2019 in Review, and Our Word for 2020

We began 2019 with a great deal of both hope and trepidation.  After spending nearly 18 months restoring the 102-year-old craftsman bungalow, we were excited to see how our dream would be received in the community.  We were also fearful that we might have missed the mark, and that our business model might not be as exciting to Mountain Grove as it was to us.

Looking back now, it's funny how so many of the things we feared never came to pass. 

With the exception of about 4 days all year, we never had more business than we could handle. 

Despite the many mistakes we've made, our guests have always been gracious, patient and cheerful while we did our best to fix things.

When I had to take a couple of days off due to a sinus infection, my family did just fine in my absence.

Nobody ever reacted negatively to the menu changes we introduced each month.

No children have managed to lock themselves in the bathroom. (but we've got a spare key squirreled away just in case!)

I have not, thus far, managed to spill hot tea on anyone.

The Japanese beetles did not demolish the garden.

A plague of weeds did not take over the garden.

The evil black walnut trees did not kill everything I planted near them.

Almost universally, the bulbs I planted in the fall came up and bloomed their little hearts out in the Spring.

The Dahlias that I forgot to dig up in the Fall came back in the Spring.

With a year behind us, we now have a much better idea of what our guests want from us.  We've been able to determine what makes the most positive impact on our guests, and what interferes with our ability to deliver the kind of guest experience that we want to be known for.

Now as I look ahead to 2020, my word for the year for The Ironstone Cottage is "Simplify".  That's not something that comes easily to me.  My natural inclination is toward "more".  More details, more options, more projects, never mind the toll that "more" takes.

We will be making changes to our menu, the services that we offer and our business hours.  We hope these changes will allow us to balance the needs of our family with the wants of our guests.  We'll be sharing some of those changes in the next few days.

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