Category: KIss & Tell - Page 3

Supply Chain Crisis Makes Way For The “Ellwanger Experience”

November 26, 2021/in KIss & Tell/by The Ellwanger Estate

‘I Wake With Wonder’

November 22, 2021/in KIss & Tell/by The Ellwanger Estate

Every Morning
I wake with wonder
and dive into the day
I grasp for my phone like a lifeline, a buoy,
I rise among the displaced dreams of yore
Supplanted plans, disrupted from the year
So distanced from all social life before

I set out on my way
To make snacks for three kids
because that’s all I seem to do with them here all the damn day
And it’s hard work.
‘Cause it’s heart work.
This is artwork.

I rise
Like the sap in the maple tree
knowing it’s time to feed its budding branches.
Like seedlings struggling towards the light,
even though I need a baptism of magic waters to cure all that aches

I don my gowns and masks and gloves
Tend to the sick, the lost, the tired, the dead.
I say a prayer, talk to God
think of things I love:
Birds and flowers and books
dandelions, earthworms, mosses,
all those things I never thought
to love, or not enough.

I rise
even when the news of the day
makes me want to stay in bed
Even when the outlook is bleak:
I’ve not seen my eighth graders smile. Or smirk.
my neighbor cut down the massive oak
that shaded my yard,
My wife died alone In an skilled nursing facility bed.

Oh yes I mourn those we have lost
And the cost of human lives
But still I rise
Still ire eyes
Cry for those who are gone
Who have marched on
Still fire eyes
Burn for justice denied
Flame hot for truth

We rise
even when our spirits feel deflated
because this too shall be past
because we are made of stardust
I am A new breath in an older body
with A future to ponder.
I no longer take hugs for granted.
The music at church yesterday, with
full choir, was glorious.

I sing of loss and grief and hope,
Of joy and pain and memory,
Of yesterday and tomorrow.

I became best friends with my computer.
And learned something spectacular:
Disconnection has connected us more than ever.
The Zoom “LEAVE” button calls for me

So, I am easing out of this rabbit hole
I will find my equilibrium and my verve
Be who I am.
Lose 40 lbs and improve my mental health
meet every patient
as they are
and care for them
as best I can
Try to celebrate
The fact of my existence

Birds tweeting, wind blowing, leaves rustling. I notice it all now.
I like this new world.

Even though I’m in my nineties,
I have learned to love more
the old man across the hall
who has trouble with his eyes.
the touchy woman down the street

In this world of
Bad audio connections,
I have learned to listen
After such stillness,
Nothing’s the same.

I rise on this new day
out of bed like a miracle.
I tie my own shoes.
I linger with a full
pot of Barry’s Irish tea, each slurp
an act of contemplative prayer
I spend so many days watching my child grow
mourning dove pretends to be an owl,
a cardinal rides a slip of a limb, up and down.
What was simple is made extravagant.

So I lift my gaze
Forward, slowly
To hike up, not give up
To sing out, not cry out
to like who I am, even when, especially when, I stand alone.
return to my books to find support
to make the coffee.
to watch ducklings
drop to waterglory
following Mama hen
through fervent streams.

To fill each day, not miss one
to see the world full on.
to pace the house at midnight,
watching the moon wax and wane,
to live and love
to write
to work
to laugh
to share
to fight
To create a world of generosity
A world where we are inspired
To help each other in every moment

So rise, my friends, rise up
All one heart
Be the change
and when you wonder
How you will likely spend your life
With the time left to borrow
Know that
To fight is to be human, for times short or longer,
For through the struggle, we may hope to become stronger.

Morning Edition asked NPR’s audience to write a poem using Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” as inspiration. NPR’s resident poet Kwame Alexander took lines from submissions to create a community poem about the challenges of the past year and hope for times ahead.
https://www.npr.org/2021/05/28/1000234056/i-wake-with-wonder-a-crowdsourced-poem-of-pandemic-pain-and-hope

‘I Wake With Wonder’
A Crowdsourced Poem Of Pandemic Pain And Hope

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

February 2, 2021/in KIss & Tell/by The Ellwanger Estate

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Bill Gates calls it the “What have you done for me lately?” syndrome. It’s the customer’s desire for innovation, new colors and screen sizes, better pricing, and faster service.

Here is our list for 2021:

Innovations: auto soap dispensers, air purifiers, motions detected lights, curated art, new outdoor social locations with a screen pod tent for 2, REC ROOM with table tennis & exercise bike, Tea classes, Live Jazz on veranda, wild turkey grazing station, compositing and victory garden.
New Colors: Always, in the Ellwanger Garden. Easel available for plein air painting on the grounds. Binoculars for plein air painting.
Screen Size: it’s what ever you bring.
Convenience—one-stop: Sleep, eat, explore, relax, and play. Now offering crockpot dinners for 2, Bonfire & S’mores or Sausages, tickets to the Memorial Art Gallery (MAG), and tours of MT Hope Cemetery.
Personalization: Everything from Wellness Massage, diets, dining locations & enrichments, floral design class, “Parents Night Off”, Wellness Massage, wellness kits, curated weddings and concierge services.
Better Pricing: introduced winter rates for the first time, seasonal rates held constant for the last 4 years. “Rent a room, Get a mansion”.
Faster service. Why does it take only a few minutes to choose a flight, buy an airline ticket, and reserve a B&B room and car through the internet, but twice as long to speak with a travel agent? Not here. Call direct, answered direct. Text and I will answer.

What would you like to do today?

Yes That’s All Good, But
What Have You Done For Me Lately?

Help me to help you!

We remained faithful to our mission by continuing to provide the finest B&B experience, through creativity, safety, and extraordinary guest focus. Our purpose or “raison d’etre” (reason for being) is to create happiness for others. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

In order to achieve the highest standard, we too have made some internal changes.

Here is your list for 2021:

I am your one and only hostess, as I have dedicated myself totally to our mission , retired from a FT career outside the B&B, and have received the Pfizer vac during participation in a clinical study.
Minimal 2 night stay due to the cleaning protocol we have established. Think OCD on steroids.
Invoice balance paid by personal check or cash. Your receipt is e mailed.
Check-in is now between 3-6 PM, to allow more time to clean and prepare for your visit.
Baggage assistance is now by request.
Room service between stays is by request.
Visitors (2 max) permitted in the Gardens & on Veranda by request.
Please remove shoes at the door, and help yourselves to our slippers or you may bring your own.

Help me to help you!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!!

Let’s talk turkey: How has the pandemic impacted bed and breakfasts?

June 4, 2020/in KIss & Tell/by The Ellwanger Estate

Tune into Connections, with EVAN DAWSON & MEGAN MACK
Interviewed on MAY 22, 2020

We continue our series of conversations about the impact the pandemic has had on businesses. Bed and breakfasts owners are working to adapt to the current situation, while also preparing for the months ahead.

This hour, we talk with innkeepers in different parts of our area about how the pandemic has affected their businesses, and how they think the industry could change in the longer term. Our guests: