Dahlia House

Dahlia House
Taken in August 2013

Monday, July 21, 2014

The continuing saga of the leaky shower.....
   We thought we had the problem solved but the next couple who stayed here took showers and low and behold.....we had water running downstairs again......what the ?  Thought we had it fixed with the caulking!  So Brian went up and started checking all of the valves and when he turned on the rain shower the water came out over the top of the shower cabin and onto the floor!!!  Found a broken pipe connector!  So he found some parts in the garage and manufactured a new one.  Got it installed and now no leak!!!  Yea for Mr. Fix it! We have not had guests since but are hoping this is the end of the shower saga!  Still thinking of putting in a different kind of one this winter....we shall see.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Funny story!?

Last week when we had some guests here, we noticed water dripping from our bathroom door jam downstairs.  We realized someone was taking a shower upstairs and something was leaking!  Ack! Went and got buckets and held our breath that the upstairs bathroom was not flooding.  Well no one came downstairs complaining so we figured it must be the drain.....and then the 2nd person took a shower...eek! More water!  Well you can imagine we did not sleep well that night trying to figure out what was going on....
No comments from the guests the next morning...so after they left we checked out the bathroom and shower, and could see no problems. Ran water down the drain and no issue...what the heck???  I then remembered that when I was cleaning the shower earlier in the week that there was a loose bit of grout and it pulled out as I was cleaning.  So I got out the caulking and gave the base a new bead of caulk.  When the guests checked in last night we had the buckets ready, and our fingers crossed, but when the shower ran, there was no problem at all!  Whew!  Disaster averted!  Guess my cleaning was just too aggressive!  Wouldn't my Mom laugh if she saw that statement?

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Well it has been so eventful that I have not had time to write.  As I sit here in the kitchen using my laptop, we have very nice guests upstairs in the Pillar Rock room from Atlanta, Georgia. We have been open since April 15th and have had people from Maine, Colorado, Connecticut and of course from Washington and Oregon also. What a hoot it has been so far. We are really enjoying it.
    Last week over the 4th of July we had 4 nights in a row booked and then the last night both rooms!  There were 4 in the Hummingbird room so we had 6 people for breakfast!  What an experience. This was the first time we have had both rooms booked.  All went well and we received some glowing reviews.

    Earlier in the year we had a little gathering here with other lodging folks in the community.  It was great getting to know some of them and talking about the ups and downs of hosting people.  Got a lot of good advice and traded brochures. Then in May we had a ribbon cutting by the Chamber of Commerce.  That was a fun event too.  We had two great articles in  the local papers.  One in the Eagle and one in the Daily News.  Both generated some interest.  We are actually a lot busier than we thought we would be and have actually had to turn some people away.  It's not like we are busy each night but it seems that certain times are just more popular! And wouldn't you kn ow it, we blocked out a week when Trevor is here to go on an Alaska cruise and attend Keelin's wedding and have had numerous requests for that week!!!  Oh well!  Hopefully they will book another time!
    When we don't have guests we have been working in the yard.  So much landscaping to do!  We finished reworking the garden area.  We made it twice as big.  Now we have 8 raised beds.  Lots of things growing in there including two dahlia beds.  This year we have lettuce, beans, peas, summer squash, cucumbers, onions, garlic etc...  Brian is also working on updating the water system.  That has been a chore.  Colleen has been down quite a few times to help him with it.  Thank goodness for the tractor.  It sure helps with the project.
   We are trying to keep the lawn looking good as we have a wedding here in September and it has been a dry summer so far.  Have been watering like crazy!  Still some brown spots are popping up but we will get then green sooner or later!  Might have to put in some sod.....?  We have lots of to do's before September gets here....
  More later....

Monday, January 06, 2014

Hello 2014!

Well the holidays are over once again and it's time to get back to work.  We haven't done much on the house except maintenance and decorating.  I am working on getting old family photos up and finishing the Military wall.  Still need to find a few more pictures. Oh and the never ending job of cleaning the office!
I did get our first newsletter done and will attach it here.  Sent it out to my mailing list and posted it on our Facebook page too.  
Exciting news, we have a few bookings already including a wedding in September.  How fun!  We will be open this year from the 15th of April until the 30th of October.  I am excited about our opening season.