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We’ve Got Snow and The Arts

innkeeper — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:19:50 +0000

In Winter, Berkshires Culture Moves Indoors

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times

Top: Ventfort Hall in Lenox, Mass., where Anne Undeland performs “Open Marriage” in the library, right. Above: A work by Adrian Paci, left, at Mass MoCA in North Adams.

Original Article By Mark Vanhoenacker

There’s far more to the Berkshire Mountains than Tanglewood, and the arts and culture do continue after Labor Day all around our Lenox Bed and Breakfast. As Mark Vanhoenacker says in The NYT, “even in January, cultural life here thrives, at museums, theaters and music halls. And when it’s time for a little après-edification, you’ll find acres of elbow-room on area slopes.”

Why not start your cultural tour in North Adams, at Mass MoCA, one of the largest museums of contemporary art in the world? There are currently some exciting exhibits. And Mass MoCA’s performance stages are busy as well, such as jazz vocalist Catherine Russell on Feb. 18.

“The grande dame of Berkshire museums, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, just down the roadin Williamstown. The Rembrandt and Degas exhibition runs until February 5. “Clark Remix” opens Feb. 12. Pittsfield, which celebrated its 250th birthday in 2011, Pittsfield host 10×10 on North, the county’s first-ever winter contemporary arts festival, Feb. 16 to 26, featuring “exactly 10 of a number of things, including short pieces by two theatrical groups, Barrington Stage and New Stage; performances by poets, tango dancers and singer-songwriters; and short films.”At the Colonial Theater, a treasure from the Gilded Age, offers a busy winter calendar, including the Turtle Island Quartet (Feb. 17) and the Cajun masters BeauSoleil Avec Michael Ducet (Feb. 24).

In Lenox, Shakespeare & Co., as Vanhoenacker notes, “never lets the floorboards cool.” This season’s winter programming includes Molière’s comedy “The Learned Ladies,” which opens Feb. 3.

We hope you have the opportunity to enjoy some of these fantastic cultural events during your stay at our Berkshires Inn!

Our Inn in Lenox, MA offers 12 accommodations enjoy Berkshires, Bed & Breakfast,Inn in Lenox MA featuring private baths, cozy fireplaces and more. You can read the original blog post here We’ve Got Snow and The Arts.

Candy Cane Cookies

innkeeper — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:50:27 +0000

Christmas would not be Christmas at our Lenox Bed and Breakfast or in my family without Candy Cane Cookies. I started making them when my boys were small. They are now adults are making them themselves. Because it’s so much fun to make these with children, I draft the little girls next door. And the tradition continues…

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. peppermint extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. red food coloring (more if needed)

1/4 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candy

1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375F.
Mix the butter, sugar, egg and extracts thoroughly.
Mix the flour and salt, and stir into the butter mixture.
Divide the dough in half.
Blend the food coloring into one half.
Mix the sugar and crushed candy together.

Roll 2 tsp. of each color into 2 5-inch “snakes,” rolling each “snake” back and forth on a lightly floured board. Place the two “snakes” next to each other, press together lightly and twist like a rope (so it looks like a barber’s pole).
Make the cookies one at a time.
Curve the top to make the handle of the candy cane.
Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes, until just lightly brown on the bottom. Remove the cookies immediately and sprinkle with the sugar-candy mixture.

Makes approximately 3 dozen candy canes.

Hot Time in the Old Lenox December 9, 10 & 11

innkeeper — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:52:29 +0000

Quinn says: Lenox, MA, in the heart of The Berkshires, has been

compared to a Currier and Ives sketch. This is especially true during

the December holiday period. And there’s nothing that says New

England better than Lenox village dressed in holiday-style.

Catch the spirit on the weekend of December 10 when the village hosts

the Lenox Caroling Festival. The festival is a gala weekend, a

Christmas stocking filled with holiday events. The celebration

of seasonal songs begins on Saturday, December 10. Thirty or more

of the Northeast’s finest choirs and choral groups have been invited

to lift their voices in a day-long songfest and competition, 10 am to

noon and 1:30 pm to 4 pm throughout the village (in case of

inclement weather, the festival will move to indoor venues).

During the weekend you can also tour many of the village’s renown

bed and breakfast inns, including Birchwood Inn (Our Lenox Bed and Breakfast is

offering holiday special rates this weekend — and throughout most

of November and December as well) and sample holiday treats from

our special local restaurants (Quinn notes that this is her favorite event,

ever optimistic that there will be some cookies that drop on the floor!)

Lenox’s unique shops and restaurants will also be featuring festival specials.

On Saturday, from 6 pm to 7 pm, enjoy the Carolers’ Reception,

award presentations, and sing-a-long at Shakespeare & Co. For a

great feel-good experience, moreover, see David Sedaris’ “Santaland

Diaries” 7:30 pm on Saturday as well as two matinee performances,

Friday and Saturday at 2 pm.

Trinity Church invites everyone to its Holiday Fair and Silver Tea

on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm.

And what are the holidays without a gingerbread house? The Lenox

Library hosts the annual Gingerbread Contest on Sunday, 10 am to

3 pm.

This is a most special weekend, for sure, but everyday is special

in Lenox during the holidays. Come and celebrate the season of

lights with us at our Lenox MA Inn!

It Was the Best of Times

innkeeper — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:19:14 +0000

Says Quinn: Despite Irene’s unwelcome end-of-summer visit, this was one of the best of my 12 summers at Birchwood Inn.

Ellen and I have created a Top Ten Best of Summer 2011 list:

# 10 -Best play we missed: “Sylvia” — about a dog of course — at the Berkshire Theatre Festival

# 9 -Best Tanglewood Concert we missed: “Porgy and Bess”

# 8 -Best book read this summer: “The Greater Journey”

# 7 -Best exhibit: Pissarro at The Clark Art Institute (until Oct. 6)

# 6 -Best new Lenox food experience: Berkshire Gelato next door to Prime

# 5 -Best new breakfast recipe: Peach Croissant French Toast Panini

# 4 -Best breakfast fruit course: Honeydew “Gazpacho” and Bircher Muesli

# 3 -Best food blog: Eight Broads in the Kitchen at Bed and Breakfast Foodies

8 Broads... and a Dog

# 2 -Best park for hiking or walking a dog: Kennedy Park

# 1 -Best summer weekend: James Taylor and the annual 4th of July Party Time at our Lenox MA Bed and Breakfast!

Daisy Hill Puppy Farm

innkeeper — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:21:43 +0000

Says Quinn: Remember when Snoopy returned to Daisy Hill Puppy Farm for a reunion?

Earlier this week I had a similar experience.

When I was a puppy, my brother Dakota and I went to NEADS, the National Education for Assistive Dog Service, based in West Boylston, MA. From there we went to the prison in Portland, ME, as the first puppies in Maine’s Prison Pup Program to be trained as service dogs. Once a week a trainer came to train the inmate who would then train us.

When I was nearly a year old, I went back to NEADS for further training to be Ellen’s Hearing Ear Dog. My trainer was Brian, and I love him but he worked me hard!

My trainer Brian and me

After several weeks of learning to respond to the alarm clock, stove timer, smoke and fire alarms, doorbells, and the name “Ellen” so I could alert Ellen. Then Ellen came to NEADS to train and bond with me.

That was 11 years ago. Ellen and I have been the best team.

Over the past 11 years, I’ve done a lot of traveling all over the US and Canada, made hundreds of friends, enjoyed concerts, festivals, theater, movies, and baseball games, and scomped up some gourmet food people happened to drop on the floor. (Sitting under the cheese table at cocktail parties is the best spot for this!)

I’m in really great shape, if I do say so myself. My hearing, however, isn’t what it used to be. So soon, Ellen is going to need a new Hearing Ear Dog and I get to stay with Ellen at Birchwood Inn and become her pet.

This week we drove to NEADS to talk about the new dog. I recognized NEADS right away and jumped up and ran to the door when I heard Brian’s voice for the first time in 11 years.

So I am going to retire. Oh, not yet! It will most likely take 9 to 12 months to find the perfect dog for Ellen. And when the new dog arrives at our Lenox Bed and Breakfast, I’ll get to sleep in, roll in the snow and lie in the sun. I’ve had a good run.

Dog Days? I’m Insulted

innkeeper — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:53:11 +0000

As a most fine and upstanding canine, I am not at all happy that these miserably hot days in the Northeast, with unheard of temperatures in the 90s and humidity that even curls my hair, are called Dog Days. Dogs are cool!

Here in Lenox, in the heart of the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts, there are gentle breezes in the garden and on the front porch at Birchwood Inn.

The leafy hiking trails in Kennedy Park across the street are very pleasant. There is plenty of shade under the ancient oaks at Tanglewood, and fortunately the air-conditioning is working mighty fine at Shakespeare & Co., Jacob’s Pillow, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Barrington Stage Co., The Colonial, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. I also love taking a cool respite at The Norman Rockwell Museum, The Clark Art Institute, and MASS MoCA.

And there’s nothing more refreshing than a swim in one of the many nearby mountain lakes.

Nothing doggy about it. Why not the Cat Days of Summer?

And that’s the way I see it. Quinn

Puppy Love

innkeeper — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:20:31 +0000

It’s February! For you two-legged creatures, that mean it’s Chocolate Passion Month at Birchwood Inn, with something chocolate on every menu.

Sweetheart Chocolate French Toast

For you four-legged waggy creatures, it’s Puppy Love Month at the inn. My fellow canines stay free at the inn this month!

Quinn and Friend Phoebe

Our Inn in Lenox, MA offers 12 accommodations enjoy Berkshires, Bed & Breakfast,Inn in Lenox MA featuring private baths, cozy fireplaces and more. You can read the original blog post here Puppy Love.

Dog Friendly

innkeeper — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:18:46 +0000

Randy, Quinn, Piper, Phoebe, and Susan

I have made some new and very special new furry friends in the past few months, but Phoebe (and her mom and dad, of course) is a special one. She really feels at home at Birchwood Inn and knows where the toys. Phoebe especially loves hikes in Kennedy Park, window-shopping in Lenox village, and perhaps most of all the inn’s porch at the end of a grueling day!

Crazy for Apples

innkeeper — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:16:32 +0000

Says Quinn, “There is nothing that can compare to fall in the Berkshires! There are crunchy piles of colorful leaves to roll in, and the earthy scents of autumn are heady. Inside, Piper and I salivate over the apples baking in pies and cakes, French toasts and omelets. From experience, we can tell you that the pear cranapple crumble is worth waiting in the kitchen for a tasty morsel to find its way to the floor.”

Filling:

2-3 apples, sliced (leave peel on)

2-3 ripe pears, sliced (leave peel on)

1 cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

1/4 to 1/2 cup liquid honey

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats

6 tablespoons butter

Fresh nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a 6-cup deep baking dish. Place apples, pears, and cranberries in the dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit. Drizzle honey over the fruit.

Combine the brown sugar, flour, and butter in a food processor. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and add the oats.

Spoon the topping over the fruit. Grate nutmeg on top of the topping. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm is tender but not mushy. Serve warm.

Serves 8.

So Busy Wagging

innkeeper — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:33:12 +0000

I have been so busy wagging at guests, old and new, that I haven’t had a moment to wag online.

What happened to July? Seems as if it got washed away with seven straight weeks of rain! While we all feel mildewed, Birchwood’s gardens are spectacular, a riot of color!

With a plethora of concerts at Tanglewood, theater at The Berkshire Theatre Festival and Barrington Stage Company, dance at Jacob’s Pillow plus hiking and watersports — it’s summer in the Berkshires.

My friend Piper is not a happy camper these days. She has wandered once too often and is now being trained for the Invisible Fence. She is doing just great and won’t go within six feet of a flag! At last she is learning to stay home where we belong!

Foodie highlights of the summer: Country Rhubarb Cobbler Cake and Chilled Peach Soup with Lemon Bread Croutons are but two of the guests’ summer favorites. And speaking of foodies, Ellen and seven innkeeping friends across the US have a new blog — www.bedandbreakfastfoodie.com. Please visit and indulge!

I’d better take a dog nap before check-in time! Woof!