Happy New Year from Bailey Island

As you can see, my lazy labs were not very stressed about the holidays! Hope you all have a safe, happy and healthy holiday season.

Bailey Island Community

This is a very exciting weekend on Bailey Island. Cooks Restaurant had a fundraiser for the Harpswell Heating Program last night, and it was packed! They had carollers, Santa, free snacks, and a silent auction (of course, a night stay at the Log Cabin was donated). There were all sorts of locals there chatting, eating and bidding on the auction. It is the second year Cooks has done this, and hopefully will be a holiday tradition. The sense of community was overwhelming....actually brought me to tears.

Today the Bailey Island store is re-opening after months of being closed. As you can see from the picture, it is busy! A local family has purchased it, and we wish them success! It is strange how much you miss something when it is no longer there.

Speaking of purchasing something, the community has purchased the Post Office so it should stay open for the next 5 years. All of the money has not been raised, but little by little the goal is within reach. For those of you who do not know, the Post Office is right next to the General Store.

Another community event happened on Friday. The Harpswell Nursery school had their Christmas pageant. Of course I attended to see my grandson Josh sing. Well, Josh decided that the crowd was too intimidating, and sat in his Mom's lap instead. Still, watching the other 3 and 4 year olds sing Christmas songs was fun as their families looked on. Josh, however, was not shy when it was time to get in the lunch line! He was first........takes after his Dad with the appetite!

The weather sure did take a turn....my flowers I was picking in early December are long gone. After a brief trip to Key West, I flew home to Maine on Wednesday. It was record heat in Key West, and record cold here in Maine. I woke up to 85 degrees and 98% humidity and returned home to 13 degrees!! Try to dress for that trip!

Hope you all have a safe and Happy Holiday.......looks like the big storm may put a damper on travel.

All for now........Sue

Stormy Day

Well, we had some wild weather this week!!! Record high temperature of 68 degrees one day, then massive rain and wind on the next. My 3 year old grandson suggested we go to Lands End to see the surf (that is the picture from there). It was so windy you could barely stand. The sun came out and it was quite spectacular. As Josh said, "Mimi, it is like a hurricane with no rain!"

Then we got snow this weekend.....only in Maine. The winter colors are very vivid....the white now makes the ocean look even more blue. Now, it feels like the holiday season. As you can see from the other picture, Matt helped Alicia with her tree.

We went to Cooks Lobster House on Sunday moring for their new brunch. They are serving from 10am-2pm. It is a very large buffet with everything from eggs to shrimp!

Lots of phone calls and reservations this week. I need a secretary to help me keep up!

All of you were right on the last poll....the Original Log Cabin Restaurant opened March 13, 1980. All for now! Sue

Happy Holiday Season to All!

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving....we sure did. I am still full 5 days later. The weather continues to stay mild. This is good as my sons, Matt and Adam are starting some work on the outside of the Log Cabin. If you check out the poll question you will see that it is a bit old. And an "old" building made out of wood on the top of Bailey Island gets pelted by the weather.

Speaking of "old", most of you were correct, Matt turned 39 yesterday. He made it through hunting season without getting a deer. He claims to have seen some and even shot at some, but I think that is like the fish that got away story......

Sunsets remain gorgeous....actually I think they may even be more vivid in the winter. Why is that? I will have to google that question and find out an answer. Actually, this sunset picture is a bit blurry.....looks more like a water color, but you can appreciate the color--maybe the camera was cold.

I just hung up from taking a 4 night reservation for next August for a honeymoon from a very nice military gentelman. We all appreciate what the military does---even as the last squadron left Brunswick Naval Air Station this week. We will miss our military friends, and hope to see them all in the future.

All for now, Sue

November gardens

Hard to believe it is Thanksgiving week and the gardens are still gorgeous. I will pick a large bouquet for our dinner table. The weather really has been exceptional this fall.....as opposed to the rainy spring we had.

That is one thing to be thankful for....

(For those of you blog followers, this is Sue, not Alicia---who, by the way likes gin and tonics.)

Here are many of the things we are thankful for....

Living on Bailey Island
The privilege of working at the Log Cabin
All of our wonderful Inn guests
Fresh lobster
The great Log Cabin crew
Good health
Bountiful meals
The ability to help those in need
Family and friends
Sunsets
Holidays
That we are already 23% full for 2010!


Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving!

All for now, Sue

Community Rallies

The Bailey Island Community Rallied and saved the Post Office for at least another 5 years. To date $100,000 has been raised, three people gave very generous donations of $10,000. Still another $100,000 is needed for the total purchase price. As of now the property is scheduled to be closed on by the end of November. The Post Office will renew the lease for another 5 years and pay $6,000 in rental fees. Not a money making project by any means but it saves a central spot in the community. Also the General Store is set to open at the New Year.

DownEast Magazine has featured Topsham as a great Town with a facelift. With the addition of the bypass the traffic has freed up and people don't dread driving Maine Street. The Mill area along the river has been restored and hosts the SeaDog Brewing Company which has a great Sunday Brunch. There is also the Barn Door Cafe which serves great baked goods and lunches. I like to visit the Mall area and go to Target and Dicks Sporting Goods. Another great stop is the Catahance River Education Alliance (CREA) which is located at Highland Green. CREA has some great trails and supports education for the local schools. This is also the location of a 9 hole Public Golf Course which winds through the Nature Preserve. Bring some extra golf balls it is a pretty tight course, definatly Golf Cart recommended. Highland Green covers 800 acres and has 960 residences. This makes Topsham one of New Englands top Retirement Communitys. Just a note DownEast Magazine makes a great Christmas Gift, you can also plan all of your activities by their suggestions. www.Downeaast.com

An update on the VinalHaven(Fox Island) Wind Project.The 123ft Turbines are up and running and the Town Folk couldn't be happier. Traffic was backed up while one of the trucks with the turbines got stuck so the North Bound traffic got out of their cars and switched cars with the Southbound traffic and then caught up with their cars later in the day, only in Maine. I congratulate the residents of Vinalhaven because in Harpswell they voted down the study to put up the turbines.

Well I didn't think it would happen but most of you got the poll wrong last week. The Cribstone Bridge is scheduled to open in September 2010 most of you said April 2011. They are actually slightly ahead of schedule so maybe September it is.

Thank You, Brandon for sending the very happy photo above of your engagement here at the Log Cabin. He did a great job surprising his finace and oh how romatic. They are getting married next August and maybe will Honeymoon at the Log Cabin.

Most importantly today is my son, Terrence's 3rd Birthday. So Happy Birthday T,we came to Florida for a little celebration.

Alicia

Closing Day

The place is all locked up and just about put away. Seems like there is no end to the laundry. I think Aimee has it just about under control. One of the photo's above is the guys on the roof covering the exhaust fan. One of Sue actually, for real digging up the Dahlia Bulbs. The other one is of one of the last sunny days we were open. Today the snow was fluttering down at a rapid rate and then it turned to rain.

The Grand Prize Winner of the Nursery School Raffle was our very own room guests Matt and Roberta. They won a nights stay at the Log Cabin and lucky them have already booked their room. Second Prize was won by one of the teachers and third prize was won by a student so it was great that we knew everyone involved.

I have been following up a little on the cranberry harvest in Maine after a guest inquiry. There are 40 growers across the State. It has made quite a comeback since 1990 when farmers were trying to diversify their crops. Cranberries are genetically similar to blueberries and like the same acidic soil and cool temperatures. Maine's acreage has steadily increased from 40 acres in 1997 to nearly 300 acres today which actually doesn't seem like much.The cranberries are grown in man made bogs separated by dams. The vines grow on moist ground not in standing water. The berries are harvested by machines that look like snowblowers. Then they have a wet harvest, the bogs are flooded with water and a harvesting machine gently beats the remaining cranberries from the vines. It is a challenge in Maine, it takes 3-5 years for plants to start bearing fruit. So think of the juicy cranberry and not just the blueberry when visiting Maine.


Continuing to praise Maine's Lobster Industry I started cooking,picking and freezing lobster for Christmas Dinner. This week I got 20lbs and the price off the boat is still under $3.00. It is hard to believe at this time of year when it is 30 deg out, the snow is flying and you can still buy lobster cheaper than hotdogs per pound. I will get about another 30lbs before I am finished. I wont find those prices or the great taste in Florida.

Not surprising because I am sure he has mentioned it before Matt was Hunting last Saturday. It was the opening of hunting season in Maine, something Matt wouldn't miss. I bought a new freezer this year so I am already for some Venison. A Whopping 84% of the people were right on this poll. I think the most correct so far.

I just wanted to say yes Tony and Linda I do know that the Yankees won the World Series, Yuck!!

Have a great week everyone and if you have a favorite room you should book it before someone else does.

Alicia