A Look Within

For those of you who are curious... here's a look at some of the aniques and vendor spaces in the new business...

(I couldn't resist setting up an old fashioned schoolhouse area!)

These last two are of Paul's sister, Joan's, booth. She has been selling lots of stuff!

Newpaper Article

I cut and pasted an article that appeared recently in our local paper. That is Paul's sister, Joan, with him in the picture. (I wasn't available for the photo op). Since then people have asked if they were my parents. Ahhh, I feel young again!!!

All Aboard! Keysville Station Now Open
By Samuel Weddington
Published: Friday, April 3, 2009 9:14 AM CDT

When Paul, Sherry, and Kiara Robleto moved to Keysville several years ago from New Kent County, they saw endless possibilities. “We loved the town,” Mr. Robleto remarked. Seizing both the momentum of their new move and opportunity, their first order of business was to open the Roselawn Bed and Breakfast.Over time, Roselawn has become a fixture within the community, opening the town up to even more tourism as well as hosting the monthly meeting of Charlotte County’s Meals on Wheels board meeting. However, the Robletos saw even more possibilities within Keysville. Sensing that downtown Keysville was undergoing a renaissance with the addition of wonderful local businesses like the Perfect Package, but still needing more businesses to increase foot traffic for other King Street businesses, the Robletos struck upon an idea. From this germ of inspiration, the Keysville Station Antiques and Vendor’s Mall was born. Opening March 1st, Keysville Station brings to the downtown of Keysville not only an antiques store, but also a place for people from around the area to come and browse a number of different goods from furniture to collectibles and knick-knacks from multiple vendors. The antiques residing within Keysville Station are remarkable unto themselves, made up mainly of turn of the century pieces.Residing within the old Tri-County Ford building across from the town’s Chinese restaurant, Keysville Station has a lot of room to grow into. The front area of the business is a dedicated antiques and furniture showroom, while the back area of the business houses vendors offering a wide range of goods. The upstairs of the building also houses a number of show areas and vendors as well.
Yet, the Robletos’ dreams do not stop there. In the back area, a sound stage has been set up for bands to play every Friday night. Additionally, a new outdoor flea and farmer’s market is open alongside Keysville Station every Saturday, starting at 8 a.m. To support all of the customers coming to all of the events at Keysville Station, a snack bar will soon be opened up within the building, complete with a train car façade.In the end, the Roblettos see that the larger Keysville area has the population to support smaller, local businesses, and more importantly, that Keysville is still a town where residents congregate to shop and socialize together. Imagining many Saturday afternoons to come in which residents come to the downtown and pick from the wide variety of downtown businesses while meeting their neighbors, the Roblettos are rapidly moving towards making their dream a reality.Keysville Station Antiques and Vendor’s Mall is open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Booth space within the building is still available, with prices ranging from $60-$150 per month, and flea market spaces are also available at $10 per unit. The Robletos would also like the public to know that a Meals on Wheels charity booth is up and running within Keysville Station. Donations can be made at the booth, and all monies from booth purchases go directly to Meals on Wheels.

Happy April

I'm sitting here at the Vendors Mall manning the register while Paul runs home to fix our lawn mower. I am actually happy to see that thing come out of the shed because it means warmer weather and beautiful spring blooms! I think I had a touch of SAD this past winter!

Paul's sister, Joan, is back in town to help out with the new business. Kiara is at her grandmother's house this weekend.

Nothing much new since my last post. Can't put any pics up because I'm not on my home computer where they are stored. Haven't taken any lately anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.

Maybe my next post will have something more exciting to write about! Until then...

Spring has Sprung

Finally, some warmer spring-like weather! We finished up our first month as owners/operators of the Keysville Vendors Mall. It has gotten busier there everyday with more and more vendors joining us in their business ventures. In two weeks, we will expand to doing an outdoor flea market as well.



I must admit, it makes for a crazy week for me... working 4 days a week, then doing the B&B and helping Paul on the weekends while also doing the "mom thing" but God has given me the strength to manage so far! Joan (Paul's sister) is back to stay for a while, so that will make things easier. By the way, she has a program on her computer that does crazy things with images, and here's one we made a while back... I just love my self!

Haven't done a Kiara Quote in a while, so here's one that happened recently:

When asking Paul to sign some forms for me, Kiara interjected... "Don't do it, Daddy. They could be divorce papers!"

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Kiara and I are at my mom's house this weekend. We helped her celebrate her 62nd birthday yesterday. She doesn't look that old, I know) Happy birthday, Mom! Hope you're not too mad that I posted a picture of you. (If anyone checks back later and finds the picture gone, you'll know that she was upset!)

It's a rainy, dreary weekend here in Virginia. Seems it has been that way a lot since we opened the Vendors Mall. Despite the weather, the business is getting off to a good start. Slow but good. I'm a little concerned about all the family outings we will miss because of having to work weekends (like this one), but somehow we will work it out. I also just realized that I will have to do breakfasts by myself on Saturday mornings, which usually won't be a problem- except when we have a full house. It will be a challenge to cook and wait on guests all by myself. Maybe my mom will come to help... Or it maybe it's time to put Kiara into serious training mode!

Gotta run... breakfast is calling. And this time I didn't have to make it myself. I love it!

Grand Opening and Snow

The official opening for Paul's Vendor's Mall was Sunday. Luckily, we had a "practice" opening the day before because then along came a huge snow storm that kept everyone at home. We had a good number of people come by to check out the new attraction in Keysville, although all of the spaces aren't quite filled yet. We are hoping for more at the weather gets warmer and people venture out to see what it's all about.

This is the first "real" snowstorm we've had since moving out here. It was beautiful, but having no electricity got a little old. It finally came back on yesterday late afternoon. Here are some pics of our Winter Wonderland.

Okay, I'm ready for spring now!

Friends are Friends Forever

We had a wonderful visit with friends from our years living in Richmond. It was very, very hard to say good bye to this family when we moved because we were sooo close, but we have managed to keep in touch. Not as well as I had hoped, I must admit, but getting back together for a visit felt like we had never had time apart. It is true... friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them.

Kiara had a blast playing with Abi even though she's 3 years younger.

They have a lot of the same interests. Unfortunately for the goats, one of them is horseback riding...

Then Kenai decided HE'D like to be the one on a horse...

The kids had a good time shooting Kiara's BB gun. Little brother, Luke, didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that it was PINK! I just love the look on his face as he takes aim!

The kids spend a lot of time playing with our 14 little chicks (still housed in our living room, by the way... C'mon warmer weather!!!)

I know Kerry and I will be friends for life! It was great getting back together again for fun times!

What's New at Roselawn

Been a few weeks since I posted. Paul's sister, Joan, has been here for the past week helping Paul get ready to open his Vendor's Mall at the building he bought in town. She left today but plans to come back this weekend. The Grand Opening is March 1st, and he really needs her help to get things in place before then. I have been busy working and taking care of Roselawn and Kiara. I try to help when I can, but I'm sure it's not as much as he'd like... so Joan's help has been a welcomed blessing! She was staying here when we first opened the B&B and really helped us get the house going, too. Everywhere I turn there's a reminder of all she did for us... the curtains she made, the decorative woodwork in the bathroom, the walls she helped paint, the pictures she helped hang... Thanks, Joan!

We have 16 little baby chicks in our living room right now. I can hear them chirping away as I type. The get bigger and bigger every minute and soon will be moved to the coop outside. Right now they are too vulnerable to go out there. They require a temp of 95 -100 degrees, so needless to say, it has been hot in our house! Maybe I'll have a pic of them next post.

New Do

Kiara got her haircut yesterday. It's short in the back and longer up front. I looks really cute on her. Now we need to see how it does with her kind of styling, which is very minimalistic!

We are leaving my mom's house soon to go to a friend's house for a Super Bowl party. I'm not big on football, but I do like hangin' out with food and friends! I was surpised today with a call from a very good friend from back in Richmond. She and her family are coming for a weekend visit in a few weeks. I can't wait to see you guys, Kerry!

The Seagulls are Here

Pictures to go with my last post...

Beach and Snow

Just got back from Virginia Beach last night. We went with some friends and stayed on the oceanfront for 4 relaxing days! It was bitter cold, but that didn't matter to us. We just enjoyed looking out at the ocean and being away for a while. Well, Paul had to come back home because our innsitter reported that our pipes had frozen and the guests had no water. He was planning to come back in the middle anyway because he had already committed to playing drums, but the pipe situation mean a longer time away from vacation. He ended up coming back to the beach at around 5 am Sunday and enjoyed two more days with us including an awesome meal at Captain George's. No pictures downloaded yet... maybe by next post. I woke up this morning to a coating of snow on the ground that kept Kiara out of school. (I think a 2 hour delay would've been cautious enough, but she didn't complain about another whole day off!) I headed out to work with no trouble on the roads at all. Guess you never know what's happening in another part of a rural county. We haven't seen a REAL snowstorm since we moved here. I wouldn't mind just one before spring rolls around...

Happy New Year

Welcome to 2009! I am anxious to see what the Lord has in store for us during this new year. We now own a commercial building right in the town of Keysville. Paul is making plans to open an indoor vendor's mall and possibly rent some of the upstairs spaces to businesses. It is very scary for me, I must admit. I help out when I can and one day might end up working with him full time. We'll see. Here is a picture of the building...
I am still working for Piedmont Healthy Families as an in-home parent educator. It is rewarding most of the time and frustrating some of the time. I feel bad for the moms who are trying so hard to get ahead and can't catch a break, and I feel hopeless working with those who would rather stay stuck in a system that supports their dependency. All in all, it is a great program where I get to use my skills to promote healthy child development. I love working with the little ones, and my flexible 30 hour/wk schedule helps a lot when we have B&B activity.

Kiara is half-way through 4th grade and is literally counting the days until Spring Break. She is Little Miss Sociable and is entertaining a friend here right now as I type this.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 2009 with many, many blessings to come!

Christmas at Roselawn

Kiara had to follow clues to find her gift from Santa. One was hidden "where Baby Jesus was born" (bet you didn't know that a Diet Coke can also pose as a shepherd!)

The "scary" old doll held the last clue. (Kiara grabbed that one and ran!)

Then she opened...

A pink BB gun! ...And couldn't wait to practice shooting it outside. The smoke from our burning leaves added a neat effect! Talk about a smokin' gun!

Family and friends came over in the afternoon. The weather was so nice that we moved the party outside. "Christmas in the Country" events included burning leaves, jumping on a pogo stick, playing Bocci ball, shooting the bb gun, and "rooster catching". (My mom's friend and her Uncle Donald ended up catching it as he roosted in the tree later that evening. The constantly crowing cock is now cooped up in our henhouse.)

Then some MORE friends came over with their two girls and they acted out the Christmas story for the adults... the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

Later in the week two of Paul's sisters and their daughters came for a visit over the weekend.

I did lots of cooking and baked an apple pie with the gift our long-term B&B guest gave us. A pie plate with a blackbird in the middle. It had a little hole in its beak to release the steam. How cute, huh?

Now time to look forward to celebrating New Year's. Kiara and I plan to go over to my mom's since Paul is playing drums tomorrow night.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

Deutschland

Okay, here are a few pictures from my trip to Germany... Still waiting for my brother to send pics from his camera (hint, hint, Scott)

At the airport headed to Berlin. We were in for a looooong night of flying.

A pretty cool shot of a church tower that stands in the center of the city surrounded by modern buildings. Most of it was destroyed during WWII, but they left what remained as reminder of the terrors of war.

Another haunting scene was one of the many torture areas we toured at a concentration camp. I really learned a lot about German history during the time of Hitler. I'm glad I went, but some of the things I heard were quite disturbing.

Scott and I were standing near the Spree River. One night we walked through a gas lantern-lit garden along the water. That was probably my favorite memories of the trip.

This is Spandau Old Town which is actually older that Berlin itself. It has neat little streets with medieval style houses and lots of neat balconies with that bavarian feel.

My mom and I ate up in that "space needle" on the right. It had a revolving restaurant with awesome views of the city. I love how blue the sky looks in this picture.

Glad I had a minute to post some of the pictures. Of course I have other things I SHOULD be doing right now, but Paul convinced me to take a break and have some family time watching a Christmas movie he rented. Sooo, I got in that relaxation mode, then he decided to first change out the DVD player for one he found (yes, found) because he was anxious to see if it worked. He started over an hour ago, and still no Christmas movie yet... so I wandered on over to the computer and ended up getting to the pictures of the trip. Now what... should I go ahead and start wrapping more presents? Organize this messy office? See what Kiara is doing to the cat??? Hmmm... maybe I'll just check in on my blogger friends...

Kiara's Quote: Her favorite Christmas carol at age 3 was Angels We Have Heard on High, especially the line "joyful and try armpit".

I'm Back

Well, I've been back from Germany for a while, but it has taken some time to get back to the world of blogging. I've been putting extra hours in at work so I can flex some time for Christmas. We've got some family visiting and I want to be there as much as possible.

I was super-busy over Thanksgiving managing the B&B and taking care of our guests while Paul was away visiting his brother in Florida. Last weekend we had an Open House at Roselawn for a tour of historical homes. We had another function today- about 20 ladies for a Christmas party. Now the dishes are done and I am sitting back thinking about my dad. Today would have been his 63rd birthday. My mom is here and we had a cake in honor of him. Happy Birthday, Dad. I miss you.
Tomorrow is our church's youth Chrismas program, which somehow I ended up being in charge of. Once that is over, things will seem a little less crazy... but then, I do have lots of shopping to do. Only 12 days left. Won't be long until the 12 drummers are drumming!!!

Our computer had been sitting at our CPA's office for two weeks waiting for a program installation, and I haven't downloaded the pics from our trip since getting it back. They are actually on the back up computer we used while we were waiting to get the new one back. Maybe next post??? But here's one taken while ice skating at an Adoption Celebration event. Kiara was hanging onto us all the way around the rink. Needless to say, we were very tired after about an hour!

Kiara's Quote: Last Christmas I reminded Kiara that she only gets three gifts because that's how many Jesus got-- to which she replied, "Well, there better not be any myrrh!

Germany Bound

I have been busy working 12-14 hour days so I'll be all caught up before my trip. Yes, I'm leaving for Germany one week from today!!! I've started packing early because I'll be working 3 ten hour days Monday through Wedsneday before getting on the plane Thursday morning. It's going to be crazy but hopefully worth it all. I am going with my mom and my brother. Paul is saving his travel to visit his brother, Rich, in Florida over Thanksgiving weekend. Kiara is actually excited about me going because she is getting paid to dog-sit for my mom. She just loves Riley, and I guess the responsibility makes her feel so grown up. I might not get time to blog before I leave, so here's a final "Auf Wiedersehen" just in case!

Kiara's Quote from just last week... When explaining she was talking about her grandmother she said: "Not my mumma but my mumma's mumma." (Try saying that 5 times fast!)