Bed & Breakfast in Estes Park

Getting to know our newest guests Larry and Barbara during check-in time. We are chatters. We love to talk to our guests. When we first opened I told my husband we mustn’t talk politics and religion. Well, that lasted 2 minutes! We cover every topic under the sun at the breakfast table. We laugh, cry, yell, talk-over-each-other. We walk the line I guess you can say. If you’re an innkeeper I suggest walking that line only if it’s in your nature to begin with. Although it hasn’t happened in a year or so, we’ve had people try to convert us to their religion and we’ve had pyramid sales-people try sell us their goods. So, if one is willing to open those doors, one must also be willing to stand strong on their convictions. That’s where the fun comes in…

This afternoon I changed my multi-seasonal wreathe by adding purple silk flowers. I’m not finished with it–it needs some bright yellow sprigs. I use the same wreathe year around by changing out the flowers to bright red berries during the holidays, and autumn leaves in October.

The fist flowers on my front porch went out today. I’ll bring them in over night to protect them from late night frost. I love this basket! Each year it showcases my flowers and makes it easy for me to bring the flowers in doors if the weather changes.

Chuck Angerman, CEO of Majestic Sky came to our home to sip lemon aid and review my marketing budget with me. Can you see my red elbow in the mirror? We spend 10% of our income on marketing. This is a budget I set from day one. Click photo for info on Chuck’s services.

The paintings on the European furniture were done by the owners of this inn. By clicking this photo you will be taken to our associations website.

This innkeeper has had insomnia for 3 days. Here sits I in my office. To the right is the bedroom door and my kitchen counter. While at my desk I am 3 feet from my bed and 10 feet from my kitchen stove. Click photo for more about an innkeeper’s life from the inside-out. Read the rest of this entry »

Please scroll down the blog to the date of April 30ths. I’ve updated the page with photos of that days tea party.

The morning of May 1st brings snow and frosted trees. Today (May 1st) I’ll meet with my new website host and marketing guy. He’s to arrive at 11:30. At 1:00 PM I’ll attend the Estes Park Bed and Breakfast Inns Association meeting.

I’m a day or two behind on my postings. Stay with me. I’m starting to get confused with real time and blog time.

Today we had a bed and breakfast association meeting at one of our new member’s inn. My schedule this week has been BUSY! So here I am again telling ya…I will bring you all up to date with pictures in the next few days.

I’ve much to share with you: Yesterday’s tea party, today’s B&B tour and meeting. Plus, an late meeting with our new website marketing guy. It’s been busy. BUT–I’ve been taking pictures. I even have a picture of our new marketing guy.

Meanwhile Eric stayed at the inn and shampooed the carpet. It’s a labor intensive all day task he does three or four times a year.

View from True Value parking lot. Serious. All you need to do is stand at the door and face west. I didn’t have to stand on the building’s roof, or the hood of my car, or crawl on my belly for this one.

Our tea party season concludes

I buy what I enjoy and I pay what I’m willing to pay. It’s 1:30 in the wee hours of the morning so I don’t want to wake my guests up by creeping about my kitchen to read backs of plates. I sell most all my china. I price it based on two factors: my cost plus how much I would be willing to buy it for. I’m sure that’s as clear as milk-glass.

I combine, melted butter, flour, curry and chopped pecans for my sauce. The sauce is pured over chopped-up oven roasted chicken breast.

I snapped all the pictures while I was cooking. I used a kitchen gadget to prop up the sauce pan while I snapped the picture.

This is the texture of my scone flour mix before I add my silk soy milk and thawed raspberries.

Scones before they go into the oven.

The party is on! Here Eric tells the Boyd Family history. We are dear friends with Ed Boyd, son of James and Fannie Belle Boyd. The Boyd family built this home in 1905. Ed is now an healthy and active 89 year old man whom we keep in constant email contact with. His laughter and gracious nature keeps the Boyd family legacy current to us.

I’m becoming fuzzy and have forgotten which photos you can click for more info.

Look close you can see my snack plates. They where a birthday gift to me from Eric. This is the first time I’ve let guest used them.

Now the party is starting to get crazy and loose. Eric the innkeeper has dropped to his knees which means he’s on a story telling roll!

Devonshire clotted cream is served on a butter patty plate or salt cellar.

Three ladies enjoying my birthday snack plates on the front porch.

Salt cellars make a great dish for serving clotted cream in. The salt cellars were given to me by a friend in Iowa. Two beautiful people we came to know when they stayed with us last summer. Her husband’s grandmother gave them to her.

Eric was teasing me for taking pictures of our dirty dishes, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME “! says he. “The blog is called, An Innkeepers Life in The Rockies”. Say’s I. This innkeeper sees dirty dishes not fine china, I’ve no urge to turn them over and study the stamps and markings at this moment.

We hope you enjoyed seeing so many faces. The ladies were guests of New Frontier Bank.

We dedicate this page to them all. They gave us hugs, waives, and smiles. We have so much fun while entertaining people.

I’m pretty sure thy have decided I’m nuts. I yell, “YOU”VE JUST BEEN BLOGGED, WAIVE”

May our love and hopes stay with you, Eric, Caprissa and Maggie

Sweet-Maggie crawls in for love.

I love living in Estes Park a small alpine-like resort town in the Rockies. I TRULY DO! The winters are cold- enough, windy-enough, long-enough, and snowy-enough to keep away the thin-blooded. Consequently, we locals get the town to ourselves–for the most part. To keep busy and, to keep change in our pocket Eric and I officiate and photograph weddings. He–officiate, I–take photos.

…and this is how we spent our day yesterday.

Click photo to go to the Floral Design of Erurope’s website

Mark and Lindy became friends of ours after staying at our inn summer 2007.

Eric the innkeeper and wedding officiator. By the way he loves officiating weddings and takes it all to heart. (Eric is the one in back, Armando is the grooms best-friend).

This is me.

This morning at breakfast our guest Joan spotted ma and pa blue bird outside the breakfast window. I had brought my camera out earlier in the morning, bless my lucky shutter.

Todd and Joan were kind enough to let me take a picture of them while they consumed a strawberry and banana breakfast parfait.

An fellow innkeeper, Gary Mansfield of Romantic Riversong, had suggested I take this shot.  He and I had an early morning meeting at this table a few weeks prior.

Now and then when a guest is leaving I’ve a strong urge to plead with them–write me, call me, contact me. SOME HOW let me know how your life turns out. As innkeepers, of a small two room and charming cottage, we get to meet people who are willing to share a part of themselves with us. They leave behind a lasting footprint, not literately. But, you know what I mean.

I find myself hoping for them. It’s enriching. I wonder, maybe it’s the not knowing that makes it magic. (As I was shooting this photo Eric was calling out, ‘it’s for her blog’).

If you are wondering what it feels like to share your home with strangers, here’s one explanation that comes from an old saying. “My so-and-so never knew a stranger”. As an innkeeper it’s sort of like that, at least for me it is. Most people seem familiar to me. I should, maybe, perhaps, greet people with, “I thought you would never get here”!

Tea parties at Gilded Pine Meadows B&B are always an adventure for us. We spend about 2 hours setting up the room and setting the tables. I spend 4 or more hours prepping and cooking.

We hold about a dozen or so a year. As per request we’ve had birthday parties, employee parties and lady’s clubs. This however was the first time we accommodated a Grey hound…

BUS! The view from the front porch

The view outside our parlor window.

The parties last 2 or 3 hours.

Eric with ladies. The ladies invited Maggie in at end of party.

Ladies, scones, tea and…bus! Farewell tea ladies!

This party was for 21 ladies which is our max. After the party it takes us two or more hours to clean and reorganize the home. We first sit, eat scones and clotted cream, and guzzle iced water.