We are on the first leg of our trip.

 We left on Wednesday and have had a great time visiting with our niece in Washington D.C. area

  Just relaxing and catching up.   Reading and doing some paint by number pictures on the app. Finished  230 so far.  

Howard has finished 356.  He is really enjoying them.

We leave Sunday night at 11:30 pm if everything is on time to fly to Lisbon, Portugal and then off to Nice, France after a 3 hr layover.

Happy traveling Lynda (Toot) and Howard (Teaser)

We leave one week from tomorrow !

It has always been Lynda's dream to take a River Boat Cruise. We have been planning this trip since June 2024 and we can't believe that it is almost time to leave.  To say Lynda is ready to go is an understatement.  The bags are packed and our traveling clothes are laid out.  We have a few last minute things that need to go in our backpacks that we are still using, but other than that we are all set. 

 

Since we will be moving around 5 different times (our Niece in DC, Nice France, the River Boat, Geneva Switzerland, and back to our Niece in DC), Lynda has created an Excel Travel List so that we can check off all the items to make sure they get back in our suitcases or backpacks. 

Lynda has also taken pictures of all of our Rx meds as well as Over the Counter medications (bottles & what the pill looks like), just in case we are stopped in Customs.  We have anything we might need so we don't have to try and find something at a pharmacy along the way. 

We have made dinner and lunch reservations in both Nice and Geneva since we have been warned to do that ahead of time at the better restaurants we might go to. 

We have our Euros and Swiss Francs as well as two different types of credit cards.  

Only thing left to get is some snacks for the various planes we will be taking.  Long flight from SFO to DC and then an even longer flight from DC to Lisbon Portugal with a transfer to Nice France.

We are prepared, now we just have to get on the plane to start our adventure. 

One last thing, Lynda gets her Botox shot in her vocal cord tomorrow so she will be able to talk again, YEAH!

Hugs to all, 

Toot (aka Lynda) and Teaser (Howard)

Counting the days

 The days can't go by fast enough until we take our River Boat Cruise.  Sixty three days and counting. 

The only fly in the ointment has been that the TAP airline keeps loosing the seats we have chosen for the two short flights - Lisbon to Nice and later Geneva to Lisbon.  

So far we have had to go in and re-enter the seats we want four times.  Even our travel agent is frustrated. 

In any case, here are a few pictures that I didn't get to put in our end of year Holiday Letter.   Enjoy !

Morgan Hill Historical Society Tea that Lynda helped put on earlier in the month. She was in charge of brewing the tea and keeping the kitchen running smoothly.

 

Cong. Emeth Sisterhood Chanukah Brunch and Gift Exchange.  

Lynda helped set up then was behind her camera taking pictures. 

 

Chanukah - Candles lit and Potato Latkes and Brisket for first night dinner.

Christmas Party in the community room where we live.

New Years Eve traditional Rack of Lamb dinner.

 Third night Chanukah with our daughter Laurie and her crew.





 

 

 

 

That's all for now.  Our trip starts on March 5 when we fly to our niece Jill's home in Vienna, VA (near DC). We will spend 4 nights with her and Steve. Our flight leaves very, very late on the 9th not getting to Nice until the 10th around 5pm (There is a 3 hr layover in Lisbon).  

So, expect lots of updates to the blog posts as we travel.

Hugs to all,

Toot (aka Lynda) & Teaser (aka Howard)

 

2024 Holiday Letter- Time for a Change

We finally gave in to our daughter Laurie's encouragement to move back to California. We decided to move into a Senior's 55+ apartment complex in the town of Morgan Hill (about 20 minutes from Laurie in San Jose).  It is called The Huntington. The Huntington Senior Apartments

We started the process in January 2024 and finally made the move at the very end of March.  We got a two bedroom and two bath apartment on the third floor which overlooks a courtyard with a putting green.  (No Howard is not taking up golf).

Of course this meant that we had to weed out and pack up all of the stuff in our townhouse in Manitou Springs, CO.  We lived there for almost 20 years.  You can imagine what a process that was.  The townhouse was approx. 1600 sq feet and the apartment is 800 sq feet.  We gave away stuff, sold stuff, put stuff on consignment .  What was left we packed into boxes I think the final count was 90 boxes plus the furniture that we kept.  We ordered the moving truck and prayed it would all fit.  Check out this video of Move In Day   It all fit, but sometimes we have to think where it was that we ended up putting things (for instance my pie rolling mat and rolling pin so we could make our Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving).

We put our townhouse on the market and it sold quickly.  I do miss my garden, but don't miss having to climb up and down the stairs.  Living on one level with an elevator to take us up is great.  We also miss having a regular full oven.  We have a microwave/convection/air fryer oven that works but takes some getting used to. 

There are 114 units, but we hardly ever hear any noise.  Our neighbors are nice and we are making some friends.  Everyone is very friendly.  There are activities that we take part in, food that is provided for Breakfast (which we don't bother with), and lunch and dinner.  It all comes in meal containers.  Sometimes we call what they have provided Mystery Meals.  We pass on those.  It does keep the food cost down and if we don't like what they have we have plenty of stuff in our refrigerator or freezer that we can make.  We do have a Safeway market that is just over a mile away so that is convenient.  Food prices have definitely gone up as compared to what we had in Colorado.  Or, maybe that have gone up everywhere.  

What is definitely more expensive her in California is the Gas.  Howard filled up today. Fortunately, he had Safeway points off so he only had to pay $4.09 instead of $4.29 per gallon

Our next challenge was getting all of our doctors set up.  It seems like it has taken forever, but we finally have everyone in place.  The biggest challenge was getting Lynda's ENT doctor, who does her Botox shot so she can talk, to find the right spot to inject in her vocal cord.  It has finally been determined that she will have to be sedated and they will use a laryngoscope to place the Botox shot in her vocal cord. She had the procedure 5 weeks ago and so far it is working.

 We joined Congregation Emeth, a small reform Jewish community of about 90 families.  It is very welcoming and we are excited to be part of the group.  Lynda has joined the Divas who Dine (Sisterhood) and we have taken part in their wine outings to local vineyards (there are 35 in the area around us). We also made Challah and Lynda carried the Torah during one service. 

 We also go to the senior center and play Mexican Train Dominoes at least once a week.  We also have a friend here in the complex who we have started to play with. 

Lynda has joined the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library and goes in once a week to sort CD's that have been donated to sell in the Friends store and also help price some of the books that also go into the store.  They had a wine gathering that we went to and met another woman who has invited us to her holiday gathering next month. Slowly we are making friends in the community at large. 

Lynda has also joined the Morgan Hill Historical Society and is currently involved in helping with their Holiday Tea.

There is a great outdoor area near the Recreation Center that we walk around.  It is about a mile and has 2 dog park areas, a pond/lake (with ducks and geese), baseball diamonds, tennis, pickle ball, and basketball courts, and a wonderful children's fenced in all inclusive play area.   

 We also walk around the neighborhood, in Coyote Creek park, and when the weather is nasty we walk up and down and around the floors in the complex. We are doing all of this walking to get our legs, feet, and stamina up to speed as we are planning a big trip in March 2025.

Next year is our 60th Anniversary (as we say, two or three good ones and we're not sure which ones they are) and we are planning a River Boat Cruise in France.  We are going to be on an 7 night AmaWaterways riverboat taking a wine cruise on the Rhone and Saone Rivers with a pre-cruise in Nice for 3 nights and a post cruise in Geneva for three nights. We are looking forward to all of the excursions and of course the wine and food tasting.  There are 70 cabins so a maximum of 140 people.  Small, just as we prefer. The actual cruise part starts in Arles, France and ends in Dijon, France.  Check out the cruise itinerary here

The room is compact but does come with a computer/TV and wifi ..... expect daily updates.    We are going to travel as compact as possible. The boat does have a laundry service which we will utilize.  It is a relaxed cruise for the most part at meals.  They do have a Chef's Table dinner one night that we will sign up for and if we are lucky maybe an invite to the Captains Table.  We are very excited about this whole adventure.  

Overall, it seems that we have been busier in the last 7 months that we ever expected.  There was also our grandson Elijah's high school graduation, our nephew Steven's marriage (Howard was best man), wine tasting at various vineyards, art galleries and outdoor malls to visit, being ushers for the South Valley Civic Theater programs, going to the Manresa Beach near Watsonville, seeing the Alviso Salt Marshes above San Jose, going to the theater to see Clue with our friend Sharon Glickman who came for a visit, and a visit to Bohemian Creamery in Sebastopol.   

There is probably much more that we have done, but this has gotten long enough for you to read and for me to write. Have a happy holiday season, stay healthy, and enjoy life.

Hugs to all

Toot (aka Lynda) & Teaser (aka Howard)

 

2012 in Review - A holiday letter from the Lerner's

We hope that you had a wonderful year in 2012.  Somehow, the year just seems to have flown by.

One of the great things that occurred was we joined the YMCA.  Our new health insurance supplement from AARP included a silver sneakers full membership to the Y


We finished our extensive west coast tour, drove back home and two days later started on our drive to our first Inn Caring Interim Innkeeping assignments of the year.  It took us 4 days (we didn't feel like pushing it) and we arrived in Cape Cod at the Captain Farris House in South Yarmouth, MA.  We were here for four and a half months.  This was a great assignment especially so because neither of us had been to Cape Cod before.  It was a very busy inn with 9 rooms which did keep us hopping.  It had one of the best kitchens we have ever worked in.  Howard was in heaven. 

However, we did have some time off so we did get to take in some of the area sights, and spend a day or two at the beach which was just two miles away. 

We tourned Provincetown at the very tip of the Cape (lots of alternative life styles here) and climbed a sand dune nearby. 

We walked the streets of Hyannis but didn't go into the JFK Museum.  At the beginning of the cape is the town of Sandwich and we visited the Sandwich Glass Museum.   

Our favorite town was Chatham, which is the elbow of the cape.  Just 30 minutes from the B&B with some wonderful scenery. 

2011 In Review - A Holiday Letter (Late again) from the Lerner's

Hello to everyone.

We hope that you had a wonderful year in 2011. We're not sure where the time has flown to, but we know that we were busy with this and that and time seems to just march on to it's own drummer.

Our Inn Caring Interim Innkeeping assignments only took us to two places in 2011. We worked for two months at the Patriot House B&B in Annville, PA. This is just a few miles away from Hershey, PA. The inn was only 4 rooms, but needed our help in re-organization and running the inn until we helped them find a new innkeeper to take over. We were fortunate that one of our former interim innkeeping students was ready for a long term move and is happy as their new innkeeper.

From June - Oct, we had a job share assignment at the Carr Manor Bed and Breakfast in Cripple Creek, CO. It worked out well for us as we were on from 11 - 14 days per month and then had the rest of the time off. We were able to enjoy the donkeys roaming through town (they really own the town) and the beautiful fall colors. We were hit with a huge Oct. snow storm that almost buried us.



We are ended up the year back at the B&B for a two week holiday assignment. It was cold and we have had snow. However, we love coming to this B&B as it is like returning home. We have been working on and off for Gary & Wini since they opened the doors in 2004.


As for the rest of the year, we seem to have kept busy. While we were in PA, we went to the Hershey Chocolate World when our niece and her family (Jill, Steve, Alex & Emily) came for a visit during the kids Spring Break. We had a lot of fun and bought lots of chocolate!



The kids even helped Howard in the kitchen.

This past summer Lynda turned the big "65". Now most of you have known that she has spelled her name as Lynda for over 30 years (even her driver's license and passport). However, on her social security and hence on her medicare it would have been spelled Linda. Knowing that this was going to cause major confusion, it took her 6 months and $200 and lots of paperwork going back and forth to finally get the name legally changed. So, she will now and forever more be known as Lynda in all official records. Yeah!!!!

To celebrate this big year for Lynda, we had a "Staycation" here in the Colorado Springs area. We did all sorts of things that we normally encourage guests to do in the area. We went to the Denver Natural History Museum for the Pirate Exhibition. We visited the Wolf Sanctuary in Divide and went horse back riding in Victor.

This was not your typical horseback ride. These were highly trained horses and we rode side by side with our guide over pastures and meadows, saw old abandon shacks and horses grazing.

We went to High Tea at the Glen Eyrie Castle with our friends Rebecca & Roland. We also hiked in the Garden of the Gods,and saw a herd of sheep at Glen Eyrie Castle.



We stood on the sidelines for the entire day at the Pro Cycling Challenge Time Trial here in Colorado Springs. We had a great vantage point at the bottom of the hill when the riders came out of the Garden of the Gods.



And went to an antique car show in Old Colorado Springs. Howard showed off his understanding of the various old models. Lynda had no idea he was such a car buff.


But the most fun we had was when we went Zip Lining out of the Canon City area. Talk about a rush.


Over the year, we taught eight classes for either interim innkeepers or those who want to own their own B&B. The classes were taught at the Patriot House, Eastholme in the Rockies, and Carr Manor. I think that this is the most classes which we have taught in one years time.

Health wise, we have both been fine. Howard did have some minor knee surgery in Feb with a meniscus tear and some arthritis in the knee cap. He is just getting old.

Townhouse wise, we finally got all of the walls and carpet in from last years mold problem in our basement. We got the house totally put back together (except for the basement wall unit) and then we were informed that the HOA was going to be roofing, residing, putting in new garage doors and putting in all new windows. Of course, all of this was going to be done during the time we were back East. We had to take off all window treatments, and move all furniture away from any windows before we left. We ending up putting up sheets to cover the windows while we were gone. Thank heavens for our friends Karla and Rex who came to our rescue and stayed at our place when the workmen were around to do the windows and garage door removing the sheets and putting them back up afterwards. When we returned, we had to put everything back in place including getting the wall unit back up in the basement. That is always an interesting proposition. The long and the short is that we have a great looking townhouse that I don't want to do anything to in the near future!

Our big news of the year is that we have a new baby granddaughter - Hannah was born in early June just a little bit early. We didn't make it out there for the birth, but were there soon afterwards. have enjoyed buying clothes for a little girl. We loving spoiling (as much as Laurie and Nic will allow) all three of the grandchildren.



We We made it back out to San Jose in October for our annual Halloween visit. Howard carved pumpkins with the boys (they wanted a shark pumpkin) and we had fun going Trick or Treating with them.




Josiah is now 7 and in the 2nd grade in school. Elijah is now 5 and is in Kindergarten. Both boys love their little sister who is now 7 months and sitting up all by herself. She will be crawling soon and we will see if the boys are still as happy with her when she gets into their things.




We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures this past year. In 2012 we have plans to take on an assignment in Cape Cod for 5 1/2 months from mid May through the end of October. That should keep us busy.

We wish you all a happy new year. May your life be filled with health, wealth, happiness and wisdom.

All our love,

Lynda & Howard

2009 in Review since this is too late for a Holiday Letter

Just a tab bit late for a holiday letter. I have no clue why I just couldn't seem to get it done. Hope you enjoy our adventures.

We have had another banner year of travel in 2009. We tried to slow down some, but still managed to spend 192 days sleeping in beds other than our own. Not too much different than the 201 days we were gone in 2008. We have had some fun adventures, lots of teaching, time to visit with family, and of course working at some super bed and breakfasts. This year we have had some long stretches of being away. So please bear with me as you go through the year. You might want to grab that cup of coffee or soda and settle in for a bit of reading.

We started the year off with an interesting 18 day assignment during February in San Francisco at the Edward II Inn. This was down near the wharf area off Scott and Lombard. The shops around it were fun to wander through when we had some quiet down time. It was the largest inn we have taken care of 28 rooms – we helped reorganize their systems and dealt with a number of challenging issues. It was almost more of a consulting assignment than a straight Interim Innkeeping assignment. This is where I was introduced to the new craze of gourmet cupcakes at Kara’s Cupcakes. Yummy for my tummy.

We were barely home a week when it was time to fly to New Orleans for a March/April 28 day assignment at the Banana Courtyard. This was Lynda’s first time in New Orleans. Fortunately, we were able to fit in a bit of sight seeing when the inn wasn’t busy. We spent a couple of hours at the World War II Museum. Both of us wished we could have taken more time to really go through the history. It is a spot not to miss if you do get to this area. Of course their were walks down to Café Du Monde for Beignets. You definitely have to be careful how you eat these least you get powdered sugar everywhere.

We were there over Saint Patrick’s Day. To fit in with the local crowd you had to carry your alcoholic libations with you. We walked a lot, but Howard got so frustrated driving in the city that he finally broke down and bought a GPS. However we didn’t need any help finding good food to eat. The restaurants in New Orleans are wonderful. Since he is the more adventurous food consumer, he had bar-b-qued oysters, fried alligator, and alligator etoufe. Howard even spent one day at the New Orleans School of Cooking to celebrate his birthday. He learned how to make red beans and rice, corn bread, and pecan tarts – all New Orleans style. Then of course there was Angelo Brocato’s, a 100 plus year old Italian ice cream parlor where we enjoyed some unusual flavors of gelato.

You can’t think about New Orleans without thinking about Jazz. One night we went to a little place called Snug Harbor and saw Charmaine Neville. It was quite a show. We encouraged all of our guests to visit and hear some great jazz. Of course, Lynda had fun taking pictures of the houses, gardens, and whatever else caught her fancy. You can check out all of our New Orleans pictures at http://tinyurl.com/yjpb2ea and http://tinyurl.com/ykjh9wg

No sooner had we gotten home from New Orleans than we were off to teach a five day consulting/class at Casa del Gavilan in Cimarron, New Mexico. This wonderful old hacienda B&B dates from the early 1900’s. It is really in the middle of no where. No cell phone reception, no internet reception, and no TV’s. Talk about unplugging. Fortunately, there was some time to wander the 200 acre property. On one of our walks, we were very fortunate to find a 5 point Elk shed. What made it even more special was that one of the volunteers there found the Elk shed mate and gave it to us. Now all we need to do is get them mounted – next years project. We actually have a blank wall in our living room where it will look perfect.

The land surrounding the bed and breakfast is all owned by the Boy Scouts. The Philmont Scout Ranch is located just down the road a piece. We were able to tour the facility. This was extra special because Howard is an Eagle Scout. However, he had never gotten a chance to go there and experience the facilities as a Scout.

In May, we actually had a family trip back to the Washington DC area (Vienna, VA to be presice) to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of our great nephew Alex Schawb. This was a whole family event as it truly was a celebration of life. Alex is a leukemia survivor. We had a wonderful time, and enjoyed catching up with other family members

Lynda even gathered some more information for her geneology listings on Howard’s family. Howard was the eldest male member of our family present and carried the Torah around the congregation before Alex was passed the Torah by his father, Steve. It was a very emotional moment for both Howard and I.

Our next assignment took us back to Asheville and the Oakland Cottage. This was like going home as this was our third summer at this property. During the 6 weeks we managed the B&B we also taught four different innkeeper classes. Once the assignment ended we both decided that we had bitten off more than we should have. We were exhausted by the time we finally made it home. Speaking of classes, during the year we also taught four more classes at Eastholme in the Rockies in Cascade, CO (two in Jan. and one each in Aug. & Oct.) and one additional class at the Carr Manor in Cripple Creek, CO (May). At this class, we even did bed-side service. One of our students hurt his back the very first day. So, we all sat in his room while he relaxed on the bed and we went over some materials.

Our last assignment was at the Artists’ Inn in South Pasadena, CA. We did a two week session in October and finished up the year with a one month period through Jan. 6. While we grew up in the LA area, have didn’t get to spend much time in the Pasadena area. We are just two miles from the Rose Parade route and three miles from the Rose Bowl where Oregon met Ohio State on Jan 1. We watched the Rose Parade in between serving guests. Caught the repeat for what we have missed the first time. All of our guests who went had a great time. However, the Oregon fans were not as happy as the Ohio fans the next morning.

We did get to spend some time visiting with family and friends amidst working. We saw Laurie and her family in February while we were in San Francisco. We went with them to the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park . We had a great time with Josiah & Elijah seeing all of the animals. We drove to San Jose in June for Josiah’s 5^th birthday, and flew in to San Jose in October for Halloween. Howard again had fun carving the pumpkin with the boys.

Nic manned the house while Laurie, Howard & Lynda took the boys trick or treating. We finally have gotten SKYPE hooked up and now see the boys (plus Laurie & Nic) every week live if not in person. Isn’t technology wonderful.

Also visited our friends Sharon & Al Glickman in Henderson three times and had them visit us once while we were in Asheville, NC. We also spent some time with Howard’s sister Marsha, plus Steven & Janet over Thanksgiving in LA. While we were there, we had a chance to see our first Air Force Sponsor Grandbaby – Natalie - daughter of Matt & Rebecca Tompkins. She is a cutie. So, what about the rest of you Air Force and Colorado College kids that are married – we want more grandbabies. We know, we know, it’s not the right time yet.

Health wise, we have both recovered from the car accident of last year. We also managed to settle with the insurance company without having to go through an attorney. It would have been real silly to have to sue your own insurance company on a hit and run claim. Fortunately, we finally got the adjuster to see things our way.

We did take some vacation time just for ourselves. We did a timeshare exchange in Palm Dessert, CA at the Westin. Both of us experienced going down a water slide into the pool at the timeshare.

We also visited the Living Desert Zoo and Biological Gardens – a neat animal and garden park nearby. We finished up the week at a seminar called Never Work Again. It was on Passive Income. It seems there is a lot of work to do before you can get the Passive Income to work for you. Needless to say, we are working on it.

Some first for us this year:

1. Organizing our townhouse community garage sale (we made $172)

2. Selling theatre tickets on Craig’s List (sold them at face value).

3. Having a vase of roses and camellias on Lynda’s desk every day. There are no deer in So. Pasadena to eat the buds before they even bloom. There are plenty of bushes to choose from as there are 100 of them on the property.

4. Getting into the swing of things with the social media craze – Facebook, Twitter, and a new Blog for Inn Caring. The blog has helpful hints, recipes, and ramblings for those in the B&B industry as well as just plain ordinary folk. Become a follower on any or all of the social media pages.

Thanks for reading to the very end. I keep saying things will get shorter next year, but it never seems to happen.

Hugs and Such for a Happy and Healthy New Year for Everyone.

Toot and Teaser (aka Lynda & Howard)