Posted in beach, Family, friends, gratitude, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, writing, tagged hallowed ground, Hawaii, Honololu, monument, Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor Day, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, sacred, tombs, USS Arizona, USS Utah, Valor, veterans, WWII on December 6, 2021| 6 Comments »
On this day, 80 years ago, 2,403 service members and civilians were killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Additionally, 1,178 people were injured. Two U.S. Navy battleships (the USS Arizona and the USS Utah) permanently sank. 88 aircraft were destroyed. On Aug. 23, 1994, the United States Congress designated Dec. 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.
(more…)Posted in Autumn, Baer House Inn, blogging, books, eating, Family, food, friends, gratitude, Holidays, innkeeping, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, love, pumpkins, reading, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, writing, tagged Cooking, family time, give thanks, holiday meal, holiday shopping, holidays, prayers, Shopping, thankful, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving prayer, turkey on November 22, 2021| 8 Comments »
The holiday crush is upon us. It’s time to pack on the pounds and dole out the dollars. With a mad dash here and a mad dash there, here a dash, there a dash, everyday a dash, dash. In other words, it’s the holidays. November and December are always such special months of the year. But ultimately, the hustle and bustle culminates in the sharing of relaxed meals with loved ones and cozy nights by the fire.
Posted in Baer House Inn, Family, food, friends, gratitude, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, money, positivity, success, travel, Vicksburg, weather, writing, tagged bad luck, Baer House, displaced, electricity, evacuation, evacuees, good luck, haven, Hurricane Ida, hurricanes, innkeeping, Louisiana, lucky, Mississippi, no electricity, running water, safe place, storm damage, storm shelter, utilities on September 6, 2021| 8 Comments »
The best advice, when life hands you lemons, is to make lemonade. Not always an easy thing to do. Well, I’ve been handed some lemons. Lots of lemons. Cancellations have been flooding in – AGAIN. Between school starting, this new covid variant, and threats of violent weather, people were opting not to travel to Vicksburg. August is usually our month of European travelers. But, we all know they are still forbidden to travel to the US. So . . . . here we sit. Again. With a houseful of empty rooms and a lap full of lemons.
(more…)Posted in awards, blogging, Family, friends, goals, gratitude, humor, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, positivity, resolutions, success, travel, watching tv, writing, tagged 2020 Olympics, athletes, best athletes, cheering, gold medals, gymnastics, international sports, medals, olympics, sports, Tokyo Olympics, underdogs, winners, winning athletes on August 2, 2021| 7 Comments »
I enjoy watching the Olympics, but I don’t get to see as many events as I’d like. In years past, I recorded them on my DVR but there are so many events I don’t care to watch, that it gets tiresome fast-forwarding past them to get to the good juicy events I really want to see. This go round I’ve seen almost no events, but I did catch some highlights. One constant for me is that I almost always find myself rooting for the unexpected underdog who shows up out of nowhere with overwhelmingly high scores and blows everybody else out of the water. Or wins by a nose. You know? That athlete that sneaks up on everyone who is supposed to win and steals that medal. The one nobody is watching. Yeah, that person.
(more…)Posted in blogging, friends, gratitude, Holidays, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, positivity, resolutions, Vicksburg, weird, weird facts, writing, tagged 4th of July, celebrations, Civil War, Civil War history, culture, Dwight Eisenhower, grudges, heritage, history, holding a grudge, Independence Day, siege of Vicksburg, southern, southern lifestyle, southern way of life, US history on July 5, 2021| 2 Comments »
I love the 4th of July! It’s one of my favorite holidays. I’ve said it before, several times, I love all things patriotic. Patriotic music always makes my chest swell with pride. Putting my hand over my heart during the national anthem reminds me of all the sacrifices our founding fathers endured so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy today.
(more…)Posted in awards, blogging, Family, friends, gratitude, Holidays, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, positivity, resolutions, success, writing, tagged combat, honor, Memorial Day, military, military service, never forget, patriotic, patriotism, respect, sacrifice, soldiers, ultimate sacrifice, USA, veterans on May 31, 2021| 4 Comments »
Memorial Day means different things to different people. Lots of people attribute this long weekend with the beginning of summer. For some it’s a day off work, a day to sleep in, a day to cook outside. It’s a time for camping, boating, backpacking, backyard BBQ’s and more. Some people think of it as the last days of the school year. Some people look forward to super savings with Memorial Day sales at department stores. And that’s all good. But let us NEVER forget the true importance of this holiday – that we honor the men and women of our armed forces whose sacrifices allow us to live in a (still) free country.
(more…)Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, breakfast, eating, Family, food, friends, goals, gratitude, health, humor, innkeeping, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, positivity, resolutions, success, Uncategorized, writing, tagged calm, calming videos, curveballs, disappointment, frustration, keep going, knocked down, life, life happens, meditation, nature, overwhelmed, positive thoughts, working out on May 24, 2021| 6 Comments »
Last week was a very long, very overwhelming, and very frustrating week. It seems like every single thing was a struggle. Electronics weren’t working the way they were supposed to, guests weren’t acting the way they normally do, jars wouldn’t open, knives wouldn’t cut, food wouldn’t cook, life was just one giant curve ball. Nothing was easy.
(more…)Posted in Baer House Inn, goals, gratitude, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, positivity, success, Vicksburg, writing, tagged Facebook, ghosting, God, help wanted, interviews, introductions, job interviews, job skills, jobs, message from God, optimism, part-time job, pearly gates, post office, professional conduct, resume, unprofessional conduct, USPS, working on May 17, 2021| 8 Comments »
The time has arrived! And that’s a very good thing. We’ve reached a point here at the Baer House where it has once again become necessary to hire help. That’s a good problem to have because that means we’re busy. When the Covid unpleasantness hit last year and there was so much confusion and fear and everything was forced to shut down, I had to let my housekeeper go, for obvious reasons. No use having someone come to clean guest rooms when there aren’t any guests, just lonely dark rooms.
(more…)Posted in Birthdays, Family, friends, gratitude, health, humor, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, love, motivation, On Common Ground, On Hallowed Ground, On Solid Ground, pets, positivity, resolutions, travel, vacation, writing, tagged eye contact, eyes, faces, hug, hugging, hugs, humanity, humans, life, masks, missing life, normal, smile, smiles, unmask on March 8, 2021| 6 Comments »
I think by now, most of you know I try to be upbeat and positive whenever possible. I try to find the sunshine on the dreary days and I look for the good among the bad. I’m not gonna lie, this past year has tested my ability to focus on the good. Some days it feels like the hits just keep on coming and not in a good way. But, hopefully things are starting to turn around and the world is heading back toward “normal.”
(more…)Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, food, gratitude, humor, innkeeping, inspiration, Jansen Schmidt, motivation, positivity, Vicksburg, weather, winter, writing, tagged bird food, bird watching, birds, cold, cold weather, deep south, freezing, freezing temperatures, Frozen, ice, icicles, inspiration, lessons, life lessons, Mississippi winter, sharing, shelter, winter, winter storm on March 1, 2021| 9 Comments »
The deep south recently experienced a winter storm for the record books. It wreaked havoc on millions of people in various ways. I was shocked and amused at the same time at how ill-prepared the state of Mississippi is for this type of event. The entire town essentially just shut down. Our mail didn’t get delivered for an entire week. An ENTIRE week! All the government offices were closed. Most restaurants were closed. Even the grocery stores and casinos (which never close) were closed. Hotels along the interstate were overflowing because the highway was shut down and people were stranded. It was epic.
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