Spa for Spring

Once again I've offered myself as a guinea pig for the sake of our guests. It's tough, but someone has to do it:) After a super busy week I finally took some time out for myself and went for a microdermabrasion session at Deirdre's Day Spa, which is right here on our little main street. To my surprise, Deirdre Rafferty, the owner, had formerly had a location in NYC then moved her business to downtown Greenwood Lake. I'm glad she did, because I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the six-week plan in an effort to prep my skin for spring. I'm working on creating some spa & stay packages for the Inn. Stay tuned . . .

Ice Boat Baby

On our first broadcast of Greenwood Lake Radio this past Friday, Village Attorney Bob Krahulik talked about the thrills of ice boating. I haven't done it yet, so had to do some investigating. I came across this vintage 8mm YouTube video and had to share. It's oh so 70s, but what a great, classic sport. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkpGBSQTNhE

Corn Hole

Have you ever heard of corn hole? It's a simple game of bean bag tossing that's highly additive and fun. It seems to be catching on. There are ongoing corn hole tournaments at one of my favorite local places, Pennings Farm Market. Here's what's going on tonight via Pennings' Facebook page:

Corn Hole tournament tonight 8pm! Come down for some great beer tap, dinner from the grill, and some friendly competition! Now serving: Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale, Founders Red Rye Pa, Keegan Ale's Old Capital Golden Ale, Weyerbacher Verboten BPA, Southern Tier IPA, Greenport Harbor Black Duck Porter, PBR, and Hard Cider.

Snow on the Way

Glad to hear we have some snow and colder temps in the forecast, just in time for the holiday weekend.

Now that our two boys are a bit older (3 & 6) we've been able to get out on the mountain more. I say this ALL the time, but I love where we live. The video above is of my husband and 3-year old son and is only 3 miles away from the Inn!

~Lisa

Ski Season is Here

It's a new year and time for some New Year's resolutions. One of mine is to blog more often about what's going on at the Inn and in Greenwood Lake. So here goes.

The local ski resorts are in full swing. With a decent amount of natural snowfall last week and freezing temperatures that allow for round-the-clock snowmaking, so far 2013 is shaping up to be a good season. Once again the Waterstone Inn is an official hotel partner of Tuxedo Ridge. Which means if you're a guest of the Inn you'll receive a 25% discount off the list price of lift tickets and rentals. We're just 4.5 miles from the base of the mountain and if the freezing temps continue, we should be able to get some ice skating going on our lakefront.

Green Efforts in Innkeeping

Living in a lake community we're always aware of environmental concerns, especially those that affect the water. When we first opened the Inn four years ago we knew we wanted to do everything possible to conserve resources and to do business in a sustainable way.

Over the last couple of years we've done a significant amount of landscaping and maintain a lot of flowers around the Inn and down by our waterfront. For watering we bucket it out of the lake. Aside from being practical, the plants benefit from the nutrient rich lake water.

Most of the cleaning supplies that we use are naturally derived. Our ammenities (soap, shampoo etc) are packaged in recycled materials. In fact guests have become quite fond of our soap. Its unique design (with a hole in the middle) not only helps you get a better grip, but it saves on the amount of soap that's usually wasted.

The new initiative this year is composting. In the kitchen we're using all the vegetable and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grids and tea bags to make great garden soil. Now that our peak season is in full swing I'm amazed by the amount of scraps we produce. At home the worms are at work breaking it down and I'm glad that we can reduce the volume of waste going in the garbage. So far the results have been great. From what I've been reading, worm compost is five times more nutrient dense than average garden soil. Next spring we"ll have all the soil that we need for the landscaping around the Inn.

Good Neighbors = Good Business

One of the things that I enjoy most about this business is interacting with our guests. Probably the most often asked questions people have are "What's it like to run an Inn?" and "Why did you decide to do it?" In talking with other innkeepers, and from our own experience, I think it all boils down to doing what you love. I'll be honest, it's not a business that's going to bring in a windfall of cash. But, I think having the Waterstone Inn is a natural fit for our family. Denis (my father-in-law) founded an organization called Project Children that has been bringing kids from Northern Ireland to the United States for 37 years. In this time, the program has touched and changed the lives of over 20,000 children, as well as countless host families, volunteers, and supporters. So much so, that Denis (though he'll never offer this information) was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The most amazing thing about it is that Project Children all started here in little Greenwood Lake in Denis and Miriam's own home.
My husband Sean and his siblings Denis Jr., Maureen and Tara, literally grew up being hosts to visiting guests from Ireland. Whether it was a coordinator for the program or a homesick kid, each guest that found themselves in Greenwood Lake for the summer was taken under the wing of the Mulcahy Family. In doing so, the Mulcahy kids learned to give generously of their time, gained patience in dealing with people, and most of all grew up with an awareness of community.

All of these qualities are apparent at the Waterstone Inn. As a business we're active in the community. I'm the president of the Greater Greenwood Lake Revitalization Committee. We're helping to build the Greenwood Lake Merchants Guild. We're always on board to help out local fundraisers by donating nights at the Inn as raffle prizes. I've made my poor husband plant flowers in the rain and lift 50 pound hanging baskets onto the telephone poles in the Village. Why??? I often myself. The answer is simple, it's doing what you love, the satisfaction of knowing you're contributing to the community in a positive way, and believing in good karma. In my heart I know that all these things are not just good for the soul, but also good for business.

Sounds of Summer

If you arrive at the Inn and park in the lot behind the house don't be alarmed if you hear "someone" whistling at you, it's just the resident parrot next door. He's been known to whistle at people getting out of their cars, but is mostly fondly remembered for the way he whistles the tune to the Andy Griffith Show. It's truly priceless to hear. I love opening the windows to the kitchen and listening to him sing away while I cook breakfast for guests. I've even overheard a "meow'ing" contest with a passerby cat. I think the cat was more surprised than I was. That's one talented bird. Maybe he'll get picked up as an extra on Rob Reiner's Summer at Dog Dave's, the movie that's filming in Greenwood Lake this summer.

I missed the parrot over the winter when he hibernates inside or perhaps goes to Florida with his owners. I'm happy he's back to his summer perch on the screened in porch of the neighbor's house. When I hear the familiar Andy Griffith theme song I know summer has arrived.