"The Frog"
You don’t know why this is called “The Frog”? Check our entry of June 3rd 2008. Also visit our "Press Room".July 27th 2008
Smoky and Snowball back with you again.
It has been a while since we visited with you - we have been quite busy. While you may not know this, we actually help supervise the housekeeping department. For example, one of our tasks is to see that the red plaid carpet in the living room is vacuumed. Housekeeping does a great job but sometimes we just have to help. How do we do this? Simple, when we think the carpet needs some attention we carry out a prolonged wrestling match on it. White and gray fur flies in all directions and of course lands on the carpet, so it has to be vacuumed. You will notice that the carpet is always looking nice when you arrive, that is because we plan our wrestling to take place just before guests arrive or just before a special occasion like a wedding.
We mentioned being quite busy: we were getting ourselves all spruced up and looking beautiful for a wedding we had here recently. The photos above are our official portraits. Don’t we look handsome!
À bientôt
Smoky =^,^= & Snowball >^,^<
July 4th 2008 - Independence Day
Snowball and Smoky here.
Today another house full of guests whom we thought were here to pamper us and tell us how beautiful we are. We learned however, that they are here to celebrate Independence Day and to watch the 60th annual 4th of July parade in Warren.
Can you believe that our tiny town grows six times its size every year on this date as 6,000 plus visitors come to enjoy the parade? After the parade watching there are all kinds of activities from Frisbee golf to mountain bike riding to visiting shops, enjoying a BBQ and of course, fireworks. Oh and don’t forget the Farmers’ Market on Saturdays.
Even though our town is full of noise and excitement, our home is quiet and peaceful. We hope lots of people come stay with us next year for the long weekend celebrations because we love pats and snuggles from new friends. Humm, just thinking about that BBQ idea. I do believe it is time for us to curl up for a nap and dream of BBQ.
À bientôt
Smoky =^,^= & Snowball >^,^<
July 1st 2008 - Canada Day
Us again, reporting today from the comfort of a nice soft chair. The sun is shining, the air is warm, and it is a great day for a party!
This morning the house was filled with excitement as today is Canada Day and Canada is 141 years old - gosh hope there are no candles on the birthday cake! Preparations are underway for a party this evening. Outside, small Canadian flags are decorating the front walk while inside there are special decorations on the dining room table. Susan likes to decorate the table and we love to help her pick out items from her big box of decorations. We find that to get the best look at the items it is necessary to jump right into the middle of things and start poking around.
We heard the rumors of grilled chicken and pork chops so we have each staked out a window seat to catch the great smells! Games of croquet or badminton on the lawn and after dinner, sparklers to wave in the air will make this day extra special for the humans. For now though, it is back to basking in the sun and catching 40 winks because pretty soon there will be more celebrations for the 4th of July and we need to rest up!
À bientôt
Smoky =^,^= and Snowball >^,^<
June 27th 2008
Hello again everyone! Remember us? We’re in charge of “The Frog”.
As adventurous cats we love to explore the nooks and crannies of the common rooms at the B&B, especially at night. However, when we have guests in, there is no exploration and we go down to the apartment with Susan and Peter and we curl up on the foot of their bed and dream of adventures. (Actually it’s our bed but we let them sleep in it too!) Morning comes early at a B&B and when we have a full house, Susan is in the kitchen by 6:30 so she can start breakfast for our guests. We, on the other hand, must stay in the apartment until all the guests are served their breakfast. It doesn't seem fair but Susan says we whine outside the guest room doors and that isn't nice. We of course don't see it that way, we’re simply saying "Good morning! Time to get ready for breakfast.”
Speaking of whining, did you know there are a number of wines produced in Vermont? Just type in Vermont Wines into your computer search engine and you will find websites for many Vermont wineries. The closest to West HIll House, on route 100 in Waterbury Center, is Grand View Winery, a family owned farm winery producing exceptional grape wines and wines from fruits that grow easily and naturally in Vermont. Most locations have tastings and some have tours of their facilities. Just about all of them can be visited as a day trip from Warren.À bientôt
Smoky =^,^= & Snowball >^,^<
June 20th 2008
Breaking news! We now have our own photo gallery. Our staff (that is Peter & Susan) have compiled some of our favorite poses from photos taken both by them and by recent guest Lorand – who received a $25 gift voucher in appreciation of his contribution. Check us out. When you visit West Hill House we will be happy to pose for you so that your photo compositon can be added to our press room!
Smoky =^,^= and Snowball >^,^<
June 14th 2008
It’s us again, Smoky & Snowball.
Just recently our human parents, Susan and Peter, were telling us what wonderful cats we are, how we were the most beautiful and snuggly cats one could ever want - all of which is of course very true!
Well, the other day we looked out the front window and what did we see but another cat in our yard! It was orange and black and had a huge mouth and, as cats go, it was a bit on the dirty side. This creature was enormous, big enough for a man to ride on, in fact it was about the size of a brontosaurus! (Of course we know about dinosaurs!). Unlike us, this cat had the strangest name, it was called 315C. Now we know about R2D2 but really, what kind of a name is 315C?
It wasn’t long after a man climbed onto the cat’s back that it began to make a noise. At first we though it was purring but the noise got louder and louder so we think the cat was actually growling at the man. Soon the cat started to eat and instead of cat food, it ate dirt!
Since we were at a complete loss as to what this strange creature was doing in our yard we consulted our parents. We learned that it wasn’t really a cat, it was actually a digging machine called a cat. It was in our yard helping the man to make a hole in the yard. so the B&B could expand its septic capacity and thus provide better facilities for our event guests.
We still don’t understand it all but fortunately the Bronto-cat was only here for a couple of days and we must admit we are glad it did its work and has now gone home. Our human parents reassured us that all was well and we are still the most wonderful, beautiful and snuggly cats ever.
À bientôt
Smoky =^,^= and Snowball >^,^<
June 3rd 2008
Let us introduce ourselves. We are Smoky and Snowball, Chasseurs des Souris. We are Vermont natives born and raised. We have been working at West Hill House B&B for nearly two years and have been in the B&B business all our lives... What? Oh, yes of course, we should mention we are the beautiful, adorable, majestic and most lovable resident cats.
Now, what were we saying? Ah! Susan and Peter recently decided to write a "blog", short little items about life at the B&B, on their website. We thought they said “frog” so we jumped right in (pardon the pun!) and decided to take ownership of the "frog" though we might share it from time to time with Susan.
So while the latest addition to websites may be blogs, we want to tell you about frogs. Each night just at dusk the frogs start filling the night air with the sound of music made by their chorus. The high pitched peeping, which some of our guests think comes from birds, is really the singing of the Spring Peeper Frogs. While their bodies are small their songs can be heard filling the air. Nature’s evening lullaby. The peepers' chorus is a welcome sound as it signals that winter has come to an end. The frogs must be right because just now we can see daffodils, jonquils, and tulips in the flower gardens and we can smell the chives, mint and sage in the herb garden. And if the frogs and new growth in the gardens weren't enough to announce spring's arrival, the warm sun is flooding through the open window making the windowsill a purrrrrrrfect place for our afternoon nap. So if you'll excuse us, we'll just curl up and catch a few ZZZs.
Smoky & Snowball