A Green Idea

A few weeks ago mom and I drove out to see Big Red in New Mexico and saw many hotel rooms on our journey. We were road tripping on a budget and didn't stay anywhere very special but I noticed many "green" ideas that most chain hotels have adopted. One hotel has a little "rag" that is a bit from an older towel with a little explanation about not using the new towels to scrub your shoes or check your oil and to use the "rag":) Another hotel had this same idea but it was a paper towel for this same use as pictured below. All of the rooms had some notice about reusing the towels and ways to conserve water. I think it would be great to have something like this at the Snapdragon--a little nicer than a rag or a paper towel perhaps but the idea is great.


--Chris

This is what happens when...

the adults all have a meeting and the kids are "playing" in the next room.
I am sure they love it. Who wouldn't like stringing your parents entire supply of toilet paper all over the toy room that your mom just cleaned--it was really clean when we started the meeting.

Painting 200 year old windows

It has been a while since I have worked at the Inn since I had a baby in July and was on and off of bed rest the last 2 months of my pregnancy but I am back to the painting and it feels pretty good-- except I am left with the task of painting some pretty old windows. Windows are hard to paint on the best of days, let alone 200 year old windows. It is NEVER boring at the Inn.

--Chris

RED!

As you may have seen in the live paint-a-thon, we have a red room! This is our Dining Room where we will serve breakfast to our guests. Our dad, Big Red, can whip up some awesome pancakes and when we were brainstorming the breakfast menu we added Big Red's pancakes which led us to think about painting the Dining Room Red (also his favorite color)and calling it Big Red's. Here are a couple progress shots of the paint going up. It is the perfect Red (I did pick it, so of course I like it) not too pink and not too burgundy--just right red.

Before Red

After Red (in progress shots)

Live Video Stream

We are streaming live again today. Come watch the paint dry on Extreme(ly slow) Home Makeover.

Video streaming by Ustream

Paint-a-Thon!

Brig is doing a 24-hour paint-a-thon from 9am on 9/12 until 9am on 9/13. Look, you can watch him!

Video streaming by Ustream

Snapdragon Playlist

You gotta have some tunes to work by for any big project. Here are a few of the Snapdragon Team's favorite songs that keep us going at our work days or our thinking about work days (for those of us far away).

Viva La Vida by Coldplay
Don't Stop Me Now by Queen
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey
All These Things That I Have Done by The Killers
One World by Queen
Kings of Leon
Muse
TV on the Radio
Bon Jovi
Anything country (K80 and JD are our experts in all things Nashville)

And of course, if you know the Larson Brothers at all, anything by Van Halen.

Our resident photographer is tending to her offspring and roadtripping with her mother, so we hope to have some great photos for you soon of progress on the 1st floor. Stay Tuned and Keep Rockin'!

Joy

Summers in Windsor

As summer begins to fade away on us, I thought it would be nice to share something with all our faithful readers. As we've mentioned many times, one of the former residents of 26 Main was Maxwell Perkins and his wife Louise Saunders. Max was a literary editor of considerable mention with Scribner's and Sons. He pushed for the publication of such young authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald.

What may not be as well known is that Perkins and Saunders had five daughters. Wanting the girls to have the same summer experiences in Windsor that he had, the family would reside in Windsor while Max worked in New York. He took the train up every other week. In the mean time, he wrote the most amazing letters and drew delightful illustrations to each member of the family in turn.

In 1995, two of the sisters, Bertha and Louise compliled the remaining letters along with their niece/daughter Ruth. The book is entitled "Father to Daughter: The family letters of Maxwell Perkins (Andrews and McMeel, 1995). This book in particular has been the inspiration for me as I've begun a young adult novel about a summer in Windsor in 1923. I spent a delightful afternoon with Bertha's daughter, Jane and she absolutely brought the Perkins family to life for me. Here's just a sample of one of the letters Maxwell wrote to his daughters, taken from the "Summers in Windsor" chapter of the above mentioned book. I think it will give you just a little taste of the love and fun that must have existed in this family.

Tuesday, July 22, [1919] My Darling Bert:--do write me some more nice long letters like the last one; and if you write any more of those little stories, will you send them to me? I love to read them. When I come again I will bring you the boat, and one for Peg and one for Lisbeth. Tell me what you are reading now and how you like it... Bert, some of the ladies I saw when I was up at the house had little girls;-- but they were surprised when I told them how my oldest little girl read such books as you read and wrote me letters and read my letters. I was proud. Daddy

Wednesday, August 7, [1919] Darling Peg:-- Cousin Lawrence says you got the boats and that they sailed well. Do you think they did? Do you like them? I ask you questions because then you will write to me. It has been a rainy day here and very gloomy and all the lights are lighted in this room though it is only afternoon; and I am sitting now right under a lamp to write to you. This club is a big house full of lonely daddies who want to see their children and can't. They read newspapers and play dominoes and think about their children. Poor daddies! But if one of them gets a letter from one of his children, why he is happy and proud. Daddy

Hopefully you can take a few moments and jot down some of your favorite summer memories. We are so used to abbreviated electronic communication, it's wonderful to stumble upon an actual letter. They capture a person's heart and personality. These letters from a loving father to his daughters remind us of the importance of taking time to actually share your thoughts, memories and observations with those you care about. What a fantastic keepsake for all the Perkins descendants to have in Max's own words how much he loved his family.

Chime in with any memoirs that you think would make a great addition to our library. We are also looking to collect works edited by Max Perkins, anything about Windsor, Vermont authors and illustrators etc... Help us create a really unique experience for guests and visitors.

--Joy