When I was in high school, I worked at a local B&B called Clementine's. It was right next to my dad's dental office and I worked there for about 2 years. It was a great job, the innkeeper Judith was really flexible with letting me work when I was able. In the fall and winter I worked only on the weekends because I had sports, and in the spring she let me work only in the afternoons, and in the summer I worked full time. My job title was "do anything girl" and I definitely did everything. I learned how to fold hospital corners on beds, I cleaned the rooms top to bottom and cleaned when there was a stay-over. I answered the phone and made reservations. This was actually kind of hard because it was before everyone used the internet for everything and I actually had to write it down in a book and it got kind of confusing. I pulled weeds and mowed the grass. I picked up dog poop because Judith had two, sometimes three huge Australian shepherds that wandered around. In the summer when I worked more mornings, she would let me help in the kitchen too, and I'd collect nasturtium flowers to garnish the plates. After breakfast I'd be responsible for cleaning the kitchen too. I'd also be responsible for cleaning the birdcage and the common areas of the Inn. One time I got to make cookies with her Kitchenaid. That was pretty awesome to a 16-year-old.
She also had a separate building that used to be a restaurant, and they were in the process of converting it into two suites, so I helped with some of the major cleaning. One time I had to clean out the nasty kitchen area so it could be a little kitchenette for the Moose Temple Lodge. I almost barfed. I also almost barfed a few times when Judith made me clean her fridge.
The Inn was gorgeous, Judith really had a way of making things beautiful and welcoming. The Inn is an old Victorian home with tall ceilings and stained glass windows. Her kitchen had huge glass cabinets and shelves where she displayed her beautiful dishes. There was a huge island in the kitchen with pots hanging from the ceiling. Each room had a theme. There was the schoolhouse room, garden room, sunriser room, Clementine's suite, and the French Violet room. Next door there was the aforementioned Moose Lodge and above it the River View Loft. My favorite room was the French Violet because everything coordinated so beautifully and it was (suprise!) purple. It also had it's own bathroom. There were elegant featherbeds and sometimes I just wanted to take a nap while working.
Another reason I loved working at Clementine's was because of my coworker Katee. I was all of 16 and she was probably 24 or 25. She was/is awesome. She had such a fun way of looking at the world! She also did my hair for homecoming and prom in my senior year of high school and I think she did a great job. It was really fun to work with someone so fun, it made the gross jobs I had to do that much easier.
Working at Clementine's wasn't my favorite job, but I sure learned a lot and had a lot of fun at times. I would love to someday have a Bed and Breakfast or work in one again, but it's a lot of work!
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