Category Archives: Thought of the Day

You Can’t Give Away Kindness

Posted on by Laurie

Kindness is difficult to give away because it always keeps coming back

In recent weeks we have hosted a potpourri of events at the Bed & Breakfast. Afterward, several of our guests sent us flowers to thank us. We, of course, did not expect flowers; but it did make us feel appreciated and that’s a nice feeling. Moreover, it was a reminder of why we do our best to do more than just what is expected of us. It is rewarding to see that our work makes people happy. How lucky we are to have such gracious guests and so many guests that we can call friends!

Basements & Butterflies

Posted on by Laurie

A lesson that I’ve learned over the years is that the best antidote to an unpleasant experience is to do (or plan) something pleasant as soon as possible. That isn’t to say that I am always good at following my own advice; but sometimes I actually manage to.

Just before check-in yesterday,  I discovered that one of our four hot water heaters had broken and that water was running all over the southern half of our basement. After calling my husband and the plumber, I had to haul dripping wet boxes out to the back yard and mop up the mess downstairs. No fun. But afterward, I went outside to photograph the garden and found that my sage plants were covered with butterflies – at least four different kinds. The one pictured below is a Painted Lady. While I wish that the water heater hadn’t broken, taking pictures of butterflies was good stress relief; and in the end, all is well.

Hostas and Heucheras

Posted on by Laurie

My big project for the week is rearranging my shade garden to accommodate an Empress Wu hosta that my mother-in-law kindly bought for me over the weekend. Empress Wu gets to be 5′ wide and 4′ tall, so some (i.e. a lot of) moving of plants here and there is definitely in order.  In planning the new layout, I’m trying to come up with a pleasant design in terms of the plants’ varying heights, textures and colors.

“Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination” – Mrs. C.W. Earle Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden (1897)

… but of course, if one is a gardener, exercise of the imagination tends to lead to exercise of the entire body. Mrs. C.W. Earle forgot to mention that part. After all that digging I’ve done so far, boy is my body tired.

Here’s a picture that I took – while taking a break from digging – of one of my favorite foliage arrangements. (Bottom right, heuchera Plum Pudding; bottom left, hosta Liberty; top, unknown hosta variety.) This corner of the garden I am happy with so I am going to leave it be … for now ; )  Happy gardening!

The Virtuous Bleeding Heart

Posted on by Laurie

“There are many things that catch your eye, but only a few that catch your heart …”

Twelve years ago, I planted two bleeding hearts (dicentra spectabilis) by the front steps, pink to one side, white to the other. The pink was the showier of the two but disappeared a few years ago for some unknown reason. The white, more petite and less showy, keeps returning.  Though it goes dormant as soon as summer’s heat sets in, I appreciate the subtle beauty of my white bleeding hearts while in bloom. Image

Welcome to A Taste of Morning

Posted on by Laurie

Good morning and welcome to the first blog entry for Laurie, innkeeper at The Morning Star Bed & Breakfast in lovely Manhattan, KS. 

    I’ve borrowed the title A Taste of Morning from my first cookbook which was a collection of breakfast recipes from the B&B. I thought that it worked well for what I will be doing with the blog, i.e. giving people a taste of what goes on at the B&B. 

    Today, once we are done cleaning up inside, we’ll be heading out to the garden to clean the flower beds. It’s early, but many of the perennials – including our lilies – are poking up out of the ground. It won’t be long now before the garden is in bloom.

    Please check back for pictures, recipes, gardening tips, book reviews, exercise tips, guest stories, specials, and of course, news about the girls (i.e. our Boston Terriers Ginger, Abbey & Penny.) And so much more! I would love feedback on what you would like to read about or see. 

    Have a great day!