It's About the Weather...

Just as the Winter was brutally cold, our mid-west Spring followed suit with colder than usual, plus constantly wet, which meant that the potted flowers have at times been swamped, without a saucer underneath.

In spite of a strange Spring and a cool Summer(so far), we're busy here in Twain's hometown. Tom Sawyer Days had Hannibal hopping, and for about the first time in our 15 years of being in Hannibal, our Fourth of July was actually bearable and the weather was perfect! Normally we are sweltering here. This year was a delight. We were able to visit with family from Illinois and even ventured downtown for a couple hours. The fireworks were nice, but honestly for next year, I hope they go back to the display of years past. This one seemed unusually short.

We're blessed with guests and great occupancy, as well as time to get some maintenance things done outside. Weather has been cooperative recently, and we are finally able to attend to some necessary projects. Norm and I are doing some painting jobs, and window repairs. The waterfall is WORKING again! The leaks were found and eliminated and the four remaining fish seem happy in their surroundings. The birds are also enjoying a perfect place to bathe. We have pretty good numbers of hummingbirds again this year, though not quite the 4 dozen from a couple years ago. They are very entertaining when the young from this year arrive at the feeders. Some of them are quite BOLD. I watched a young female run an adult male off of the kitchen window feeder numerous times this afternoon. She's just about one month from hatching, and she already rules her territory!! I love seeing my few unusual hummingbirds with a lighter color of feathers on top of their heads. They are easily distinguishable, and I can tell which ones are related. I've seen 4 different females with that lighter head color this year. Some have a larger area of  light colored feathers, others have just a tiny patch. I will try to get some photos of them to share.

Just so you know, we are OPEN for business here in Hannibal, in spite of the Mississippi River being quite "full". Our high water here is all on the other side of the Levee, so downtown is operating "business as usual". We did hear that the Mark Twain Riverboat is docked until 7/14, due to the secondary dock approach being under water. But we expect that the river will continue to drop and the boat will operate once again next week.

We still have a few rooms open for the last half of July, so why don't you make plans to come to Hannibal soon? We'd love to meet you.

YAY for SPRING!!

I'm not sure I've ever been more happy to see things start to turn green, and flowers blooming. The winter of 2013-14 was brutal and we hope we will not endure one like that again. We're sure that many of our future guests are really happy to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE TOO and we look forward to meeting you!!

February brought many celebrating Valentine's Day. Following the super quiet January, it was nice to have guests in the house again. It wasn't our best February by far. We'd prefer not to repeat another two winter months like that.

Last month, March turned out quite well. Occupancy picked up and we began taking calls and online reservations for months ahead. March was a very good month. We're looking forward to a great summer here in Mark Twainland!

These beauties will soon be blooming...

Flowers are blooming and we're awaiting the first hummingbird of the season. Our feeders have been out for 2 weeks. Rubythroats have made their way into southern Missouri and we expect to see our first ones in a week or two. I can't wait!! We've begun painting outside and doing some maintenance, and yard work and it feels so good to be outside. The pond is clean and our four surviving fish are doing well. The next step is to clean out the waterfall and get it running again. I pray that there is no leak in that waterfall liner, because moving all those heavy rocks to replace the liner is an arduous task and I just don't know if I want to tackle that on my own again. So send some well wishes/prayers for the time when I get to the cleaning and start up of the waterfall.

We have 2 rooms open for Just Girls Weekend on April 25 & 26. This is a wonderful time to come to Hannibal and enjoy "Girls' Time". Click the following link to learn more, Just Girls Weekend Hannibal and then BOOK YOUR STAY!

We have a business guest here for 4 days and I'm looking online for some new Gluten Free recipes for breakfast on Friday morning. Today we prepared Buttermilk Oatmeal Gluten Free Pancakes to accompany the fruit, Hua Moa Pua'a Ipu(egg dish) and Bacon Rosettes, and the plate came back clean. Ok, so back to work... We would LOVE to meet you!!

January Is for Eagles!!

There is something GOOD about cold weather and a frozen Mississippi River. We have EAGLES galore in the area. They are so majestic and watching them as they fish and compete with each other is something everyone should see. We viewed hundreds of them at the Lock and Dam in Quincy, IL, earlier in the month. They are simply amazing to watch.

We've had a decent month with regard to guests. January is not typically busy where guests are concerned, so hosting guests and taking reservations for future months is always welcome. Our heating bills for the month are paid! We are truly OVER the frigid temperatures this winter and will welcome warmer days, as soon as Mother Nature decides it's time.

February is just a day away. Here at Reagan's Queen Anne, we celebrate Romance all month long for Valentines, and offer some special gifts for each celebrating couple. Our "Delightful Specialties" page on our website, with various items to make your visit even more special, is also available. Click the following for our webpage and links to make your reservation for your Sweetheart Getaway. Valentine's Special

We hope to meet you in February, but if that is not ideal for you, it's always possible to reserve online when the "Stars Align".

As 2013 Comes to a Close...

Following the slower than usual Autumn, we were glad to see that December turned out better than we predicted. We had more guests stay in December than in several previous years and sold Gift Certificates as usual. The month began frantically with decorating for Christmas. Norm was a great cheerleader from his resting spot, as Judy was the only one with enough energy to scurry around decorating each room and outside. Thankfully, Norm's R&R paid off, and his energy has returned following his visit to the hospital in November. Envision him being more physically involved with 2014 decorations. :) The onset of the decorating occurred earlier last year than ever before, to meet the deadline of December 2nd! We hosted FOUR bus tour groups in early and mid December and truly had fun hosting the groups. They were all delightful folks, and it was nice to share our "Victorian Gal" when she was all decked out for Christmas. The weather cooperated for the most part, in spite of some piles of snow.

Again, we were thankful for family living close enough to drop in for a few days. Gina and Haley drove from Illinois on Christmas Day and stayed a couple days with us to celebrate a Blessed holiday. Since we thought it best not to travel and instead stay close to home, we regretfully postponed our Christmas with family in Florida. It was a tough decision. We had looked forward to seeing the grandkids enjoy Christmas morning, for a couple years. So maybe we can gather together this year.

Again...Thank You to all of our wonderful guests, both new and established repeats, for the success we've enjoyed for nearly 15 years!!

Here are a few photos of the Christmas Decorations...

Thankful for Many BLESSINGS

November 2013 was a memorable month. Though business was slower than we had hoped for late October and November, a higher power "had our backs". Norm spent the afternoon in the ER, and following night in the hospital on Thanksgiving Eve. Apparently, he was in need of some down time after a busy year, and it took a Divine intervention in the form of a "wakeup call", to bring that to the surface. Now that we have Norm's blood pressure under control again, we are "forced" to enjoy some time off from the busy months, and what a Blessing that has been. Feeling better than he has for a year or two, Norm is back to daily walks, has more energy, and a positive outlook for the future. We spent Thanksgiving together at home, and truly realized how blessed we are. So in November, we were(and remain) Thankful for Many BLESSINGS.