blog @ stone lion cape cod

May Already?

Janet Loewenstein — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:48:42 +0000

I honestly don’t know where spring goes. It seems like one day it’s winter and the next thing I know the calendar is filling up and I have guests more days than not. Even though summer is considered to be the “busy season” here, in many ways spring is busier because there are certain things that have to be done every year but can only be done during this span of a few weeks when the weather is warming up and before the crowds descend.

This has been an especially busy spring here at The Stone Lion Inn. If you’ve wondered why the blog hasn’t been updated in a while, here’s what I’ve been up to…

I’ve had some necessary projects taken care of, including having the exterior of the house power washed and one side painted, having the foundation re-pointed (it’s disturbing to look at your foundation and think “gee, there ought to be a lot more mortar between those bricks…”) and having a cobblestone apron installed at the base of the driveway.

The apron at the entry to the driveway really improves curb appeal.

While I was having cobblestone work done I also had a transition added between the gravel driveway and the brick patio at the front of the house. The way the patio ended had bothered me for a long time, I think this is a major improvement.

Cobblestone made a neat transition from the brick patio to the gravel driveway.

Most of the shutters on the house are in terrible condition so I made the decision to order new ones and to go with real wood. I looked at the vinyl ones which are much less expensive, but they’re too ugly to contemplate putting on this beautiful house. The new shutters should be here in a week or two.

Massachusetts put together a “cash for appliances” program this year using stimulus funds to entice people to replace old, energy hog appliances with new, more efficient models. I am taking advantage of that to get a new washing machine and a new refrigerator, those will be here sometime next week (I think). The washer will be an easy replacement, the refrigerator less so. In addition to removing the contents and doing a major purge, which badly needs to be done, all the photos, postcards, magnets, etc. plus a cool, funky spice rack on the outside have to be removed and placed on the new fridge. Wish me luck.

Spring is also time for hiring new staff. My housekeeper of over a year quit in February so I was starting from scratch. My first hire worked three shifts and vanished. The two I’ve hired since then are still here… keeping my fingers crossed that doesn’t change. I don’t enjoy the interview process and training is exhausting. I’ll need to advertise for and hire one more housekeeper before the season gets into full swing, that’s a task for next week.

Other things I’ve been doing/having done: researched & ordered new towels, upgraded all the shower heads to a much better model (partly in response to a reviewer comment but something I’d been thinking about anyway), had the unfinished 2nd gazebo in the back yard taken down & removed, had a leaky skylight in the apartment bathroom replaced & repaired the ceiling around that, re-caulked and repainted the stairs, did a major wall patch in the deluxe queen room and several less major ones in one of the front bedrooms which then got a complete new paint job (same color, though), framed some new artwork and made substitutions in various places; had a new light fixture installed in the vestibule and a new ceiling fan/light installed in the kitchen, purchased new area rugs for three bedrooms, had the motor for the dryer replaced; it died literally DAYS after I ordered the new washer & refrigerator, reviewed/approved an ad for the program for the local theater, had the septic system pumped (annual maintenance), upgraded the modem & wireless router for my internet service… and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things.

I wish I could say I was nearly done with my spring tasks but there’s still a ton of stuff to do outside including mulching, planting, getting the fish pond set up for the summer and rehabbing the yard where that gazebo was. I also need to find new rugs for the 4th bedroom, decide whether to order new t-shirts and if so, what to order, and deal with a half dozen other things I’ve either started or researched but not ordered or made a final decision on.

Whew. I think I need a clone.

A Time and a Season

Janet Loewenstein — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:25:07 +0000

Hard to believe winter is almost over. On the one hand it’s been a long one, on the other, as with each of the years I’ve been doing this, the busy season is approaching all too quickly. As usual, there is a lot to do around here.

This is the time of year when I take a look around and decide what needs to be done either to keep up or to improve the property. There’s always some simple maintenance, like patching plaster and touching up paint, tightening faucets, re-caulking showers (one of my least favorite jobs), etc. That kind of stuff is sort of a no-brainer. Then there are things that should be replaced because they’re showing signs of wear & tear. Some of those things I replace often, like towels. Other things, like area rugs, need to be replaced because after ten years they’re showing signs of wear. The house also needs new shutters, the existing ones are probably original and they’re falling apart. These are the projects I do myself.

Then there are some larger projects with which I need help. To that end I’ve been having what I call “The Running of the Contractors”. It’s kind of like The Running of the Bulls, but different. So far this year that has included a roofing contractor to replace a leaky skylight in the apartment, a masonry contractor to install a cobblestone apron at the front of the driveway (an attempt to keep the stones in the driveway) and a concrete countertop guy to look at replacing the sink counter in my kitchen. The first two of those three projects should be done by the end of this week; I’m still waiting on the countertop estimate to make my decision on that. I’d like to do it, but it’s not critical and I may need to spend the money elsewhere.

I still need to talk to my house painter, there’s exterior painting and power washing that need to be done and I want to see if his crew can install new shutters for me. There’s also some landscaping work that I need to have done, parts of the brick foundation that need to be repointed and a couple of exterior carpentry jobs that can’t wait. Oh, and it’s really all got to be done by the middle of May if not sooner. It’s a small window of time, but with the exception of the kitchen countertop, this is all exterior work that needs to be done in reasonably good weather.

Looking at the above list, I’m well aware of how short time is. No doubt about it, summer is coming.

Twelve Years too Late

Janet Loewenstein — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:40:24 +0000

When I was searching for a house in Wellfleet that would become The Stone Lion Inn, I saw a couple of properties that just made me drool. One was a former windmill with views of the harbor and the other an enormous house with outbuildings in the center of town.

At the time I knew nothing of town history so I didn’t realize that both these houses were still in the families of the men who had built them in the 19th century. Later, long after I purchased the beautiful and well situated house that I did, I was content knowing that neither of these amazing properties would ever come on the open market.

I learned today that one of them has, in fact, been put up for sale by the family. It’s the larger of the two, known as Belvernon, and has amazing history. Unfortunately, a lot of that history is still in the house in the form of plumbing, wiring, heating and, I believe, a cesspool which will have to be updated to a new septic system. The renovation will be a Herculean undertaking; I do not envy the future buyer.

If anyone wants to see the listing, it’s here.

I love my house.

Notes on a Quiet Winter Weekend

Janet Loewenstein — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:33:37 +0000

This has been a quiet month, even by winter standards. There have even been some completely empty weekends including like this one. There is, of course, still work to do, but the pace is very different. I also get to work more on my body’s natural schedule, which notably does not include getting up before sunrise.

Last night I attended a surprise birthday party for a friend. My contribution to the dessert table was lemon bars, a recipe I hadn’t made in about ten years. I’d forgotten how good they are, and how easy. They were a hit with the guests, too. I’ll post the recipe below. It was nice to go out for the evening and not have to worry about late check-ins or prepping for the next morning’s breakfast.

Late this afternoon I was taking a bag of trash out – possibly the most mundane chore ever – when a full-grown red hawk came out of nowhere, swooped low over my back yard and perched in my neighbor’s tree. Made my day.

LEMON BARS

Shortbread Base

1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups all purpose flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F

Process all ingredients in a food processor until mixture begins to form small lumps. Sprinkle mixture into a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan and with a metal spatula, press evenly onto bottom. Bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 20 minutes.

While the shortbread is baking, prepare topping.

Lemon Topping

4 eggs
1 ½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon a.p. flour
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
½ cup fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, beat eggs then add remaining ingredients and blend. Pour over crust and bake until mixture is set, about 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting.

Dust lemon squares with powdered sugar before serving.

Ten

Janet Loewenstein — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:36:36 +0000

It was ten years ago this week that we first took hammer and pry bar to plaster and started the renovation on the inn. Want to take a little walk down memory lane with me and revisit the project?

It was a daunting task; we had two sets of walls to remove on each side of the house, including plaster, lath, vertical supports and, on one side of the house, a bunch of brick. The plaster dust was horrid and I remember that the combination of dust mask and goggles made my glasses fog up something awful, but not wearing the protective gear was worse.

We worked from about 8 a.m. to dusk seven days a week that winter, and on into spring. My dad, who lives two hours away, drove out every weekend for six months and put in two days of work to help out. That extra pair of hands was an enormous help, especially when hanging sheetrock. In addition to my dad we had a team of plumbers and an electrician to handle those trades and I found someone to hang the wallpaper in the bathrooms. A couple of friends came out and gave us the gift of a few days of work, mostly painting, and towards the very end I did hire someone local to help with the interior painting and another local person to scrape & repaint the front facade of the house. Other than that, my husband & I did all the work ourselves.

Our goal was to try to open by Memorial Day weekend but we knew there was a good chance we wouldn’t be ready by then so we didn’t actually take any reservations for that weekend, figuring that if by some miracle we were ready for guests we’d find some somehow. It turned out to be a good call. We had a ton of work to do, mostly by ourselves, and there was no way we could have made that deadline. We did somehow manage to get open in late June and went right into the busy season… that first year is something of a blur to me.

Want to know what we got done in those seven months? As best as I can remember, here’s the list:

demolished walls on 2nd floor necessary to create new bathrooms
built platforms for the new bathrooms to sit on (helps accommodate the plumbing without cutting through structural joists)
removed the clawfoot tub from the existing bathroom, gutted that bathroom including the flooring, installed new floor joists, created new door opening
plumbing & new fixtures for three new bathrooms on 2nd floor, considerable new plumbing for the old bathroom
framed, insulated & sheetrocked new walls for bathrooms
purchase, hang, trim & paint new doors for 3 bathrooms
installed beadboard, trim & wallpaper in all four bathrooms
installed new furnace & hot water heater for house, new duct work for 2nd floor bedrooms, new programmable thermostat
installed exhaust fans & dropped ceilings in all 4 bathrooms
tiled all 4 bathroom floors, built & installed steps to raised bathrooms
installed new sheetrock ceilings in one bedroom and a small back hallway
installed ceiling fans & medallions in all 4 bedrooms
caulked & painted every wall & ceiling on 2nd floor
had substantial rewiring done throughout the house
gutted & entirely re-did the bathroom in the apartment including new plumbing & fixtures and a new tile floor
repainted apartment
gutted third floor (personal living space), expanded bathroom, moved tub & installed a new sink – this all involved a certain amount of wall building as well
painted entire 3rd floor, had carpet installed
removed loft bed from what was to become my office/laundry/storage room on the first floor, installed desk & shelves
moved washer, purchased and installed a dryer
purchased & installed two new base cabinets in kitchen to replace existing, added an extra high shelf along 2 walls of the kitchen
installed new medallions and ceiling fans in living & dining rooms
painted living room, dining room, foyer and entry hall on first floor
new sheetrock & blocking in the 1st floor half-bath to support sink, repainted half-bath
carpeted main staircase
installed new pass-through counter on first floor, added trim, caulked & painted pass-through
various outdoor projects to clean up property and rehab some of the lawn
repainted entire interior of cottage, removed ceiling fans (they were too low to be legal) and installed light fixtures in 3 bedrooms

That was the renovation. We also had to purchase some new furniture, set up rooms and hang art. All our stuff from Brooklyn had to be unpacked & put away – especially for the kitchen – and our computers had to get set up.

We were lucky enough to have my mother-in-law’s house ten minutes away to stay in so we didn’t have to live in a construction site. That very likely saved our sanity. When it got too dark to work (we had a lot of the wiring ripped out so limited ability to plug in work lights) we’d go back to the other house, shower, feed ourselves and hit the computers. A brochure and website had to be designed, mailings sent out, guest management programs had to be researched, additional phone lines had to be ordered, bed & bath linens, window treatments and curtain rods had to be researched, purchased and installed, same with soaps & other amenities for the bathrooms. Dishes, flatware, glasses and serving pieces for the dining room had to be decided upon and ordered. New bank accounts had to be opened and a credit card processing account set up. Breakfast recipes had to be created or adapted.

Somehow it all got done, but ten years later I’ll be damned if I know how.

More Musings

Janet Loewenstein — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:48:09 +0000

A week before Christmas we had a highly unusual snowfall, almost 2′. To get that amount all at once is fairly rare out here; to get it before Christmas is almost unheard of. Not that it wasn’t pretty, it’s just not that much fun to deal with.

Wellfleet's December blizzard

Ok, that doesn’t look so bad does it? Nah. But you can’t really tell from the photo just how much of the white stuff is on the ground.

This might give you a better idea:

The courtyard behind the house after the blizzard

Are ya gettin’ the idea? The cold weather stuck around for almost a week, and so did the snow. Temperatures did finally start to creep back up above freezing on Thursday and we had highs in the low 40’s & 50’s for three days, so it’s pretty much gone now. It did make for a white Christmas, the first one in the ten years I’ve lived here, so that’s good.

Speaking of Christmas, I hope everyone had a good one. A good friend invited me over to her house for Christmas dinner with family & friends, which was lovely. I made a chocolate-orange poundcake to bring, a recipe that could use a little more tweaking but was still pretty darned good. I also made sparkling cranberries. Those were just on a whim, a friend had sent a link to the recipe, they looked gorgeous & easy plus I had fresh cranberries in my refrigerator. I’ve gotta tell you, they were really good. Here’s a picture:

Sparkling Cranberries

Can you imagine a more perfect addition to a holiday table? The best part is they can accompany food or just be eaten as a snack. They are kind of addictive, though, so watch out!

Guest-wise, things have been fairly quiet around here. Thanksgiving was busy followed by a totally dead weekend, then I had a stretch of about 8 days where there were guests every night and then nothing the following weekend. That’s not so unusual, though. The period between the holidays is often one of the slowest of the year and I’m fine with that. I have a few guests this week and then we’ll see what the final holiday weekend of the year brings.

Here’s wishing everyone a happy, healthy and safe New Year. See you in 2010!

Holiday Musings

Janet Loewenstein — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:11:42 +0000

Some towns go all out for the holidays with tons of decorations, a huge tree & lighting ceremony, house tours, concerts, plays, caroling and so forth. Not so much in Wellfleet. A lot of the shops and restaurants are closed. Decorations are understated: two large, living trees in front of town hall are lit with strings of white lights (LED of course) and the doorway of town hall is similarly surrounded. Green wreaths are attached to a few lamp posts on Main Street. Preservation Hall had a holiday sale one weekend and there’s an event for local kids with Santa followed by a free matinee movie at the cinema. That’s about it. Drive through the center of town after dark and there are a hand full of cars in front of The Lighthouse but the scene is utterly subdued and peaceful.

Not being a Christmas person myself, I like it this way. On the other hand, it would also be nice if there was something to attract guests here during this time. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are often the quietest of the winter. I’ve been thinking of making my own event next year but it would have to be something unique. Perhaps even a NON-Christmas event; something to get away from all the holiday stuff. What do you all think about this? Any ideas for what would be a fun way to get away and forget about Christmas for a night or two? Post any and all ideas in the comments and if I use your idea in an event next year you’ll get your choice of one night free on the event weekend or $50 off your next stay at the inn.

The Blogging Wagon

Janet Loewenstein — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:44:15 +0000

Yes, I fell off, apologies to my regular readers (if I have any). I’m going to try to get back on and stay there, though.

It’s been an interesting season, mostly in a good way. It was my first as a solo innkeeper, so there was a lot to figure out as far as how to do what I normally do plus the things my ex-husband did, like grocery shopping. That may seem like a small thing, but let me tell you in July and August it is definitely not! In those months it has to be done about every 4 – 5 days and the traffic can be a challenge. Not to mention the additional crowds at the supermarket. Figure it out I did, however.

I’m not going to try to summarize the entire summer in one post, I’ll relate stories as I think of them and have time. I did have a good season, despite the grim economy and the less-than-stellar weather, so I can’t complain on that front. And I’m still here. And I will try to stay on the wagon.

Anniversary

Janet Loewenstein — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:11:49 +0000

Ten years ago today I checked in my first guests.

I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed, it’s been quite a ride! I’ve learned a lot, grown a lot, met amazing people and am going through a huge transition in my life, but I wouldn’t change a minute of it. And how many people can say that about their jobs?

Hit the Ground Running

Janet Loewenstein — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:16:09 +0000

I had my assistant, Nancy, in to do breakfast this morning and I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in. Once up, though, I feel like I didn’t sit down most of the day. Here’s what I did:

Helped strip beds – my housekeeper is still fairly new and we had a lot of rooms checking out today, made up one of them for her;
Did 4 loads of laundry;
Took apart & checked the new plug on the vacuum cleaner – I’d had to replace it a week ago and I think one of my housekeepers has been using the cord to yank it out of the sockets;
Retrieved the “short” screens used with the a/c units from their storage place & vacuumed them, also 2 needed minor repairs;
Got the frame kits for the a/c units down from their storage location;
Went to the transfer station with Adam to help unload the brush trailer – it was full of leaves that had been sitting all winter (ew) so tomorrow I have to hose it down;
Helped Adam install a/c units in 3 of the bedrooms;
Stowed the 3 full-size screens where they will spend the summer;
Sorted recycling with my housekeeper;
Touched up the paint at the top stair where large suitcases seem to chip it every third day;
Did a little vacuuming in my own space;
Vacuumed the kitchen floor.

Oh, and I was having a bear of a time with my internet connection today so I rebooted my computer three or four times and I rebooted the modem & router, which are two flights up, twice.

I feel as if I’ve run at least 10 miles today, but it wasn’t really an unusual day… for an innkeeper.