Fall Wedding With Lantern Light

VIEWS OF THE INN CAT [TIGER LILY] - Liz and Mike Poston got married here Saturday. It has long stuck in my craw that "the other cat" attends these affairs. So this time I showed up. Well, I went out on the patio, slept under the rose bush and rolled out on the patio for a few well placed pets. This worked out well (not kids around). What's the deal, anyway (there was no tuna involved!)
By way of details: on Friday the bride and her family and friends set up the party room and decorated the gazebo. I checked the flowers out on the sly and enjoyed some of the fall leaves and the views. The weather has been great--in the 70s with the leaf color getting more and more intense by the day. As some of you know, I was fed filet mignon and bottled water during one of my illnesses a decade ago. I am sorry to say, the wedding party went to The Peddlar in Boone and did NOT bring me any steak!!
Wedding day was pretty quiet until later in the afternoon so I enjoyed a snooze on the warm, sunny patio. The bicycle with the basket on it to hold programs was cute. I stayed out of sight when they photographed the happy couple riding the bike down the hill. Did they look at how steep that was before they started??? It all worked out. Cute photos. Local musicians known as Fidder's Grove played the music for the ceremony and the reception. Very nice. Even the Smashing Pumpkins tune was quite the thing.
I mentioned no tuna... there was, however, a seafood dish by Tributary on Main in Mountain City. That looked good, too, but by 5:30 I was tired of the attention and had retreated to the B&B kitchen to stay away from Chef Shaun's big feet!


The party went on a few more hours. I heard the talk about the sparklers. See the album on Prospect Hill B&B In's page on Facebook.... It was cool, all it up, with both ropes of light and lanterns high above my favore

Halloween is coming soon and I know you are just dying to learn about ghosts. Well, first off, what terrifies ME more is that I was sitting next to the patio today (recovering from an annual visit to the vet) and I suddenly hear some yelling from inside the inn. Out comes the innkeeper.... she had seen.....a medium size black bear lumbering through the garden. Good thing I sleep with one eye open.

But, if you must ask about ghosts, here's what I know or have heard, in Judy's words:

This is our story. The house was designed by an architect, built by a former Union Army officer who also served in the state legislature. The style is Shingle Style Victorian. The roof was put on Nov. 22, 1889.

Former tenants in our house told us that the back door would open and close by itself. Yes, we've heard the handle and latch turn, many times.
I've felt an energy field inside the hall and outside the original master bedroom door. That is now our Room #5 - The Wagner Bedroom, named for
Maj. Joseph Wagner, who served in the Civil War, on both sides, ending as a major in the Union Army. He then built this house in 1889.

One guest saw 'someone' in a military uniform in the Room 2 window as she arrived at the inn.. Another guest--one who says he often sees ghosts in hotels-- said he saw a man in old fashioned clothes in his room during the night. (Wagner died in 1910 of old age and the house was sold).

At various times guests have smelled peanut butter cookies or muffins baking in the middle of the night. Another got out of his bath in the first floor guest bath (once the
family room and family bath). He smelled spilled bourbon for quite awhile, long enough to dry himself off, dress and go fetch his girl friend from the front porch swing so
she, too, could smell it. It was the middle of the afternoon so I trust he was neither asleep nor drunk.

Another time, rose-flavored perfume was smelled in the same room. The second owners were Mr. and Mrs. Stacy Issac Rambo. We believe Mrs. Rambo lived in this room
in her waning years. A guest who 'feels' ghosts everywhere sensed a woman's presence in this room. Her son may have been the one who spilled the bourbon. The room was HIS bedroom in HIS last years.

The first indication I had of this sort of thing was when we were renovating. My husband, Robert, and our dog arose early and left the house to walk to the mail box for the newspaper.
While they were gone I heard the steady rhythm of a man's leather-soled dress shoes on the front stairs, coming up, walking in the hall, going back down. The thing is--due to renovation--the hallway was filled with buckets of paint and Sheetrock mud, a vacuum cleaner, extension cords and such. No mortal could walk in a straight line down that hall with such consistent footsteps!

In this digital age we sometimes capture odd things on disk (such as fire leaping out of one fireplace). I found orbs on only one of three photos I made of a couple walking down the drive after their wedding. We believe the groom died in a motorcycling accident 6 months later! Out of over 100 weddings performed here, that was the only photo to ever have anything out of the ordinary on it.

A current employee, Angela Norris, says she smells smoke in the house sometimes and wondered if we once had a fire burn the house. No, it never burned. I think it might be the remains of fires in the 10 wood burning fireplaces throughout the house or it might be, well, who knows what?! Children heard scratching and dropped items in the living room ceiling years ago. We are fairly certain that was an invasion of squirrels in winter. However, we have yet to explain away the knock on the door and the "force or pressure" which one guest says pushed her into the mattress and would not allow her to move for at least 15 seconds.

I always expected the ghost of Mr. Rambo to show up when I removed part of a wall he erected to turn the back porch into a bathroom. When we did it, all was quiet. Apparently our ghosts do not arrive on demand. Given the smells and sounds, we think they are still the happy people who very much loved living here after having their funerals conducted in our living room, which was the old rural tradition.

So, that's the story. But, if that ghost really does open the back door, why haven't I been able to slip out???

New Bureau While I'm Napping

What goes on while I'm sleeping happily in the sun during the last days of summer.....The Wagner Bedroom/Room 5 at Prospect Hill contains a bureau Judy the Innkeeper bought at an estate sale--for her first BandB in Atlanta. Over time, wet glasses and drinks made rings. Frankly, it was unattractive.

This weekend and on into this week Judy has been decoupaging the bureau top using striped brown paper bag type wrapping paper (from WalMart) and Modpodge adhesion and sealing material (from Michaels). Add a 1 1/2 inch paint brush, a razor blade, scissors and a sanding block (Lowes) and you have the tool kit. Here's what the process looked like:

(1) lightly sanded the messed up top. Note that the irregular shape of the top made it too difficult to get glass cut. This room is popular so there is never enough time to carry it down one flight, sand, refinish, air out and move it back upstairs. Bureau is in Room #5/Wagner Bedroom.

(2) Cut straight edges on the paper. IF this paper had not has a distinct line pattern, the factory edge of the paper would have been OK up against the back edge of the top.
White streaks are the modpodge "glue and sealer" which Judy painted on the back of the paper with a paint brush. It was easiest to lay the paper on the bureau top and coat it there, then smooth out the excess (white streaks you see).
Ripping the paper's edges makes a more interesting pattern for this bureau. All irregular squares or perfect squares are also possible. Judy wanted this job to move was fast as possible so paper was ripped randomly but making sure the stripes would go "every which way" when assembled.



The humidity was low at the start of this project so Judy had to work quickly. She poured a small amount of modpodge on a disposable plastic plate then closed up the bottle and worked from the "glue" on the plate.



Where the edge of the bureau rolled over she stopped the paper and cut it with a razor blade as needed.

To finish up the initial install, she coated the top.

Problems:
a) the paper bubbled slightly because she was unable to get the paper perfectly saturated with modpodge (rush to not let it dry too fast). Some bubbles remained. She popped some of them with a pin and cut a few with the razor blade. For this install a few imperfections are OK. IF you are doing carefully cut squares or geometric s (especially for 1950s-1960s furniture) you need to get it perfectly flat. Use a better quality paper and TEST it by gluing a piece to an old wall or board (very smooth surface) to check for any wrinkling/bubbling issues.



When it dried the effort was certainly worth while. Because the furniture was dark brown, any spots not covered show up dark brown (three in photo at right) which is OK. Totally unanticipated were the brown edges which form a nice pattern

Also unanticipated were the grey/black spots randomly all over the top which seemed to leak through the paper. We think it had to do with the original (restored) finish OR maybe some way or Endust product used on the bureau since we bought it in 1992. Anyway, it looks even more aged, which is fine.

In two days, Judy will have added a total of five top coats, slightly sanding in between. This will give the top a thoroughly waterproof and matte finish. (Modpodge also comes in gloss. Since glossy finisihes show all imperfections, she didn't choose that one!)

Here's a photo of it finished, with the last coat curing.
That was a pretty fun project but NOT one Tiger Lily and Mich were invited to join in (too much hair!)

Newer, Fresher Approach to Decorating

The Wall Street Journal this week carried an article about B&B decorating, contemporary design and potpourri-free lodging. WSJ. The innkeepers here are already onto the idea that Victorian is NOT hip, cool or sweet--just overly busy.

I'm a cat, so Those Innkeepers won't let me into Sunrise Romance Room #1 to see it, but this week they changed out the former Mediterranean - style headboard on the king bed for a big hunk of contemporary walnut. (I saw it when they unpacked it in the party room.)
The photo shows what I'm talking about. Gone is the wildly patterned spread (along with the mattlesse one). The new duvet cover has exotic birds --yum! Last year they added a deep green rug without fussy pattern (I saw it when I sneaked in there one time last spring while they were painting the walls the palest of khaki pink and the ceiling very pale blue.)

Now there is talk that that they will soon paint out the faux finished bath. They are saying "Lovely but dated; has to go." I hear it will be beige with moss wainscoting, white trim and another pale blue ceiling. They might even shop for a shower curtain with birds on it. (Double yum!)

Those Innkeepers seem pretty proud of themselves, redoing the room even before the Wall Street Journal suggested simpler rooms are more restful and more desirable. Promise to check it out and report back. You'll find me on the patio during the day as long as the warmer fall days hold up.

Pardancanda norissii

OK, bet you don't know what that is. It's pretty much the speckled/striped flower They had in mind when they named me. Apparently, it goes by Candy Lily. The internet shows a common orange day lily as a Tiger Lily. Oh, well.

Our thanks to Gardenhood Plant Atlanta! for the flower photo.

Well!!!! There Came That Kitten!

You may notice I laid off the pen for a year. I've had a lot on my mind. In addition, my life has changed a lot in the past 12 months. Late last July a half grown tabby kitten (male, wouldn't you know??) showed up on the inn's patio. I saw him through the door. Remember, I had spent the last 8-9 years isolated from all cats because I have feline leukemia in my bones.

Well, there he was, lolling around, begging a meal of what could be MY food! After a bit They fed him. And after he ate for two full days..... he stayed. Grrrrr. By August he'd been to the vet, been picked up by inn guests (I NEVER let guests pick me up unless they swear on 10 Cat Bibles they Love Me!) AND they named him Michelin. Imagine, a CAT named after car tires. (He has a stripe down his back.)

So I was sharing breakfast time with HIM. He plays a lot. He's an acrobat or something. I don't remember doing much of that (except the day I went up the weeping cherry tree.....) Lucky me, he sleeps outdoors or in Judy's back-door office.

Spring rolled around. Sometime--when the weather warmed--the innkeepers started letting me go out in the party room. They heard I won't give my disease to others. Wow, that Mich blew by me like he's king of the inn. What to do: hiss and snarl, of course. I take a swing now and then.

I know you won't believe this but as spring turned to summer and summer, well, has hung around awhile, I've let Mich get closer to me. Don't tell him, but I enjoy his company. And IF you ask me, I'll just say I really like sleeping under the new patio table in the fresh air with him 1-2 feet away.

Sometime this spring the innkeepers started letting me go outdoors again. I surprised them by remembering how to use the dog door after all those years. (You can't leave a girl outdoors when it starts to rain!!) I like the warm patio; I don't especially like it cold or rainy. I don't go far and I still like kitty litter over pine straw.

It's hard to cover all the emotions I've had with all the weddings we had here this spring and summer. I've checked every one out, if at a far. While most of the guests can't catch me to pet me, let me say, dear cat lovers, I knew who you were and I loved every minute of it.

This is enough catching up. I'll just post a photo of Mich and I. You can judge our relationship for yourself. PS He's now 1 year old and still thinks a chair is a jungle gym--honestly....

Where ARE those birds???

All week before July 4 I ignored those big booming fireworks. DURING the show I hid in the attic. In the daytime I've been stalking those song birds I know are nesting near this bench and fluffy bush to the left (pictured, or maybe under the rose bush). Thus far I've not been successful. I sure do need a snack.

Right now I'm trying to get back out in the yard at 8 pm where the sun hits this historic building like a bullseye.

Things have worked out much better with the cat people who have visited the inn lately. I even let Liz from Philadelphia touch my tail. I think she had a great visit. I know I'm enjoying the really low humidity of late, even though temperatures have been creeping up to the high 80s late in the afternoon. I can manage it in MY fur coat!!!! :-)

This weekend the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain will see a lot of other people wandering around in wool outfits. I can't wait to see Ron and Ann from Asheville in their tartans! There are several other interesting events this weekend if you don't want to enjoy the crowds near the mountain.

• Jonesborough TN International Storytelling Center's Teller-in-Residence - 2 p.m. daily Tuesday - Saturday. (1 hour. 15 min.)
• MusicFest 'n Sugar Grove (NC) with ties to Doc Watson 14 mi.
• I think I'd go riding in the shade on the Virginia Creeper Trail (17 mi. away) or take a gentle little tube ride down a cool (even cold) mountain stream in Damascus, VA.
• Revolutions, a play at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, VA-- As their dreams from the past collide with their present reality, long-hidden secrets emerge redefining their relationships and their perceptions of what was and what is. This is a unique and highly theatrical examination of The Big Chill generation--those folks who call themselves my masters....(40 min. away). www.bartertheatre.com
  

If you are coming this way, bring me some ice cream. What is better than a little taste on such a pretty patio?