Cookies and geraniums

June 28, 2010 - Well, folks, Liz has been resident innkeeper at Clay Corner Inn for a month now, and she’s shaking things up in great ways. You can read some of her recently implemented suggestions in the previous blog. When I saw macadamia nuts on the shopping list, I thought: Hmmm, those are pricey nuts! Then, my guest friends, I scoped out the Friday cookie bar where Liz had three new cookies. I could only pick one (think: waistline), so I chose the Sunshine Delight. I consider myself a pretty good baker [by hobby and experience], and I’ve never made a cookie so delicious – mixed fruits, some chips, chewy as all get out, and, oh, those macadamia nuts – which are back on the grocery list!

I’m old school, and these youngsters don’t have much on me and John for recycling, even though I’m still in training on office paper. These geraniums around the pool and on the fence are all from last year and year before. John keeps them all winter, splitting and making new ones, and he collects thousands of marigold seeds every fall. And check out this casserole dish lid. The dish broke, so the lid has a new job to keep rain out of the spotlight fixture that John designed and built to light the American flag at night. We even drink tap water in washable, re-usable glasses!

Liz and Samantha have the soaps and little shampoos all lined up in rows or neatly consolidated in baskets in the linen and supply closets. You just know anyone who does that has your guest room, the kitchen, your breakfast and local information all organized for your convenience and comfort. Cory, the intern, and Summer keep the outside furniture clean and all those flower baskets and windowboxes pruned and watered. Summer is also a top notch baker – she won a blue ribbon for a coffeecake recipe from Clay Corner Inn at a local fair two years ago, and she was just 15. It's her third summer with us, and from what I hear, she cooks Clay Corner Inn breakfasts for family suppers. She graduated from home school in May and will attend Virginia Tech in the fall.

It’s such a comfort as a small business owner to have such a competent staff in place --- it makes my work life easy, and I guarantee it will make your stay the best lodging experience you can get in Blacksburg. Toss in downtown location next to Virginia Tech, a cool, blue swimming pool, Virginia wine and ice cold bottled water for the asking, and it’s a no-brainer booking. Stay cool, Joanne

News for guests!

June 27, 2010

Many changes have come about in the past couple of weeks --- in recognition of our pledge to be Virginia Green, we now recycle mixed paper in addition to bottles and cans. While it comes naturally to me to recycle paper, I still catch Joanne throwing away paper -- then a few minutes later she’ll move it to the recycling bin on the other side of her desk. I’m confident that another week in training will make it second nature to her as well. She’s says it’s okay to write “you CAN teach an old dog a new trick!” As always, guests can leave paper recyclables on any counter, and a staff member will see that it goes into the proper receptacle.

The registration table now has brochures of local attractions and maps for campus, downtown and Virginia. A basket above the guest laptop is filled with restaurant menus -- most within walking distance. Downtown Blacksburg has restaurants for Italian, fish tacos, seafood, vegetarian, Greek, Mexican, Thai, and of course, American food fare.

The gift shop has moved to the office, which is convenient at check out. The most popular items are our hand-thrown stoneware mugs and the B&B guidebooks, which have a certificate for buy-one-get-one-free overnight at more than 1,200 B&Bs in the U.S. We also sell umbrellas, aprons, soap, ornaments and some books. Check out the new nightlights -- they look plain ceramic, but come alive to 3-D when turned on. There's one in the half bath and one in the office, and we have several styles (horses, wine and cheese, waterfall, tea) - the kind of gift anyone can use!

Joanne must have caught my green thumb because she planted an herb garden! Herbs such as basil, rosemary and lemon balm are wonderful in baked goods, as well as for fresh garnishes. We had guests this week who were just thrilled to see the herbs we have growing, and I garnished some plates with colorful pansies – only edible flowers and sprigs on the plates.

The inn surely is an interesting place -- constantly revamping its style and trying to anticipate your needs. I’m enjoying being a part of everything, as I close in on being here one month, and I’m having a wonderful time meeting new guests and the repeat crowd, many of whom have never stayed anywhere else in Blacksburg! I can see why! Liz

Greetings from Liz (new resident innkeeper)

June 16, 2010 - If you’ve been following our blog or stayed at Clay Corner Inn recently, you know I’m Liz, the new resident innkeeper -- Pennsylvania native, degree in Business Administration, concentration in Entrepreneurship, hope to open my own B&B some day. When I visited Blacksburg for the interview, I knew I would be happy here – neat small town, college atmosphere, Huckleberry Trail, hiking and national forests nearby.

I wasted no time exploring. I’ve walked all over downtown – sometimes in the wrong direction! I bought vegetable plants at the Farmer’s Market and already have a little garden here at the inn. A beginner of the soil, I am eager to see if my efforts will yield veggies this summer.

Moving into my little suite involved lots of painting, arranging and shopping at thrift stores. My parents helped with everything (thanks Mom and Dad for coming down and working so much over a long weekend!☺). Since I could choose my own colors, I painted each area different – yellow, purple, green, orange – it’s a cheerful little space!

The first week I worked beside Mary, the former resident innkeeper, which allowed me to see first-hand the responsibilities. I have experience as a B&B housekeeper, so I’m familiar with laundry and cleaning details, but I lacked experience cooking breakfast and ironing. Breakfast is easier than it looks, even though I’ve not made all of our signature dishes yet. Ironing, however; was not as easy to master. My first round of pillowcases did not pass inspection, but I’m improving with each one. I’m enjoying my work immensely, and I’m excited to keep learning and meeting more of you – the guests. I quickly discovered that Clay Corner Inn guests are nice, friendly people who enjoy the location, breakfast, the Virginia wine and homemade cookies – I brought some recipes!

I urge you to visit Blacksburg, stay at Clay Corner Inn and discover the area. Hopefully, my ironing will pass your inspection, and we know you’ll enjoy the outdoor deck and pool, our tiny Internet café (laptop provided) and being able to walk anywhere on campus or in town or down the Huckleberry Trail. You can check out my vegetable garden and fill me in on interesting places you find. I look forward to meeting you soon!

Liz—Resident Innkeeper

Welcome New Staff AND Guests !

May 25, 2010 – A new staff day is dawning at Clay Corner Inn. [They're shy about photos, so I tossed in the pool shot - pool is open and sparkling - and eggs Benedict, which we happen to be serving tomorrow morning!] Mary, our faithful, dedicated resident innkeeper, is leaving May 31st for North Carolina, where she will continue her faithful dedication to her husband, Sawaya, as he continues his medical schooling at a NC hospital. We will all miss her shining personality, amazing art skills and guest attentiveness. Stepping in as resident innkeeper is Liz, a Pennsylvania native with a business degree and emphasis in entrepreneurship. Welcome, Liz – Clay Corner Inn is the place to apply your experience and education!
As we bid farewell to Matt, our Virginia Tech intern, we welcome Cory, another VT intern. Like Matt, Cory is friendly, willing to learn anything, interested in the business and especially cognizant of guest service.
Samantha came on board about a month ago helping with guest rooms, laundry, front desk – another willing worker who also works at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea, so she’s the go-to person for all things coffee – and we still grind it in our commercial kitchen. Summer is back for her third summer, and you’re as likely to see her watering the flowers as baking a coffeecake or dogsitting for a canine guest. Part time animal staff includes our yellow Lab, Canyon, who checks the pool a few times a week for temperature comfort and errant tennis balls [photo coming].
June is a wonderful time to visit Blacksburg, walk the Huckleberry Trail, chill by the pool, enjoy Virginia wine, stroll to the Farmer's Market - which is one hoppin' place on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Check out vivavirginia.org for details on a world-class International Festival of Music here in Blacksburg June 21-July 3. The Blue Ridge Quilt Festival is - in my eyes - a world class event, too, founded and organized by German native Karin Tauber, who got the idea when she lived in England. That website is brqfestival.com. The classes, the quilts, the comaraderie are fantastic, and vendors and participants come from all over the country.
We are here to serve you and make your visit to Blacksburg comfortable and special. Joanne

Multiple Meanings of Green

May 10, 2010 --- I started writing about being "green", then realized that could mean we're amateur, like not well-trained (think: horse), but that's not the case at Clay Corner Inn. We are all experienced and well-trained to serve you, give directions, suggest restaurants, hikes, shopping, activities. And there are "the greens" as in the links aka the golf course. Virginia Tech's large golf course turns five this year as the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. It has not only been noticed in magazines like Golf Digest, GolfWeek and Sports Illustrated, but also it has been chosen for the 2011 NCAA golf regional. It's beautiful (check out these photos!) as well as challenging and about a 20 minute ride from Clay Corner Inn.

If you want to stick around town and play golf, The Hill Municipal Golf Course is just a couple minutes away and runs a reasonable $12 on weekdays and $3 more on weekends. The pro shop is fully stocked, and the staff can custom fit TourEdge golf clubs or measure you for a new driver or set of hybrid irons. And there are still nine holes on the Virginia campus, a couple minutes away across campus. Weekday play is $19 ($17 after 4 p.m.) and weekend fee is $22 ($18 after 4 p.m.).

But I really started writing about Virginia Green, the statewide program that works to reduce the environmental impacts of Virginia's Tourism Industry. It is run as a partnership between the Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association. Certification assures you that Clay Corner Inn is doing its part in recycling and reducing adverse environmental impact as much as we can in as many ways as we can.

Y'all have a great, green day! Joanne

Spring cleaning behind the scenes

April 26, 2010 -- A top-o'-the-morning Monday to all! These photos may not seem real exciting, but spring is always both exciting and busy at Clay Corner Inn. That sidewalk section on the right with the new railing was "lifted" up three feet -- which cannot be done in a 1-2-3-lift manner. No, John and his twin brother, Harold, while on vacation here from Colorado, removed it brick by brick, brought in gravel and relaid each brick, cutting several to mesh neatly with the parking area, then more gravel. Ummm, hope you enjoyed your vacation, H!! If that wasn't enough, when another brother Chuck came down from Maryland, he spent some time in the crawl spaces under the twin houses and in the attic, checking out the ductwork and anything else that needed checking in those tight spots. These are the kind of brothers-in-law you want to feed well and be nice to -- maybe I should have let them win that progressive rummy card game. Then there's Peter and Jason power washing the house before they painted the covered deck roof. They get paid, and they're worth every dollar. I don't have a photo of James ... he's part time temporary, working his way through college (which always gets my favor), going home for the summer. He's already scraped and painted the garage doors and the garage itself where it peeled; he's taking care of the lawn until he leaves for the summer. For our part, Mary and I are washing windows, planting windowboxes and airing out everything we can. It's fun in that sort of instant gratification way ... and at night, the place sparkles with the pool lights, John's spotlights on the front door and flag and rope lights illuminating the deck - perfect spot for a late night glass of wine or a microbrew - and we're carrying Heineken and Corona beer, too. Have a great day! Come see us, here's 10% off to anyone who reads this and mentions "spring cleaning" blog when making a reservation through May 10, 2010. Joanne

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

April 20. 2010

We've a new "look" surrounding you as you eat stuffed french toast and cheese blintzes. Joanne discovered Cedric Rudisill, a local photographer, whose work is now hung liberally throughout the Main House of the Inn. The word "local" isn't exactly the right word for an artist that gained his experience serving 20 years in the Air Force's Combat Camera Squadron. As you might imagine, Cedric is pretty interesting to talk to. But as he doesn't come along with the french toast and cheese blintzes, you will have to settle for looking at his lovely pictures hanging around you.

Pictured here is the one above the coffee/tea station. It gives the aura of a Folgers-In-Your-Cup commercial with the cool tones and serene, frosty imagery. Stop by sometime and take a look... we'll even fix you up with a cup of coffee.

Mary Lekoshere
Resident Innkeeper