A short history note for St. Paddy's Day .... during the 5th century, a 16 year old boy by the name of Patrick was kidnapped by marauders. Eventually, he escaped. Later, he took the vows of a priest, and his goal was to eventually convert the Irish to Christianity. So, where does the shamrock thingy come from .... to teach the Holy Trinity .... they think. We celebrate on March 17 because that is the day Patrick supposedly died. This is the one day during Lent that the Irish have a reprieve and down a pint or two of ale. In the 1840's, the Irish settled in new countries including America .... they wear green, eat corned beef, celebrate life, and drink ale. Life through the ages has inspired parades, fashion, and hoisting a pint of ale.
Now to the good stuff.
A news bit from Jessica Carr of the Plantation House:
Prattville experienced a tornado during the month of February. Many of Jessica's friends and work associates lost their homes. Since Plantation House is close to 200 years old, it surely came close to many of these storms, yet fortunately has escaped unscathed again. None of Prattville’s Bed and Breakfasts were damaged. Talk about finding shelter in a storm.
Plantation House has expanded a bit this spring. Jessica has poured a very nice dance porch for their weddings. They have also enclosed the back porch to capture an additional 500 square feet for their clients to enjoy. Currently, they are working on a brand new shade garden. It is Jessica’s first shade garden, so we shall see how creative they can get. Any suggestions? They have found enough 200 year old brick (yeh) on the property to make a small patio for a sitting bench that faces the Koi pond and house. She and Paul want to grow old there. It sounds beautiful. Let’s go to Prattville!!!!!
A note from Lillie. The Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel has offered to ship a box of BBAA brochures to their London office and have included paying the shipping costs. She wants to know if you have had any guests from England. Yes, Lillie, that means me. I have had guests from Essex and they enjoyed Quaint on Brooklyn, even more so then their visits to New Orleans, Mississippi, Savanna. Yeh, for me. Let’s see if any of us get even more guests coming from England.
Linda and Stanford Mendenhall of Amazing Grace B&B in Camden are our new Associate Members. They are currently at West Point, where Stanford is recuperating from a war injury. They should be back in Alabama in a month or so and will begin the process of becoming full BBAA members. Welcome. New members are full of ideas and inspiration and love to forward mail to the newsletter editor....right??!!
I need input, guys....if you want a Newsletter. This is not a one man show. Of course, I can talk about me and my dog and my garden and my pond and my guests, but even I get tired of talking about me, me, me. I think.
Jim Yeamen of The Lattice Inn in Montgomery is working on renovations and will be opening soon. Let me know when this happens and before and after pics please.
Lets talk about the 2009 BBAA Conference (you got to be kidding, do people plan that far in advance, I am impressed.) Any who... the 2009 Conference is planned for January 18,19 20, 2009 at the newly renovated Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge. Mary High Tower is the conference chairman for 2009 and has taken the time and energy to meet with the lodge staff and view the facility. The views from the conference rooms and the guest rooms (from $98) are spectacular and the facility is stunning. A block of rooms has been set aside for BBAA until the middle of December. A few smart people have already booked their rooms for next year! You may want to reserve your room now as January weekends are dedicated to the Eagle Watching Program. The nature lovers may want to arrive earlier than Sunday and take advantage of that program. Can you take lots of pics and share with the rest of us? Once again, Aspiring Innkeeper & Innsitter Workshops will be offered on Sunday. If you know anyone that may be interested, please let someone know so we can add them to the mailing list before the conference brochures are mailed out. Suzanne Haley is working on our vendors and silent auction with help from Bonnie Ponstein. Carolyn Waterman will be putting together the conference program. Let them know if you have suggestions and where you can help. The 2009 Conference information with links to the Lodge <- click) is already on the BBAA website and new information will be added as it comes in, so be alert. You have got to be there. It was so much fun, and everyone is so nice and eager to share their knowledge and experience.
You should have already received you invitations to Grady's B&B open house on Smith Lake. March 15. Mark your calendar. This has got to be fun. Good Luck to Grady's.
The March/April Southern Lady magazine with the BBAA full page ad including photos of each of the member B&B's is on the newsstands. This time, the city where each B&B is located has been added. Also look at the background color....it has been changed to spring yellow.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for April 14 at the Camellia House in Luverne. If you have questions, suggestions, comments or concerns, please let us know (meaning, Board members).
Cudos (not Kudos) to Greg and Mary McNair of Montrose Hideaway Bed-and-Breakfast Retreat. They received confirmation as of March 3, 2008, that they have been approved as a new member in Select Registry. This makes them one of only two inns in the entire state of Alabama to hold this distinction, with Lodge at Gorham's Bluff being the other (Quaint on Brooklyn , eat your heart out.) We are very excited about this, not only for Greg and Mary, but also for the Alabama Association. This is definitely an example of providing quality service in the Bed and Breakfast industry.
This is heavy, so pay attention..
Carol Riggs, Membership/Quality Assurance Director of Select Registry of Distinguished Inns in North America, has passed this on to us.
In addition to a B&B passing Select Registry's Quality Assurance inspection, dues are assessed similarly to BBAA. Their dues are determined by the number of guestrooms combined with a base fee so the amount varies depending upon the size. A four room property would pay $2,801, six rooms would be $2,909, eight rooms would be $3,017, ten rooms would pay $3,124. This is for 2008. Dues may change slightly in 2009. Included is a link to their Criteria for Membership<click
Keep in mind the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel has FREE stuff available: 2008 Alabama Vacation Guide, Calendar of Events, Official 2007/2008 Alabama Highway Map and other brochures. Call 1-800-Alabama and request as many as you would like and they will be shipped to you. They are great to give to guests and to send to future guests.
Recipe for March:
By Quaint on Brooklyn (because no one will send me a recipe from their place)
OMA'S German Oven-Puffed Pancake
My grandmother was a professional cook in Germany for a guest house (or what we now call a B&B). Maybe that is why I enjoy cooking so much and caring for other people. I remember watching her make my favorite pancake time and time again. You can rev-it- up a notch with applesauce, powdered sugar, honey, cinnamon and sugar or fruit. Add a dollop of whipped creme and you have a fancy, impressive breakfast to serve to your weekend guests.
- 1/2 cup flour
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon sweet butter
In medium bowl, combine all the pancake ingredients except the butter.
Beat with a wire whisk until smooth.
Place the butter in a 9 inch pie pan;
Place the pan in the oven just until the butter sizzles, 2 - 4 minutes.
Remove the pan; tilt to coat. Pour the batter into a hot pan.
Bake at 425 degrees F. for 14 - 18 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
While still warm, add your topping and serve. Gutten appetite.
