The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

Hi everyone!

As I start preparing the last dinner of the season, it is raining heavily and very windy outside.  Our guests are safe and warm inside their warm and cozy rooms watching movies and college football.  The last load of laundry is folded for the day.  The gas fireplace is warming the dining room.

I baked today.  I wanted one last hurrah in that glorious kitchen before we close it down for 2018.  I made pumpkin bread, cinnamon rolls, granola and garlic rolls.  It smelled so good, it smelled like home.  Those aromas draw people in don't they?  People come into the kitchen to see what we are cooking and we welcome it!  This kitchen is the heart of this home we all call Log Cabin.  We have guests who clear their own tables and bring their dishes in, we have guests who come in to chat after breakfast, we have local friends who come in for coffee on the weekends and catch up on our busy lives.

The kitchen is where our staff spends the most time together sharing happiness and heartbreak, laughter and tears.  It is where we plan our meals and allow our culinary creativity to shine.  It is where we watch the beautiful sunsets you all see from your decks or the dining room.  Many times this summer, this kitchen was filled with warm golden light of a sunset even prettier than the one the night before.  Today it is where I sit filled with gratitude and content for my first season is in the books, 2018 was a great year wasn't it?

Tomorrow is my first "last day".  I'm told it will be all hands on deck, lots of work but fun too!  Aimee will organize us as we check items off of our lengthy task list and then we will stand around that big kitchen island and share pizza together talking about our off-season plans.  When you are spending your holidays with your families in your kitchens, think of us and know that we are thinking of you as well.  See you in 2019!  XOXO, Stephanie

The Key from the Keys

Paulie and Janie have been friends for 15 years.  They have a lot in common.  They both live in Tavernier, FL in the Florida Keys.  They are both officers at their local Elks lodge.  They've worked together on many charitable events throughout the years.  They even play BINGO each week.  One would say they know each other quite well.

During last week's BINGO tournament, they got talking about their vacations.  Janie had recently been to Maine and Paulie was going to Maine with her mother in a few days.  As they got talking a bit more, they realized that they both stayed on Bailey Island!  What a small world! We say that a lot around here as we find so many connections when talking with our guests.  Well, the world got even smaller for these two friends as they revealed that they both stay right here at the Log Cabin!

Janie rummaged through her purse and pulled out her key for the Casco Bay room that she had forgotten to return at checkout three weeks earlier.  When Paulie checked in, guess what she hand delivered to us?  That forgotten key all the way from the Keys!  Turns out they have even more in common then they thought!  

---Have a great day!
Stephanie

Is it September already?

Is it September already?  Wow time flies by!  The summer here has been busy and HOT!  Luckily that nice ocean sea breeze cools us off at the end of each day.  We've reunited with so many of you and caught up on what's been happening in your lives.  We've met some new friends too, many of them referred here by you....someone's friend, mother, daughter, co-worker who just HAD to come see what all the talk was about!  Thank you for that!

The Schooner Alert has been a popular must do this summer.  Bethany and Perry also have Tevake back in the water too.  If you haven't gotten out to sail with them, put it on your list for 2019!  The hiking trails are fantastic in Harpswell and many of you used the new guide published by Harpwell Heritage Land Trust to find some new places to explore.  When we close at the end of October, we are starting a Tuesday hiking group led by Aimee so we can also explore each and every trail before winter hits!

Can we talk about the flowers??  The dahlias are out and oh so beautiful.  They make the dining room so pretty!  I am so impressed with all the work that Victoria, Sue and team put into the flowers here!  I love how happy they make everyone too.  I'm not a gardener but their passion is making me want to learn more about it for sure.  

We hope your summer was fantastic and that you are looking forward to the colors of fall, cool, crisp sleeping weather, football and comfort food!  We are open until the end of October and hope to see many more of you.  If you haven't stayed with us in the fall, give us a call.  All of our rooms are heated, some have gas fireplaces.  We also serve dinner every night so you can cuddle up, read a book, watch a movie and let us take care of you!

All the best,
Stephanie

Full Circle.          

Hello everyone!  This is Stephanie and I'd like to share my Log Cabin story with all of you.  

I’ve spent years as a corporate executive flying all over the world, dining in wonderful restaurants and staying in many hotels and inns.  Like most of you who travel, sometimes you have the pleasure of finding a place whose staff greets you with kindness and humor after a long flight or drive making you feel comfortable and welcome.  Those are few and far between so the good memories stick with you.

With that hectic schedule, it became important for my husband, Jon and I to have some special time together when I was home in Maine.  We found the perfect place in the Log Cabin and soon made it our regular staycation destination to relax and destress even though it was only 30 minutes from our home in Freeport.  Every time we checked in, we were greeted by welcoming staff who became friends over the years.  We grew to crave the instant deep breaths of ocean air, the view, the gorgeous rooms and the “to die for” breakfasts that come with a stay at the Log Cabin.  In fact, I can say, without question, that the Log Cabin was easily my hotel of choice of any that I’ve stayed at anywhere in the world. 

So, at almost 50 and at a point in my life where I am in awe of how small a world it actually is, I often find myself watching things come full circle.  Well that happened to me this year when Aimee called to ask if I was interested in coming onboard as a Log Cabin staff member.  With a break in my career this spring, the timing was perfect!  “Yes!!  I would love to!”, I told Aimee with excitement.

I left the corporate world behind in 2013 and had a few different jobs including an entrepreneur (I had my own Maine Made gift shop, The Wishful Moon, in Freeport) and as an Executive Director of the Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce.  Throughout all that time, I stayed in touch with Sue, Alicia and Aimee always recommending Log Cabin to just about everyone I knew!  (You all know how that goes, wink, wink!) In 2016, Jon and I moved from Freeport to Orr’s Island and officially became part of this island community.  Our special place had become our actual home!  How lucky we felt!  Full circle 😊

So, in April, I came to work.  To the place that brought me such joy, to the place where I was immediately welcomed to the team and shown the ropes.  Victoria, Wendy and CC quickly became new friends.  I learned how much I love to cook and how much the Log Cabin means to all of you.  It has been interesting experiencing it from the other side and all I want to do is to make sure each guest has as much fun and feels as relaxed and happy as I did every time I stayed here.  I can’t say enough good things about Sue, Aimee, Matt and the team.  These are people who truly care about each and every one of you.  They have thought of all the details and it is their dedication to quality, customer care and thoughtfulness that will always make the Log Cabin one of the most amazing destinations you can hope to find.  I am happy every day that I come to work.  (Only part of that is because of the 90 second commute 😉  Part of it is also each one of you who have welcomed me so warmly. 

I am proud to be a part of this family and realize that I always have been and remain so… now just in a slightly different way.  Full circle 😊

XOXO,

Stephanie

A difference a day makes.

 It wasn't that long ago that I was telling you about our move to Massachusetts or Southern New
Hampshire. I think it  was actually the next day that we made a family decision to stay in Maine! We have a house under contract in Freeport and will close in June. I will be working full time as Administrative Assistant at St. John's School in Brunswick, where Terrence goes  and will be present in some form at the Log Cabin. Someone needs to stay and take care of all Sue's plants. Victoria and I are trying to get the outside back in order. Just as the tulips are coming up and I was thinking we were in the clear the deer showed up for dinner. The daffodils and tulips do look pretty no matter how long they may last. The rhubarb is growing pretty good as well as the poppy's. Victoria has cut back the rose bushes so they should be going crazy this summer. I did have Sue order the Dahlia bulbs. That is one thing I look forward to planting. Speaking of planting we have built two new planters on the Sunset and Westview decks. Our new employee Stephanie has been busy organizing the gift shop and we have some new spices for sale that I am quite eager to try.

Tonight is our first No Vacancy night of the season. We are actually full tonight and Sunday night.
You have to Love the State of Maine. Here I am thinking about the rhubarb and dahlia's and Matt and the boys are putting in the last day of skiing at Sugarloaf and Terrence and Jon are at Car Show #1 of the season. Talk about diversity.

I hope everyone has a great week. Nothing says Happy Mother's Day like a gift certificate to the Log Cabin, just saying.

Blessings,

Alicia

We are Open 2018 !

I am sure you have been wondering what in the World has happened at the Log Cabin Inn  and what has happened to the blog. Well what a Winter it has been. Not  counting the many, many snow storms and extremely cold January temperatures lots more has been going on. Lets start with me. We sold our house here in Harpswell in January and decided to relocate to Massachusetts at the end of the school year. As many of you  know my husband works in Boston and the weekly commute was getting old.
I will continue working at the Log Cabin this Spring until mid June. We are renting a house locally. This has been the busiest off season I have ever had. I have been substituting at Terrence's school and I have a client at the Senior home I have been taking care of, along with driving to MA to look at houses. I also spent 5 weeks in a walking cast on my left leg to repair my Achilles so I wouldn't need surgery and luckily it worked. We had endless snow days at school. The District is doing everything they can to get the kids out by June 25th.  Sue also moved from Bailey Island to Orrs Island.

So enough about me.  Matt and Aimee were busy once again this Winter. I only just went in the rooms today. It seems like it was the year of the couch's here. The Harpswell , Mt. Washington, and Westview rooms all have new couch's. The Harpswell room has a new walkway, which I will enjoy since I will not have to weed it. Harpswell also has a new kitchen floor which I am thrilled about as well. Casco Bay, Bluefin and Sunset all have new decks. Westview has a new microwave cart and refrigerator. Many other small things, too many to count. Matt also did a lot of painting in the kitchen and organizing our back laundry room.

Today I spent a few hours in my Winter clothes and hat raking some of the flower beds and starting the clean up. The tulips are coming up ( if the deer do not get them) along with the daffodils, crocus, and rhubarb. Tonight I started prepping some food. The smell of that crab dip made me want to eat the whole thing.

We have the crew coming back from last year. CC, Wendy, Victoria, Aimee, Matt and myself. I want you  to also welcome Stephanie to our group. She lives on Orrs Island and has been a former room guest. She also works at Fiore which is where we get the wonderful olive oil that we give away in the rooms.

I promise I will try and do better with the blog.

Blessings,

Alicia