Finally it stopped raining!!!!

It has poured with rain here in Palm Springs since last Monday. We have had, in one week, more than the average rainfall for an entire year!!!! I know, boo hoo poor us compared to the rest of the country and Europe (not to mention Haiti), this was nothing but ... when it's pouring with rain in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, nobody wants to visit .. not so good for business.

I drove in to LA Monday morning before the rain started. I got as far as Banning when the skies opened. The freeway wasn't bad, just the usual idiots still driving at 80mph without lights. But when I exited onto Lankershim Blvd., all the junctions on the surface streets were flooded and I mean FLOODED. Freaked me out I can tell you. When I finally got to work (after many u-turns and diversions) I arrived a nervous wreck!! Phyllis made me a cup of tea and Jackie offered me one of her tranquilisers!!! Never again!!! Tommy wanted to go for our regular Monday Indian but I wanted to stay home so we had a take-out and watched Taking Woodstock (five *****'s)anyway, he drove to the restaurant (Bollywood!)because I didn't want to drive. It was still bucketing down! Anyhow, today is a lovely clear blue sky day with a dusting of snow on the mountain. Very pictureque.

We had a note from our credit card processor than someone was claiming that he never stayed here when we know he did. Trying to stiff us for $600+. I filled in all the paper work, sent off copies of his registration form and signed credit card receipt and then wrote to him cancelling his reservation for this coming November. Yesterday we got a phone call from a friend of his to tell us he had died!! Excuse me .. he wasn't dead when he stayed with us so why dispure our charge?? How very rude!!! He wasn't a nice man, he was the one who got into a row with another guests for making anti sematic remarks!!! We knew he was going in to hospital for heart surgery and apparently he died whilst under the knife. This is the third person we knew who went into hospital for an operation and never came out. Right .. America has the finest health care in the world!! Give me 'socialized medicine' any day!!

Just another day

Marty & Jordy were here for Sunday night for the 15 party. Well, they're still here and today is Wednesday. Somebody (who will remain nameless), filled their gas tank with diesel ... phutt phutt phutttt... cough cough and it died. Had to be towed to the local garage who did what they do when somebody does that .. apparently it's not that rare. Their misfortune, our gain of an extra 3 nights.

Weather lovely wish you were here. Or .. weather here, wish you were lovely.
I just wanted to add, my dear cousin Barrie would have been 63 on Jan 11th had he still been around. I miss him and Gordon in Toronto and my dear Auntie Peg in London. Wish you were lovely!!!!

A New Year!!

Well, here we are, January 12th almost halfway through the month. Where do I begin? Christmas day ... just the two of us but I was sick and spent most of the day in bed. New Years Eve .... we were both in bed by 11pm!!! We havn't seen the New Year in for about 7 years!!! We were busy for the New Year. Not so for Christmas. A very good goodbye to 2009. Two more of our regular guests have bought a house here so we won't be seeing much of them in the future. We have lost count of the number of people who used to stay with us, moved here or bought property. They move here and we never see them again. We think of them as friends but apparently they think of us as just Inn keepers. I think I'll start a list sometime. I see people at the gym and I don't remember if I know them from seeing them at the gym or if they stayed with us.

Moving on ... I have hesitated telling this story but we had trannies staying here for one night between Christmas and the New Year which does not do our reputation any good at all! It started off with a phone call enquiring about a room for the night. Two guys arrived and were let in by a guest who was leaving the premises(hint to guests .... don't let anyone in unless you KNOW they are staying here). They were in the office when I glanced up and saw a woman walking towards the office. I asked .. ' you do know this is a gay mans hotel'? 'Oh yes, she's a trannie' came the reply. Mmmmm what difference does that make? Most trannies are straight arn't they? Later, Miss thing came in to the office and said to Stuart, 'I've been a naughty girl, will you spank me??? To which Stuart replied ... certainly NOT.
What else, oh a 15 association gathering Sunday afternoon. The propane gas tank for the grill caught fire so there was no barbeque. Quick acting by Stuart extinquished the fire. About 25 men were here for the afternoon.