Summertime has finally arrived to Mumford and the Genesee Country Inn Bed and Breakfast. RJ has been busy painting the stucco on the Inn after after sanding and painting the front door a gorgeous rich red that just beckons guests to come in and enjoy the comfort and peacefullness of the Inn. We have enjoyed guests from Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, and Ontario, Canada. Our weekends are full of guests visiting the Genesee Country Village and Museum, Letchworth State Park, Niagara Falls, or family who still live in the area.

This past weekend, we hosted visitors who were involved in the Civil War Reenactments at the Genesee Country Village and Museum. I can actually say Lincoln slept here! Breakfast was memoriable with Confederate and Union soldiers sharing a suptuous breakfast of homemade granola, stuffed pancakes filled with homemade spiced strawberry preserves, an egg and ham stratta, with fresh fruit and freshly baked breads such as cranberry nut and blueberry muffin tea bread. They are so good with a hot mug of Finger Lakes Coffee.

The week continued with guests filling the Inn for summer getaways, romantic time alone, fishing on Spring Creek, or time to shop at the many antique shops. The days ended with fine dining at one of five local restaurants. Mumford is a quaint hamlet in the town of Wheatland that offers a Norman Rockwell lifestyle in rural New York. What a life! And it is mine!

Visit my new BLOG at http://blog.genesscountryinn.com

     Sometimes its gets so busy around the Inn that something can be forgotten. Yesterday was no exception. After I left the Inn, I saw RJ and Mike by the woodpile. Mike had backed his Ford workhorse of a truck onto the yard in front of the “little” house. Something was awry. The wood was stacked on the racks, but the guys were just standing around.

     “Hi,” I called out.

     “Hey,” Deb, come over here,” RJ hollered back.

     Mike laughed and dropped out of sight behind the truck bed.

     “Let me put this in the house, and I’ll be right out, okay?”

     He nodded. Mike popped his head over the truck bed and dropped out of sight again. I opened the kitchen door and put my bags on the counter.  Closing the door behind me, I slipped on my gloves and gingerly crossed the field of ice to Mike’s car.

     Mike chuckled, “You’ve heard of the “Gutless Wonder?  This is it!”

     “What’s happening?” I questioned.

     RJ chimed in, “The tires are on this sheet of ice, so we are going nowhere.”

     “This truck is so light. It was fine with the wood back there, but now the tires are just spinin’.”

     “What if I stand in the bed? Do you think that would help?”

     “Sure,” RJ said. “Just be careful.”

     I crawled into the bed, ducking under the metal bars that encompassed the truck bed. Holding onto the gram, I stood over the tire that was nestled in the wheel well and destined to spin helplessly over the pool of ice.

     The driver’s door creaked painfully, as Mike pulled the door ajar and slipped into the driver’s seat. The Ford roared to life as he pushed in the clutch and stepped on the gas. Releasing the clutch, the rear wheels began to spin out of control spewing ice chips in its wake. The Ford rocked back as Mike pushed in the clutch, then lunged forward as the clutch was carefully let out. The rear wheels continued to spin gaining no purchase.

     “Wait!” RJ hollered.  He put a large tarp under the rear tires. “Okay!”

     Mike let out the clutch… and the tarp whipped under the tire and shot out the back, leaving the tarp behind the truck totally useless!

     RJ laughed as Mike stuck he head out the truck’s window.  Grabbing a plank, RJ stuffed the wood under the rear wheel.  “Try that,” he called to Mike.

     Nothing. The truck doesn’t have enough weight in back to move.

     “Deb, do you want to drive?” RJ asked.

     “Sure,” I replied.

     Mike opened the door and I grabbed the wheel, pulling myself into the seat of the cab. The steering wheel is huge as is the stick.

     “Try second gear,” RJ directed.

     I slipped into second gear and gave it some gas, as Mike and RJ push from behind. The rocking, pushing, and rolling went on the quite a while, until the guys were able to push the truck close enough to the driveway, so RJ could get the Tahoe and pull the ol’ Ford off the ice and onto the asphalt.  By now, it was getting dark. We had lost our light and it was too late to pick up another cord of wood. It would have to keep until tomorrow.

     “Mike, do you want to have dinner with us?”

     “No thanks. I have some friends coming over to visit and play cards.”

     “Maybe next time?” I asked.

     “Yea, next time sounds good,” he replied.

     RJ and I said goodbye to Mike and collected the trash to be taken to the street. I dumped the cat litter into a trash bag and brought it outside. RJ and I take the trash barrel and the recycling bins up to the street for tomorrow trash pickup.

     It was getting late, so we decided to call it a night and read in bed for awhile before turning in.  Sleep came easy after RJ stacked all that wood and pushed Mike’s truck off the ice. I was just tired from working at the Inn.

     I woke up to Bentley needing to go outside. I let him and Cooper out. As I walked into the dark dining room, I slipped on something. I turned the light on to see that Cooper had upchucked his entire dinner on the Oriental carpet. Great! So there I am at some ungodly hour, scooping up dog puke. I have some carpet cleaner, so with my rag and cleaner, there I am spraying and wiping “yuck” off the carpet. I let the dogs in and they, of course, go immediately to their beds, which take up large blocks of floor space.

     I yawned and made a stop at the bathroom before returning to bed. May as well take care of business while I’m up. I may get to sleep through the rest of the night.  I’m noted for not turning on lights. My bathroom carpet was partially curled up. I leaned over and straightened it out, took a step, and kicked something with one foot and stepped on something with the other. Hmmmm…. Time for lights. Oh my God!  Sam, my Maine Coon Cat, decided my bathroom carpet was a great place to poop! Awe… This is not what a signed up for in the middle of the night! Then it struck me. I never refilled Sam’s litter. So after cleaning up the bathroom, I went back to the kennel and filled his litter box. I can’t believe it. Sam even used the bathtub. That’s enough for one night. I’m going back to bed. See you in the AM.

     It's Valentine's Day! Life at the Inn is good. Couples are together enjoying each other's company. I still have 2 more couples coming.  I'm quite sure they are having dinner out somewhere.  Dinner reservations are always so tough on a holiday or special occassion like today. I suppose that is why RJ and I are going out to dinner tomorrow night rather than tonight.

      RJ bought me these gorgeous mixed bouquet of flowers. I just love wild flowers and this is about as close as he could get in the dead of winter. For dinner, we are making a steak with broiled shrimp in a lemon butter sauce on a bed of brown rice. I have a mixed green salad with cherries tomatoes, yellow and orange peppers, thinly sliced zucchini with Vadalia Onion dressing topped with French fried onion rings. For dessert we are having Cherry Cheesecake on a homemade graham cracker crust. That should do it for tonight. Perhaps a glass of Chardoney would be nice.

     I am very blessed. RJ sent me a lovely card while he was traveling and he gave me another one for Valentine's Day. He is so thoughtful. I can't image what my life would have been without him. We have had a wonderful life together for the last 40 years and I do not want any other life but my life with him. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as we do it together. Happy Valentine's Day, Baby. Here's to many, many more! Love... me

     The phone rings. Brrring. Brrring. I answer it’s persistent sound.

     “Good morning. Genesee Country Inn. This is Deborah. How may I help you?”

     “Hi. This is Mike Brian from RNews. I would like to do an interview about the Genesee Country Inn as a close getaway. Is it possible to come out on Monday and take some pictures.”

     “Sure. That will be fine.”

     “Great! Is 11:00 AM okay?”

     “Yes. That’s fine. Is there something I should do to get ready?”

     “I would like to take some shots of a typical breakfast and then pictures of the Inn. Is that possible?”

     “I can do that.”

     “Okay. Then I’ll see you at 11:00 on Monday. Again, my name is Mike Brian and my number is 585-XXX-XXXX in case anything changes, but I’m sure it will not.”

     “Thanks. I’ll see you on Monday.”

     I arrive at the Inn early, much earlier then I have to because my guests are eating breakfast at 10:00 AM. The smell of fresh ground roasted coffee filled the air, along with the sweet smell of Cranberry Nut Bread. The dishes lightly clatter as I set the table, two groups of two.  The Oven-
Baked Pancake rises and curls up the side of the pie plate. Beautiful and perfect! It will look gorgeous on the table with fresh black raspberries and slices of banana and a dusting of powdered sugar gracing the dish.

     My guests enjoy a hearty breakfast after a relaxing evening and peaceful night’s sleep. They are leaving to visit the Abbey of the Genesee in Piffard. The monastery is always a must see when you visit the Inn. Peaceful, spiritual, and breath-taking. And you can not forget to buy the Monk’s bread that is made right there. Fresh and flavorful!

     As they leave on their adventure, I hurry to clear tables and prepare for Mike Brian’s visit. I feel flush and remove my sweater. Must be from working in the kitchen, I tell myself. As I clear dishes, I see someone outside across the street in the church parking lot with a video camera. “Uh Oh. He’s here,” I whisper to no one.

     Today was Bentley’s 4^th birthday. A friend of ours decided to throw him a birthday party at the park. Mike invited 11 dogs to join in the fun. Of course, we didn’t think anyone would really come, but at 10:00, we loaded the dogs into the truck and drove to the MacKay Nature Reserve to see if this event was really going to happen. As we pulled into the parking lot, there was Mike with nine other dogs waiting for Bentley and Cooper to arrive. Mrs. MacKay was even there to join in on the fun.

     There were three labs (one yellow, and two chocolate), two Bichon Frise, a Poodle a Collie/Shepherd mix, an Australian Shepherd, Golden Retriever, our Engish Springer Spaniel and our Great Dane.

     One of the owners brought Bentley a “gift” – a pound of hot dogs!  RJ, of course, broke the hot dogs up into pieces and shared with the other dog guests. Bentley also got a rawhide bone and a ham hock. I guess he thought he was in doggie heaven.  RJ had brought a bag of biscuits for our guests to enjoy.  It was amazing that these dogs could come together and be so well mannered. They played. They ate.  They rolled around in the snow and chased each other.

     After a morning of romping in the park, it was time to go home.  Bentley was pooped from his party and visiting with all his friends. Happy Birthday, Bentley!

     I went to the Rochester Central Library this evening to hear Jack Garner talk about 1001 movies you have just got to see before you die! He had 150 must see films. I was amazed that I had seen about 70-80% of them already. That’s scary!

Here are a few the of the all time greats that are must see.

1. The Reader
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Into the Wild
4. Brokeback Mountain
5. There Will Be Blood
6. A Beautiful Mind
7. Pulp Fiction
8. Alien
9. Blade Runner
10. LA Confidential
11. A River Runs Through It
12. A Year of Living Dangerously
13. The Departed
14. Jaws
15. Raiders of the Lost Ark
16. Taxi Driver
17. Saving Private Ryan
18. Godfather I and II
19. In the Heat of the Night
20. The Pawnbroker
21. A Streetcar Named Desire
22. The King and I
23. To Kill A Mockingbird
24. Casablanca
25. It’s A Wonderful Life

And of course there were a lot more but these were a few of my favorites.

     I have always been a big movie fan, even as a kid. Saturday afternoons were double feature days. My friends and I would walk down to the Bailey Show to see whatever was playing.  I’d stop at the bar to see my dad and get a few coins for the ticket and penny candy at Leader’s Drug Store. 

     Our family’s bar was located on the corner of Bailey and Genesee. I’d go into the side door, pass the tables and chairs, to the bar where my dad was working. I would wait as patiently as a kid can, until my dad could break away from customer and say “hi” and ask me what I wanted. I would tell him I was going to the show and he would give me 25 cents for the movie and a dime for candy.  Ten cents usually went pretty far back then. 

     After leaving the bar, we would cross

     The foyer was big and lush with marble floors that shined like a new dime. Against the wall on the left were three booths built into the wall with telephones. The seats were wood and highly polished.  A folding wooden door with glass inserts could be closed for privacy. The diamond-shaped pattern extended all the way to the double doors that were covered in a dark red velvet curtain and opened to a massive auditorium lined with rows of seats.

     The carpet was dark red, thick, and plush, so if anyone walked in during the film you didn’t hear them.  On the wall to the right was posted the times of the movies. A tiny light extended over the small plague so you could read the times even in the darken theater.

More tomorrow…

     It is quiet this morning. The sound of the furnace makes a soft rumbling sound as it spreads warm air through the vents in the floor. Cooper sits at my feet, leaning on the calf, keeping my toes warm. Bentley, my couch potato, is still curled up on his bed, which is the size of a floating mattress.

     The keys to my keyboard sound exceptional loud, only to be overshadowed by the muffled sounds of heat. The kettle boils but does not whistle. The cap is long gone and I watch as the steam creeps up to microwave, coating it with pearls of moisture.  I shuffle over to the stove, turn off the gas. The steam still rises and I lift the kettle and pour the water into my cup. The tea bag floats. Cooper is at my side. 

     I dip the spoon into the water and scoop out the tea bag that is floating. I squeeze out the water with the spoon and my fingers – hot – and throw it in the trash under the sink. The tea smells hot and I try to sip. I blow on the surface and attempt to sip again. Still to hot. I look out the window. The woods are still covered in a winter blanket and there is no sound.

     Taking the cup, I return to the table in the dining room.  The furnace is now quiet. Cooper returns to his place under the table by my feet. His breathing is heavy and loud. His eyes are closed. I sip the warm liquid and savor the flavor.

     Ask I work, the creek next to the “little” house, gurgles, “Where are the ducks?” before it flows over the waterfall and continues down to Oatka Creek. I look. The ducks are not upstream. Maybe later.

     Paper is strewn over my table, along with my sewing machine and pinned fabric waiting for thread to hold it together and become something. My mind wanders through my list of the day. That which has been completed has been filed away and new projects remerge, begging for completion.  My multi-colored bulky yarn is bunched in the center of the table next to the silver tray that holds a stapler, two pens, a magazine, and a book review. Valentine’s Day cards are neatly piled next to my book on top of the address book waiting for a pronouncement of my love for my family. I have time.

     The silence is broken by the sharp ring of the phone. I answer.

     “Attention, homeowners, are you behind one payment?”

I hang up. Computerized Telemarketing. They are a disruption I do not need.

      It seemed as though as soon as I slipped into some much needed sleep, Bentley was barking that low gutteral sound that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I threw my covers off and search for my slippers with my toes. "Bentley, why are you barking?"
     More deep throated sounds eminated from his throat.
     "Bentley?"
     The house was dark except for some light bouncing off the pond and shining into my living room window.
     "What's up, boy? What's bothering you?"
     Bentley stood poised and ready to burst out the door.  I walked over to the side door, unlocked the dead bolt and peered out the glass. Nothing.  At least nothing I could see. 
     "There's nothing out there, " I said.
     By now, Cooper is at my heels whining.
     "I don't get it. Boys, you should be sleeping. Enough!"
     It is quite apparent the dogs are not going to settle down, so I opened the door and watched them push me out of the way as they forced their huge bodies around me. It was cold and bitter outside. Bentley didn't even use the stairs as he jumped from the porch onto the ground in a puff of snow. Lunging over mountains of piled snow, Bentley easily glided toward his quarry. The deer was standing so close to the house, I didn't even see him in the shadows. Cooper had the scent and was following Bentley close behind.
     Another deer bounded off toward the Inn, down the slope, and over the creek. He was up the opposite side of the bank before Bentley or Cooper could get nearby.  Running to the backyard, another deer bounded off into the woods behind the house and out of site.  Snow flew everywhere as the deer kicked up clods of ice and snow with their hooves.  The boys didn't know where to run next.
     With the deer off the property and the boys unable to pursue because of the invisible fence, they can back to the door looking for me and back to their beds.
     That was enough excitment for one middle of the night adventure.
    

      Today is Martin Luther King Day. A time to reflect on our great nation, about where she has been and where she is going.

Martin Luther King
August 28, 1963 

     This has been a fascinating week since we’ve been back from L.A. It’s been one thing after another all week. It actually felt good to go to church this morning and have some quiet time to think, mediate, and pray.

     And then it was off to Ace Hardware to pick-up fuses for the telephone system that decided to quit yesterday while we were trying to defrost drains and insulate walls. Now that all the “emergencies” are resolved, tomorrow I’ll be working in the basement to finish straightening up and packing away Christmas decorations and organizing linens. 

     I received a replacement printer from HP only to have it not recognized on my network by my laptop. I figured it was my laptop since I have the older one with XP, but no… it’s RJ’s, too, and he has the new one with Vista. Lucky for me, J is pretty savvy on the computer, so through remote access, he will get me up and running. My, my! What would I do without my boys?

     Today is N’s birthday and he is celebrating in Costa Rica. What a lucky guy! I called him, and of course, he did not answer. No reception. But I sang “Happy Birthday” to him anyway.  Then RJ called and sang to him again.  What fun! There will be card waiting for him when he returns to the States, but in the meantime, I wished him a glorious day.

     We had dinner at my sister’s today. Auntie A and Auntie R were there, along with my niece, my cousin S and her husband R and my sister’ husband B and son S. Food was great. We had stuffed artichokes (my favorite) and lasagna with fresh baked bread and Brown Betty for dessert. She really outdid herself.  I ate too much and enjoyed every mouthful.  We exchanged Christmas gifts since I didn’t get to see her over the holidays due to the weather. It was like celebrating Christmas all over again. I made her a knitted caplet and she got really creative and got my some fabric I had picked out when we had a girl’s afternoon out in Allentown (a very special, artsy section of Buffalo), with a very neat sewing basket and instructions for a quilted bag I wanted to make. She is so thoughtful.  I have got to come up with something nifty for her.  I still have the buttons she picked out at my favorite fabric store, so I think I’m going to have to make her a sweater or wrap so I can use those buttons.

     She gave me this beautiful Christmas card that made me cry. Gosh, I’m getting weepy in my old age. I think what makes me so emotional is that I feel so deeply about the people that mean so much to me that I get overwhelmed and it manifests itself in tears.  I picked out a birthday card for N about growing into such a wonderful man and there I was, in the store, crying.  So in my emotional state, I pick out another card for Valentine’s Day for RJ.  Needless to say, you guessed it, more tears.  Thank goodness I didn’t pick out any more cards. The salesgirl would have probably escorted me out of the store before I ruined her cards with my tears.

     The weather is starting to moderate.  I guess 20 means moderation since 0-5 has been the norm.  The winds have died down and we should stay in the 20’s for most of week before it returns to those awesome teen numbers again.  This weather has been unusually hard.  The good news is the snow here has been actually low. Buffalo has been getting a lot more snow that us. In fact, on our way home today, it continued to snow right into Pembroke. Then… no heavy snow, just a few flurries and by the time we got home… no snow at all.

     Not bad for a day’s work…

     It is 2 degrees out there and RJ and I have just returned from the Inn. The pipes were frozen again and we were concerned about bursting since the wind chill tonight is around -25. Brrrr... I swear we already put over 2 rolls of insulation around the pipes to prevent anymore freezing. I think we found the air leaks, so that is now resolved.  The plan for spring will be to get under the house addition and reinsulated. 

     It’s 1:30 AM and I’m still up. I have so many things to do and just not enough hours in my day.  Tomorrow I have a meeting with a church group for a retreat, which requires a bit of preparation. I don’t think I’ll have that much time in the morning to do everything. I’ll just need to stay up a little longer.

     I have a fire going this evening and the house feels warm and comfortable. The weathermen say it will remain cold for another day before the second front comes in with snow. Can you believe it? This is turning into a very cold winter.

     Have you ever been on Facebook?  I am so surprised that so many of my family and friends are finding their way to this venue. In fact, I have heard from some people I have not heard from in 40 years. Forty years! I can’t believe it’s been that long since I graduated from high school. I have been very interesting catching with my old classmates. Perhaps if time is good to me, I’ll get a chance to see them again.  That I would enjoy!

     RJ spent most of the day fixing a leak in the bathroom. It really turned into a project. Fortunately, the bathrooms are all good. Everything is working including the fireplaces. Yeah!!! So now he is into repairs. The faucet had an annoying drip, which he thought needed to be fixed while we are not so busy.

     I’ve been taking advantage of this time to finish editing my book, clean the “little” house, and work on my press releases and newsletter. That should keep me busy for a few days, especially since the temperature has dropped to 13 degrees from 29 within a few hours this evening.  I have the wood burning stove on and the “little” house is nice and toasty. Fortunately, RJ was outside this afternoon chopping wood so we are set for the next few days. That should get us through this cold snap.

     I was at a Rotary meeting this evening, a joint meeting, with the Rochester Rotary for the Deaf. Very interesting! We had a lovely dinner and talked about the upcoming Groundhog Dinner fundraiser on February 2.  We usually work at that fundraiser and I bake pies.

     On an aside, I’ve been reading the book Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, a Swedish writer. It is just wonderful! An absolutely unsettling story about vampires and very well done.  My son M gave it to me for Christmas. The movie, Best Narrative Feature Founders Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, was recently released. M saw the film and raved about it, so he bought me the book. I wish would have had time to see the movie while we were in L.A., but there just so much time.

     I did manage to finish my caplet today.  Even though I ran out of the original yarn, I unraveled the fringe and crocheted it again with a deep brown natural wool. Then I trimmed the collar with the same yarn and crocheted a rosette for the neck. I was so happy with the way it turned out. I’ve already made 2 of them and given them away, of course. I think I’m going to knit another one and put it in the shop. Never know.  Maybe I’ll knit a couple. They are fashionable and beautiful.  I’ll have to remember to take a picture of it.

     Till later…

     The temperatures are dropping and they are going to continue to drop throughout this week. This, of course, always raises my level of concern when it comes to my plumbing in “this old house.”  Naturally, my worse fear came true. Two of my bathroom tubs were not draining. And why were they not draining? Well, dripping of the faucet left enough water in the tub drain to freeze and create a block.

     Meanwhile RJ was outside plowing out the driveways and parking lots. He has this thing about creating paths for the guests… our dogs… to the dock… to the wood pile… and so on. This is after Bubba, my plow guy, goes his job and moves the mounds of snow out of the way so we can get out from the “little house.”  Bubba gets finished in what I think is a reasonable amount of time considering what he has to do.  RJ’s plowing, on the other hand, takes quite a bit of time because of all the hand shoveling that needs to be done. Besides sidewalks, there are decks to be shoveled, fire escapes and patios.

     So while RJ is outside doing his thing, I’m inside cleaning rooms, doing dishes, and vacuuming. I wandered downstairs to finish the Stewart Room when I hear this dripping. Dripping is not good. There should be no dripping is there is no water on. So I check out the McGinnis and there is water standing in the bathtub. Hmmm… why is that? I’ve never had a problem in this bathroom. The temperature in the room is around 55. I went into the Skivington. Now there we have had a problem. Last winter the pipe froze up and RJ spent half a day unplugging it. This year I made sure I kept the rooms warming to avoid this situation.  Guess what? There was standing water in that bathtub, too! Agh!!! I scooped that water out of the tub and tossed it down the toilet.  Then I added lots of hot water. I figured the hot water would warm up the tub and hopefully the drain pipe.

     Then I was off to the McGinnis to do the same thing.  Drain the tub and add lots of hot water. I must of drained and added hot water 3 TIMES trying to thaw out those pipes. By then RJ had come over to the Inn, and decided to turn off the water in that section of the house to change washers to prevent the dripping and therefore the ice clog.  By then, it was going on 4:00 PM, and we were expected at the Rotary Club’s get-together for their visitors from South Africa.  I left my frozen drain pipes and I went to the “little house” to make dinner and change by clothes for the gathering.

     When I returned at 9:30 PM, RJ and I decided to check the bathrooms before we called it a night.  The McGinnis had drained. Yea!!! By I was not so lucky with the Skivington. The water in the tub was cold so I scooped all the water out, tossed it in the toilet and wiped out the tub. There was still standing water in the drain. Not much I could tonight.  It was getting late. 

     We have a Don the plumber coming over tomorrow to work on the thermostats that are not working properly.  Two of them are not controlling the call for heat for the fireplaces. He may be doing bathtub drain if I can’t get it to drain by the time he gets here.

     Then it’s off to Henrietta. I need to get the Tahoe inspected, which will leave me some time to grocery shop and pick up the yarn I need to finish my caplet. Now that’s another story.  I had worked so hard on my caplet for my sister only to run out of a particular color. Now RJ knows I have a stash of yarn. I mean a really large stash of yarn. All kinds. I pulled out one of my boxes in search for a matching color. I was sure I had one more skein left.  I only needed about 25 yards or so. Of course, I couldn’t find anything close. I had about 6 other colors that were the same yarn and not one of these colors would match. Aghh! again.  So now I’ll have to buy one more skein to finish. I’m planning to visit my sister on Sunday, so it better be finished.

     More tomorrow on my frozen pipes.