NINE YEARS!!!!!! WOWEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Well folks, today, October 31st, is our 9th anniversary of moving to Palm Springs and becoming inn-keepers. We're still here and nobody is more suprised than we are. There was a fellow inn-keeper at the time who was known to have said of us 'I'll give them 6 months. They don't know anything about running an hotel'. Well, guess what? He's long gone and we're still here.

Todd Wright

I arrived home from LA yesterday to the news that our dear friend, Todd Wright had died in his sleep early hours Wednesday morning.

Life isn't always what we expect but we did expect Todd to be around a lot longer. He had valiantly fought his HIV infection, faced it head on and had gone through so much. We still don't know exactly what happened but he was diagnosed with KS earlier this year .... we don't know.

Coy called and told Stuart Wednesday morning just after I left the valley... no words can express the emotions ... we are all affected and devistated. I called Coy last night and had a brief conversation .. I mean, what can you say when you've lost your mate.

We met Todd at the Bullet Bar in North Hollywood in 1998 and saw him signing to some of the deaf group who meet there ... tall, handsome and all teeth! He was my inspiration to learn signing. He called us his 'two dads he never had'. Don't quite know what he meant by that. We called him sonny, Toddles or Toddy but usually Todd. Here was a generous and kind hearted soul who saw good in everone. I never heard him say a bad word ... no wait, I did but I reserve the right to keep that for my book.

He let me stay at his apartment in Northridge/Reseda for almost a year after we moved from the valley. My own room and bathroom without asking for anything in return. Todd and Coy stayed here with us in Palm Springs during the summer and we went to dinner together at Boscoso. Here was someone, beer in one hand, toke in another ...

We miss you already.

It's always a bit of a shock glancing at the obituaries in the local paper and seeing someone you know staring out at you!! In this case, Randy Van Gottberg, my Palm Springs sign language tutor aged 53, suddenly and unexpectedly. I thought I hadn't seen him at the gym recently. Now I know why.

How about this in the same obits .... a lady aged 90...... "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming Holy Mole what a ride!!!"
Amen to that!!!!!

Well, we survived the weekend after having 24 people here, a mixture of men and women and two big dogs. This was a group of friends from San Diego and was the second time they have taken the same weekend 2 years running.. Adam and Tim were married here last year when it was still legal in California for same sex couples to marry. And they said it would never last!!!

Karen was her inimitable self .... last year French Maid with no knickers .. this year, Vegas Showgirl all tits, feathers, sequins and see throughs, not necessarily in that order. She decended the staircase looking like Bette Midler posing for the cameras. Unlucky for us our camera isn't working but there will be pictures once I figure out how to post them onto the blog. We ended up with her very luxurious black and red feather boa. Not quite sure what we are going to do with it. I heard talk of a mermaid in a wheelchair for next year. (Another Bette Midler). I suggested 'Hush, hush, sweet Charlotte' so we could push her down the stairs in a wheelchair but nobody thought that was a good idea!!!! Any suggestion would be gratefully received.

It wasn't a quiet weekend by any means ... (see posting for LSI weekend). I was concerned about the neighbouring hotel complaining about the noise. I got out of bed 3am Saturday as is my wont .. and there was still a crowd sitting in and around the spa (all loud and probably drunk lesbians) I wasn't prepared to find out .... anyway, later Saturday night someone came to the front gate, didn't call the office but banged on the front gate. I forget what was happening at the time but I expect somebody was getting flogged on the St. Andrew's cross or something. Stuart heard the banging (on the gate), and there stood a man with torch (flashlight) a la CSI style wanting to know if everything is OK. Stuart said, yes, everythings fine, thank you. The man said, 'oh, is it an initiation?' To which Stuart replied 'something like that' and off he went. Sunday brought us another 'neighbour' asking to speak to Andrew, the owner. Oh Lordie here we go again I thought.
By the time Stuart put on shorts and made it to the gate, there was no-one there. We're going to get a reputation with the neighbours if we're not careful!!!!! Our pool man made a strange comment upon seeing women here he said, 'oh, I see you have women here'! Duh!!! 'I'm not offended' .. what did he mean by that??


To cut a very long story short, after 10 weeks of giving Wells Fargo Bank all the information they wanted and more, 3 years tax returns for our individual taxes, 2 years for the hotel they turned us down for a refi on the hotel after 9 years of never missing a mortage payment and keeping our head above water. Their reason????? They have a policy of not lending to clothing optional hotels!!!!! Of course, we have nothing in writing but that's what the loan officer told us yesterday. I have spoken to the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and they seem to think we have a Federal case against the bank. We are waiting a reply from the Small Business Association. Who knows. You know the bank is going to deny everything. Someone at Wells Fargo is being a moral guardian of something. Watch this space!!!!

One last thing ... the furniture around the pool was moved .. the barbeque was moved ... I want you all to read 'Eva Moves the Furniture' by Margot Livesey. I dare you not to be moved yourselves!!!!

It turned into a lovely weekend with a great crowd of people. Our friend Fred came over from West Hollywood for Saturday night and that made us 90% full. At least 3 rooms have asked to stay for a night longer than they originally planned. Hurrah for us!!!!
Into LA tomorrow which is fine. Get to see Tommy, stay at the house. John and Angela are in England so won't be seeing them.
Making Ina's Perfect roast chicken tonight. Stuart's making cauliflower cheese!!! Yumoooh.

I have to thank our friend Joe for this one ...... www.peopleofwalmart.com
Joe, it has given us endless minutes of pleasure. God bless America!!!!!!

Nothing much else to report today. Another great crowd, everybody talking and socialising. People in rooms 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8. (70% full). Not a full house but better than most of the gay hotels in Palm Springs. Canada and the United Kingdom are well represented with visitors from Vancouver, Toronto and London.. We all share the same Queen y'know.

Made the godesses chicken parmesan tonight with a twist ..... a can of tomatoes with garlic and basil, Lovely. Don't know what Ina would say!!!

Something really weird happened today. We've got a telephone down by the gate which connects to the office. Somebody took the phone and wrapped the cord around the door handle so we couldn't get out. How strange is that? It happened sometime after 5pm and we didn't discover it until Paul went to leave just before 8.. He had to climb over the wall at the back, walk round and undo the cord. Isn't that bizaare!!! We've been here for nearly 9 years and nothing like that has happened before. Very unsettling.

(Paul is a friend who does all our maintenance. Electrics, plumbing, building. Very versatile!!!!).