about ‘fighting’ slip out that he would rather take that puppy out back and put a bullet in his head than sell him to someone that was going to fight him.  The man left angrily with $1,500 cash in his hand spouting some rather unpleasant words as he left.  About 2 hours later, someone else came with cash for the same puppy.  My brother sold him to that person and was afraid that all the gentleman did was give the money to someone else to buy the puppy for him.  Because of things like that, he’s getting out of breeding.

These are not vicious dogs unless made to the that way.  Bubba, his pet and best buddy, will more likely lick you to death than ever hurt anyone.  China, she will bite if you provoke her but a child can take food out of her mouth and she’ll let them.  China even nursed Shih-Tzu puppies while the Shih-Tzu mother was sick.  That’s a real mean dog huh?  Now my mothers Pit, Sheba, she will tear you apart if you get too close to my Mother and she doesn’t now you.  That’s what her job is, to protect my 70 year old mother and she does a great job of it.

Just don’t blame the breed for things like what Michael Vick did.  Not all Pit Bulls are mean.  Some are more like lick dogs and lap dogs.  It’s all in the breeding and the way they are raised.  They deserve respect as a breed, not fear necessarily.  Even Michael Vick’s dogs are now gentle from what I understand.

Oh, this is Bubba.  He’s a blue Pit that weighs in at about 75 pounds.  Ain’t he cute!!!!

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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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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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Fall Festival

Well with fall finally here, to kick off the weekend, we always have a fall festival here at the bed and breakfast.  Friday night starts off with a ‘pig pickin’ which is where we have a whole 75 pound pig barbecued and then there’s the usual fixins which are barbecue slaw, potato salad, baked beans and banana puddin’.  Some of the local musicians (and there are a lot of them in these hills) stop by for some pickin and grinnin.  I guess you could call it a mini fiddlers convention.

Then Saturday, some of the locals bring their arts and crafts for a craft fair here on the grounds.  We have everything from handmade quilts, home made jellies and preserves, fresh vegetables, and some of the most amazing paintings and crafts you have ever seen.  Anyone is welcome and many come from all around just to spend the day if I’m booked up which I usually am for this weekend.  This year wasn’t any different which surprised me.  There weren’t quite as many here just for the day as there usually are but that’s the only difference.

Today, we had a good old fashioned gospel singing.  There were choirs from several different churches here and again some locals just got up and sang solo.  The air was just crisp enough that I made hot spiced apple cider for everyone.  The whole weekend was a complete success not only in fun but financially for me and several in the community too with the arts and craft fair.  It’s one of my favorite weekends throughout the year.