Changes at our New Orleans bed and breakfast.

Our front door

A clean house is a happy house.  I was sweeping the front steps this morning when the bus stopped at the corner of Esplanade Avenue and North Miro Street.  There is always ample on-street parking on our stretch of Esplanade Avenue, but Tammie the housekeeper likes to take the bus.  As she walked up the sidewalk in my direction, I noticed that she had gotten a new look.

Tammie the housekeeper's old look

"I've noticed that you haven't mentioned me in that blog of yours," Tammie the housekeeper said as she settled down on the freshly swept steps.  "I have to say that I prefer it that way.  I hate that picture you alway use when you write about me."

I always say that good guests make good company.  I also always say that a good housekeeper is the backbone of a good bed and breakfast.  Tammie is an excellent housekeeper.  That's why I always try to stay on her good side.  Frau Schmitt and myself get all the accolades during check-in and breakfast, but Tammie the housekeeper is the unsung hero of La Belle Esplanade.  Nobody ever sees her, but they appreciate all the good work she does.

"Did you get a haircut?" I asked.

"I did.  What do you think?" Tammie the housekeeper asked.

"I think I should use a new picture of you when you appear in our blog," I answered.

"It's about time.  I hate that picture of me smoking a pipe.  Even my boyfriend thinks I smoke a pipe when I'm working here."

Her boyfriend should know better.  There is no smoking indoors at our inn.  Guests can smoke in the back gardens, or they can smoke on the balconies, provided the windows and doors are closed, but no one is allowed to smoke indoors.  We're in New Orleans, but this isn't a barroom.

Tammie the housekeeper isn't the only thing around La Belle Esplanade that has gotten a new look.  We've taken advantage of the slow summer season to do some redecorating around the inn.  We've repaired a few of the antique marble topped tables, we've purchased some comfortable new stylish modern chairs.  

An artist friend of ours is working on a new painting for us.  It is 4 feet x 6 feet.  "Do you think you may have bitten off more than you can chew?" I asked.  "Maybe," he said, "but it will all come out in the wash."  That's a little oil painting humor.   

The cigar box museum has outgrown its shelf in the dining room.  I moved it to the lobby.  It's dedicated to the display of old-time brands of cigars that are still made in the good old U.S. of A.  It's really something to see.

We've been open for one full year this month.  "With all the changes going on around here," Tammie the housekeeper said, "I think it's time you retired that silly picture of me smoking a pipe."

I couldn't agree more.

Tammie the housekeeper's new look

Frau Schmitt doesn't think Tammie the housekeeper will appreciate this particular change.  She is usually right about these things.

A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.