Wintery Weather

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?!?

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

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

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"

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

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!

Fishermen's Family Fun Day

Have you ever watched a cod fish relay? Ever tried to row a boat blindfolded, depending on the navigations of your sighted sternman? Is your fish face prize-worthy? July in Stonington brings an opportunity to try or watch all of these and more (there's live music, knot tying, and rope splicing, too). July 20 is the 19th annual Fisherman's Family Fun Day. Louie, one of the waitstaff here at the inn, and I tried out our fish faces. Clearly, he wins. Strangely, we couldn't get others to join us.

If you need earlier entertainment, the Lobster Boat races are held July 13. Last year, 88 boats ran in 11 different classes including the lady skipper race, wooden boat race, and work boats under and over 24 feet.

July in the garden

What to do with all the fresh strawberries I can't resist? Daiquiris! So far this week we've had two drink specials to accompany our wine list--mojitos as the mint in the garden is thriving and strawberry daiquiris. The evenings have been so delicious we've been enjoying drinks and hors d'oeuvres in the garden. Last night the steel drum band played in the town park, just two blocks from the inn. Live music, the water in the bay, the moon coming on... I hope your July has been as summery and lovely.


On your way to Blue Hill, you could stop in Yarmouth and meet Eartha, a three-story tall scale model of our planet. Eartha, the world's largest revolving/rotating globe, awaits your visit at the DeLorme company.

Talented Guests

I've always said I have the nicest guests. I also have the most talented. I had the nicest time with guests Carol and Carlton during hors d'oeuvres in the garden the other night but I wasn't able to be here to say goodbye when they checked out this morning. Carol left me the most beautiful card. She makes etchings, but also quilts pieces of her work together in collages. Carlton, meanwhile, is taking photographs and doing interesting things with color. You can get to know them better at their website (or by visiting them in Connecticut before Christmas to pick up a tree).

July!

Barbara, of Gallery 66, loves sheep as much as I do. She also likes cows and one of her compilation works is hanging in the Chamber office in Blue Hill. You wouldn't want to miss going to the gallery proper, though, as other artists have work there, including Margaret Whalen, whose fabulous October Wine, Food and Foliage poster image will adorn the area in the fall.

One of the most beguiling features of the Blue Hill Inn is its in-town location. Guests can enjoy a sparkling blueberry cocktail at the inn during our hors d’oeuvres hour and then walk to a lovely dinner and not worry about having to drive home after a nice bottle of wine.

Kneisel Hall is also within walking distance of the inn but the last little bit is uphill and I wanted to walk there again thinking about our guests to see what they might think. So off I went to the Sunday afternoon program of Beethoven's sonata for cello and piano in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2; Kodaly's duo of violin and cello, Op. 7; and Faure's piano quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45. Jane Coop, one of Canada's leading pianists; Jerry Grossman, principal cellist with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; and violinist Laurie Smukler, professor at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College (SUNY) were among the performers. Magic!

Kneisel Hall, the Bagaduce Lending Library and the Blue Hill Inn are all touted in 1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. and Canada Before You Die.The three institutions are raffling off prizes this summer in celebration. If you'd like to enter and you won't be in town, let me know and I can put your information in the raffle bowl.

Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival can trace its origins to 1902 when Franz Kneisel, founder of the first professional string quartet in America, began bringing students to Maine for summer study. It is the oldest summer chamber music programs in the United States--and walking distance from the inn! Under the artistic direction of pianist Seymour Lipkin, the 2008 season runs through August 24 with concerts every weekend and many musical events during the week.

The lending library, under the current directorship of Susan Theriot, began in 1983. It is one of the world’s largest music libraries. And more music is being added all the time. Their collection includes over 2 million copies of printed scores and sheet music. Visitors can stop by to browse the collection and search for bargains in our sale bins. For the non-musical (such as myself), they have great note cards and sheet music with fabulous illustrations that are frame-worthy.

Louise Bourne stopped by with some postcards of her paintings--I love the feel of this one. Her gallery is a short drive from the inn.

I just found out that the Woodlawn Museum, in Ellsworth, has a croquet lawn!

"Short blog entries are better." But I still have to tell you about the rock and roller who stayed here recently, and about picking berries from our very own strawberry patch (doesn't a very fresh, very local strawberry dipped in dark chocolate and finished with crushed pistachio nuts sound like the perfect pillow chocolate? If you were here tonight, that would be on your pillow!)

Cindy Bullens is the musician. She has a place on North Haven Island, which inspired her to collaborate on a musical, Islands: The Musical. After listening to a snippet of "Jellico Highway," I had to order a CD from her new band, the Refugees. Enjoy!