Chatter from the Manor

Alternative wheels

2011-11-28T17:28:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving seems to be the perfect time to spend an hour in the shoes of another.

During the summer here at A Butler's Manor, we offer complimentary shuttle service to Cooper's Beach in our roomy Buick Roadmaster (a.k.a. the Butlermobile), which saves our guests the price of parking ($40 per day). And as many of our guests come from Manhattan and don't have a car, we also pick up and deliver from the Hampton Jitney terminal and the Southampton train station. Because we are an easy walk into the center of Southampton Village, for a weekend visitor from the city this is probably all the transportation they need. For a longer stay, or if they wish to wander farther afield, they generally rent a car.

But a distinct segment of our visitors from abroad, particularly the UK or Australia, come for several days and may not be comfortable renting a car and driving on the "wrong" side of the road. In most cases, this trip to the Hamptons will be their only one, and as much as I love Southampton village, I want our visitors to see all of the Hamptons and beyond...to really experience the entire area. And therein lies the rub. Unlike NYC, we don't have a large, well-integrated public transport system. We have the Long Island Railroad, but there are only three or four trains per day. And the train stops in Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Amagansett and Montauk, but you'll never see Sag Harbor that way. Taxis are expensive and not necessarily geared to a general tour of the area. Limo services such as East End Limosine, which can provide a general tour, are lovely but even more expensive. There are a couple of van/limo tours geared specifically to the North Fork wineries, and we particularly like Vintage Tours, but it is often difficult to get them to come over to the South Fork to pick up only two guests. And not all of our clientele want to spend their money this way. We do have a public bus, which currently runs every day except Sunday. Needless to say, Chris and I have never ridden it.

Until last Tuesday. After our guests checked out that day, we had the entire afternoon and evening free. So we decided to see how our wheel-less guests would experience the East End's public transportation.

It was a grey, dank day, with showers threatening when we picked up the S92 bus near Roger's Memorial Library in Southampton. You need exact change, but it doesn't have to be coins -- there is a bill inserter, which on our adventure, I saw that everyone used except me. My first impression was favorable: busses are new, clean, and well-maintained. Okay, so the seat could use a little more padding. But hey, for $2, you're not likely to get the Hampton Luxury Liner's posh leather seats.

We rode through Bridgehampton, then north on the turnpike to Sag Harbor, then southeast down Rte. 114 to East Hampton and disembarked near the train station there, a journey of about 35 minutes--not bad for probably a 20 mile trip. After wandering in town and enjoying a coffee at Starbuck's, we boarded again, retracing our same route, then continuing through Hampton Bays, up through the county seat of Riverhead, and out to the North Fork. You can't get to Tanger Outlet Mall directly (though you could with a transfer) and it's not a particularly impressive tour of Riverhead. But once beyond the county seat, the bus journeys straight up Rte 25 through the Long Island Wine Trail, all the way to Orient Point. With the many wineries side by side especially in Cutchogue, you could actually go wine tasting on the bus. Hmmmm.

The journey to Greenport from East Hampton totalled about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and we decided to hop off there and have an early dinner before heading back home. Upon reboarding, we found a photographer from Long Island's Newsday newspaper on the bus, working on a story, though she didn't say what it was about. She was enchanted with our little adventure to ride the bus from one end of the route to the other in order to be able to advise our guests, and snapped a few dozen photographs of me and of most of the others who subsequently boarded the bus for points east.

The following morning, a friend called us up. "Kim, is that your picture in Newsday today?" Sure enough, there I was...headlining an article about a potential fare hike and its impact on those who rode the bus, quote, "often, the poorest of the poor."

So I just became the poster child for the poorest of the poor? Well. I guess we need a second job! Too bad. We think ours was the far better story!

Our adventure taught us that we could safely recommend the bus for wheel-less guests looking to head farther afield than our village...one can easily journey to any of the points mentioned above, and with little effort, transfer to other lines that will go all the way to Montauk or other places. Busses run about an hour apart, which seems dreadfully infrequent when compared to NYC busses (or, yikes, the subway!), but when compared to three trains per day, is a veritable abundance of transportation...an easy, clean, safe and inexpensive option for sightseeing when you don't have your own car. And the people watching is definitely interesting. Students going to class, people taking their laundry to the laudromat, mothers with small (remarkably quiet!) children, people en route to work, or to the store...regulars who knew the bus driver and chatted with him as he drove, others plugged into their iPods and enjoying downtime. It was a truly interesting day.

But oh, how Chris and I gave thanks that evening for the blessing of having our own transportation!

Quote of the Day: A bus is a vehicle that runs twice as fast when you are after it as when you are in it. -- Unknown

A Walk in the Woods, Hamptons Style

2011-11-20T19:43:00.000-05:00

November, and things are slowing down. Chris and I actually had a day off a week or so ago. It was a gorgeous autumn day and we decided to do a little sightseeing in our own backyard, for the dual purpose of enjoying ourselves outdoors and to be better able to advise our guests. In the nearly twenty years that we've lived on the East End, we've never been hiking at any of the three most popular locations out here, namely Mashomack, Hidden Hills, or the Elizabeth Morton Wildlike Refuge. We decided to start our exploration with Mashomack, just across the bay on Shelter Island.

The Mashomack Preserve, operated by the Nature Conservancy, occupies nearly 1/3 of Shelter Island, and is open year round. We went on a Wednesday in November, so I'm sure there were far fewer people on the trails than one would meet if hiking in July; however, such was the serene nature of the place and the layout of the trails that I expect there could be hundreds of fellow hikers in the preserve and you wouldn't know it. Here is one of Chris's narrated mini-videos to give you some idea of the peace and beauty of the preserve:

There are four well-defined and marked trails of varying lengths, from a one-mile wheelchair-accessible trail to a ten-mile hike that overlooks Gardiner's Bay. Chris and I chose the six-mile Green Trail, marked by the emblem of the osprey. The osprey is one of the East End's most celebrated examples of the power of environmental concern: the breeding population, once decimated by the thinning of their eggs caused by widespread use of DDT, has rebounded from 150 breeding pairs in 1969 to well over 230 pairs today, taking the breed from the Endangered list to that of Special Concern. Osprey nests are visible along many coastal wetlands, but Mashomack is home to one the largest concentration of nesting ospreys in the area. The nests are remarkable as they resemble chimney-sweep brushes of the sort you remember from the movie Mary Poppins; birds create large nests in the tops of dead trees or, more commonly, on human-created upright structures resembling telephone poles.

The ospreys have flown south for the winter now, but lots of birds and other wildlife remain to be seen on the trails. One of the more remarkable sights we saw was a red-tailed hawk eating his lunch on a trail-side post in an open field.

Fields, wetlands, coves seeded with oyster and scallop beds, pine swamps...the variety of ecosystems within such a relatively small area was incredible.

In addition to being a wonderful place to breathe and appreciate nature, the Nature Conservancy has on site a charming visitors center with interactive diplays on all aspects of the flora and fauna. We spent quite a bit of time there, playing with the displays and discussing what we'd seen with the very knowledgable and friendly Nature Conservancy staff member.

The entire East End is a respite from busy city and suburban living, and we realize how very lucky we are to live and work in such a beautiful corner of the world. Even so, as we drove away late in the afternoon, bound for the South Ferry back to A Butler's Manor, Chris commented that our afternoon walk in the woods truly felt like we'd been on vacation!

Quote of the Day: We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down. ~Robert Sweetgall

Taking a breath

2011-10-22T18:37:00.000-04:00

Chris and I just returned from a four-day hiatus in Savannah GA with some friends. Our first day off since mid-April of this year, it was a chance to draw a breath, slow down, and sleep in a little. (!!!) This was our first trip to Savannah, and we loved all of it: the peaceful, tree-filled squares that so nicely define the downtown, the wonderful architecture, the slower pace of life of the Deep South. Savannah is reputedly replete with ghosts, so visiting so near Halloween was quite the ticket. Weather was beautiful for most of our stay, and we had fun wandering the historic neigborhoods, touring some wonderful houses and exploring antique shops and walking the river front. And oh yes, enjoying Low Country cooking, including taking a cooking class by local celebrity Chef Joe Randall, where I got some great ideas (who ever thought of using grits as a spread, much like hummus...?), though nothing I anticipate incorporating into breakfast. Of course we stayed at a B&B -- the Eliza Thompson House on Jones Street. It is said that there is even a ghost of a Confederate soldier in the house who haunts the room we'd chosen (the R. Bruce room, one of the original bedrooms of the 1847 house) -- but if he dropped by while we were there, Chris and I were too exhausted to meet him.

Back home now and back in the groove at A Butler's Manor. It's a great time of year. People smile around here as they don their sweaters. Last weekend we had a full house of anniversary celebrants -- all five rooms! Though it shouldn't surprise me; because we so often enjoy perfect autumn weather this time of year, it's a prime time to get married. Over the past couple of weeks we've had well over a dozen couples celebrating their anniversaries. In fact, we were among them. Chris and I celebrated our twenty-third anniversary in September.

Fall means that the farm stands are hopping, as are the pumpkin patches like Hank's Pumpkintown and the corn mazes. (And if those popular attractions were NOT what drew you out for a visit this time of year, Chris and I can show you routes around them.) One particularly good corn maze -- called a "maize" -- is at Fairview Farm in Bridgehampton. More than just entertainment for the kids, upon entering the maize at Fairview Farm, you choose a card with your favorite trivia catagory. Thereafter, when you reach a point that requires a choice of directions, your answer to your trivia question will determine whether you make a right or a left turn.

Fall also means the wineries are beginning to harvest their grapes, and their tasting rooms are extra busy, especially over on the North Fork, and often feature live entertainment on weekends. Local restaurants take advantage of the bountiful harvest to season their menus with fall fare like butternut squash ravioli and all sorts of yummy soups...yikes, I'm gettting hungry!

With fall in the air, and a more relaxed pace to the Hamptons, it's a chance to tidy and spruce things up before winter sets in. As I write, foliage is still green and temperatures are in the 60's during the day...typically, the East End doesn't experience full fall color until after Halloween. So over the next few weeks, we'll be painting woodwork and trim in the upstairs hallway, as well as tidying up the garden where the annuals are fading, though our prolific dahlias and roses continue to bloom merrily, providing lovely color. The fire is laid in the afternoons to guests returning after a day enjoying the season.

We welcome fall as it gives us a chance to breathe a little, gear down from the frenetic pace of summer!

Quote of the Day: There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been! -- Percy Bysshe Shelley

RECIPE: Gruyere & Prosciutto Strata

2011-09-25T15:50:00.001-04:00

Creativity was not a word in my mother's kitchen. Though she made meals nearly every night when I was growing up, my mother did not like to cook. She herself had been raised on a bland Norwegian-based Midwestern diet which, when incorporated into my father's meat-and-potatoes mentality, meant that seasonings and color -- especially any form of fresh vegetable! -- were seriously missing from the dinner table in our house. Her eight menus rotated with predictable regularity (Monday, meatloaf; Tuesday, Swiss steak) through our dinner hours. If I never have any of them again the rest of my life, that's just fine with me.

Some kids, like Chris, for example, react to indifferent food by learning to create something more palatable. But while I made whatever meals it took to pass my Girl Scout cooking merit badge, and later, Home Ec, I had no interest in becoming the next Galloping Gourmet. What I did like to do was bake. Cakes, cookies, desserts. Anything sweet. I knew I'd be hard-pressed to ruin a cookie recipe so thoroughly I wouldn't eat the results anyway.

Such a background comes as a surprise to many guests who assume I grew up loving to cook, that my flair for the creative, in cooking and in presentation, must be a lifelong skill. Or even better, that I've attended culinary school. Ha! What I am is a foodie who is learning continuously how ingredients play off one another, and who has found that cooking and baking offer opportunities for another form of creativity. And creativity in all forms makes my heart sing.

Which is why I am so very gratified when someone visiting A Butler's Manor asks for one of my recipes. Wow, me?!?

This is adapted from a recipe I originally found at Williams-Sonoma, and is fairly new to my repertoire --which, for the record, is continually being added to and adapted when necessary. Never let it be said that if it's Tuesday, it must be Banana French Toast!

GRUYERE AND PROSCIUTTO STRATA

350 oven

10 servings

1-2 large leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and chopped

2 tsp. olive oil

1 bag seasoned croutons

15 eggs (or two cartons Egg Beaters)

2 cups milk

4 cups grated Gruyere cheese

4 oz. prosciutto, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 15” x 10” Pyrex dish with olive oil cooking spray. Toss croutons with olive oil and scatter in prepared pan.

Whisk together flour, milk, butter, salt and eggs and pour over croutons in prepared pan. Let soak for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, steam leeks for about three minutes; drain. Sprinkle cheese and leeks over egg and bread mixture and stir in. Sprinkle chopped prosciutto on top.

Bake until casserole is set and light golden brown, 35-40 minutes.

Bon appétit!

Quote of the Day: I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. ---Julia Child

Party out of bounds?

2011-09-08T09:19:00.000-04:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Chris, as I've said often, has a spectacular green thumb, so nearly everything he plants thrives here in the garden at A Butler's Manor. And we have this pergola over the porch which seemed just perfect for a climbing something. So we planted a grapevine.

The first year, it just settled itself in the soil and began to carve out its path. By year two, we already had a crop to harvest, and I got out Grandma's recipe for jelly and made my first attempt at grape jelly. (It was...interesting. I didn't serve it to guests.)

By year three, we had a substantial amount of grapes, and the leaves and vines had formed a pretty extensive canopy over the top of the porch. But we discovered something: The fauna knew better than we did when those grapes were ready to be harvested. The night we said "Yep, they should be ready about tomorrow," the squirrels and raccoons moved in for a munchfest.

And they're not even polite about it. They pull the grapes from the bunch, chew the soft inside, and spit seeds and skins all over the porch. Discovering the mess the next day, we hurriedly harvested the remainder of the grapes. (Second attempt at grape jelly? Let's just say Welch's needn't fear any competition from me.)

I've been watching this year's bumper crop of grapes mature, thinking that we really ought to make a pre-emptive strike and cut the grapes before the critters get them. Then, with the hurricane and Labor Day weekend, we got forgot all about it.

Last night, the raccoons broke into the grapes and had themselves a party. From our bedroom, we could hear the grapes plunking down onto the wooden deck. And then, after they'd gotten good and drunk on the grapes, they ran around most of the rest of the night, chasing each other and playing on the roof adjacent to the grapevine...right over the top of our bed. I swear it was like listening to a teenage party, lacking only the loud music.

Today that grapevine came down. All the way down. I don't make good grape jelly anyway, and as for making wine....well, I KNOW I can't make wine I'd like better than the stuff I buy!

I expect there is going to be confusion here tonight...a bunch of critters wandering around wondering where the party went. May they go far away in order to find it!

Next year, I'm thinking a clematis...

A Butler's Manor: 1. Hurricane Irene: 0.

2011-09-03T16:29:00.001-04:00

"Storm? What storm?"

Remember the old song? "What a difference a day makes / twenty-four little hours..."

A week ago we were battening down the hatches in preparation for Hurricane Irene, the first hurricane in twenty years to seriously threaten Long Island. (The last one was Hurricane Bob which struck in August 1991, twenty years almost to the day.) While there is never a good time for a hurricane, the end of August is particularly problematic, because so many people are trying to get their final vacation time in before Labor Day signals school and the beginning of fall. Hence we had a full house to cancel in anticipation of the lady's wrath.

This, of course, was a Big News Event, with All Hurricane All The Time coverage on the local networks. Call me cynical, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the fact that Irene looked likely to wallop New York City increased the news value. In any case, we all watched her progress with dread.

Even with the most advanced meteorological equipment, everyone knows that in the end storms are never 100% predictable, so making decisions in anticipation of them is a crapshoot. Chris and I had never experienced a hurricane -- we moved to the South Fork in early 1992, and the two storms that have made it up the East Coast in our memory both fizzled out. But Irene was a hefty lady, with shoulders some 500 miles wide. So Chris arranged help to make shutters for all the windows, and got our trusty tree guy over to thin out our massive Sycamore Maple and trim any other likely large trees in order to lessen their drag in a heavy windstorm. Out came the generator, fired up and tested, out came the extension cords, the flashlights, the candles, the radios...

We bid adieu to all our guests midday Saturday, and started packing everything away and shuttering up the first floor of the house. My sister Lisa, visiting from California, rebooked her flight home, started packing up bags of ice and filling the bathtubs and prepared to experience a weather event that can at least be watched and prepared for (unlike an earthquake).

Southampton Town officials ordered evacuation of waterfront and low-lying properties, and closed the beach to the public at 2 PM...which did not stop hundreds of us from going down to watch the waves, which were angry and quickening. For us, the rain began late afternoon Saturday and worsened overnight, just as predicted. Winds picked up speed after midnight and there were bursts of heavy rain, sounding like hail, in the wee hours. We lost power, telephone and cable about 8 AM on Sunday. Fortunately, the stove runs on propane gas, and with the refrigerator plugged into the generator, food wasn't an issue. With the windows boarded up, it was a weird feeling!!!. About 11 AM, unable to stand it, Chris took down the shutters blocking the kitchen, so we could at least see out.

We heard on the emergency radio that Irene had weakened to a tropical storm and made landfall in NYC around 9 AM. Outside, the wind was blowing, but there was little to no rain. Up and down the street we could see tree damage on most properties, but Chris's pre-emptive strike seemed to save us from the same fate. Early afternoon, with the storm now north of us, we drove around town to assess the damage, which seemed to be limited to tree loss and power line damages. We joined the crowd of lookie-loos at the beach. Winds there were much more intense than at A Butler's Manor. It was nearly impossible to gaze northwestward, into the wind, and all exposed skin got a sandblasting. Beaches were considerably shallower than they had been 36 hours previously, but still there. While our block had no power, friends a mile to the west of us did, as did areas in the village and all around it. Several restaurants were even open, including Fellingham's, so we ordered take out burgers and settled in for an evening of games.

In cleaning up the yard the following day, we didn't have a branch down any bigger around than a finger, no more than the effects of a good nor'easter. The biggest task was cleaning the pool of the fallen leaves, and resetting the outdoor furniture. And of course, post-Irene, the weather was picture perfect, not a cloud in the sky or speck of humidity in the air. By the time power was restored on Monday evening, the house and garden looked better than it had looked before the storm, and guests who arrived on Tuesday couldn't believe a storm had actually passed over the property.

In fact, the garden seemed to love Irene's kiss: clean up the following day allowed for some late-season pruning and raking, and all the roses went into bloom again!

My poor sister went home on Tuesday afternoon. Some vacation!

A Butler's Manor, Southampton, and all of the villages of the Hamptons are open for business this sunny, lovely Labor Day weekend...and we feel very blessed that Irene only backhanded us!

People make the difference

2011-07-31T18:27:00.000-04:00

I'm mentioned before how wonderful it is for us, as bed and breakfast owners, to see our guests not only enjoying their meal, but enjoying each other around the breakfast table. What's particularly wonderful to see is when people end up exchanging email or phone numbers in order to connect again, whether for business or pleasure. Not too long ago, we had two sets of guests who have each come out several times a year apiece, never at the same time. We have so enjoyed each couple, and were pretty certain they'd have a lot in common. So we sort of "set them up" over a glass of wine around the fireplace. Such fun! Chris and I finally cut out to make ourselves dinner, but we heard them all laughing and talking in the living room for a long time afterwards.

I have to believe that such connections happen in places that feel like home. A bed and breakfast such as A Butler's Manor fosters a vibe that I'd like to believe attracts people who also care about others. This weekend, we had a couple of women traveling on business, attending a big charity shopping extravanganza called Super Saturday whose proceeds benefit the fight against ovarian cancer. They had flown in from Florida, and alas, one of the gal's luggage was lost in transit. The airline had promised delivery by 11:30 PM, and documents were taped on both front and back doors to make sure a delivery person wouldn't fail to leave the bag due to any missing paperwork. But at midnight, when two other guests came home from their evening out, Victoria was still pacing the living room, frantic that none of her clothing had arrived. Hearing the story,Wendy --who had never met Victoria before -- volunteered to loan her a T-shirt to sleep in, and sat up chatting with her awhile to wait. The luggage still hadn't arrived by the time Wendy went to bed.

When when we found the release paperwork still in place on the back door the next morning, Chris and I too were concerned. And when Victoria wasn't down for breakfast by 9:45, Wendy and the entire breakfast table were worried: If the luggage hadn't arrived, how was Victoria going to attend the benefit? She needed her clothes and makeup. Everyone was comparing lost luggage horror stories and waiting for the answer.

And then Victoria came out to the patio, dressed in a lovely, freshly-pressed summer dress and gave the waiting table a thumb's up.

The whole table erupted in cheers.

I love that kind of interplay. It's a simple little drama, grueling to go through; thankfully, your stress level drops immediately after the issue has been resolved. But it's just kind of neat when suddenly you have a whole house of strangers pulling for you, offering to loan you supplies.

That's the difference between staying in a B and B and staying in a hotel. (Okay, if it were someplace like the Pierre, perhaps you could summon a concierge to go shopping for you. Maybe.)

By the way, Super Saturday was deemed quite a success...lots of shopping and celebrity-sighting. See a video of it here.

But for us in our little world, the fact that Victoria got her luggage and was able to enjoy her weekend was equally a success.

A small world? Maybe. I guess it's all in what makes up your perspective.

Quote of the Day: “One thing I’ve learned: Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly, and most underrated agent of human change. Kindness that catches us by surprise brings out the best in our natures.” -- Bob Kerrey, former Governor, Senator

Who needs the beach?

2011-07-23T15:48:00.000-04:00

Who needs the beach???

One of the services we offer here at A Butler's Manor is to take guests to Cooper's Beach, saving them the ($40!!) cost of parking there. As the south shore Long Island beaches are beautiful (and those on the East End especially pristine), most of our guests takes us up on the offer. But for those who aren't a fan of sand or waves, an afternoon in the garden or by the pool beckons, as evidenced by one of our recent guests shown here.

Speaking of the garden, it's been especially gorgeous this year -- Chris has been working hard at it, of course, but credit is also due to our newest team member, Tim, who joined us in March and has been instrumental in keeping the grounds looking the way they should. Tim's a friendly guy, and a true local; if you happen to be perambulating the garden on one of his workdays, he's a wealth of information.

Out and about in town: The Hamptons get a lot of press as a site for high-level benefits and elaborate catered parties when our summer population is in residence, but there are a lot of fun events that you don't have to make six figures a year to enjoy. Case in point: The Southampton Chamber of Commerce is now in its third summer of running drive-in movies on Monday nights in the Cooper's Beach parking lot. Cost is $40 for a carload, and it's tons of fun...like a tailgate party at a ballgame, with kids on lawn chairs arranged around the family SUV, and people wearing glow sticks after dark, and the big collective gasps/cheers/boos when something happens onscreen. This Monday they're screening The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock. And hey, our Buick Roadmaster wagon (a.k.a. the Butlermobile) is the perfect vehicle for the event. Wonder if I can bring my pillow and come in my jammies, like in the old days...?

Quote of the Day: "Dirty hands, iced tea, garden fragrances thick in the air and a blanket of color before me, who could ask for more?" ---- Bev Adams, Mountain Gardening

A sparkler for the Fourth of July

2011-07-04T16:35:00.000-04:00

I grew up in Southern California within earshot of Disneyland's famous summer fireworks display (at 9:35 sharp; you could set your watch by it). During college, I worked at the Park, and in the summer, I volunteered to help with crowd control so I could watch the show, which began after speakers all over the Park announced "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: Wherever you are in Disneyland, direct your attention to the sky over Sleeping Beauty's castle as Disneyland presents FANTASY IN THE SKY!"

I recited that announcement to Chris on Friday night, when we were at Cooper's Beach watching the annual Grucci fireworks show put on by the Southampton Fresh Air Home, a camp for physically challenged children. Hundreds of families were similarly ensconced in sand chairs with the remnants of their picnic dinners. Folks were selling glow sticks and a really cool version that looked more like a multicolored Star Wars weapon and had the capability of being turned off.

And then I saw, off to a far side of the darkening dunes, a sparkler. And oh, how it brought back memories. Remember Catherine Wheels, that your dad mounted to a fence? The fountains that changed colors? Or the whistling Piccolo Petes? Back when I was a kid, you could buy the fireworks by the each or in a number of different sized assortments. In my neighborhood, everyone brought their assortments out and set up at the end of the driveway, and we had an impromptu neighborhood fireworks display. I'd like to believe that this benign red-white-and-blue scene was enacted without incident all over America, but of course, it wasn't. Fireworks can be dangerous, and today, they are banned for sale in more than half of the states of the Union -- New York included. Which is why the presence of a sparkler on Cooper's Beach on Friday was so surprising...and wonderful.

Chris and I compared notes, and found that though we'd grown in up two different countries 5500 miles apart, fireworks were universal to us both, if not used for the same event. (Naturally, no one in the UK celebrates our Independence Day with a sparkler or a Piccolo Pete. But they DO break out the bottle rockets and fountains for November 5, Guy Fawkes Night, aka Bonfire Night .)

I never get tired of a good fireworks show, and Grucci's presentation for the Fresh Air Home was first class all the way. (As good as Disneyland's? Well...)

A couple more fireworks shows are on the calendar here in the Hamptons -- tonight, July 4, is the big show in Montauk on Umbrella Beach, always a great spectacle, as well as one in Westhampton Beach. A favorite "off holiday" show is the 31st annual Great Bonac Fireworks Show in Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton -- especially cool if you have access to a boat -- which takes place on Saturday, July 16. I hear the jury's still out on whether the East Hampton presentation will happen on Labor Day or not. This hugely popular July 4 show has been sidelined to Labor Day for the past few years due to the presence of nesting Piping Plovers on the dunes. (Piping plovers are endangered birds who lay their eggs in depressions in the sand.)

So tonight, we're giving our guests the inside scoop on where to go (and where to park!) in order to enjoy some sparklers in the sky.

But I'd still love some sparklers on the Fourth of July...maybe just one box?

Quote of the Day: I always have the most fun on the Fourth of July. You don't have to exchange any gifts. You just go to the beach and watch fireworks. It's always fun. -- James Lafferty

2011-07-01T16:56:00.000-04:00

This Wednesday night, June 29, began the series of summer Concerts in the Park, a free series of concerts coordinated by the Southampton Cultural Center. I've written about the concerts before; it's a summer night out that Chris and I try never to miss, and that we encourage our guests to enjoy as well. Bring a beach chair, a picnic, your bevvie of choice, the kids, the dog (on a leash) and a couple of bucks to contribute to the SCC when they pass the hat at halftime...it's a great deal of simple small town summer fun.

Wednesday's band was a wonderful young jazz trio called Michael Jazz Trio: the Godfrey brothers from Central Islip, NY, who share a middle name of Michael. Matthew, on keyboard, is the eldest at the ripe old age of 17; David, on bass and sax, is 15, and little brother Jordan, on drums is all of ten years old. And these kids write most of their own material. I'm a talent junkie -- gifted with a little artistic talent, but not enough to make a living at it -- I so appreciate talent in others. I was blown away by these kids. Check out their website. They're going far!

Regarding the Concerts in the Park: This year we are really putting our money where our mouth is. In conjunction with Southampton Building Services, owned by our friend Steve Lemanski, we are sponsoring the concert on July 6 featuring one of our all-time favorite bands: The Lone Sharks. The concert will be held at Cooper's Beach. Dancing in the sand as the sun sets -- I am already planning the picnic menu!!!

Dropped into red bar brasserie's newest sibling, called little/red -- a slightly more casual rendition of its big brother, located just off Agawam Park. "Slightly more casual" means that there are a couple of more pub-like options on its otherwise elegant menu, and that it does not take reservations. They have a large patio which should be open for dining in the next week or so. We enjoyed our meal (I had some yummy monkfish with sauteed summer squash, and Chris had mussels) but found wine options a little pricey and lacking in selection. However, I'm sure little/red will soon be as popular as the other siblings in the "chain" which include Fresno in East Hampton and The Beacon in Sag Harbor. I know we'll be back.

Speaking of new additions, it's always fun to check out some of the new shops in Southampton village that are in full swing by Fourth of July weekend. Not too surprisingly, we have a growing crop of preppie clothes shops in town, including Vineyard Vines, that perennial Cape Cod favorite that took over the large shop on Main Street where Villeroy & Boch had held court for so many years. Women's clothing shops are always plentiful, so it's nice to see a new shop for the guys: Peter Millar is perfect for the golf course. One shop I positively love is MacKenzie-Childs, whose fun painted enamelware and colorful accent pieces -- reminiscent somehow of Alice in Wonderland -- I first saw showcased in London Jeweler's East Hampton store. Someday I am going to figure out exactly where I can add some of their creative pieces to A Butler's Manor's decor...

Quote of the Day: "And the night shall be filled with music,/And the cares that infest the day/Shall fold their tents like the Arabs/And as silently steal away." --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Day Is Done

International flavor

2011-06-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

Yes, technically the summer solstice is next Tuesday, and today thunderstorms are rattling through the area, but it seems like the season is already well underway. June has been a thoroughly international month so far. We've had visitors from Buenos Aires, Santiago, Chile, Paris, three cities in Germany, four cities in England as well as Northern Ireland, Canada and Australia! It is wonderful to meet so many visitors new to our country, and even nicer to know that we could be a small part of their experience. And gratifying to learn that our web presence is wide enough to ensure they find us online, as most of them tell us that "the Hamptons" is not a well-known destination in their country.

(Okay, true confession: When Chris accepted a butler position here in early 1992, I had never heard of "the Hamptons" either.)

And yet, in the midst of all this international traffic, we have welcomed back a number of repeat guests in the last couple of weeks. These lovely people don't realize it, but their continued custom keeps my creative juices flowing. You could say that having published A Butler's Manor: The Cookbook, I would have my menus pretty much set, yes? Well...yes, but...! When you stay with us, I make note of what we served you for breakfast, so that if you come again, I don't make the same entree unless you've specifically requested it. (Banana French Toast and Southwest Souffle are always on the menu for Hamptons Classic week because Zach and Deborah, who have stayed with us 9 out of our 10 years, ask for these entrees when they book in January!) Therefore, in between introducing new guests to proven favorites, when we have guests like Jerry and Gay who have spent long weekends with us going back six years...or Walter, who travels to the area so often on business that he has "his" room (and a permanent code to the door!)...or Ron and Alice, who come out several times over the season to enjoy a round of golf...this inspires me to change things up, surprise and hopefully delight with food. Recent additions to A Butler's Manor's repertoire include a strata made with prosciutto, seasoned croutons, and gruyere cheese..."creme brulee" French toast garnished with fresh raspberries...a meatless Italian-inspired frittata with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, and lots of fresh herbs from the garden...and a muffin stuffed with so many great things (shredded carrots, raisins, coconut, grated apple) I simply call it a Good Things Muffin. I'm not sure there will be an ABM Cookbook, vol. 2, anytime soon, but cooking is the most immediate of my outlets for creativity, and the documentor in me ensures that these recipes get written down for future use!

Quote of the Day: "Food can look beautiful, taste exquisite, smell wonderful, make people feel good, bring them together, inspire romantic feelings....At its most basic, it is fuel for a hungry machine. --Rosamond Richardson

A Butler's Manor has won a 2011 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence!

2011-05-30T16:55:00.002-04:00

It was VERY COOL to learn that A Butler's Manor has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor! TripAdvisor awards this certificate to properties "who consistently receive excellent ratings from their members." We give thanks to all our guests whose reviews have contributed to this award!

It's Memorial Day weekend as I write this; the sun is out, and the weather is warm and steamy. Iced peach tea is available out by the saltwater pool, which is warming up in the sun. Still a bit chilly for me, but we have had guests enjoying a dip this weekend. The warm weather has also led guests to inaugurate the new central air conditioning we had installed in the rooms last fall. No more window units to block the view or create white noise! Each room has individual controls, too.

We've been working with Bill Cusick Productions to make over the virtual tours of our guest rooms and turn them into easily-accessable videos. Look for them very soon on our website. In the meantime, Bill also created a video overview of A Butler's Manor which features Chris and me telling a bit about what we try to create for our guests. Chris did just fine (remember, he cut his television teeth recently appearing with Scott Ross to review the remake of the movie "Arthur"), but me? Let's just say I am waaay out of practice when dealing with anything involving audio. Still, we are very pleased with the final product (Bill is a great editor!). Here's a sneak preview of the overview. Tell us what you think!

A Butler's Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn Southampton from Bill Cusick Productions on Vimeo.

Quote of the Day: A cloudy day or a little sunshine have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most recent blessings or misfortunes. ---Joseph Addison

Greening our blue pool

2011-05-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

It seems like it's been busier this Spring than ever, as Nature, and Chris and I, work to get everything in place before the "official" start of the summer season this weekend. One of our biggest accomplishments: Giving our beautiful pool a makeover, and converting it to saltwater!!!

Why is this a good thing? First of all, saltwater is softer and kinder to your skin than chlorine. It won't dry skin and hair as chlorine often does. Second, using salt rather than chemicals is far more environmentally friendly. So we all win.

So the pool is open, but until we get some sunshine it won't be very warm. Which was why, when one of guests last weekend went out in his swim togs, we were a little surprised. Okay, so he's from England and is used to swimming in the North Sea... So Simon was our official "christener" of our new and improved pool, and he pronounced it a wonderful dip. It may be a while before I dive in myself though...

But sunshine is anticipated for this weekend, and to those of us who live here on the East End, it can't get here soon enough. Showers have been making our plants and flowers happy, but the rest of us? -- not so much. Get your sunscreen -- summer really is almost here!

The advent of the Season means that shops and restaurants and everyone else in town are also putting a final coat of polish on their establishments. Chris and I have been, ahem, doing our due diligence on the restaurants to see what's up with some of the newcomers. (Oh yes -- it's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.) One we recently sampled is Race Lane, in East Hampton, where the original Laundry Restaurant held court for many years. Rowaida and Jay Jackson have really brought a new, lighter look to the space, while retaining much-loved features like the huge fireplace. I really enjoyed their Tuna Tabbouleh. We look forward to visiting again soon.

Quote of the Day: "Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow, it loses today." -- Seneca

A Butler's Manor - House History, Part 3

2011-04-14T17:00:00.024-04:00

Houses are adapted to suit the needs of their owners. Wings or second stories are added to accommodate burgeoning families; basements finished to accommodate the privacy needs of teenagers or to function as recreational space. In houses as old as ours (150 years), it's sometimes difficult to know where the original bones are.

Unless someone decides to uncover them.

Chris and I had been told that at one stage in the many iterations of the house here at 244 North Main Street, the dining room's walls were two stories high and that the center of the house was vaulted to the ridge peak. To relate that to the layout of how A Butler's Manor appears today, this translates to two rooms missing: Cliffside (over the dining room) and Oak Knoll. I'm usually pretty good at visualizing things, but this one escaped me...until Mike sent his pictures.

As you see from the photo on the left, once it was possible to stand in the upstairs hall and look down into the dining room...or up and see the clouds through the round window up in the very top of the house's face. In the picture on the right, what is now the room Goose Creek opens off the doorway on the left, and the stairs go down to the front door.

I wish I knew how the owners used the space in the left foreground. Was it a sitting room? A library?

Was there perhaps a circular staircase in one corner, leading up to the loft above? And what was that space used for? For me, getting a taste of history whets the appetite for more answers, many of which can perhaps never be answered.

A later owner (re?) enclosed the space and added the two guest rooms, but in this case, what was literally uncovered were all the original beams, many of which are still visible today...incorporated into the walls in the rooms Oak Knoll and Villefranche as well as the living rooms and halls. Our guests invariably comment on them with appreciation. History has a way of doing that to you, I guess.

the dining room today

Though never on the scale of the renovation pictured here, Chris and I have remodeled all of the houses we've ever lived in. While none was as historic as A Butler's Manor, we've always been conscious that others might find clues of the lives lived prior to their occupancy as interesting as we do. To that end, we've left little "time capsules" with a dated photo shut up in walls, for someone in the future to find...for it's certain that humans will continue to remake their abodes to reflect their needs and wants.

Quote of the Day: "He who loves an old house never loves in vain." -- Isabel LaHowe Conant

Chris's Debut on the Small (and Smaller) Screen

2011-04-09T14:11:00.001-04:00

High tea

As most folks know, before there was A Butler's Manor, there was a butler...Chris spent some twenty-plus years "in service." It isn't a common way to make a living, and until the Internet, most of those who did so worked in relative isolation from one another. (This, by the way, was the employers' preference, to prevent their butlers from both comparing notes on issues like compensation, and being poached.) It is, I think, an interesting way to make a living, which is why I wrote A Butler's Life: Scenes from The Other Side of the Silver Salver a number of years back. The confluence of these two disparate points is that when someone Googles "butler" for some reason, between that book, Chris's memberships in the few butler/household management/domestic staff [groups] and connections with the few schools worldwide, and A Butler's Manor, chances are good that the name Christopher Allen comes up.

Which is what happened when Scott Ross, an entertainment reviewer for NBC, decided that it would be an interesting idea to have a real butler comment on the recently released remake of the 1981 classic "Arthur," now starring Russell Brand. Tracking Chris down through A Butler's Manor's, he invited him (us!) to join him at a pre-release screening of the new film in New York City. What fun!

The original of course starred Dudley Moore in the title role. Sir John Gielgud, as Arthur's butler Hobson, won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the role. I found this particularly apropos because, when Chris and I first met back in 1986, one of the things that captivated me was that he looked rather like a cross between Davy Jones and Dudley Moore, and he could (and can still) do a perfect "Arthur" imitation.

So two weeks ago this Tuesday, we met Scott near Rockefeller Center and walked over to the Warner Bros. screening room where we joined some 50 other viewers, mostly journalists. Scott had said in his email that it would be especially appropriate to go out afterwards and discuss Chris's reactions over afternoon tea. (Chris joked that, the movie in question being Arthur, we should really discuss it at the nearest bar.) "Tea and a shoot," Scott had written, which Chris interpreted as maybe a photo to accompany Scott's blog. Hah!

Following the movie, we took a cab to Lady Mendl's Tea Salon in Gramercy Park area, a lovely old residential building that is also an inn, and were shown to a small private dining room where a table was set for two...surrounded by a camera, lights, and a videographer. Eeeek!!! Scott interviewed Chris for perhaps forty minutes, which like anything in television was slated to be edited down to a few good sound bites. You'd never know by the video clip here that Chris didn't dare sip his tea during the interview, for fear of exposing his shaking hands!

Afterwards, we all had the wonderful high tea: salmon, egg salad, cucumber, and cream cheese sandwiches, mini scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream, and a yummy cake made with what seemed like two dozen layers of crepes spread with Bavarian cream. They brought the latter out with a candle in it, as it had been Chris's birthday the day before. It was everything Hobson would have approved of; a class act.

Believe me, we had a more Arthur-appropriate beverage once we got home, as Chris was still shaking!

Oh, and is the new Arthur worth seeing? The short answer? Nah -- wait for it on Netfliks. However, the original version is available in our video library, for your enjoyment on your next visit...

Quote of the Day: "I've taken the liberty of anticipating your condition. I have brought you orange juice, coffee, and aspirins. Or do you need to throw up?" -- Sir John Gielgud as Hobson, Arthur, 1981)

A Butler's Manor - House History, Part 2

2011-04-04T15:56:00.000-04:00

244 North Main Street, rear, circa 1970

An old house is like a mystery, and old photos provide invaluable clues. I am like Sherlock Holmes with my magnifying glass poised over snapshots, looking for details.

I think the reason I am so drawn to discovering the origins of our house has much to do with the fact that my own upbringing was so decisively modern. Raised in southern California, I make jokes that if it's 50 years old, we Californians knock it down (or an earthquake does) and rebuild! I watched the tract house I grew up in being built in the early '60's under my father's watchful eyes. (It still gives me a distant shock to hear realtors describe my old neighborhood as "established.") Palm Springs and Laguna Beach both have historic preservation committees to honor their structures that date back to the 1920's and 30's. By contrast, here in Southampton there are houses like the Halsey House on South Main Street that date from the mid to late 1600's!

So once upon a time, before there was an amazing garden, there was this piece of property with a great big house on it that had orginally been part of a greater piece of land where the Jagger family farmed.

If you've ever visited us at A Butler's Manor, you'll especially appreciate the vast difference between the yard then and the garden today. On the right side of the top picture you can see the old (!!) barn, demolished sometime during this renovation. I'm not sure how the property lines were drawn back then, but today the foundation upon which that barn sat is located just on the other side of our northern fence. The grande dame centerpiece of our garden, the Sycamore Maple tree under which we serve breakfast in summer morns, looks so young!

What fascinates me is the back porch...or is it the entrance to another apartment within the house? The porch is located almost exactly where I am writing today in our sunroom/office; the doorway is where the kitchen meets the office, and the blank wall just above it is now contains a window so that Eton Court's occupants can look out at the garden and pool.

In the second picture, taken partway through the remodel, the porch is gone, and some new windows have been added. The barn has been removed, and some grooming of the grounds is evident. In fact, if you'll look closely beneath the tree, you'll see the original planting of the pink Queen Elizabeth rose garden that now surround our fountain on the patio. Forty years ago...guess that would qualify them as "old growth" roses?

Today

While we've certainly made additions and enhancements to the property since we bought it in January of 2002 -- especially to the garden -- we didn't start with the blank slate the yard appears here. Each of the many occupants of the house that William Jagger built back in 1860 has left their own stamp. Like animals, we mark our territory, figuratively carving our names into the doorframes of that which we call home.

To be continued!

Quote of the Day: "The past actually happened. History is what someone took the time to write down." -- A. Whitney Brown

A Butler's Manor -- House History, Part 1

2011-03-18T15:48:00.001-04:00

Property at 244 No. Main St., ca 1970

I've said frequently that one of the advantages of living in a 150-year old house is that people knock on your door and tell you they used to live in it. Through these visits, we've learned of many of the iterations of the house at 244 North Main Street now known as A Butler's Manor.

Late last fall, we had another one of those visits. Mike Spencer and his wife Jodi from Upstate NY were passing through, and came to the door late in the afternoon. Mike's uncle had owned the house when he was a child, and he remembered helping to lay our iconic brick floor back in the early 1970's when he was ten years old. His family, as it turned out, was responsible for many of the changes we have marvelled at hearing about. A few weeks later, Mike and Jodi sent us a wonderful Christmas surprise: a packet of snapshots taken during the renovation. They couldn't know how much it means to Chris and me to have access to such history. I plan to share some of these discoveries over the next few weeks, in hopes that others find it as fascinating as we do.

We are blessed to have -- as a baseline, if you will -- information on the house's origins provided by our next door neighbor, Glena Jagger, whose grandfather built the house in 1860. Glena still lives on the balance of the original Jagger property just north of us. Her ancestors were early settlers in Southampton, originally tanners, later farmers, and she has ledgers dating back 350 years detailing accounts of their trade. It will make a neat addition to the Southampton Historical Museum's archives some day.
One thing we learned from Glena is that at one stage ours was a three-family home. Visible in the top picture is where a second front entrance once existed, entering into what is now our dining room. The second photo shows work in progress, where the door has been removed and the outside wall shingled. Also, the dark line above the front door is evidence of the removal of an original covered porch. Note the brick stairs into our house are not yet there.

A Butler's Manor today

Another thing we were thrilled to see in the photo was evidence of the original barn which sits on Glena's side of the property. The barn was decrepit back then, and apparently was either knocked down or removed...but the existing basement and foundations still remain, and are visible from the north side of our garden. Today, there are half a dozen full-sized trees growing out of the bottom of that basement. Amazing how fast Nature reclaims her own!

Next installment to follow soon!

Quote of the Day: "We shape our buildings; thereafter, our buildings shape us." --Winston Churchill

Thanksgiving week

2010-11-23T12:11:00.000-05:00

It's late fall and the season is winding down, which gives Chris and me the opportunity to do some maintenance and home improvements. The first two weeks in November saw the complete renovation of the bathroom in Oak Knoll, as well as installation of central air conditioning in each of the guest rooms -- yeah! We finished the former just in time to welcome guests in Oak Knoll this past weekend. Whew!

Around the village, most of the leaves have blown off the trees. Here in the garden, only the hornbeams are still hanging onto their fading summer foliage. Walking through the Southampton Village this morning, we saw the village crews putting up the annual display of Christmas trees that line Main Street and Job's Lane. Additionally, this year, a number of the deciduous trees have been strung with tiny twinkling white lights, magical at night. With or without snow, Southampton will be a winter wonderland this season. And there are so many events planned for it, beginning next weekend! See a sample of what to do here.

Thursday of course is Thanksgiving, and this year Chris and I will be enjoying traditional turkey fare at Seasons of Southampton, the pretty catering facility literally steps away from A Butler's Manor. (We'll join friends for a late Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday.) In the meantime, the official kick-off of the holiday shopping season begins the day after Turkey Day with Black Friday. But as residents of a small resort town with no big box stores or malls and owners of a small business ourselves, we are especially excited about Small Business Saturday, a promotion to encourage shopping at local, small businesses. American Express is doing the promotion of this nationwide event, offering a $25 credit to the first 100,000 shoppers who shop a participating (i.e., American Express card accepting) small business. I doubt I'll get out to the shops in time to qualify for the credit, but I'll be there. Our wonderful small shops are too precious to lose to the chains and the malls and the Internet, and need our support.

So as guests enjoy the fireplace instead of the pool, as hot tea rather than iced beckons after a walk on the beach, we settle in and enjoy the calmer quiet of late autumn season in Southampton. Still beautiful and, to many, even more appealing than during the hectic summer days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quote of the Day: I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. ~G.K. Chesterton

Ragamuffins on Parade

2010-11-01T15:30:00.005-04:00

Yesterday was Halloween, and in the village of Southampton, the Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual "Ragamuffin Parade" of little (and not so little!) children in costume, followed by a Pumpkin Trail of local merchants who hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters. In recent years, the event has been joined by a doggie costume parade sponsored by Little Lucy's on Job's Lane, a boutique that features the wardrobe of clothing, costumes, and jewelry your favorite pooch never knew she wanted. Not being parents, Chris and I haven't attended the event before, but our neighbors Lynn and Gary's 14-month-old twin girls were planning on participating, along with their two king Charles Cavallier spaniels, so we had to see them iin action! Little Pearse and the Blenheim (reddish) dog were bumblebees, while Gigi and the King Charles (black and tan) dog were ladybugs. Are they cute, or what?

And...wow! Main Street was swarming with familes, more crowded than on the busiest August weekend. There was barely room on the sidewalk to stand and watch the children collect their treats from participating merchants. After awhile, Chris and I repaired to Silver's and selected a seat in the window where we could watch the action from the warmth of the restaurant while enjoying an an elegant lunch ...something we never have an opportunity to do in August.

The weather is currently picture-perfect Autumn, with clear, bright, chilly days and a breeze to help blow the leaves from the trees. Out in our garden, Chris spends his free time digging up the bulbs that require overwintering (e.g., acidanthus, dahlia), while I am cutting the very last of the dahlias and roses for our rooms, augmenting the arrangements with the brush heads of ornamental grasses. The leaves on the Japanese maple at the back of the pool have turned their autumnal burnished orange, but the gigantic sycamore maple still has most of its leaves, all mostly green...it's always a late-season holdout.

There's still lots to do in the towns...birdwatching walks, weekend entertainment at many of the vineyards on both the South and North Forks, plus Long Island Restaurant Week, which starts this Sunday (three courses, $24.95!!). This Friday, the Parrish Museum's Business Council will host its annual Friday night jazz event, which we hope to attend, pending arrival time of our check-ins.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The fire is crackling in the fireplace, and the pumpkins adorn the front porch. Come enjoy it with us at A Butler's Manor!

Quote of the Day: For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad. ---Edwin Way Teale

2010-10-29T09:35:00.007-04:00

Things are quieting down here, as the leaves turn color and fall from the trees (which is great for plate decorations). My morning walk bgins in near darkness; the sky is blue with candy-pink clouds by the time I've passed the village, and I see the sun rise from the ocean by the time I've made it to the beach. Our foliage (that which turns color other than brown) seems to be just past peak, which is about on target, timing-wise...a little surprising, since the rest of the growing season this year has been 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. Proof, perhaps, that the Earth is ready to slow down and get ready for a winter's nap.

One of the perks of the job I frequently mention is that we meet so many people from so walks of life...and occasionally, we are able to return the favor of doing business together. We are happy to count Bill Kolb Jr, and his lovely wife Maryann among our favorite repeat guests. Bill's Subaru dealership in Orangeburg, NY, is one of the busiest in the country. When we decided to trade in my beloved 1998 Outback on a newer model, no question but that Bill was the man. So this week when things slowed down and we had a day off, it was a perfect opportunity to drive up to the Hudson Valley and pick up our new (well, previously owned) car. We are now the proud owners of a 2009 Subaru Outback XT. Major bonus: The Palisades Parkway was in full fall color!!

We're calling October "International Month:" In the last couple of weeks, we've had visitors from Germany, England (two different couples), Sweden, Brazil, South Korea, and this week we are enjoying guests from Scotland! It's made for some really interesting breakfast table conversation. We were particularly touched by Elimar and Jorge, our visitors from Rio, who were celebrating a milestone anniversary with a worldwide tour (previous stop: China!) and in the whole wide world, they stayed with us at A Butler's Manor. Yay for the Internet!

Quote of the Day: Oh how we love pumpkin season. You DID know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin...we anxiously anticipate it every year. ---Trader Joe's "Fearless Flyer," October 2010.

Run like the wind

2010-09-28T17:59:00.005-04:00

I was walking early yesterday morning down Toylsome Lane in the estate district when suddenly, a small deer bounded out into the street from the driveway of one of the properties ahead. She made a wide question-mark-shaped turn in the street as she assessed my level of threat before dashing towards me. Just then I spied what she was running from: a large dog rounded the hedge and set off in pursuit. Now, deer are fast, but I've never seen this kind of speed. No flick of the tail and graceful canter here. This gal literally had her little white tail tucked between her legs, and she was running as though she was up against Smarty Jones in the Kentucky Derby.

The dog gave it up after 50 yards, and, satisfied, trotted back down his driveway.

A couple houses farther on, I turned the corner just in time to see the dog trotting out into the street ahead, looking as though he were on patrol. He'd apparently cut through his backyard and those of a couple of other occupants. Then I heard a whistle, and he turned around and disappeared down a side street. I passed the dog and his owner a couple of minutes later, where she was petting and probably trying to distract him from continuing his search.

A few seconds later, I came to the ancient Southampton cemetary (first burial, 1648). There, shielded by the surrounding hedges, stood the deer. I laughed. For all the world, it seemed like dog and deer were playing a game of hide and seek. I snapped the photo here just as she turned tail to trot away, game over.

Speaking of running like the wind, the Hamptons Marathon is happening this morning as I write. The weather couldn't be better for the runners -- the persistent humidity and rain we've put up with for three days dissipated overnight, leaving clear skies and temps in the low 60's. As we have among our guests three competitors and three spectators, breakfast was a pretty small affair. I'll look forward to refilling their weary bodies tomorrow with a nutritious protein and veggie entree (and special after-26-miles-I-deserve-it muffins).

The rain on Tuesday made finals at the US Mid-Amateur Golf Championship, held earlier this week at the Atlantic Golf Club, pretty soggy. Our frequent guests Ron and Alice are members of the club, and come out to play there every so often. They weren't participating in the championship, but came out with friends from Seattle to enjoy it. We teased the Seattleites, accusing them of packing rainclouds in their baggage. But golfers seem to be an especially hardy sort, willing to drive those little white balls in nearly every type of weather except maybe snow (does any other sport offer an umbrella as an accessory?). Needless to say, hot tea went over well that afternoon, despite the 74-degree temperature.

Also happening this weekend and next is the Arts Harvest Southampton, a collaborative affair encompassing the visual, performing, and culinary arts. Southampton Village closes down part of Main Street each weekend to accommodate a bandstand for the live music performed all afternoon, the shops have sidewalk sales to peruse, folks are enjoying the action from outside tables in front of the restaurants. Tonight there is a live art auction of works by local artists, and a farm-to-table dinner, held on a long series of picnic tables in Agawam Park overlooking the pond.

Who says things slow down in the Hamptons after summer season ends?

Quote of the Day: When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." --Erma Bombeck

Post-Labor Day, 2010

2010-09-13T21:01:00.001-04:00

And there you have it, the Summer of 2010, which came in with a shout: the best weather over Memorial Day (sunny and hot!) and exited with a whimper called Hurricane Earl on Labor Day. Except that Earl was a no-show, tiptoeing by 200 miles offshore on Friday night with only a little rain and wind in his backpack. It was, however, enough to spook many visitors to the area who would've otherwise made the holiday the last hurrah of the season. Pity, too, as the sun was back in full force on Saturday, and it was a spectacular day for the Grand Prix event on Sunday at the Hampton Classic.

Still, it was a nice weekend and guests enjoyed themselves, and the day after Labor Day it was immediately Autumn in the Hamptons...clear, sunny days in the low 70's, with temps dropping in the evenings. The minute that sun drops behind the dune, you need your hoodie!

Chris and I had a chance to enjoy a picnic on the beach the other evening after all the guests had checked in, savouring an East Coast sunset (above) with our wine and smoked salmon. (How much better does Life get!?!) But the signs of the encroaching Fall are already upon us...I saw my first horse chestnut on Labor Day weekend, a chevron of Canadian geese honking their noisy way toward the south on Tuesday, and we're all donning jackets to enjoy live entertainment on the deck at Tiderunners or at the North Fork vineyards, as we had a chance to experience again this past Sunday.

Caroline Doctorow (yes, THAT Doctorow, daughter of E.L., author of such classics as Ragtime) is a talented folk/blues musican who lives out here on the East End. On Sunday, she was the featured performer at Peconic Bay Vineyards, one of the North Fork wineries who we enjoy and recommend to guests interested in spending a lovely weekend afternoon listening to live entertainment on the peaceful grounds of a working vineyard. We like Peconic Bay's La Barrique Chardonnay, which reminds me of California's Napa Valley chards, and Chris of France's Chassagne Montrachet. We met friends for a early dinner at the Frisky Oyster in Greenport, which we thoroughly enjoyed. It's a rare chance that we can get away as far as the North Fork until the off-season, and a great chance to be able to initiate or renew our acquaintance with locations old and new, so that we can better share them with our guests.

It is a marvelous time to come visit. The frayed tempers and traffic common in July and August have gone, the air is clear and the light beautiful, and all is far more calm and peaceful. Enjoy it with us!

Quote of the Day: Happiness is a wine of the rarest vintage, and seems insipid to a vulgar taste. --Francois, Duc de la Rochefoucauld

A summer of friends

2010-08-15T14:57:00.001-04:00

What's better than a busy summer? A busy summer filled with repeat guests...and many more we hope will become repeat guests. Looking over the calendar over the past six or so weeks, I see that we have had a steady stream of visitors who have called A Butler's Manor their home in the Hamptons at least once before. While we are continually energized by welcoming new guests (and meeting new friends!), there is a special kind of warmth created by those who choose to join us more than once.

This week, we have visiting again from Louisville, KY the sculptor Dave Caudill, who is picking up some pieces recently featured in the garden at the Chrysalis Gallery here in Southampton. We met Dave and his wife JoAnn several years ago when he was showing at a gallery on western Long Island and decided to venture east to the Hamptons. We loved Dave's graceful stainless steel artwork so much after his first visit several years ago that we now feature two pieces in our garden. Here's Dave (on the right with JoAnn), his brother Ed and sister in law Kitty in front of Garden Song.

Rain threatened during breakfast the other morning, so we set for breakfast inside. It turned out especially nice because everyone enjoyed chatting together, and lingered quite a while after the meal had been cleared. As I looked round the table, I realized that of the group, two separate couples were repeat guests -- one from last year, another from last month! -- and another couple had been referred to us by their daughter who had stayed with us earlier this summer. Sweet!

No rain today, though...the weather has been perfect for our beachgoing guests. The long, hot season has definitely taken a toll on the plant life in the area, though. I notice on my walks that the plane trees at the end of South Main Street here in Southampton are already begining to drop their leaves. More remarkable is that the beach rose (rosa rugosa) that grows along the dunes, and which usually produces its cherry-tomato-like rose hips about now, instead began producing hips beginning the end of June!!

Alas, one repeat guest I'll miss this year is our junior equestrian Zach, of whom I wrote last year. Zach is starting college this year, and freshman orientation is scheduled for precisely the same week of the Hampton Classic Horse Show. Life does move on! We wish him all the best in his collegiate life, but hope we see him next year!

To old friends and new, the best of August to you!

Quote of the Day: August creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied.-- Joseph Wood Krutch

Contrasts

2010-08-09T18:33:00.000-04:00

A common question from telephoners seeking accommodations in the Hamptons is "Where can I find an oceanfront resort?" For those who aren't familiar with the area (or whose idea of the Hamptons is influenced by the TV show Royal Pains), it seems logical that somewhere considered so glamorous should have restaurants, hotels and condos lining the ocean, Miami-style. I spend a lot of time giving such callers a history lesson of how the South Fork was developed, beyond its farming origins (which date back to the mid 1600s). The area now known as the Hamptons grew as a retreat for the Manhattan's wealthy, and as such, we now have "summer cottages" (read: mansions) lining the beach...not condos, and not hotels.

Of course, the presence of the wealthy means there is a large service class that serves them. (Chris, of course, has literal experience in this realm, as it was his butler profession that brought us to the Hamptons in the first place.) I tell guests that they can spend many a pleasant hour walking or cycling down the streets in the estate district, and the only people they are likely to see are the landscapers that maintain Hedgeville. But in the presence of so much, it sometimes comes as a shock to know that there are those who have very little out here, too. And I was reminded of this forcibly the other day.

A few times during my morning walks (from A Butler's Manor through the estate district down to the beach), I have seen an older man on a small Motocross-type bicycle who pulls a wheeled plastic trash can behind him. Yesterday, after dropping guests at Cooper's Beach, I finally saw why: He stops at all the trash cans that stand at the resident-permit beach entrances and sorts through the trash, pulling out recyclable bottles and cans. Seeing him wordlessly sifting through the detritus of someone else's languid day at the beach, with the profile of a large shingled estate in the background, really brought it home that, visible or not, more than the wealthy call the Hamptons home.

Quote of the Day: Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have. --- Rabbi Hyman Schachtel

P.S. If you watch Royal Pains, that big castle in the opening credits? It's Oheka Castle...in Huntington, Long Island (about one hour west of us). NOT in the Hamptons. Don't believe everything you see on TV!

2010-07-24T17:26:00.000-04:00

Which is the sweeter ride, the Wells Fargo Wagon, or a Bentley? A study in contrasts on North Main Street, prior to Southampton's annual Fourth of July parade...

Volunteers

2010-07-24T17:11:00.000-04:00

Sometimes seeds blow into the garden or we've composted something that eventually gets worked into the soil, and then out of the blue, we get what Chris likes to call a volunteer. I find it fun (Chris, not so much) to see what shows up. Yes, yes, you can argue that anything you didn't purposely plant is a WEED! -- and of course, most of them are. But for example, stuck into the corner of a bed where we're growing thyme, we have a volunteer tomato plant that is currently about 15" high. Is it a Big Boy? Cherry? Some other type? If it makes it to full size, we may know. Over behind the "real" tomato bed is one single sunflower...presumably the gift of one of the birds. Chris pulled out the pumpkin plant that threatened to take over half of the vegetable garden, sigh...guess I'll be cutting my pumpkins this fall at Hank's Pumpkin Town with the the rest of the crowds. A tiny cedar tree appeared a couple of years ago in the middle of a bed of Lady's Mantle...Chris transplanted it back behind the pool, where it is now nearly two feet high.

Speaking of volunteers...The weather was perfect for the beach this past weekend, but the riptides were worrisome, and I was glad that all of our guests who enjoyed the ocean did so at Cooper's Beach where there are lifeguards on duty until 5 PM. On Sunday, two of our guests, Mark and Jennifer, were enjoying the late afternoon hours with a long walk along the beach. A Korean church group had set up in an area quite a ways down the beach, beyond reach of the lifeguard station (even if it had still been manned; it was now nearly six PM). As they approached, a frantic woman ran up to them, screaming for help: One of their members had gone swimming and was in deep trouble. Mark dived into the dangerous surf, swam out, and pulled the man safely back to shore. That's not only a volunteer, that's a hero!

Quote of the Day: We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give. --Winston Churchill

Heat wave

2010-07-10T19:14:00.000-04:00

We've had a heat wave this week, so hot and sticky (well, for the Hamptons) that it's hard to get motivated to go outside of air conditioned comfort unless it's to the pool or the beach -- both popular choices of our guests this past week. Chris and I spotted each other for a couple of hours off apiece this week, and both times I went to the beach. On Tuesday afternoon, the ocean was as calm as the bay, with tiny little waves making their way up the shore as the tide came in, and I sat down where an errant wave would occasionally wash over my feet...wonderfully refreshing. Today, with widely scattered showers and thunderstorms predicted, the scene at the beach was far different: the waves were scarily beautiful, high and full and angry. I was a little relieved that the threat of rain had kept most people away from a swim, because the surf included a wicked riptide. Eastward, I could see by the clouds that East Hampton and Montauk were getting some serious rain but, while overcast, it was only spitting in Southampton -- not even enough to worry about raindrops ruining my book.

Coming off the beach around 4:15, I watched a deer step through the car park and disappear into the grounds of one of the estates that line the oceanfront. I doubt that would have happened on a sunnier, and therefore, busier beach day...but then again, the deer here seem to be getting increasingly used to civilization, so who knows.

It was the oddest thing: We set up for breakfast on the patio this morning with one eye watching the clouds, ready to relocate the meal to the dining room if need be. At 9:30 AM, pretty much everyone was seated and the sun was high in the hazy sky...and raindrops started to fall. The guests, seated under the shade umbrellas that cover the tables, saw no reason to move inside. Puzzled, I commented that all we seemed to be missing was a rainbow.

David said, "We don't see it because obviously this place IS the end of the rainbow!"

Clouds and mugginess will pass, but here at the end of the rainbow, I'm smiling.

Quote for the Day: Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Continue to learn. Appreciate your friends. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. --Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey

The taste of summer

2010-07-01T17:58:00.001-04:00

Most of our guests visit A Butler's Manor for R&R, but there are some who are on business, and we strive to be as close to "home" (without the distractions often found there!) as possible. Patrick, a recent guest, was doing a "deep breathe" between two business conferences. He still had calls to make and reports to send, but with our WiFi operational over the whole property, here's where he made his "office." If you've got to work, this is not too shabby, eh?

It's been a week of exceptionally congenial guests who have evidently enjoyed both their stay and each other. Each day guests have lingered over the breakfast table (okay, so the breakfast table IS in Chris's garden), chatted with each other at the pool, sat down together in the living room after coming home from dinner...just a really simpatico crowd. It gives me such a warm feeling to see that happen.

Weather on tap for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend is supposed to be perfect -- 80 degrees and clear. I'm sure the Butlermobile (a.k.a. the Buick Roadmaster) will be making lots of trips to and from Cooper's Beach this weekend! Also perfect weather to enjoy a lobster overlooking the marina in Hampton Bays at Sunwaters Grill or Tide Runners (greedy me, I've done both this week). The latter has entertainment on the dock overlooking the Shinnecock Canal, and judging by the crowd on the night we went (Sunday), some of those bands have quite a following. A warm night, a breeze off the water, sweet lobster in melted butter, a tropical drink and some live music...doesn't get much better than that!

Speaking of live music, tonight (Wednesday) begins the summer Concerts in the Park series here in Southampton Village. I've said before how this is one of my all-time favorite things to do in summer. Agawam Park (at the base of Job's Lane) fills up with families out to enjoy a true small-town good time. Pack a picnic, grab a beach chair and a bottle of wine and enjoy the music and the ambiance, while the little kids dance in front of the bandstand or run off to the playground. The Southampton Cultural Center, which funds this wonderful summer activity, sends the bucket brigade around at halftime to collect a small voluntary donation to pay the bands that entertain us. Most of us locals have been attending these concerts for years, and are happy to drop a few bucks in the bucket. So (WARNING, rant ahead!) it just frosts me to see, as I did tonight, a group comprised of say, a couple of women, perhaps their husbands, four or five children, and one or two nannies (!) enjoying the evening, but who shrug and shake their heads when the bucket brigade reaches them as if to say oops, sorry, didn't bring any money. Worse, I've seen people ignore these volunteers altogether, turning away from them as though they didn't exist. Come on, folks! Southampton is, overall, a very well-to-do community. There is no excuse for not helping to preserve the little joys that contribute to making it such a great place to live and visit.

Okay, stepping off the soapbox now.

We look forward to a great weekend, and helping our guests enjoy all that the Hamptons have to offer, that they will come away loving it the way we do.

Quote of the Day: A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. -- James Dent

Who is a celebrity?

2010-06-24T07:20:00.000-04:00

Occasionally, guests will ask, "Have you had any celebrities stay here?"

Our answer: "All our guests are celebrities as far as we're concerned." And we mean it. (By the way, most celebrities who don't already have a house out here have friends who do. Or their handlers want to book them last minute on busy summer weekends and expect us to kick someone else out of our largest room in order to do it. Not happening in my lifetime.)

We have had national newscasters, polo players, a well-known college basketball coach, and once, a German prince stay with us, but truly, the primary reason most of us innkeepers choose to open a bed and breakfast is because we enjoy meeting people from all over the world and all walks of life. Chris and I don't generally ask people what they do for a living (in case they prefer not to say), but often the subject comes up of its own accord in the morning over breakfast, and often, lively conversation ensues. Once in a while, someone stays at A Butler's Manor who makes his or her living in a way that is an uncommon as Chris's having been a butler for twenty years. Needless to say, this makes for especially interesting breakfast table conversation.

Such was the case the other day with Kent stayed with us. Kent is a professional jockey, the winner of three Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness and one Belmont Stakes. As someone who toured Churchill Downs a few years ago and would love to see the Derby in person someday (of course, wearing a huge hat!), I was intrigued, and so were our other guests. When Kent checked out, he gave us a Player's Card, like a baseball card. Fun!

Once we had a guy who was a Olympic medalist in swimming. He was a quiet sort of guy and probably wouldn't have volunteered the information, but someone recognized his Olympic ring (a gold ring with the signature five ring design) and asked about it. Soon everyone at the table was involved in the conversation, and we all learned a lot about the Olympics as seen from the inside.

Isn't this a great way to make a living?

Quote of the Day: We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else's idea of life. --James Van Praagh

A cute problem

2010-06-15T14:11:00.000-04:00

Visitors from large cities, especially those from New York City, often refer to the Hamptons as "the country" (though how any place that includes local outposts of Ralph Lauren and Saks Fifth Avenue can be considered "country," I'm not sure) and many of them are enchanted to encounter our wildlife, whether it be the sight and song of the birds in the morning, or a glimpse of deer grazing (we hope!)alongside of the road. But late last night we discovered some unexpected guests...a mama Mallard duck and eleven (!!) little ducklings making themselves at home in our pool.

We can't figure out where this little brood came from. The babies seemed too small to be able to fly yet. And there was no Papa Mallard to be seen. Our nearest natural pond is Lake Agawam on the west edge of the village...a distance of just about a mile. There are wetlands and ponds in Water Mill that may possibly be closer, but cute as it is to see a mama duck trailing a platoon of offspring, I can't envision them crossing Montauk Highway safely. (Hey, it's difficult enough in summer to make a left hand turn.)

So last night, worried about how the little ducklings would get out of the pool (the coping was surely too deep for them to jump out), we hung about with a flashlight to see if they'd find the steps in the shallow end. Chris turned off the automatic timer on the pool so that the motor didn't come on and suck the little babies into the skimmer. Even so, I went to bed hoping we weren't going to find drowned ducklings in the morning (which marks me as every bit as unused to wildlife as our city guests!).

On the contrary: By breakfast time this morning, the whole lot had quite settled in and decided this was a nice new home, and had even discovered that the silent skimmers made great hiedey-holes. Uh, sorry. Cute as they may be, I somehow don't see our guests interested in sharing a swim with new feathered friends.

A call to our local Wildlife Center elicited advice, but no offer to help relocate our traveling family. It looked like we were going to have to somehow round up Mama and put her in a box, then round up all the duckling and put them in a box, and transport them all to one of the nearby ponds. (The man-made pond in front of our bed & breakfast colleague Donna Andreassi's "Pondview," came to mind.) In the meantime, we chased them all into the center of the pool, put those bright foam floating "noodles" in front of the skimmer entrances, and turned on the pool, hoping that if the water were less "pond-like" and still, perhaps Mama would be encouraged to take her children elsewhere.

It seems to have worked. With a huffy, "well, if that's the way you're going to be about it" twitch to her rear end, Mama lined all her little ducks up in height order and led them through the side gate, out into the field beyond. Whew!

At A Butler's Manor, we like to say that you don't need a house in the Hamptons, you've got us. But maybe we do need to draw the line somewhere...

Unexpected blessing

2010-06-07T16:31:00.000-04:00

It was to be a quiet morning here...just two couples in residence, and one of them, poor things, had to catch an early flight back to Seattle, so left (with a breakfast care package) at o' dark-thirty. The other couple were honeymooners recuperating from their wedding this past Saturday (and a follow-up BBQ on Sunday). Weather is perfect, so the table is all set in the garden. Orange juice is squeezed and on ice. Plates are decorated with lemon balm and Evening Primrose. On the menu: fresh (local!) strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and melon, individual cinnamon coffee cakes, and sausage with raspberry French Toast, which has been prepped and dipped but will be cooked off when I see the whites of their eyes.

Nine-thirty AM comes...and goes. Ten o'clock. Ten-thirty. At 10:50 they appear, distressed and apologetic. They'd planned on having breakfast...had looked forward to it...but overslept. (Totally understandable for bridal couples following their wedding -- the emotional letdown is huge!) Now they had to run, in order to say goodbye to overseas friends who had traveled so far to see them wed. No time to even put them together a care package.

So off they go in a cloud of dust, and I'm disappointed because a) they missed their meal, and b) I hate to see food wasted. The birds do well by our leftover baked goods, but cooked food attracts only the kind of varmints we don't wish to take up residence at A Butler's Manor.

So...Chris and I had breakfast. What, you say? you don't eat your breakfasts? The truth: I sample my menus. One bite, maybe two. I'm still working off the fifteen pounds I put on in the early years of running A Butler's Manor when I was developing the majority of the recipes I use today! But today, I said, we get to do more than grab a taste of what's for breakfast...we're going to experience breakfast the way our guests do. Who cares if it's not on the diet?

And so I cooked off the French toast and sausages and Chris poured the orange juice and we sat out on the patio in the rose garden and enjoyed a wonderful meal, if I do say so myself. :) And then we had an extra cup of coffee, just because it was so peaceful, before we went upstairs to start the rooms.

Sometimes it takes little disruptions in the routine in order to allow us to appreciate Life more!

Quote of the Day: Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures. --H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Our Beach is Number One!

2010-06-04T11:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, so we always thought our beaches were special...the sand is clean, pale blond, and fine textured, and beach grass dots the dunes that separate the summer estates from the ocean sands. But just before the Memorial Day weekend, the internationally known coastal scientist Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a.k.a. "Dr. Beach," published his list of the Ten Top Beaches in America...and ranked Southampton Village's Cooper's Beach FIRST in the nation! In the list of the Top Ten, East Hampton's Main Beach was ranked #5. In the 20 years that Dr. Beach has been evaluating and publishing this list, this is the first time a "northern" beach has been awarded the #1 spot. (Hawaii's phenomenal tropical beaches have taken the honors twelve of the twenty years). Not a bad showing for what appears on a US map to be a tiny fingernail sliver of land called Long Island!

And this past weekend was the perfect time to test Dr. Beach's recommendation, as the weather on Sunday could not have been more optimal.
When shuttling our guests to and from Cooper's Beach, Chris and I noted that the overflow parking lot was more reminiscent of 4th of July than of Memorial Day. I have a feeling that's going to be par for the course all summer!

Quote for the Day: “The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.” --Isak Dinesen

Kicking off summer 2010

2010-05-26T17:08:00.001-04:00

It just doesn't get any better than this: a warm summer afternoon on the stunning Tuscan-inspired patio overlooking the vineyards at Wolffer Estate Winery, enjoying a glass of wine, some artisinal cheeses and breads while listening to international jazz by saxophonist Charles Certain and guitarist Alfredo Merat. The winery's popular Twilight Thursdays (at the winery) and Sunset Fridays (at the farmstand on Rte. 27, just east of the winery) are back. Summer can officially begin!

While the calendar says summer is still almost a month away, Memorial Day is traditionally the summer kick off here in the Hamptons. In the garden here at A Butler's Manor, the warm, wet Spring has pushed everything forward about three weeks ahead of schedule. Most Memorial Day weekends, I'm cutting lilacs for the guest rooms...this year, it will be the pink Queen Elizabeth roses, which began opening this morning. And it looks like we'll have perfect 70-degree weather for the holiday weekend. As I write, the outside temp is 80 degrees, the first real hot day of the year, and the pool is looking mighty tempting! I hope everyone is packing the sunscreen for the weekend, as the beach is going to be the place to be!

In our ongoing efforts to update our restaurant dining guide for our guests (hey, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it), Chris and I visited a new restaurant overlooking the canal in Hampton Bays this week. Rumba is Caribbean island-inspired cuisine with a distinct nod to owner/chef David Hersh's Miami upbringing and New Orleans background. It's a small, casual place reminiscent of a island beach bar, with bamboo paddle fans and a deck overlooking the Shinnecock Canal. We had delectible Dominican ribs, and yummy marinated rib eye with roasted sweet potatoes and...I couldn't help it...I had to splurge on the homemade key lime pie with a mountain of real whipped cream. And speaking of entertainment, on Thursdays Rumba features "Project Vibe," live Reggae music from 8 -11 PM. A breeze off the water, the setting sun, a convivial crowd...what could go better with your daiquiri, mon?

Looking forward to warm summer breezes..and French wines with cheeses...and maybe some Jimmy Buffett music to go with the sand between my toes...

Quote of the Day: Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon... the two most beautiful words in the English language. -- Henry James

Up in the wild blue yonder

2010-05-19T18:18:00.000-04:00

People come to the Hamptons for many reasons, the most common of which include our beautiful clean beaches and sweet little villages. Others come to golf, sail, hike, explore history, or just relax and enjoy it all. But this last weekend we had guests at A Butler's Manor who were on the East End to do something I had heretofore been unaware one could do out here: Skydive.

Liam and Laura were our thrillseekers, and this is Laura here in the picture, showing some mock attitude but actually loving every second of her (approximately) 60-second freefall before the parachute kicked in. The company that offers the experience is Skydive Long Island in Calverton (about 25 miles northwest of us). I knew nothing about skydiving (and my fear of heights is such I'm not likely to try it anytime soon), so was fascinated to learn that a first time jump is always a tandem jump (seen here) with an experienced professional; Laura's jump instructor has clocked over 14,000 jumps!! Also, notice the hands in the bottom of the picture. That's the photographer (you were wondering about this already, right?) who jumps with you...he has a video camera, plus some sort of TeleTubby-looking camera on his head that takes a strobe series of still photos, like this one. The cameraman can't launch his parachute until AFTER you do (otherwise it would get in the way of his photography of you). Now that's thrill-seeking!

Needless to say, Liam and Laura's description of their jump was THE topic over breakfast the next morning!! Still, they said that the next time they come stay, they're going to skip the sky and just enjoy the blue of the pool!

(PS: Doesn't the East End look cool from way up there!)

Quote of the Day: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. --Edward Abbey

Full spring ahead

2010-05-05T19:49:00.000-04:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo! If I were back in Callifornia right now, believe me, I'd be at El Ranchito having a frozen margarita, grande, please, double the lime, hold the salt. And a plate of nachos.

However, life in Southampton here at A Butler's Manor is mighty good right now. Weather report: A sunny, clear, glorious 70 degrees F, with just enough breeze that the windchimes bong occasionally-- a bass note to accompany the treble of birdsong. The cherry tree is covered in pink petals (as is the lawn below it). We opened the pool a couple of weeks ago, and it is warming up nicely in the sun, a sparkling blue pond. As far as the garden goes, we appear to be about three weeks ahead of schedule. Trees are already filling in, and the azaleas are in full color. I can remember cutting lilac blossoms for the rooms for Memorial Day weekend, yet the lilacs are already in full bloom now, and we've been able to serve breakfast out on the patio the last couple of days.

It's amazing how many people's moods reflect a good dose of sunshine and nice weather. The sound of our guests' laughter as they enjoyed breakfast in the garden this morning was a better pick-me-up than the best cup of coffee. And then after breakfast, up in Riverhead at BJ's, I'd unloaded all my groceries onto the conveyor belt at checkout only to find that I'd neglected to retrieve my club membership card from Chris. Now, BJ's customer service folks are always helpful, and I knew that if I went to the customer service desk with my ID they'd give me a temporary pass so that I could check out. But when the woman in front of me saw me starting to load my stuff back into my cart, she said, "Don't put it all back and waste that time. We'll just use my card." Just a small thing, really, but it really gave me a warm, sunshiny feeling of connectedness with the Universe. Doesn't Spring just do that to you?

It's been three weeks today since my foot surgery. I'm out of the boot and wearing a sneaker for the most part, but am, alas, not yet able to walk to the beach and back in the early morning. However, I'm trying short walks and took a gentle yoga class yesterday, and everything is feeling pretty good, considering. But the BEST thing? Today at noon, when I was cutting flowers from the garden for guest rooms, I kicked the sneakers off and went barefoot in the cool, damp grass. OOOOOOH!!! I don't think I've enjoyed being barefoot so much since I was a kid!

Quote of the day: Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth. --Walt Whitman

Missing in action?

2010-04-20T14:58:00.000-04:00

It is very strange to own a bed and breakfast and not meet your guests.

Last Wednesday, I had some minor foot surgery that I'd been putting off awhile. Doctor's orders were that I remain in bed or in a chair where I could keep my foot elevated for at least 5 days. Me, off my feet!?! Difficult even to imagine. But it's not like I don't have capable help. I do the cooking here at A Butler's Manor, but those who've read A Butler's Life know that Chris used to prepare and serve multi-course gourmet dinners. So aided by our able housekeeper Kristen, Chris (easily) handled the breakfasts and enjoyed our weekend guests. Back in our quarters, I could hear bursts of laughter from the dining room. And felt a little left out...though I did get a lot of restorative downtime. And I certainly couldn't complain about the the sound of birdsong, nor of the view of the budding trees and spring blooms outside my window that I had the time to sit and enjoy.

Bonus of living with a classically-trained butler (not to mention a wonderful husband!): I got the full silver service treatment...meals in bed, cups of tea, a laptop and a phone and a pile of books to keep me occupied (and immobile). Yeah!

I'm back to work now, though still in my "boot" -- not quite to speed yet, but healing nicely, thank you, and looking forward to flip flop season!

(Special note to the lovely guests I missed meeting this time: I look forward to your next visit!)

Quote of the Day: Swallow your pride occasionally, it's non-fattening! ~Author Unknown

A touch of whimsy

2010-04-11T16:14:00.001-04:00

Weather report here at A Butler's Manor: Sixty glorious, sunny degrees, with a touch of breeze to waft the scent of daffodils in bloom. The ocean at Gin Lane Beach this morning: Calm blue, with no surf to speak of...as docile as a bay beach.

Even prettier was the bare mist rising off little Lake Agawam, which begins at the back of Agawam Park on the southwest end of Job's Lane in Southampton and ends just steps from Gin Lane Beach, across from St. Andrew's on the Dunes church. The flora that surround the small pond haven't yet filled in, affording passersby with a lovely view of the houses on First Neck Lane reflected in the mirror-like water.

Overlooking this view on the Gin Lane side of Lake Agawam is a large house currently undergoing an extensive renovation (in the estate district, there doesn't seem to be such a thing as a minor renovation). And in this house's back yard, just visible through the bare trees and as-yet leafless hedges, is this old treehouse. Not one of those modern ones that double as a jungle gym, or a freetanding platform "clubhouse," but an old-fashioned structure made of wood built into the architecture of the large tree.

Oh, how I wanted a treehouse when I was young! Even just a platform with a rope ladder, where I could climb up and read my books and feel like I was spying on the world below. But my childhood home was a tract house, brand new when my parents bought it, and not until I was an adult living away from home did any of the trees on our street get big enough to support a treehouse. Now of course we have a giant sycamore maple anchoring the garden here at A Butler's Manor, big enough to build a condo in -- if only I were ten years old again!!

The Gin Lane treehouse is (or was) quite a posh treehouse; it has windows and rustic operative shutters and all the faces except this one are shingled like the main house. Perhaps when it was built, the owners saw no need to shingle the back side of the treehouse, as it couldn't be seen anyway...not, that is, until winter, when its summer occupants are far away. I'm guessing the (probably new) owners of the remodeled house will eventually get round to having the treehouse pulled out when they turn their attention to the landscaping. But until they do, I'm happy to have found it and recorded its existence for posterity.

Another house in the estate district, reputably occupied by the writer Tom Wolfe, also has a treehouse in the front yard. It's quite a bit smaller, and has a lovely round porthole window in it. This one you can see if you know to look for it, but once the tree fills with leaves, it's nearly invisible to the unsuspecting. Still, knowing the treehouses are here delights me. In the midst of opulence, a touch of whimsy.

Quote of the Day: That which we surround ourselves with becomes the museum of our soul and the archives of our experiences. -- Thomas Jefferson

A happy coincidence

2010-03-28T18:08:00.000-04:00

Spring weather report: A little cooler than usual this weekend with a cool breeze though the sun is out, and we had guests enjoying the area on bicycles yesterday. Beach report (at 7 AM this morning): Water a granite grey-green, with small, choppy waves. Great day for a brisk walk on the beach with someone you love.

All the harbingers of Spring are present: fat red robins out on the grass, the first daffodils in the garden, buds on the forsythia just showing a hint of their brilliant yellow flowers to come. Yesterday Chris reveled in his first sunny Saturday spent in the garden, turning over the vegetable beds and starting seeds for lettuce, peppers, and both edible and ornamental sweet peas among other horticultural delights.

Many of you know that I write books in my spare time; that in addition to A Butler's Life and our cookbook, I've written two novels of psychological suspense and, most recently, one of women's fiction. Alas, if there's something harder for me to do than to find time to write, it's to market the books to a potential agent (who in turn hopefully sells the novel to a publisher). Nonfiction, such as the memoir A Butler's Life is sold by proposal and, on request, an outline and sample chapters, meaning you needn't necessarily have the book completed before you query. Fiction, on the other hand, is sold only when the book is completed, editied and polished to within an inch of its life. But you don't send that polished manuscript in unless you're invited to do so. Before that, you send a query and if the book interests the agent you're targeting, he or she may ask to see more of it.

I've been committed to trying to find a home (besides mine) for this new book, and last week I queried a particular agent. Her name was familiar, but with the research I've done on agents, after awhile names DO look familiar, and besides, I knew from my records that I had previously (unsuccessfully) pitched a book to her. A day or so later I received an email saying that she would be happy to look at a few chapters, especially as she remembered me and had such a nice experience while staying at A Butler's Manor last fall. Eeeeek, no wonder her name had sounded so familiar! Since Chris and I rarely learn what most of our guests do for a living, I'd never connected the dots. Still, whether or not it pans out, I'm still grateful that a happy association with our inn afforded this opportunity!

Wish me luck!

Quote of the day: The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. --Benjamin Disraeli

Spring ahead

2010-03-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

Oh, were the rainstorms brutal this past weekend! As I write this, there are still towns upIsland that still do not have power, and all over Long Island, the tree crews have more work than they can handle, cleaning up the downed trees and fallen limbs. The wind howled at almost hurricane strength and the rain pelted against the windows, but luckily, on the East End, we were spared the flooding and major damage...and at A Butler's Manor, with guests in residence (and daylight savings time springing forward!) we didn't even lose power. Whew!

Today the sun came out, and around the (nicely watered!) garden, we see the first peepings of Spring in the little lavender buds of crocus and daffodil foliage peering from beneath the leaf mulch. I walked down to the beach this week to see the ocean, and it is angry...lots of whitecaps, and lots of waves. A long winter has stripped some of the sand from the beach, unveiling some of the old wooden revetments that were built long ago to contain the sand drift. I saw a gaggle of geese poking around Agawam Pond near Gin Lane beach --not Canadian geese, but the huge Greylag geese, which are the size of a really husky swan, and every bit as aggressive This gang, though, is so used to being fed bread scraps all summer long that they probably believed I was going to pay for the photo above with some food.

Speaking of food, Hamptons Restaurant Week begins this Sunday -- three course prix fixe meals for $24.95, what a deal! Participating restaurants include all of our favorite recommendations, such as Plaza Cafe and red bar brasserie and Tuscan House in Southampton, Muse in Water Mill, Bobby Vans in Bridgehampton, Oasis in Sag Harbor, and Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue. For us, however, it will be a chance to sample restaurants we haven't tried or those that are too far for us to go to during high season (anywhere in Montauk, for example). I've warned Chris that the only meal I'm firing up the stove for next week will be breakfast!

Quote for the day: If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, -- quieter, warmer. --Dag Hammarskjold

Piano rolls

2010-03-15T17:09:00.000-04:00

We're back from our annual sojourn to Southern California and are already welcoming guests for our ninth season. And right off the bat, I'm reminded about why we so love this business -- the extraordinary people we meet at A Butler's Manor.

Back in June 2005, a journalist named Aimee Fitzgerald Martin wrote a series of light pieces titled My Favorite Things for Long Island's Newsday in which she profiled me and my piano. The piano, a Chase & Baker player) is one antique that has been in my family since it was built in 1912. Originally manufactured in Buffalo, NY, my mother learned to play as a child, and had it shipped it from her native Chicagoland to southern California in 1960. I grew up pumping the pedals to power the piano rolls which create the music, and following my father's death in 1999, shipped the piano back East, where it now anchors the front parlor of A Butler's Manor. I have close to 100 original piano rolls, many with words, and occasionally, we have impromptu piano bar nights here at the B&B. Fun!

A gentleman named Bill Grimaldi saw that Newsday article. He'd never had a player piano himself, but years before he had come across four piano rolls which had once been part of a decorator setting, probably at someplace like TGIFridays. Bill lives midway up Long Island, and he said he'd been meaning to drive out to the Hamptons and look us up so that he could give them to me. And so on this sunny March morning, he arrived at our door, boxes in hand. Four titles, perfect for my collection which centers on old jazz, including Pennies From Heaven and All By Myself. I invited him in, spooled one of the rolls and played it, and we were both thrilled. To me, it is so extraordinary to have someone drop in out of the blue to give you a gift, but still I know what he meant when he said it had made HIS day, because there is a certain satisfaction in seeing something go to exactly the right home.

A toast to Bill, whose simple act of kindness reminded me once again how wonderful human beings can be to one another.

Quote of the Day: You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. --Mahatma Gandhi

It's a marshmallow day in the winter...

2009-12-22T11:29:00.000-05:00

Well, we survived The Blizzard of '09.

Guests, especially those who visit in high summer and contemplate a quiet retreat here come winter, often ask how much snow we get. From a gardening standpoint, we're Zone 7a, which means we our low temperature could be 0 degrees. Yet Southampton, with a coast on both sides (Atlantic on the south, Long Island Sound to the north), generally enjoys a relatively snow-free winter. Usually winter brings us a couple of storms that dump a 5" powder-sugar pancake that melts within days. The more trecherous possibility is that, halfway through the snowmelt, the weather turns suddenly colder and freezes the remaining slush into ice, which can remain for weeks of clear, cold weather. But a white Christmas? It's happened exactly once in the 17 years that Chris and I have been in the Hamptons.

So a snowstorm was forecast for last Saturday, pushing up the coast and tracking northeast. The news stations, always quick to try to make a weather event into Big News, started hyping it a few days in advance. Eastern Long Island could receive as much as a foot of snow, they warned, and with the winds forecast, it could become a blizzard with white out conditions.

Oh boy. We had four rooms of guests scheduled for arrival. One of the four cancelled; they were coming from Boston, and the possibility of being snowed in was a risk they couldn't take. But everybody else arrived, and at that time they did we had a festive little dusting of snow (see the December picture to the left). But soon snow was falling steadily, and Santa's planned visit to the Southampton Chamber of Commerce wasn't getting a lot of traffic. As the snow continued to worsen, shops and even restaurants began to close. Still, the fire was cozy and crackling in our living room, and we made sure our guests had dinner reservations close by.

Sunday morning we woke up to two feet of snow, not counting the drifts -- a record for the area. (Take a look at this picture here, then scroll down the page and contrast it with the shot of the same area, labeled July 2009.) At seven AM, while snow continued to fall, we began to clear what we could. I shoveled the front stairs while Chris fired up his snowblower (the first time in three years he'd been able to use it) and cut a path to the back gate and out into the car park. Our neighbor Perry Delalio, who owns the stone and asphalt company down the street, was kind enough to bring his bulldozer round to plow the driveway enough to be able to drive the cars out. But we had the guests' three cars, not to mention our two, to dig out, which had to be done by hand. And news stations were reporting that Southampton was considered a snow emergency -- even the plows were getting stuck. We might all be snowbound here.

I went back inside to prepare breakfast, and as I did, down the stairs came Jim and Norman, two of our guests, pulling on gloves and hats and carrying snow shovels. Bless their hearts, they were not only prepared to help, they had brought snow shovels WITH them! (Jim even had snow chains in his truck!) And for the next hour or so until breakfast, and for an hour or so afterwards Chris and the guys and even some of the gals all worked to free the cars. It was such a great example of the spirit of the holidays.

Our third set of guests were a lovely young couple originally from Arizona, for whom this was not only their first winter on the East Coast, but their first snowstorm. They were scheduled to fly back the following day to Phoenix for the holidays, where I'm sure our blizzard will be a great story!

The weather has remained at freezing point the past two days, so little snow has melted, though at least now the roads have all been plowed to a greater or lesser extent. The weather report threatens more precip for Christmas Day, though chances are it will be rain, making ice sculpture out of our snow piles. But I doubt it will wash much of the snow away, so we'll have a white Christmas after all.

So as for us, we're going to enjoy the view from the window with a cup of hot chocolate and Christmas music playing in the background.

Wishing everyone all the blessings of the season, the love of family near and far, and a happy, healthy, and safe New Year!!

Getting ready for the holidays

2009-12-03T12:40:00.000-05:00

Chris and I love Christmas. And we love a house that celebrates the season. I have to admit: I have never lived in a place where I didn't know even before I moved in exactly where I'd set up the Christmas tree. We start decorating the day after Thanksgiving, and it usually takes several days to do. The division of labor is clear: He does the outside stuff, I do the inside stuff. We both do the Christmas tree. Look carefully at the picture to the right -- there's Chris up in a tree, stringing lights in the large evergreen next to the car park. (Boy, is THAT ever a job. Could we ever use a friend with a "cherry picker" to do that!)

As for me, cookies are baked, shopping is progressing, cards are in the works. I found a cool new site called Pandora.com that designs a music "station" around your personal preferences, and so I've created a station called Instrumental Holiday which plays in the background of my computer all day while I work.

So many people think that this time of year is "dead" in the Hamptons. They couldn't be more wrong. True, the traffic looks nothing like a summer weekend -- you can get to East Hampton in twenty minutes, instead of more than double that in August. But each village is decorated for the holidays, with lit Christmas trees flanking the sidewalks of the center of town. And lots to do.

Found some great stuff at last weekend's Parrish Presents bazaar. This is one must-do event for anyone visiting over Thanksgiving weekend: an annual shopping event comprised of wonderful boutique items, a silent auction for incredible things like Chanel handbags and golf and spa weekends at La Costa, and -- our favorite -- a huge "tag sale" of gently used furniture and housewares, donated by the community (often by the very wealthy membership that supports the Parrish Art Museum). There is a benefit cocktail party on Friday night, then the event is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday for a modest $5 entrance fee. We scored tickets to the cocktail party, where we saw more of the Meadow Club membership (affluent residents of the Estate District) than we ever see all summer long.

The funniest thing is how the this party plays out. In the queue of folks waiting for the doors to open at 5 PM there is a vague odor of mothballs in the "country winter wear" (even if it's Prada or Dolce Gabbana) likely unearthed for the first time this year. Few bother to check their coats. Everyone shoots straight past the (wonderful) exhibition in the museum itself, past the open bar and past catering staff proffering hors d'oeuvres, past the boutique and silent auction areas -- straight for the tag sale, which occupies all of the old Rogers Memorial Library next door to the museum. The crowds pushing through the tag sale building resemble a queue on a Disney ride. Parrish staff are attaching red "SOLD" tags right and left for buyers who, in many cases, could afford to buy the whole building. Once the initial pass through the offerings is made, everyone seems to adjourn to pick up a drink and a nibble or two, make one more leisurely pass through the tag sale, before heading back into the museum where the boutique and bar are situated. It is a thoroughly enjoyable event. (And we came home with, among other things, a great slubbed silk chair and ottoman...yeah!)

Here in Southampton, a whole series of holiday-inspired events called Southampton: It's A Wonderful Village are planned. This Saturday, for example, there are guided tours of the Historical Society's Rogers Mansion, all decked out for the season...horse and buggy rides through the village...a parade of fire trucks, each decorated with lights, at dusk...a tree lighting of the enormous evergreen in Agawam Park (which they DO use a cherry picker to decorate!)...outdoor movies shown on the corner of Main and Job's Lanes...lots of music, cookies, cider, and goodwill to men throughout. As soon as our guests are settled and concierged, I'll be in the center of the village, enjoying the holiday spirit!

Season of Gratitude

2009-11-18T15:56:00.002-05:00

Warning: This may be a little mushy.

A friend of mine, musician Chris Foster started a Facebook group called “Seasons of Gratitude.” He describes the focus of the group as follows:

“Christmas has started to overrun the Thanksgiving holiday and now is even threatening Halloween. I want to reclaim November as the Season of Gratitude to encourage all to be grateful for the great things in life. Let’s allow November to be a month we focus on giving thanks and gratitude for all that we’re given in life.”

Most of us reflect on what's wonderful in our life on Thanksgiving Day, but I like the idea of stretching it into a whole season. And, with the weather sliding into full fall (as I write, we’re at the tail end of peak foliage season) and things quieting down, I feel like I actually have some time to reflect and appreciate all that I have.

I am so grateful to love what I do for a living. One of the quotes set out on our breakfast table, by H. Jackson Browne, the author of “Life’s Little Instruction Book,” says Find something you love to do and add five days to your work week. I am grateful that we can make a living “having company” -- something that was a rare treat for me, growing up in California, half a continent away from most of our relatives.

I feel blessed by our wonderful guests, many of whom come back time and again and have become friends.

I am grateful to live in this beautiful area. I appreciate the beautiful beaches and the climate that makes it such a draw in summer…and I appreciate the quietude and peace of the offseason, when I can spend time creating, whether it be food in the kitchen or characters in a book.

Most importantly, I'm really, really blessed to have Chris in my life, and that we make such a good team, at home and at work.

Okay, enough mush.
It rained this past weekend, two days in a row. We had some Australian guests from the Sydney area staying with us who have never seen the change of seasons. Rain is not the optimal weather in which to explore the villages, but a great time to explore the wineries and do some wine tasting, which they did. I tried to make up for the drizzle outside by ensuring that when they came “home,” it was especially cozy and warm. A rainy day in late autumn is a perfect time to begin the holiday baking…lots of cookies with cinnamon and pumpkin and cranberries and other things that made wonderful holiday-like aromas. The fire was crackling all day, and tea was on, and when they returned from their explorations, I had them sample the results of my baking. (As if Chris hadn't already volunteered.)

Another nice thing about the quieter season is being able to go out to dinner more. Those five-star, $$$$ restaurants that you can't get a reservation at in season? Now you can not only get a table, you can get a prix fixe three-course menu. We had a wonderful dinner last week at Della Femina, and at Stone Creek Inn the week before. Tonight, I'm taking a cooking class at Muse Restaurant on alternatives to the traditional Thanksgiving side dishes. Chef Matt is such fun and so talented, I look forward to a great time and some wonderful ideas!

The past few days have been incredibly beautiful -- I took the picture above on my walk early this morning at Gin Lane Beach. The early morning sky and the light on the waves was incredible. Not a soul on the sand for probably a mile in either direction.

Life is good...and I'm especially grateful for that.

Quote of the Day: Happiness is the result of making a bouquet of those flowers within reach. --Proverb

Feeding the Green Machine

2009-10-24T16:10:00.002-04:00

There was an article last week in the New York Times about how “going green” is going more mainstream…in small towns like Nantucket, some schools and corporate communities, the concept of "zero waste" is taking hold in a big way. I'm glad to see people are more and more moving towards reducing waste, reusing and recycling. Here in the Hamptons, I see more and more grocery store shoppers using the reusable grocery bags. But I’m proud to say that other measures have been in place here for years.

When Chris and I first moved to the East End, East Hampton was just putting the finishing touches on its recycling center (formerly known as the dump), and we really got into the “source separating” necessary before you could get rid of your trash. Beyond the usual bins for plastic, aluminum cans, newspaper, and cardboard, there were separate bays for glass (one each for green, brown, and clear), batteries -- whether tiny AAAA or automobile, mixed paper (for all that junk mail!), and the immensely popular household exchange section euphemistically called “Caldor East,” after one of Kmart’s defunct competitors. Additionally, the leaves you collected for curbside pick up each Fall was returned to the center where, using green and some food waste, they produced wonderful mulch which you could come back with your garbage can and pick up in the Spring for free. Going to the dump and splitting up our stuff into all these stations was amazingly gratifying. We'd leave feeling like we’d done something, saved a little teeny bit of the Earth from landfill overflow.

Recycling is in both Chris’s and my blood...whether it is repairing and refinishing furniture found in a thrift store or yard sale, or repurposing an item whose purpose is obsolete into something useful or decorative. Don’t even get me started on all the offcuts and discarded building materials Chris has fished out of the dumpsters on construction sites. And oh boy, do we compost. All those orange peels from the OJ, the hulls of strawberries and skins of pineapples, the thousands of egg shells, all the coffee grounds...Chris’s team of compost engineers, the earthworms, love all the green waste we deposit on the compost bin daily. And his garden thrives with the resulting nutrient-rich soil. The photo above shows some of that rich soil on the ground in front of the bin where it is made, and the vegetables that benefit from it.

In the hospitality industry, “going green” is a big catchphrase nowadays. When we established A Butler's Manor in early 2002, we knew we wanted to create luxurious accommodations with every amenity our guests might need. But deciding how to present these amenities presented a challenge. Our research turned up the dismaying fact that, even when made of “recyclable” plastic, those cute little bottles found in high-end hotels are in fact NOT being recycled. Plastic recycling begins with shredding, but because the amenity bottles are too small to fit on the conveyor belts, they quite literally fall through the cracks and end up in landfills. .And individually wrapped bars of soap…arrrgh! No, we couldn’t do it. So how to do provide our guests with the quality we wanted, yet with the least amount of environmental waste? We chose to do the following:

--- Mounted dispensers in the shower for our premium quality shampoo and conditioner
--- Full-sized bottles of Bath and Body Works' Aromatherapy line of shower/bath gels and hand soap
--- Bath salts, shower caps, dental and shaving needs provided in boxes made of recycled card stock
--- Glass tumblers, changed daily, rather than plastic-wrapped plastic cups
--- Glass water carafes with tumblers for our filtered water, rather than plastic bottles of water
--- One copy of the daily New York Times to share between five rooms, rather than individual copies (in eight years of operation, this has never caused a problem...in fact, guests meet each other swapping sections over coffee)

After much consideration, the one amenity we decided we had to provide in small bottles is mouthwath, replacing our (repurposed!) crystal liquor carafes of Scope in view of possible hygiene concerns. It remains a difficult choice.

We believe the days of individually-wrapped hotel amenities are numbered. Our world just can’t afford the waste. One bright light: Not long ago, Sean Doane of CBS Evening News did a story on how two former traveling salesmen founded a business called Clean The World to recycle those tiny bars of soap and send them to Haiti where, despite the known link between hygiene and the spread of disease, soap is a luxury few can afford. (We’ve all been reminded lately how important it is to wash your hands in order to halt the spread of the H1N1 and other flu viruses.) How cool is that?

Meanwhile, here in our tiny corner of the world in Southampton, we’ll try to do our part too.

Quote of the Day: Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find. -- quoted in Time Magazine

(For more information on Clean The World and how you can help, click here.)

Columbus Day Weekend

2009-10-11T17:54:00.000-04:00

It was a very international breakfast table today. Joining us this weekend: a family from Paris, a couple from India, a couple from Canada, and a relatively local couple from Westchester County. Breakfast conversation literally spanned the globe! (The Southwest Souffle added yet another international dimension. ;))

We've had a very international month, actually. This past week we enjoyed meeting our very first visitors from Thailand, followed by a lovely mother and daughter from Australia. Later this month. we'll host a series of guests from England.

There is much to do this holiday weekend: there is a Harvest Festival in Southampton, with a sidewalk sale, hayrides, a soup contest between a number of the village restaurants, delis, and caterers. Those who love the movies will enjoy the Hampton International Film Festival, which this year has venues here in Southampton as well as East Hampton. A very popular option and show stopper (literally, a traffic jam) is Pumpkintown, a seasonal park of slides, cool things to climb on, corn maze and good old pumpkin picking, located right on the highway near Watermill.

Shops, highways, and farmstands were all very busy on this perfect Autumn day. Temps were in the mid 60's, with clear skies and a slight breeze. Just the weather our dog Truffle most loved.

Truff's been gone just about a year now, and we are still missing her. So I headed over to ARF (Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, where we adopted her 14 years ago now) to get a puppy-love fix by walking some of the adoptable dogs through their lovely woodland trails, kicking through the fallen oak leaves of autumns gone by. We're not ready to replace Truff yet, but when we do, there is no more laudable shelter than ARF...truly, a home away from home. The shelter holds an ARFan reunion each year, and when we'd bring Truffle back, she'd bound out of the car, run straight for the front door, wagging and grinning, eager to greet the volunteers...no unhappy associations for her!

Tonight we're heading up to Bostwick's for their closing night...the end of fifteen years on Harbor Marina in East Hampton. It will be a bittersweet night. We'll enjoy owners Kevin Boles and Chris Eggert's other two restaurants, Indian Wells Tavern and Cherrystones, but will miss that great sunset view over the water on summer eves...

Ah well...Onwards, Autumn!

Quote of the Day: It was one of those perfect English autumnal days which occur more frequently in memory than in life. ---P.D. James

RECIPE: Blueberry & Pecan Breakfast Bread Pudding

2009-09-30T18:05:00.000-04:00

I commented recently on Facebook how a recipe I'd been working on had been a big hit for breakfast, and since have been asked to share the recipe. When next I make it, I'll take a photo and add it to this blog post. (Although I'm thinking about trying my next batch of it with the apples, as they're in season!)

BLUEBERRY & PECAN BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING -- Serves 10-12

Spray a 16" x 10-1/2" (4.5 liter) baking dish with non-stick spray. Add:
1 loaf (approx. 24" long) French baguette, cut into 3/4" slices, then into roughly 3/4" cubes

Whisk together:
8 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. each ground cinnamon and nutmeg

Pour over the bread and press the bread into the egg mixture.

Stir together the topping:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. light corn syrup (I used instead a blueberry maple syrup)
1 cup coarsely-chopped pecans

Cover both with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove both casserole and topping from refrigerator and uncover. Bake the bread casserole 35-45 minutes, or until set, but not brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle over the top:
1 cup fresh or frozen (no need to defrost) blueberries

Drop rounded spoonfuls of the topping roughly 1-1/2" apart evenly over the casserole. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. Cut and serve. Pass with (optional!) maple or blueberry-maple syrup.

Enjoy!!!!

"The Oldest English Settlement in New York State"

2009-09-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

The sign that greets visitors to the village of Southampton, located at the top of our road, states proudly that Southampton was established in 1640 and is the oldest English settlement in New York State. (Chris, of course, takes some proprietary satisfaction in this.) For me, I never pass that sign without a little jolt of amazement.

I make jokes to guests that back in California, if a structure is 50 years old, we knock it down (or an earthquake does the job for us) and build new. So when I first came out to the East End in 1992, I couldn't get over the sheer volume of history made visible that existed here. One example: Built in 1648, Halsey House on South Main Street is the oldest house in Southampton, and in season, you can tour it. Careful preservation and conservation by the Southampton Historical Society has meant that when shingles, roof, or windows on the house have to be replaced, they are made and installed to period specifications. To a much lesser degree, A Butler's Manor -- built in the relatively recent year of 1860 -- is designated a historic structure, which prevents us from altering the exterior of the house in any substantial way. (Fortunately we are free to update interior fixtures such as plumbing and electric!) When we had the house repainted a couple of years back, we had to clear it with the architectural review board.

Though the East End has lost some of its farmland...wealthy Wall Streeters have built some sprawling Mc Mansions where once potatoes grew... I am still pleased to note that others make every effort to preserve and rebuild some of our more historic structures. A case in point is the rebuilding of the old Presbyterian Manse on South Main Street. In Spring, they began demolition down to the studs inside, which apparently precipitates the difficult and costly process of lifting the house. Using massive steel beams and pillars made of stacked railroad ties, they raised the house up about six feet above grade in order to excavate a full basement beneath and pour all new foundations. Seeing a house that is probably 6,000 square feet lifted in one piece, and balanced there for a few weeks while brave souls work beneath it, is an amazing sight! The picture here shows the house, recently set back down and attached to its new foundation. Now they can reframe the interior walls, insulate and reshingle. And when the project is complete, the neighborhood will look...exactly as it always has. I love that. That continuity, that preserving a sense of place, is a special thing about the community that I have come to value.

Quote of the Day: Therefore, when we build, let us think that we build forever...For indeed, the greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, nor in its gold. Its glory is in its Age, and in that deep sense of voicefulness, of stern watching which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the passing waves of humanity. ---John Ruskin

Slipping into September

2009-09-13T13:38:00.011-04:00

Maybe it was because Labor Day was so late this year, but somehow, summer slipped away and whoa, here we are already in mid-September.

When I first came to the East Coast and the seasons were still so new to me, I noticed that it was literally as though Mother Nature flipped a switch on Labor Day and put that note of Fall in the air. Certain trees, such as the horse chestnuts, have begun to drop a few leaves and nuts (to the delight of the considerable squirrel population in these parts). While the water at the beach, and especially our pool, is still swimmable, and daytime temps are mostly still in the 70's, the evenings cool down to the point of needing a sweater.

Actually, nothing much has slowed down at A Butler's Manor even though Labor Day is behind us, but oddly, it FEELS slower. The pace of life is more relaxed come September. A certain frantic-ness that hangs over the Hamptons in August almost like a miasma disappates like the humidity after Labor Day. After a summer spent trying to stay off the crowded roads, all the locals breathe a collective sigh of relief and rejoin the community. Chris even went off this afternoon to attend a meeting of the Horticultural Alliance of the Hamptons, where they were giving a talk on what besides the ubiquitous mum you can plant for fall...

Truthfully, September is my favorite month. The warm days and cooler evening temps give the garden a chance to post at least one last hurrah of color before autumn really sets in. It's a big travel month for overseas guests who are often making their first trip to the Hamptons, and because we feel a little less frantic too, we can spend more time helping them maximize their visit. It's also a favorite time for brides, as September is a big month for weddings out here. This weekend, we had guests here from two different wedding celebrations.

Even the wildlife sense the return to a quieter time. On my early morning walk today, a deer stepped out from behind a stand of tiger grass in front of a house about 1/4 mile south of us. She and I were no more than 10 feet apart, and she skipped nimbly into the center of North Main Street (mercifully quiet on a Sunday morning), but seemed disinclined to entirely cross the street until -- of course! -- her tiny fawn emerged to join her. (When you see one deer, you know there is ALWAYS at least one more.) But I admit, while I watched until they had regained the other side of the street in safety, I also told them to please not visit our garden...

With everyone in the house at a wedding last night, Chris and I had a chance to wander out to Bostwick's in East Hampton for a drink. The overcast weather hadn't affected business much -- both the bar and restaurant were doing thier usual roaring trade. Bostwick's has always been a favorite of ours for a relaxed dinner and drinks with a bonus of a sunset view; we've been fans of any restaurant that owners Kevin Boles and Chris Eggert have opened since the inception of their first, Santa Fe Junction, back in 1993. Alas, this will be Bostwick's last season at Harbor Marina, as the owners of the marina have renovations in mind. We'll miss those sunset views, but know that Kevin and Chris's welcoming ambiance and the friendly service of their loyal waitstaff will be present at their other two restaurants, Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett and Cherrystones in East Hampton. I just wish they had a restaurant in Southampton!!

Quote of the Day: If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day weekend. ---Doug Larson

Hampton Classic Horse Show

2009-08-27T10:17:00.012-04:00

The last week of August is the annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, a stellar week-long equestrian event held in Bridgehampton. It is one of the great entertainment values out here -- every day except the final Sunday (Grand Prix), attendance for a whole carload costs only $20. (By contrast, parking at Cooper's Beach costs twice that. Which is why we offer shuttle service to the beach! --but I digress...) I haven't been able to attend the Classic for probably ten years now, but this year I was determined to go at least once, to see my favorite equestrian.

Zach, his mom, and often his father and grandmother have been guests at A Butler's Manor every Classic week since we opened in 2002, and I look forward to their visit every year. When we first met, Zach was a few days shy of 12 years old, a serious little guy with a shy smile and a big appreciation for my breakfasts. (I always plan a menu that includes Southwest Souffle, Banana French Toast and blueberry muffins during his visit.) He'll turn 18 next week, and every year, I've wanted to go see him compete. Yesterday I finally got a chance to do so.

The Classic has grown in scope since the last time I attended. Yesterday, I counted 2 (3?) show rings besides the Grand Prix ring, plus a couple of training rings and practice areas. It is a joy just to watch the riders warming up their mounts. The show rings are gorgeous...reminiscent of a beautifully-landscaped backyard that just happens to have fences to jump. The boutique arcade has nearly as many shopping stalls as Bridgehampton has shops. And there is a good-sized food arcade, tents with exhibits, pony rides for the kids, and lots more --kind of like a small scale country fair with an emphasis on horses. What is really impressive are the horse stalls, which are under huge tents on either side of the grounds. Some of the stalls have little rooms adjacent to the horse enclosures where the owners, trainers, riders can hang out in between competitions. Some of these stalls look like outdoor living rooms and have real furniture, and even rugs on the ground...and some of the tack trunks are so gorgeous, I'd like one for our living room!

I didn't know where or even when Zach would be competing -- two or three competitions per show ring are listed starting at 8 AM, the length of the event determined by the size of the class. I found the High Junior Jumper Class in the Grand Prix ring, and amazingly, it was just about to start when I found a seat in the bleachers.

Watching a jumping event is awesome -- the synchronicity of horse and rider as they approach and take the jumps is incredible to behold. The polish of these young riders belies their age. They sit astride their horses with such grace, and of course, in full dress, they are beyond elegant. And oh, the horses. Sleek and groomed, manes braided or beribboned, every piece of brass or silver polished to a high shine...The first few riders took down a fence or two during their round. I think the field of some 24 riders was nearly a third of the way through before a rider was "clear" -- no fences, no faults. From that point, the tension really builds, as to place, the riders must complete the circuit in the shortest amount of time without toppling a fence.

Zach was announced approximately 2/3 through the field. By this time, I had alerted everyone sitting around me, so we were all collectively holding our breath as he urged his glossy chestnut horse over the fences. The triple jump was closest to me -- three fences close together. Seven people I'd never before met were all counting aloud one...two...three! as he cleared each of the bars. Across the ring, over a double, then two last fences and...he was clear! And he was in fourth place on the leader board! (The blurry picture of him jumping the gate, above, was taken with hands as nervous --and proud!-- as I know his mother Deborah was as well!)

The second to last contender had a fantastic circuit that catapulted her into the lead, so Zach finished fifth...but the first six places are ribboned, and get to participate in a victory canter around the ring. That's him riding up to collect his ribbon. I feel like a proud parent!!

Only drawback for Zack: The better he does, the earlier his trainer wants him at the show! -- so he misses out on our hot breakfast entree! (Consolation prize: a daily care package with muffins, fresh fruit, breakfast bars and bottles of water.) But the swimming pool sure feels great in the late afternoons after a hot day on the back of a horse...

Quote of the Day: A horse can lend its rider the speed and strength he or she lacks, but the rider who is wise remembers it is no more than a loan. ---Pam Brown

Dance Like No One's Watching

2009-08-20T21:13:00.006-04:00

The fireflies seem to have found their mates and wandered away, and in the hot August nights we have instead the entertainment of cicadas in the trees. Soon their calls -- rather like a stick drawn quickly down a thin wooden fence -- will be joined, then supplanted by, the chirp of crickets in the darkness. Ah, the sounds of a summer night.

It's high season, the weather is sultry and warm. People are out in droves, eager to squeeze the last drop of "summer" into their summer, preferably with a few good beach days and some memorable time away from home. Maybe it's the effect of the economy this year, or this need many of us feel to pull every bit of life from our few stolen moments away, but sometimes in the almost frenetic air to experience it all, have it all (and now!), it reminds me of a line in an old Juice Newton song: "I'm dancing as fast as I can."

So in what can be an exhausting time of year, it gratifies me to run into instances where people are keeping their cool, physically and mentally. The other day, I was up in Riverhead at BJ's doing some shopping, and I chatted briefly with another woman who, like me, was on her own trying to manage the self-check out station. She was in front of me, and when I finally collected my groceries and loaded them back in my cart, I saw she'd stuck a post it note to my box of cereal that read Dance like no one's watching.

I've seen this quote from Crystal Boyd before, but I was struck by how much I needed to be reminded of it just then: "Work like you don't need money...Love like you've never been hurt...And dance like no one's watching." In other words, live for the joy of it and for yourself, without worrying about the opinions or censure of others.

Are you dancing as fast as you can? And if so, is that truly where you want to be? Come take some time for yourself here at A Butler's Manor, and let the night music of the cicadas and the scent of the nicotiana take you away from the need to cram someone else's idea of summer into your vacation.

Come dance like no one's watching.

Guests who become friends

2009-08-06T16:49:00.010-04:00

As I tell people often, my only contribution to Chris's garden is that I cut flowers to make arrangements for A Butler's Manor's guest rooms. In high summer, I have lots to choose from. Last year, one of our regular summer guests was enjoying the pool and we were chatting while I was cutting from the rose garden beside it, piling up blooms on one arm. The next time Jackie came to stay, she brought me a wonderful present: a long, narrow basket to be used for gathering flowers. You can see by the picture how it comes in handy (and look at the lovely flowers we have available), and not just for gathering flowers! Last fall, I filled the basket with small gourds, autumn leaves, and a scattering of yellow mum flowers, and it became the centerpiece for the dining room table. Over Christmas, I filled it with greens and low votive candles. I'm still working on ideas for a spring arrangement...

On the subject of return guests...one of the most rewarding things about owning a B&B is the friendship that develops with many of our guests who return again and again. We look forward to catching up with them each time they visit. Occasionally, we lose them as guests (but not as friends!) because of relocation or other job factors.

Jack and Tom are private pilots who would occasionally stay with us when their employer overbooked his summer house here in Southampton. As often as not, they didn't need accommodations because there was room on the estate, but when they were in town, they'd often call to see if we were free, and stop over with a bottle of wine that we'd enjoy in the garden, or we'd join them for dinner at Le Chef. Alas -- the employer's summer house was sold last year...we sure miss them.

Sometimes people fall in love with the area and buy their own house here, so we lose them as guests, but gain them as neighbors! Such is the case with John, who stopped by on his bike the other day to say hello. He's found a house in the village and may find a way to make it his primary residence. It will be fun seeing him and his family at concerts in the park and other "local" events.

But mostly, it's just not summer to Chris and me without a chance to check in with some of the good people who return each year for a chance to relax in the sun!

Quote of the Day: You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. ---H.L. Mencken

Abundance

2009-07-31T15:41:00.011-04:00

The Italians have a word for it, which is so much richer, just rolling off the tongue: Abbondanza. High summer, and that is the word that springs to mind when I look out over the garden. The roses are on their second round (despite the wet June!), the dahlias are prolific, the hydrangeas in full bloom, and the grasses are lush and green. The bunnies (drat them) are having a field day.

Abbondanza also describes the perfect beach day today, with temps in the high 70's and a light breeze blowing offshore, and of course, everyone wanted to be there to enjoy those rays. When we picked up guests Linda and Greg from Cooper's Beach, they said it couldn't have been a better day...well, as long as you were cautious of the undertow in the high surf. Have I mentioned that our own Cooper's Beach is ranked #4 most beautiful beach in the COUNTRY by Dr. Stephen Leatherman (a/k/a/ Dr. Beach)? We are graced with such abundance.

Abbondanza was not the word that sprang to mind this week when we visited Bamboo, a favorite restaurant of mine in East Hampton. Bamboo, open year round, is a lushly Asian-style restaurant that Chris and I tend to forget attracts a hip summer crowd. It has a good sushi bar (and free sushi at the bar on Thursdays, if you can get anywhere close to the bar), a fabulous multi-course prix fixe menu offered year round, and are locally famous for their hefty watermelon martinis. We visited on a Tuesday, and it was crowded. Oh yeah -- it's July! For a change, we skipped the prix fixe menu and Chris started with crabcakes while I had a spicy crunchy yellowtail roll. One of their entrees is a mouthwatering black cod miso, which I love so much I invariably pass up the equally scrumptious Mongolian sliced beef (which Chris orders, thankfully, so I get to have a taste). But when the entree came, I was surprised: It was the smallest portion of cod I have ever seen...perhaps 4" long by 1-3/4" wide by 2" high. What are these, Summer portions? So that we all keep our bathing suit figures? Hmmmf.

I can hardly believe it's already August, the "highest" of High Season. In addition to the crowds at the beaches, the villages are thronged with shoppers and diners. We try to find for our guests here at A Butler's Manor an abundance of whatever combination of sun, water, activity, great food, and great shopping that will make their visit especially relaxing and memorable. Some of our guests have rented a boat in Montauk, others are hiking over on Shelter Island, another pair are attending "Super Saturday," the shopping extravanganza to benefit ovarian cancer, while still others are out enjoying the pool. The last is more my style. Maybe I can join them...

Quote of the Day: When you are grateful, fear disapperas and abundance appears. ---Anthony Robbins

Wishing you abbondanza!!

Free Entertainment

2009-07-19T17:54:00.004-04:00

I admit it, most things in and around the Hamptons are not cheap, especially in the summer. Which is why it's wonderful to share some of the best things we've found you can do here for little or no money.

Our favorite event here in Southampton is the Concerts in the Park series held at Agawam Park on Wednesdays between July 4th and Labor Day weekends. The band might be R&B/rockabilly (like the perennial local favorite group, the Lone Sharks), reggae, Big Band, Latin Jazz, 50's & 60's, or many other styles. It almost doesn't matter. What matters is that you grab a beach chair from the back porch, pick up a sandwich at Schmidt's or Job's Lane Deli or a pizza at La Parmigiana, uncork a bottle of wine, and enjoy the sounds of music in the open air as the sun sets over the park, and the sight of the little children (and sometimes adults!) dancing in front of the bandstand. The event is free, but the Southampton Cultural Center, who organizes it each year, sends out a bucket brigade at intermission to collect donations, and we encourage people to put what they can in that bucket...this is a wonderful resource that we stand to lose without support.

Other communities out here have outdoor concerts as well -- Montauk, on the village green on Monday evenings in July, Sag Harbor at Marine Park on Bay Street on Thursdays in August.

Chris and I haven't had the opportunity to catch one of the games of the new Hamptons Baseball League, part of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, but they are fielding several talented teams this year, with games nearly every day of the week in various locations around the Hamptons (Southampton/Stony Brook University, right up the road, is our nearest venue). The ACBL is sanctioned by the NCAA, partially funded by Major League Baseball and is one of only nine summer leagues approved by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, so these guys are good!! More information here: http://www.hamptonsbaseball.org/page/show/68092-hamptons-collegiate-baseball-the-next-big-thing-

Not free, but mighty cheap for a full day of fun (and somehow, an event you'd almost expect to be in the Hamptons during the summer season): Go watch a polo match. For six weeks midsummer, Mercedes Benz sponsors the Polo Challenge matches in Bridgehampton. Okay, so you don't have a friend with VIP passes to get you in the tent, but $20 a carload will get you bleacher or tailgate seats (and you'll actually get to see the match). Never seen polo up close and personal? This is a fast moving sport, and the horses are incredibly trained. More info here: http://www.sportpolo.com/spectators/bhpolo.htm

One of the best values ever is the annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, which this year will take place August 23 - 30 off Snake Hollow Road in Bridgehampton. All ages compete in world-class hunting and jumping events, and Olympic champions often compete in the Grand Prix event on the final Sunday afternoon. Events on the days up until the Grand Prix are $20 a carload, with a fantastic shopping arcade of related merchandise to wander through, and the Grand Prix itself, a premiere equestrian event, is $20 per person for bench seats, $30 for premium seats. (Just for fun, you can check out the celebrities competing in their own right for media attention in the VIP tent opposite the ring.) Bring your hat and some sunscreen and see some exquisite horsemanship -- you'll be whistling My Fair Lady's "Ascot Gavotte" as you go. More info here: http://www.hamptonclassic.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=111&Itemid=87

Finally, many guests here have been enjoying our favorite free entertainment each night: Firefly season in Chris's garden. Fireflies have been working their magic each night from dusk on, sparkling against the backdrop of the deep green foliage and illuminating the ghostly white flowers of the Annabelle hydrangeas, spireas, and astilbes with their brief, teasing radiance. And for those like me, who didn't grow up in an area where fireflies are summer residents, it's worth the stroll out of the car park at A Butler's Manor past Mrs. Jagger's field next door, where the sheer abundance of fireflies in their preferred habitat makes the open space a fairy-lit wonderland, almost like a miniature holiday display.

Who says you can't enjoy yourself in the Hamptons without spending a lot of money?

Quote of the Day: The summer night is like a perfection of thought. ---Wallace Stevens

A Master's degree in travel packing

2009-07-17T13:09:00.008-04:00

I consider myself a pretty good vacation packer, insofar as I usually manage to plan my vacation wardrobe so that I bring only what I actually end up wearing and using, with a spare gym bag for purchases I might make while away. Still, for any trip over 2 days, I keep that scale handy, because somehow stuff gets heavy when you layer it in a suitcase and overweight penalties on airlines are increasingly expensive. (What a luxury vacations by automobile are -- a packer and shopper's dream. The car as traveling storage space! Imagine the freedom!)

I mention this because every so often guests at A Butler's Manor surprise us with their luggage...or lack thereof. Sure, I'm impressed when a business traveler arrives with only a rolling computer case that carries his laptop and a change of shirt, tie, and undies for a single night stay. And only today, a woman arrived for a three-night stay with only a small, lightweight case (in which, she assured me, she'd still packed 3 pairs of shoes). But my hat goes off -- in fact, I sink into a deep curtsy of awe -- to the rare travelers like David and Jane, in the picture here. Look closely, and you'll see one small rollaway case that could fit in the overhead bin, one medium sized case, and two backpacks. Why am I impressed? Because A Butler's Manor was the last stop on David and Jane's TWO MONTH vacation from Sydney, Australia. AND they took home souvenirs. Now THAT'S packing!!!

Quote of the Day: Travel light in life. Take only what you need: A loving family, good friends, simple pleasures, someone to love, and someone to love you; enough to eat, enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing. ---Unknown

Hedgeville

2009-07-10T15:50:00.009-04:00

I mentioned last week that a recent guest categorized Southampton as the Hedge Capital of the US. Yes, locals make jokes about our estate district being called Hedgeville. In fact, a few years back, Foster's Farm, one of the last farms in the village of Southampton gave up planting crops like corn and potatoes and instead planted privet. Like a hedge fund, they're a hedge farm.

It's true that the majority of the estate district is surrounded by tall, immaculately manicured rows of privet bushes, and some of those hedges are cut so exactingly that you'd swear they were really fuzzy green walls. I often tell guests that if you flew over the village in a plane, it would look like a rat maze. Now, in July, the privet is in bloom...pretty, slightly fragrant small cream-colored flower clusters called panicles. It has such a distinctive odor that I believe there is a men's line of cologne called Privet.

However, while out and about yesterday, I saw a different form of privet hedge trimming. Laughing, I had to pull off the road to photograph it. This would be a privet caterpillar?? Someone sure has a sense of humor...and a nice sharp chain saw!

(By the way: If like me you like seeing the houses behind the hedges, the time to visit is anywhere from November to late April. The homeowners, who for the most part are not in residence then, probably aren't aware that most privet varieties drop all their leaves in winter. Call it reverse leaf-peeping!)

Quote of the Day: A hedge between keeps friendships green. ---Old French Proverb

A small town parade

2009-07-04T15:22:00.009-04:00

Jamie, a recent guest, made a great observation about Southampton on his blog that if Greenwich, CT was considered the hedge fund capital of the US, then Southampton must be the hedge capital of the US...miles of manicured green fences around our fabled mansions, designed to keep the curious stares of the hoi polloi at bay. (An entertaining read, not the least because his blog is devoted to breakfasts! http://thebreakfastblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/butlers-manor-southampton.html )

But today, July 4th, a whole different side of Southampton is in evidence, as the village holds the only Independence Day parade in the Hamptons. It steps off just feet from A Butler's Manor at the train station, so cars line our usually uneventful street, crowds pass by the B&B on the sidewalk, beach chairs and coolers in hand, andin the garden over breakfast, you can hear the drum and bagpipe corps warming up before the 10 AM step off. This is a true small town parade, and it seemed today as though the whole small town turned out to watch it. Always, and appropriately, it is led by color guards and veterans representing each war, and I have to admit, I was teary because for the first time, there were no local WWII vets riding in the parade...only a decorated car with a sign "In Memory Of" paraded to remind us of the contribution of the Greatest Generation.

Still, the flags wave, and the crowds cheer, and the little kids dance at all of the various musical entries, be they bagpipe corps, a Dixieland band, or a vocal group perched on a borrowed flatbed truck. Floats are homemade and often pulled by the tractors of the local farmers (and those John Deeres are polished within an inch of their lives!), fire trucks of all vintages from the nearby villages fire up their sirens, horns, and bells, and every member of each of the Little League teams march in uniform. We have Minutemen in authentic (worsted wool!) costume who shoot their rifles and even fire the cannon to the delight of the crowds (excepting the dogs), but we also have representives of our town's diversity, including the Shinnecock Indians in full costume, and a Latino organization called F.A.C.E.S. that fielded a dance troup that really makes you want to get up and dance!

It will never rival the Macy's Day parade, but the Southampton Independence Day parade is small town Americana at its finest.

Quote of the Day: I can be myself here in this small town...and people let me be just what I want to be. ---John Cougar Mellencamp

Lobsters and Lottery dreams

2009-06-25T17:31:00.007-04:00

I love my early morning walk...it helps clear the sleep from my mind and gives me a chance to plan the day. Yesterday I was walking one of my favorite routes -- from A Butler's Manor through Southampton Village south into the estate district -- when I happened upon a discarded scratch-off lottery card in the street outside of one of the large mansions on South Main Street, and had to giggle at the irony: the game was called "Set For Life," and evidently nothing matched up. I could just imagine the disappointment of the person who'd tossed it away. Guess he won't be purchasing a house in that neighborhood THIS week.

Speaking of Southampton's estate district, if (like us) you're not fortunate enough to be a member of the Meadow Club over on First Neck Lane (36 grass tennis courts and a pedigree that spans centuries) and therefore not able to partake of their Lobster Feast every Tuesday during the season, there is now an alternative right in the village. Jean MacKenzie Koster, who owns both the popular fish market The Clamman and Four Seasons Caterers, has renovated the old John Duck's restaurant into a lovely catering facility with a large, airy dining room flanked by terraced private gardens. This summer, Four Seasons is opening its dining room on Tuesdays, 5 - 9:30 pm, for a classic clam bake. There is an all-you-can-eat buffet which includes some yummy pasta dishes, fresh salads, corn on the cob, mussels and clams, as well as finger-lickin'-good barbecue chicken and the sweetest lobsters Chris and I have had in a long time. A dessert bar completes the price-fix menu. For a small additional fee, a raw bar offers peel and eat shrimp, clams and oysters. And on top of it all, there is live entertainment to enhance the experience, and even a firepit on the lawn from which you can enjoy the fireflies as they twinkle amidst the garden borders. AND it is stumbling distance from A Butler's Manor...no need to drive! Works for us!

Actually, early in the week is a great time for classic lobster dishes -- lots of deals on those messy, crack and peel whole steamed crustaceans, served with a plastic bib and lots of paper napkins, corn on the cob and maybe a potato, and a vat of melted butter --yum! These casual eats are best found at some of our waterfront restaurants, like Sunwater's Grill, Tiderunners, and Oaklands in Hamptons Bays, or Bostwick's in East Hampton, but you can get it just a bit more upscale (as in a cloth napkin and interior seating) at Indian Cove in Hampton Bays or even Bobby Van's (Tuesdays only) in Bridgehampton. When it comes to summer, if it means a lobster and --bonus! --a waterview, we're all for it!

Yes, waiter, I'll have the lobster, please.

Quote of the Day: The world is my lobster. ---Henry J. Tillman

First sunset!

2009-06-20T11:22:00.004-04:00

After what seems like endless days of drizzle or rain, the other day the sun made a welcome appearance, and Chris and I took the opportunity to go out to one of our favorite places, Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton, to have dinner with a sunset.

We have a couple of favorite places there: Harbor Bistro and Bostwick's, and since we hadn't yet been to either of them since the summer season opened, we decided to have an early dinner at Harbor Bistro, then enjoy the sunset over drinks at Bostwick's (which they are justifiably famous for).

At Harbor Bistro, we opted for a couple of appetizers apiece: Chris had the toasted corn and jumbo lump crabcake was large, handmade, and delicious, with so much fresh crab and sweet corn that, especially with the addition of the sunshine over the marina, you could believe it was truly summer. I had a yellowtail poke with avocados (this California girl loves anything with avocados!) and a Mediterranian Shrimp-Quinoa salad, which was marvelous with a light lemon vinaigrette. Chris also had the slow-cooked duck and mushroom crepes, which I thought were yummy, but he was dismayed to find was made with tarragon, a herb he happens to dislike. Still, overall the food was marvelous and the setting restful and sunwarmed, and just what the doctor ordered. Afterwards, we journeyed up the road a half mile or so, and had a margarita in the always-lively bar at Bostwick's. Longtime bartenders Fran and Bill commandeered everyone's attention as the sun went down, and we all clapped and cheered...almost like the impromptu party for the same reason each night at Mallory Square in Key West. It seems like it's the first real sunset we've seen this season!

The US Golf Open has been upIsland at Bethpage Black this week, and a couple of our guests have tickets. While it isn't close by (about an hour and fifteen minutes or so away), the guys have been enjoying the opening rounds (and tomorrow, the final) during the day while their wives have been enjoying the Hamptons.

Speaking of sunsets, because the weather cleared up on Friday, Chris and I took the Mini over the Meschutt Beach in Hampton Bays, where each Friday night between 5 PM and sunset, there is an impromptu classic and muscle car display....bring your own, or just enjoy the sight of a few dozen beautifully-restored (or incredibly hot-rodded) old vehicles. There were some spectacular old Camaro z28 and SS muscle cars there last night, a pristine old Ford Country Squire Woody wagon (with all three seats and a longboard surfboard on the roof!), and many more beauties. Live music plays at the Beach Bar until sunset, and parents enjoy it with a beer or some beach food while kids and dogs have a great time on the beach. We stayed only an hour or so, but enjoyed it (and a sunset!) immensely. And then came home to see the first fireflies of the season!

Over breakfast this morning, Phyllis and Debbie, mother and daughter from Connecticut and Maryland respectively, were talking with Grant and Michele, from Kansas City...and they learned that all of them had lived in the same town in Oklahoma at the same time, only a few blocks apart!! What are the odds!?

Quote of the Day: If I can put one rosy touch of sunset into the life of any man or woman, I shall feel that I have worked with God. ---G.K. Chesterton

Tweets (not the Twitter kind)

2009-06-14T12:21:00.008-04:00

June is popping out all over, to quote the old song from Carousel. All of the birdhouses around the garden are occupied with nesting families of varying types of birds, and several more who prefer "roughing it" to moving into a premade house are guarding nests in the shrubbery or trees. (One Papa Robin whose family is secreted in a yew bush outside our office, cannot seem to learn that he is not seeing a rival in the window, but his own reflection in the glass...even though we now have an entire window of little robin's-footprints to mar the clarity of that reflection.) Walk through the garden and you'll hear the occasional chorus of little tweets and peeps as the baby birds let their parents know they are HUNGRY! If you look closely at the pictures above, you'll see one of the baby starlings peeking his beak out, waiting for his next meal...and then home delivery of the meal by one of the busy parents. Sweet. They will be fledging soon.

And the roses are in bloom! Their scent is in the air over the whole garden, but especially as you walk across the grass and mount the steps towards the pool. I cut dozens of blooms for the guest rooms this weekend, set off by lemon-yellow sprigs of lady's mantle flowers, which also proliferate this time of year. The peonies are just beginning to open.

The flora and fauna of the garden have enjoyed the rain showers we've had this past week...we humans were less appreciative. So far, the weather hasn't been very cooperative for the guests who are looking for a relaxing day at the beach. It's great that we have other options...Peconic Bay Winery, over on the North Fork, has a lively schedule every weekend of live music in the afternoons, with wine by the glass and even local cheese and sushi for sale while you enjoy! And closer to home, Wolffer Vineyards has added another event to its roster of things to do: Every Friday evening at their farm and wine stand on Rte 27 just east of the winery, they have a TGIF wine-and-jazz event from 5 - 7 PM, again, with free artisinal cheese and wines for sale by the glass. Chris and I haven't made it up there yet to try it out, but I expect it is especially popular with visitors arriving from Manhattan and points east after what can sometimes be a long slog through traffic.

Yesterday, there was a Classic Car show and auction in Bridgehampton that drew a lot of traffic (yeah, pun intended)...Chris went off to enjoy it for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and I guess I'm counting myself lucky we don't now own another classic car! (The deal we have is one at a time!)

Quote of the Day: There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before. ---Robert Lynd

Exotic cars

2009-06-08T10:05:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we took an online reservation from a gentleman named Tom, who was looking forward to showing his girlfriend the Hamptons. "Hello," he wrote, "I will arrive with a bit of an exotic car, and am a little concerned about parking. Any reassurance you can give me?"

I followed up to see what, specifically, his concerns were. Was it the safety of his car? Whether we had on or off street parking? Clearance issues?

The latter, he wrote back. His car was very low slung and in fact had never spent a night outside a garage before. "It wouldn't even recognize the moon," he laughed.

We've had a few guests with sporty low clearance cars, but this was the first time a guest had ever thought to mention it when booking, and I was happy that he did. We have off-street parking here at A Butler's Manor, with a driveway apron of cement and Belgian blocks leading into a bluestone gravel car park. Tom's concern is understandable, because time, wear, and weather will take a toll on the relative smoothness of a gravel driveway. No worries, I told him, you're in good hands here. In addition to Chris's Mini (with a whopping 7" of clearance), we corrected just that sort of problem last summer, and have been watching it ever since.

Last summer, Nick and Denise arrived in a gorgeous red Ferrari. They had friends who lived nearby, and spent the evening with them. But the following morning, Chris was concerned to see the Ferrari missing from the car park. Had they taken a cab home from their party? Or had something happened to the car? As soon as Nick came down, Chris asked him.

No, everything was fine, he assured us. It's just that the car is so low slung that it sort of "bottomed out" going over the transition between apron and car park, so he'd left the Ferrari at their friends' house, and instead drove his buddy's car home.

Chris went out and looked at the driveway. Sure enough, rain and traffic had worn a sort of dip under the apron. That didn't make it welcoming for the Ferrari...and as we well know, car aficionados consider their babies part of the family! Well, that would never do. Chris told him that when they came back in the afternoon to bring the Ferrari home, because that issue with the car park would be fixed. And then he got on the phone and called our neighbor, Perry Delalio, who has a gravel business. Perry sent a couple of his guys and a few yards of replacement bluestone gravel right over, and they leveled that driveway in two hours flat. (Pun intended!) And when Nick and Denise came home that afternoon, that car purred straight into the car park without a problem.

When Tom and Tomoko arrived yesterday, his sleek little baby glided over the apron just fine, and everybody was happy. And, since it was almost full last night, it's now met the moon! Success!

So bring it on...Aston Martins, Jaguar E-types, Ferraris, and more...they're welcome here!

Quote of the Day: The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers. ---Dave Barry

Press Matters

2009-06-06T17:17:00.006-04:00

It's been exciting around here, publicity-wise; we've been fortunate lately to have caught the attention of some of the local media. Just before Memorial Day, writer Cathy Meinhold did a profile on A Butler's Manor for On The Jitney magazine (a classy little mag that is distributed on the Hampton Jitney coach service between Manhattan and the Hamptons). A week later, we were listed (with a photo!) as a Southampton Bed and Breakfast "worth the splurge!" in Long Island's Newsday. And today, writer T.J. Clemente from Dan's Papers came by to interview Chris about life as a butler...and how that has led to opening A Butler's Manor. Chris is a difficult interview, determined that it is not cricket to identify former employers (as any good butler would agree), but the stories are always fun, even without the "name" behind the name. And an hour after the interview, the Master Butler was back to his alter ego as the Master Gardener (above, tying up his lilies).

Speaking of gardening, I've posted a June picture of one of our more unusual perenials: This is a form of allium (onion family) called Sherbertii. I call it the Firecracker Allium, because in full bloom (in the photo above it isn't quite there), each of its stick-like stalks sport a tiny star-like flower...sort of like one of those aerial fireworks where each of the exploding rays of color then launches a secondary sparkler. The blue flowers that surround the Sherbertii are Johnson Blue geraniums, happily in bloom (and probably loving the rains we've had this past week).

We're enjoying catching up with returning guests this weekend -- three of five of the rooms are repeat guests, each having been here at least three times before.

And yay! the weather warmed up enough to warrant trips to the beach, and laps in the pool!

Quote of the Day: Success is getting what you want. Happiness is liking what you get. ---H. Jackson Brown

Group hug

2009-06-01T15:36:00.004-04:00

We love it when guests enjoy themselves while visiting A Butler's Manor. We especially love it when guests enjoy themselves over breakfast. And when guests make friends with other guests, laughter rings from the table, and everyone lingers long past the plates being cleared away, that is the best thing of all.

Today we had eight for breakfast (menu: Banana Decadence French Toast) -- a young pair from Italy, eager to explore the beach on such a sunny day, two from Pennsylvania, celebrating an anniversary, a couple from the UK who were checking out after a week long stay, and a Long Island couple on a two-night "staycation" (a recently-coined term for a local getaway, as in: Need a break, no time to travel very far...how about a Hamptons B&B?). In spite of the promising day, six of the eight lingered over breakfast, sharing stories, laughter, and information. When they finally rose from the table to begin their respective days, the local couple had helped the British couple plan their last day on the Island...with suggestions for "upIsland" attractions en route to Newark Airport, from which their flight was to go out later tonight, and all of the guests had exchanged email addresses...and hugs! I love it!!

VILLAGE EATS: Featherstones, a new casual restaurant, opens this week on Job's Lane in the space that most recently accommodated Birchwood on the Park (and before that, for years, Buckley's Irish Pub). Scuttlebutt is that the owners have given the place quite a facelift. The menu promises to remain in the pub style of both previous iterations: burgers, appetizers, sandwiches, a variety of beers on draught -- a great option for laid-back, casual dining. Also coming soon is a new organic market/cafe called Annie's, on Nugent Lane across from the Post Office, where the much-missed George Martins used to be...The Driver's Seat, on Job's Lane, is finishing up a physical face-lift on the front of the restaurant...For the more trendy set, Sant Ambroeus and Savannas have reopened for the season; the former offers outdoor luncheon dining on Main Street (as well as their much-sought-after espresso bar and gelato counter in the front of the store)...Thyme & Again, on Windmill Lane, has vacated its village presence and joined its sister establishment Wild Thyme out on Noyac Road...The Village Cheese Shop is now The Village Gourmet Cheese Shoppe, under new ownership. I'll be wandering in this week to see if I can find a nice Morbiere...

Quote of the Day: Some people weave burlap into the fabric of our lives, and some weave gold thread. Both contribute to make the whole picture beautiful and unique. -- Anonymous

Of golfers and gardens

2009-05-29T10:53:00.007-04:00

Half of our lovely guests this week have been members of the US Senior Golf Tournament, an event that is held here in the Hamptons each year at this time. These guys are awesome golfers playing awesome courses: Shinnecock, National, Maidstone and the newer Sebonack Golf Course. It is an especially well-organized event; the organizers have private dinner events planned for each night of the tournament, they know where each of the players are staying, and they even go to some trouble to coordinate the tee times of players staying in the same place, so to encourage carpooling. This is especially helpful when the members' wives also golf, as they have a separate tournament for the ladies...and when he's to play Shinnecock (in Southampton) and she's to play Maidstone (in East Hampton), somebody is going to be without a car!

Golf events, like business travel, mean early bird breakfasts, so we've been doing a double breakfast seating all week. Our leisure guests this week have included a couple from Switzerland and a couple from England. Alas, the weather this week hasn't been nice enough to serve breakfast in the garden.

The flowers are the only things loving the drizzle. Columbines are new to the garden here at A Butler's Manor this year, and do we ever love the pretty flowers. They're not a flower we can necessarily cut for the bedrooms, but they do, as you can see, make for great plate decorations. (Sunshine French Toast and sausage was the menu today -- yum!)

Quote of the Day: I'm not saying my golf game went bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they'd come up sliced. -- attributed to both Miller Barber and Lee Trevino

Is there a doctor in the house?

2009-05-23T17:45:00.003-04:00

There sure is! In fact, we have a doctor in each one of our five rooms this weekend. What are the odds? No, there isn't a medical convention somewhere. Just Memorial Day weekend.

It's a busy weekend, too -- the official kick off to Summer 2009. Ran into town to pick up a few things, and it took me longer to find a parking space than it did to run my errand. It certainly looked like a summer weekend in the Hamptons! Everyone has broken out their white clothes (does anyone remember that old adage that you weren't supposed to wear white until Memorial Day?), sleeveless tops, and flip flops. Every outdoor table was full outside the restaurants, the Golden Pear, and the Village Cheese Shop, and the streets were thronged with window shoppers. There were three people in line before me at the cash register in Bookhampton. Nice to see!

Speaking of doctors, which makes me think "health:" This past week we had a guest who was part of a golf club outing, playing National and Maidstone courses. Golfers, like business guests, are generally on a schedule with early tee times, so we accommodate them separately from our leisure guests, who breakfast later. Dan was really watching his diet -- no carbs, tons of protein, and told me his usual breakfast was egg whites and turkey bacon, plain yogurt and blueberries. Of course, yogurt and fruit are no problem -- we have nonfat Fage yogurt that has the best texture of any yogurt I've ever had! But I'd never tried turkey bacon, so I bought some for him. I tried some too...not bad at all, especially if you like bacon crisp, as I do. But egg white omelettes are challenging because by themselves, egg whites have absolutely no flavor, and I want each breakfast served at A Butler's Manor to make a great impression. So I chopped a tomato and some fresh herbs from the garden and added it to the omelette. Dan was a happy camper.

The other golfer, Jeff, was staying an extra day. He was so intrigued by his friend's meal that he wondered if he could have something similar for breakfast on his last morning. I was making our Manor House Omelette (a baked omelette with Canadian bacon, fresh spinach, and Gruyere cheese) for our leisure guests, so I made Jeff (and me!) a version with egg whites, scallions, crumbled turkey bacon, and about a tablespoon of grated Jarlsberg (a light Swiss cheese). Hey, it was some kind of yummy! Proves that eating healthy can be tasty too.

Truly, necessity is the mother of invention!

Quote of the Day: To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. -- La Rouchefoucauld

Operation Shed Rescue

2009-05-22T18:51:00.010-04:00

Chris and I come by our inability to see anything wasted genetically. Chris was born in an England still under rationing (did you know? -- until 1954! His parents were still dealing with it in the late 1950's!) and my parents came of age during the Great Depression which, I have learned, marks those who have been through it (and the generation beyond!) for life.

What this has translated into for us is a propensity for rescuing things, repurposing things, and recycling things. Our latest endeavor involves our newest neighbors -- a lovely couple who have become friends. They've done an incredible job restoring the period house up the street from A Butler's Manor. Now they're working on the back yard, in which they're planning to put a pool. The existing backyard was designed by a landscape gardener, and Chris had seen it prior to the house being sold. When our new neighbors told us they planned to clear most of the yard and offered us anything we could use, Chris jumped at the chance.

So we are now proud new owners of dozens of shrubs, perennials, and even an ornamental tree or two (--!!!), but the thing Chris is most thrilled with is that we rescued a garden shed from demolition. It took some doing to figure out how to move it, but in the end, he took down the fencing at the back of the property, hired a friend with a big forklift, and the pair of them muscled that little potting shed down a narrow driveway, down the street, up behind our house, and plop! into the very back of our garden, behind the pool (about 20 feet straight back behind the Japanese maple). We spent most of last Saturday evening reinstalling the stockade fence at the back of the property. The little shed will be perfect for summer storage of winter essentials, such as a snow blower, a generator, a chipper shredder, etc., and come winter, will house what is now essential to Chris's summer gardening efforts so that the latter items can be housed closer to.

Our neighbors now have a clean slate on which to dig their new pool, and we have even more of a lush garden...and a place to pot those lush plants up...and we are grateful!!

Quote of the Day: There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ---Mirabel Osler

Lilacs in bloom, and counting blessings

2009-05-15T13:08:00.006-04:00

I tell, you, I love this business. Guests are the gift that keeps on giving.

Any time we have guests who've never been to the Hamptons, we give them a copy of our itinerary (unless, very cool, they've already downloaded it off our website). The itinerary isn't formal; rather, it's what we take our visiting families to see in each of the villages. Last fall, a delightful family of three from Germany stayed with us, as part of a New York trip to celebrate the daughter Nina's eighteenth birthday, and of course, we went over the itinerary with them. They had a great time with it, and afterwards, Nina offered to translate our itinerary into German. As we've tried (with sometimes comical results) to do this before using Babelfish.com, we were very happy to take her up on it.

This week, coincidentally, we had two sets of German guests a couple of days apart. While they all spoke very good English, when I prepared a "what to do" package for each of them, I remembered to give them a copy of both our English and Nina's German itinerary. They were so pleased to have something like this in their own language! It just made my day!

It's getting very green around here...what a glorious time late Spring is. The lilacs are out already. It seems early somehow, because I remember a couple of years ago I was cutting lilacs for the guest rooms for Memorial Day Weekend. But maybe, like this year, my memories are of one of the years when Memorial Day fell relatively early. In any case, ahhh, the dreamy, heady smell of lilacs in bloom! We've got them in each of the guest rooms this weekend. As we happen to have three sets of guests here to celebrate an anniversary, I suspect there is a good chance that lilacs (perhaps the white version) may even have been in their wedding bouquets...

Quote of the Day: Work is love made visible. And if you can't work with love but only with distaste, it is better than you should leave your work and sit at the gates of the temple and take alms of the people who work with joy. -- Kahlil Gibran

RECIPE: Asparagus & Swiss Cheese Omelette

2009-05-12T12:46:00.004-04:00

In the three months between the time that we bought the property that would become A Butler's Manor and our official opening in late April, 2002, I was eager to develop a variety of breakfast entrees to introduce to our guests. To that end, I would scour through cookbooks and online sources, try recipes, tweak them if necessary, until eventually I developed my own repertoire of breakfast recipes.

Problem was, Chris comes from the school that states Thou Shalt Not Serve Thy Guest Something You Haven't Perfected First...he was very nervous about my trying things for the first time on guests. Ergo, I practiced on us. For three months, every dinner I made was actually a breakfast until he started saying, "Oh no, not French Toast for dinner AGAIN!"

Now, I love breakfast, and could eat it any time of the day or night. (Thank goodness for diners and coffee shops.) Anyway, the upshot of this episode was that a) We opened for business with a good stable of recipes to start off, b) Chris has learned to trust my cooking (our guests have always been appreciative), and c) if I even mention that I've got a good breakfast recipe I want to try out at dinnertime, I instantly have an offer for a dinner date out. :)

Chris had to have one of those periodic preventative medical procedures this AM that meant he couldn't have any dinner last night, so -- whoo hoo! -- last night, I made myself breakfast for dinner. We've been cutting fresh asparagus and chives from the garden, and so those became the featured ingredients in my omelette. I didn't think to take a picture of it, but here's what I made:

---

ASPARAGUS & SWISS CHEESE OMELETTE (serves 1)

2 eggs*

1/8 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tsp canola oil

2 Tbsp. shredded Swiss cheese*

2 stalks asparagus, cut diagonally into 1" pieces and blanched in the microwave (about 40 seconds on high)

a small handful of frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives or scallions

Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper until frothy. Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add peppers and cook just until softened, perhaps two minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add eggs, swirling to coat pan, and cook, lifting sides to allow uncooked egg to run underneath until underside is set, about 1 minute.

Sprinkle the asparagus peppers, peas, and half of the cheese over one half of the omelette; fold the unfilled half over to enclose filling. Sprinkle with remainder of cheese. Cook until cheese is melted, about 2 minutes. Slide onto a plate, sprinkle with chives, and enjoy!

* BONUS: I've adapted this from the new Weight Watcher's Momentum Cookbook -- replace eggs with 1/2 cup Egg Beaters, and use a low-fat version of the cheese, and this very filling meal is only 3 points!

---

Chris may not agree with his fellow countryman here in Southampton, but Somerset Maugham and I are definitely on the same page:

Quote of the Day: If you want to eat well in England, eat three breakfasts. -- W. Somerset Maugham

Kim Allen

Innkeeper

Minis Rally at the Manor

2009-05-10T12:43:00.009-04:00

The Long Island Mini Enthusiasts (LIME) annual Road Rally descended upon A Butler's Manor like a flock of starlings yesterday...swooped in for a pit stop (cookies and lemonade in the garden), then journeyed on to lunch at the Southampton Publick House. How fun it was to see a long line of little cars all the way up the street! About 15 of the Minis pulled into our car park...and, had any of our guests arrived during their brief visit, there STILL would have been room to park! ha!

Organizer and chief photog Tom Abbe will doubtlessly be forwarding his "real" photos soon, but here are a few I took as the club arrived and enjoyed a break from their drive.

You can't do anything about the length of your life, but you can do something about its width and depth. -H.L. Mencken

Kim Allen

Innkeeper

A taste of summer!

2009-05-09T08:45:00.000-04:00

(Chris is guest blogging today.)

Yesterday saw an end to several days of rain and a glorious morning was served up just as we were making breakfast. Our business guests ate early and left for work around 8:00 AM, but our other two guests, Lynn and Leo, were more than happy to partake out on the patio.

After breakfast, I went out into the garden to weed and I planted the rest of the herbs: Italian/Flat and Curly Parsley, Basil, and Cilantro as well as the Roma and Beefsteak tomato plants. I also harvested more asparagus and salad greens which we had last night for dinner.

The grass is mowed and we are ready for the arrival of the Mini Rally participants around 3PM today! It should be a busy time as we also have 3 rooms checking in today:-) The Hamptons are heating up! Raspberry French toast for breakfast at the B&B today! AND SUNSHINE TOO!!!!

Wine & Whine (of the automobile sort)

2009-05-08T09:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Attempt #2 to spring the Mini from its winter home. Two Saturdays ago, Chris discovered a whining in the wheel area of our 1961 Mini Cooper while trying to drive it back to A Butler's Manor. So Tom Abbe, our wonderful traveling (-!!) mechanic (and incidentally, talented professional photographer), came out East to work on the wheel bearings. But alas, though he and Chris fiddled with it all afternoon, Tom decided during the final road test back to A Butler's Manor that more fiddling is needed. So...Chris won't be participating in the Spring Fling Mini Rally this year, but the other 27 drivers will be making a quick pit stop here on Saturday afternoon for tea and cookies. Here is one of Tom's photos!

Last night we joined several of our fellow Hamptons innkeepers at a special tour and tasting at Wolffer Vineyards, one of the beautiful (and yummy!) wineries here on the East End. Wolffer has a weekly Twilight Thursday event which we recommend highly to guests -- a lovely happy "hour" (actually, 5:00 - 7:30 PM) in their tasting room overlooking their rolling fields of grapevines. Live jazz, free cheese and crackers and the ability to buy their wines by the glass -- a great way to wind down after your day. In fact, two of our guests attended, and this morning, they were planning on encouraging their daughter to check out the winery as her wedding location. Chris and I, in our previous life, moonlighted with a caterer here in the Hamptons (Brent Newsom Caterer -- yummy!) so consequently did many weddings at Wolffer, and it is a divine location for weddings and parties. It was nice to catch up with several of our friends from other B&Bs before the season really gets busy.

Quote of the Day: Con pan y vino se anda el camino [With bread and wine you can walk your road]. -- Spanish Proverb

Kim Allen

Innkeeper

Where's the menu?

2009-05-06T16:33:00.000-04:00

Bed and breakfasts can differ widely, as those who love this form of accommodation well know. I was reminded of this recently when I happened upon a review of A Butler's Manor online. The poster had given us 5 stars and itemized many details he loved about his stay with us. He began the post by stating he was usually a "hotel guy," and was therefore a little leery of staying in a B&B because he thought of them as fussy, cluttered and overly cutesy (a style we call here in the trade "Death by Doily"). He was pleased to find we were none of these things, but said that if there was one thing he wished were different, it was breakfast. While the meal was wonderful, he said, there was no choice of entrees, nor was there a choice of breakfast times. What would make us perfect, he wrote, was if we would offer a choice of meal times and menus from which guests could choose.

I hope the gentleman will continue to try B&Bs when he travels, because that feature is offered in some bed and breakfasts. On our own travels, we have stayed at B&Bs that have a full dining room, waitstaff, and a menu of breakfast options from which to choose. (Notably, these are all much larger establishments than A Butler's Manor.) On the other hand, we are aware that other B&Bs of all sizes (including many here in the Hamptons) choose to offer a continental breakfast, served buffet style. These, and many other variations, are just some of the many differences to be enjoyed when choosing a B&B experience.

Wishing to maximize what we did best, Chris and I considered many variables when we began A Butler's Manor, and one of the things we most wanted to do was create memorable, beautiful breakfasts served communally, so that guests could interact over their meal. And we wanted to do it on Lenox china and Waterford crystal (even when served in the garden). With five rooms (a maximum of eleven guests), only me in the kitchen and Chris serving, we chose to create a breakfast experience with a single hot entree. Because it's critical to us that guests are able to enjoy their meal, we are vigilant in asking about dietary restrictions, food allergies, and things that people just plain don't care for, and I plan the menus around these needs. For those who prefer a lighter breakfast, a variety of cereals and yogurts is always available by request, and of course, fresh fruit, fresh OJ, and homemade baked goods are a feature at every breakfast.

We believe the main course should be fresh and hot, not kept warm in an oven (or--horrors!-- reheated in a microwave). The way we can ensure this is to set a fixed time for breakfast. As the majority of our guests are here for relaxation, this is usually no problem: early risers enjoy the early-bird coffee outside their room from 7AM on, then perhaps take a walk on the beach or a run through the village streets before breakfast, while others revel in the opportunity to sleep in a little. (We accommodate our midweek business guests, who usually have early morning meetings, with a somewhat simpler menu.)

Though we pride ourselves on our personal service, we've realized we are too small to be all things to all guests, and in this case, while we've both had lots of experience in the kitchen, neither of us is a short order cook (nor aspires to be one). :) Alas, a daily choice of menu at A Butler's Manor is not our style.

I'm grateful for that gentleman's comments, and for caring enough to post a review. I hope he continues his explorations of bed and breakfasts, as each of us have a unique approach...and that's what sets us apart from hotels.

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. -- Luciano Pavarotti

Kim Allen

Innkeeper

Breakfast in the garden

2009-04-26T14:40:00.000-04:00

Guests who visit A Butler's Manor during the warmer months know that weather permitting, we serve breakfast in Chris's stunning garden, on the patio beside the fountain. But it isn't often we have the opportunity to do such in early Spring, yet this week Nature smiled upon us and gave us a couple of gorgeous days where temps rose into the mid-70's. So for the first time all year, breakfast was served outside, and everyone agreed that with the magnolia in full bloom and all the birds busy tending their nests in the birdhouses, it couldn't have been more perfect.

One of the things we enjoy most about innkeeping is seeing our guests enjoy themselves, and each other. And on an unexpectedly warm day in April, the laughter and chatter over breakfast was especially happy. Heartwarming indeed!

Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons. It is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth. -Walt Whitman

Kim Allen
Innkeeper

Taking advantage of beautiful weather!

2009-04-24T16:24:00.000-04:00

I just got back from a walk into Southampton village. There's nothing like a spring day -- especially one after days of disheartening rain -- to make you long to be outside. Up and down Main Street and Job's Lane, restauranteurs had set up tables on the sidewalk in the open air, each set with a vase of spring flowers, and diners lounged in the chairs, reveling in the beautiful weather. I'm positive their lunch tasted better for the fact it was served outside! Similarly, many of the clothing stores had placed a basket or two of merchandise, or wheeled out a rack of clothing, in the front of their shops, encouraging sidewalk browsing. Other merchants couldn't help but hang out in their doorways, enjoying the sun and the mild temperatures. Shoppers and walkers greeted each other as they passed. It felt like an impromptu street fair -- we only needed some sidewalk entertainment to make it complete. The whole mood of the village was upbeat and as sunny as the sky above us.

Here at A Butler's Manor, the magnolia's spectacular pink flowers have begun to open in earnest, also encouraged by the sun. Soon the cherry tree will follow, and for a few weeks we will have a breathtaking mass of pink in the garden. We opened the pool on Wednesday, and while it is far from warm (-!!), just seeing the shimmering blue expanse makes it look as if we have our own perfect pond. And reminds me that summer is coming...soon, the lucky spell of warm weather forecast for this weekend will become the norm.

Quote of the day: Happiness is the result of making a bouquet of those flowers within reach. ---Proverb

Kim Allen

Innkeeper

Select Registry

2009-04-24T16:18:00.000-04:00

Last week, we had a lovely family staying with us who were from the Australian Diplomat corps. As you might imagine, these charming folks have lived and stayed at places all over the world.

On the morning they were due to check out, she asked us if we were members of Select Registry. We are occasionally asked this question. We are not members. We meet all their criteria except one: We have only 5 rooms.Select Registry is, as you might guess, a highly selective association of "distinguished inns of North America," and Chris and I have stayed at several over the years. Each property is inspected for quality assurance -- something we applaud. However, the application fee and annual membership dues -- if approved -- run to several thousand dollars. For a five-room B&B, alas, this does not make fiscal sense.

No, we told our Australian guest, we're not members, and we explained why."We've stayed in many of the Select Registry properties," she said. "You exceed all of them."

Made our day!!!!

Quote of the day: The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. ---Alice Walker

Kim Allen
Innkeeper