MONDAY, MAY 08, 2006

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.

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THURSDAY, MAY 12, 2005

Slow news week

Speedwell Forge Dairy

Speedwell Forge Dairy

Actually, lots of things have been going on, I’ve just been in denial all week. (It’s my ‘overload’ defense, and it does not serve me well.) We’re moving ahead with the appeal on the sprinkler system, as nobody wants to talk sense there. (I swear they’d be happier if we bulldozed the building and put up a Wal-mart.) There was some confusion about how to file the appeal, with the township pointing at the code inspector and the code inspector pointing at the township, but I think Dawn got that straightened out today.

Meanwhile, Mike is making good progress framing out the baths and shoring up the dormers. In fact, he’s moving too fast — he wants to get the ductwork in next, but I haven’t decided if we’re doing a conventional system or a geothermal system yet. It’s strictly a cash flow issue; hence the denial. Thinking about our cash flow for the next couple of years is an extraordinaly depressing activity.

Gary Geiselman, our contractor, paid Dawn a back-handed compliment: He said when we first met, and I was volunteering Dawn for much of the grunt work to save costs, he didn’t think Dawn would last two weeks. Well, it’s been two months now and Dawn is still going strong, so Gary volunteered her to do all the exterior wood and window sashes as well. It’s the Pennsylvania Dutch equivalent of “G.I. Jane.”

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SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2006

Hh2>Day One, Revisited

I know I wrote that a year and a half ago, but now that the restoration is (almost) over and the innkeeping has begun, it seems just as appropriate today.

Our first guests were a couple from Philadelphia just looking to get away on a Friday night. The sheets had arrived that morning, and I had to rush out at the last minute to find little bottles of shampoo, but we just finished it when the guests arrived…at 8pm.

They went out to dinner and I went to turn down the room, and realized I had no idea how to turn down a room. Dawn, who had to show me how to do “hospital corners” earlier that day, was also stumped. So we unmade and remade the bed at least four times, finally abandoning the whole idea.

The couple didn’t mention the bed when they returned, but did let us know the remote for the whirlpool tub wasn’t working. We assumed it was batteries, but the only other AAA batteries were on the other side of the farm, so I ran as fast as I could, in the pitch dark, to the other end of the farm and back, only to find it wasn’t the batteries. The wall controls worked, but after a few minutes of us playing with those, they stopped working, too.

So there was no whirlpool bath and no turn down service. And no phone or water glass, either; I’d forgotten those. In the morning, though, I think I made it up with home-made bread, fresh fruit, and waffles, plus a mini-tour of the wolf sanctuary. When it came time to go, though, I couldn’t pay the bill.

I’d just set up a merchant account a week ago, but hadn’t received the credit card reader yet. So even though the couple wanted to pay, I couldn’t accept it. I ended up printing a “receipt” on my computer, and telling them I’d charge the card as soon as the terminal arrived.

And that was it. Oh, except for the part about cleaning the room. I realized that I haven’t cleaned a bathroom since 1996, the year we discovered housekeepers. It took me twelve trips around the house to assemble all of my cleaning supplies, and in between I was interrupted by phone calls and several people stopping by for tours. In the end it took me six hours to clean the room, but I just finished it before the next guests arrived…at 8pm.

But that’s a story for Day Two.

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SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2006

The week after

I thought the grand opening meant we were done. I’m not sure how I can still be so naive after everything else we’ve gone through, but I think that eternal optimism is one of my charms. Of course, that may just be me being optimistic…

I’d forgotten about all the crystal and china that had been packed away and needed to be cleaned, or the 141 new sheets and towels that needed to be washed (85 if you don’t count washcloths and pillow cases), or the property management software I was supposed to setup two months ago, or hanging 40-odd paintings, or buying 25 pounds of granola, or setting up Internet access, or moving all of our stuff from the greenhouse to the mansion. Our building inspector also helped out, giving us a list of a dozen items to correct before he would issue the occupancy permit. Needless to say, we were quite busy all week.

Everyone who sees this place tells me we’ll never be finished, and I’m not sure if they’re trying to steel me to the cold hard facts of life, or they think that will somehow cheer me up, or they’re just having a private joke at my expense. In any case, they’re right. I’ve had to abandon my day planner because there’s just too much to do every day to fit it on those little pages. It’s quite overwhelming.

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WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2006

The end of the beginning

The building code inspector came out on Monday for the “final” visit and flagged us for a dozen issues, from a broken emergency light (which we knew about) to all of the shower lines being reversed (which we didn’t know about). Dawn has taken care of everything and so we expect to get our occupancy permit tomorrow, after the inspector’s “final, final” visit.

Our grand opening weekend went very well, with over 500 people attending. (At least, that’s how many signed our guest book.) Matt, Terry, Louise, Josh, Ben, and Beverly did an amazing job managing the parking and shuttle service, and deserve a lot of kudos. In fact, the only foul-up of the entire day was mine: I made 100 copies of the “tour guide,” and we ran out within an hour. Everyone else just got to see the results, without getting any context, but I think they appreciated it anyway.

I’ve got eight reservations so far, including three this weekend, so we’re getting ready for the next stage. It’s not the “second half” because we’ve still got a lot to do–finish the Paymaster’s Office and privy, landscape, clean up the barn, stabilize the Stallion Pen, etc. Caring for a place like this is truly a neverending task.

But right now we’re in the eye of the storm, as it were, with only a couple of contractors, and after the last two weeks of chaos, everything seems kind of serene. Last night I hooked up my stereo and played some of my dad’s vinyl records–that may seem quaint, but I find it very relaxing. So relaxing, in fact, that I fell asleep in my office and slept there overnight.

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TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2006

Grand Opening!

The moment you’ve been waiting for — I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves:

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FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2006

Down to the wire

One week remaining…

Saturday

  • Buy coffee maker
  • Install new mailbox
  • Order sheets and towels
  • Find (or order) window pulls
  • Order one more kitchen pull
  • Schedule clock guy
  • Buy bathroom hardware (towel racks, etc.)

Sunday

  • Set up walkway, lay wood chips
  • Unpack boxes, organize furniture
  • Invite neighbors
  • Set up canopy bed on new frame
  • Find frame store
  • Yale lights (porch light, any standing lamps)
  • Verify wi-fi in all rooms

Monday

  • Finish painting kitchen island
  • Hang shutters
  • Finish raingutters and spouts
  • Schedule cable guy
  • Finish plumbing (by Wednesday)
  • Finish electric (by Thursday)
  • Finish painting (by Wednesday)
  • Prime and paint Summer Kitchen door

Tuesday

  • Granite countertop arrives
  • Restoration Clinic visit (remaining chairs, fix foyer light)
  • Take down billiard light
  • Set windows in Summer Kitchen (paint?)
  • Custom beds to arrive

Wednesday

  • Install cabinets in Summer Kitchen
  • Hang blinds
  • Hang Summer Kitchen door
  • Pick up B&B sign
  • Call vendor re: directional signage on 322

Thursday

  • 9am Blue Ridge Channel 11 news
  • Building inspector visit
  • Office light fixtures arrive
  • Paint workshop
  • Move Grubb stone
  • Prepare “welcome” sheet, make copies

Friday

  • Clean!!
  • Prepare slide show
  • Drapes arrive
  • Sheets and towels arrive?
  • Set up bed in Summer Kitchen

Saturday

  • Pick up food
  • Set up musicians
  • Grand opening activities at 12pm and 3pm

Sunday

  • 12pm-6pm: Public open house

Monday

  • Open for business (I hope!)
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TUESDAY, JULY 04, 2006

Independence Day

First, the good news: Last week’s record rainfall did NOT do any significant damage to the mansion. Had it occurred a week earlier, when the driveway was freshly paved, I would not be saying that.

Dawn, however, did not sleep for three days. When you’re sleeping in a greenhouse with a plastic roof, heavy rain sounds like bombs exploding. So it was with a weary head and cranky attitude that she arrived in LA last Wednesday, ready to sort through all of our belongings which I had haphazardly boxed and stored in the garage.

Four days of bickering later, and we were ready for the movers. Well, perhaps “ready” isn’t the right term. We finally went to bed around 4am last night, and they showed up this morning at 7am. We had already packed the doorbell, so it was some time before they woke us up. The driver had everyone moving like it was choreographed, except for me; I was stumbling around and thinking it’s days like this that I wish I drank coffee.

I had to go get more boxes (we’ve now invested at least $400 in carboard — I don’t know how homeless people do it) and while they were hauling out the furniture, we packed at least another ten boxes. At that point, paperclips were being packed, because it was easier than throwing them out. At about 80 cents per pound to ship, however, I’m going to be pretty annoyed with myself when I’m unpacking.

Now everything is out of the house. (The front lawn is another matter, but the Salvation Army will deal with that on Wednesday.) Tomorrow morning Dawn boards a plane back to Philadelphia, so she can get back in time for the electricians, while I start my trek back east.

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TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2006

Paymaster’s Office

I think the Paymaster’s Office is the second coolest building on the property. (The coolest, of course, is the privy.) But you can’t live in the privy, and you don’t get all of these other benefits:

  • The paymaster window. How many other buildings are divided by a wall with a double-hung window?
  • The basement, which only makes sense if you are trying to protect something very valuable and very heavy (i.e. the safe) upstairs.
  • The vaulted ceiling, though I may change my mind when I start having to clean it.
  • The massive fireplace. It’s actually not that big, but it just dominates the room.
  • The view of the creek. At sunset, with geese on the wing, it’s breathtaking.
  • The beaded board, stained in the main room, painted in the anteroom. I usually don’t like Victorian kitsch, but this looks nice.
  • The stonework, ever since James Groff pointed out that it was put together by journeymen who were practicing on it.
  • And finally, the willow tree in front, which has always been one of my favorite trees. (Though I’m still planting chestnuts.)

I look forward to putting a guest “diary” in the room, and reading what other things people found special. But first, we have to get it ready for guests, as the plumbers have just started working on it.

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MONDAY, JUNE 19, 2006

Todd Auker

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: The people on this project have been fantastic. Todd is no exception. I’m not sure how Dawn found him, but it was a last minute thing, and he had to squeeze us into his schedule. (Which meant he would do one room, disappear for a couple of days, come back to do another room, etc.) Still, you can’t argue with the results:

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