Friday, October 30, 2009

Quilting comes to Freeport- QuiltPort USA

My dreams have come true! Freeport will be the host of a brand new quilting event scheduled for April 16-18, 2010 (and hopefully in years to come!) QuiltPort USA is the brainchild of the folks at Freeport's Cotton Weeds Quilt Shop, Quiltessentials in Auburn and The Calico Basket in Windham.

Taking a look at the QuiltPort website, I saw some exciting quilters have been invited to lead classes starting bright and early Friday morning. Deb Tucker, Carol McLeod, Alice Koroski and Mary McFarland (Sat only) are your instructors for a fun 2 days of quilting, quilting and more quilting! Susan Pennoyer will be on hand for classes in hand-woven baskets.

This morning I spoke with Joanne at Cotton Weeds to get some more of the inside scoop on what to expect at QuiltPort. Events for the weekend are still in the planning stages, so stay tuned for more details on the QuiltPort website. I did hear that there will be fun handouts at the door for all attendees, so you don't want to miss that.

Take a look at the class list and sign up soon, you don't want to miss a single minute! I'm thinking about attending Deb Tucker's Trunk Show at 7 PM on Friday night.

Classes and free range sewing will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is 3 short blocks from here, an easy walk. Book your room at White Cedar Inn and each member of your party will receive a fat quarter sampler, a full breakfast each morning and afternoon snacks. Room prices range from $120-$165 and many of our rooms have 2 beds, perfect for friends traveling together! Be sure to plan on arriving on Thursday so you can start Friday morning's classes at 9 AM!

Weather-permitting, we hope to have quilts hanging on the front porch for the weekend! (And if I can motivate myself this winter, maybe I'll have some of my own quilts displayed in the dining room!) Gather a group of friends to stay here and have a show and tell in the living room.

Check our quilt shop hop map on the website and plan a shopping trip while you are here!

And a couple of the quilts I made for the grandkids.
baby quilt
baby quilt

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Maine's Shop, Dine and Stay Event

We're getting ready here for Maine's 'Shop, Dine and Stay' Event taking place through November and into December. As anyone who has been here knows, Freeport is all about shopping! (Even though we have hidden treasures in our shoreline and state and local parks!) Well, this coming week, the State of Maine is going to highlight the often forgotten season that happens between foliage and the first really big snowfall.

Coming to Maine in this quieter time is a joy. The weather is still warm(ish) and almost all of the great restaurants in Freeport are still open (the lobster shacks close Columbus Day Weekend, but everyone else is open year round).

We hope you'll decide to come to Maine and enjoy the quieter time. Please check our Shop, Dine and Stay package below!

Welcome to home of outlet shopping in Maine- Freeport! Take advantage of our terrific shopping, dining and overnight lodging package starting November 1, 2009 and going until December 30, 2009.

Included with your package is a 2 night stay in your choice of one of our beautiful, country-charm rooms (fireplace rooms have an additional charge), a $50 White Cedar Inn prepaid VISA card to use at any store in town, a $50 dinner gift card for your choice of restaurant in town (choose among Jameson Tavern, Siano’s Brick Oven Pizza or Azure CafĂ© Italian Sea Grille), a hearty, home-made breakfast each morning and all lodging taxes.

Also included in your package is White Cedar Inn’s ‘Wrapping Paper Party’. Do your shopping around town and return to the inn in the evening to wrap your presents with all of the fixings provided by us! Wrapping paper, tape, name tags, bows and cookies to enjoy while you wrap!

Make it a fun getaway weekend with friends or bring along your spouse and have a romantic weekend away in one of our fireplace rooms ($35/night additional charge).

Don't forget Freeport's Moonlight Shopping starts at 12:01 AM on Friday, November 27!

Book your shopping getaway now!

Mid week rate is $375, weekend rate is $435. Fireplace rooms are an additional $35/night. $50 prepaid VISA card may not be used to pay for your lodging. May not be combined with any other packages. No discounts will be taken.


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Giant's Stairs, Bailey Island, Maine

Giants Stairs Baileys Island Maine
We took a little drive today out to Bailey Island to see if we could find the Giant's Stairs. Thanks to a very nice set of directions from the folks at the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust, we had no trouble at all. There is a short, shore path that loops back around to Washington Ave. This is an easy, 40-45 minute drive from White Cedar Inn. (Rt 1 to Rt 24, basically 2 right turns and 30 miles and you're there!)

If you've walked on the Marginal Way in Ogunquit, this is similar in feel, except it is a smaller and more intimate setting. The houses along Ocean Ave & Washington Ave have that very coastal feel with weathered shingles abounding. You can pick up the trail head at the end of Ocean Ave or just a short way down Washington Ave (after parking at the church). I suggest walking down to the Washington Ave access point as there are trail maps there. We didn't know we could walk farther down the trail to the harbor until we got home and looked at the map I brought home for our trail book, fondly called 'Take a Hike!'

Bre came along, as she often does, so we did not attempt to scale the stairs, as we might have done had she stayed home! (To save the excitement of seeing the stairs for yourselves, we're not posting exact pictures of them, just some surrounding scenery.)

One small step...splash!

This is a very pleasant day trip as you can go all the way to Lands End on the Harpswell Islands Rd, cut across to the Harpswell Neck Rd and/or explore Cundy's Harbor all in the same day. There are beautiful photo ops all along these roads (be sure you pull off at the pull off areas and not in someone's driveway!) I would suggest bringing binoculars along as there are some interesting vistas waaay out. (There's one of those 25 cent viewing stations at Land's End!) Also, there were lots of pelagic birds bobbing around, so bring your birding guide as well.

After our walk on the Giant's Stairs/McIntosh Lot Preserve Trail, we headed to Lands End. There's a neat little gift shop at the end of the Harpswell Islands Rd (Rt 24). They had just about anything you might want and some things you never knew you needed (glass bottles flattened, but with the logos intact, that can be used for serving trays).

Lands End Maine
On our way back, we stopped at the Giant's Stairs Seafood Grille. It's a very unassuming joint but it was almost full when we arrived. In the summer there is outdoor seating as well as inside. We chose inside as it was a bit of a blustery day today. Rock had the clam roll with cole slaw and an iced tea and I had the BLT with onion rings and a chocolate milk. The service was fast & friendly and it was almost entirely locals the whole time we were there.

We pulled in here and there to take pix of different harbors, coves and bays, like this one...Mackerel Cove, where you can see the lobster boats home again at the end of the day.

Mackerel Cove, Maine
Of course, I couldn't forget a shot of the Cribstone Bridge just as you come from Orr's Island to Bailey Island. The bridge is under repair (10/09), so you get a much better view of it when you're driving by on the temporary bridge. This photo was taken from the parking lot at Cook's Lobster House. Cook's is located on a working wharf on Bailey Island (turn right onto Garrison Cove Rd just after the bridge), so a quick hop out to take the photo and back in the car was the plan. Casco Bay Cruises has a cruise out to Bailey Island during the summer.

Cribstone Bridge, Bailey's Island, Maine.
Another day we'll head down to Cundy's Harbor and see the sights there as well. Round trip to The Giant's Stairs, Land's End and Cook's Lobster House was about 60 miles. Side trips to Harpswell Neck & Cundy's Harbor would not add a lot more mileage to the day. You could plan anywhere from 2-4 hours for the whole trip, including lunch or dinner. The foliage was terrific and there was not a mosquito in sight! Lots of homes had beautiful purple asters and pink tree hydrangeas. There was something for the eye to feast on at every turn.

White Cedar Inn Bed and Breakfast 178 Main St Freeport, Maine 04032

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Poetic guests

As some of you know, we keep guest books in each room for everyone to leave comments, places to go, where they had dinner and more. We still chuckle over the Wallace & Gromit fans who drew us pictures and copied out their favorite lines! And there are a few comments we're still trying to translate!

This week it's been poetry in the Winthrop Fogg Room. So, without further ado, the White Cedar Inn guest poets take center stage:

We have no reservations
Against making reservations.
You might say we're not reserved.

And though we're a little old

We're not about to fold.
You might say we're well preserved.

And though we stopped here on a whim
It really was a win.
We have really been well served.

Thanks to Daniel & Nancy!

Well, not to be outdone, our next guests left this little ditty:

For a great place where friends can meet
And enjoy a morning treat
A bed and breakfast can't be beat.
When people ask us why we grin
We'll say we stayed at White Cedar Inn!

Thanks to Bob & Carol!

Of course that sort of thing puts the pressure on the next guest (or so they may think) which leads us to the last entry:

No clever poetry from us- we'll say the poetry is in the beautiful house and kind, thoughtful hosts.

Thanks to Cathy & Ed

It really is fun reading the comments everyone leaves behind! And now, coming up on our 5th year anniversary here, it's getting time to put out new books. We do thank everyone who has left us a comment and we hope the new, blank books don't put anyone off...please do fill them up, too, with all the wonderful adventures you had and great places you saw and food you ate while on vacation in Freeport!

And the room that inspired all the poetry?

bed and breakfast wine

Friday, October 02, 2009

Spinach Quiche- October Recipe of the Month


OK, I've written it down but you'll have to try it on your own to see if you can recreate Rock's recipe for quiche! There's a lot of 'pinch of this,' 'enough of that to taste' and 'you'll know it's right when you see it.' Oy!

Spinach Quiche ala Rock

12" quiche pan, or adapt ingredients to fit whatever pan you have (See? Already it's difficult!)

10 large eggs
1/2 bag frozen spinach, thawed & water squeezed out (bag size approximately 12-16 ozs)
3 oz plain, non fat yogurt
6 ozs (give or take) shredded Mexican-style cheese blend (add more or less to taste)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
Tabasco sauce (to taste)
Half n Half (buy a pint and put the rest in your coffee)
Sargento Taco- seasoned shredded cheese

In a large bowl, mix eggs, spinach, yogurt, Mexican cheese, salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce. Now for the tricky bit...add Half n Half until the mix is the consistency of a thick soup. (This could be 4-8 oz.) Pour into lightly buttered 12" quiche pan. Sprinkle with Taco-seasoned cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until center is cooked but before sides are scorched.

If it's not exactly what you remember when you serve it up at your house, keep in mind you were on vacation, someone else was cooking and you were having a wonderful time! You can always come back and watch Rock in the kitchen!

Mini quiches: you can use the above recipe to make mini quiches. Use your favorite crust recipe or cheat, like I do, and use Pillsbury's roll out dough. With a 2" diameter drinking glass I got 18 mini crusts from one roll out dough (you do need to re-roll the dough to get that many). The recipe above will make about 72 mini quiches. Perfect for a casual get together. We served them cold.