Celestial Chicken Bed and Breakfast
We’ve had houseguests this weekend. They are the first guests we’ve had since my mother was with us last fall. I know one of them, but not the other. This required a flurry of activity this past week to clean, get the bed made up, get a second bed in place (in this case, a air mattress), and food laid in. And as a planner, I needed to get the right kind of groceries and know when I needed to get meals made.
They arrived late Friday (after 10 p.m.) after a full day of attending a conference. Basically, we are acting as a bed and breakfast for these people. They are out just after the sun and home long after dark. Tomorrow morning they have an insanely early flight out, and will be dashing out the door at 5 a.m., if not earlier. So I’ve seen them for breakfast, and briefly at night. It is nice to see my friend, but there’s really no time to do any kind of catching up.
And I don’t mind all that much. As long as I get to host people in my beautiful house, feed them filling foods, provide soft and warm bedding and plenty of hot water for showers, I feel like I’m being the hostess with the mostess. I’ve often thought about running a bed and breakfast. I could meet interesting people, but not be tied down to a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week commitment. And I like to cook, and take care of people, but I don’t want to do it all day long like a nurse or something. A bed and breakfast would be perfect.
I would call it the Celestial Chicken Bed and Breakfast. Because I like chickens, and I like suns and moons. Put them together and you’ve got a Celestial Chicken. I’d have a cute little sign, and a menu of what breakfast would be for each day. I’d only be open Thursday through Sundays, because I wouldn’t want to work too awfully hard, and I’d still need days to myself. I’d have four or maybe five rooms, each with a theme. I would decorate for the seasons, and my garden would be fabulous. Maybe more than one garden. There’d have to be a big porch made for sitting and chatting, and on pretty days, for having breakfast.
As my mom says, “are you going to live long enough to do all these things you want to do?” No, I won’t. But having dreams like this keep my mind busy and give me something happy and positive to think about when I need a distraction.
Would you stay at the Celestial Chicken Bed and Breakfast?
I think it’s cool you have the desire to do so!
I wonder what the rules are for being a B&B in the British sense (a normal house where when children grow up and move away, their ROOMS are let out — I’ve stayed in many and they were not like a hotel: you shared a bathroom and in two cases, shared the BEDROOM as two twin beds). We got breakfast made but that was it, otherwise. One, we were told to take off our shoes at the entrance
Houses that do this bear a plaque on the front of their houses, so you can get off a train and just walk up and down streets til you see one. Sometimes they’re full, sometimes not. Sometimes you need to reserve a room, others (as stated) you just ‘knock them up’ and get let in.
With my luck I’d come to stay at the Celestial Chicken and it would be a Tuesday and you’d be closed to visitors!!! Bed and Breakfasts seem like a great way to go – I’ve stayed in quite a few as you get a hearty cooked breakfast and then can go about your day with packed sandwiches etc. and then just buy one evening meal before turning in. Also seems more “homey” than a hotel and the proprietors often offer advise on things to see in the area etc. I would imagine, as the owner, it would get tiring washing sheets and cooking breakfasts half the morning (as if you had several batches of guests and they all wanted to get up at different times). Maybe you should look into the rules and regulations for your area … who knows what the possiblities could be? Home made quilts on the beds, flowers on the bedside table, fresh bread or buns … you might have a new career awaiting. Especially if people want to visit the Colorado Rockies!