|
|
|
Site visit
I spent Memorial Day weekend in Pennsylvania, which is no surprise since I've spent just about every holiday in Pennsylvania for the past three years. I came with a laundry list of things to do, and I left with a laundry list of things undone. Part of this was because the northeast had a heat wave, and I flew out of the mid-70s and landed in the low-90s, and I didn't pack any shorts.
Our biggest accomplishment was spending two hours "researching" new mattresses for the B&Bs. I put that in quotes because Dawn, who has been sleeping on a futon for the last 15 months, would not lightly surrender the comfort of the new beds, leaving me to fend off the salesmen while she snuggled in with a thick pillow. That said, we both really liked the Stearns & Foster Garden-something firm mattress, which my cousin also highly recommended. (This is not an ad for Stearns & Foster, but should they see fit to donate some of these mattresses for marketing purposes, we would not refuse them. They cost $1800 each, and we need five.)
We both agreed not to do custom cabinet pulls on the kitchen island, which would have run about $179 each, and instead buy some $10 stock "Eastlake" pulls. We tried out the Sherwin-Williams "Colonial Yellow" in the kitchen and realized why it was nicknamed "DeWalt yellow" -- it was not the light, pleasing shade we expected, but a sharp, cut-through-the-fog color that blended well with power tools. So Dawn picked up "Harvester gold" which, she hopes, will pick up the subtle colors in the granite slab she selected.
We also went and looked at an antique secretary desk Dawn had found for $900. It has a pull-down lid that doubles as the desk, plus a set of drawers that would be perfect as a small dresser, and it fits in the small corner of Bill's room. Using the small closet for clothes, this would avoid losing any more space to an armoire (like I had planned), plus include a nice writing desk that is perfect for a laptop. However, the secretary had several scratches, and I was not comfortable paying that much for something in second-rate condition, so we passed. We tried looking at other antique stores in Adamstown, but it was Sunday afternoon and we managed to arrive at three places just as each one was closing.
Finally, we worked on the project schedule for about 30 seconds before I snapped. I asked Dawn what needed to be accomplished for the grand opening, and she went on for 10 minutes on the type of food we should serve, before I cut her off and told her I had written down "food and drinks." She did not appreciate that, and it went downhill from there. It was not unexpected, though--we've never been able to work together on things like that. So I will go off and draw up all of the plans on my own and send them to her for validation, and she will put them in a drawer and do whatever she was planning on doing anyway. Then I will get upset and she will act surprised, and the cycle will start over. It is a little game we play.
With an angled bar, Dawn pointed out the closet would be perfect for shirts and pants, and we can provide a wall hook for long dresses. Behind Ben is where the secretary would go.
Grand opening party
I've thought long and hard about this, and I have no idea what to do.
For our grand opening, I want to have a big party, but we can only handle about 20-30 cars at a time. I think if we do an "open house" affair, not everyone will come at once, but that means a lot more organization and preparation. Having a 90 minute tour is one thing; having a two-day open house is quite another.
With two staircases, we can direct traffic so people aren't walking into each other, but I'll need to staff each room, plus have a parking attendant, so that's 13 people! And of course we'll need tour guides for the wolf sanctuary. I have no idea where I can find that many people, though I'm hoping I can press some of the contractors into service so they can talk about what was done.
Plus there should be some food. What do you serve a couple hundred people arriving over the course of two days that will get them to refer their friends to your B&B? I do a mean Belgian waffle, but that's a lot of work, and I'm not sure it's legal. (Serving hot food, for some reason, is always treated differently than serving cold food.) Maybe Dawn can whip together twenty bundt cakes?
For entertainment, I tried to get a Revolutionary War reenactment troupe, but they were booked until 2008! (I will try again in 2010, when Speedwell Forge turns 250.) So then I contacted Landis Valley Museum about having people do forge-related demonstrations, but so far nobody has contacted me. Maybe I'll just set up some folding chairs and do a slide show in the barn.
I've also got to find out if we need a permit, but unfortunately I'm only there for the Memorial Day weekend, which means Dawn has to do it, and she's got so much on her plate right now, plus she caught a cold. Today she had a fever and was out stripping a door. I think she's crazy.
We still haven't picked a date, but I'm shooting for July 1 and 2, which is only six weeks away! If anyone has any suggestions, please PLEASE send me an email or leave a comment below.
Only 6 weeks left! Hurry up!
Errata
Last December, I created my first print ad. Back then, I wondered what I would regret.
Well, it turns out, all of it. For some reason, they changed the background to black, and so had to re-do all of the text. In the process, they lost all of the information about the Wolf Sanctuary, leading several people to email me asking why we have a photo of a wolf in our ad; and they transposed two digits in the phone number, leading several people to call someone else asking why we have a photo of a wolf in our ad!
20,000 copies of the directory have already been distributed, so there's nothing I can do about those. I'm working to get the other 15,000 copies corrected, but the logistics are daunting--to print a 3"x5" correction will take eight reams of paper, and at 5 seconds per copy, it will take three days to stuff them! That's not including the cost to print and ship these (all 37 pounds) to Dawn, which may exceed the cost of the original ad! Plus I have to apologize to the person getting our calls, and beg him to give out the correct number.
The worst part is, I can't even blame them. Okay, I don't understand why they messed with the ad and screwed up the text, but they sent us a proof and we never reviewed it, so I only have myself to blame. I hate when that happens.
The new phone is (877) EST-1760, and now we're looking to open in July
Bills
Three years ago, we had seven accounts: Checking, savings, two credit cards, a mortgage, my 401k, and Dawn's 401k.
Somehow, that has morphed into 27 accounts: three checking accounts (one in California, two in Pennsylvania), two savings accounts, two business checking accounts (one for my computer business in LA, the other for the B&B), three personal credit cards, three business credit cards, three mortgages, an escrow account, three store charge cards, six retirement accounts, and a car loan. Bookkeeping is now a full-time job.
Even worse, I have to maintain the business accounts in both Quickbooks and Quicken, because I don't like the reports in Quickbooks.
Once I move to Pennsylvania, I'll be able to get rid of many of these accounts, and hopefully bring the total back below 15. I will also turn the business accounts over to a professional bookkeeper. But in the meantime, it takes me about 16 hours each month to balance everything, not including the dozen or so emails I send to Dawn with questions about various expenses.
On a completely unrelated note: Ralph Steech, the tile guy
Hurricane
My cousin blew through Pennsylvania again this weekend, prompted by the furniture restorers saying we needed to pick fabrics today if we wanted them to be finished by mid-June. Nothing like a hard deadline to inspire you.
the logistics constantly amaze me: We need fabric for 9 chairs, 1 chaise lounge, four footstools, and a canopy bed. We could have invaded Normandy for less money, and required less planning! On the one hand, I wish we'd started years ago, but on the other hand I'm glad we're getting it all done at once. At least this way we're sure the fabrics go together.
In two days, it's amazing how much else they accomplised, and it's even more amazing how much they spent. We now have four amish quilts, an antique settee (sofa) for the parlor, a secretary/dresser for Bill's room, a card table for the Boys' room, light fixtures for the boys' room and summer kitchen, and appliances for one of the kitchenettes. (I won't point out that the only thing that was on our list was the light fixtures.)
Of course I knew this was coming, but I tend to prefer these things as potential abstractions, not items on the credit card statement.
Field of Dreams
My toll free number is finally set up: (877) EST-1760. (Established 1760, get it?) I've also set up an online reservation service, so I'm going to spend the weekend updating the web site, and we should be ready to take reservations starting Monday.
I just hope if I build it, they will come. In fact, much of this project is eerily similar to "Field of Dreams"--building something in the middle of a corn field, spending everything we have, being told we're crazy, seriously straining our relationship. I wonder if I can get Kevin Costner to do a guest appearance, or James Earl Jones to record our answering machine?
I do have to say, the first reservation is for Mary of Maryland, who has asked three times, "Are you open yet?"
That's the mansion in the bottom-center, under the elm tree.
|
