THE GRAND OPENING!

(Part 1 written pre- Grand opening)

Remember how I mentioned I've been especially busy lately?  Well here's why... Saturday we have a little thing called "The Grand Opening."  So I've been prepping my brains out--cleaning, organizing, shopping, more fall decorating, and lots of slightly ocd and delightfully random to-do lists.  So far it's been fun, and *bonus* we've been having this beautiful crisp, sunny weather :)

The Grand Opening has several purposes behind it.  We want to welcome the community and give them a chance to see the house up-close, get the word out about some of our upcoming events, and hopefully inspire people to book reservations and events here.  We are giving tours of the house and serving breakfast-themed refreshments.  I am equal parts excited and ready for it to be over :)

Check out these cool pumpkins & squash I got at a farmstand in Glastonbury...

In other news, despite being "busy," I have found time to watch a couple Halloweeny-type movies and plan some awesome stuff for me and my sisters to do because *****drumroll***** THEY ARE COMING TO VISIT IN 2 WEEKS!!! Yeah... I'm a little excited.

(Part 2, written post-Grand Opening)

Okay, so I intended to publish this a loooong time ago, but I guess I've been in a kind of recovery stasis.  Basically, the Grand Opening was a crazy day that seemed to go on and on with no end, but it was also very rewarding and... what's the word I'm looking for?  Maybe, triumphant.

We had no idea how many people to expect, but we were planning for 200-250.  Instead we got 400-450.  I really wish we'd counted, or had someone standing there with one of those little clickers, just for the satisfaction of knowing, but oh, well...

Luckily, we had 8 or so volunteers, because there's no way we could've managed the crowds by ourselves.  Volunteers directed parking (the lot and the grass were packed, and people were lined up down the road and around the corner), greeted guests, gave tours, and a few floated wherever they were needed. 

My personal hero for the day was a friend of Dean & Jess's named Tony.  He was sort of like the bouncer for the kitchen.  He intercepted people, was friendly and helpful with guests, and encouraged them to get food and take an official tour of the house.  He also washed dishes, refilled trays, provided comedic relief, and even brought me a cold cup of water without my asking for it.

I did manage to slip away during a calm moment and take a few pics...  They make the day appear calm, but moments like this were pretty rare.  The other times I tried to sneak away for pics, I couldn't get through the crowd in the dining room. 

I can't speak for all of the volunteers, but everyone I met was very friendly and encouraging about our whole venture.  They seemed genuinely excited to have the Bevin House as part of the community and eager to see us succeed.

The last guests left around 4:30, and after an hour or so of cleanup, the crew headed over to the neighbors for the Block Party.  I went over for a quick hello, but then I had to come back and prepare for our check-in.  I took a minute to sit with my swollen feet in the cold pool and enjoy the beautiful scenery.  Everything was kind of orange-tinted and calm...

The next day I served breakfast for 6 and then 4 checked out.  I did some cleaning and laundry, but I was noticeably slower-moving than usual.  In the early evening I went over to the Old Airline Trail at the Cranberry Bog to go for a walk.  Thought I could use some peace and quiet...

But when I got there I realized I was too tired to move, so I just sat on a bench and watched geese for a half hour.  Like an elderly man.

I realized that in the past 8 days I'd worked over 80 hrs.  And though I've probably never been so tired, it was the rewarding "tired" of a job well-done.  I'm so glad it went so well.  And I'm definitely glad it's over :)