Jackson, a wonder[ful] dog

June 1, 2011 - Here’s a photo of some Memorial Day weekend guests: Eddie and Cathy Miller and Jackson, an Australian shepherd. Now, one of these has been written about in magazine articles and received an Air Force Commendation Medal. Eddie, you think? Wrong. Cathy, you say? No, wrong again. Well, I guess that leaves Jackson. Ding! Ding! Ding! Correct response!

Jackson is bred to round up as well as disperse a variety of animals. Sheep come to mind on the round up, and geese would be the dispersed critters in this case. They would number in the hundreds if not a thousand or more, and Jackson was charged with scattering them off the runway at Andrews Air Force Base so Air Force One, our presidential air transport vehicle, could land or take off.

He’s only four and a half (already retired from that line of work), extremely well mannered and well trained. Like other guests, he likes a little yogurt on his morning meal. While most of our canine guests are not medal recipients, they are still wonderful to meet, and the people they bring along are considerate and respectful of our dog friendly atmosphere and policies.

There’s a new 2-acre, fenced, town dog park 2.3 miles out the front door. The 6.5-mile Huckleberry Trail starts across the street, and we have a list of restaurants downtown where you can take your dog to the outdoor patio. The Millers ate breakfast outside on the covered deck, and you don’t need to have a dog to enjoy your morning coffee and nourishment in the fresh air. In fact, that reminds me that I’ve meant to move another table for outdoor breakfast dining. I’ll figure that out by next weekend.

The coolest package deal we are offering is “Summer on the River” – an overnight, the great Clay Corner breakfast, a “cruise” on the New River in a canoe or 2-person kayak (you and rented watercraft delivered and picked up where you begin and end on the river, 7 miles of floating), $50 gift card toward dinner at The Palisades Restaurant (www.thepalisadesrestaurant.com), an insulated lunch tote for taking your snacks and the book “Follow the River” (you’ll be moved by this one!). It’s $199 plus tax, Sun-Thurs, add $10 for Fri or Sat, and we have a 2 night minimum weekend stay.

Welcome to June! We hope to see you soon! Joanne

Springtime in Blacksburg

It’s time to finish the story of my fish, especially since lots of activity has occurred at Clay Corner Inn! One evening after a weekly cleaning of my fish tank, I was careless with making sure the divider was firmly in place and the next morning I found Roger huddled over Opal, hiding in the corner. I quickly fixed the situation and have had no problems since!

Our new packages have been unveiled on our website, so be sure to peruse them before making your next reservation! One package includes a movie at the Lyric theatre Theatre and cash for downtown, or another is dinner at the Palisades and a book about Mary Draper Ingles’ dramatic escape from the Cherokee Indians in the mid-1700s. She was found near the New River not far from the restaurant. My personal favorite, and most practical package, is the to-go snack basket. It comes in an adorable (will post pictures soon!) insulated lunch tote, with the Clay Corner Inn logo, that you can take hiking, on a picnic, or if you’re planning on becoming a Hokie, it’s the perfect energy booster for spending a day on campus. Be sure to ask what package is right for your trip when you book your room.

Right now I’m hosting a luncheon for the Civil Engineering department from Virginia Tech. All the prep work yesterday made this a smooth event, and they are enjoying a lunch buffet before a casual, afternoon meeting. If you’re interested in an office meeting or small luncheon, give us a call to discuss options. I’m more than happy to help you arrange an event for your group!

This evening is a First Friday in Downtown Blacksburg. We participate with an art crawl and cookie bar every month. Make sure to stop by if you're in town!

This past week we had the opportunity to give the inn a “spring cleaning”. We had our carpets cleaned and planted many flowers. The window boxes add color to the house, and the geraniums out on the deck and around the pool are beautiful. I even planted my garden, so I’m hoping to share the harvest with guests this year, as I planted more! Keep your fingers crossed for fresh cantaloupe and blueberries, along with zucchini muffins at breakfast.

Happy Spring, Liz

Unfit to be Tank Mates...

There’s been plenty happening at Clay Corner Inn, but the most exciting is that we’re creating packages! Once we have them completed, we’ll tell you more about them, but now it’s time to continue the story of Opal and Roger… Within a couple days, I started to recognize their habits. Roger is a speed demon and would zip from one end of the tank to the other. He also enjoys jumping out of the water and chasing Opal. Opal is calmer and prefers to be near the cover of plants or stare at her reflection. She would always swim to me when I walked in the room, but Roger would not.

One evening at feeding time, I noticed Opal seemed uncomfortable and was constantly swimming away from Roger. (I would too because Roger has creepy red eyes!) What I noticed was unnerving. Her back and top fins had been partially nibbled off! Well now it made sense why she was always trying to hide or show me her fins. I wanted to help her, but wasn’t sure what to do. My only realistic option was to divide the tank and keep Opal and Roger on separate sides. (PetSmart does have a 14 day return policy for fish that don’t get along, but I was already attached and couldn’t entertain the idea of returning Roger!) Unfortunately, the pet store was closed for the night, so I said a prayer and hoped that Opal would make it through one more night.

Thankfully, Opal was still alive the next morning and once breakfast was served and my guests checked out, I headed to the pet store and bought a tank divider. It’s a very simple contraption and easy to install. My favorite thing is the tiny holes so water can flow through. This was important so I wouldn’t need two filters or heaters. Finally, Opal was safe and could start the healing process and fortunately for me, I had piece of mind!

I learned that male gourami can be territorial with other males in the tank. I thought I had a male/female pair, but apparently Opal is a boy, even though I’m refusing to acknowledge it! By the end of the day, she seemed content and was starting to relax. Roger seemed angry that I took his fun away and kept trying to find his way around the divider. I was still a bit hesitant whether or not the divider would be strong enough to thwart Roger’s persistent attempts at breaking through, but only time will tell…

Meet Opal and Roger...

Since it’s not warm enough to start updates on my garden I’m introducing the newest members of “my family”. I’ve always dreamed of owning fish, but was afraid of being too attached if they didn’t survive. Luckily for me, our maintenance worker, Scott, had an old fish tank and he gratefully brought it over for me. Thus begins the story of how my dream became a reality.

Within hours, I dashed to PetSmart to buy all the equipment. I knew what to get, but not specifics. The store associate was helpful and didn’t roll her eyes when I asked silly questions that should have made her wonder if I was ready to own fish! It took me 2 hours to set up my tank and fill it with water, it’s 20 gallons! So I had a gorgeous fish tank, but no fish…

Finally on Saturday, February 5, I made my way to the pet store for: a gold gourami and a blue dwarf gourami. The experience that follows can best be described as a nervous mother taking her first baby home. As soon as my fish were scooped out of
the tank, I was apprehensive that they would be in my care, and I want to make sure they are as happy as possible. The associate warned me that the gold gourami might bother the dwarf. I didn’t want my fish to be bullied! Reluctantly I traded the dwarf for an Opaline gourami that would grow to be about 5 inches like the gold one. Happy with my decision, I let George, my boyfriend, carry the fish, for fear I would trip, and they would go flying! On the drive home I kept asking if they were okay, and I drove extra cautiously.

I had read enough about fish to know that introducing them to their new home is crucial, especially in regards to temperature. After floating the bag for 30 minutes, it was time to free the fish. When I opened the bag, it collapsed, and they couldn’t get out or breathe. I panicked, but George was calm and helped them into the water. Finally they are home and I can breathe a little easier.

I fed them and got down to the last piece of business, naming them. I chose Opal for
the blue Opaline Gourami. George chose Roger for the Gold gourami because that’s the first name that popped into his head. Opal and Rog were shy at first, but after a few hours they started swimming around. I checked on them every 20 minutes, and I enjoy watching them swim and chase each other. Little did I know, the chasing was aggressive behavior and would lead to trouble! But I’ll save that story for another week… Liz

Happy New Year [it's still January!]

Friday, Jan. 28, 2011 - Happy New Year! Well, okay, it’s a little past the “season” but still in the first month, if barely. It’s a slow time in Blacksburg, and a busy time at Clay Corner Inn. January is one of our Deep Cleaning Months, and we not only clean d-e-e-p-l-y, but also repair, renovate, retrofit, paint – whatever it takes to keep things shipshape for your visits.

Top priority this year: resurface those wonderful [though weathered], old, porcelain tubs in the main house. You can’t buy that quality, and the resurfacing is bright, beautiful, sparkling and shiny! Scott Mattox, our go-to guy for all things maintenance and repair, gets the credit for this amazing renovation and the new white epoxy finish on the American Room shower walls. That old yellow simply didn’t go with anything, especially not Old Glory’s color scheme! Of course, John is still Chief Factotum (look that one up), but he’s wearing a cast on his left arm, and it limits his capabilities temporarily. I’d love to report that his parachute didn’t open, and he thought to land on his left arm since he’s right-handed, but it was the ol’ slip-on-the-ice-while-walking-the-dog scenario.

I’d take a photo of one of the bathtubs, but we’re sold out as I write this, and everyone has checked in – how cool is that for a winter night that started with a cold and snowy morning? So, I’m showing you three other things in photos. One is our AeroGarden (www.aerogarden.com) herb garden in our inn kitchen! Yes, we are growing and picking fresh herbs each morning all winter! We have snapdragons blooming in a small flower AeroGarden in the office.

The man relaxing by the fire last weekend is VT dad Mike Pereira. He comes often, and he spends a good part of the evenings right here, in the main living room, by the fire. He's engaging, shares a bottle of wine, and last weekend, he brought some great, homemade cookies. And we thought we had the corner on tasty cookies! Thanks, Mike.

The other photo is Cash. People ask why I don’t put blankets on my horses, which live outside 24/7. They’re uniquely designed for all kinds of weather. I can warm my hands under Cash’s mane, and here’s what horses do 16-18 hours every day. They eat grass. They paw through the snow, and they eat grass. When it’s 98 degrees, they’re out in the open --- eating grass. When it’s stormy, raining and thundering, they eat grass, often oblivious to inclement weather. And Cash just took a minute break to look up at me for this photo. Right now, he’s probably --- eating grass. And he’s warm and happy in his winter coat. Digestion and motion also contribute to keeping horses warm, so eating grass (or hay if there's a significant snow covering) and living in open pastures suits them just fine.

We have some new packages coming soon – a movie night, a bed ‘n biscuit special (dog-related) and it just wouldn’t be a real February without some special chocolate treats. Take care and stay warm, Joanne.

Autumn at Clay Corner Inn

October 30, 2010 – The recent football winning streak of the Virginia Tech Hokies is enough to make autumn sensational, but it’s been an awesome fall around Blacksburg of blue sky, sunny days, cool mornings, fresh apples and Hokie colors in nature – the burgundy and orange mixed with golds, reds and earthy browns in the trees and crunching under foot.

Inside the inn, we’ve added curved shower rods for more elbow room, full mirrors where little medicine cabinets used to be and bright banks of lights in place of dinky, one-bulb fixtures. And those wall mounted soap dishes and dated toothbrush holders? Gone. In the smallest bathrooms, we’ve added side mirrors too. The photo above only has 3 lights, not 12. It’s real tricky to take a photo of mirrors in a small bathroom without being in it!

We are proud to have Virginia Green certification, but Liz is taking everything several steps farther. To reduce water bottle waste, she’s purchased water bottles with the Clay Corner Inn logo. They are full of ice cold, refreshing water in all the refrigerators. You may have as many as you like, and leave the bottles on the counters (or buy one for $5). They are washed, rinsed, sanitized [in our commercial dishwasher] and re-filled with more ice cold, refreshing water.

Not satisfied with any effort less than the best, Liz has a new, stainless steel, compost bin in the kitchen which will be mixed with green and brown organic matter outside and turned in her vegetable garden for next year. We have Aerogrow systems for growing our own herbs and flowers in winter.

It’s exciting to be part of this great conservation awareness mood that has swept the country, our state, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg and Clay Corner Inn. And while we are eco-friendly and prudent with utility usage, you, the guest, are the most important part of our business, and we guarantee your comfort. We work for you! Thank you for coming – again and again! Joanne

Oct. 17, 2010 - So what is it about Fall?? Pumpkins, hay, Hokies, leaves, Thanksgiving, Virginia Tech football, crispy morning air, zucchini bread, chrysanthemums, sweatshirt weather??? It's all of the above and more. Virginia Tech football generates electricity in the air on weekends, and orange and maroon are in the air in falling leaves as well as in the stadium where "Go Hokies" permeates our small town lives this season.

At Clay Corner Inn, we celebrate downtown Blacksburg every day. Apples from the farmer's market are out for guests all the time. Cookie bar starts every Friday at 2 p.m. We have a new, little compost "system" and new re-usable water bottles and new towels and a new ice machine. And those medicine cabinets in bathrooms that so "date" the place?? Almost gone. New wall mirrors and new lights ... yes, ladies and gentlemen, you'll have real light for makeup application and shaving!

It's exciting just putting pumpkins on the front steps. When I did this our first year in business, 1994, John said "they'll never last" ... those pumpkins were there when I put up the Christmas decorations. We love Virginia Tech -- it's conservative yet fun, and the students are respectful. Our pumpkins stay on our front steps one block from Virginia Tech's campus until December. (John went to the Univ of Wisconsin and we lived and were married in Boulder, Colorado -- so he was thinking of those party schools, not the well-grounded Virginia Tech on the next block!)

And we love our mid-week business travelers who find Clay Corner Inn so refreshing and not the cookie cutter, look-alike, hotel rooms. A special thanks to the Nissan men who come repeatedly to visit the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. We're not asking for a car, just keep coming, and we'll keep those crepes and eggs Benedict coming your way mornings!!

Y'all have a wonderful, thankful Fall --- Go Hokies!! Joanne.