Nightmare at Walmart in the makeup aisle

Just as I was about to head out to do grocery shopping for the bed and breakfast, Jan said, "I'm sorry to have to do this, but can you take this coupon and get me some moisturizer." Why would she be sorry? Well, once I got to the store and I was in the makeup aisle, I knew.

Now, when I want some shaving lotion I have two choices. Regular or large, and plain or menthol. That's it. Why then do women have 1000 different types of facial products? I panicked. I knew I was in trouble and I know that the two ladies talking in the aisle were giving me strange looks. I shouldn't be here I thought, so I pushed my cart to the produce aisle where I only had to worry about 4 varieties of apples.

Then I called Jan back at the bed and breakfast in Eureka Springs. "This is cruel and unusual punishment", I told her. She just groaned and asked what I saw on the shelves so she could help. So I walked back to the makeup aisle and just as I got there Jan said, have to go, have some guests checking in. The same two ladies were still there. More strange looks. So again, I hightailed it to the produce department.

A short while later Jan called back so I headed back to the makeup aisle for the third time. Same two ladies, same strange looks, maybe stranger.

The coupon had a picture but of course it didn't match any of the products there. At least I had narrowed down the brand. There were moisturizers with extra stuff in them. Anti-aging stuff. Deep cleaning. Skin repair. And different product lines within the brand. How do women do this? "Look for the moisturizer around $17", Jan said. There weren't any. So I told her about the $23 bottle. "Too much", she said, getting more exasperated at what she thought should be an easy task. I found one at $20. "Buy it" she said. "I'll make myself like it".

Happy I accomplished the task, I left. The two ladies were still there just staring. I think they stayed just to watch the comedy show. Of course, to top it off, I forgot to use the coupon.

What does this have to do with running a bed and breakfast in Eureka Springs, AR. Well, nothing I guess, but for all the husbands out there, if you hear the words, "Hon, I'm sorry to have to do this to you....", run as fast as you can, something good cannot come out of it.


5 Ojo Inn Bed and Breakfast
Eureka Springs, AR

To bee or not to bee, how sweet it is

This week we harvested some honey from our bee hives. I know, we're a little late, but 5 Ojo Inn Bed and Breakfast keeps us busy and luckily the bees were patient with us. It was our first harvest in the two years we've had bees and it was pretty exciting.

Trying to take away one of the 'supers' (a box on top of the hive where the bees store their honey) was like telling your kids you are going to take away their favorite toy. A lot of buzzing and flying around but the good thing is that honey bees are actually pretty passive. It didn't take us to long to get the super off and hidden away from the bees.

Using a borrowed honey extractor we were able to get about 5 quarts of honey bottled and capped. It ended up with a nice dark amber color with a fairly robust flavor. A little stronger than clover honey but not as strong as some wild flower honeys we've had. We tried a little on some of our breakfast biscuits and it was sweet and extremely tasty. Next year we may have to follow the bees to see what flowers in Eureka Springs, AR they are getting their nectar from.

Does it save money harvesting your own honey? No, but that's not why we are doing this. Jan became interested in honey bees when she read about colony collapse disorder. We just wanted to become involved in some small way and in doing so we end up with some of the fruits of our (or should I say the bee's) labor. It's a fascinating hobby which we'd be glad to share with anyone interested.