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…)Archive for the ‘travel’ Category
Making Lemonade
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 »
Just Sitting Here Waiting On the Hurricane
Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, eating, Family, food, friends, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, weather, writing, tagged bad weather, evacuations, flooding, hurricane, Hurricane Ida, hurricanes, Ida, natural disasters, rain, storm preparations, storms, tropical storm on August 30, 2021| 13 Comments »
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?
Sshhh – I’m Not Rooting For the Home Team
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…)It’s Not Exactly How I Imagined It
Posted in Baer House Inn, Birthdays, blogging, cancer, friends, goals, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, love, motivation, moving, resolutions, success, travel, Vicksburg, writing, tagged being prepared, business anniversary, business plan, cross-country move, inn ownership, innkeeping, laundry, lists, new business, new life, old houses, planning, transitions, ups and downs on July 26, 2021| 8 Comments »
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.
(more…)New Shoes For Dummies
Posted in beach, beauty products, blogging, Family, friends, health, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, travel, vacation, weird, writing, tagged band-aids, blisters, comfortable sandals, comfortable shoes, cute shoes, feet, foot, new shoes, orthopedic shoes, pedicure, practical shoes, sandals, shoes on July 19, 2021| 6 Comments »
People love to get new clothes just before they travel, present company included. There’s something about going on vacation that inspires me to want something new and cute to wear. It’s part of the vacation experience. I know that I am not alone because often when I’m cleaning rooms after my inn guests leave, I see signs of new clothing items in the room. Shoe boxes, those annoying little plastic attachers for price tags to be affixed to clothing, brand name tags that have been clipped off and discarded in the trash.
(more…)Why’d You Call It That?
Posted in Baer House Inn, drinks, eating, food, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, names, travel, vacation, words, writing, tagged 10 South, branding, confusion, Cottonwood Public House, dining, Key to the South, logos, Mississippi, open-air dining, pubs, restaurant names, restaurants, roof, rooftop, Vicksburg on June 21, 2021| 12 Comments »
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.
(more…)Phantom Reviews
Posted in April, Baer House Inn, blogging, breakfast, eating, food, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, Paranormal, super powers, travel, vacation, Vicksburg, weird, writing, tagged alias, baffling, creepy, doorbell, ghosts, guest book, guest reviews, guests, haunted, haunted house, innkeeper, names, odd, odd stuff, phantom, pranks, skeptics, tricks on May 3, 2021| 8 Comments »
Being an innkeeper is not without its challenges. Or its rewards. And sometimes its not without its surprises. I have to admit, not much surprises me these days. I’m a true skeptic, believing nothing I hear and only half of what I see. It’s hard to impress me. It’s hard to scare me. It’s hard to surprise me. It’s hard to convince me. But sometimes . . . .
(more…)Assigned Seats
Posted in Baer House Inn, blogging, breakfast, eating, Family, food, humor, innkeeping, Jansen Schmidt, travel, vacation, weird, writing, tagged assigned seats, breakfast table, chairs, childish behavior, flexible, name cards, seating arrangements, social distancing, table, table setting, tables, tables and chairs on April 26, 2021| 10 Comments »
I’ve been an innkeeper for going on six years now and I think I’ve developed a pretty good routine and managed somehow to keep things running smoothly. Of course, there are always those unexpected things that crop up and sometimes throw me off kilter, but I think I’ve learned to be pretty flexible and accommodating if at all possible.
Lost Talents
Posted in blogging, cars, driving, first car, friends, goals, grammar, humor, Jansen Schmidt, laughter, money, reading, success, travel, tv, vacation, watching tv, weird, weird facts, words, writers, writing, tagged antiques, auto mechanics, automobiles, autos, cave drawings, cave paintings, caveman, cell phones, changing a tire, classics, directions, emojis, good old days, grammar, lost skills, lost talents, phone numbers, proper grammar, shoe laces, shoes, tie a shoe, Velcro, vintage on April 5, 2021| 9 Comments »
The world as we all knew it has changed. It always does. The world is constantly changing. Not always for good, but always changing, nevertheless. Ask your grandparents or your parents about what life was like when they were kids. Think back to when you were a kid. How much has changed in just a few short years?
(more…)Jansen Schmidt Author
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