Stupid Dad Words – Part 2

On a couple of occasions in the past, I’ve blogged about my dad and his quirkiness. I’m not going to bore you with the history, but my dad is back in Mississippi and living here at the inn with my husband and I again. It has been a blessing and a burden at the same time.

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Drink Up Me Hearties Yo Ho!

Cheers! Huzzah! Mazel Tov! I’ll drink to that!

Americans have lots of expressions that accompany raising a glass and toasting something or other, be it a congratulatory tinking of crystal flutes to the bride and groom or clanking long-necked beer bottles to the father-to-be. Some have even been known to raise a glass in honor of a much-needed divorce being finalized or the good riddance of a bad boss. Either way, celebrating with alcohol is a very common and popular practice. One I highly condone, but please use moderation when imbibing. And NEVER drive afterward.

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What’s Really Going On Here?

Do you ever look at a person and immediately formulate an opinion about them, be it by their clothes, their hair, their tattoos, etc.? It’s easy to do. It’s easy to look at someone and decide right then and there that there is something wrong with them or something unpleasant enough that you want to keep your distance. But is there really something wrong with them? Are they really unpleasant to be around? Does their pink hair really mean they’re starved for attention? Do their whole-body tattoos mean they have low self-esteem? Does their revealing clothing really mean they have loose morals? Maybe. Probably not. But, if you don’t look deeper, you’ll never find out.

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Making Lemonade

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.

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Just Sitting Here Waiting On the Hurricane

It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting in my office looking outside wondering why more people aren’t out enjoying this picture-perfect day. It is absolutely gorgeous out right now. Sunny, not too hot, light breeze out of the south. It’s delightful porch-sitting, iced tea sipping weather. Except for that darned old weather forecast, I’d say it’s a downright perfect day. Hurricane? What hurricane?

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It’s Not Exactly How I Imagined It

We are going into our seventh year of inn ownership. That’s right, this week concludes the sixth year since we purchased the inn and moved to Vicksburg. A couple of weeks ago I blogged about my obsessive planning and having failsafes for the unexpected things that arise. I’m really at a loss without my lists. Well, even with a plan and lost of lists, things don’t always go according to plan.

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My Plan To Plan Has Failed the Planning Phase

If you’re like me, you’re a planner. I like things to be organized. I like lists. I organize my lists. I plan my time to make my lists. It’s a vicious cycle. But, it’s a necessary step for me. Lists keep me on task and provide a sense of accomplishment when I cross things off the list. I like to cross things off the list.

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Why’d You Call It That?

Do you ever wonder how businesses get their name? Not every business, because some business names make total sense. Like PetCo or U-Haul or John’s Corner Market. But other names, while clever, often make no sense. Amazon for instance. What does the second longest river in the world have to do with e-commerce? I mean, it’s not even the number one longest river. Why would you name your company after the SECOND anything? Wouldn’t you want to liken your business to the first of something? If I were opening – say – a hat shop, it would make sense to call it Hats Off. But if I’m going a different route, wouldn’t naming it The Nile, after the number one longest river, make more sense? I’m sure Amazon had some strategy that I’m unaware of, but to the average Jane like me, I don’t get it.

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More Downs Than Ups

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.

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When God Uses the Post Office

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.

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