Home for the Holidays

One of the things I love most about being a Professional Innsitter is that I can make my own schedule. Although we have many "homes" all over the country, I always try to be in my real HOME for the HOLIDAYS. 

And look how beautiful it is! 

I have been fortunate to find a client in our home town - the Old Parkdale Inn.

And have worked there for the last five Christmas seasons so when I am not cooking breakfast or making beds at the B&B I am at home sitting under my tree drinking a cup of cocoa.

 

 

                                                                         

And nothing goes better with cocoa than old fashioned gingerbread. So here's my family's recipe for gingerbread:

Cream 1C butter and 1C sugar

Beat in 1egg, 1C molasses, and 2T vinegar

Add 5C flour, 1 1/2 t soda and 1/2 t salt

Add ginger, cinnamon and cloves to taste

Chill dough, then roll and cut in shapes

Bake 375 - 5 min

Then get your whole family together to decorate the cookies. Have Fun!
It's a tradition for us!

         Let me know how you like it.

 

 

Christmas in Colorado

  There is just something magical about Christmas in Colorado. Even though we have not had any snow yet, the nights are crisp and cold and the mountains gleam in the moonlight. Our little town has a host of fun Christmas activities starting with the "Candlelight Walk". Thousands of people gather at the top of the hill with lit candles and stroll down the main street to Clear Creek singing carols the whole way. You just can not help but be moved by the spirit of the season.

                              
The Dove Inn is our current home and it is a real treat to be innsitters here over the holiday. As you can see it is beautifully decorated and the inside looks just as lovely. We also always have fresh homemade Christmas  cookies and gourmet hot cocoa available for our guests. You should come visit us if you are ever in Colorado for Christmas.

     

Golden Bronze

Our current assignment as interim innkeepers is in Golden Colorado. Golden is a super charming town nestled between the big city of Denver and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The city has done a great job in making a naturally beautiful area even more lovely and very enticing for tourists. They have historic buildings, lush parks, charming shops, gourmet restaurants and lots of public art. GPAP [Golden Public Art Program] has funded 30 beautiful bronze statues scattered all over the city. Kirk and I have made it a point to check out as many as possible. We have not yet seen all 30 but here are our favorites:
"The Cowboy" is Kirk's favorite, DUH!                                                                
                                               
  
       
                   

                                           "A Friend to Lean On" is definitly the cutest.

 

This one is in front of the Library and is called "Secret Garden"

 

I am also very fond of this little monster - "Cameron's Dragon"

 

But my absolute favorite bronze statue in all of Golden Co is:

"Sleeping Bear"

 

Yes, I've been to Chicago and seen the "bean". I've been to Paris and seen the Eiffel tower but I really do like Golden's Bronzes.

Where is your favorite public art?

 

Cranberry Time

Kirk helping with the 1920 Cranberry Harvest

Everybody knows that Thanksgiving is the time for cranberries to shine but not everybody knows that many of the cranberries you use on your Thanksgiving table come from the

Long Beach Peninsula in Washington where our current assignment is. Cranberries are so lovely when they are growing and so interesting when they are being harvested. Harvest was just ending when we arrived here two weeks ago and we got to watch several "wet harvests". We also went to the local

Cranberry Museum which is very informative and one of the few places you can buy the very tasty CRANBERRY ICE CREAM! So if you are tired of cranberry sauce, cranberry bread and cranberry cookies - just think ice cream and head to Long Beach! 

Let me know your favorite cranberry recipe. Mine is a cranberry souffle that I make as a breakfast entree.
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

                                                                         

 



   

Barbie at Breakfast

When I was a young girl, my mother used this cookbook - Barbie's Easy as Pie Cookbook [copyright 1964] - to teach me to cook. I  LOVED this cookbook and so did my daughter. One of my daughter's favorite dinner recipes was "Luncheon Pizzas", a gourmet treat made from biscuits, lunch meat and ketchup. I bet she does not cook that any more! But one of my favorite breakfast recipes was "Jama Parties" and I do still cook that! Each chapter of recipes is preceded by a story involving Barbie, Ken and Midge. Barbie also includes cooking tips and words of wisdom. She calls the kitchen the "merriest room in the house" and I agree with her! Now that I am a professional INNSITTER, I still rely on Barbie from time to time!!

Barbies "Jama Party"

K.C.'s "Jama Party"

 

Here is the recipe for MY "Jama Party":

 

Cream 1/2 C cream cheese and 1/2 C ricotta

Add 1T lemon juice and 1/4 C powdered sugar

Spread on any nutty bread [I like Oregon Hazelnut]

Spread any good berry preserve [homemade is best]

Top with another piece of bread to make sandwich

Grill in batter of eggs, heavy cream and a splash of oj

Serve with lots of fresh berries and powdered sugar

 

As Barbie says -

       "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day"

 

Comment to let me know your favorite breakfast.

 

 



 

Forks Five Faves

There really is not a lot to do in Forks WA but it is a great hub from which to explore all that the Olympic Peninsula has to offer: hiking with great mountain views, boating on pristine lakes, fishing in wild rivers, watching sunset from rocky windswept beaches, having lunch in historic lodges, strolling to lovely waterfalls, wine tasting or even taking the ferry to Victoria for the day. So when guests from the Miller Tree Inn ask us to help them plan their days itinerary, here are our top five favorites:


Kayaking on Lake Crescent

Wine Tasting at Olympic Cellars

Watching Sunset at Kalaloch Beach

Hiking on Hurricane Ridge

 

Lunch at Lake Crescent Lodge

 

What a great part of the country! We always love to work up here. What are your favorite parts of the Olympic Peninsula or Forks?

 

B&B&Blood

 

For those of you who might remember my June post "B&B&BEER" - this is a more unusual mix. The Miller Tree Inn in Forks WA has been designated the CULLEN HOUSE. The Cullen's are a family of vampires in the famous Twilight book series and people come from all over the world to visit for the "twilight" experience. Here is picture of the Miller Tree front porch. All the flags represent the countries that our current guests are from. If the guests are twilight fans, they also get a personal letter from the Cullen Family. It's little touches like that that make B&B's really special.

 

As INTERIM INNKEEPERS Kirk and I try to represent the "feeling" of each property we work at but we do have trouble being scary. Maybe we should just serve bloody marys at breakfast? HAH! Although we have not personally had any vampire experiences here, there are some mornings when the mist coming in over the medow does seem very spooky!       For more information on the Cullen's at the Miller Tree, check out thier blog www.MillerTreeInn.com.

                               



                                        

Wine Ride

There are many ways to tour the wine country of Walla Walla WA - car, bike, foot and HORSEBACK. That last way is my favorite as you can see by this photo. While working in the area, we took a little time off to do "research" and have some fun. We rode to several of our favorite wineries, tasted wine and had a great pic-nic lunch.

We also bought a few bottles to put in our saddle bags and take home. Here is a pic of Kirk and Doc at one of our favorite vineyards - VaPiano www.vapianovineyards.com. Why don't you comment and let me know what your favorite winery is?

                                                               

Walla Walla Sweets

TWO SWEET THINGS ABOUT WALLA WALLA WA

1]  This charming old farmhouse turned B&B - the Inn at Blackberry Creek

 www.innatblackberrycreek.com-  sits at the edge of the creek in a lovingly manicured garden and is one of the sweetest spots in Walla Walla. It is also one of our favorite places to work, such a pleasure to serve breakfast here on the back deck and look out over the creek in the morning.

 

 

2] Onions! Yup, Walla Walla Sweets are just that - sweet. And we love to use them for breakfast in Barbara's famous sweet onion quiche. All the guests rave about it and many of them go to our local farm market "Klickers" to buy a bag to take home as a souvenir www.klickerstrawberry.com.

                          

Barbara's Sweet Onion Quiche:             Line a pie pan with unbaked crust, saute one Walla Walla Sweet onion and one bunch of asparagus tops, sprinkle into plate and top with grated Jarlsberg cheese. Mix 4 eggs and 1cup heavy whipping cream and pour over. Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesean . Bake at 375 for 45 min.  And think of Walla Walla Sweets!                                                                                                 

   

                                                                        



 



The Great Outdoors

                               Some of the things we love to do in Colorado:

 

Hiking

Wildlife Encounters

Wine Tasting

Scenic Drives

Of course we do have to work as well but when we have time off , we go play in the great outdoors.
Now you know why we love this job!                                        





 

AWESOME!

The Royal Gorge Bridge in Canyon City CO is truly an AWESOME sight. The bridge itself spans the Arkansas River and a canyon that is over 1,000 feet deep. We went to visit for a day trip while working in Cripple Creek and had a blast. There is an incline rail that takes you down the steep side of the canyon and you can stroll by the banks of the raging river. We also went on the  arial tram that carries you across the canyon - now that one was a little scary! Then we walked the path by the woods on the canyon rim and back over the bridge. The bridge itself is not scary but it does sway in the wind, HUMMM. The views from the bridge are amazing, looking out to the mountain ranges and plateau. WOW! For more info www.royalgorgebridge.com. Post a comment and let me know if you have been there.

School Days

    Speaking of historic architecture in Cripple Creek Colorado - this is "our" new B&B. The Carr Manor www.carrmanor.com is the lovingly renovated school house from the 1890's. Kirk and I are not only innkeepers but we are custodians of this beautiful building. It is truly a pleasure to serve breakfast in the old cafeteria and show guests into the old class rooms now made into guest rooms. We have had several guests who's parents actually went to school here!  However it is now much more elegant than it was then. Look at this photo of the main hall-

    



 

 Gary and Wini, the owners, have kept many of the original touches such as this wood stove which is not currently in use and the chalk boards in each "class room" which are very much in use. If you look closely you will see K.C.+K.R.=TL [OK, Kirk wrote that but how sweet, huh?]

 

Gold Rush

Cripple Creek Colorado, where our current job is, sits in the mountains at about 10,000 ft. The OLD gold rush in Cripple Creek was in the late 1800's and all that gold built all the lovely buildings that still line Bennett Avenue today.


Stunning examples of Victorian architecture at every turn of your head make it hard to walk down the streets. The reason these buildings are so well preserved is due to the NEW gold rush - casino gambling. The state of Colorado passed a law allowing casinos in historic buildings if they maintain the origional facade.

As you can see, they have done a great job.    This blue and cream beauty is my favorite and although gambling is not one of my hobbies, I am always tempted to go in when I pass. For more information on  Cripple Creek: www.VisitCrippleCreek.com                    

 

 



 

 

 

 

                                                  

                                                               

 

                      

 

 

                                                           

 

 



The Perfect Porch

The Inn at the Gorge www.innatthegorge.com is located in Hood River Oregon- yup, right near my "home". Which is a really nice thing for us after all that time away. As Interim Innkeepers our first chore every day is cooking and serving breakfast to the guests -DUH!

Here we get to serve breakfast on this lovely old wrap-around porch. It's just so beautiful. A great way to start the day! One of the other chores is flower arranging for each inn. This is a job I really enjoy and here is our morning decor from the garden to the table - lovely! For more on what we do check out my website www.kcsinnsitting.com.

A Snooze with a Schnoodle

As Interim Innkeepers we are on the road all the time and one of the drawbacks is that we can not have any pets at "home" - well except for two horses which our neighbors take care of for us. The good thing is that WE get to take care of all the pets at all the inns we work for. We have dogs, cats, fish, chickens and even a couple of goats in various parts of the country. We love them all but our favorite is-  

HENRY!  He is a "schnoodle" [half schnauzer, half poodle] and he is just too CUTE.
Now being an innkeeper is hard work as you can see from this photo. Kirk is exhausted from his job but at least he has company for his nap. Afterwards they can go for a walk and play ball. FUN!

Why don't you post a "comment" - let me know what your favorite pet is?

Just Sayin

One of the pleasures of being an Interim Innkeeper is getting to know all the guests you host. We have met great people from all over the world and some of them have actually become friends of ours. Sometimes a guest will follow us from one property to another! That's always fun. At other inns, we look forward to seeing the same guests each time we work there. Anyhow, check out what the last guests at Boreas B&B in Long Beach WA said about us.
How Sweet, huh........  [of course we paid them $5]
 Ha! Ha!


Food, Fruit & Flowers

At Bores Bed and Breakfast www.boreasinn.com it is all about FOOD! We get to serve three course gourmet candlelit breakfasts. Each course is garnished with lots of fresh fruit and flowers from the B&B gardens. The inn uses locally sourced food such as smoked salmon, fresh mushrooms and huckleberries in season. YUM!

This mornings breakfast included Susies Kolach [secret recipe] and K.C.'s Berry Buckle [recipe shared with my readers - see below] as well as a baked pear and croissant souffle with chicken sausage. Sounds good, huh?


K.C.'s Berry Buckle Recipe

Cream, 1C butter and 1 3/4C sugar
Add, 4 eggs and 1t vanilla
Add, 2 1/4C flour, 1 1/2 t baking powder, 1/2t salt
Spread half the batter in a greased springform pan
Top with spoonfuls of berry preserve
Top with dots of remaining batter
Bake 350 for 45min, Sprinkle with powdered sugar
Serve with fresh berries and ENJOY!