Carol Eron Rizzoli

I enjoyed this book, which ought to be read by aspiring restorers of old houses and would-be hosts of bed and breakfasts. The Rizzoli's decided they needed a change from their careers, and it became Hugo Rizzoli's dream to find an old house and open a bed and breakfast. He had been a small book store owner, and then a cook for a catering company, which had given him people skills and cooking skills that came in handy. Carol Eron Rizzoli kept her job while they refurbished the house, learning the hard way that it always take much more time and money than anticipated. Fortunately they were able to do some of the work themselves, and built a business that I thought to visit until I found out they were selling it. Even more fortunate for them, they had friendly and helpful neighbors, the Kilman's who were always willing to lend a hand or give advice.

My parents retired to Royal Oak and built a house on the water. So they were come-heres, as they say. There is actually a certain resentment in the county against the people retiring there from outside, because they disturb the local way of life, even when they don't mean to. The influx of older retirees who need ambulance services but can't join the volunteers creates a strain, for example. It was eased a bit for my parents since my maternal grandmother's family was from the Eastern Shore. Even so, they were come-heres to Talbot County. Her aunt and uncle moved to Easton from Queen Anne's County, just to the south, shortly after they married. Aunt Bea once remarked that they had lived in Talbot County for fifty years, and had almost been accepted. I remember some of the buildings that Rizzoli talks about. I hope the old church has been restored. Hiring local workers proved to be a surprise. There was usually only one person in the area who did a particular job, saying building a pier, and he did it his way. My father's avocation was carpentry, and he wanted the pier built a different way. They argued carpenter to carpenter, even down to counting nails, before my father got his pier.

A enjoyable book, and thought provoking for people considering a mid-life change, a new career path, or a move to a different social milieu.… (mer)

An enjoyable read. My favorite parts were anytime they realized there was a lot more to do for the house than they had estimated, and the descriptions of the couple both DIY-ing;it connected to my memories of my parents redoing a _lot_ of things with our 100-plus yrs. old Victorian. I miss the house, but the book also made me realize that there is a lot of maintenance that goes with a larger, older house, and keeping up would have been too much.
Not that I was interested too much anymore, but now I am definitely not planning to start up a B&B.... I'll just stay in them.… (mer)

This was a light and easy memoir of a woman’s experience renovating a Victorian country home and turning it into a Bed & Breakfast on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The book was less about the act of the renovation – although plenty of humorous anecdotes are included – and actually spent a lot of time discussing the region, environmental/climate impacts on the bay area, and personal analysis on the toll such a work load can take on a person and a relationship.

I enjoyed the book, but I think I am partial to it because I lived in Maryland for two years. Although we did not reside on the Eastern Shore, stories of the “locals” and their customs brought back memories of our brief time in a rural and similarly undeveloped area of Southern Maryland. Without the references to these inside jokes, I’m not sure how much the rest of the narrative can carry the book, but it was still an entertaining read – and definitely worth a peak for anyone considering a similar endeavor into the B&B experience.… (mer)