Your Hosts at Timberwolf Creek Bed and Breakfast

A note from Sandee...

Hello, everyone, from Timberwolf Creek
in the beautiful Great Smoky Mountains!

Well, the big news this season is WEDDINGS. Between the elopements and the garden weddings in Brigadoon Cove, we have been all about true love around here! We've had so much fun with the weddings - this is what I want to do the rest of my life. There's just nothing better. And to all my brides: thank you So Much for letting us be a part of your special day!

Wow, has Brigadoon Cove ever been a powerful notion! We had the most delightful boys working here last summer from the Ukraine. Yuri & Oleksii were not only charming and smart and funny, they are strong. (No, that's not a link, that's emphasis.) There are now chapel pews fashioned from logs, and stone benches, and rock walls, and there is even a little boardwalk between the cottage and the cove alongside the stream. I have to say, it was hard to let those boys go back to college at the end of the summer... and even though they said they love it here, they were likely a bit relieved to get back to the books! (We did receive a message from Yuri written during final exams, saying that school was so difficult he was starting to miss the rocks.)

A couple of months filled with interviews and meetings and consultations yielded a talented landscape designer who filled the cove with azaleas and lilies and rhododendrons and hydrangea and coral bells and hostas and ferns and and and. And a curved stone wall that culminates in the most beautiful little Japanese maple tree. Meanwhile, our neighbor/handyman/talented-carpenter Dick came along and built the outdoor chapel and put a front porch on the itty bitty cabin in the cove. There is a stone path that meanders to the creek (thanks to Oleksii and Yuri) where a local artisan (who really does not want us to keep calling her Chainsaw Mary) built a wood bench for a wedding photo spot. (But she really can do anything with a chainsaw - witness the little table on the cottage porch between the rocking chairs - she's topped it with a checkerboard and even made the checkers with her chainsaw.)

Ok, and now a word of explanation about the interesting photo of me. Some time ago, I decided that if I were to have all the jobs, I needed a bunch of cool titles to go with them. Typically, I am the Laundry Goddess. But I am also the Mulch Maven, the Reservation Diva, and most notably (and pictured below), the Queen of the Kitchen. So you can imagine when I found a polyester mink apron in my shopping escapades, I had to have it. Then, the quest for the perfect matching plastic tiara ensued. After weeks of diligent searching, a friend arrived with a plastic tiara complete with fake fur. Well! When she said, "Now, the package says ages 3 and up," I quickly responded, "I'm up!" And there you have it.

We hope your year is every bit as marvelous as ours promises to be, and that your families are healthy and happy. And of course, we look forward to seeing you here soon.

Sandee

P.S. Yes, that's a Timberwolf Creek mug in my hand. And if you send me a picture taken with a Timberwolf Creek mug in your hand, we'll be happy to put your 'mug' on this page, too.

WHAT'S NEW: Click here for a video clip of the creek (1:21, 30MB)

itty bitty blog archive from 2007

Just blogging...

July 2007 Heaven Sent
For the longest time, I have been jack-of-all-trades here. That doesn't mean handyman stuff, I only have one tool for that: my index finger. I just point and say, "Build me one of those; I want a wall right there; please repair that." But I have been Laundry Goddess, Queen of the Kitchen (see photo in fake mink apron), Mulch Maven, Weeding Woman, Bathroom Baroness, Reservation Diva, and the upstairs maid. Um, downstairs, too, and even next-door maid for the that matter. And we are busy! If y'all didn't love Timberwolf Creek so much, then I could probably continue to do all this by myself. Wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you, though. So. I needed help. Enter Sarah. Now, Sarah has been a part of Timberwolf Creek for many years, as a guest, and ultimately as a dear friend. Sarah & Tony got engaged here. They got married here. They honeymooned here. And they bought property up the mountain and built a dream house here. And Sarah is the heaven-sent answer to many prayers. You will find her here at Timberwolf Creek, wearing all those same hats that I wear. And you'll love her as I do - it's impossible not to - she's pure Louisiana Deep South, warm and welcoming and charming.
P.S. You may recognize Sarah. That bride & groom on the first page of the Timberwolf Creek website? Tony & Sarah. And we're tickled pink they're here.

Late June 2007 Club Floor
I've just been reading that the big boys (Marriott, Sheraton, Westin) now boast some 70% of their hotels have Club Floors. They are offering snacks, coffee, wireless internet access, nicer linens and amenities, and a 'common area' for their guests. Amazing. B&Bs have been doing this for decades! Even in our vacation cabins, all these things are provided. They toss in 'complimentary breakfast' but staying in a B&B like this one will net you a freshly prepared full breakfast, served to you. A bit more than a doughnut or a make-your-own waffle. My oh my. Wait until they figure out the free parking, do away with 'resort fees' and phone charges, and lose the $10 movies on TV. (Oops, my son tells me it's at least $12, now.) So there you have it. ALL our rooms are on the Club Floor, here at Timberwolf Creek.

June 2007 Ahhhh Summer
Other people can worry about Global Warming. Here at Timberwolf Creek, it stays a balmy 70-something all summer long. Cool mornings (50s & 60s) call for sweaters. I love summer here. It's a whole different animal from the scorching heat of my youth in Florida, I can tell you! Weddings, honeymoons, biker rallies, craft fairs, all sorts of festivals, this summer is one event after another. Just for fun, I've added The Family Fridge you see at the bottom of the page. That's most of the gang. Enjoy.

May 2007 The Whole World is in Bloom!
I read the most hilarious thing on Trip Advisor yesterday. Someone actually wrote to the editors to ask what the weather would be in May of next year. Now, Larry's answer when we get phone calls like that is, "The batteries aren't working in my crystal ball." My answer is usually, "If I could predict the weather accurately a year out, I'd make a fortune." But Trip Advisor's editor answered, "Sunny and 71 degrees. All day. Every day." HA! But I'll tell you, this May in Maggie Valley, it would be just about right. Overall, it has been spectacular thus far. And everything is blooming like mad! The azaleas popped yesterday. Trees are covered in spring-green, the daffodils are going absolutely bonkers. Even the double tulips are holding out right into May. The rhodies are about to pop and cover the whole mountain (including our little slice o' paradise) in white bouquets. Oh, life is grand. And you'll find me in the gardens...

April 2007 Wedding Heaven
Three weddings so far this month! Even the late snow (never had one in April before!) didn't deter us - it snowed, melted, and the sun came out for a brilliant wedding ceremony in the afternoon. I keep saying, "It's never rained on a bride I like," and worry that one of these days... But no problems so far. God and the heavens sure smile on this place.

March 2007 Shopping Spree
Ok, the new mugs are just drop-dead beautiful. In black, deep forest green, cobalt blue, cherry red, maroon, or pale sage green, they all say Timberwolf Creek with the wolf logo, and Maggie Valley on the front. Now, the mugs like the one in the picture above are very nice: the fronts are laser-engraved so the logo is etched right into the ceramic. The difference is, the mug above says "Maggie Valley" on the inside rim, and the new ones say, "Sleep to the soothing sound of the tumbling stream..." Nice!! The same company etches the logo on champagne flutes for us, which we give to our wedding couples. So... while I was at it... Larry collects shot glasses from everyplace he's been. I figured, um, he's been here, right? So, I had the neatest little square crystal shot glasses engraved with our wolf logo. Yowza! And he just loves them. Natch, all this is for sale if you please. At cost. Mugs $15, shot glasses $5, champagne flutes $10. Voila. The waffle weave bathrobes with the wolf crest cost $30. Same thing -my cost is yours. I'm not going into the gift shop business, and am just tickled pink when somebody wants to take a little Timberwolf Creek home with them.

February 2007 Fun With Color
Hooray, the remodeling is finished! The main building (The Creek House) has a whole new personality. In the entryway, new oak floors new woodwork and new iron light fixtures - with leaves and branches and little acorns - are enlivened with a gorgeous new coat of copper paint. And continuing in the spirit of No More Beige, the Timberwolf Retreat suite is now cinnabar & gold, and the Curve of the Creek suite is deep teal.

January 2007 The Streamsong Private Cottage Suite
Well, the demand for a private cottage suite has finally been satisfied - we have combined the former Woodland Room & Streamsong Room, and added some upscale furnishings (like the new leather comfy chairs and mahogany pedestal table and 600 thread-count cotton sheets oooooh so fabulous) and invested in baskets and ramekins and such to make breakfast a snap - your room service style breakfast is discretely delivered to your door, to be enjoyed in the complete privacy of your own cottage. Took out the gas logs and now you have a *real* fireplace, complete with firewood of course. The charming kitchen is fully outfitted with imported coffee beans and a grinder and cream and sugar, so the Elixir of Life has not been neglected. ;) Actually, if you get an urge to cook, everything else is right there, too. Most folks just want to be pampered! So - breakfast is delivered, and if prefer total privacy, just leave the basket outside the door on the little table and we'll pick it up quietly and go away. (Dishes are *not* your job. No chores. No curfews. Just invisible staff. Ahhhh... )