Saving the Lot 12 Cabin - the Beginning

For a little recent history on 302 W. German Street, I have posted the photo I took in late 2003 when the wall closest to the Inn collapsed.  Water damage and a lack of proper maintenance caused the brick facade to lose its hold on the log structure underneath, the end result of which was a loud crash and a heavy plume of brick dust shooting across German Street around 9:00 a.m.  Luckily no one was walking past when it happened.  I happened across this picture today and realized that it shows the log cabin that we hope to retain, at least in part, in the restoration of the property to a habitable dwelling.  

We have started the task - either Herculean or Sisyphean, or maybe both - of cleaning out the back yard and garage.  The current inside of the garage is pictured below.  Mind you, this is after several weeks of picking and hauling by Professor Bell and his friends - before they started it was stacked to the roof.  Several large pieces of machine shop equipment in various stages of rust and rot were underneath leaf and debris which came through multiple holes in the roof. 

 We will go before the Planning Commission on Monday evening to obtain permission to demolish the garage - the outside is pictured here.  As you can see, it is not a historic structure - cobbled together with vinyl siding on plywood, and extending what must have been a garden shed or carport at one time.  Unfortunately the original shed has dry rot and deterioration from exposure to the elements and lack of maintenance, so it is unlikely we will be able to reuse much of it.

 The last picture is of a few pieces of costume jewelry and buttons that were found on the porch. We think  the buttons may be pictures of the previous owner of the house, Arthur "Sonny" Prather, but we will ask a local historian to verify that if possible.

Onward and upward!

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Saving the Lot 12 Cabin - Prologue

Guests of the Inn, friends and family and our business colleagues around Shepherdstown know that we have struggled with the condition of the property next door to the Inn since buying our B&B over ten years ago.  We have appealed to the planning commission and town government, the county health department, and finally consulted attorneys after the hoarding conditions resulted in a dreadful fire at the house - still occupied by Dr. Carl Bell, a professor at Shepherd University - and it remained in its current, uninhabitable condition through the winter and spring months. 


The professor finally decided to list the property 'as is' for sale a few weeks ago, and we immediately made an offer that was accepted, and we closed on the property today.  We are in possession of an extremely-distressed house and property full of stuff, which we will begin cleaning and clearing as soon as we get the required approval from the planning commission to take down the garage that severely limits access to the house.   You can see the outside pictures - what most of our guests have seen this year - above and to the right.  Pictured below is the inside of the back of the house, which we saw for the first time today.

It's a daunting task that we've taken on, and I hope to chronicle our progress in this blog.  I plan to do some research on the property as well - we know that the original log house from Lot 12 is underneath the brick facade, so our hope is that we will be able to salvage and restore at least some portion of it.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and that it isn't an oncoming train!


Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Working in the garden...

We're doing work in the garden - straightening the rock borders, clearing weeds, adding mulch - but we're careful not to disturb these beauties in the process!

Spring has finally arrived here in Shepherdstown.  GardenFest weekend, with the annual Back Alley Garden Tour & Tea will be here May 18 and 19.   We think this is one of the loveliest times of year in the area, although fall often gets better press. You should visit and decide for yourself.

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Post-St. Patrick's Day Sliders (and a Drink for next year)!

We actually made these little sammies on St. Patrick's Day, but what an excellent use for your leftover corned beef!  We were hosting a group of dedicated theater professionals arriving late on the train and we wanted to make sure they had a little Irish before midnight. Peggy brought a green drink recipe that we adapted, and I put together some noshes that included soda bread, Irish potatoes, and a little protein in the form of the corned beef sliders, using the party-size potato rolls (24 to a bag) from Martin's as our base.  A thick slab of corned beef, 1/2 of a kosher dill burger slice, and a schmear of brown deli mustard completed the snacks.

Our Green-lini was another triumph - we skinned a couple of kiwis and tossed them in a blender, added the juice of four limes, one peeled and chopped Granny Smith apple and about 1/2 cup of pear nectar to the mix and blended it to a lightly-green tinted liquid and stashed it in the fridge.  After rimming some stemless champagne flutes with green sugar, we poured in a bit of juice, a bit of vodka, and topped it off with sparkling wine for a Green-lini toast to St. Patrick's Day and a successful reading of Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah the next day!


Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV

Easy Healthy Vegan Cookies

 Apparently two-ingredient recipes are all the rage right now - I missed it, but the interwebz say so, so it must be true, right? I didn't know about it until this recipe from Lauren at The Burlap Bag was posted on an innkeeper's forum, but I jumped right in to try them out because they fulfill all of my special diet needs - vegan, no dairy and can be made no gluten.  Hooray! As a bonus, I had a big bunch of bananas moving into the too ripe category.
The two main ingredients are bananas and oats.  I'm going to go out on a limb, with apologies to Lauren, and say that you should never make them with only bananas and oats. They would be bland and too banana-y.  Even Lauren's recipe has some mix-ins.  I used dried cranberries and 1 tsp. of cinnamon.  Here's the base recipe:

2 large ripe bananas (the riper, the better)
1 cup quick oats (can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free oats)

Mash the bananas and mix in the oats, plus other mix-ins. Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.  Makes a baker's dozen.

I threw in a handful of dried cranberries and the aforementioned cinnamon. I would consider upping the cinnamon to 1 1/2 tsp. for the next batch.

These taste like bananas and chewy oats - no surprise there. If you don't like your cookies with either ingredient, this recipe is not for you.  I was pretty happy with them.  Chocolate chips would also be good, and another online recipe from Urban Nester added some peanut butter, which I think might be a good choice, especially with chocolate chips. 

I want to work this week on perfecting a recipe for vegan coconut macaroons, as I am participating in a special diets panel for innkeepers at the Mid-Atlantic Innkeepers Conference soon.  In the meantime, if you have a favorite two-ingredient (or few-ingredient) recipe, I would love to see it, so please share in the comments!

Jeanne & Jim at the Thomas Shepherd Inn B&B in Shepherdstown, WV