Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffin Mix

Compliments of America's Rocky Mountain Lodge & Cabins, Cascade, Colorado

3 ½ cups mix
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1 cup softened butter
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla.
Add eggs, one at a time. Stir in 3 ½ cups muffin
mix. Gently fold in cranberries. Pour into 24
muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes.  Makes 24 muffins.

 

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Julie Commons-

In truth, it wasn't. I was a librarian for 23 years, but when I was unable to gain decent employment in the area we had chosen to live, I was grasping at straws. While looking through a real estate book I saw a Victorian house for sale and it hit me. What started out as an idea turned into an obsession. Suddenly we were living in a huge house with 17 rooms that we completely gutted. With all the blood, sweat and tears in this house there would be enough DNA to supply a year's worth of CSI episodes. Those who have suffered the stress of remodeling can relate to our self-induced plight. We've had several battles with unreasonable county officials and unscrupulous contractors, but we opened in April of 2008.

I've read several books that paint a rather unrealistic picture of the lifestyle of B&B owners. In the books they portray a lady in a dress writing on flowered stationary looking out the window at guests carrying their own luggage to the door. They arrive right at the 3:00pm check- in time. In reality the guests show up 2 hours early and I am varnishing benches with paintbrush in hand, no makeup on and dressed in a pair of old sweatpants that I've worked in for the past 4 days. That's more like the reality...

My husband thinks I do great job though and he describes me as a cross between Martha Stewart and Bob Villa without the facial hair of either one. He describes himself as the lawn boy. We opened our Bed and Breakfast in April and we are not jaded or cranky, yet. I've loved most all of my guests, except that one guy, he was my second guest. He had to be on the main floor, was on a diet that had to be lactose and gluten free, hated onions, and there was a vibration (!?) in the floor that was so strong he didn't think he could sleep here. His long-suffering wife gave him a look of exasperation and after they partook of the free wine I offered, they left. I lost the money, but I was relieved...Now the wine is only free to paying customers. I was then new at the B&B game.

Soon it was June and guests were coming and going, the gardens were producing, & the flowers were blooming. I had gotten a call from a girl who had a dilemma. She and her friend wanted to stay in a B&B, but their boyfriends wanted to camp. "Well", I suggested, "you two can stay in the Mesa View Room with the two beds and the guys can camp out on the lawn." She said that was great. We were on the patio with our friends eating, chatting, and drinking wine. It was dark and the tiki lamps were glowing. The guests were setting up their tents in the back within earshot. I heard a sound, like girls yelling."What is that noise?" I heard them ask nervously. "I think it's the sound of toads mating," I answered matter-of fact. It was quiet for a moment then they asked, "Are they going to do that all night?" "Well, if you only mated once a year, wouldn't you want to stay up all night?" They laughed and the next day they thanked us for the excellent hospitality. It was their first experience at a bed and breakfast and it was such a positive experience they promised they would be back. I didn't have the heart to tell them that some B&B's might not be as accommodating...

I teased Paul about hauling around his laptop, telling him he needed to relax and enjoy his time away from work. By the time their stay was over he looked much more relaxed. Before they left he said, "Your beds are really comfortable and the rooms are really cozy. The breakfasts were delicious, but those aren't the reasons people will be back." "Okay, I give, why they will be back? " I asked. "Your attitude", was his reply.

We have now survived one year with well over a hundred guests whom we have served. Each person has their own uniqueness and their own story which has now been woven into mine. It's the story. That is why I am a B&B owner and will probably remain so until I can no longer climb up the stairs to make beds. In October 2008, I uttered three words that my husband of 28 years was happy to hear, "We are successful," I stated.