Last Glimpse

The Christmas Holiday is over, we had a wonderful time, especially with friends and family.  Santa and Snowy the Snowman will move back into the attic.  

Ofts Bed & Breakfast, Bennington, Nebraska

 All the bright lights will  be taken down, along with the "bubble lights" off the Christmas tree.  All the ornaments, the old German Stars and decorations will soon be boxed up and put away.

Formal Parlor, Oft's B & B, Bennington, NE

 The last thing to get packed away is Santa himself.  This Santa is one that Jeanette, my mother had.  He'll overlook our efforts as we repack and put stuff away.  He will make the final trip because he goes on top.  

Linda and I wish you a very Happy New Year.   God bless and be safe.    The Muellers.

Holiday Open House at Oft's B & B

Oft's B & B celebrated with an Open House in December.  The festivities marked a great year with the B & B, the Holidays, the 40th Anniversary of Linda and Gordon and Gordon's election as Bennington's Mayor.   About 50 guests came to help celebrate.  It was  a great time.

Bo, Peggy and Billy

Its always good to catch up with old and new friends.  We even had a couple come in from Denver and stayed the night.  They blended right into the party.  

Paula and Linda

Some of the highlights were the "Gluhwein" (hot mulled wine), chocolate covered bacon, and other goodies.  Here is a toast to your good health.  God bless and Merry Christmas!

Cookie Day!

Diet Breaker!

We go through a lot of cookies at Oft's B &  B.  Guest often come down to the kitchen in the evening to fix a cup of tea, hot cocoa or to get a soft drink.  The cookie jar often get visited.  We feature two kinds: double chocolate chip, coconut, pecan and good olde peanut butter cookies.  We commonly send cookies along with our guests to enjoy on their trip home; it helps keep our cookies fresh and its good business.  

Linda making cookies at Oft's B & B

We bake 6 dozen at a time and they last about from 2 to 4 weeks depending upon how busy we are.  This morning 4 sisters from Bismark left after spending 3 days with us and we sent along the customary sack of cookies.  We were down to our last bag.  After cleaning the rooms and getting all the laudry done, it was time to catch up with our baking.   The aroma of home made cookies permeated the house.  So much for my Atkin's diet!  

Kansas Sisters take their "Sister Weekend."

Dancing at the Wurlitzer

In their own words:  

"For several years now we four sisters have enjoyed what has fondly become known as "Sister Weekend". We like to find a bed and breakfast to enhance our time together. This year, we chose the Oft's Bed & Breakfast in Bennington Nebraska. We are happy to state that our stay here was exactly what we were looking for.  Our hosts Gordon and Linda were hospitable, kind and gracious. We knew our stay here would be special when Gordon offered to carry our bags upstairs for us. That simple act went far in making us feel welcomed. Our breakfasts were delicious and made a great start to each day. Our rooms were very comfortable. We spent many hours enjoying the fresh air on the balcony with access from our rooms. We are leaving today feeling refreshed and renewed. Thank you to our hosts for making our stay very enjoyable."

Weather was WONDERFUL!

Bev, Sandy, Donna and Rosemarie

Linda and I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the sisters; they are wonderful people.

Fresh Bread!

One of the biggest challenges I've had is to have good, fresh bread for breakfast.  I love bread!  Nearly everyone does; it makes the meal.  There is nothing like the smell of baking bread to make a house a home.

Fresh Bread at Oft's Bed & Breakfast

When we first opened our Bed & Breakfast we bought fresh bread from a local bakery; well, a bakery 10 miles away.  It was expensive, time consuming and wasteful.  You see our business is sporadic.  We would buy a $5-$8 loaf of bread for 2 or possibly 4 guests and then have the rest of the loaf go stale or eat it ourselves.  (I gained about 10 pounds!).  Freezing the remaining portion just didn't cut it either.

During one of our trips back to Colorado, we stayed with old friends.  They had a stack of old "Mother Earth News" and started leafing through them.  One article caught my eye; "Impress your friends with the bread formula: 13, 3, 3, and 6."   I was curious and found it was a recipe for wet dough bread.  It was 13 cups of flour, 3 TBLS of yeast, 3 TBLS of salt and 6 cups of water.  This makes enough dough to make four loafs of bread.  The neat thing is you can store the dough in your refrigerator up to two weeks and bake it as you need it.  Fresh bread whenever you need it.  Problem solved. 

I've modified the recipe somewhat; using half whole wheat flour.  I have also found some small bread pans that are perfect for 4 people.  We've had lots of complements, especially when guest check in. "OH, what is that wonderful odor coming from the kitchen?"  "That is your breakfast bread!"   

Guests Bearing Gifts!

We meet the most interesting people.  During the past few weeks we have been extremely busy hosting guests for the College World Series and the Olympic Swim Trials.  These guest were normally early risers and would return late; spending little time in our home as they focus on the activities of their respective events.   However, we did have a couple from the Dominican Republic stay with us. 


We received an e-mail from Danilo requesting a room and information on the sites to see in and around Omaha.  He was swimming in the Master's Swim Meet and after the meet they were going to take a few days to see the sites.  In our correspondence, he asked if we liked ground or coffee beans.  Beans of course (daaa!). 

Lilianna and Danilo

He and Lilianna arrived and handed me two pounds of Santa Dominican coffee.  He told me; and I agreed, that would be saved for our own personal use.  

They were a lovely couple and we spend several enjoyable breakfasts learning about each other's countries.  Both Danilo and Lilianna worked in an exclusive resort in their country (Casa de Campo) and they showed us gorgeous photographs of the resort.  In turn we directed them to local sites, vineyards and museums which they enjoyed.  They invited us to come to their country where they offered to show us around.  Who knows!!   

We have a beautiful state; however, I never dreamt that someone from an exclusive Caribbean resort would be vacationing in our neighborhood.  Neat!  
  

BACK SIDEWALK DONE!!!

There is always something to fix or repair when you have a century old home.  One project that I've been putting off is fixing the back porch stoop.  The concrete had settled next to the house about 10 inches so everything tilted toward the house and created a BIG step.  When it rained or snow melted, the water would run under the porch. 

The hardest part of getting something done is simply getting started; to commit to the task at hand.   Well I worried and thought about how I was going to brake up that old 100 year old concrete slab.  Did great granddad use steel or rebar?  Was I going to simply create a bigger problem or what? 

When the weather cooled, I grabbed the sledge hammer, got down on my knees (bad back!) and let go.  To my amazement, it started to crack, right where I wanted it to.  It broke up in manageable sized pieces.  I sorted out the large from the small.  The large stuff got hauled out to the farm and the smaller pieces were set aside for fill. 

Back Porch of Oft's Bed & Breakfast

I priced delivered concrete and ready-mix along with the tools and mixer I would need if I did the job myself.  I found it would cost a little more doing it myself because of the cost of a mixer but I would have it for future work which would be a big saver.   I have several sidewalk panels that need replacement.


I checked reviews on mixers and got a good one at Lowes for about $300 and started hauling bags of ready-mix.  I staked out the form and added the old, broken-up concrete where I needed.   I was getting started when Larry Witt drove up, parked and got out with his working clothes on.  He saw what I was doing and stopped by and offered his assistance.  He is a professional concrete man!   Well, I started to mix concrete and it started to run uphill to the project.  

Gordon Mueller mixing concrete

Larry handled the 'mud' at the project sight; shoveling, packing and smoothing.  I had split up the project into three sections.  I figured this would allow me to get a better idea of how many quick-crete (80lbs) sacks I would need.  I didn't want to run short; that is something you don't want to do when pouring concrete.  Anyway, I had hauled two loads of 80 lb sacks; a total of 24.  Just about a ton of ready-mix. 

Larry Witt: the Master at work!

We just kept mixing and pouring and before I knew it one section was done and the second have done.  Larry thought we had enough to finish the second which make up about 80% of the project.  Sure enough, the 20 sack finished the two largest sections of the walk.  They were simply beautiful!

We had to let the concrete set a little before edging so we sat on the porch and enjoyed a cold brewski.  The edging then got done and we broomed the surface to make it a little rough so no one would slip on this new masterpiece.

I pulled the forms after the third day and laid the last little section which only took three and a half of the remaining four sacks.   I'm just as happy being lucky as smart!  I had nailed my estimate on the nose. 

Now with the afternoon temperatures hitting the high 90's; I am soooo happy this project is done.  Every day I go out and admire the project.   As I think about it; the worry about getting started was worse than the physical work itself.  Especially, when you have a good friend that jumped in to help.  Thanks Larry!

Busman's Holiday

Business has been really good; we had guests for over 3 weeks.  The College World Series, Olympic Swim Trials and the Master's Swim Trails have kept the washing machine, vacuum and stove busy.  This week we had a couple of cancellations that fell on July 4th so Linda and I thought we would go on a busman's holiday.   For those not familiar with the term; busman's holiday is a term started in England for someone who takes a vacation doing something similar to what they do for a living.   We went to another Bed & Breakfast for July 4th.

Argo Hotel, Crofton, NE

We met a charming inn keeper, her name was Sandy who owns and operates the Argo Hotel in Crofton, Nebraska.  Crofton is a small farming community located about 15 miles south of Yankton, South Dakota.  Sandy jokes that it was literally at the end of the line, because the railroad tracks actually ended here.  She bought the property in 1994 and did extensive renovations; ending up with a charming bed and breakfast (15 rooms!), steak house, bar and speak easy located in the basement.  

The property is a century old, being built in 1912 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.  She has been in operation for 18 years.  The Hotel was recently featured on the "Nebraska Stories."   In Sandie's interview she reported that the hotel was haunted in the basement where she occasionally heard the faint crying of a child before the renovated.  During construction, a baby's skeleton was found in the basement wall.  The remains were buried in the City Cemetery.  The baby's name and origin remains a mystery but since its burial the crying stopped.

Lobby of the Argo Hotel

 We arrived late in the afternoon and Sandy told us we should go to Yankton to see the fireworks.  We had planned to go anyway to check out the antique shops, there are several of them.  We did go and enjoyed shopping.  I bought 16 Louis L'Amour paperbacks for my collection and at dark we headed down to the river with the rest of the community.  They shot the fireworks over the river from the Nebraska side.  It was spectacular!

Fireworks over the Missouri River, Yankton, SD

The next morning we had a great breakfast of "one-eyed Jacks" and lounged around.  Linda went for a walk and I enjoyed my coffee and a Louis L'Amour classic.  We paid our bill and said our good-byes to Sandy for her wonderful hospitality.

Sandy and Linda

We are 'rediscovering' small town Nebraska so we headed to Niobrara; weaving through the country side.  Nebraska has some amazing history most notably starting with Lewis and Clark.  At Niobrara, we found a historical marker we followed in the country.  It seems half of these lead to nowhere but this one we found. 

 

  

We found this Mormon marker overlooking the Niobrara River close to where it entered the Missouri River.  Newel was born 4 years before Lewis and Clark's expedition and died and was buried at this spot 165 years ago.  Amazing!

Our drive then took us to the town of Verdigre, NE and we learned it is the "Kolache Capital of Nebraska."   The baker said the town recently celebrated it's 125th anniversary and the bakery sold 750 DOZEN Kolaches.  I simply had to try them; they were GOOD.  

Our drive took us to another historical marker we had seen several times before but never visited.  We drove about 2 miles off the highway and found the old pioneer cemetery of Dewitt out in the middle of the farmland.  It tells an amazing story for those who want to listen.  

It is an OLD Cemetery.  There are about 50 makers scattered and you can tell the cemetery has more graves but the markers have either been taken, fallen apart, or sank into the ground.   Those markers that remain, tell quite a story of infant death and young adult death, and wars mostly forgotten.  

Here is where "Little Nettie" lays, age 10 months.  She died in 1867.  A large number of the graves are of children.  Not all were children. 

 There was Benjamin Richards who died in 1877 at the age of 93.  He was born in 1784.  That is a long time ago!  And there was another grave that caught my eye, there were to metal markers along the stone.

Civil War Veteran

This gentleman was a member of Post 197 of the Grand Army of the Republic and served in the Civil War.  I found several other graves of Civil War veterans.  That added a special meaning to our July 4th celebration.  "Lest, we forget" goes far beyond the wars of this century.   Take care. 

Bennington Daze - 2012

We all had a great time during Bennington Daze.  The small towns in eastern Nebraska, as probably most communities in the mid-west, hold an annual community celebration or festivity.  Ours starts with a free barbecue, carnival games in the park, a farmer's market and the parade.  Saturday night they close Main Street for the street dance, and there are many other activities.  There is a lot to do, a lot to eat and plenty to drink.  Its a good time.

We had a guest from Kentucky who enjoyed the parade with us on the porch.  Our couple from Kansas that escaped to Omaha before the parade started.  This year we hosted the Bennington Historical Society on our porch.  The Society set up a table and passed out information and sold 2013 calendars featuring century old images of Bennington.  



Oft's Bed & Breakfast

 The Saturday parade is a main event and it goes right past the front of our home.  Our porch has been a popular place to watch the parade for years.  We had two Honor Guards, community, school  and church group floats, antique cars and tractors, local businesses and much more. 

One entry was the Trade-Center Memorial which contains a beam taken from the World Trade Center disaster.  The beam was given to the Bennington Volunteer Fire Department; the only volunteer department in Nebraska to receive such an honor.  It always draws a reverence of silent as it passes by.   Its difficult not to respect this symbol of the loss of life and sacrifice which started 9/11 and continues with our service men and women today. 



Trade-Center Memorial Beam



Bennington Historical Society Entry in the
Bennington Daze Parade,  June 16, 2012

Next year consider coming to Nebraska and join in the festivities.  Along with Bennington; Elkhorn, Papillion, Blair, Fremont and other local towns celebrate.  Its fun and its a taste of the "Heartland."

Adventures Running a B & B

Nothing better than a good soak in a hot bath and our guest love our slipper bathtub.  Actually, Linda tried to talk me into putting in a shower instead but I wanted an old style tub with claw foot legs.  When we don't have guests, she loves to soak in it herself.

However; it brought us a little excitement the other night.  We had guests in both our upstairs rooms, it was rather late.   The husband of one couple had never stayed at a B & B before; his wife remarked that she was 'dragging' him away for a much needed get-a-way weekend.  

Linda and I were in bed almost asleep when we both heard RAIN.  The problem was that it sounded like it was IN the house, not outside.  I got up and turned on our bathroom lights and found water was running down the walls and through the suspended ceiling.  I grabbed a chair and lifted a ceiling panel and found the water wasn't leaking from any of the pipes; it was coming through the upstairs floor. 

I ran upstairs and found the guest bathroom door locked and water was running from under the door.  I knocked and got a weak reply.  A guest was taking a bath and it sounded like he was very relaxed.  I told him I needed in, that we had a bad water leak.  

I ran downstairs to grab some towels and came back up just as the door opened.  Wouldn't you know it, it was the 'new-be.'  He was dripping wet and wrapped in a towel.  I followed the 'stream' that had luckily subsided to the overflow tube on our old style tub.  Somehow, the overflow gasket had slipped out allowing water to spill on the floor.  The tub was very FULL; it was probably the first time the overflow had been tested! 

I pointed out the problem and asked the guest to watch the water level and that the drain would work fine.  I apologized for disrupting his bath.  He was very understanding and apologized for not seeing what was happening himself.  He said he loved to soak in a tub.  I towelled up the water and left.  He continued his bath. 

By then, Linda had wiped down the walls and floor in our bathroom.  Amazingly, we didn't have any water damage, we caught it in time.  I crawled back into bed and told her what I found; a leaking overflow and our 'new-be' guest dripping wet.  She got the giggles and said she was glad I was home. 

No harm, no foul; another adventure running our B & B.

Flowers For Mother

What a wonderful and colorful spring; we thought we would share some of our flower photos on Mother's Day. 

Our spring this year was about 3 weeks early and quite warm.  Everything seemed to bloom at once, even the trees.  We had the highest pollen counts on record this year; simply off the chart.  The flowers this year were unbelievable.  Last fall we planted 100 daffodils and they really added a splash of color to the yard.  We're looking forward to them multiplying.

Fish Pond at Oft's Bed & Breakfast

Unfortunately, we didn't take photographs of all our blossoms but we did take a few.  The tulips were beautiful.  We have a small bed of black tulips that bloomed later but I didn't take a photo of them this year.  We also added 5 new bulbs; the "Wild Buffet" bulbs we got from our guests from Holland.  We're anxious to see what they look like new spring.  They told us the flowers have double petals, whatever that means?

Great grandma's old rose is now blooming and its gorgeous.  We don't know how old the plant is but we have an old photos taken in the 1930's showing it.   It is at least 80 years old and possibly more.   

Great Grandma Rosa's Rose

Our white and blue irises are nearly bloomed out but CoeLeta gave us some roots of her yellow iris which we planted last fall.  What a great addition and its in full bloom now.  What a bright and vivid yellow!  

Happy Mother's Day!

Hosting Foreign Celebrities!

The fun of running a bed & breakfast is meeting new and interesting people.  This week is busy with Berkshire Week; Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual meeting.  We were booked a year ago and little did we know we would have celebrities in our home, two Dutch freelance journalists; Marlies Ruijter and Audrey Zonneveld.  We received an e-mail from Audrey last week asked us to pick up a copy of Wednesday's Omaha World-Herald for her.  We did and found in the Money Section, both ladies were featured in Steve Jordon's article "Tulips, anyone?  Side events often compete for attention."  

The lady journalists will be presenting Mr. Buffet a new tulip named "The Warren Buffett, a.k.a. The Wild Warren.  The tulip is available from Ruijter Flower Bulbs Inc. farm in northern Holland and are for sale.
  

Conversation around the breakfast table should be interesting this weekend!      

"What are you going to do with that?"

Ever have a desire to simply do something for no reason at all?  I get those feelings, especially when I have a little time on my hands.  My last project has triggered many of my friends to ask; "What are you going to with that?"   Quite frankly, I don't know, I just wanted to build it!  That is how I learn. 

We have friends out in the country and Larry found an old spring wagon in the grove that had deteriorated to almost nothing; just the metal and a few rotten boards were left.  He rebuilt it for a landscape feature in his yard.  The first time I saw it he was working on it and it caught my eye; what a neat project.

I started asking around if anyone else had a similar wagon that might need some tender loving care and I found one less than half a mile from home.  Hitting the community garage sales last year, Mel told me he had one setting along the creek and that I could have it if I wanted to dig it out of the trees.   I DID!

I dug through the parts and found the wagon's manufacture or name plate; it was a "Bain."  I check them out and the company started in 1850 in Kenosha, Wisconsin and became one of the premiere wagon companies in the mid-west.  I even found a illustration of one.  This particular model was referred to as a 10 by 3 (foot) or 26 bushel model.  They were very popular.

The Bain

This spring I pulled out pieces.  It was in sad shape, the wood had mostly rotted away but it appeared most of the metal parts were there.  Parts of the metal still had orange paint and some of the boards were still dark green.  I pulled the axles apart, pulled the wheels and dug through the debris for metal parts and hauled them home. 

The Beginning

I learned it was a "hybrid" of sorts; representing the transition from an early wooden wagon toward a more modern style using metal and rubber wheels.  The wheels were standard wooden hub and spoke wheels but the spokes were cut off to accommodate a steel rim and rubber tires.  This appears to have been a factory conversion.  While the wagon's axles, supports and spine were made of wood, the cradle supports that held the wagon box were made of metal rather than wood in the old style.  This was a farm wagon designed to haul grain.   Mel said he had paid $10 for it on a farm sale and used it to haul junk.

Amazingly, the wheels turned but the spokes had rotted and couldn't be repaired.  I had purchased some metal wheels last year and they fit the tapered axle bearings just fine.  There was enough of the original wooden parts left to provide me the patterns necessary to make replacement parts. 

Rebuilding the Axles

I soaked all the bolts in WD-40 and remarkably all but one broke free.  The rear axle was in good shape but the front axle had quite a bit of rot.  The bad portions of the axle was replaced with new oak and a new collar was made out of pine.  I didn't have oak for all the wooden parts so I used treated pine instead.  I didn't plan to haul a load of grain so strength wasn't a primary concern of mine.  Before I new it, I had all the pieces of the running gear and it came together.

Taken Shape!

I got some orange paint and painted the running gear before starting on the box.  I had some old barn wood on the farm and thought that would be appropriate.  Some of this wood is 90 years old and dates back to when this wagon was probably built.  The original wagon was constructed using iron rivets, but I couldn't find any locally so I used carriage bolts instead. 

The one item that was missing was a spring seat.  Honestly, I doubt it had one but that was something I wanted.  I checked Craig's List and low and behold, there was a set of seat springs for sale from a guy in Arkansas.  I bought them and they arrived.  It took no time at all to build the box and seat.

A Bain 3 by 10 Box Wagon

Now I'm in a quandary; do I leave it rustic or paint and pinstripe the wagon box?  That is going to take some time and quite frankly I'm in no hurry.  Its kind of fun watching those reruns of Gun Smoke and Wagon Train and then wander out and sit in my spring seat and imagine the old west. 

"What are you going to do with that?"  normally snaps me out of my dream as neighbors and friends ask me that question.  For the time being, I'm going to enjoy it.  It will be used by the Bennington Historical Society during Bennington Dazes (June 15-17) this year and who knows??  Maybe I'll try to come up with some type of covering for the iron wheels so we can pull it in the parade next year.   Its been fun!

Spring So Soon?

The weather has simply been amazing; from a mild and short winter to an early spring.  Here it is the last day of March and everything is in full bloom and the weather guy is forcasting a high of 91 tomarrow!  This is the first time I've witnessed our daffadils bloom the same time as our tulips. 



Oft's Bed & Breakfast: March 29, 2012

  The growing season appears at least 4 weeks early this year.

Another spring event is restocking the pond with our fish.  In late fall, we remove our fish from our pond and drain and clean it for winter.  This gives us a chance for repairs and this spring we actually painted the bottom.  It seemed like it might have been leaking water through the pores concrete. 

Our fish stay in a 40 gallon tank in the basement during the winter.  The painted had sufficiently dried and we filled the pond and let it set for a couple of weeks.   It was time to bring them out.   

We have 3 smaller (6 inch) and one large (12) gold fish.   Its amazing how gold they are.  After draining the basement tank, the large gold fish is placed in one bucket and the smaller ones in their own.   The buckets are taken  out by the pool and pond water is slowly added over half an hour to temper them to pond conditions.  After they are use to the temperature in the pond they are released.  Its always fund watching them become reaccustom to their outdoor home.  

Winding Up the Past

We still have the family farm that was bought in 1880 by Great Granddad Eggert Oft.  The farm always game me a place where I could go out and do some manual labor and simply clear my head.  There is something about walking the same ground as my dad, grand dad and my great granddad did in the past.  I bought a mower for the ATV last year and its relaxing going out to mow the same land I did as a child growing up on the farm.  It's good to reflect on your "roots". 

Linda and I bought ourselves a little something last spring.  To recognize and celebrate the family farm we had a farm sign designed and I mounted it by the lane.  A 132 year celebration of our use of a chunk of prairie the good Lord saw fit to let our family use (with the blessing of the state tax collector).   

Cousin Mike Oft next to the Farm Sign

We had an old, very old barbed wire fence that had to be pulled out.  It dates back to granddad at least and some of the barbed wire design suggests some of the wire might go back further. 

Anyway, the fence was half a mile long; over 2,600 feet composed of antique steel posts supporting five strands of barbed wire and one strand of electrical wire.  I had planned to pull the fence in the spring but the weather was so nice in January, I jumped at it and actually got the wired pulled. 

I did it the old fashion way, the way dad would have had me do it 50 years ago.  I took one strand down at a time, starting with the electric wire.  I started on one end and walked the half mile take the wire down and when I got to the end, I turned around and started rolling it up.   I got about four roles per length.  I did that 6 times walking more than 6 miles wrapping up 3 miles of wire.  The job did in a new pair of leather gloves.

When I picked up the individual rolls it made quite a pile.  The wire was really rusty but some strands were still in usable condition.  I used them to string up a 200 yard section of fence by the Highway.  I think dad, granddad and great grandad would have approved and said; "job well done." 

Nearly 2 miles of barbed wire

Lights! Camera! ACTION!

When we opened as Oft's Bed & Breakfast we never dreamt the different types of clients we would have and not all of them stay the night.  Some simply visit to take pictures. 

We've been discovered by photographers of all types.  We've had several brides have their photographs taken here and a dress designer show cased her designs in our parlor.  Kate Walz is 14 and designs and models her own creations.  A very remarkable young lady!  Our home has also used been used as the backdrop for Senior Class pictures and even "glamour" photos. 


Kate Walz modeling one of her own designs

The most recent was a video shoot by Reliant Studios in Lincoln.  They do video promotional advertisement spots and they wanted to use an old Victorian setting to interview their CEO (who's from Arlington) and the rest of their staff for their own advertising. 

Staff Reviewing CEO's Interview

The interviews were shot in our formal parlor and we were informed they needed some "B-roll."  We found out "B-roll" was back ground or filler for the video.  They took moving shots of our Jude Box and even a zoom in of our old record player spinning away.  Below, is a shop of their set up for the phonograph the shot. 

Video Shoot at Oft's Bed & Breakfast

Does anyone out there old enough to remember the "Bob Cummings Show?"  "I think this is going to be a good one!"

A Change In Life

I am on our City's Council  and I'm currently getting ready to run for Mayor in the upcoming election.  I never dreamt or even considered serving in public office while I was pursuing my career as a research scientist.  I simply didn't have the time nor the interest.  I was focused on science and fish and travelled a lot.  That was actually a benefit in that I saw a lot of beautiful country but also a curse because I was away from my wife, family and community so much.

That certainly isn't the case any more.  I was thinking how one's profession influences a person's relationships not only with one's family, but also with their community.  I have friends who are truck drivers that are on the road for extended periods of time.  We've recently had several service men who were returning or getting deployed oversees for a year or more.  Those are hardships! I'm just starting to realize how easy it is to get physical and mentally detached from our families and communities. 

I wonder if that is happening to our younger generations through career demands and technology?  Many would argue that technology has made us closer but I'm starting to question that.  We recently had a 'tech' savey crew over that used our home for a video promotion section.  I remember looking and seeing all 5 of them working on the smart phones; mentally isolated from each other.  I couldn't help but smile and think about Captain Pecard quote: "I am BORG, part of the collective!" 

As an Inn Keeper, I've switched professions and lifestyles.  I'm not on the road, wading in a river or at a meeting anymore.  I'm working at home with my wife.  The transition took a while but what a pleasant change.  There are certain things I miss about working outdoors but the opportunities I'm experiencing now I wouldn't trade for the world.  I have more time with Linda, meeting such nice and interesting guests, and having time to get more involved in community issues.  I now realize how I sherked those responsibilities for so many years.  

Being a Council Member has been one of the most challenging and at times the most frustrating job of my life.  As a scientist, I spent 30 years solving problems.  I've learned that far easier than trying to get people to accept and move in the right direction, specially when it comes to financial problems.  We all feel entitled in some way and I'm afraid that may lead to our society's decay if we let it.  Local communities, States and our Federal Government is so far in debt!

Take the opportunity to get involved or at least educate yourself what is happening in our society.   Take care.   

Visitors from Over Seas

We have hosted guests from foreign countries but yesterday was the most interesting.  We got a call about 6 pm from a gentleman passing through Kansas City wanting rooms for the night and said he would make Omaha by 10:00.  Well, they hit bad weather and phoned saying it would be past 11 so Linda and I turned on the old Perry Mason reruns. 

At 11:30 they arrived, cold, tired and road weary.   We showed them their room and said we would check them in after breakfast.   Breakfast was at 9 am and what followed was a most delightful discussion about world affairs, their lives and jobs and their exploits in this country.  All three were in the late 20's, early 30's and very interesting people. 

Left to Right: Artem (Russia), Evy (Austria), Tommy (Lithuania)

Artem is a managing editor for a Moscow newspaper with ties with the Washington Post, Evy is a consultant and Tommy is a mutual friend.  They came to the States for business and took some time to drive around. 

They were going to the Duram and eat lunch at Old Market.  Evy had sights on the Candy Store we told her about and then they were heading to Hanibal, MO to see the Mark Twain sights tonight.   Quick trip! 

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