Innkeeperitis - UPDATED

Over the last few months, as I've progressed through Innkeeping 101, I've learned a lot. Most recently, I had the realization that there are a few things Innkeepers do that I believe very few other people do. At least not normal people.

Examples? Innkeepers find their pockets stuffed with miscellaneous this-and-that at the end of the day. Lint pulled off curtains, a loose thread from a pillowcase, a twig fragment and tiny pebble kicked in from outside. All of it in my pocket. Right now. As we speak.

Why, you ask? Because when we're doing room inspections and there is a lovely, perfectly empty trashcan with a clean liner in it, you better believe I'm not soiling it. I will put a squashed crust of raisin bread in my pocket before I soil a clean wastebasket. And I have.

Worst of all, [with no prior diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or any military training] We demand that all things be at a 90 degree angle. The tissue box in relation to the soap dish in relation to the sink in relation to the edge of the counter; all 90 degrees. It's terrible. I find myself straightening Sherry bottles when giving tours. I tell guests that I have "Innkeeper Syndrome".

Yes, it does!

It also bothers me that the pencils are sharpened to different lengths. And the pens are kicked ever so lightly to the right. Ahh!

I really do have Innkeeper Syndrome, don't I?

With [crazy] Love,
~Brande N.

UPDATE:
Today I found myself on my hands and knees, a sparkly pink hair comb in hand, combing the tassels on our rugs into neat, perfectly straight lines. I am officially insane...

Maple-y Breakfast Goodies

Dan and I spent the last few days brainstorming breakfast ideas for Maple Syrup Weekend. We came up with (and taste tested--yum!) the following recipes:

On our Buffet:
-Homemade Maple-Walnut Granola with Dried Apple and Nutmeg
-Maple Pecan Cream Cheese

To Order:
-Buttermilk Pancake with Almonds and Vanilla-Orange Maple Syrup
-Maple-Sweetened Organic Yogurt Parfait with Fresh Apple and Granola (in a wine glass)

In our Guest Pantry:
-Hot Mulled Apple Cider with a touch of Maple

And we will, of course, be serving our full breakfast menu as well. If maple syrup isn't your thing, fear not! We've got plenty of other delicious entrees for you.


There are also some neat events going on in The Berkshires that weekend.

-The Clark Museum in Williamstown, MA will be hosting a space-themed dance party, complete with professional hula-hooping lessons.

-The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield is hosting a multi-instrumental Celtic music and dance show.

-The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington will be showing the Met Opera's Madame Butterfly in HD.

-And none other than The Harlem Globetrotters will be at the Boys' and Girls' Club in Pittsfield.


You know why I keep falling in love with The Berkshires? Because it's just so darn eclectic! Short of going to a big city, where else would I find all of this with a 40-minute drive? Especially in March!

I must say, this is a good place to be.

With Love,
~Brande N.

I Feel Your Pain, Little Guy...

This is the mug Dan got me for Christmas. When I gave him my Chiristmas list, my demands were as follows:
-Must be handmade
-Prefferably from Etsy
-Must be unique or quirky in some way
-Must be able to hold at least 14oz of liquid
-Must have a lid

All things considered, Dan got me a pretty a awesome mug. But I do need a lid. You see, one of the very first things I learned about being an innkeeper is that you should never expect to have a hot meal or drink between 1pm and 7pm. At least not if you're me. I have the absolute worst luck. I'll make soup and a sandwich or pour a cup of coffee or even just microwave a burrito and invariably, the second I sit down to eat, I'll get a check-in, a walk-in, a complicated 20 minute phone call, or some other crisis. Cold coffee and a a soggy, room-temperature grilled cheese do not a good meal make. Bleh.

So I set out to find a lid. I contacted the potter that made my mug, and she said that it would cost $10 plus shipping to make it and she couldn't guarantee it would fit. Bleh. I contacted another potter to see if he had a better price. Nope. He blatantly refused to do it, stating that it was too difficult.

So I decided to look for a universal lid. Something that I could just throw over my mug to give the coffee another 10 or 15 minutes of life, even if it didn't fit perfectly or match the mug.

And I found it! This fantastic, affordable, quirky website had a silicone (which I believe is a biodegradable material, but am currently researching) lid that was made to fit all mug sizes, was air tight, and was only $4! Yay! After finding that, I decided I might as well grab something else to offset the $6 shipping. I found this great little travel size metal spoon/fork/chopstick set. What a great way to avoid plastic utensils when dining on the road! And it was only $6! What a deal!

I submitted the transaction and waited for my beautiful, ecological, awesome, earth-friendly goodies to come. And I waited. And waited. And waited. Two and a half weeks later, I started to worry that I had been scammed. So I went to the website and hit the FAQ.

Ugh. Turns out that my wonderfully inexpensive, quirky online store was in Hong Kong. And my "beautiful, ecological, awesome, earth-friendly goodies" were being flown to the United States via air mail. I may as well have just poked a hole in the ozone layer myself! Ahh!

A week later, my package arrived:
And of course, it was in a plastic bubble envelope and not a cardboard box. *Sigh*

But there was good news! First of all, the utensil set was/is amazing and has already gotten used several times. And the lid? Fits like a glove. Totally air-tight and keeps my coffee toasty. Best of all, it perfectly reflects the way I felt about this whole messy transaction:
(Yes, that's right, there is a tiny, angry little man on my lid. He's actually the handle. Awesome.)

With Love,
~Brande N.

Maple Syrup Weekend

After growing up, moving out of my parents' house, and living in several different places, I've learned that there are a few things I took for granted growing up in a small, rural town in the northeast. Autumn is a good example. Living next to Lake Ontario, too. And cheap, easy, abundant Maple Syrup, is a big number three.

My uncle, who lived just a couple miles down the road from us, made maple syrup in his garage. Just for fun. And we got it for free. Gallons and gallons of sweet, buttery, delicious syrup. That's how plentiful it was growing up.

It wasn't until I got older that I realized the sweet stuff isn't so abundant or inexpensive in other parts of the world. I stumbled on this webpage recently and was flabbergasted by some of the numbers.

In the spirit of appreciating that which was once unappreciated, I'm going to make known the nifty new package we just finished putting on our website. It's called "Maple Syrup Weekend" and we're going to be doing all kinds of fun things to celebrate this delicious local resource. I'm really excited about that maple candy making demonstration. ...and free samples. I love free samples.

Dan and I are also working on a special breakfast menu for that weekend that highlights maple syrup. Of course there will be yummy buttermilk pancakes and waffles, but we want to get creative. Maybe I'll whip up come pumpkin spice cookies with maple cream cheese frosting for the guest pantry. Maybe some homemade maple granola? I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

I'll be sure to post the menu when we get it all sorted out. Until then, I have an assignment for you:

-Go grab an eggo waffle (or homemade or all-natural equivalent) out of your freezer.

-And the maple syrup out of your fridge.

-Toast the eggo.

-Now grab a jar of peanut butter out of your pantry.

-Schmear a happy helping of it on your waffle.

-Drizzle (or drench) it with maple syrup. Yes, on top of the PB.

-Enjoy!

True story: When I was in third grade I stayed overnight at my best friend McKenzie's house and her mom made us these waffles for breakfast the next morning. I remember being equal parts appalled, confused, and stunned as I watched her and her brothers gleefully mar those beautiful waffles. After much persuasion I finally (reluctantly) gave them a try. And to this day, it's one of my favorite ways to top waffles.

With Love,
~Brande N.

Silly Goose

Today, I witness something horrific. Tragic. Horrible.

You see, we have a guest coming to the Inn in a few weeks who is eloping (how romantic!). She emailed me asking about locations on site to have her small ceremony, and I instantly though of the balcony in her room, Room 14. I decided to send her an email with a few pictures of the different venues, so I grabbed my camera and started clicking.

After taking all of the pictures downstairs I climbed the staircase, entered Room 14, and immediately felt something was amiss. A steps further into the room, I discovered this:




Death by 60lb antique mirror. Oh, the humanity!

I feel as though I've lost a good friend. RIP.... um... Nameless Goose. You will be missed.


With Love (and silliness[...it's one of those weeks]),
~Brande N.

On Brain Fog

Do you ever have one of those days when your brain goes on strike? Today is one of those days. Earlier I tried to write the number "7" and somehow I managed to write the letter "V". I tried to make a cup of tea and I threw the tea bag in the trash and dropped the paper wrapping in my cup. When ordering my food at Haven (I'm officially an addict) I got all the way up to the counter and completely forgot what I was going to order. Dan had to remind me.

Maybe it's the way the planets are aligned? Perhaps the way I slept? Maybe it's what I had for breakfast?

I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it has utterly zapped my blogger-juice. So today, in place of an refined, inspired, eloquent (Who am I kidding?), post, I will leave you with a very good Berkshire resource and a very bad joke.


First, the resource:

The Berkshire Visitor Bureau
Full of activities, itineraries, events, recommendations, and even nifty things like webisodes and photos. Very handy indeed.


And now for the joke:
Q.) What goes, "Haha! Bonk."?
A.) A man laughing his head off.


With Love,
~Brande N.

And What Do You Suggest?

What is your favorite thing to do on vacation? Visit Museums? Eat Food? Hike? Golf? Watch Theatre? Go Antiquing?

Here is an incredibly simple, but oft overlooked Traveler's Resource:

1) Find one place in the city/town/area you'll be visiting that falls under the category of "Favorite Things to do on Vacation". For example, if you were coming to Lenox and you love museums, the Norman Rockwell Museum would be a perfect example.

2) Call that place.

3) Ask the attendant who answers the phone if he or she has a second. (Sometimes it's hard to guess when the busy hour is.)

4) If they do, explain to them that you are visiting the area on vacation.

5) Ask them what they personally would recommend.

Who knows the area better than a person who lives there? And who is more likely to have similar tastes to you than someone who has chosen to be employed by an attraction of your choosing?

The first time I did this I called a cafe and the barista I spoke with gave me six pages of answers. Six pages! From him we discovered everything from a local monument with a beautiful scenic overlook, to an independent film theatre with free popcorn, to a local Kombucha making facility where we got a free tour and free samples.

In this age of emails and text messages and Blackberrys and Google, it's easy to forget that people are a resource too. Unlike Google, people tell jokes, have opinions, stutter, laugh, and do all of those other endearing things that make people so much cooler than machines. Oh yeah, and the person might actually be there to say "Hi" when you arrive. Can you say the same for Google?

With Love,
~Brande N.