Quiltville Inn in December!
How did I end up here? Well let me tell you, it wasn’t intended! Not exactly.
We finally sold the North Carolina Cabin (1 1/2 years after moving out!) and our closing was yesterday morning in Jefferson, North Carolina.
Mona and I finished up as many book orders as we could and headed out at 3pm on Thursday afternoon – she to her home in Boomer, and me – planning on spending the night at the Virginia cabin, so I would only be a short 30 minute drive from Jefferson for the closing, instead of fighting Friday morning traffic through Winston Salem, and have a 2 hour morning drive on a morning that also needed Part 3 of Good Fortune released, and another 500 copies of String Frenzy as wave 4 entered the Quiltville Store.
No, that would be too much to do in one morning and expect to be in Jefferson by 10am, not to mention that I’d sign for the closing and turn right around and drive another 2 hours home? There had to be a better way.
Well, the way I ended up was not the way I intended!
I crossed form North Carolina into Virginia and made my left-hand turn to head up the road to the cabin – snow still visible in the fields, on mountain tops, on the side of the road – especially in places where the sun doesn’t shine. And I started feeling this sense of dread….
Uhoh. What if the steep 16 degree hairpin turn lane to the cabin is still snow covered?? How am I going to make it up in the van?
Well, I couldn’t. I pulled partway in to the lane, put the van in park to open the gate and immediately started to slide backwards.
I have all-wheel drive, not 4 wheel drive and my van and snow do not mix. I backed out and headed over to the inn to camp out for the night.
On my way I stopped at the State Line Mini Mart gas station and picked up dinner and breakfast for the next morning – some beverages and snacks for my evening.
My thought was to finish writing Good Fortune, Part 3 from the post office - New copy of the new backdoor key in hand, I inserted it in the lock to find -- NOTHING. It wouldn't turn. It was a bad copy. OH. NO! So off to the Inn next door I went -
There are plenty of quilts to keep me cozy!
I immediately turned up the heat in the front half of the house upstairs. It is kept at 58 degrees since we don’t want freezing pipes – and I was about to get a good dose of what someone staying here may experience.
YAY for gas fires!
There are certain areas of the house that are still “original” and only have gas stoves or wood stoves as the winter heat source. Plans are underway to change that with split units being installed for both heat and air when the time is ready, but for now – I fired up the gas fireplace on one side of the room, closed the pocket doors to the Quilting Quarters and waited for it to warm up while making myself a hot cup of tea ala microwave and setting myself up to eat my meager dinner and decide how I was going to spend the night – it was now 6pm.
What to do, what to do??
String piecing by IKEA light and watching Netflix!
Oh, you guys! I could stream Netflix!
This is a major MAJOR accomplishment. I was in the Quilting Quarters, my laptop was connected via the dining room extender that was beaming the wifi signal from the Quiltville Post Office next door! YAY! That means that my retreat guests will be able to connect. Now, they can’t all stream all at once – and it may occasionally hiccup, but my connection was good. This is a big thumbs up.
Warm by the fire!
As soon as we get the electrical done in the Quilting Quarters we will have abundant overhead light, power strips on top of tables, plugged into floor jacks so no one will have a cord tripping hazzard to deal with – and things will start falling together even better in here.
The heat pump HVAC system (new within the last 2 years) that pipes to the upstairs bedrooms will do a good job IF I am not trying to take the upstairs temp from 58 to 68 overnight. It only made it as high as 64 by 7am when I was up, but I have been told that if I keep it at a steady temp at all times and don’t expect it to climb 10 degrees in a short period of time it will be more than great. Okay. Good there.
The hot water reaches the bathroom – all set there!
My morning coffee was made by vintage percolator on the large commercial gas range, I heated up the remaining half of my dinner sandwich in the microwave and sat down to my morning repast while setting Part 3 of Good Fortune Live and adding 500 more copies of String Frenzy to the store. I’m not sure exactly WHEN the last copy sold, but they were all gone by the time I was out of closing at 10:20am!
There will be more in the store soon, along with more Simple Folded Corners rulers – just stay tuned.
One step closer to new windows!
See the black smudges on the far left window? These are the original Post Office windows, and we are guesstimating that the Post Office was built in the 1940s/1950s. The security windows from that time had the metal bars for the windows going down into the cinder block walls, and they are having to be cut out, one at a time by torch. This is the delay that is holding us up – it’s taking a herculean effort just to get the old windows out.
As I left yesterday on my way to Jefferson for the old cabin closing – I noticed that more progress – evidenced by the black smudges – had been made! YAY! Keep it coming! when the old metal bar windows are gone, the new windows can go in, and then we can paint and move ME in!
I just keep telling myself – any progress is still progress. I will get in there eventually!
With a key that works.
The Ashe County 1904 Courthouse.
It now houses the Ashe County Historical Museum – and I haven’t been in to visit yet, but I have a passion for old courthouses, and a trip to see this one is indeed needed!
And across the street:
Signed, Sealed, Sold!!
The Hubster had to do his signing remotely from New York as he was away on business.
I was able to go in, meet the new buyer – she is a great gal and so excited about the place, it was just the icing on the cake! I wanted someone to love it as much as we did, someone who will build memories there (She has a teenage son who loves to ATV and it is perfect for them…) and take care of it as we did. The passing of the proverbial baton.
What sold her on the place? The one thing we thought would be a hindrance to folks. The spiral staircases! She loved them! Especially the one that goes down to the lower level family room – she said “It says right on it – American Spiral Staircase Co, Erie PA and I am from Erie! I knew right then it was meant to be.”
It just had ALL of the good feelings. It was worth it to be patient for the right buyer to come along at the right time. And the thought of her spending Christmas there – what a great end to 2018!
To celebrate, I met up with Rick & Mona in Wilkesboro for a round of antique mall wandering and lunch out before heading home. More on that later.
LOL!
The big hurdle was the grocery shopping that needed to be done in preparation for our incoming Snowmageddon that is supposed to hit late tonight/early tomorrow. The grocery stores were mobbed…I got everything we need EXCEPT eggs – which means there will be ONE MORE trip out today.
I’m getting all the mail out I can by post office closing at noon (Saturday) and I may be snowed in here, and mail may be delayed in being picked up or the ability to drop it off, but orders will continue to be filled from within my cozy abode.
As of last night, I have started in on filling orders from Wave 3 – which means I’m keeping up with these waves nearly as fast as they are coming in. Be watching for wave 5 to happen in the next few days…
My only wish for this snow storm??? MAY THE POWER PLEASE STAY ON! I have a generator, but I can’t process orders if I can’t run the printer or access my store server should the router not have power.
Also – TODAY is the last day to get your entry in on Carol Dean Jones’ 10 e-book set Gift-Away! I’m drawing for our winner tomorrow morning. Get your entry in ON THAT POST. And don’t forget to visit the other folks linking up for this blog hop to get your entries in on their pages, too. Many chances to win!
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Quilt found in yesterday’s antique mall adventures!
Over the past few days my friends have shown me just what being a friend and having a friend is!
None of us were meant to do any of this alone-
Have a wonderful Saturday, folks!
Oh boy - wave #3! I think I see my order!! lol Have a great weekend, how ever the weather turns out!
ReplyDeleteStay safe and warm. Happy holidays to you and your family.
ReplyDeleteOh Bonnie! Here is hoping you can catch your breathe for a couple of days!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you got to spend time in your Inn. I am sew happy for you and your new adventure!
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend. I hope you don’t lose power.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you sold the cabin to someone who really appreciates it. One more load off your shoulders and many more to come!! You're amazing on how you handle all the quirks that happen in your life and you just carry on. Thank you for sharing it all with us Bonnie.
ReplyDeleteGreat to sign off on the old Quiltville cabin. Happy that she fell in love with it. Not much better than a friend to share with you, like minded activities. I got my Order in Process! It will be under my tree soon. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy book order is in wave 3..... if your power stays on I might get it by Christmas..... love it!
ReplyDeleteCold cold here in the PNW......stay warm Bonnie!
Thank you for your blog. It starts my day here in southern B.C. Canada. My ORL is done waiting for the quilting, GF is keeping up. My arthritic fingers have problems with the small sizes but I persist and love the mysteries. Happy holidays for you and yours.
ReplyDeleteLoved reading your story Bonnie. You are a great storyteller! We have had the same thing happen with a key that had just been cut, so we always try a new key so we don't get caught like you did. :-)
ReplyDeleteTuck a bag of cat litter in the van and it will help give you traction to go if you get stuck on slick spots. Sprinkle some under the tires, Doubt it would help on that steep turn .
ReplyDeleteJust want to share a story with you. My grandson was getting married and his dad called and asked if he & his mom could come to our house for the weekend. He wanted to use a special saw that my husband had. Of course, we said yes. When they arrived the guys went to the shop but later that night I asked him if he had a picture of the project. He held it up for me to see. I said, "Oh David, that is the "Tumbling Block" quilt pattern." He said , "No, this is a wood working pattern." I immediately came to the computer and pulled up the block in question. He was absolutely amazed. Oh, by the way, the newly weds love the cutting board and indeed, it was a work of art.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the completion of the old house. Lovely that the new person is so happy. And what fun to have a sleepover and have your own retreat!
ReplyDelete"the way I ended up was not the way I intended!" I was struck by that sentence, because it describes so well the story of my life. And often, the way I get to the finish line with quilting. Love this blog!!
ReplyDeleteFlexibility and Options--what a great time you had! and got some stitching in too... What an amazing and inspirational person you are. Cats in Carlsbad, CA
ReplyDeleteYAY for finding out that things are working for you at Quitlville Inn! And that the new cabin owner loves it so much already!
ReplyDeleteI sent you an e-mail about my order on Friday morning, and a message on FB, as there is no where for special instructions/requests. It's under Lisa Staggers. Here's hoping you keep power and can have a great day!
What fun, staying at the Inn! Sounds like something I would love to do...hole up by myself with only my machine and fabric to entertain...oh and Netflix!
ReplyDeleteStay safe, sound and warm through Snowmaggedon. My hope for you is that it's just a glitch in the weather forecasting and it won't be as bad as they say!!!
I love your daily blogs! They are the best part of my email! Even though I live in Ohio, I have friends and family in North Carolina and travel through your area several times a year. I can't wait to visit the Quiltville Inn! You amaze me with all you get accomplished and yet stay so cheerful and upbeat! Wow! You are an inspiration! I hope you have a wonderful December, not just Christmas!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I just can't keep up with you! Your ability to change paths (be flexible) is sure coming in handy and your vision for your future is amazing. I would love to come take a class from you some day! I hope you are considering whether there will be a possibility of husbands coming to stay also...I think some of your rooms are smaller, but I have to say I'm not sure if there are any with only two beds. Not sure what my husband would do, but he is usually happy sitting in the woods and watching nature while reading a book. I am so impressed with all you have accomplished and so excited that you sold the cabin! One less thing on your plate! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHello from Arkansas! I love reading your Blog. You gave me a good laugh this morning. The picture you posted og the milk,bread, and T.P. was priceless! We had a Winter freeze here this past weekend. Still ice everywhere. When I first moved here from California, I couldn't believe the panic at the grocery store when snow was predicted. After being here for 44 years, I understand . Thank you for starting my morning on a happy note.
ReplyDeleteUnderstand about keys! Happened to us a year ago. Fortunately, we live just 2 blocks from the hardware store. Appreciate you sharing the adventures with finding a warm place to stay the night!
ReplyDelete