Archive for January, 2009
The weather doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind, but that’s what January is like. One day it’ll be snowing out of nowhere with these huge flakes coming down, and the next day people will be in t-shirts! It’s crazy California weather. It really keeps things interesting.
Speaking of interesting, the dining room is closed for the next couple of weeks while they paint it, and there’s colors all over the walls while they figure out which ones are best. Oh, and the lamps are all changing too, from the bright shiny brass ones to lamps with darker metal, and everybody that sees the new ones really likes them. The new dining room will be darker colors, and I think it will feel cozy and elegant at the same time.
The lakes around here are so low, and we’ve all been waiting for the rain and snow to come. Last night it finally did! Groveland is about 2850 feet, so we don’t get snow much, but people ask all the time if we do. I like the white stuff sometimes, but it’s nice that people here don’t have to drive in it much at all, and the people that come to visit don’t need chains and it’s safer, so that’s good too.
The decorator man is here this week, and he and my human mom are picking out new paint colors for the dining room and talking about maybe putting in a new slate floor in the entry and bar. The dining room will be closed from January 26 until February 11 for the changes, but then open again in time for Valentine’s Day dinner, which looks so yummy! Filet mignon? I’m gonna sit up and beg for that!
I just found out about our Courtyard Theater summer concert series, and there’s a lot of tail-wagging fun coming this year. Some new acts, like Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and Rod Stewart tributes, and some old favorites like The Beatles and Johnny Cash tributes and Jack Foltyn as Elvis. There were so many happy, dancing people in the courtyard last summer! I hope you can come join us!
First it was piles of snow, now it’s warm enough that I’ve seen people going sleeveless this week! I wish the weather would make up its mind. Not that I’m complaining — I love this beautiful weather! The birds come out, and the plants seem so happy too. The sun comes in the window and makes the floor nice and warm for laying on. It’s great!
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, of course. The first little flowers will be out, the birds start singing, and people get all romantic. Early spring is so pretty here at the Groveland Hotel, and this year Valentine’s Day even comes on a Saturday — my human mom circled it on her calender. We’ve already got people reserving rooms for that weekend and getting the Valentine’s Getaway Package. I’ve heard the people talking about what an amazing deal that is, too. If you’d like to come visit me that weekend, hurry and call up so you can still get a room!
We got an email from some nice people who remembered when my dad was just a puppy and Grover was taking him for a walk. That was fun to read! Send more emails like that, we love to hear from people that have stayed here, especially fun memories. Another man came by that had an old ledger from the hotel from the 1890s when the hotel had a little store in it. You could see what people had paid for cigars and other things, and whether they’d ever paid their tab back or not. The handwriting was really fancy. The man brought old photos of when his family owned the hotel a long time ago. They were really neat!
If you have any memories about the Groveland Hotel, old or new, please let us know!
We were full to overflowing on New Year’s Eve! I still can’t believe how many people came to visit us here at the Groveland Hotel for our annual bash this year, and I had fun watching the cars trying to find somewhere to park. It seems the whole town was celebrating, and I even managed to stay awake for the stroke of midnight.
2009 is already looking bright for the hotel, and we hope to have even more people this year staying with us. I love seeing them come in from all over the world, speaking all their different human languages! Last year a few of the countries people came from included Argentina, Japan, China, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, France, England, Ireland, Germany, Canada, Russia, Switzerland, Netherlands, Indonesia and more.
Soon people are going to come and do some work to make things look even nicer, like new carpet and paint and work around the reception area. Paint smells make me sneeze, but when it’s all done it’ll look really nice! I can’t wait to see what colors go in the dining room, too — everybody’s been looking at paint samples, but they won’t show me!
Here’s looking forward to a bright new year!