7.19.2010

Certified Humane




As we've so publicly stated on our web site, We Love To Eat! I will say it again, We Love To Eat! My husband and I are both in the Food Service industry. We both like to cook mostly because we love to eat. And a big part of our enjoyment of Good Haven House is getting to enjoy regional southern food when we're here. BBQ, fried chicken, gulf shrimp, gumbo, hush puppies, pecan pie.........Mmm, Mmmm, Mmmmm, I'm making myself hungry just writing about it!


*Meets the Humane Farm Animal Care program standards, which includes nutrious diet without antibiotics or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviours.


Until recently, I never thought much about where my food actually comes from (unless I forgot to water the tomatoes in the garden!) But it's come to my attention that the way food comes to our markets and tables is not benign.

Please, whenever possible, use locally grown and Certified Humane food products.
Factory farming is harmful to not only the animals that are made to endure it and the farm workers forced to use these methods, but to human health and our society as a whole.




These practices are hard to think about and look at. But we DO, as individuals and as a society, have the power to take action and change the way food comes to our table.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" -Gandhi

Thank You, Susan

7.16.2010

Happy Friday!



long pier GHH
Long Pier Good Haven House by Me!

My photo, Long Pier Good Haven House, was featured on the Sierra Club's "The Daily Ray of Hope" today. What an honor. I couldn't be more thrilled!

"Happiness is a direction, not a place" -Sydney J. Harris

Have a wonderful weekend.

-Susan


7.09.2010

Happy Friday!



CAN House and Home July 2010

I hope you have occasion to use at least one of these sometime this weekend.
Have a wonderful one!

-Susan


7.02.2010

Happy 4th of July!



American flag on beach
image via flickr Some rights reserved by Jill

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.
Happy Friday!

-Susan



6.27.2010

We Love Pets



dogs and kid swimming b&w

We love to have pets come on vacation with their owners. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, turtles and frogs have all been guests at Good Haven House. They all give it the big thumbs (paws, flippers?) up!

L_DogBoat

Our German Sheperd loves it there. There's 2 acres for dogs to run around and play frisbee.

We take a $100.00 pet fee per pet (with fur and bigger than the palm of your hand) and a bit larger security/damage deposit that's refunded to you as soon as we verify that there's been no damage (soiling, chewing, etc).

Water-Dog 1 s

All well behaved pets are welcome at Good Haven House.

6.25.2010

Happy Friday!



Lifeguards at Sandpoint, Idaho
image via Country Living June 2010


When I started this blog I had intended to post inspirational, beachy, summery pictures from the Pensacola/Perdido area on Fridays. Unfortunately those are few and far, far between right now. So for the time being I'll have to go a little farther afield for my 'happy weekend' images.

Happy Friday!

5.28.2010

It's Summer!


Ralph_Waldo_Emerson_quote_summer_via Coastal_Living
photo via Coastal Living May 2010

This weekend is the official start of Summer! Are you ready?
Happy Friday
HAPPY SUMMER!

-Susan


5.25.2010

10 year old raises thousands of dollars to help with the oil spill clean up



MEET OLIVIA BOULER
A 10 year old bird lover


Olivia Bouler.jpg
Image via Facebook

Olivia's raising money in a unique way to help with the oil spill clean up of birds and wildlife in and around her summer home in Orange Beach.


Image via Facebook

I encourage you to read the full story
and if you'd like to, donate to The Audubon Society, The Sierra Club, The Weeks Bay Foundation, The Mobile Bay Estuary Program or the National Wildlife Fund to help with the Gulf recovery.

Let the Bouler's know by sending an email to nadinebouler@hotmail.com, Olivia's mom, and they'll send you one of Olivia's drawings.

Even if you can't donate, you can send Olivia a message letting her know what a great thing she's doing through her mom's email, nadinebouler@hotmail.com, or her Facebook page,
"Save the Gulf: Olivia's Bird Illustrations"



image via Facebook

I had to share this story with you as it brought tears to my eyes when I read it.

This girl deserves recognition and praise for what she's doing.

She's a great role model for all of us.

Thank you, Olivia, for the inspiration and the hard work.

-Susan


5.11.2010

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


5.02.2010

Perdido Bay History and Ecology Geek Alert



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

Spanish Map  of 1562 North America

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
A Large Spanish Ship
Thought I'd share some other good sites for area information too.

Gulf Islands National Seashore
Historic Pensacola Village


Photo of Native Americans
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


4.25.2010

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!

bamboo_houses_at_hokulea_retreat

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.

back_of_big_house

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

meditation_house_3

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.

Hokulea_retreat_driveway

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


4.16.2010

Happy Weekend!




picture by Shabjahan Bigglar

Have a wonderful weekend!



4.12.2010

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.

Welcome to Good Haven House

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!


4.11.2010

Visit Good Haven House's Availability Calendar



We'd love to have you come and stay with us at Good Haven House.

GHH from the pier 2

Here's a link to our Good Haven House availability calendar for those of you interested in visiting.