Mohl With a Soul

I have a good friend, Kathy Mohl, who is a phenominal artist. A number of her paintings are on display here at the Inn.

While I use words to bring stories and ideas to life. She uses the language of energy, color and light.



The painting above captures the view from the front porch of the Inn At Beulah Beach overlooking beautiful Crystal Lake.

From the Inn's western facing front porch we enjoy absolutely stunning sunsets. I am blessed by the fact that I get to see these incredible sunsets every evening. Kathy has captured it perfectly on canvas.

The artist herself is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. They say art imitates life. Kathy's art mirrors her; heart and soul.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of viewing her work, you need to do so. To learn more about this wonderful artist, go to http://www.kathymohl.com/.

I am sure you will love her work as much as I do.

Love,
The Lady of the Lake

A Rhyme With A Reason - To Stay At The Inn At Beulah Beach

I woke up early this morning with words running through my head. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my laptop and started writing. It is now 10:30 on a sunny, spring Monday morning and I haven't even seen the shower yet. The curly hair every which way, coffee in hand, my reading glasses sliding down my nose . . . you get the picture.

I wrote another poem. You're thinking. Oh no, not again. Oh yeah. I did. I've posted it below. You see, I'm lonesome. I need guests. I want folks to know that we are open all year. You don't have to wait until summer to come see me. There is plenty to do here all year long. Summer months aren't the only time to have fun around here.

Just a few weeks ago two wonderful ladies come to stay. They played cards in front of the roaring fireplace eating freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and drinking hot tea. They watched "The Thomas Crown Affair" on the big screen TV in the living room - I even got to watch it with them.

Wedding receptions, rehearsal dinners, business retreats, golfing, weekend getaways, high school reunions - we do it all. The Inn is a wonderful place to have Thanksgiving or Christmas or ring in the New Year too. Whatever the season, I can give you a reason to stay. So, without further ado . . . .

The Inn at Beulah Beach

The Inn is now open. All month, every season.
We’re hoping our words give you rhyme with a reason.
You must come to stay. We mean it. Not teasin.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

January’s cold but there’s plenty to do.
Snowmobile, ski, cross country, snow shoe.
Or just sit by the fire with a drink or two.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

Valentine’s, Winterfest, contests and more.
Poker runs, fish tosses, fireworks galore.
February in Beulah is never a bore.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

In March there is ice fishing, shanty’s and poles.
Men and women with augers, digging small holes.
They look like they’re freezing. God bless those poor souls.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

April brings lake breezes, sunshine and showers.
Time for spring planting and nursing the flowers.
Walk on the bike trail for hours and hours.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

May boasts Memorial Weekend Parade.
Hot dogs and ice cream and cold lemonade.
Curling up with a book by Cold Creek in the shade.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

June starts the Art Fairs. Always good fun.
Or just go to the beach and lay in the sun.
There is so much to do. You’ll never be done.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

You won’t want to miss the Fourth of July.
Fireworks in front of the Inn in the sky.
Ice cream is served on freshly baked pie.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

If you need a quick break from the August heat.
Then beautiful Crystal Lake can’t be beat.
Take off your shoes, feel the sand on your feet.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

September brings Labor Day just before school.
Come to the lake, don’t sit by a pool.
Jet skiing, boating and tubing. How cool.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

Breathtaking colors – the leaves in the fall.
October’s Fall Festival sure beats the mall.
Pumpkin carving, hot cider, hayrides and all.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach

In November come join us. We’ll give thanks together.
There’s plenty to do in spite of the weather.
You won’t want to leave but you can’t stay forever.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

Last but not least brings the month of December.
Come celebrate Christmas. A time to remember.
Our guests are like family. Come be a member.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

Come see us. Come stay here. There’s plenty to do.
Our previous guests all know that it’s true.
Looking so forward to soon meeting you.
At The Inn at Beulah Beach.

~ by "Beulah Bec", a.k.a. - "The Lady of the Lake

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

Poetry In Motion

In addition to writing my blog. I've taken up writing short stories and poetry. I try to pull from life experiences and capture them on paper. I often find myself sitting and typing with either a silly grin on my face or crying uncontrollably without even realizing what I'm doing. I'm caught in the moment or the memory. Don't worry dear guests. I reserve my writing time for when no guests are here. You're safe.

Most recently, I found myself writing poems. The mood and the words just struck me.

The other day my best friend had a discussion with me about choices. Zigging when I should have zagged, saying yes when I should have said no. Choosing the dark vs. the light.

At the end of the day we are responsible FOR ourselves and TO each other. All we can control is what we do. It's true. Everything in life is a choice. Sometimes we make good ones, sometimes bad ones. I believe that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react.

I've tried hard to keep that attitude. To follow my dreams. Be true to myself. Model the behavior I want. To keep my commitments. It's not always easy and I haven't always succeeded. The key is to get up each day and keep trying. To start zagging if I wrongly zigged. Say no when necessary. Return to the light, out of the darkness.

So here you go. A poem about choices. About how I'm trying (not always perfectly) to live my life. Poetry in motion . . .

CHOICES

~ by Rebecca Marie Crosby


Life has its challenges. Ups and then downs.
Moments that change us. Bring smiles or bring frowns.

Often our attitude helps us get through it.
Expecting the best versus thinking we blew it.

Our choices define us. Make us who we are.
We can dig a deep hole or reach for a star.

Tigger or Eeyore. Which will it be?
We always have choices, you and me.

You can choose happiness. You can choose strife.
This is your one and only life

Sing your own song and dance your own dance.
No dress rehearsals, only one chance.

People can hurt us but soon we will heal.
And, things of this world aren’t that big a deal.

Be true to yourself and follow your dreams.
Stay the course, no matter how hard it seems.

Rise above fear. Resist its appeal.
It’s only False Evidence Appearing Real.

Choose to be happy. Learn how to love.
Give the things you can’t handle to God above.

Believe in yourself. Find your true voice.
And know that in everything you have a choice.

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

For The Love of Pete!

I used to be a Realtor. With that came carrying a briefcase, wearing a suit and high heels. I used to love fashion. I used to love dressing up. I used to love shoes.

Quitting my real estate job, buying the Inn at Beulah Beach and becoming an Innkeeper was quite the transition. From serving clients’ home buying and selling needs to serving breakfasts, making beds and cleaning toilets. Not much need for dressing up, briefcases or high heeled shoes when you're up to your eyeballs in cleaning supplies and on your knees......scrubbing floors. For the love of pete.

On moving day, the large moving van arrived to load up my belongings and haul them up north to my new B&B. The three bears, I mean, the three big, burly moving guys did a walk through to plan their attack. That’s when they saw them. Box after box of shoes. My boxes of pink shoes, black shoes, black and white shoes. My boxes of brown shoes, red shoes and boots. Yes, boxes and boxes. I had them sorted and boxed by color. Sick and wrong you say. Well, fine. Okay. I resemble that remark. Onward….

Well those big, burly moving guys kinda looked at each other and snickered. You could just see the thoughts hovering over there heads in little “word balloons” like in comic strips….. “for the love of pete lady”.

So, $2000, 100 miles and 3 boxes of doughnuts later, the three big, burly mover guys were unloading my belongings into my lovely new B&B. Soon the over 6000 square foot Inn was filled to the gills with furniture, artwork, plants and boxes. Boxes of dishes, boxes of décor, boxes of shoes.

New neighbors and friends stopped to welcome us; excited to see the Inn re-opening after being closed for 2 ½ years. Argh. Shear chaos lied within. A veritable jungle of moving boxes piled high and every which way intermingled with artificial palms and trees. A cardboard mess. Undanted and smiling with anticipation, they filed in. So I gave them the tour, sharing my plans, thrilled by their excitement. They walked, they talked, they looked.

Then – they stopped. There, in front of them, were my boxes of shoes! Mouths dropped open, eyes bugged out, fingers pointed. “For the love of pete Bec, why do you have so many shoes?" I had a great answer already prepared….. “Because”, I said. (Because ..... what other answer is there?) "Uh, well you won't be needing those here", they said, almost in unison. "How can you walk in those? Those aren't practical. Oh, wait, these are nice, what size shoe do you wear?" Aha! Fine, okay, whatever, onward.

For two weeks after moving into the Inn, two dear friends came to stay and help me with rennovations. They hung new light fixtures, they built the stand for our sign, they helped me refinish the beautiful hardwood floors we found like treasure under the worn carpet.
Best of all - They built me a closet. Guess what’s in it. My shoes.

About a month ago, I went out to dinner with one of my dearest friends. She drove. The blustry, wintery evening continued to shower down sheets of white as we made our way down the dark, back roads of Benzie County to the restaurant. She wore black pants, her Ugg boots and her man's ski coat. I wore a dress with a denim jacket, a brown shawl (I call it my blanket on the go) and my spike heeled brown suede boots (I love them). She looked at me and said, "If we end up stuck in the snow or breaking down I guess I'LL be the one to go for help since I'm wearing the PRACTICAL shoes. I looked at her and said, "WHAT?" (As in I can walk in these. I've got skill. I've got game. Oh yeah sister.) For the love of pete.

It's been 11 months since my move to beautiful downtown Beulah. To beautiful Crystal Lake. To my beautiful Bed & Breakfast. Down in my beautiful new closet there's a wonderful collection of shoes. Slowly but surely, I've begun wearing them less & less. The last of the collection to be worn have been my boots. Oh the letting go. Shoes and boots alike are now collecting dust while I'm collecting..... flip flops. Yesiree....I wear them ALL the time. The only time I take them off is when I'm sleeping and when it's winter and I have to go outside. Then I put on my Merrells. That's it. I only get to wear my "real shoes" when I go back home to visit friends and family.....or going to dinner with my friend just to see what she'll say :)

I wear size 8 1/2 shoes. If you do too, come see me. I've got ya covered!

P.S. – Who is Pete and why do I love him?

Love,
The Lady of the Lake

March Madness

It's March Madness time. That eagerly awaited annual frenzy that revolves around National Basketball Championships. The Sweet 16, the #1 Seed, choosing Brackets, the Final Four, etc. etc.

I know it's that time again when I get the "what where you thinking? You were interrupting Scoot watching basketball" from my Beach Bum (who wasn't watching by the way) when I try to call my sis and her husband, Scoot, answers and I hear "uh huh, uh huh, uh huh - hey can I have Chrissy call you back". Whoops. (not to be mistaken with hoops).

Well let me tell you. I've got my OWN definition of "March Madness". Yes siree. I bet that really surprises all of you. NOT. Anway - I do. Let me tell you how "I" define March Madness.

I hear about the SWEET 16 teams. You know what I think about? What comes to MY mind is my 'Sweet 16' year old Beach Baby and how she made the SOCCER team at school. Oh yeah baby. That's what I'M talking about. See - I'm a sports fan.

You see these photos? The one on the right is Beulah Beach in the summer. It's gorgeous. The lake looks aqua blue. The beach and lake bottom are sandy and clear and beautiful. Then compare it to the first photo. It's the same lake. In the Spring. Right now. Thawing. There is still ice on it. While most people are watching the basketball tourney's - I'm watching the lake thaw. In March. MADNESS.

See the dock in the water and the sunny blue sky and the sand and the green grass.
Next to it....the ice, snow and blue sky. It's spring. I read about March Madness and The Final Four picks. Well, what about the four seasons? What about THESE pics? Winter is over. It's supposed to be spring. No more snow and ice. MADNESS.

I look at photo of the Inn with all the flowers in bloom and smile. I think about my new rose garden I planted last May and smile. Then I think about the burlap tarp over them now - and I don't smile. I think about how the over 200 inches of snow we got this past winter buried the burlap tarp AND the roses. I'm not thinking about brackets and basketball. I'm thinking about the fact that the brackets holding the burlap tarp over my roses are broken from the weight of the 200 plus inches of snow that fell on them. I'm not thinking about the #1 seed in basketball. I'm thinking about my roses, herbs, flowers. I thinking about planting seeds. MADNESS.

So there you have it. Spring time at the Inn. While basketball fans around the globe - even our President - are watching basketball, choosing brackets, getting excited and cheering on their teams. I'm sitting at my desk, writing this blog, watching the ice melt. In March.

............................MADNESS.

Love,

The Lady of The Lake.

Maxwell "Smart"

This is Max. My nephew. My sissy Chrissy's youngest.
He's cute, he's seven, he's smart!

He's got that dimple, those impish blue eyes, that toe-head white blonde hair with the cowlic at the top of his head that reminds you of Alfalfa. His demeanor - sort of Dennis the Menace. I mean - just look at him. He's got the look down. He's workin it. Oh yeah baby.

His mom is a full time 1st grade teacher. She's also a wonderful wife, mother of four kids ages 7-16 and not only my sis but one of my best friends. Lucky for me she and her hubby, Scoot, have a cottage only 30 minutes from our Inn. I get to see them a lot in the summer. Many of our guests have met my sis and her family when they stop by. My sis has also sent many guests our way. Many of her teacher friends have come to stay with us. They know Max.

As a teacher, my sis is proud of the fact that all of her kids are smart. VERY SMART. She taught them all to read and write before they even entered kindergarten. Max is no exception. He is adorable. Always on the go. As the youngest of 4 he learns a lot from his sibs - Zachary, MacKenzie, & Zoey. Sometimes, when you least expect it, he'll shoot out with some comment. When his mom and dad ask him, "where did you learn that?" he'll reply, "MacKenzie and her friends". That's what big brother Zach has taught him to say. Gotta love big brothers.

The other day, my sis and I where talking on the phone trying to arrange a girls getaway weekend here at the Inn. This was all in response to the fact that my Beach Bum is having Scoot and their best bud, Magnum PU, come up to the Inn this week for a "guys trip". So, of course, we had to get a girls weekend set up.

Obviously, this requires serious discussion. The planning, etc. We were focused, we were talking, we could NOT be interrupted.

So there we were, yapping away and I could here this little voice in the background...."mom?.....mom?......mom?......MOM??????????" You guessed it, it was Max.
Isn't that always how it goes. The kids are no where to be found when you need them. They can't seem to hear you when you call them for dinner or to do chores. They can't be found when it's bedtime. They can't get away fast enough when you try to kiss and hug them goodbye when you drop them off at school each morning. "Gross mom, people are watching"...You know how it goes! But get on the phone..................no that's a horse of a different color my friend. Yes siree! It's like putting on a suit made of magnets! Kids appear from out of nowhere. Your kids, the neighbors kids, kids you never met before. Boom - there they are. They were fine a minute ago but pick up the phone and wham - they need you NOW.

Max was hungry. He wanted a waffle. All that hard work playing basketball in the driveway with his dad and sibs. "Hold on a minute", my sis said. "I've gotta make Max a waffle." A few minutes and beeping sounds later, my sis was back on the line to resume our most important girls weekend planning discussion. Within a few seconds the little voice appeared in the background again...."mom?......mom?......mom?........MOM?" Then..........silence. My sis kept talking. Remember - we were talking about SERIOUS stuff.

Like me, my sis "walks when she talks". She was walking around the house while chatting with me on the phone. Then, in the middle of a sentence, she burst into hysterical laughter. I'm talkin the snortin, tithering, side splitting kind. Ya know, where you almost can't breathe cuz you are bent over laughing your hind end off. So here I am on the other end of the phone saying, "what????????? what's so funny???????"

"Oh my gosh", she says. "I was just walking through the kitchen and Max's plate of waffles is sitting on the counter. The waffle is burned on the edges, covered in maple syrup and butter and there's a sticky note on it. The sticky note says 'THIS TASTES LIKE SH#%T' " (rhymes with bit). Written neatly and correctly.

Okay so at this point I too am bent over in hysterical laughter. Then my sister adds, "Ya know what Bec? All I could think of when I saw it was 'what nice penmanship and spelling'. "

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

You see, the waffle burned a bit. Max was trying to get my sis's attention to make him a new one. But he gave up and went out to play some more basketball. But, he wasn't going to exit without making his point known. If you can't say it, write it. So, he wrote his note and stuck it to the syrupy mess and headed back outside to play.

Gotta love it. What a proud parent/teacher moment. That deep sense of knowing. It's undeniable. Maxwell's SMART.

P.S. - my sis saved the sticky note - once the syrup dried that is.

Love,
The Lady Of The Lake

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

This is my “Beach Bum”. As I’ve stated numerous times - he is a fantastic cook. I haven’t really cooked in 17 + years. I do the baking but he does ALL the cooking. Am I spoiled or what. Women hear that and say, “Does he have a single brother?” Men hear that and say, “sshhhh – don’t let my wife hear you.” HA. Sorry guys. It’s true. He rocks in the kitchen.

It really is sort of a blessing AND a curse. His meals are always so good that it is impossible to turn them down - ever. He always makes extra when he makes breakfast for our guests. Yay for me. So inevitably I get to “sample” – okay you got me – I get a “ginormous” (that’s my word for gigantic and enormous combined) helping of whatever he makes.

Now let me just interject a key fact here. The guests are only here for a few days to a few weeks. They can “afford” to eat all the wonderful stuff my Beach Bum makes. Me, however, not so much. Day in and day out enjoying his wonderful cooking makes it extremely difficult to maintain my waistline. In fact, I was whining about my clothes being snug and told him that I felt fat. He replied in his ever so thoughtful way, “well babe it’s just because you’re happy. It’s called ‘happy fat’”. There – he had said it - I was “Fappy”. Happy + Fat = Fappy. Ugh……in my head I was thinking….. “if this is HAPPY FAT then I must be ECSTATIC.”

Therefore, I figured since misery loves company I had no choice but to put his recipe for his “famed” Overnight Blueberry French Toast on line (he said I could)! Now all of you can jot it down and add it to your recipe files. That way you can make it for yourselves and eat it and gain weight.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

Seriously, this could be a dessert it’s so yummy. You won’t be able to resist it. You know I can't. But, since we do like to spoil (and fatten up) our guests (hee hee hee….misery loves company) we sometimes make them a pseudo dessert for breakfast. It truly is a favorite and we get many requests for the recipe. So grab a blank recipe card, sharpen your pencil and loosen your belt strap – you’ll thank me later. Let’s get cookin.

What you will need:

Note: We always try to use local, fresh ingredients for our recipes. Depending on what’s in season we will serve up breakfasts using produce, baked goods, etc. from local suppliers. We like to use bread from the local bakery L’Chayim. Day old bread is fine. In season there is a great little place down the road called The Market Basket. I love to get fresh produce from there.

For the base:

12 slices day-old bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries (you'll actually need 2 total - one for the base and one for the topping which has the ingredients listed below)
12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup

For the topping:

1 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup fresh blueberries (see, told ya)
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup water

Now that you have all your ingredients – let’s pull it all together.

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange half the bread cubes in the dish, and top with cream cheese cubes. Sprinkle 1 cup blueberries over the cream cheese, and top with remaining bread cubes.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, and syrup. Pour over the bread cubes. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bread cube mixture from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cover, and bake 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking 25 to 30 minutes, until center is firm and surface is lightly browned.

Now for the topping:

In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to a boil. Stirring constantly, cook 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the remaining 1 cup blueberries. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes, until the blueberries burst. Stir in the butter, and pour over the baked French toast.

There you go. That's all there is to it. So make it, eat it, enjoy it. It will make you happy. It will make you fat. It will make you FAPPY.

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

Guests Think Inn At Beulah Beach Is 'Fan'tastic!

As I've mentioned before, one of the best things about being an Innkeeper is all the terrific people we get to meet. People from all over the United States and Europe have come to stay with us. Each and every one of them with wonderful stories. I could sit and listen for hours....sometimes I do (well after the dishes are washed, beds are made, laundry is done, toilets are scrubbed...you get the idea).

My Beach Bum and I so enjoy sitting on the porch on the beautiful summer nights or in the living room in front of the fireplace in the winter months chatting with our guests. Okay and drinking wine as I'm doing here....busted.

Whether it's talking about their families, their businesses, their dreams, their curly hair (see earlier blog "Curl Talk"), commenting on the hysterical scenes as we watch people launching their boats at the launch just down the beach (another future blog idea).....we so enjoy it.

The bottom line is we have come to love each and every one of our guests. They become like family. We miss them when they are gone. We often get letters and emails from past guests to keep us updated on how they are. Keep those cards and letters coming. What's even better is the fact that they come back to stay with us and we get to see them again.

For fun, we keep Guest/Visitors Journals in each of our rooms. Our guests are encouraged to write in the journals - writing down their comments about the Inn, what they did, who they met, their favorite part about their stay here, etc. In this way we, along with future guests, can look at the Journal and see what they thought, where they went, where they ate, etc. It is not uncommon to see things like "the best part of the weekend is she said yes" ....as one couple who stayed with us wrote after getting engaged while here. Yay.

Anyway - we absolutely love to see what people write in the Journals. I admit, it's one of my favorite things. I kid you not! I will run, not walk, RUN (trust me it's not pretty) to see what folks say after they leave. I figure good or bad - it will help us be the best Innkeepers ever. So far it's all been good. But know that I can take bad too. Really I can. Every problem is an opportunity to do something good. Make lemonade out of lemons, etc.

Well - I wanted to share one particular story and entry in our journals. A couple came to stay with us last summer right after we first re-opened the Inn. They are both teachers in Texas and were here in town visiting his elderly mom. I just need to say, we had soooooo much fun with this couple. They wrote in the journal that one of their favorite things was "sitting on the porch drinking wine til ridiculous hours with us, being guinee pigs for my Beach Bum's culinary creations and kayaking on Crystal Lake." See, I have to drink wine with our guests....they like it, they expect it, I love it!

They weren't kidding about the "ridiculous" hours thing though. Do you know how hard it is to get up at 5:30 in the morning after being up until 1:00am to start getting ready for breakfast? Not to mention the fact that my wild curly hair looks even "wilder" in the morning. So to avoid looking like "Medusa" I have to give myself a little leeway to spritz my hair into submission. Okay, okay - I'll get back on point.

Anway it was summer and although the Inn has central airconditioning we get such a nice breeze off the lake that most guests don't want the air on. They prefer to have the windows left open so they can hear the waves and enjoy the fresh air off the lake. Our guests/new friends from Texas were off to go kayaking one morning and we asked how everything was their first night here. They said they loved it and had only one suggestion. They said their only suggestion would be to consider installing ceiling fans in the rooms so they could enjoy the sound of the waves but if there was no breeze off the lake the air would still circulate and they wouldn't need the AC on. We had actually thought about ceiling fans but the lakefront rooms would not allow it given the ceiling height. So......we took their idea/comment and acted on it the best way we could.

Our guests left for kayaking and I made a mad dash to Sam's Club in Traverse City about 30 minutes away. I found these great oscilating tower fans on sale - pictured in the photo to the left. Well, I bought five of them and drove back to the Inn lickety split. I put one in each room and in the room for these particular guests I added a note that read - "Ask and you shall receive".

When our guests came back - I told them I had a surprise for them! I could hear the hysterical laughter as they discovered the fan in their room. It did the trick and all of our future guests have benefited from the suggestion.

We laughed ourselves silly on the porch that night. Making cracks about them being our biggest "FANS".

When they left I walked up, okay fine, I RAN up to clean their room - okay, okay... to READ THE JOURNAL and then CLEAN the room. I doubled over in side splitting laughter - snorting and all - as I read these words:

"We had a FANtastic time at the Inn. We are big FANs of sitting on the porch and watching the sunsets. Yes, it's safe to say that we truly FANcy this place. We have become FANatical in our support of your new endeavor. We particularly appreciate Becca's FANciful decorating and design. The chances of us not returning are inFANtesimal. Thanks most of all for your good cheer and the care you lavish on the Inn and your guests!

Thanks - The Franks."

Now is that sweet or what!?! It still makes me smile. We have the best guests. I love them. Well - I'm off to CLEAN ROOMS and do some READING. Have a FANtabulous day.

Love,

The Lady Of The Lake

St. Patrick's Day - What's it all about Alfie?

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It is celebrated every year on March 17th. Do you know why? How about the shammrocks, the green beer, the cornbeef and cabbage, the leprechauns.....what's all the fuss about?

I'm Irish - or so I'm told. My maiden name is Gannon. When I research it under Irish surnames it doesn't show up. Maybe I'm just search challenged. Anyway, I've always celebrated St. Patrick's Day like everyone else. Wear green to show I'm Irish, drink green beer (or at least some sort of green colored libation), wear my little shammrock charm, etc. etc. So, since it's St. Patrick's Day today and I had some lingering questions, I figured you all might as well. So I did some research...because inquiring minds want to know.

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is celebrated as a priest who brought Christianity to Ireland. As the legend has it, he was kidnapped as a child and taken to Ireland. While in captivity he began having visions. After escaping, he continued to have visions and those visions led him to want to return to Ireland to bring Christianity to the Irish. St. Patrick accomplished his vision and goal as Ireland was completely Christianized within 200 years of him beginning his ministry. The Irish celebrate St. Patrick's day as a holy day in honor of this. Now see, there IS something to be said for having vision, setting goals, believing one person CAN make a difference!

Okay - so that's WHY St. Patrick's Day is celebrated. A quick side note by the way. I noted above that the Irish celebrate this as a HOLY day. They actually CLOSE their pubs. Again it's considered a HOLY day. Not we Americans though - no siree - we celebrate with "green beer", cabbage (an Irish staple) and corned beef (That started in Texas by the way) and leprechauns. An interesting difference don't ya think?!

Now - lets talk legends and myths for a moment. For one, legend has it that St. Patrick "banished" all the snakes from Ireland. That is noted to be false. What IS believed is that the "banishing of the snakes" is actually a metaphor (I love metaphors) for the fact that he eradicated pagan ideology and the triumph of Christianity in all of Ireland. So - I guess you could say he kinda DID get rid of the snakes. Just not in the literal sense. Are ya with me?!

Here's another one that gets me. The leprechaun. Guess what, that is not an Irish thing. Go figure. It means "small bodied man". Here we go again with pagan stuff - referencing little green men, fairies, pots of gold at the end of rainbows. That's all stuff that came from - imagine - America. It really has nothing to do with what St. Patrick's Day is all about.

My favorite is the real story behind the shammrock. I actually do have a couple of cool charms - future blog idea - anyway, they are of a shammrock and one that says the word "lucky" as in lucky charm (I love that cereal by the way - I know - totally random). Okay - so according to my research, the shammrock is something the Irish use to symbolize the rebirth of spring. Good timing huh. Well, back in history when the English were trying to take over Ireland, the Irish took to wearing shammrocks as a symbol of their heritage. Like Christians wearing a cross, or the symbol of a fish. Kinda cool.

Last but not least, the Celtic songs and legends. As noted, the English took over Ireland. In doing so they forbade the Irish to use their own language. So much for valuing diversity huh! So, the Irish took to songs (I love Celtic music) to pass on their history and their religious beliefs from generation to generation. See, music IS the universal language.

So there you have it. St. Patrick's Day. Aren't you glad you asked. Oh wait, you didn't. Oh well, isn't that just the luck of the Irish.

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

Be A Tigger

I love Tigger. I've always loved Tigger. I sometimes even laugh like Tigger. I have a dear friend who used to tease me and imitate my Tiggeresque laugh....You know who you are! One of my local girlfriends, Gretchen, (she does NOT make fun of my laugh) gave me a stuffed Tigger. Thank you Gretchen! It sits on the bookshelf in the living room of the Inn. I love it! It's a daily reminder to "get my Tigger on!!"

I thought Randy Pausch said it best in his book, THE LAST LECTURE. He said, "in life you can be either an Eeyore or a Tigger. He chose to be a Tigger". You see, in life you can be positive or negative. It's a choice. The glass can be half empty or half full. You choose. Here was a man who was dying...soon. Leaving behind a beautiful wife, kids and a wonderful life here on earth. I know for a fact he went to a better place and left this place better. He was a Tigger! Ooohooohoooohoooo!!!...(said in escalating tone to sound like Tigger himself).

The thing about the Tigger song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCkkwNxpcbY is that Tigger bounces around all happy that he's the only one. Singing, "the wonderful thing about Tiggers is that I'M the only one". You see, I think we need LOTS of Tiggers. We can't have just one Tigger. The more Tiggers the better. Smile and the world smiles with you right!

I've come across so many Eeyores in my life. People who are negative and try to bring others down with their "woe is me" attitude and whining. I always ask them if they want me to call the "whambulance" or ask if they would "like some cheese with that whine?!" We Tigger's can't let the Eeyores of the world bring us down. No siree. We've gotta keep positive. We've gotta keep smiling.

Being an Innkeeper lets me do that. I like to think that when folks come to the Inn it's like I can give them a big hug with my home! My Beach Bum and I - we love our guests. We pamper them. We spoil them. We feed them. We love them!

One of my favorite "chic flics" is the movie "Bed of Roses" with Christian Slater. In the movie, he plays a stockbroker who quits his job after his wife and daughter are killed in an accident. He opens a flower shop and even though he is the boss....he is the delivery boy too. When his love interest (played by Mary Stuart Masterson - I think) asks him, "why do you deliver the flowers if you are the owner?". He replies, "I get to see the smile on their faces when they see the flowers. They are always happy to see me! There's no better job in the world"....or something to that effect. Anyway, my sappy point is.....That's what I love about being an Innkeeper. I get to put smiles on peoples faces - hug them, love them, spoil them, pamper them and then send them on their way. Refreshed, relaxed & rejuvinated. I love it.

So - how about you? What do you choose? Eeyore or Tigger? Don't let there be only one! Ooohoohoohoo!

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

Curl Talk...

One of the things I love about being an Innkeeper is the fact that I get to meet so many wonderful people when they come to stay with us. I love to learn from them and I also get to share some things in return.

A frequent topic of conversation is...you guessed it....my curls. Living on the lake means I get to go for a swim almost daily, well in the summertime anyway, so I've been forced to embrace my inner "curly girl". We've had many "curly girls" come to stay with us. Inevitably we do some "curl talk" and they ask me how to get curls like mine. So I tell them. Then I insist they take a look at my book about curly hair (see below) and check out my curly hair products stash....no really....I insist!! :). What's great is they always end up leaving their straightening irons in their bags and embracing their curls - at least while they are here. I have to say - it's like watching these ladies AND their curls spring to life. It's liberating - to let loose, go wild, be a curly girl.

I resemble that remark! That's lil ol me ("shirly temple") on the left...pictured here in front of the Inn. I had just enjoyed an evening swim and was getting ready to have dinner with my "sissy chrissy" (Christine). She has two curly girls of her own. I call her "fro bro" - I don't know why actually. But I'm thinking she is NOT the one with the fro...ya think?! My favorite nickname for her is "Deenie Weenie in the Polka Dot Bikini" but I digress.

Anyway...I figure since God gave me curls I should celebrate them and stop spending time straightening my locks; especially when I was just going to go "jump in the lake" at any moment. So I set out to find the best way to care for my girls. P.S. - this is the only place I will allow my Beach Bum hubby to tell me to "go jump in the lake" cuz I know he means that in a loving & refreshing way....right Babe!?! You do don't you?!?

Okay - back to the "curl talk". My tips - for starters, I found a great book by Lorraine Massey called CURLY GIRL - A Celebration of Curls: How to Cut Them, Care for Them, Love Them and Set Them Free. It is loaded with "how tos" for taking care of your curly hair. The biggest "aha" is that we curly girls should not use shampoo. They refer to this as the "no poo" method for cleansing our hair. I know, you are thinking "that's just gross"...."won't my hair be greasy and yucky". Those are technical terms for "my hair looks like crap". Well guess what - it works. It really, really does. Curly hair is more fine than non-curly hair. Using shampoo on it is like washing your delicates or dry clean only garments at the laundry mat with harsh soap. Yuck! Shampoo strips the natural oils that keep curly hair looking its best. So, trust me will you. Give it a week. PLEASE. Just try it for a week. Just use a silicone free conditioner (or use the WEN products I've noted below) for a week - no shampoo. If you must, you can shampoo once/week but use a shampoo that is silicone free. Stear clear of silicone containing hair care products as they will start to build up on your hair and give you limp curls. Now that IS yucky.

The second thing I found was a website http://www.naturallycurly.com/. It is loaded with photos, tips, products, etc. It also has a way to determine what "type" of curls you have and the best products for your hair type. A great resource overall.

So what's a curly girl to do? Well, here is my regimen. I use WEN http://www.wenhaircare.com/ conditioning cleanser, style gel and leave in conditioning treatment. I put the products in my hair when wet, wrap my curls around my finger for definition, let it air dry and go! If I'm in a hurry, I just flip my head upside down and use the diffuser attachment on my hair dryer. The key is to then LEAVE YOUR CURLS ALONE...DON'T TOUCH THEM. If you do - you WILL be a frizzy "fro bro".

So all you fellow curly girls out there...I hope this helps. I encourage you to embrace the curly girl within you. Embrace your curls. Care for them, Love them, Set them free! Come see me, I'll insist on you going curly. No REALLY, I'll INSIST. Cuz you see, it's more than just hair.....it's an attitude!!

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

Things That Make You Go "Hmmmmmmm"

Okay - So I went for a walk this morning since it was a balmy 43 degrees here on Crystal Lake at the Inn and I noticed all these ice fishermen - see photo. I had to laugh when the man some people here refer to as the "village idiot" (note: I don't agree with that assessment) walks up and yells - "those guys are on thin ice!!" I told him I agreed with him. Just then, the guy in the photo yells back - "I heard that - and I am not on thin ice". Now, just for reference, we had two local villagers die....yes DIE....a few weeks ago on the opposite end of the lake when their snow mobile fell through the ice as they were taking supplies out to their fishing shanty. It was a terrible tragedy. So sad. That was when it was still cold and temps were below freezing. Now, we are getting temps in the 40's and 50's. This morning it is already 43 degrees. See the creek water in the foreground?! See the melting ice?! See the men standing on the lake's melting ice? I'm thinking it might be smart to stay off the ice. I'm thinking better safe than sorry. I'm thinking that the "village idiot" is so NOT the village idiot! The guys on the ice though.....hmmmmmmm!!!

Love,
The Lady of the Lake

Facebook Page - The Inn At Beulah Beach

Check out our Facebook Page for the Inn At Beulah Beach. Also - join the Group - Inn At Beulah Beach. Become a Fan!!

Love,

The Lady of the Lake

And So it Begins.....

Okay....I've officially done it. I'm blogging. I mean what else is there to do on a cold yet sunny March day in my beautiful Bed & Breakfast right?! After six scrapbooks, 10 books, basement organization, cleaning ad-nauseum and labeling everything in site - yikes - it was time. I must give credit to Erin...you know who you are...my "former" (vs. "old") assistant who, yet again, assisted me in getting the idea. She showed me her blog, showed me the website http://www.thecutestblogontheblock/ website. I sent her a note yesterday to let her know she as created a monster! I'm addicted, I can't stop myself, I don't want to stop myself.

I'm living a life long dream as an Innkeeper along with my very own "Beach Bum" (yes Lovey, that's YOU I'm referring to) at a beautiful 102 year old home that is functioning as a wonderful year round Bed & Breakfast (B&B). It's right on the east shore of Crystal Lake in Beulah, Michigan. The Inn - known officially as "The Inn At Beulah Beach" can be seen at the following website: http://www.innatbeulahbeach.com/. Check it out!!!

I have been asked many times to start blogging about various things here at the Inn. What's up at the Inn, upcoming events, B's recipes (they rock!), photos of the Inn & Lake, etc.

So - grab your shades, get your beach blanket, slather on your sunscreen... we're bloggin baby!

Love,
The Lady of the Lake