Blog 23...4Creature Comforts Moving Forward 2008
Updated: Sep 11
Geddy and Starr flew to Panama on January 16, 2008, while I stayed in Hansville for the winter shows. Weekly visits to My Garden in Mill Creek allowed me to resupply inventory and create fresh displays. After arranging care for dad and creatures, I joined Geddy in Panama mid-January for six weeks. The big push was continued remodeling of the Panama Villa, enjoying beach life in remote Jose Pobre with friends, hosting friends like Rob, a trip into Panama City to purchase more Embera masks and Wounaan baskets from the co-op for later resale, and collecting trash off the beaches to create art, my passion.
Hans & his daughter Geddy slothing JC & MC beach house Juan Carlos at his beach house Marie Claire, Juan Carlos & Geddy Rob with Jessica Finding beach trash for art: our villa on left Sawfish on salvaged Opportunity cupboard Reel fish from shells and old tile pieces Gaucho & wire horse Hen tile lady tribute Panama Villa evolving...3d in progress Entrance montage in progress
I dove right into 4 weeks of shows on our return, then we flew off to Maine for 2 weeks. We put our heads together with Herb to organize a plan for the inn in Franklin. We identified areas of concern and staged a plan for repairs and construction. Growing up in an antique home in Norwell, I was not a stranger to the issues that come with it. So, it was not a surprise that this house, built in 1785, would have layers of hidden problems. We hoped to be open as the Creature Comforts Inn & Gallery in time for the summer crowds. What had been the tourist information building was to be a Creature Comforts East Gallery. I had been vending my goods at My Garden for 18 months. It was doing well, but with everything else on my plate, making weekly trips by ferry to the mainline side of the Puget Sound was a drain on my time and energy. The decision was made that I would remove everything from My Garden to take to Maine. Herb flew back to Hansville with us on May 6th in order to pack a giant moving van full of these goods, as well as some from the Hansville store. We worked hard and fast with the help of friends, and on May 12th, Geddy, Herb, and Starr left to drive across the country. I attended two more shows before leaving for Maine with my dad and Tino on June 2nd. During the last show, the Juan de Fuca Festival in Port Angeles, I discovered Lady and Nikki's horses missing in the early AM of the busiest day, Saturday, of this 4-day event. They were nowhere in sight, and panic set in! My friend Jennifer, also vending at the show, was staying at the house. She went ahead while I freaked out, looking on the trails by the house and checking roads everywhere. Finally, it turned out that the two horses got out in the late evening, and my neighbor found them. She didn’t want to disturb me so late, so she put them in a pasture with her horses, which was out of my line of vision. Horses, and especially my Ladybug, are super sensitive. I know she was aware that I was about to take her and Nikki to Robbi’s house for summer care. She was pushing my buttons to shake things up, which she did!
Dad was so excited about going to the East Coast for the summer. But when we arrived at the inn late at night on June 2nd, he had a meltdown. He was clearly overwhelmed by the journey and the inn. He wanted to go home, and he wanted to go now! When a person with Alzheimer’s is removed from their comfort zone, a crash is to be expected. I had underestimated his response to this enormous move, thinking that being with me and Tino was enough to support his feeling of safety. We got through it, but it was extremely difficult.
Dad in his apartment Dad's apartment entrance Dad’s kitchen: no stove!
As the days wore on, he acclimated, mostly. We gave him one of the apartments, and we had the apartment beside him. Because we had workers all over the property doing construction as well as helping out with the inn & gallery setup, he became very paranoid. This set off several very frustrating situations. He would tell me his wallet had been stolen, then I would find it. Then it was “stolen” again, now harder to find. I came to understand that he kept moving it to be safe, but he had no idea that he had moved it or where. It got to be comical, except he was so upset. I began to see a pattern in his hiding places, and I would leave him notes, saying, "Dad, this is your daughter, Jeri. I have your wallet, and it is safe”. I got a second wallet, made copies of his insurance cards, and put a few dollars in it to play his game, while I kept his real wallet safe for him. Dad was a very social man...he loved people. As time elapsed, he truly enjoyed all the activity and people.
The Creature Comforts sign is up, gardens embellished with art, & new barn doors Tino surveying the new walkway
The pictures above are of the entrance room of Creature Comforts. The gallery continues into the entire barn, plus 3 other rooms off the barn, leading to the office and front veranda...about 2000 sf. Plus, all the gardens are full of garden art for sale. The next set of pictures is in the barn.
These last three pictures are side rooms off the barn. The setup allowed guests to walk into the gallery from the front veranda instead of coming through the front door. I put a lot of attention into joining Chambers of Commerce in the area and coming up with ways to advertise. My dear friend Rauf designed my first website, creating a domain name: 4creaturecomforts. One of the best avenues for advertising was this two-sided brochure that I distributed at many locations. We accomplished the seemingly impossible by opening our doors on June 28. I was baking blueberry muffins every morning. We were a mile from some of the best blueberry fields around. Breakfast was self-serve in the parlor with muffins, fruit, cereals, juices, and coffee.
It was a busy summer! Geddy had his taxi and tour company in full swing; we had guests at the inn and were visited by many friends. The most important guests for my dad were our Norwell neighbors, Bob and Willi Zildjian, truly Dad’s best friends. Bob and Willi were living in Brunswick, ME. Their oldest son, Bill, lived in Castine, not far from Bar Harbor. We took Dad for a visit with Bill and his family as well.
Despite the intensity of the scene in Franklin, I left for Hansville on July 24th for three weeks of festivals. I was reluctant to let go of some of the key profitable summer shows I had worked so hard to get into. I missed the visit from Juan Carlos, Maria Claire & their two daughters, who came from Panama, however. Geddy drove with Dad to pick me up in Boston on my return on August 13th. Staying at a motel the night before I arrived, Dad, in his confusion, walked out the door at night and fell. He had bruises and a cut on his forehead. Fortunately, it wasn’t serious. Since Dad hadn’t been back to Norwell since he came to Hansville in 1998, it was a perfect time to visit dear friends there. Eleanor Norris, Lynn, and David DeGhetto, as well as Ali, were some of the highlights of visiting. We went to the North River Bridge, the hub of our lives as well as where family ashes have been scattered. This trip was restorative for Dad.
I flew home for a week just for the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. It was worth it! With fall closing in, David and Lynn came to stay at the inn at the same time as Stan, my favorite Bainbridge Island veterinarian of years past, and his girlfriend, Lynn. Geddy gave us a magic bus tour that included the blueberry farms, his niece Kelly's art gallery on top of Caterpillar Hill in Blue Hill with its stunning views, Nervous Nellie's Jam Store and sculpture gardens on Deer Isle, Jordan Pond House famous for their popovers, and Cadillac Mountain in Bar Harbor. Two of our inn guests, Constantine and Georgia, from London, were so fun that we invited them to stay on for free for a bit while Lynn and Stan visited for a couple of weeks. We set them up for a continued journey through New England, staying with other friends of ours along the way. They have always remained dear friends. We hosted a huge harvest festival at the inn just before Tino, Dad, and I flew home. At the airport in Bangor, I suggested that Dad get a wheelchair to help me with hand luggage and Tino. My dad had never shown an angry side to his Alzheimer's, but now he had a tantrum, claiming I was treating him like a child and maybe I should have a wheelchair. When we had to change planes in LaGuardia, N.Y., a flight attendant asked why we didn’t have a wheelchair for my dad. I kept silent, but minutes later, maneuvering through the crowded airport to our next gate, I realized he wasn’t with me anymore. Fortunately, when I backtracked with Tino and the hand luggage, he was standing like a statue, easy to spot. I was grateful that the results of this event went well.
Lynn, David, and Dad The view at Caterpillar Hill Geddy & Kelly at her gallery Lynn & Stan Nervous Nellie's Jam Herb & Stan at Jordan Pond Faithful Starr on the Magic Bus Panama Marie Claire Dad & Geddy on Magic Bus Herb & Panama friends JC & Hijas Starr on the bus
Geddy had stayed on working his business even though we had closed the inn for the season. Once home, I was consumed with shows and life, while Geddy was beginning to go down a rabbit hole with adult-onset bipolar disorder. He needed me, but I was too busy to see it happening. It took a while for the impact of this to catch up to me.
At one of the fall shows, I came home with four adorable kittens. While staying at my friends', the Hugheses, Sandra was fostering a group of kittens. I fell in love with them and decided to bring them home. One was adopted out to my neighbor, Whitney. They all turned out to have FIP, feline infectious peritonitis, an incurable disease. I had never heard of it. Whitney’s kitten went down first, then my Amber and Willow followed. So heartbreaking. I had high hopes for Murry, who stuck to me like glue.
My FIP Kittens Murry, the last one. Tino & I at Northeast Harbor
Murry hung with me until March 2, 2009. It was mid-February when I accepted that he had dry FIP. His coordination faltered then. I was destroyed by his loss. He was the dearest kitten, my shadow. I was happy for the time we had together.
Dad fell down the stairs while I was at a show on November 28th. I remember I was at the show, talking to him on the phone- well, actually yelling- so he could hear me. I was telling him his lunch salad was in his refrigerator, and he should eat it. Well, in his state of mind, he thought I meant that he had to go upstairs to my kitchen and bring down all the salad ingredients to make a salad. Hence, carrying the salad supplies and going down the stairs proved to be too much. My friend Heather stopped in to check on him and found him. She took him to the emergency room. Luckily, he was fine, minus some bruises. This is when I made the decision that he needed full-time care. Friends introduced me to Jeanette, who had lived in her 5th wheel while caring for their parents for a while. Her credentials were perfect, and I had the perfect spot to put a 5th wheel. I needed to do site work to create a septic hookup near the barn, plus water and electricity available. Bill Arness stepped in to accomplish all of this, starting on December 31st.
Stay tuned for the next adventure... In between, save the date for our next Open House on Sept. 19-20, 10 am-4 pm
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