Kathy and Tom Corey:  Our life in the hills    

                      
              At Home                        Trans-Canada Railroad         On the Gasconade River

Rock Eddy Bluff Farm,
10245 Maries Road 511
Dixon, Missouri 65459 USA

                                                                (Revised edition -- We have gotten older)
About us... We are in our mid 60's, in reasonably good health, and active. As innkeepers of a country Bed & Breakfast retreat, we spend much of each day doing the routine work of running and taking care of the place.

Work background... Kathy: After college (Stephens College and U. of Missouri) Kathy worked for 30 years in charge of a hospital chemistry lab in Jefferson City, MO Tom: After college (U. of Missouri) there was the US Navy, the Cooperative Extension Service in Colorado, and a job as editor for a agricultural publishing company in St. Louis.

We enjoy... The outdoors, natural beauty, animals (horses, dogs and cats on the place), wildlife (our locations makes observing birds and animals easy.) We love people and being stimulated by their uniqueness and their ideas (a pleasant bonus that comes from being innkeepers.) We both enjoy reading (material is varied, but often centers on history, travel or just satisfying novels.) Kathy enjoys sewing, doing crafty things from natural material she finds in the woods, and decorating. Tom likes photography, writing a little, and doing manual labor where he can see results for his sweat. Both of us enjoy antiques; finding them, using them, and making certain pieces fit into our decor.

A major passion we share is travel. We love it. All we need is more time and money. Thinking about where we would like to go next and planning a new trip is part of the enjoyment, we find. And because our B&B guests are often accomplished travelers, we often are able to enjoy their adventures vicariously during our conversations. We stay in bed and breakfasts inns whenever possible, especially in foreign countries, and have developed our own modus operandi in our ventures. Ask us some time about the joys of traveling second class with little or no itinerary.  
       To further our love of travel, we have discovered the advantages of trading "in-kind" with other innkeepers,  both in the USA and abroad.  A French friend or ours maintains a website solely for the purpose of promoting innkeeper exchanges.  You may enjoy a page we wrote for that site.  http://www.innkeepers-exchange.com/usa-an-corey-perks.htm  or another in which we introduce our interesting friend Philippe to other innkeepers or guests who wish to visit his gate in  the mountains of France 
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We were in our late-40's when we made some decisions that dramatically changed our lives. Together  after failed marriages, we determined to relax our pace of living and find time to dwell a little closer to the bone - to stop forever postponing enjoyments and start having them. We resolved to simplify our lives and begin focusing on what was most important to us. Shed much of the rest.

We were in that state of mind when Tom's brother died! His death had a profound effect on both of us. Dave will always be deeply missed, but his unknowing legacy has changed our lives. It's this: Start living more in the now. Slow down. Do some things YOU want. Stop always planning for tomorrow (which may never come) and start living more in today.

Not profound stuff perhaps, but the anguish at his death actually shocked us into applying these ideas in our lives. The effects can be now be found everywhere.. We took a huge risk and moved out of secure jobs. We returned to the rural area where we where both raised. We got re-involved with nature, birds, animals, history, lots of stuff. We watched more sunsets, swam in the creek, discovered new wildflowers, played in the snow. We have put more adventure in our lives. We spend more time appreciating things.

Want a useable life skill?   LEARN TO APPRECIATE!    Find things to appreciate!

We published a book in early 2008 about our life in the hills, stories from hereabouts, history, special travel experiences, and reflections and musings on various gentle topics. The title is "A High Sunny Place", so you have some idea that nearly all the pieces were composed from our perch high on the Bluff at Rock Eddy.  If you would like to see more about this project and even preview or order the book Click Here.

 

Some more about our place:

You can go home: We did! Our place on the bluff The Cicada

Copy of "Desiderata" "I'd Pick More Daisies" Coming Down from La Bastide

“It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.”    Diane Ackerman