Take Action

Please consider taking action and contacting President Obama to say stop all oil drilling off our coasts.

Click here to follow the TAKE ACTION BUTTON through the Sierra Club link to send a message to President Obama.

OR

get in touch with your Senators and Representatives to say the same thing

Phone

Your Senator and Representative can be called via the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.

Write

Your Senator at U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

Your Representative at U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.

Look Them Up Online

Look up your Senator or Representative online.

Contact the President

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Comment line: 202-456-1111
Fax: 202-456-2461
Email instructions: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Thanks, Susan

Perdido Bay History and Ecology Geek Alert

I found all of this great information on Wikipedia about the Perdido Key area.



History, geography, ecology, references and all sorts of links that just get my geeky, information loving, heart pumping.

"In 1693 noted cartographer and scientist Don Carlos Siquenza was sent by the Spanish government to locate the entrance (to Perdido Bay). Even after he located the mouth of the bay, he was still unable to find a waterway deep enough to sail through. According to legend, Siquenza's ship had been blown off course as he was again searching for the pass into the deep inland waters. The ship was spotted by an Indian chief camped with his tribe at Bear Point. As the chief was walking along the water he spotted Don Carlos Siquenza attempting to reef his sails and offered to guide Siquenza and his men to a connecting deep water channel from the Gulf of Mexico into the more tranquil bay. When the search party finally located the elusive bay, they called it "Perdido", which in Spanish means "lost" or "hidden"." - from Wikipedia

Thought I'd share some other good sites for area information too.

Gulf Islands National Seashore
Historic Pensacola Village



Geronimo

Did you know that
Geronimo lived for a time at Fort Pickens as a U.S. prisoner?

Have fun exploring.

-Susan

The Oil Spill

I can't tell you how upset we are about the oil spill that has taken oil workers lives and is threatening the Pensacola and Perdido areas' water and shoreline. Very little information has been available as nobody really seems to know exactly what's going on (except that there's alot of oil spilling uncontrollably into the Gulf Of Mexico). It's very frustrating for everyone.

Pensacola News Journal

Following are some links that provide reliable, up-to-the-minute information about the spill and it's effects in the Perdido/Pensacola area:

The Pensacola News Journal
The Pensacola News Journal Special Oil Spill Coverage
Visit Florida.com
Gulf Islands National Seashore
NOAA
BP Oil Disaster Interactive Map
USA Today




View Larger Map

I am hoping (against hope) that even if the oil reaches our shores, it won't get into Perdido Bay. The bay is affected by the ocean tides but only has 2 connections to it, a very narrow pass into the Gulf just past the Florida/Alabama state line and Ono Island called Perdido Pass, and the Intercoastal Waterway out into Big Lagoon (after all it isn't called Perdido (lost or hidden in Spanish) Bay for nothing).

In the mean time we are praying for the families that lost loved ones in the explosion, for the safety of all of the relief workers and for the wildlife and ecosystems in all of the affected areas.


U. S. National Park Service Photo

Report oiled shorelines to 866-448-5816. Report oiled wildlife to 866-557-1401

New Slipcovers

There's been a flurry of activity at Good Haven House in the last few weeks, getting the house all spruced up for our summer season that starts in just a few weeks!

Among the many projects taken on were to have the 2 love seats in the living room and the easy chair in the master bedroom slipcovered. They were all getting a little tired looking and just couldn't be cleaned up to my satisfaction anymore.

After some searching I found the best, the most accommodating, talented and professional upholsterer who was willing to tackle working long distance with me. She was happy to use fabric that I sent to her (as anyone who has had slipcovering or reupholstery done, sometimes this is not the case) but she also has a full array of fabrics she makes available to you if you'd like some help with choices and purchase.



Her name is Taube Lansing and she owns Lansing Upholstery and Fabrics over on Bayou Blvd. in Pensacola, 850 206 1771.

Very fair rates, a wonderful attitude, lots of talent, fast turn around and a great sense of humor made it a joy to work with her! The finished products speak for themselves. I look forward to other collaborations with her.


all pictures by Taube Lansing

Hopefully soon I will have some photos in situ.

Our Brand New Sister Property

I've been absent from this blog for longer than I intended as I've been busy working on our brand new sister property's website and blog for their first open house!



My best friend, Catherine, has built the Bamboo House at Hokule'a Retreat, a lovely, off-the-grid vacation home on 5 rural acres on the Big Island of Hawaii. It's about 1 mile up Pohoiki Road from the Pacific Ocean.



Just at the end of construction, the Bamboo House will be ready to rent soon!



Check out Catherine's Bamboo House Blog to watch the amazing videos of her house being built and lots of great information about the property and the surrounding area.



Catherine has asked me to manage the property for her! so call (773 474 2456) or email (bamboohouse@hokulearetreat.com) with any questions you may have. As with Good Haven House, I'm always happy to talk to you about having a great vacation at one of our properties.

Aloha

Happy Weekend!

picture by Shabjahan Bigglar

Have a wonderful weekend!

Front Hall Remodel

Well, we finally decided to tear out the closet in the front hall as you walk in the front door. We've wanted to do it for a while but it just wasn't in the budget. We finally bit the bullet and decided to do it before the 'Summer Season' gets officially underway. Simeon Jacobs, our handyman extraordinaire, is hard at work as I write and I should have some pictures for you all soon.

This is the only picture I have of the hallway and it doesn't even show the closet. It was definately NOT the most picture-worthy part of the house

A big bonus will be no more musty smell when you walk in the front door..... Woo-Hoo! Even though you couldn't smell it upstairs, that odor used to drive me crazy.

And now MY favorite part begins, the search for a chest of drawers and an interesting mirror OR a pretty halltree to put against the east wall. Maybe I can even find it in the budget to hang a new light fixture in the hall. Jennifer's, here I come! Hopefully it will all turn out to be worthy of some new photos on the Good Haven House slide show. Stay tuned!