People are already thinking about romance and Valentine’s Day at the Castle! Book now, we always have a full house for the most romantic holiday and most of the winter season we have travelers staying cozy warm at the Castle. Stay snuggled up by the fireplace in our Mahogany suite, get a spicy libation at the La Crosse Distilling Company and a scrumptious dinner at Lovechild or La Chateau! Wintertime is for lovers, I would argue that point! Mind the slush and wear a scarf, but use the downtime of the holiday season and the cold winter months to stay close to your mate. We have had several guests renewing their wedding vows, taking a weekend to lay out all their European travel brochures to plan the big adventure trip or just snuggling…I’m a big fan of a good snuggle. I would argue that naps are important, year long. There is a reason other countries have a siesta, it refreshes your body and mind.
Baking continues in the Castle kitchen, Brandon has been going through the vanilla and cinnamon at record pace! Cookie Lovers is one of the add-ons you can request for your room. Those are fun gifts as well! We also stay busy mailing off gift certificates that have been ordered for the holidays and of course checking the water in our live Christmas trees. It’s all a chore, but nobody is complaining. We love our home, sharing it with friends and guests is a real JOY.

Rotary Lights is in full swing this year, we have driven through the enormous light display a couple of times. Just make a donation of canned goods for the Food Pantry or drop some cash in the bucket for a great cause! Remind me to ask those in the Rotary if they have a wish list! (I think every business should have one). If there is something on their list that the Castle could buy to add to the display, we would certainly consider that. Somebody remind me to do that, will ya! Also I’m on the hunt for a giant deer like they have outside the Mall in Minneapolis. It’s about 15 feet tall, where do you find such a thing? I have googled “mall size deer decoration” and all other forms of that but haven’t found anything. Or some other show-stopper for the front of the Castle during the holidays. We do a little more each year, but not as much outside as in. Finding things that are the right size can be difficult. We try to post everyday on Facebook, you can see more photos there.

What will the new year bring for all of you? I hope that we inspire you to go out on a limb a bit, take a chance, do something you love, embrace the adventure of it! Our goals are simple, we want to help as many people as possible and do as much as we can to preserve and protect Castle La Crosse for future generations. Our first snow fall this week reminded me how hard it is to maintain a constant temperature range in a house this size. But, it’s still cozy and comfortable. No new house projects to report on this time, just the usual painting and such. I’m hoping to start drawing some sort of landscaping plan this season, so we can be ready for the Spring planting time. A couple more trees, start the sunken garden room, finish painting and set up the pergola…just the usual stuff!
Until we get to see you again, please enjoy each other, have a happy and safe holiday season and do something fun!