I had 10 days notice that I was going to be an innkeeper. I had no experience and no idea what I was doing. Privately, I cried.
Graciously, the head of the local innkeeper’s association reached out immediately and helped me through that first year. That was November 2011. Today I adore it.
I have always been involved in some kind of artwork. Either as a business or because friendships were built around a kitchen table with people who loved the same.
I am happiest when I am creating. Painting, beading, art eggs, stained glass, paper crafts, quilting, sourdough, and Christmas ornaments, something I have made since I was 10 years old. Then the cottages became my canvas.
Long time customers were calling to ask me not to change them too much. Everything too worn or unsafe had to go. Anything too modern or out of place was taken out. New plumbing, electrical, roofs, gardens. Old sheet linoleum was replaced with checkerboard vinyl tile, there was hardwood flooring under the old carpet so I stenciled it. The colors were a little wrong to my artist’s eye, so they were all repainted in a better shade of the same color. The two 1989 kitchens were redone in a vintage style. I copied the cabinets from the 1940 cottages and put in retro appliances. We added custom mattresses. The list goes on.
We shut down at least three times a year for upkeep and additions.
Our newest project is a pergola by Moon Gate Cottage “painted” with a Cecil Brunner rose.