Innkeeper Notes

a bit of shopping

2009-07-11T19:03:00.003-04:00

Saturday mornings in Blue Hill, Maine, are the best! Blue Hill has its farmer's market at the fairgrounds and I go to scoop up breads and meats and art. Each week there is a new guest artist. I've gotten handmade purses and glass flowers and admired hooked rugs. This week, the Salty Spinners caught my eye. The hats they make are great.

I got to see Katy Allgeyer's new work, too. You can see some on her website, including a new one of the Opera House in her building series that I am craving.

And I made the mistake of going to the Handworks Gallery, just a block from the inn. I thought I might find a new pair of earrings but instead got this great bracelet which has hardly left my wrist since. I haven't gotten a good photo of it to show you but guests and friends have been admiring it all week. Marcia, at Handworks, has a marvelous collection of art and jewelry and beautiful objects.

Back at the inn, our strawberry plants are still producing, we've loved using the microplaner, and the white gingerbread on this morning's menu was a big hit in the dining room.

From the guest book: "Blue Hill makes me weep with its beauty." "We arrived on a very rainy day, exhausted & weary, & this lovely B&B made us whole. The elegance, the exquisite cuisine & the absolutely delightful staff made this a memorable & restful time." "The atmosphere is enchanting, the service top-notch and the food delightful!" (The last comment was left by kayakers who arrived dripping from rain. I love that even a bit of gray weather can't stop visitors from enjoying their stay.)

If you're craving some pampering, come our way.

"Beautiful place, wonderful people!"

2009-07-04T18:12:00.005-04:00

And so ended the story of your innkeeper making a bit of a fool of herself. See, we had someone famous who I just adore come to stay. I managed to be very professional for most of her stay but when I went to tell her how much I really really like her work, I'm certain I came off as a bumbling idiot. It's just that my mother, who passed away in 2000, was always the Queen of Everything and I was the Princess of Quite A Lot. She and I, and my sister, shared a love of Mary's work so I was just tickled to have her here. And she was gracious enough to sign the guest book, "Beautiful place, wonderful people!" My mother would be thrilled. Mary's website is chock full of great gifts and cards and fun things. And this You Tube interview talks about her very sweet books, too.

Garden peas get the credit for my making new friends at the farmer's market today.

I do like to browse every stall at the farmer’s market but I had made a number of purchases and my bag was heavy and I was planning to head back to the car and back to work when I caught a glimpse of carrot tops and sweet peas. Sweet peas--or garden candy--are my absolute favorites. A couple was running the eclectic stall—there were wooden cutting boards (or serving boards because they're really too pretty to cut on), vegetables, cards, jewelry.

I picked up the bag of peas and asked if she had more. No, she answered, she had picked some for them and this was all that was left. “Well, I’d like these please.”

“Pick a carrot as well. It’s a free carrot with every purchase, for nibbling on while you walk around the market.” The carrot, I will tell you, was a fresh-from-the-garden, giant plume of a tail, bundle of delicious orangeness. You likely know me well enough to know I do appreciate an accessory or two, a bit of craziness with an outfit, a scarf tossed over my shoulder. Enter the carrot plume. So I, while enjoying my carrot, browsed a bit more, and so, by browsing and asking Ann Flewelling, as she turned out to be, dozens of questions, I made an amazing discovery. She and Marnie Reed Crowell collaborated on a book, Beads & String, a Maine island pilgrimage, which they published via their press, Threehalf Press, out of Sunset, Maine (home of my favorite spot in the whole world). There's a sample at this link, or come to the inn and borrow the book, or buy it at the Island Heritage Trust site.

Another book to keep an eye out for is Kathryn Ma's All That Work and Still No Boys, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award. I always say that we have the nicest guests--and we do--but we certainly have talented, creative ones as well!

Other notes from the guest book this week: "Great beds & wonderful breakfast!" "Thank you for a wonderful stay. We've enjoyed every minute..." I do have to report on a guest comment from June: A young could wrote, "Great place! The baby picture in 5 is totally creepy." I have to say we do agree with you and finally have retired her to the attic. Perhaps our ongoing historical research will reveal who she is and I can find her a less "creepy" place to hang.

And if you had been here this morning, you would have a strawberry-lemon sorbet (with strawberries from Homewood Farm, just outside of town). And then chocolate currant scones, which were out of this world delicious. Egg dishes this morning included scrambled eggs with Stonington crab meat and sauteed leeks. Mmmm, mmm! If you aren't being served three-course breakfasts where you are, come see us!

This last photo is a snapshot I took when I was showing some friends the granite walled cemetery in Sedgwick. The first gravestone dates to 1835, very near the time the inn was built. Let me know if you're interested in seeing it and I'll let you know where to find it.

Our strawberry patch produced a whole pile of berries today! I hope your July is as delicious.

Our newest accommodation

2009-06-12T19:23:00.004-04:00

Our newest space, the Cape House Studio, is ready for guests. All of our rooms are works in progress--there isn't one I don't have some plan for. The Studio, though, is ready for the 2009 season.

The kitchen/sitting area has a sink, stove, microwave, and small refrigerator. There's a table large enough for a good game of cards plus the chair you see here with a good reading lamp. In the bedroom, you'll find the charming spindle beds, either twins or a king, and matching dresser. The bathroom is a bit beige--perhaps to be remodeled in Winter 09/10? The views toward the back catch the trees in our lower garden. The front faces the gorgeous academy across the street but mostly you see azalea bushes, beautifully in bloom right now. You might wonder why we call it the Cape House Studio. We refer to the whole building, adjacent to the inn, as the Cape House. This is the Studio because it has artwork, paintings by my aunt, Ky Wilson, and great grandmother, Arline Wilson, in the bedroom, and photographs by Terrill Lester in the kitchen/sitting area. You'll find an easel in the closet and watercolor pads and paints and books on the shelf. Mention the starving artist discount and we'll take 10% off your Studio stay. Please forgive these snapshots. I used my iPhone, wanting to show you as soon as possible.

We've been seeing old friends come through already this spring. I love the Morrises--they notice and appreciate every single change and are very complimentary about the food here, pushing us to do a cookbook--someday. Pat and Pam from Connecticut came through again. We try hard to spoil everyone but they are always leaving presents for us. You should see the whoopie pies! This doesn't show how adorably they are wrapped, or were wrapped...

From the guest book this week: "Hooray for your excellent bacon." I have to agree. We still get it from Smith's Smokehouse. Tomorrow I'll pick our order up at the farmer's market, while I chat with Dan from Gravelwood Farm about the eggs his chickens have been laying for us and say hello to Dan from the Flower Farm and get one of Jill's sticky buns. She's from Millbrook Bakery, where we got lots of our toasting breads. The farmer's market is great--came through on a Saturday and we'll give you directions. It's not far from the inn. Breakfasts have gotten good reviews from the guest book, too, and it's no wonder with Matt and Jeff whipping up gingerbread with a fresh lemon glace, chocolate scones, Belgian waffles with sauteed apples, omelets with the yummiest fillings. For today's afternoon treat, Jeff made graham crackers--my first homemade graham cracker ever. I'd be happy to share the recipe--once I get it, of course. These are crisp childhood memories, like the graham crackers you remember only so much better.

I hope your June has been as delicious!

Spring Bounty

2009-06-05T18:22:00.004-04:00

Dan, from Dan's Flower Farm, brought in his first bouquet of the season. They truly are so beautiful you could cry. My photographs do not do them justice in the least but I had to show you.

On the menu for hors d'oeuvres tonight? A blueberry sage baked brie, a recipe adapted from one in Brooke Dojny's cookbook, Dishing Up Maine. Lest you think I only cook out of one book, let me tell you about the Maine Mapmaker's Kitchen, newly out. Jane Crosen--of the incredible hand drawn maps of this area--together with Richard Washburn, her husband, has created a Downeast cookbook celebrating creative, healthy recipes "for home, camp, and a float."

It took reading a review of Becky's in Portland in the latest issue of Maine Boats, Homes, and Harbors to articulate something I have always felt. "Grilled crab and cheese! Try that and you'll never waste your money on a lobster roll again," wrote Peter Spectre. My first crab and swiss came from the Fisherman's Friend, when it used to be across from the elementary school, when the school was still in Stonington, say 1988. You can still get one at the Friend. Mmmm mmmm.
I hope your spring has been as beautiful and delicious and bountiful. If it hasn't, come see us.

Lupine! And Belted Galloway Cows

2009-06-01T19:26:00.002-04:00

Just as the lilacs bloom in time for the inn's open house, the lupine come along right in time for their very own festival. Deer Isle's Lupine Fest, June 19-21, truly does have something for everyone, and it's all a short drive from Blue Hill.

Recipes, mattress information, recommendations for a tasty lunch--we've been offering it all to guests. "The most charming inn on all five continents, with the most friendly welcome," wrote one guest in our book. It must be Matt's breakfasts that send them into such compliments. He tried a new sauce, blueberry rhubarb, with the waffles. Mmmmm. It's heaven to have rhubarb, chives, mint, sage... right in our garden. Our strawberry plants are coming along well.

Blue Hill Mountain beckons... You can hike right from the inn. We even have backpacks to loan you. This image isn't even from the top but from one of the "catch your breath, catch the view" stops I encourage people to take on their way up. An old homestead at the base of the mountain left its footprint in day lilies and lily-of-the-valley. The apple tree was probably in the dooryard.

Do you know about Aldermere Farm in Rockport? (Thanks to a guest, I now know about it.) The 136-acre farm is one of the world’s premier breeders of Belted Galloway cattle (you know, the Oreo cows) and it's owned and managed by Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a statewide land conservation organization dedicated to protecting the working landscapes of the Maine coast, among other things. The Trust maintains Aldermere as a working farm and educational center, helping visitors deepen their appreciation for land conservation and sustainable agriculture.

I hope you're getting your share of strawberries, and Nervous Nellie's jam filled tea cookies, and Carrabassett free trade coffee. If not, come on along--we've got some for you. Here's to a beautiful June.

Spring in Blue Hill

2009-05-22T20:11:00.004-04:00

It has been such a lovely spring--I can't believe you aren't here. A few lobster boats fish out of the boat landing just a block and a half from the inn. It's a tidal boat launch so you will only find the lobstermen there at high tide. We have tide charts available for guests, thanks to Melone Madix-Jackson of Slaven Realty. This photo of the Brady Caleb is from an early morning walk--can you see why I sometimes have to resist dashing through the halls at the inn, shouting, "Wake up! Wake up! It's a beautiful day"?! One nice advantage to the inn being just up from the water--we don't awake to the diesel engines roaring out to sea before dawn.

The lilacs beside the kitchen door are heavenly and the apple blossoms came out just in time for our guest Meredith's wedding. Much of her party were staying here as well. I was so proud of the inn's garden looking so marvelous, just in time.

We've spruced up the inside of the inn, too, and thrown open the doors just this past weekend. The sun has been streaming in the breakfast room windows.

A guest asked for the recipe for Matt's carrot cake cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting (our first afternoon treat offering). Let me know if you'd like me to send you a copy, too. They work well as muffins without the frosting... Or as muffins with the frosting. Who says a muffin can't be frosted?! We often make mini muffins. I figure, if you like it, you can have another (or two, or three). If you don't care for it, there's very little waste. This is a photo of Matt, working on hors d'oeuvres we served at our open house. We also served Maine shrimp ceviche from the Blue Hill Co-op at the open house. I had their scallop ceviche recently. Both are amazing and just another example of how lucky we are in this gorgeous town--we get great food, too.

There is so much to tell you! Jill Smith, from Millbrook Bakery, is becoming an ice cream lady! She'll be scooping right downtown Blue Hill, near the Chamber of Commerce, across from the post office (where I go every single day. It's a very good thing the inn has a lot of stairs to climb and grass to mow). She'll be opening this very weekend.

Elvers may not show up on our menu but they do get flown to o la la restaurants like the French Laundry and Four Seasons. Folks around here have been fishing for these little eels for generations.

"Had an absolutely wonderful time" wrote some guests, former innkeepers themselves, as they checked out. They were heading through Belfast on the way home, hitting the fun stores and Chase's Daily.

You know we only have the nicest guests here--this week it's been Meredith the bride, Fischer the groom, and all their friends and family. And, John and Vera, guests from last year, called to check in. They wrote a lovely review of their stay on TripAdvisor--very thoughtful! We really appreciate the compliments and kind words. Thank you thank you!

The season blooms this month!

2009-05-05T21:07:00.003-04:00

May finds us deep cleaning the inn and preparing to open the newly-painted red doors to another season. Our Cape House accommodations, the Suite and the Studio, are available year-round but from May to November, the inn's 11 rooms welcome guests.

I have another book to tell you about! I think it must be in the water here--Blue Hill is chock-a-block full of talented folks. Marjorie Kernan might look familiar to you as she is often in her antique store right down the street from the inn (it's the one with the incredible French items). Her novel, the Ballad of West Tenth Street, is all New Yorky, though, and just a great read. In a small town, everything is connected--Marjorie's partner Andre Strong, an amazing cook, used to prepare dinners at the inn.

I'm often suggesting guests stroll through the cemeteries in town. We have the Seaside, which is... on the water, and we have the Early Settlers Cemetery, which is full of... early settlers, and we have the Mountain View, which... ! The photo above is from earlier this spring, at Seaside.

We're still sad about the Oakland House closing--and still worried about the lack of lodging to be found in this area. Please, please, if you know you're coming and will want to stay here, call ahead! We are already sold out for a number of weekends. I hate to say no but we can't make more rooms the way El El Frijoles sometimes has to make more food (I went out there tonight to celebrate Cinco de Mayo only to discover the early worm gets the special chocolate menu. Latecomers didn't leave hungry, though. I had a great quesadilla. With their salsas--the corn and the mango are my favorites--I didn't miss the mole sauce at all).

Another sadness is that the Wescott Forge has closed its doors. We really would be devastated but Cleonice, a favorite restaurant in Ellsworth, has a plan up its sleeve. I believe it will be called Table. More details to come.

I love a silent auction and recently won 15 pounds of lobster at the local elementary school. I bid over Bob Stephens, boat designer extraordinaire, so felt it was only fair to share the goods with him and his family. He did the cooking honors. Lobster is just soooo delicious. And this was for a good cause.

Maine Built Boats has produced a great video about... Maine built boats. You really have to watch it--beautiful boats and great scenery.

I hope you're planning your summer vacations, packing the binoculars and the bike helmets, the beach books and the car snacks. We're getting ready for you.

March has been amazing

2009-03-09T13:51:00.010-04:00

Check out the April issue of Town and Country Magazine! It's their special travel issue and I am thrilled that the inn is included in an article beginning on page 73.

Looking ahead to May, the Wings, Waves, and Woods Festival, May 15-17, has even more great activities this year. You can go on boat trips, join master birders in a variety of locations, and even learn about making bird sculptures from Peter Beerits (most known at the inn for Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies).

I bought a field guide, Birds of Maine, from Blue Hill Books, to loan out to guests. While I was there, I bought Bobo and the New Neighbor, by Gail Page, and Underwear--What We Wear Under There, written by Ruth Freeman Swain, both local authors.

I am so lucky to be living in a place that feeds all this creativity. I recently attended A Terrible Beauty, a collaboration between Paul Sullivan, pictured here, and Peter Behrens. As Peter explained, "This project began in January when Paul phoned me and said, 'Let's do a show about Ireland and the Great Hunger!'... We both live in Brooklin. It was snowing. Planning a show for the first day of spring felt like a hopeful, even defiant, gesture." Paul created and played music to accompany Peter's novel, the Law of Dreams. Scenes were read by Amy Grant, of Peninsula Metamorphic, and Rosie Upton, a 13-year-old with an amazing voice, sang. The packed audience left so fulfilled. The very next day the Blue Hill Concert Association's final winter show featured America's Dream Chamber Artists. Ahh. I also had a friend read a bit of E.B. White's Here is New York aloud to me. I've decided that in April, that cruel cruel month, I will challenge myself to find live music or spoken words to listen to every single day. What a treat to have people play and read and recite.

I received a lovely note from guests who recently stayed in the Cape House Suite: "Most comfortable bed in recent memory." They liked the area, Deer Isle and Castine in particular. Even this time of year, when the snow piles can look a bit tired... It's maple syrup time and many restaurants, including Lily's Cafe, celebrate this weekend.
A little something sweet as spring comes along. Enjoy the season!

Happy February to you

2009-02-18T15:27:00.007-05:00

Guests often wonder what innkeepers do during the quiet season. You know I read a lot. I pretend to watch a lot of movies but somehow that doesn't happen often enough. Innkeepers generally travel, update the inn, and socialize, or at least that's what I've been up to.

I got away for a weekend recently to Claybrook Mountain Lodge in North New Portland, Maine. Imagine crosscountry skiing or snowshoeing over deer tracks every day. Imagine getting to see a herd of nine, ten, eleven white tailed deer coming to feed right outside the lodge's window. Imagine finding a pile of moose poop! Our host, Greg Drummond, is an amazing outdoorsman with a perspective I found poignant and wise. Between the wildlife, the scenery, the delicious meals, the fresh air and exercise, and the good company--to say nothing of no computer or cell phone access!--I returned to Blue Hill well rested.

For Valentine's Day, I joined Noel Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul, and Mary, in giving a valentine to the ocean. He gave a concert to benefit the Marine Environmental Research Institute (located right here in Blue Hill). He sang one love song in particular to his wife of many years, Betty, which had us all swooning.

This month also saw me celebrating International Eat Pie for Breakfast Day (the second Saturday in February). In spite of visions of pecan pie, my favorite, a lack of planning left me honoring the day with a slice of pizza pie, pepperoni, from the Eggemoggin Country Store. And then, still in the mood, I had two slices at Finelli's later in the week. They have a bianca, with spinach and ricotta, that is my favorite slice of all time. Now if only I can get that pecan pie...

February also brought new technology to this innkeeper. I'm now often answering your calls and emails on my new iPhone. And, confession time, I am right this minute flying to Baton Rouge to visit my sister and her family. With an on-plane internet connection, I can update my blog and fly.

If you are thinking of coming to this area and don't have your reservations yet, please call soon. I am very sad to report that the Oakland House, a wonderful inn and resort, family run for generations, won't be open this year. In the last few years, this area has lost many guestrooms, leaving a shortage, especially during holiday weekends or when large events are being held.

I'll be updating our calendar of events for 2009 soon but there's always something going on (Wings, Waves, and Woods festival is May 15-17, World Ocean Day is June 8, and the Lupine Festival is June 19-21).

Happy February!

Mid-Winter Reading

2009-01-27T21:03:00.008-05:00

In the last few weeks, I've been in Western Massachusetts, New York, and Blue Hill. I can authoritatively say, it's coldest here and those of us in Maine can talk about the weather lots longer than those other folks! We've had amazingly cold nights but days filled with sunshine. I finally got out on my snowshoes and will not be annoying about it as I try to get everyone else out on theirs. This lovely scene is just over a mile from the inn.

If it's that cold outside, you know it's time to be reading inside. I adored Ellen Booraem's The Unnameables.She is just such a delightful writer, as you will see in her piece about her messy desk. Kirkus Reviews says, "Booraem's debut is an ever-surprising, genre-defying page-turner." I just sent it home with Matthew, 11, Lorna, 13, and Paige, the mom, and I suspect they will all love it.

As always, Blue Hill Books will have autographed copies of it for you. While I was in there checking out the latest in the Maine section, I came across Days in the Life of a Fisherman's Wife, by Rusty Warren, and More than Petticoats: Remarkable Maine Women, by Kate Kennedy. Remarkable Women has great photographs and description of hard Maine living that leaves me very happy to be getting through the winter with all the various heat sources we have, including heated seats in our cars. Also on my docket is Notes from an Innkeeper's Journal. Has the book everyone keeps telling me to write already been done? I'll let you know.

Although the book pile is plenty deep enough to keep me busy, I do like to keep up with the Sunday papers. In the Globe recently was a column that answered an old, old question for me. "Make a Joyful Noise," written my Sam Allis, suggests "classical audience should loosen up and applaud at will." I came to classical music late in life, having grown up on an unhealthy diet of 70s and 80s rock and roll, Barry Manilow and Ricky Nelson, and, during those most formative years, mariachi music and folk songs played on the accordion. Allis suggests going with our instinct to clap at the end of a movement, rather than staidly waiting until the very end (which neophytes never recognize anyway, and have to wait until others applaud to finally, at long last, get to show their awe).

Although it sometimes feel as though we will never again be able to throw open the windows to the ocean breezes, we have to get out and enjoy the snow now. It really will melt, it always always does.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-07T20:06:00.006-05:00

How has it been so long since I last posted?! Those pesky holidays.

I had to write tonight to tell you about my dinner. My sister lives in Baton Rouge, LA. When she was up for Thanksgiving, she brought me a packet of BBQ shrimp sauce mix from the Louisiana Fish Fry Company. It's shrimp season here in Maine so I was in luck. This year's season is a bit longer than it was last year. PERC, the Penobscot East Resource Center, is working with local fishermen to offer a community supported fishery, where folks can buy a half share or share and receive pounds of shrimp each week. After my scrumptious dinner tonight, I might just have to sign myself up.

We were full up for New Year's Eve and with good reason. Blue Hill's last night celebration is funfunfun. Free live music starts early, around seven, in almost a dozen venues around town, all within easy walking distance of the inn. I started at the Fire House to catch the Brooklin Band, a community band playing holiday favorites (I had to watch them. I had been at the doctor's earlier in the day and the technician who drew my blood said she was in the band. I love a small town!) I danced a bit to the steel drum band and then headed to the Congregational Church to hear Rob and Becky McCall. They are an amazing couple. Rob is the pastor at the church, has a show on our local radio station, WERU, and writes a column for the Weekly Packet, Awanadjo Almanack. His wife Rebecca is an amazing artist (this is one of the books she has illustrated) and clever lyricist.

While I'm reminding you how absolutely lovely Blue Hill is, let me tell you about Stephanie at the post office. I met Stephanie at a rug braiding class I took in the fall of 2007. I have yet to finish a piece the size of a chair mat. Stephanie has made two room sized rugs! Although that was the last time I spoke with her. By now... She also knits which is how I happened to be up to my elbows in a bag full of pairs of socks the other day. I came to the post office for my mail and had to go to the window to collect some glow-in-the-dark items I had ordered for New Year's Eve. Stephanie asked if I liked socks (not too many people can say no to that). She said I could pick a pair from the myriad she had in the bag. In the end I couldn't decide on just one pair so I offered her some glow trinkets and a trade was made.

A friend sent a link to this Maine humor. You know you're from Maine when... That lead me to a very silly song, the Desert of Maine (which is a real place). A friend actually took me to the desert of Maine, in Freeport, off-season, but I can say I was there.

And speaking of friends sending things, so many guests sent cards and photos. Thank you! I love getting to read the newsletters and seeing the family pictures. As you've heard me say, no doubt, my least favorite part of innkeeping is saying goodbye to you after you've spent a lovely time at the inn being interesting and delightful. Come back soon.

I hope your winter is going well. If you want some snow and some solitude, come on up!

Wintery Weather

2008-12-06T21:08:00.005-05:00

December has been pure magic--perfect snowfalls. I had various plans get canceled but I ventured out to the Bay School Winter Faire and bought a fabulous maple cribbage board for the inn. I also got a gallon of their famous apple cider--so delicious. I bought a handful of Stephanie Eletheriou's cards, wonderful collages including a birthday card with a Scrabble board and letters spelling out Happy and Day glued on the front.

Although the musical line up was stupendous, I couldn't tarry as the Holiday House Tour, sponsored by the Brooklin Garden Club, only ran until 4 p.m. I started at Bill Petrie's home. Bill is an antique dealer, with Sedgwick Antiques, and a big help to a girl trying to decorate an inn. This Victorian side chair is now in room 6. I toured other homes with Jill Knowlton, whose husband Paul Sullivan is preparing for Paul Winter's Winter Solstice Concert at New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

The Bagaduce Chorale's winter concert was standing room only. I attended Saturday afternoon and then went directly to the Holt House for a wine tasting fundraiser. One advantage of wine tastings where Maxx from the Blue Hill Wine Shop is holding court--he remembers what he serves so you can just pop into his shop and be reminded the name, in particular, of the lovely muscat he poured last. I highly recommend this event. The setting is gorgeous, the food scrumptious, and the wines tasty. I couldn't linger, though, as I wanted to wish the folks at MERI a merry one so I walked down the street to the MERI office for a lovely holiday party. As you know, Blue Hill is a small town and in the winter months the population is about as small as it gets. It felt a bit as though we were all there, enjoying delightful nibbles, lovely jazz with John Gallagher, and holding starfish on our hands (OK, so I was one of the few people at the touch tank).

Last minute gift idea? Lobsters! You can have Capt. Brendan, a lobsterman out of Cape Elizabeth, provide you with some delicious lobster. Catch a Piece of Maine has all sorts of options, including becoming a partner with a lobsterman and owning the trap! Although I favor a simple steamed lobster--in ocean water--here are some recipes for other tasty preparations. And lobsters--being red--are perfect for Christmas or Valentine's Day...

And with the winter solstice upon us, the days will get longer. It may still be winter but it will be brighter. I promise.

Sunsets and spelt...

2008-11-30T19:04:00.003-05:00

We have had the most beautiful sunsets lately, even if they are coming at the absurd hour of 4:30 p.m.! The view from Caterpillar Hill, here caught by Julie Jo Fehrle, is always spectacular, always. And now there's a sweet trail just below the scenic pull-off and a great gallery at the very top, and even mini golf just down the road. And El El Frijoles is a short drive away.

I love the New York Times on Sundays. When I'm in the city, I love sneaking a peek on Saturday or early Sunday morning. In Blue Hill, I have to wait patiently until the papers arrive around 10:30 a.m. This week's magazine brought a mention of a local bakery, the Tinder Hearth. Tim Semlar and Lydia Moffet and their delicious artisanal spelt-flour breads were mentioned. I suppose the band wasn't mentioned because it was in the food column, The Way We Eat, but that was a tremendous oversight on the part of Heidi Julavits, the Maine-born author. (Read her famous essay, in which she suggests reviewers shouldn't be so mean, here.)

The music of the Living Daylight, a collection of local--and some bread-baking--musicians who play myriad instruments and all to a very danceable beat, is as delicious as any spelt product (Shine on Your Darkness is my fav).

I also have to wonder if Heidi has had the Barncastle's spelt-crusted pizza? Delish as well.
At the inn we have our festive wreathes up, this year made by us in the big kitchen. The Cape House, next door to the inn, now has two spaces for rent year round so we've been able to say yes to more guests. The newest space, the Cape House Studio, has a kitchenette and sitting area, a bedroom with a four-poster king-sized bed and arm chairs, and a full private bath. It's a more modern accommodation than rooms in the inn but is a comfortable combination of antiques and modern conveniences. In the kitchen area, photographs by Terrell Lester adorn the walls, whereas in the bedroom, it's artwork by my aunt, Ky Wilson (daughter of the man who painted the sunflowers and kitchen scene in the breakfast room of the inn).

I hope you're enjoying your sunsets and sunrises, too. It's the perfect time of year to catch them both.

Those incredible candy cookies

2008-11-14T14:52:00.005-05:00

When I took over the inn in July 2007, it came all set up as an inn. In fact, the guests were the previous owners' responsibility in the morning and mine in the afternoon. The inn was "turn key" which means that it came ready to go, equipped with everything needed--beds and towels and cookbooks, like the Silver Palate. One of the author/illustrators, Sheila Lukins, had signed it for the inn in 1995. It is a well worn cookbook. At the inn, we often make the coffeecake on page 321 (it's so decadent! don't be put off by the recipe on the facing page: sauteed chicken livers with blueberry vinegar) peach cake (p. 300), and lemon black-walnut bread (p. 252).

This fall, head o' kitchen Matt had been using the chocolate chip cookie recipe on page 262 as a starting point. The results were amazing. In addition to the pecan mini muffins (recipe included in the October 4, 2008, blog entry), I offered these to visitors to the Foliage Food and Wine Festival. I was very popular!

Here's the basic recipe. Matt likes to add all sorts of extras like white chocolate chips, toffee chips, butterscotch chips...

1/2 pound sweet butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F for giant cookies; for regular cookies heat to 350. Grease a cookie sheet.
2. Cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
3. Sift dry ingredients together and stir in, mixing thoroughly. Add chocolate chips to batter [and any extra delicious bits]. Form cookies [they suggest making giant cookies. I always tell Matt, "Smaller, smaller" so that you can try a small one to see if you like it and so you can always have a guilt-free mid-afternoon treat. We bake lots--there are always more]. If you're making giant cookies, use an ice cream scoop and, with a wet hand, splat the dough into a 5-inch round.
4. Bake on the prepared cookie sheet, on the middle rack, for 15-17 minutes for giant cookies; 8-10 minutes for regular cookies. Remove from oven while centers are slightly soft. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to rack to cool completely.

Bake these and you will be o so popular, too.

The Foliage Food and Wine Festival was a fabulous weekend of deliciousness. From events at the Arborvine, the Wescott Forge, the Barncastle, the Co-op to our collaborative dinner with El El Frijoles and Maxx, from the Blue Hill Wine Shop, to the food and wine extravaganza on the final day, we nibbled and sipped our way through the weekend. Fairwinds Florist even featured a foliage-inspired treasure hunt. If you want to join us next year, plan now. We are sure to book all our rooms and our Friday night dinner event.

I hope your fall is as gorgeous as ours here in Blue Hill. If it isn't, call us up--we have our two Cape House units available all fall.

Guest Column from Matt Jurick, Head of the Kitchen

2008-10-13T11:12:00.005-04:00

As I drove home from work recently, taking the particularly scenic albeit longer route, the realization hit me that autumn is, indeed, here. I've anticipated it, spoke of it, and even planned new menu items in the spirit of it, but the acknowledgement of its arrival came unexpectedly. It's been several years since I last played witness to a New England autumn. Falls in the Midwest, where I've been living, are, to say the least, considerably less sensual.

Autumn, for me, has always come in the form of the calming taste of hot mulled apple cider, the scratchy comfort of a freshly-raked leaf pile, the smoky fragrance of an old wood-burning stove, the melodious wind-chime-like sound of the chilled wind through the trees, and the spectral glow of an arbor-covered country dirt road. True to form, all my senses are tingling once again which tells me it's here.

Fall indoors is just about as pleasurable as fall outdoors. Long-sought opportunities for cozy fireside chats with friends over warm, comfort food are here once again. Refuge from the growingly colder nights under soft down blankets and the familiar dry-heat scent of the furnace, just awakened after a half-year hibernation, is welcomed like an old friend come to call.

The year, no doubt, is coming to a close. With just a few more weeks left, we start looking ahead to next season. One of the blessings and woes of our work here at the Blue Hill Inn is the dear relationship we have with so many of our guests; they come and visit, but soon after depart once again. One compares it to those childhood years of summer camp, where for just one small span of time out of the year old friends come together at a special place, leaving behind the schedules and constraints they find themselves governed by the other 51 weeks of the year, to share in something special and memorable—a much-needed recharging to save ourselves from the inevitable burn-out from monotony.

When you feel you’re in need of a break, when you need that brief recharging, we’ll be waiting with a warm bed, a hot meal, and a glowing smile on our faces at the sight of old friends.

We look forward to seeing you again next summer.

E.B. White at the Blue Hill Inn

2008-09-27T16:05:00.003-04:00

Had you been with us last night, you'd have been in front of the fire in the parlor, nibbling on Ducktrap salmon spread and Smith's Smokehouse chorizo, laughing as guests from Maryland, Connecticut, Florida, and New York were teasing yours truly. I had fun show and tell as I had the 1979 reservation book out. I had been looking up records of guests who were here on their honeymoon. They're on their way back and I wanted to research the previous visit.

As I was looking for their name, I came across E.B. White's name. There is much anecdotal evidence of his having come to the inn many many times--and having sold eggs here, too, at one time, but this is the first I've seen his name on the guest list. He came with family and alone on an almost weekly basis for months. I'll have to research more about his visits and let you know what I find. The book says "Andy White & us, 3" on February 20, when the menu was pea soup, salad, oatmeal bread, baked scallops, baked stuffed potatoes, broccoli and apple crisp with ice cream. The "us" in 1979 would've been the Wakelins, who owned the inn from sometime in 1975/6 until 1983/4. I have a pamphlet from the time of the Wakelins ownership. Rooms were $30 a day for single occupancy during the season. I'm not sure what E. B. White's dinners would have cost. Another pamphlet in our history book says that "complete dinners" in the 1960s were from $1.75-$3.50. A reservation for a dinner party for Ellsworth Building Supply (still in business in town today!) was listed at $5 per person.
It appears that in 1979 rooms were named Captains, Boat, Deck, Fern, and Hamabe (Francis Hamabe was a popular artist who had a studio in Blue Hill beginning in 1950). I'm not sure how the eclectic names were decided upon (or if fern is based on plant or a person) or which room is which. Every time I answer one question about the history of the inn, three more appear!

A guest was asking about a handsome tree outside the breakfast room the other morning. I had to admit I didn't know what it was but said I would find out. Two guests overheard the exchange, saw Forest Trees of Maine at Blue Hill Books and presented it to me--gift wrapped!--that very afternoon. Can you understand why I keep saying I have the nicest guests?

One thing and another lead me to an article by E.B. White's stepson Roger Angell (if you haven't read his work in the New Yorker, or seen his memoir, Let Me Finish, I highly recommend you do).

I best wrap this up and pop the tarts in the oven for hors d'oeuvres tonight. I made blueberry sage ones, with sage from the garden, and sundried tomato ones with chives from the garden. The rain has guests gathered around the puzzle table and enjoying pots of tea along with the chocolate chip cookies Matt made this morning--somehow they'll still be hungry for savory tarts!

TripAdvisor (wow!) and the full recipe

2008-09-21T11:30:00.006-04:00

OK, OK. Here's the recipe for the Nut Butter Crunch I mentioned in the last post. Guests loved it (Nikki, you were so sweet to actually give Cindy the pieces you asked for on her behalf. I'm sometimes more devious myself!).

Nut Butter Crunch
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts (I used toasted almonds)

Melt butter over low heat in medium saucepan. Add sugar and stir until melted. Add water and syrup. Continue cooking over low heat until syrup, dropped in cold water, becomes brittle (320 degrees F). Don't undercook. Remove from heat. Pour onto greased platter. This should be thin. Cool until hardened. Melt chocolate over hot water. Spread on crunch. Sprinkle nuts over top and pat it. Break into pieces. This is quite similar to a Heath bar. You must hide it if you expect it to last at all! Mrs. Laurence Siegel, from the River Road Recipes cookbook.

What the recipe doesn't say is that it takes a good long while to reach 320 degrees and you shouldn't start the recipe when you have guests checking in and other tasks to pay attention to, unless you have kitchen helpers. If you have questions about it (or need me to stir while you do something else), give me a call.

TripAdvisor®
You know only the nicest people stay here. Then, they write the sweetest things in our guest book: "Our stay here was so amazing" L&N, New York; "Sarah (and the entire staff) is first class" S&M, Ohio; "We loved the personal care and all the suggestions you gave us. This is what a B&B should be!" M&G, Florida. And those are just some of the comments from this week.

I use TripAdvisor when I travel but imagine the delight of an innkeeper when she finds sweet comments from guests about her very inn!

P.S., You know guests are reading your blog carefully when... Catherine just arrived and noticed my earrings right off, recognizing them from my Aug. 29th post.

Nut Butter Crunch, or the story of the empty cookie jar

2008-09-20T20:50:00.002-04:00

I had this morning off (which is how I came to be at the farmer's market buying root veggies and Indian lunch). When I came in this afternoon, Maura filled me in on the comings and goings of the guests. Those who were here for Jerry and Gail's daughter's wedding (congratulations, Jill!) were so sad to miss hors d'oeuvres because of wedding festivities, we decided to do two hors d'oeuvres hours. I love wedding guests--whenever I see them all dressed up I think the Blue Hill Inn ought to have a dress code! I love the fancy clothes and in Blue Hill and our mostly rural life, there's so little reason to dress up. As a friend of a friend said, "Maine's a great place to live. You don't have to wear pantyhose--not even to a funeral!"

I noticed, just after starting my shift, that there were only three cookies left on the plate! On a cool fall day, three cookies were not going to last long with a full house. I looked for cookie dough but there was none already made. I didn't think I'd have time to mix some up so I looked for a quick and easy recipe in a cookbook a sweet guest gave me last year, River Road Recipes, "the textbook of Louisiana cuisine." I make glazed pecans, p. 212, almost every week. Tonight I thought I'd try Nut Butter Crunch, p. 213 ("You must hide it if you expect it to last at all!"). The recipe is short: butter, sugar, corn syrup, chocolate, and nuts. The directions were short: melt, add, stir until 320 degrees, spread, harden, break. What the recipe didn't tell me is how long, at low heat, it would take to get to 320 degrees!

I only had two more guests checking in but of course they arrived at about 232 degrees! Dennis and Judy, from Massachusetts, were great sports and found their room on their own. Dennis came back wondering about a key. He willingly stirred while I got the key for room 11 for them. Then, at about 276 degrees, Lynn and Neil from New York were ready to head out to Deer Isle. I really wanted them to see the Settlement Quarry overlook so Lynn willingly stirred while I pulled out the map and the yellow highlighter. Finally, we reached 320 and I poured it out into my greased pans just before serving hors d'oeuvres to the second group of guests.

I just offered the first bits to guests from Colorado and Massachusetts and got rave reviews! Lucky for me, some of it crumbled as I was breaking it. I can't put out Nut Butter Crunch crumbs so I had to try it. Pretty yummy...

Fall and the farmer's market in Blue Hill

2008-09-20T13:54:00.002-04:00

One of the great things about Blue Hill from May to October is our farmer's market. I went two weeks ago to pick up our bacon order from Libby of Smith's Smokehouse. All business, right? It was the samples of the pecan sticky bun that got to me. I decided I could have a second cup of coffee so stopped to get one and got waylaid by the toothpicked samples of the sticky buns. And such a waylaying... I had to get a whole one--so big and sticky they serve them with a fork.

In addition to yummy things to sample, the market includes artists displaying their work. I met Katy Allgeyer, who has a wonderfully eclectic pile of talents--fashion designer, feng shui expert, fine artist. She's been traveling, though she has a studio in Stonington part of the year now, and has incorporated themes about location into her most recent work.
And the jewelry I am so often wearing? The gorgeous sea glass pieces? Made by Tammy who has a booth at the market. She'll even do special orders.

Today I went and got fabulous Indian food for lunch--and they'll be at the Foliage Food and Wine Festival! On Saturday of the festival weekend, the farmer's market will be held at the Blue Hill Congregational Church's parking lot, walking distance from the inn.

If you know Maine at all, you know there isn't a month that isn't fabulous. Soon Jean the amazing handywoman and gardener will be putting in mums and I'll look for the perfect pumpkins for the front stoop. We haven't had a frost yet so our herb garden is still incredible. The sage is so plentiful I could serve my baked brie with blueberries and sage--with a blueberry vinaigrette, of course--every night. We had our first fire in the parlor with hors d'oeuvres last night--fabulous!

Our smallest waterfront park is a mere two blocks from the inn. At high tide, a few lobster boats come in and unload. At low tide, all the water is gone! We warn kayakers to watch the tide carefully. It's no fun at all to pull a boat through the mud.

We are so excited about the fall. Between the fall harvesting, our festival, oatmeal and mulled cider on the menu, sweater season, the smell of woodsmoke, what's not to love?

I hope your September is fabulous, too, wherever you are.

Summer's winding down

2008-08-29T22:34:00.003-04:00

And the fair is over for another year. I went Thursday night and got my fill. I ate great French fries with vinegar, Italian sausage with peppers and onions, and a funnel cake. I got a big bag of cotton candy, which came home with me. The biggest surprise for me was the alpacas. I lump them together with llamas in my mind but alpacas make the most horrible noises!

I also have show-and-tell about the bracelets I just bought. They are Donna D'Aquino's work. Aren't they fabulous? I've barely taken them off since I bought them at the Turtle Gallery. I also just discovered Blossom Studio. I do love the beach glass looking earrings. I bought frosted blue ones and wore them immediately. I wanted to see Elizabeth Sawyer's work, up at a gallery next door but the sign said, "Gone sailing" so I have to go back.

We are well into September, which means the traffic is lighter, the days are a bit cooler and the conversation circles around where you can see the best foliage and when the peak season will be. Maine's Official Fall Foliage Website is fabulous! This area traditionally peaks between October 8 and October 21. We have already seen the odd limb here and there. I haven't had that afternoon yet where it's a full on sunny day but not hot and the breeze has a fall football feel to it. School's have started and George Stevens Academy, that gorgeous white building across the street, has welcomed 28 international students this year.
I snuck away from the inn and had lunch at the Cockatoo with some old friends. As I tell guests, it has the prettiest dining room view of any restaurant in the area. (The Maritime Cafe, in Stonington, has a pretty great view, as does the Lookout but the Cockatoo, adjacent to property owned by the Nature Conservancy, is my favorite.) I got out to the Lookout finally, too. I have to admit, I don't love mussels. I do always try them, though, and at the Lookout, they were incredible!
I had lobster cakes and a great soup, too. Everything--from the bread basket to the bottle of wine we selected to the coffee crème brûlée--I can't believe I waited until the end to tell you about dessert! I love crème brûlée but this was beyond any I've had--so creamy, so delicate crispy, and so smoothly coffee flavored. I wonder if I can get it to go... I've tried to figure out how to serve crème brûlée at the inn but since we only serve breakfast and crème brûlée would make a messy pillow chocolate, I think I have to keep dining out. Aw, shucks, right?

If you're planning to come to our amazing Foliage, Food and Wine Festival in October, call immediately! We got mentioned on CNN Friday and have been fielding oddles of inquiries. Did I tell you we're collaborating with El El Frijoles? They do amazing dinner clubs in the quiet season and Michelle is an amazing cook. We all adore Maxx at the Wine Shop and he'll be pairing wines for us. Have you met him yet? He's just brilliant about the grape. We all need friends like that.

So I've gone on too long and didn't get to mention the latest crop of amazing guests--I continue to struggle with my Italian (OK, struggle is generous. I don't speak Italian. Some day I will.) as the write up in gli itinerari di DOVE has made us a popular stop for traveling Italians (seriously, how long do I have to spend in Italy in order to get some of their style? Really, do you think I could? Pick up style like picking up a language?). Just America travel agency continues to send us Brits with great senses of humor. And September is always Georgia month as southerns escape the heat. But please, if you already know you're coming, whether this year or next, call and reserve your room. Between weddings and reunions and special events, we're already holding lots of rooms and I want you to have the room you want the nights you want.

I have to resist having a second strawberry muffin. Two are left from breakfast this morning but Assistant Innkeeper Maura, who will be on soon, and Venice, one of the housekeepers who keeps this place spotless, haven't tried this new recipe of Matt's. Resist, Sarah, resist!

Update: I then remembered Maura doesn't eat flour things. I saved the bigger of the two for Venice. Well, at least I haven't eaten it yet! They are sooooo good.

Final update: Venice came and got it. Whew!

How is it late August already?!?

2008-08-25T20:54:00.010-04:00

Summer is flying by in a whirlwind of boat rides, art, and the best guests ever.

You should plan to be here on August 21 next year. Our garden party has become an annual event because it's just too delicious not to have it each year.

The theme--polka dots! Matt, head-of-kitchen extraordinaire, made the magical cake. All of the staff pitched in to make a great party and the weather held and the moon came up and there were stars, in my eyes and in the sky. The inn's orchard is a great place for a party. We have a fire bowl for some extra heat and light (and s'mores), plenty of seating, and even a Twister board to set up. We've wired speakers and hung lights. It's idyllic! You could plan your party here---a small wedding, a cocktail party, a special event, a family reunion...

Yesterday, Jetsun Penkalski had an art opening at the Turtle Gallery in Deer Isle. We already love Jetsun because he works at Blue Hill Books and doesn't mock your selection, ever, but now we love him because he's an amazing artist, too. Above is Shadows in the Forest #4, oil on canvas, a painting from this year. Below is Golden Pool. I especially like the Turtle Gallery because Elena has a broad range of art--glass, paintings, sculpture, jewelry. I managed to escape yesterday with just two bracelets, but the images aren't on the website so you'll have to visit me or the gallery to see them.

I have gotten a good share of boatrides in, in case you were wondering why I haven't been blogging more. I had cocktails aboard Anna, who happened to be built at my favorite boatyard in Brooklin. I've been in a rowboat or two, I was on a kayak on Toddy Pond, and I was taken out mackerel fishing and swimming on a lovely Boston Whaler. Tina, who works at WoodenBoat publications, captains the Whaler and brought lemon, a baggie, a fillet knife, and cocktail sauce. We had ceviche on the beach! I had also brought some smoked salmon and cheddar cheese from the farmer's market so we had quite a picnic. This is my sort of August.

Guests have gone on boatrides, too, with all my favorites--Capt. Bill, Karen, the MERI eco-cruises, Beth and Peter, and Capt. Lee.

Capt. Carey and his crew stayed here to race his Atlantic at the nationals at the Kollegewidgwok Yacht Club in Blue Hill. Julie Jo Ferhle watched from aboard Anna and took this picture. That's Blue Hill in August.

My latest favorite thing? The homemade pickles at the Birdwatcher's Cafe. It's new, right down by the water not two blocks from the inn, and sweet as all get out. I took a friend there for a birthday lunch and fell in love with the pickles. We had a BLT and a chicken salad sandwich and shared. Both were yummy but a BLT is especially decadent.

I hope your August has been summery and decadent, too. Are you ready for the fair? Labor Day Weekend is always fairtime around here. Did you know that the Blue Hill Fair was fodder for Charlotte's Web? I just found out from a previous innkeeper that E.B. White actually sold eggs to the inn for awhile!

A Day Trip to Deer Isle

2008-08-09T06:57:00.007-04:00

August is getting away from me! So much has been happening at the inn and in the area. Matt and Don have been making the best breakfasts. My current favorite is the Cinnamon Raisin French Toast, made with bread from Jill Smith at Millbrook Bakery. Luckily it's not on the menu every morning! (Jill has a booth at the farmer's market on Saturdays. Beware the pecan sticky buns!) Here's a picture of Matt in the kitchen at the inn in the early hours, preparing fruit plates.

In the meantime, guests are so enjoying the Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies that we serve with breakfast and with hors d'oeuvres, I had to make a quick trip to Deer Isle to replenish stocks. I took Julie Jo Fehrle with me because, although she has lived in Blue Hill forever, she hadn't seen the wonders of Peter Beerits sculpture or gotten to sample one of the seventeen flavors Nervous Nellie offers. Lucky for me, I can hand the camera to her. Any trip to Deer Isle and Stonington ought to include a visit to Jill Hoy's gallery. Her work is in a big barn just up the hill from the harbor in Stonington.
A minute ago we were celebrating early spring and now the gardens have that August feel to them.

For lunch, a great option is El El Frijoles, a fabulous Mexican restaurant and art gallery just waiting to transport you to Mexico. Michael and his crew do an amazing job with favorites like fish tacos and empanadas. You must try the corn salsa! In the winter they put on supper clubs, often giving a Mexican twist to another nationality. You have to be on the secret guest list or you'll never get in. Go here to get on.

We had another couple get engaged!!! We had been brought in on the secret with the question, "If the weather isn't good for watching the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain, where would be another great place to propose?" Luckily, the weather held, Debbie said yes and you can see their glow from across the peninsula. Poor Debbie was asking, "What kind of vacation is this? We have to get up how early?" but she agreed it was all worth it.

Another sweet story from the inn involves Brian, who must be up for the best son ever award. He called to say his parents were coming to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. He wanted to help make their stay special. Dan of Dan's Flower Farm brought in a gorgeous bouquet and Brian ordered a fun box full of memorabilia. The couple's room looked great and Brian did a great job keeping the surprise. They were tickled.

The Blue Hill Fair is coming right up over Labor Day and we're starting to hammer out the details for our big wine festival in October. If you haven't done something really summery yet--like walking barefoot in the soft grass--get on it!

Breakfast is included

2008-07-24T14:15:00.003-04:00

and so are afternoon treats and our evening hors d'oeuvres, and the pillow chocolates, and the bottled water we send with you on your hike, and the fruity iced tea we serve you when you arrive, and the coffee we offer morning, noon, and night. So don't worry about extras being added to your bill (other than the wine or drinks, as per our liquor license, but we have some nice choices to offer you, with reasonable price tags).

But let me tell you about the breakfasts. They're served in our sunny breakfast room (OK, I can't guarantee it will always be sunny. But on foggy days--and in a seaside village, we get fog sometimes--we light the candles). This photo shows two paintings of my grandfather's. Thanks to my mother and Aunt Sal, I get to have them welcoming you to the dining room.

We begin breakfast with a fruit course, fresh and local when we can, and juices, followed by our bread course. My three favorites are the apple tarts, the pecan mini muffins, and my own pecan coffee cake. You'll have to decide among our entrée options. (I took a friend to a B&B once--a tall, big guy who happened to be a vegetarian. We were served sausage and a very sweet French toast concoction. He was miserable.) The Blue Hill Inn always has choices for you--the blueberry pancake recipe has been served at the inn for decades and many many guests have told me they are the best they've ever had! We offer waffles some mornings with a fruit sauce or a special syrup or French toast with a raisin bread--my favorite so far this year. It's bread from Millbrook Bakery, in nearby Sedgwick.

And eggs! Ruth is our egg lady. She drops by every Thursday and brings her gorgeous eggs into the kitchen. Her chickens must be sunshiny happy--their yolks are bright and beautiful. We'll make omelettes with yummy fillings or scramble them with cheeses or poach them with local organic tomatoes. This morning, Head-of-the-Kitchen Matt added local organic scallions, too, that added purple and green to the red and yellow. Add an orange nasturtium from the garden and it was art on a plate. Why didn't I take a picture to show you?!

We offer toast from breads Kathy at Blue Hill Hearth makes for us. And don't forget bacon from Smith's Smokehouse or the organic chicken sausage from Island Acres Farm. Don't worry--you can hike Blue Hill Mountain, walk out to the Seaside Cemetery, or go for a swim. You'll be hungry for a cookie later.

"I fell asleep in the hammock"

2008-07-22T16:33:00.002-04:00

We have a portfolio of techniques to help you relax: our fruity iced teas we deliver to your room or to the garden or to the library, the wingback chairs with reading lamps, the waterfront park two blocks from the inn, our heavenly mattresses, pressed luxurious sheets, fluffy duvets, and pile of pillows; afternoon snacktime (not unlike kindergarten, though you don't have to nap on the floor), the day spa two blocks away that has two practitioners, one for you and one for your partner who also needs to relax--or both for you! We can send you off to the salt water, to swim or boat or just sit with the salt breeze in your hair. We have bubbly and bourbon and bonbons. We'll print you out driving directions, wherever it is you're heading, we'll help you with the GPS, we'll carry your bags up and get them situated on the luggage stands for you. It would be silly to call it "the very relaxing, wonderfully calming, deeply satisfying Blue Hill Inn" but we could.

I realized I hadn't shown you the red doors yet. I've been making small changes throughout the inn as I settle in (one year on July 17th!). I can't tell you how many guests have asked me to take their pictures in front of the new doors.
I'm always adding more books to the library, including three very Mainey books this week alone: Linda Greenlaw's latest, Fisherman's Bend, Blueberries for Sal (not sure why I hadn't had a copy of that one) and Yellow Boatie (which I first read this winter but now have two signed copies--one for the Cape House and one for the library). Helen Sylvester, the author of Yellow Boatie, had a book signing at the Lobster Crate, the marvelous giftshop and seafood shop on the road to Brooklin. I could pick up books and lobster for breakfast at the same time! I'm not usually on the schedule to cook breakfasts--I'm on in the afternoon making cookies and in the evening making hors d'oeuvres--but I filled in the other day and got to make the pecan coffee cake from the Silver Palate cookbook. Mmm, mmm. I hope your July is going as deliciously as ours.

Perry's Lobster Shack

2008-07-17T06:49:00.007-04:00

Now you know I sacrifice a lot for the good of the guests. Last night, I had to go to Perry's Lobster Shack in Surry, down Newbury Neck Road. I could hardly continue to recommend it to guests without trying it myself, could I? I know I gush too much but... The sun setting, the almost full moon rising, the breeze mostly keeping the bugs at bay (and I was with Don, the inn's photographer and sometimes breakfast cook, who is apparently sweeter than I am. He got the bug bites. Remember this when dining al fresco with friends!). It's BYOB, and I brought a bottle of bubbles, Jules Bertier, a blanc de blanc we've been serving at the inn to great response. I've always been opposed to drinking out of paper cups so send guests to Perry's armed with the proper stemware. Don, his family, and I had pretty much what Perry offers--fresh lobster, mussels, and corn on the cob. So, so heavenly. Perry himself is a delight. Try to resist asking him the obvious questions--here's the answers to help you: he and his wife have been doing it for about ten years, yes, they do live in the little building all summer long, yes, he is here seven days a week, no, he doesn't advertise much (he doesn't want people to have to wait too long for one of the three picnic tables on his pier), no, he doesn't make the ice cream sandwiches but he buys then from a farm which makes the ice cream from milk from their cows, the corn is only local during the season but he can tell you where it's from (and it was soooooo good. Next time, I'm going to be piggy and order two or three or four ears). The moonrise photo was the view from our table!

We've just made it easier for you to have a game of tennis at the courts right across the street. We now have a supply of great rackets and balls for you to use. The courts are public, first-come, first-serve (I am ridiculously amused by puns). And, just like climbing Blue Hill Mountain--exercise means you can have a bigger lobster at Perry's and more dessert or an extra afternoon treat at the inn. Treats at the inn the other day were chocolate chocolate chip cookies, yesterday a plum cake, today? Who knows--something delightful, for sure. If you were here, you would know.

Speaking of being here, it breaks my heart when you call for reservations and we have no room for you, especially returning guests. I always wish I could just make another room, like we make another plate of canapes during hors d'oeuvres when we need to. The fall is a great time to visit Maine and we do still have rooms for the Foliage, Food and Wine Festival, October 16-19, always a magical weekend of great wines and food and fall walks and the smell of woodsmoke from the fireplace in the parlor.

And, happy anniversary to me and the inn! Today marks one year since I took the title, Sarah Pebworth, innkeeper at the Blue Hill Inn. Thank you for a fabulous, wondrous year!