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.

      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.
    

     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.

      I can’t believe it! I have NO HEAT! The Inn felt cool, but I had turned down the temperature to 58 before I left for L.A., but the thermostat said 50. 50!! Yikes! That is way too cool. So I jacked up the heat to 65 and started getting things ready for our guests that would be arriving that afternoon.  The fireplace in the dining room was working but the furnace had not kicked on. That was strange. I went downstairs to check on it. That metal behemoth in the middle of my basement was stone cold. That couldn’t be. I had 239 gallons of oil delivered yesterday so that wasn’t the problem.

      As I stood staring at the gauges, I decided to flush the tank, just in case. Black gook streamed from the valve followed by water. I added water to raise the level to where it was suppose to be and rechecked all the valves. Everything looked good. I went back upstairs and checked the thermostat. I wondered if a thermostat could go bad.

      Time to call RJ.

      I left the Inn and started down to the “little house.”  RJ was in the doorway with his keys, getting ready to go shopping for supplies. “We have no heat,” I called to him.

     “No heat?”

     “No heat. Forget about going shopping.”

     We went back to the Inn and he started to do the same things I had been doing. Checking the thermostat, checking the furnace, checking the valves, checking the oil tank, circuit breakers. Everything looked good. So why wasn’t this working???

     We called our heating and A/C guy with finally made arrangements for a service man to come out. My biggest fear was that I would need a new boiler.  I had planned to put a new one in next year, and this was a bit earlier than I had planned.  I waited as patiently as I could for the service guy and was thrilled to see his truck pull up to the Inn. “Hi,” he said. “My name is Lou.”

     “Hi. Boy, am I glad to see you.”

     RJ came up the driveway and greeted Lou. “So you are the man of the hour.”

     “Yes, I am.”

     We went inside and he headed straight for the basement and my oil tank. The boiler looked good as did the oil tank.  “Hmm… When was your delivery?” he asked.

     “Yesterday,” RJ replied. “We are on automatic delivery.”

     “I think you may have an air block. Your oil was too low and the boiler was unable to pull the oil.”

     Minutes later, the boiler roared to life. That rumble never sounded so good. Soon the Inn was once again warm and inviting.  Our guests arrived later that afternoon, never knowing that we were rushing around all morning trying to get the boiler working. So goes life at the Inn. J

     I am always so surprised how time gets away from me. I think I have all this time and I don’t. There is so much going on in my life that I am always looking for just a couple more hours. Time to knit… time to write… time to bake… time to spend with RJ…

     Today RJ and I spent a good portion of the day out and about. I do not have the shop gene. I start out okay, but lose interest quickly. The stores feel too crowded. No one seems happy to be there. The traffic is crazy. All those people going no where fast. I saw an accident today. It looks like someone was driving too fast and decided that the car that was changing lanes just wasn’t doing it fast enough and decided to redesign the front fender and side quarter panel.  Both cars were a mess with glass and metal all over the road. Merry Christmas to you!

     We stopped at Barnes and Nobel searching for the “perfect” gift.  Is there really such a thing as a “perfect” gift? We spend a lot of time and money buying things that we think our friends and family want or need. I’m more excited about my family coming over on Sunday for dinner. We should have about 28 people over. Now that will be a good time. Tomorrow I’ll start baking and preparing.  I only baked 12 dozen cookies and that won’t last. So it’s time to do the Christmas cookie thing. I have a couple of new recipes and several tried and true that will round out the sweets. Yesterday I baked another Blueberry Muffin Bread for the weekend and tomorrow are the Cranberry Nut Breads. I bake extra for gifts for a couple of my neighbors; Sarah, my postmistress; Jason, my trash guy; and John, my UPS guy. J, J, and N will be arriving on Sunday. I can’t wait to see my kids. I know it hasn’t been that long, but at the wedding, everyone was so busy and the trip was so short, that I felt as though I never got a chance to visit with anyone. So this week will give my time to spend with my family.  The time goes by so fast and before I know it, they will be returning to their lives and I to mine.

     I do have guests coming in on Friday and Saturday along with some family that will be staying over.  The Inn is totally decorated and looks beautiful. RJ bought a timer for the outside lights, so now we don’t have to go up to the Inn to turn off the lights manually. I don’t know why we didn’t do that last year… or the year before… or the year before that.  Sometimes bright ideas come after time, I guess.

     Here is another one of my recipes for tried and true cookies. Make sure you use a good chocolate like Ghirardelli chocolate. It makes all the different in the world!

Preheat oven to 375º F. Cream butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Beat until smooth. Add flour. Stir in shaved chocolate. Drop by teaspoonful on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on rack. Store in an airtight container.

RJ was downstairs in the basement doing whatever and I was working at the Inn in the kitchen when I heard my name called. I hollered out, “Just a minute,” finished wiping my hands, and started downstairs into the basement.  “What do you want,” I called out. No answer.

As I turned the corner around the washers, I spotted RJ rummaging through the shelves where all his jars of screws, nails, and other absolutely needed items are stored.  “What do you want,” I asked again.

He looked up briefly to say, “I didn’t call you.”

“I heard you call my name.”

“Well, it wasn’t me.” he insisted.

“Hmph,” I said. “I could have sworn that I heard you call my name.”

RJ did not reply to my statement, so I went upstairs to continue my work in the kitchen. Where the kitchen is located in the house and where RJ was working downstairs, it made perfect sense that sound could travel up to me. I mean it is an historic house. There are plenty of nooks and crannies. I’m sure his voice could carry if he called me. In fact, there have been times when he has call up to me from the basement and I’ve heard him, so what happened this time.

Maybe I’m just losing my mind and I don’t know it.

Cranberry Nut Bread

From the kitchen of Deborah Stankevich at the Genesee Country Inn

2 cups sifted flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 egg lightly beaten

¾ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1 cup whole cranberries

½ chopped walnuts

Sift flour. Sift all dry ingredients together. Add egg, orange juice, and butter.  Mix well. Fold in walnuts and cranberries. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5 greased loaf pan. Bake at 350º for 1 hour or until well done.

Makes 1 loaf.

I sit on my local library board of trustees.  At our meeting this evening we were presented with the number of circulated books and people that patronize the library. The numbers continue to grow each month as this recession continues throughout our country. I asked our director why she thought the numbers continue to increase. Her response was that when economic times get tough, people visit the library for free video materials, books, magazines, audio books, and programs for the whole family. Then my question is why is the county and state cutting funding to our public libraries when we need the money the most for all of our citizens? I am an avid reader, myself, and frequent the public library frequently.  The Monroe Library System has Overdrive, a system to download books to your computer.  I just love it. When the weather is inclement and I don’t feel like walking to the Donnelly House to my branch, I can go online and peruse a plethora of book titles, download, or go on a wait list if my favorite book is unavailable.  Unfortunately, my book habit can be very expensive, so the library is my salvation.

“So many books… so little time!”

Our selection at the branches and online are extensive, so choices are sometimes difficult. I still like the feel of a hardcover book. I don’t think online books will ever take the place of a good book in my hands. It feels real. I get lost in the words and the pages. I don’t think I would have it any other way.

Today after my guests checked out, my morning and early part of the afternoon was spent cleaning and straightening rooms.  I still need be finish decorating the guest rooms. I love to put unique Christmas items in all the rooms. This year I put more lights in the dining room on the stairwell railing. It looks so very festive. From my house, I can see the Christmas tree in the dining room and the brightly colored lights across the railing. It looks beautiful.  It’s times like this that I wish I lived at the Inn.

But then I look around me at the “little” house. The Vermont stove is burning brightly warming my house. The dogs, Bentley and Cooper, are sleeping in front of the stove, enjoying the warmth on a cold evening (27 degrees), while Sam, our Maine Coon Cat, is curled up on the dining room chair close by. RJ is sitting in the living room, Christmas shopping online, I’m sure.

Tomorrow I’ll put the wreaths on the outside front windows and the garland on the sign. I think I’ll add some bright red ribbon bows to the posts to add a bit of color. I have more guests checking in tomorrow afternoon so baking is on the agenda – Cranberry Nut Bread and Blueberry English Muffin Bread.

Christmas always makes me think about my mother.  As I decorated the trees at the Inn, my thoughts drifted to Christmases long ago. Each one of the unique glass ornaments were placed on the boughs carefully with memories of family.  After 60 years, some of the ornaments are showing some wear.  The “Merry Christmas” on one was missing an “r” and an “a,” but I still knew what it said.  The really old ones were in shapes of a Santa and a bell. Those, I think, were on my mother’s tree BC (before children). The lights glowed and filled the room with the warmth of the season. In all the front windows, I placed the dusk-to-dawn candles. They really make the Inn festive.

I put the garland on the mantles in the dining room and parlor and hung the wreaths on the front door and in the foyer.  It never ceases to amaze me how the Christmas season affects me.  RJ and I are planning our Christmas dinner with family this year at the Inn. I can’t wait! It’s one of those few times when I can get all the family together (or at least more of it) to dine and enjoy each others’ company. Ham will be on the menu this year along with lots of Christmas cookies and pies.

I was thinking about my Christmas caroling yesterday at the Monroe County Hospital and the patients who reside there. I can’t image being in that situation and not being able to communicate. I mean, I write and read and talk to people all the time. What if I couldn’t do that anymore?  Are these patients trapped in their bodies where their minds are sharp and clear and their bodies no longer able to do what they would like them to do? Or is God kind and they are totally unaware of what has happened to them?  I watched the caregivers as they tended so carefully to those in their padded chairs, some strapped in so they wouldn’t fall, others leaning so far back, they could not sit up even if they wanted. I pray for them. I ask God to be kind.