Today was Duke’s birthday. We took time off from the inn and work to attend the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo. Of course before we ever left Cambridge, Duke stopped for a large cup of coffee. Slurp! Ahhhh! Yes he really does that. Just proof how much he enjoys his coffee. At the show, food from sweet to savory was everywhere and tucked in-between was coffee, tea, lattes, cappuccino, beer, Pepsi, iced coffee, blended drinks and Nuvo, a vodka drink. Grab a cup. Chin. Chin. “Happy Birthday, Duke. Happy Birthday to me.”  Our daughter-in-law was right. Today the coffee flowed like slivo!

The Inn’s new stained glass windows were installed on Jan 6, 2010 and they are breath-taking. We ordered the windows back in October from Stain Glass Overlay in Madison and they were definitely worth the wait. The windows are now part of the parlor where guests get their first impressions of the interior décor. The predominant colors are shades of mauve, melon, orange sherbet and white frost. There is a small pastoral scene in the upper portion of the three windows that continues from one window to the next.  With a few small changes the parlor can now be easily transformed into a small chapel for intimate weddings. Beautiful!

Watch our site or our Facebook page for pictures coming soon.

A package arrives from our son, Dan and his family last week. Wanting to peak, but using a lot of restraint, we carefully placed the unopened box under the tree. On Christmas day, we finally opened our parcel to find beautifully wrapped presents from Joplin, MO. One package gave explicit instructions to open on Christmas Eve. OOPs. I guess I now know where our children learned not to follow directions.

Anyway, we opened it first. What a treasure! It was a Hallmark recordable book, “The Night Before Christmas.” Dan, Monica and Rio took turns reading each page. Rio is a great reader and used a lot of expression while reading the story. I could see Santa come alive as we followed the story. The big finish was Mia’s, “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!” I had tears in my eyes. How could Christmas be anymore precious!

Note: Marko’s part was to sit very quiet during the reading and just listen. He did great! Pretty good for a 16-month old.

Mihajlovic Receives WEA Trust Award

On December 10, 2009, Duke Mihajlovic, Cambridge resident, Commissioner (Village Planning Committee) and owner of the Oscar H. Hanson House Bed & Breakfast received WEA Trust’s 2009 Honored Friend award. Every year the employees of WEA Trust and the Board of Directors honor a colleague for their significant personal contributions to the quality of the collective work life and in making WEA Trust a great place to work. Mihajlovic received the award for quality, cheerfulness, charity, encouragement, and other personal traits.  Personal grace is emphasized in working with others while doing one’s work.

The award consists of a watch inscribed with “2009 Honored Friend, Duke Mihajlovic;” a special nameplate for his workstation; and a scrapbook of testimonials and congratulatory letters.

Mihajlovic stated, “I was quite surprised and deeply honored to receive the award.”

This memo came from a colleague, “Congratulations Duke and thank you for all you do.” Those that know Mihajlovic know this award is well deserved.

Our usual Wednesday night is putting the finishing touches on our rooms for the weekend. We were putting a new table and club chairs in the Cambridge room when the phone rang. It’s our 6 year old granddaughter, Mia.

“Hi Bubbie, it’s Mia. Is Deda there too?”

[Note: The words Baba and Deda are Serbian for Grandma and Grandpa. We’ve created a “knick-knock” name from Baba and so I am officially the Bubbie]. 

“Just a minute,” and I put the phone on speaker.

“Hi Mia, it’s Deda. What’s up?”

“OK, both of you I want you to smell this.” With that, Mia breathes loudly into the phone, “Hhaaaaaaaah.”

“Mmmmmm,” I say, “Smells like bananas.”

“Smells like dirty socks,” says Duke.

Mia giggles at Duke’s dirty sock joke. “Noooo, ” she says.

“Do it again, Mia,” I say as I cheer her on, “The smell is so familiar. It’s on the tip of my tongue.”

“Hhaaaaaaaah,” Mia breathes into the phone.

“Hmmm, we just can’t get it. What is that smell?”

“It’s fruity gum. Juicy Fruit! You sent it to me for Halloween.”

We had sent down a box of treats for Halloween, Mia got gum as part of her treats. We are so happy to be sharing the joys of Juicy Fruit gum.

This Thanksgiving, we took off a week from the inn and our day jobs to travel a few days in Missouri. There is a lot of history in Missouri. This trip we traveled to historical St. Charles, St. Genevieve, and Bonne Terre. On the way back we stopped in Augusta, MO and Alton, IL. is a small town located along the Missouri River. No gas station or grocery in Augusta. It is right off the Katy Trail and has several guest houses and B&Bs.

Alton however is 33,000 people and resides at the convergence of three rivers: the Missouri, the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. There are two large historic districts, Christian Hill on the North side of Hwy 67 and Millionaire Row on the South side of Hwy 67. We traveled to Christian Hill this trip. The Neighborhood is located on a bluff above the Mississippi with spectacular views of the river.  Crime in this neighborhood is  higher than ideal and another claim to fame is that a number of homes are haunted.

Thanksgiving was spent in Joplin, MO with our two sons, daughter-in-laws, and three grandchildren. Nothing could have been more perfect.

• Sat in a tent and counted to 140
• Played with Flower, Brownie, Sally and Petunia.
• Looked at dried bugs found dead in our glass solarium in WI.
• Made éclair torte with our granddaughter, Mia and our daughter-in-laws,
• Played with our “IT” (information toddler) 15 month old. We call Marko the IT baby because he is interested in all things IT: Dan and Rio’s key boards, cell phones, remotes and the photo printer.
• Watched while Mia tasted a radish and Rio reluctantly ate a “fluffy bread” sandwich.
• Took a family photo, although cut off the top of our son Mike’s head
• Learned two new games from Monica and Belle..
• Enjoyed a father/son afternoon with Duke and Dan watching a Green Bay Packer Game together. Yes the Packers won.
• Printing photos with the Princess and the IT baby.
• Swam and played with Rio and Mia in a pool that was warmer than bath water.
• Waited for Dan’s oven to heat up (took two hours) before baking the Éclair torte.
• Enjoyed Dan and Duke’s Thanksgiving Tur-duck-en.  
• Listened as Mia giggle with “Uncle” Mike and “Auntie” Belle. 
• Playing a pretend piano with Rio

Moments remembered

• Mia asked Belle to pass the olives. Belle responded “What’s the magic word?” Mia replied, “Abracadabra.”
• Rio reporting he cannot eat sandwiches made from “fluffy” bread
• Mia petting the yellow fuzz on the back of a bubble bee
• Adding a tiara to Mia’s head before printing out our family photo
• Duke and Rio negotiating before lunch how much he will eat
• Marko clapping while doing the happy dance
• Rio asking for his “soft-plush” chicken
• Mia wearing “Happy Birthday” sunglasses, and a flower bath towel
• Receiving two pennies from Mia
• Watching Mia send “nice thoughts” to the neighbors
• The letter H for helpful and I for Imaginative
• The perfect Thanksgiving dinner

• Just Being!

And to our guests, we are especially thankful for you.

The live Nativity is something we all look forward to during the Christmas season. Children volunteer time in the town’s manager and reenact the Holy Family, the shepherds, and the angel while a doll plays the part of Baby Jesus. The children fill the manager with pets they have at home such as rabbits, chickens, lambs, a mule and goats. It’s a very moving to witness the story of Jesus through the eyes of children..

If the weather is mild, the actors, actresses, and animals will carol and walk the downtown area looking for a place to stay. I have to say that watching this on our first Christmas in Cambridge was one of the most precious visions of our  new home town.

There was a bit of a twist on tradition this year. All the usual players were there except, in the Manger there was no room in the cradle for Baby Jesus. While Mary held her baby, a goat took a liking to the straw that was carefully placed in the cradle. The goat, named Fighter, had climbed in to dine on the tasty hay. Seems there was no room in the cradle for the Baby just a bit different than it reads in the Bible. Fighter just fit. Perhaps the Vacancy sign will come out when the straw is gone.

Whether you are of a spontaneous nature or a planner, it is easy to set up a vow renewal at the inn. Often when guests are visiting the inn for an evening or two, they look for those things they can do at a moments notice and those things they will never forget. Repeating your vows has become a popular way to mark the memory of a special day in your life: a first date, a proposal, or your wedding day. The package includes the officiant, ceremony, pottery wine cooler, and two roses. The price makes it affordable and because it happens at the inn, all that is needed is the time.

Blessings.

Saturday Morning. The alarm gets us up at 6:30 AM. Weekdays we’re up at 5 AM so today we’ve actually slept in. 7:00 AM. Duke turns on the oven and starts the coffee. He puts together the coffee and juice tray for the second floor and delivers it to the second floor. Our first floor room gets coffee and juice delivered to their room. Duke really loves coffee so he makes himself a cup and grabs a bowl of cereal with a banana. He then begins prepping the fruit and the entrée, lots of chopping and mixing. I begin baking. I had set my mise en place up the night before. Yes, some prep is already done. Last night buttermilk creams whipped together and refrigerated.

Its 7:15 AM. Oops :o !!!!! I forgot to thaw out the puff pastry for the pain au chocolat. It’s too late to thaw now. Plan B is orange yogurt breakfast cake. Yes, we have an egg. Yes, we have an orange. And yes we have 6 oz of vanilla yogurt. Whew! Just mix everything together in a bowl, put it in a clay baker and its ready for the oven. I finish prepping fruit while Duke puts finishing the touches on the morning entrée. The area had a light frost last night, but the parsley and mint are perfect. The impatients and basil however are ready for compost. Duke also finishes last minute ironing for morning trays. We both set up the trays. I pick a few flowers unscathed by the frost for each guest and grabs some apple mint from the yard for the fruit. The cake turned out great. No dimple in the middle. We both deliver trays to the rooms. Oops one set if silverware left in the kitchen. I think I know where that goes and run upstairs. Clean kitchen from breakfast prep. Take a short innkeepers break at the Daily Grind. Bring in table tablecloths, and chairs for the wedding this afternoon.

11 AM. Check out guests. Strip beds and pick up towels and bath mats from bathrooms. Clean bathrooms and bedrooms. Wedding at 1:30 PM. Not sure if the wedding is inside or out. Duke sets up chairs outside. Hostess Helper (Abby) arrives at noon and starts setting and decorating table. I change into my officiant persona. Bridal party starts arriving at 1 PM. According to the Bride the wedding is inside not outside. The ceremony starts promptly at 1:37 PM. Everything is going well until I knock a small bell on the floor just before the ribbon tying ceremony. Oh well. Abby is in charge of music and watches for my cue.

1:52 PM Duke takes photographs with the guests and I change into my hostess clothes. Abby fills water glasses with lemon, ice, and water. Light candles on table. Cut cake and plate with whipped cream and raspberries. Serve coffee, juice and champagne. A guest proposes a toast to the bride and groom. Duke brings out his camera to catch the moment.

It’s 3:06 PM. Time to clean up the dining room. Guests go off to dinner at Mill on Main. There is a kitchen full of dishes. Duke runs the rental chairs back to A-Z rental in Madison. Abby leaves for the day. 4 – 7 PM check-in guests. Need to reorient myself as to what role I am in now: innkeeper, hostess, or officiant. And what role is Duke playing now: delivery person, innkeeper, host, or photographer.  Set up messenplats for the following morning. 6 PM We are both too pooped for supper. A weight watchers and a gluten-free pizza sound good. Time for a movie. Ahhh. Our shoes are off and our feet are up.

Today is October 17, 2009. Sweetest Day. Yesterday was my brother Jim’s birthday. Happy Birthday Jim.

Duke and I stopped giving Sweetest Day cards to each other a long time ago. Instead Duke asks for time with me to watch a movie and I ask for a foot rub. Last night guests from three of our four rooms checked in between 8 and 10:30 PM, a bit unusual for us. We have gotten used to guests arriving between 4-5 PM and then kicking back. Duke offered to check in the last guest and let me get to bed. Two of the rooms requested Coffee Only, Two others wanted breakfast. By 7:15 AM, one room rethought breakfast and headed to the Madison Farmer’s Market. At 9:40 AM our guests had either checked out of their rooms or left for the Badger’s/Iowa game. By noon, all the rooms were cleaned and we left to run some errands in Madison. When we get back home, I’m getting an afternoon foot rub. And Duke will get his time together with a movie. It’s rare this happens in the afternoon. Happy Sweetest Day to us.