A Busy Week End Ahead!

We're starting to settle into "our stride" here at the hotel and restaurant and I'm learning how to delegate some responsibilities rather than owning the workload.

That said, starting today will be a busy one going into the week end. The hotel has check ins starting this afternoon which puts us at nearly full occupancy and tonight's restaurant reservations looks promising.

I can't believe that the month of February is nearly over. Wow, how time flies!!

Happy Friday from Saba.

Baxter's Birthday Today

Today was "my baby boy's" birthday. Baxter turned 10 years old today and I wish that I had some time to take him to the beach or out for a special day but that didn't happen.

I DID get to sleep in a bit and am feeling a good bit better today. I got up at around 7am and worked till now, 9:50pm. He's (Baxter) relaxing by my side on the couch as we speak and is enjoying his cuddle time with Daddy!

We had a decent night at the restaurant but had one final reservation that booked for a table at 8pm. They showed at almost 8:45pm and we turned them away. Saba, being such a small island needs to survive on business expected and it doesn't make any sense in keeping ovens, fryers and grills on to wait just to serve one table for 2 at nearly an hour later than our last guest.

It's not like having a restaurant in "the big city" that can serve till all hours of the night.

One hotel guest came back and said "why, it's an early night for you" I said it's great because I've been going nonstop for months from before dawn until nearly midnight every day. He told me that I'd die doing that......

Little does he know I already did....

And More Deliveries

This week we've received a handful of more things being delivered for the hotel. One important set of items were the new tennis net, hand crank and "squeegy" for the tennis court. The old equipment was failing miserably and we HAD TO get new stuff in.

Another thing was this Wii Sports Pack 8 in 1 system for the cardio/gym room which displays a 50 inch plasma TV and guests and member can now use this interactive fitness system.

Not being much of a video game or sports/exercise enthusiast, this doesn't get me too excited

But

today's latest delivery is what really got me going;

The back order of Johnny Walker Blue!! NOW WE'RE TALKING.

Happy Hump Day from Saba.

Crosswinds

Yesterday the winds really starting picking up and by Noon time they were blowing a gale and coming straight out of the south.

That isn't good news for little ol' Saba and their travelers. Saba, having the world's shortest commercial runway AND being right on the edge (as you can see) crosswinds are not the best thing for taking off or landing.

Needless to say all the flights were cancelled for the afternoon which meant that anyone on Saba was stuck here and anyone attempting an arrival was stuck on St. Maarten.

We "instantly" filled any remaining rooms and had a full house last night.

Most of the folks have trucked themselves back down to the airport to attempt passage on the first flight out this morning but based on my vast expertise (which means looking at the flags and how they're flying) it ain't gonna happen.

So I suspect that we'll have them returning right back unless Mr. Gusty up there chills out.

Meanwhile I feel like I've been run over by a Mac Truck. The headache, fever, cold sweats and chills hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday afternoon but I'll need to dose up and get through it.

Happy Breezy Wednesday from Saba.

Adding to our Repertoire

Another one of the nice things we've added here at the hotel is to offer lemon infused cold compresses to our pool guest when they get hot in the sun.

I now have a dedicated drawer in the refrigerator just for the towels that get soaked in lemon water, wrung out and then rolled.

It's the simple things that don't cost much, if any money that makes the difference!!

A Rescued Baby Pelican

Some of the Marine Park folks rescued this baby Pelican the other day at Fort Bay and now neigbhors of ours are taking care of him/her until its well enough to be released.

We got to go over and take a look during his/her breakfast feeding.

They certainly awkward looking birds but still pretty cool.

They are planning to take it over to St. Maarten and reintroduce it into an area where many Pelicans nest and live since Saba does not have any real population of them here.

Happy Monday from Saba.

I Actually Slept IN!

Yesterday was another long day and I actually slept in this morning. Well, until ten past 7am that is!

But the good news is that all this hard work is finally paying off and helping my waist line.

I hopped on the scale this morning and was happy to see that I've dropped below the 200 lb. mark once again.

9 more pounds to go and I'll be right back into my "fighting weight" that I was at last Summer.

Off to start poaching eggs for Eggs Benedict and making Bloody Mary's for our Sunday Brunch customers!

Happy Sunday from Saba.

Gloria, Please Shut Up!

Today everything on the news was all about Tiger Woods making his big "scheduled" apology to the whole freakin' world about his F*&K UP. I mean who really cares but since I have nothing better to do then I have to voice my opinion on the whole matter.

I think it's admirable that he wanted to actually fess up and say that he made a mistake and that he's taking strides to amend it but then this chick, Gloria (aka Loud Mouth, Pushy, Obnoxious, Camera and Video Whore) Allred steps up and says to the media world that he should apologize to his mistresses. WHAT?

Do you mean to tell me that some Porn Star/Stripper/Club Dancer/Escort didn't see Dollar Signs instead of Cupid when she met HIM?

And now she needs an apology for sleeping with him?

I'm sure that good ol' Tiger needs some 7 wood therapy but the mistresses should accept the fact that they were just that, Mistresses. Nothing more, nothing less.

And please folks, help me in joining voices in telling Ms. G.A. - STFU!!

Shearwater Resort is all about LOVE!

Love is in the air. It must be. Our very first day open we hosted a wedding and now, last night, a young couple got engaged here at the resort!

The young fellow asked to have champagne ready at the table and in mid course they went out to watch the sunset and down on his knee he went!

There must be something in the water........

A Good Thursday morning

This morning started out nice with this sight of the Wind Star sailing cruise ship going past our balcony. It's basically a medium sized cruise ship with sails. It's the first time I've seen this one go by.

I also found that one of our plants we installed about a month ago has bloomed. This one is a bright yellow Brugmansia or Angel's Trumpet. The wind got a hold of the first bloom, though, and knocked it down. They are fairly delicate plants and it's a good thing that we planted it in a protected spot since the breezes up here on the edge of the cliff can be quite strong!

"Only" Italian desserts

Paul had decided that he only wants to have "Italian" desserts on the daily menu here at Bistro del Mare and yesterday I pulled an old recipe for Tiramisu and had that available for the evening. That along with Navan Cheesecake, a sorbet trio, Amaretto chocolate mousse with crushed almonds, Italian Wedding Cake with fresh coconut and Vanilla Gelato with dolce de leche biscotti and marscapone cream.

Last night was VERY busy and, quite frankly, the night kicked my ass!!

It started with breakfast service at a little after 6am because 2 rooms needed to check out early for the first flight off the island and it was non stop until after 11pm.

Trish, our night time waitress, said to me towards the end of the night "Gosh, I'm tired". I just looked at her with my famous "you've got to be F*&K*ing kidding me" look.

Up early for another day. Happy Thursday from Saba.

Plastic?

We had another busy night at Bistro del Mare tonight and served many guests for dinner.

One diner asked when presented the check "Do you deal with plastic?"

I said Why yes, we have many women who come here that have had "work done"

I don't think they thought it was nearly as funny as I did.

Once again my humor is lost on yet another person. Happy Fat Tuesday from Saba.

Montserrat, You're starting to really Annoy Me!

On Thursday last week the island of Montserrat had one of its largest volcanic explosions since 1997. A large piece (about 15 percent) of its dome of hardened lava broke loose and collapsed into the crater causing an explosion of gas, rocks and ash - 9 FREAKIN MILES INTO THE AIR!!

At first I thought we'd be OK but the winds have now shifted and every square inch of this property is now covered in a layer of volcanic ash and dust.

This is our bar that I completely wiped down last evening at about 5pm and this is what it looks like this morning at 6am.

Happy Dusty Monday from Saba!

Poo Poo Towels

I know I may be a bit neurotic about things like this but it never fails to amaze me that some folks are just simply gross. While playing Chamber Maid Charlie today I cleaned one room where the towels looked like they were used for toilet paper instead of drying off. I can only imagine them taking a large bath towel and grabbing both ends and doing "the giant swipe through".

Hasn't everyone been taught to scrub "back there" while you're taking a shower?

I had to make sure to hit the extra rinse button on the washing machine for this go around!

I need to come up with some code names in case I need to relay some urgent information to the staff while guests are present.

For this one I'm thinking of: 911-P.P.T.4

(Translation: We've got a situation. Hurry poo poo towels in Room 4)

For those of you who haven't read the book Don't Stop the Carnival by Hermon Wouk please run out and get a copy.

I think I'm living the same story only 45 years later!

Wrinkle FREE My Ass!!

When it came time to purchase table linens for the Dining Room at the new restaurant the supplier offered various different types. One of which were these really nice ALL COTTON linen oversized napkins. Feeling a little skeptical as to the durability and ease of maintenance the salesman assured Paul they were "worry free, wash and wear, just wash and use, blah, blah, blah"

Well the first load of about 50 napkins came out of the dryer looking like a homeless person had been sleeping on them, FOR WEEKS!

Now they were still pure white and clean but Oh My God, the wrinkles!

Since our one housekeeping staff member is off today it looks like I'll be donning "My Rosario Hat" and spending a couple of hours ironing.

Come to think of it why couldn't I just go around to each table who's dining here and offer this by saying "Just grab as many as you'll need" ?????

Happy Saturday from yours truly, Sweat Shop Susy......

UGH!

Yesterday started early, really early at about 5am and the day was packed full with cleaning the pool, trying to diagnose a leak in the hot tub, trying to diagnose why the "bubbler" for the hot tub isn't working, fixing some chairs in the rooms, laundry, sweeping and making a couple of desserts for last night's first dinner, serving restaurant guests, cleaning up the kitchen and bar, taking out the trash and sweeping once again.

5am up - midnight down

Today started again very early at 5am and about a dozen chore lists have been checked off, breakfast served, more laundry done and now it's off the clean the hotel rooms.

I'm starting to feel like a morphed combination of Schneider from One Day at a Time and Florence from the Jefferson's!!

Happy Saturday from Saba.

And This Place is DONE!!

Well, not really done but finished far enough along for us to open which happens tonight with the restaurant, Bistro del Mare.

We have several tables booked for dinner tonight and I need to get crackin' on making some desserts!

Happy Valentine's week end from Saba.

Shearwater Resort is "in the news"

Yesterday's St. Maarten Herald featured an article on "What to do on Saba for Valentine's Day" and our restaurant and hotel was one of the featured places to go for this Sunday's Valentine's Jazz Brunch.

It was a very nice article and any press we get is good.

The only downturn is that the Adult Toy Box had a large photo ad right beneath the article!!

But I guess since it's the week end of love, then why not?? Huh?

The Flags are here

The new flags have finally arrived and are now proudly flapping in the wind on the property.

We have these 3 flag poles and they hold the Antillean Flag, The Dutch Flag and The Saba Flag.

The Antillean Flag still bears the 5 stars which represented 5 islands of the Netherlands Antilles but with the break up of the islands it will most likely be changed to only reflect 3 stars or 3 islands.

For now though it is still the official flag of the Netherlands Antilles.

The government is very strict on how they want the flags to be flown with the Dutch Flag in the middle, Antillean Flag to the left and Saba Flag on the right.

The previous owner of the hotel used to fly various "American" ones specifically a Confederate Flag just to piss people off.

No wonder his hotel was a flop by behaving that way!

Happy Flag Day from Saba.

Wedding Day Success!

Yesterday started out quite nice with a beautiful sunrise overlooking Statia but there was only a minute or so of free time to enjoy it because it was "off and running" from the moment I got up.

It was cooking and cleaning all day long to get ready for the wedding. At one point in the mid day I had to run out and search the island for some flowers to make the bride's bouquet. I found some Ginger, Hibiscus, Spider Lillies, Oleander and a few flowering plants that I don't even know what they are. The bouquet was simple but pretty.

The bride looked very pretty in her dress and the groom looked handsome. They arrived shortly after 3pm and got ready for the ceremony to start at 4:30.

The food was a buffet and included mini lamb chops, 2 different style pasta dishes, jumbo shrimp, red snapper, mozzarella caprese with all the accompaniments.

I had some challenges earlier in the day with the wedding cake. It was so hot out that the frosting kept melting on me so I had to keep putting it in the cooler every few minutes but it turned out "OK" in my book but they raved about it so I shouldn't complain.

As the night progressed the wedding party guests started getting a little rowdy, drunk and frisky! Towards the end I went up the check on folks who decided to use the hot tub and there was some full on "action" going on! And more than one couple at the same time! What is it about hot tubs, liquor and music that makes people think they can DO THAT in a public spot??

Today the balance of our initial room guests check out and tonight is the start of Bistro del Mare, the restaurant.

We have a bit of a break (for one day) and going into Valentine's week end we are nearly FULL!!

New Artwork for the hotel

On the second floor of the hotel is a long gallery that leads to the rear Garden View Suite and we've consigned with a local art gallery to display some original oil paintings done by a local artisit, Heleen Cornet.

We got them hung yesterday and they look quite nice.

We will have them available for sale through the store. It's nice to finally see the place coming together and not a minute too soon!!

Putting on the Finishing Touches

Today has started at an unGodly predawn hour and I knew that the day would be packed full. We salvaged one of the old Dining Room tables and "freshened" it up by painting it the same dark brown as the walls and this morning I put a quick bronze glaze on it.

Haliconias have been cut from the property's gardens and arrangements are done and placed.

Even the Foyer in the main building is coming into shape. (Minus the new slip covers for the chairs and sofas)

This is the view coming down the staircase.

The artwork has taken on a decidely contemporary feel but I think it works well with the new furnishings and lighting.

Just late yesterday we got the pendant lights installed in the foyer and Dining Room.

OK, enough of break time for me and it's back to work. Happy Sunday from Saba.

Down to our final day!

I pooped out early last night after putting in a full day here and awoke at just after 4am to start all over again.

Today is our final full day that we have before opening the doors. I think we're actually going to make it!

The first hotel guests arrive tomorrow afternoon so we'll still have the morning to get any left over check list items done but today will be our BIG day of work to finish up.

Food, wine and liquor deliveries have arrived so we have our staples.

We plan on getting through the wedding on Tuesday and then open the restaurant, Bistro del Mare going into Valentine's Day week end.

Word is getting around the island that "this IS the place to be" for sunset cocktails. The views are one of the best on the island.

Things are really starting to shape up. Happy Sunday from Saba.

Another Suite is Ready to Roll!

The Ocean View Suite is now ready for Monday's booking. This will be our largest and most expensive room at $275 per night and it features dual vanities, a full tub/shower and a large room with a living area and a wrap around balcony overlooking the pool and the ocean.

Yesterday's deliveries included the Dining Room chairs (thank God) plush robes for the rooms and the new curtains.

This room is a knock out and although the slip covers for the couch haven't arrived yet it still looks pretty darn good. Only about 20 minutes worth of final check list items to do on this one it's all done.

I know I've posted this before but this is the fabric for the sofas and chairs once they arrive.

2 members of the Dutch Parliament arrived yesterday amidst all of the chaos to check out the property. Rumor has it that the Queen of Holland is planning a visit to the Netherlands Antilles and they were checking us out for a place to stay while she's here.

One local told me that you're supposed to address her as "Your Royal Highness" each time to talk to her. I laughed and said "What if I adopt a Cockney accent and call her Your Royal Heinous"

It looked like I had slapped him! Either my humor is starting to fail me or I'm just too tired to be funny anymore.