We are having such fun and meeting such wonderful guests who have passed through our door this summer! I just thought I would share a few photos and a couple of recipes for fun! Thanks for the continued support from local businesses and friends and thanks to our new friends and guests!

Now for the recipes.  These aren’t too difficult and they are yummy!

Cherry-stuffed French Toast
Texas Toast (2 slices per serving)
Blend together cherries, cream cheese and a bit of sugar
Spread between toast.
Soak in batter. Coat in cereal flakes at this point (or not)
Grill, top with cherries.

And if you are into smoothies, follow this recipe, but for a healthier smoothie, add a handful of kale or spinach.  I know that sounds icky, but it adds vitamins, color, and doesn’t really change the taste!

Honey Banana Smoothie
1 cup milk (almond milk works too!)
1 banana
3 large strawberries
1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon honey

In a blender, combine milk, banana, strawberries, yogurt and honey. Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and serve. Yum!

Recently my sister discovered powdered peanut butter and sent some to me (I say “me” because Jack would never degrade his crunchy peanut butter to such a level!) and I love to add a heaping spoonful of this powdery flavor to a smoothie!

Enjoy the summer!  And tell us what is going “gangbusters” in your life!

 

June has been a month full of storms, sunsets, and rainbows! We have been extremely busy and one of the bright spots this month is our June guest artist, Bonnie Mason. Bonnie is from Roanoke, Virginia and her work includes landscapes and seascapes from Virginia and nearby. She also does still life and home places. They are reasonably priced. Be sure to get by to see them while they are still on display. If you want to take a look, give us a call to be sure we are home and you can come by. The one of the river featured on her webpage is hanging in our living room!

Wish You Well – the Movie!
Another bright spot this month was the lovely photography in the winner of the People’s Choice award at the Sedona Film Festival, “Wish You Well.”  As soon as our DVD copy of this movie, arrived in our mailbox, Jack and I grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine then rushed to the theatre room to enjoy this Sara Elizabeth Timmins production filmed in nearby Giles County. We of course had to pause the DVD and look for ourselves playing extras in the courtroom and graveyard scenes! What fun! If you stay here, you too can watch our copy! We keep “Wish You Well” right beside Sara’s other movie called “Lake Effects” that was filmed at Smith Mountain Lake and the copy of the 1991 movie “What About Bob,” also filmed at the lake.

Fly-In 2015
The SML Airport was host to a fly-in mid month; and this year, the storms held off until it was over. This year’s fly-in served as a fundraiser for the Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy raising over $4000 as people climbed aboard planes for rides, ate bar-b-que and watched remote control airplanes fly around. It was a fun family day.

Honoring Joe Borgess
Just after the dinner hour, a huge downpour of rain fell. But as the sun began to shine through the rain, a group of neighbors and flying enthusiasts honored the previous airport owner, Joe Borgess.

Joe had owned and operated SML (W-91) airport for over 35 years. To mark the end of his era and the beginning of the new era, we honored Joe with a lovely inscribed glass award. Joe was genuinely touched.

As we took photos and reminisced with Joe, a rainbow shined brightly after the storm.

Fly-In 2016
Next year, the airport will be the venue for a 60’s weekend May 13-14^th. This is one of the many events being planned to celebrate the Lake’s 50^th birthday. Since the lake was flooded between 1964-66, the year of 2016 is considered the 50^th anniversary of when the lake became full pond. Watch for more events to unfold. And give us input as to what could happen at the airport including antique cars, antique planes and a sock hop!

June has brought an array of storms, sunsets and rainbows. At Bedford Landings, we have measured over 8 inches of rain causing nice green grass, a full the rain barrel, and the washed out mulch. We have been on the water several times and the sunsets have been breathtaking.

We are so appreciative of the guests who have walked through our doors this month! Each one has his or her unique story and we never tire of hearing from them. So amidst the storms, sunsets and rainbows, our doors are open to you! June has been extremely busy and reservations are starting to roll in for July and August. But we have room for you! Just give us a call!

Trip Advisor Award for Bedford Landings
Trip Advisor awarded Bedford Landings a Certificate of Excellence. This is received when the establishment receives excellent five-star ratings. Thanks to our guests who chose to do reviews.

The reviews really do help us and lets others know how to decide where to stay. People also review us on Google Business, YELP and Facebook.

If you want to read more about trip Advisor awards or the Bedford Landings reviews. here is the link to not only Trip Advisor but also YELP, Facebook, and Google Business

What else is new at Smith Mountain Lake?
The lake is alive and hopping with motor boats, jet skis, pontoons and people having fun! Families are laughing, spending time together and enjoying the water. We especially like having he overflow family members stay at Bedford Landings. It leaves those who don’t stay wishing they had enjoyed breakfast with us too!

Fly-In June 13
On June 13, the Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy is hosting a fundraiser at the airport, providing flights for a fee, BBQ, planes on display to look at, Remote/model plane demonstrations and other fun activities at the airport. June 13th-from 11-3 check it out!

50^th anniversary of SML
A lot of cool activities are being planned for the Lake’s 50^th birthday. If you click on this link you can review what will be happening and hear a cool song that Jerry Hale wrote that has quite the catchy tune.

Make plans now to be at the lake in 2016! At the airport, we will be helping host a 60’s themed weekend with oldies, antique cars and antique planes in April, 2016.

Jack and I welcome your stay this summer. Check our calendar for availability.

Stop & Smell the Flowers!
On June 11^th, Jack and I will celebrate our 9^th wedding anniversary. We celebrate life, love, family, companionship and faith that God is part of our lives every day. We hope you are stopping to smell the roses, enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and celebrate each day!

It is always nice to get comments and compliments about what guests love about Bedford Landings.  And though it is still new, guests love the water feature.  Jack painted the chess board squares earlier this week and we planted some red hot pokers, ferns and a few other plants we hope will grow over the summer!  We had a wonderful full house on Tuesday for a surprise birthday party.  Here is an excerpt from her email after their stay.

I have only one regret about our visit -that we didn’t have more time. That, and I wish the weather had been slightly warmer. I wanted to sit by the new water/chess set area. I wanted to sit in the hot tub. I wanted to sit on the upper deck to watch the stars. I wanted to sit in the upper hall sitting area to read. I wanted to sit on the couch in our room to read. SO much to do! And not nearly enough time. 

So for the big reveal, here is a photo. But you must come see for yourself!  A photo just doesn’t let you hear the sound of the trickling water, the buzzing bees, and the chirping birds!

Ta daaaa…introducing our water feature called “Marthy’s Creek.”

Bedford Landings B & B is always growing and adding features. Today’s blog is about wine, wreaths and water.

Our new water feature is almost complete. I blogged about it two weeks ago.  I still have to put in some plants around it.  Since the weather has been rather chilly lately, we have not planted all the garden plants and have not stained the patio. We plan to stain every other tile to make a checker/chess board. Once that is complete, I will share photos of our giant chess board which will be part of the water feature. (work by WaterGarden Designs.)

You may remember that about this time last year, my Mom was living out her last days on earth. To honor her, we will dedicate this water feature to her and call it Marthy Creek. Marthy was Mom’s nickname. Her mother often called my Mom, Marthy (her name was Margaret Ann). In her later years, I affectionately called Mom Marthy too! So come sit by Marthy Creek! Here is a little video I took this morning. http://youtu.be/U9Z6P3CXKAw 

We are trying to landscape and slowly the grass is coming in.  But to add color, my (good high school) friend, Agnes brought me many plants to add to the yard. AND she planted them! They were just put into the ground last week so are still trying to take root. They include not only a border of white pines, but also red bud, forsythia, Lilly of the Valley, Day lilies, Bluebells, Pachysandra, natural ferns, red hot pokers, wild marigolds, and more. Thanks Agnes for such a labor of love. Jack also added 4 blueberry bushes so the bees would be happy!

In addition to wine & water, we have added a 48-inch brightly colored spring wreath to the grand fireplace. Southern Roots (thanks Suzie) designed a lovely wreath for Spring/Summer and I have stored away the Winter/Fall wreath until next year.

I have covered the water and wreaths, but WHAT ABOUT THE WINE? We applied for and received our Alcoholic beverage license. It wasn’t easy, but Jack stayed with it, completed the forms, requiring us to lease our home to Bedford Landings, revise the Health inspection certificate to display our LLC status, purchase from approved wholesalers, and finally we received the license.

Now we can sell wine to guests. We are able to offer gift baskets with wine included for special occasions. We are carrying a very limited quantity right now of red and white wines but hope to offer some of our local wines once we see how these sell.

 

So we may not always have wine and roses at Bedford Landings but we are getting there! We have wine, wreaths and water!