This past weekend, June 26th and 27th, was the 7th Annual Jordan Art Festival. It was great to see our town all dressed up, bustling with artists and visitors! Each year I look for a few treasures to add to our mansion, and I found some great ones. From 225 Water Street’s Flea Market I found 2 vases for the Mertz fireplace and a fabulous photo of an art deco lady. From Primary Colors I found a beautiful copper sunflower for the courtyard. And from the artist booth’s I found a glass sculpture by Barbara Sells, and a fantastic birdhouse sculpture by Billy’s Bird Cabins. If you missed this event, be sure to visit us next year – and you can always see what there is to see and do in Jordan by checking out the Attractions page on our website.
Singing around the Firepit
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We’ve had a fabulous week having 2 actors in residence from Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre. It’s amazing what they accomplish with a group of kids in just one week – Monday auditions; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rehearsals; and two performances on Friday. After an awesome performance of “Robin Hood” ~ way to go children of Jordan! ~ we gathered ’round the courtyard firepit for an evening of grilled pizza, giant marshmallow s’mores, sparklers and song. This is one of the best parts of being innkeepers – great guests and great fellowship!
Courtyard Blossoms: May
A glorious early spring in April has the garden blooming so early this year. Some cold mid-month temperatures threatened to freeze tender buds, but all the garden weathered the dip. And luckily I didn’t fall prey to early planting enthusiasm and put my annuals out before the mid-May last frost date, though it was tempting.
Mackinac Island inspired our love of all things bed & breakfast, and the red geraniums and white rockers on our front porch pay tribute to the Grand Hotel’s influence. I just need to add “sky blue” paint to our porch ceiling… But I wonder what will they do at the Lilac Festival if the blooms come early there?
Courtyard Blossoms: April
Terri, Terri, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With bleeding hearts and origami,
And tulip bulbs all in a row…
Crystals Restored to Art Festival Arbor
The crystals have been returned to the Arbor we purchased at the 2007 Jordan Art Festival!

Crystals Hanging from Arbor
Greeting you as you enter the courtyard garden, the crystals send rainbow lights dancing through the gardens. When we first brought the arbor into the courtyard, we didn’t have it anchored down. Strong wind blowing through the courtyard would knock down the arbor and crystals would be lost in the plants. I recovered as many as I could, they were said to come from an antique chandelier from New York, but I’ve had to add several new crystals found on eBay. It’s so beautiful having it restored to it’s former grandeur.
And speaking of the Art Festival – the 6th Annual Jordan Art Festival is coming up this weekend, June 20 & 21. Both Saturday and Sunday there will be Artist Demonstrations in oil painting, watercolor, wheel-thrown pottery and more. The Ambrose Freedman Log Cabin will be open for tours by Myrna Pekarna, and then stop over at Pekarna’s Meat Market next door for some of the best ribs, sausages, and blue cheese you’ll ever find! Across the street Maureen Carlson, our Jordan resident polymer clay artist, will be presenting her Storyclay (TM) Telling at 1:00 each day. And don’t miss the Recycled Art Contest III entries and winners on display in the courtyard at 225 Water Street. Past contest entries have been extremely creative, so be sure to check it out!
The Jordan Art Festival is just one part of the 2009 Jordan Summer Celebration. In Lagoon Park check out “Pork In The Park” sponsored by the Jordan Jaycees. There will be food vendors – featuring pork sandwiches – plus craft vendors and performers in the bandshell. And on Saturday morning, the 6th Annual Jordan Valley Bike Tour featuring 12, 20, 35 and 60 mile rides leaves from the Mini Met Stadium.
And if you need a place to stay, we still have some rooms available at our Bed & Breakfast for each night of the Art Festival. You’ll be just a few shorts steps away from all of the festivities!
Our House Finch Babies
Last year a Robin built a nest in the rafters of our Kitchen porch. We never did get any pictures – I had grand visions of setting up a wireless webcam to watch them, but never did. We left the nest untouched through the winter in hopes there would be new occupants this spring. And we were blessed with a new family of House Finches.
We have seen the mama House Finch come to feed the babies, and start allowing us watch from the sidelines without flying away. Tonight we got out the camera and were able to capture some images of the babies! I’m not sure if there are 2 or 3 babies – most of the pictures show 2, but at one point one flew off, so maybe there are 3.
Jordan Girl's Night Out & the birth of the clock
Those who hang around Jordan for any time are sure to be inspired to glue shiny objects to other things by Jordan’s resident mosaic tile artist, Mara Wallach. Before I even knew what I was doing, I decided to tile the face of our antique fireplace mantle with VanGogh glass tiles.

Front Parlor Fireplace - First VanGogh Tiling Project
I have said many times over the years of renovating this building, it’s better that I don’t know what I’m doing before I take on a project, otherwise I may never have done it. Well, that fireplace was one of those! Mara came to my rescue during that project, and gave me, and our innsitter Cindy, a quick lesson in mosaic tiling, pointing out this was not the beginner’s project – but graciously rescued me with instructions the eve of Christmas Eve!
After that I of course took her class, and created the welcome frame for our Guest Kitchen – a bit of a backwards introduction.

Guest Kitchen Welcome - first actual tiling class
Now I’m hooked. I next tiled the buffet table for our front porch, with Fleur-de-Lis pattern and red glass tiles. I’ve was inspired for this is the focal point of scones, cinnamon rolls and coffee during the Jordan parades marching in front of our porch on Memorial Day and Heimatfest – and so it has served.

Front Porch Buffet Table - home to Jordan parade sweet treats
I’ve come to realize my engineering background keeps me more formal than abstract in my designs, but in the art world there is room for it all.
So on to the project for Girl’s Night Out. In my past life in California, I painted porcelain pieces. I had an Ivy and Cherub theme going (not breaking from my formal “must-have-a-theme” mentality), and painted a clock and a vase – both of which had been broken by my cats from my past life in Prior Lake. So, I’ve moved on from the ivy theme – loved the pieces – but were repaired yet broken beyond display. The perfect mosaic tile medium. So during a very rainy garage sale day, I proceeded to break the clock, the vase, and several complimentary vases and plates. Ready for a new piece!
Sacrificing the wood destined for a tabletop of shells and sand collected from our spring break trips down south, I glued the foundation pieces of the California clocks and vases and let the girls have at it! It was great fun. Some were enthusiastic and were gluing naturals, others a bit intimidated but I think were set free with the gluing process. It’s addicting! It all wasn’t finished that night, but over the next couple of days I glued in a frenzy as I’ve never done on a project – it was complete within a week! All that is left is finding clock hands big enough to do the 2-foot clock justice (eBay here I come). The clock is already hanging on the back porch in the courtyard, patiently awaiting her tell-time handles. What do you think???

Cherub & Ivy Clock - awaiting clock handles
I wish I photographed the separate pieces before the clock project. But for my next project – my long awaited reclamation of the bird bath – I did capture where I started. It’s the project of the month now!
- Bird Bath – Before
Watch for updates, and the history behind the pieces getting glued. For me, I guess, it just all has to have some meaning, and these pieces have some for me.
Till next time… your innkeeper, Terri
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