Our Big Night Out

On the 4th Thursday of the last three months, we’ve been joining a group at a local watering hole, The Toy Soldier, to participate in a game of ‘trivia’. There are five rounds in which you work with your team to answer various questions based on historical and pop cultural facts. These rounds may consist of fill in the blanks, true or false, map locations, picture identification, etc… The prizes that are awarded are bragging rights, mardi gras beads, and a gift certificate to the above watering hole. We can’t tell you how much we have looked forward to this these past few months. Pat, the previous owner, is the one who introduced us to this and our little team. She must have foreseen that we, being new to the area and not knowing another soul other than the people at the bank and various utility workers, would be in need of some other entertainment/social interactions.

Kathy, the leader/hostess of the trivia night, does an excellent job at coming up with the trivia questions and keeping us all on task. Pat told us she is the go-to girl if we have questions about the town or where to find whatever. Kathy is a 'renaissance woman' in that she has so many talents. One of them being a writer for the local paper, The Lititz Record. We've enjoyed her reflections on life-very witty. She is also involved with the Lititz Historical Foundation, another great resource for us. Another place you'll find Kathy is at Wilber's. When you visit Wilber Chocolate, be sure to check out some of her creations behind the glass in the museum. Pretty amazing stuff. And if she’s working, she’ll be the one wearing cowboy boots.

Strolling down Main Street...

Since moving to Lititz, we have been trying to do some 'meet and greets" with the stores on Main Street. Although it's been quite chilly here, it was a beautiful brisk day to take a stroll in this lovely town. Our first stop was to the hair salon 'apPIERences' to talk about possibly creating some mani/pedi packages to add to our 'Girlfriends Getaway' packages. The women working there are eager to help us with this-our packages are a work in progress so keep checking back! Our next stop was to a great little shop we found last month, 'Archeologie'. Here you will find an eclectic collaboration of antiques and home decor. We just wanted to check in with the shop owner, who is always so nice, and of course to look around. Some of her daughter's work, who is a young, up and coming artist, is on display. If you're in town for the next Lovin' Lititz Every 2nd (Feb 8th), be sure to stop by to hear a trio play some cool funky jazz.

We decided to check out 'A Perfect Blend', which is a tea room, gift shop, and cafe. We perused the gift shop, which has plenty to look at-cookbooks, tea cups, and of course, tea-lots of it! I can't wait to try them all! The smells coming from the cafe side of the building won us over. We hadn't planned on having lunch there but... If you decide to have lunch there, ask to sit near the windows on Main-it's a bright room and nice place to relax and watch the world go by. I had the crustless quiche and beef barley soup and John had the sour dough griller of different cheeses, bacon and tomato-yummo! The soup was reminiscent of my Mom's soup. I decided to be a little decadent and ordered a chocolate raspberry hot chocolate-it was probably the best I've ever had-so good. They also serve a 'high tea', which I will definitely try out-soon. If you decide to go for the high tea, be sure to make reservations or let us know and we will make them for you. To take a look at their offerings, go to www.aperfectblend.com.

Our last stop of the day was to 'The Main Street Peddler', a gift store of folk art and antiques. We could have stayed there for hours. There is so much to look at and we enjoyed the ambiance of the place. The lady working today was able to give us some great information about the area and was so pleasant to talk to, a common trait among the people we have met here in Lititz.

We're INN!

That's right! We are finally in our Bed and Breakfast-it's only been a month and so far so good. We're hoping to use this blog to connect with our guests, friends, and family. What a blessing the previous owners, Pat and Jim, have been to us. They continue to remain in contact with us and have been so supportive. Pat said that we would meet the nicest people, and how right she is! In just this first month, we have met people from near and far. It amazes us how many people from the local area, come to the Lititz House 'just to get away and relax'. Other guests have come from NJ (originally from South Africa), NY, FL, MD, VA, MA,RI, and as far away as Wales. Our daughter Lauren was home for her college break and was she ever the little helper! She is quite the baker-she made all the muffins and cookies for our guests. We can't wait for her to come home on her next break. Our oldest daughter Jenn will be able to visit soon-we're hoping she has that 'baking gene' as well. Layla and Sally, our beloved canines, have adjusted nicely to their new surroundings. They give the guests their space but can work it to get a little attention. New Years' was spent with John's brother Rob and his wife Karin, and friends from Virginia. Karin and Rob were absolutely wonderful-they unpacked boxes and organized our kitchen. We were a little nervous cooking for Rob-he happens to be a chef and works for Johnson and Wales Culinary School. What an asset he has been! BTW, that's him reading the paper on the porch (on the website).

It's pretty quiet now (we were quite busy the first few weeks), but we're using this time to unpack, learn the area and the business, and to become familiar with a home built in 1904! We are still trying to figure out the heating and plumbing idiosyncrasies. Sure glad John received such quality training in the Coast Guard as a Damage Controlman! It's come in handy-especially the night a guest reported a 'small' water leak from the bathroom sink (her socks got wet when she entered the bathroom). John had it fixed in no time. There was an 'issue' with the garbage disposal one night-but I think I put in too many apple cores-oops. We also learned that the smoke (steam) alarm in the suite works great! Guests showering with the transom window open set it off.

So, we continue to plug on, our beautiful new home revealing a part of herself to us each day. Stay tune for more from Life is Good at Lititz House!