Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Yeah the dog sitter's coming!


Many guests ask Amy and Mark what they do to get away and how that happens since they have a B&B to run. Well, they are actually leaving for a couple days - my cousin (their neice) is getting married this weekend so they are off to Ohio. So what happens here while they are gone? Well, I get spoiled rotten by the dog sitter, Cindy, who comes and spends the weekend with me and the B&B is closed for a couple days. Yes, there are inn sitters out there but Amy and Mark are a bit picky about how things are done around here so to save them undue stress worrying about what is happening back at the homestead while they are away, it is just easier to close down. They get a nice break after a busy summer season and before all the leave peepers hit town for the fall, and I get Cindy. She is an awesome dog sitter -she spoils me rotten (not like that doesn't happen on a daily basis)and also takes good care me with feedings, fresh water and lots of play. So as much as I miss them when they are away, I know I will be well taken care and they will be back soon!

Friday, September 24, 2010

She loves her Orbiter

Owning a bed and breakfast is a lot of work. Having me as a pet, I hate to say it, just adds more work on top of that. I do not shed a lot but I have a tendency to bring in half the outdoors with me - leaves in the fall, mulch in the spring, wet paw marks, dirt from under my favorite tree - and all this does not make Amy happy or make the kitchen floor look too good. But she had found a solution and she loves it - The Oreck Orbiter. This machine washes the kitchen floor, the hardwood floors in the rest of the house and the carpet in our living quarters. It is so easy to use - on the kitchen floor she just sprays a little hot water mixed with a little Meyer's all purpose cleaner and then the machine does the rest. The carpet gets a dry shampoo so no waiting for it to dry and it is not harmful to pets (that's the most important part). The cleaning really never ends with me around but at least Amy has found a way to make life a little easier. If you want to find out more, they are online at http://www.oreck.com/Orbiter-Multi-Purpose-Floor-Machine

Saturday, September 11, 2010

We keep getting greener



We work hard at our B&B to be as "green" as we can. We compost, use environmentally friendly cleaners, use energy saving light bulbs and take our reusable bags when we shop. This season we have added two more "green" initiatives - in room recycling containers for each of the guests rooms and environmentally friendly amenities. Our new amenities are all enriched with organic aloe vera, require minimal packaging and the bottles are fully biodegradable - plus they smell and work great! Our guests have been commenting on them since we made the switch and all of the feedback has been positive. The guest room recycling baskets have also received attention from the guests who appreciate, not just the fact we recycle, but we make it easy and convenient for them to do so. Amy always says that innkeeping is all in the details - and these are just two small details we have made a part of our bed and breakfast to make the guests' experience more comfortable and to make the world a little greener.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Black Eyed Susans



It has been hot and dry in Maine but the Black Eyed Susans are taking over the garden and thriving despite the heat. Amy has them planted in all of her gardens and loves using them for cut flowers on the dining room tables, in the guests' room bouquets and in vases in the common rooms. It is a fitting tribute to her grandmother, Nana, who, I am told, always had a bouquet of Black Eyed Susans on her kitchen table during the summer months.

My Favorite Kitchen Spot

My Favorite Kitchen Spot
I love laying right here in the kitchen - this is the old floor that is going to be replaced soon.

Our Journey to Bath

Before Amy and Mark ever even thought about making me a part of their family, they were thinking about being innkeepers. About a year and a half after they adopted me, they left me in Erie, PA and took a trip to explore possible towns in New England to open their new business. While I patiently waited at home with a dog sitter, they journeyed to Bath ME, their first stop on the trip. It was December of 2004 so it was cold and raining in Maine but they fell in love with the town and the people they met. Driving to the next town in New Hampshire in a snow storm, they knew in their hearts that Bath was going to be our new home. They went ahead and looked at the other places as planned, but Bath was it. In February of 2005, they left me once again to look at a house on the market in Bath. It had been a B&B but had gone to a private home for the past couple years. Well, lucky us, they loved the house and put in a bid. It was so exciting when the realtor called us in Erie to say the Benjamin F. Packard House was ours! Things started moving quickly then. Packing up the house in Erie, making long distance arrangements for licenses, sprinkler systems and all the things that go with opening a new business. On May 14th, they packed the car and this time took me along too. We closed on the house on May 16th and in six hectic weeks, opened the new Benjamin F. Packard House B&B! My life as a bed and breakfast dog had begun.


Relax on my private patio

Come and enjoy a fabulous gourmet breakfast in my diningroom

Cozy up to warm fire with my complimentary afternoon tea

Enjoy the morning paper along with a cup of fresh brewed coffee in our parlor