Weird Week At The Inn

Ever since the ice and snow storms hit the City of Cardinals, things have been very unsettled here at the Aleksander House. Traditionally, January is our very slowest month of the year. But because of the storms, we are getting call after call from local residents who have no power. The storms outed the power of aproximately 177,000 Louisville residents.

I am not the only bed and breakfast in Louisville. There are 14 of us, mostly in the "Old Louisville" preservation area. We all belong to the same organization, the Louisville Bed and Breakfast Association, and when we fill up with guests we always refer to each other. So the calls were from both other Innkeepers and locals.

Our check-in time is 3:00 pm or after. Check-out is 11:00 am. Our rates are based partly on how long people are here. The confusing part of all this is that people without power would check in and then, when their power came back on, they would leave, sometimes at odd times. People were coming and going according to their power, or the lack thereof. It was hard to determine how much to charge them. In addition, feeling guilty that I had power and they didn't, I struggled with how much to charge them. I ended up giving everyone a discount. The longer the power was out, the deeper the discount.

The phone was ringing off the hook with calls from freezing people, who had tried to tough it out in their icey homes in front of tiny fires in fireplaces or wood-burning stoves. They were desperate to have a little relief, a shower, warm hands & feet, and a home cooked meal.

My heart went out to my local guests, reluctant to leave their homes, their pets and their plants...... throwing a few night clothes and sundries in plastics bags (too cold to go search for the suitcase in the storeroom) and searching for warmth and comfort.

We did our utmost to make them feel at home; trying to turn our Inn into a safehaven for new friends. One thing they were all grateful for were our huge gourmet breakfasts. Today, we served a delicious Spinach-Mushroom Quiche, homemade Lemon Blueberry muffins, fresh fruit and sausage. (see "recipes" on side bar). They were delighted.

This Old House

If you've never owned an old house (100 years or more), you probably have no idea what it's like. They are beautiful, interesting, and historic, yes. But, they also require constant and close attention and upkeep. It's an old house...Right? No one really knows who did the work on it..........the rehab, the repairs, the upgrading. Or, how well it was taken care of. Upon buying an old house you can, of course, completely restore it, including all the electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling, etc., but that is pretty pricey. And the days of finding one, in a decent location, cheap enough to off-set all the expense of restoring are pretty much over.

My house was built in 1882. It's a beautiful, 4028 square foot, Victorian, 3-story brick building with 5 bedrooms and 4 baths. I bought it nearly 15 years ago and turned it into a bed and breakfast, http://www.aleksanderhouse.com/ It is situated in the 3rd largest preservation area in the US, making it a part of America's history. I had never owned a historic home before and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Not that I have ever been sorry. I love my house, every original nook and cranny of it. But, I didn't know it would need constant attention, in order to keep it in tip top shape. Now, I am ecstatic if I get through a year with no mishaps.

I've lived though the collapse of my parlor ceiling, the cracking of water pipes which sent water trickling down out of the light fixture over my kitchen worktable, while preparing breakfast for guests, and the explosion of 7 feet of water out my water heater onto my basement floor, causing the furnace to go out in January. These are just a few situations; there have been more. Remember, if you haven't replaced all the major systems, pipes, structures, and tanks, those systems, pipes, structures, and tanks might be "ancient." I couldn't afford to do so, when I moved in, so I am having to attend to them, one at a time, as life and the B&B go on.

So, this brings me to today. We have been having severe snow and ice storms for the past 3 days. One day of snow (6-7 inches), one day of ice and sleet, and a 3rd day of more snow. How has this affected my beautiful, old historic home? Well, first of all, the strong winds and ice tore away some of the roof. This sent icy water dripping down onto my 3rd floor storeroom floor (unbeknown to me), where the carpet soaked it up and dripped it down onto the second floor ceiling. The ceiling swelled and threatened to explode water all over the back hall. Knowing what to do, I poked a hole in the middle of the swelling to let the accumulated water out. Down it came in an avalanche of dirty icy liquid....all over me and the floor. I thought I was prepared, with my pails and old bath towels, but I expected it to drip out, not rush out! Finally, I situated two large containers under two different drips and went to bed, totally unaware of the leak in the 3rd floor storeroom.

Next morning, it dawned on me that this leak wasn't coming from a pipe on the second floor; it had to have originated from the 3rd floor above, where the storeroom was . I checked the storeroom and found I was right. I placed the containers under the 3rd floor leaks, which stopped the 2nd floor leaks, and called my maintenance man at 6:30 am! He lives in the neighborhood, so he was there in a flash. (Love this guy, Richard). He confirmed my suspicions, but said, because of the ice storm, it would be too dangerous to get up on the roof, until Saturday, after the storms receded.

So I'm living with the dripping ........... and the shhhhing sound of huge branches falling from my beautiful, old Magnolia tree; branches heavy laden with ice and snow, falling one by one across the old icy, snowy front walk leading to my beautiful, old house. And here I sit, writing on my blog, away from the storm, warm, cozy, and quiet, except for the constant dripping from the ceiling in my storeroom.

a very happy, healthy & prosperous new year to all

Remember the good omen I talked about yesterday? ..........the one about the first guests of 2009? Well, let me tell you what happened when they checked in. First of all, they got here around 7:30 pm (two friendly 30-somethings from Kansas). I came running down the stairs (I have a lot of them) to let them in. Noticing that it was extremely cold on the first floor, I walked back to the thermostat to check it out. Josh ( the husband of Shana, my other guest) followed me, thinking maybe he could help, if there were a problem. The thermostat had fallen to the lowest point! ( and it was 25 degrees outside).

I mulled over earlier events that had happened before their arrival, looking for a possible explanation. I suddenly remembered that I had heard an unusual hissing sound a few hours earlier, but had dismissed it as something going on outside. someone's car.....or whatever. Josh and I continued to analyze the furnace problem, standing over each of several registers on the first floor. All of a sudden I put the hissing sound and the failing furnace together and my mind flashed to the basement.

Josh had offered to check out the furnace. I opened the basement door, turned on the light and peered down the stairs to see at least 5 inches of moving water traveling across the basement floor. Upon walking a little further down, I could see the water heater from the stairway. It was gushing water! OMG! I have guests tonight, there's no hot water for showers, and the furnace is out!
Good omen be damned! .......................................to be continued.