This caclulus teacher stayed with us. Besides going to the ice fishing derby, we explored some nice trails in East Poultney.


Today's breakfast consisted of Karen's Fresh Made Granola, srcambled eggs and ham, roasted potatoes, tomato juice and coffee.

Who is this famous man?

Answer and win a prize.

Scenes from the Lake Bomoseen fishing derby.

Which fish is your favorite?

Who's walking on Lake Bomoseen?

Answer and win a prize? E-mail us!

Who's 91st birthday is it?

Liz and Byrne stayed with us last night because Byrne's family in Manchester had no power yet! From the seacost of New Hampshire, Liz and Byrne, who are both computer software writers, were here to visit family in nearby Hampton, New York to celebrate Byrne's father's 91st birthday. Happy Birthday!

Joining them was Mr. O, the fabulous Rob Orcuich, our friend and teacher, from HSC in New Haven.



Our breakfast this morning was:

Homemade hazlenut and flax pancakes
Scrambled Eggs
Bacon
Fresh pineapple with tropical fruits
Cranberry scones
Tomato juice
Coffee and tea

The power was out in Saratoga Springs, New York...the dancers could not find suitable accommodations! Peg Hall and her friend Lois, accomplished dancers extraordinaire, came to the Birdhouse Inn where we had electricity and bathrooms in 100% working order.

The storm of Friday brought down lots of trees across power lines knocking out at least 22,000 Vermont homes plus many others in New York state. There was recorded 143 mph winds at Stratton Mountain, so you can see why ther may have been some dificulties with power. A tree fell in the front yard of Marsh's neighbors, killing the telephone connections for a couple fo days. In Poultney we were spared massive power outages, luckily.

Peg and Lois enjoyed their stay with us and we with them! Peg had to have a working bathroom and Saratoga could not provide the proper facilities in light of their power failures. What were the 6,000 dancers who came to Saratoga going to do? With Friday's dances cancelled and a limited number of venues available for the dancers on Saturday, Peg and Lois decided to head over to Greenfield, Mass. later to see some sights and visit a friend. They are disappointed that the Big Show is not happening, but will find joys in other things. Next year???

For breakfast we made:

Poached eggs with shitake mushrooms and cheese
Pancakes with maple syrup
Bacon
Coffee cake muffins
Orange juice
Milk

No Coffee or tea!

Go luck in their travels!

Who are the Chileheads?

All comments are welcomed!

Who's chile is the spiciest and hottest at the 14th Annual Manchester Chili Challenge. After tasting 14 different chiles, it was hands-down, Hassan Chani's African Devil Chili!!!! Using a wild blend of many different spices and his famous African Devil Chili pepper, Hassan is getting Zachary ready to be a chilehead soon!

The Panhandlers played the sultry sounds of the Carribean on the steel drums to accompany the spiciness of the chile challengers. Led by Scott Paulson and Barbara Smith the sounds of a far away place were brought right into the Equinox as we enjoyed all types of chiles.

Thanks to Paula Liner for introducing me to the group!

What is there to do in the middle of winter? I went to the 14th Annual Manchester Chili Challenge today to see what Vermonters could do with the precious pod. Eleven competitors made fifteen different chiles for the crowd to sample and enjoy.

I really liked Gatewood's Mexican Chocolate Chile with Jalapeno Ice Cream. So wondefully chocolaty and rich in flavor, it was my favorite. The ice cream really complemented the dark chile. John had made a winner out of this unique blend of flavors for this chile. This was voted Most Unique Chile...I thought it was the best tasting, too!

Held at the beautiful Equinox Hotel, procedes go to the Manchester Recreation Department, a worthwhile cause. Come next year at this time and savor the flavors of Manchester!

Happy Valentine's Day to All.

We had an intimate dinner with New Zealand Sparkling wine, fresh, homemade pasta that I made with real semolina flour with a shrimp, shitake cream sauce, roasted whtie asparagas, and a mesclun salad accompanied by baked bread and roasted whole head of garlic. One of our favorite wines, Valley of the Moon Chardonnay complimented the food.

Since Karen has been ill, we retired early after watching some of the Winter Olympics.

Hurray for Hannah Teter's win in the Halfpipe! She's from Belmont in Rutland Coounty, Vermont!!

The Nelson-Boyd breakfast menus:

Day 1:
Apple Pancakes
Spanish Tortillas
Vermont Maple Ham
Karen's Apricot Cream Cheese Scones
Grapefruit Juice
Coffee

Day 2:
French Toast
Lavsh Rollup with eggs, potatos, sausage
Apple Riccota Muffins
Orange Juice
Coffee

Was everyone satisfied? We think so!

Vermont Sweetwater is the best! The tastings continue. Which one is your favorite?

Gung hay fat choy in East Poultney, our first!

We had quite a Festa's Feast with our friends...can you name who's in the pictures?

The menu consisted of pan fried gyoza, yakitori, chashew chicken (cashews, compliments of the East Poultney Geeral Store!), baby bok choy with shrimp in oyster sauce, roasted pork loin with char sui sauce, pasta, whole baked cauliflower with cheese, fried rice, almond cookies (thanks, Karen!), and fortune cookies. All were refreshed with plenty of food and wines paired to the meal. This happened AFTER the Vermont Sweetwater demonstration and tasting! Things go better with VT Sweetwater!

Join us next year for gung hay fat choy II in EP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Church supper preparation... The chicken and biscuits with home made gravy was dee-lishush!

Plus, all those great desserts!

Name the people in the pictures and win a prize!

Be sure to send us your name and address.
go to kachina@birdhouseinnvt.com

Youth group at FHCC awaits goodies made by Karen.

What did she make?

Where is Karen at and what is she doing?

Here's Wendy from Vermont Sweetwater! Those crazy names for sodas and beverages have that GREAT taste! Enjoy all the delicous, natural flavors of Vermont at the Birdhouse Inn and elsewhere.

Name your favorite Vermont Sweetwater beverage and win a prize. E-mail us.

Who is sitting in the back? Answer and win a prize, too!!

Jon and Valerie Nelson and Linda Boyd enjoy Vermont Sweetwater beverages during their stay at the Birdhouse Inn. Where is Jim?

Did they have enough time to go shopping?

The Chinese are coming to Vermont! We went to Castleton State College and saw the Strange Candy Presentation of "Tales from the Beijing Opera".

The two tales were "Autumn River", a romantic comdy about a nun who escapes from an order to pursue a young scholar whom she loves and the elder boatman who helps her across the Autumn River. It's a comedy skit!

"Monkey and Pigsy" is one of China's most beloved stories. After the naughty Monkey King and the gluttonous Pigsy commit crimes agains heaven, they continue to make trouble by stealing a magic weapon from a dragon. Hillarious! And great make-up on the Monkey King!

Yang Hong Wu, Zhang Hui, and Merrianne Moore were the performers.

At the Mark Skinner Library in Manchester Center, Vermont we were treated to a series of native, ethnic-minority Chinese dances by Mau Mau Leibert. She dressed in different native apparel for the different dances which represent native peoples of China. She even has all of us in the audience try to replicate the candle Dance of the Dai People.

Care to try some of the dances? We did...

Who is the author of those famous Joe Gunter mystery novels talking with?

Green Mountain College audience listens to the Asian Rural Institute presentation about sustainable agriculture and helping rural people around the world.

Afterwards, we had a light meal with the presenters and other visitors and informal discussions at the Birdhouse Inn.

Ristorante Faustini in East Haven is where we met our friends.

Who are they?

E-mail us and win a prize.

Asian Rural Institute, Japan , and Sri Lanka visit the Birdhouse Inn!

It's snowing again. Come to the Birdhouse Inn B&B!

Magical sounds from Bellows Falls, from Huun Huur Tu

Brian and I attended a concert of the Tuvan Throat Singers, Huun Huur Tu. They hail from the tiny country of, you guessed it, TUVA. Do you know where that is??? Tuva is nestled between Mongolia and Siberia, a very small, out of the way place.

The Tuvan life style appears to have long avoided interaction with the modern world until being invited to the US for tour, one of which happened to come to the Little town of Bellows Falls in the "Republic of Vermont" via the efforts of local arts advocate, Mary Hepburn. Thank you, Mary!

Who's in the picture?? Name them and win a prize!!!

If you've never heard their music you are in for a wonderful experience. The special way in which they produce the sounds and melodies with their throats is quite unique. Learned from childhood, passed on from older generations, they carry on an ancient musical tradition.

The singers can hold two to three notes simultaneously to create a wistful and moving sound. They express the sounds of birds, horses, tigers, wind and other forces of nature and the lives of their people.

In addition to their wondrful vocal skills, the Huun Huur Tu, are accomplished musicians, playing a variety of ethnic wind, string and percussion instruments accompanying their interpretations of traditional Tuvan folk music.

Their songs tell stories of life in the beautiful unspoiled natural surroundings of their country. Their music transports one to a time of simpler and purer beauty.

We hope that we can send you the audio portion of this story soon.

On Monday, we will have a wonderful opportunity to find out about an international mission, The Asian Rural Institute.

The Asian Rural Institute is an outreach organization which is known around the world. Father Peiris, an Anglican priest from Sri Lanka, will share his thoughts with us. He is a graduate of ARI.

ARI’s motto is “That We may Live Together”.

The mission of ARI is to build an environmentally healthy, just, and peaceful world, in which each person can live to his or her fullest potential. Each year ARI invites 20 to 30 rural leaders from Asia and Africa to be trained. PARTICIPANTS, STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS LIVE AND WORK TOGETHER AIMING TOWARDS SELF SUFFICENCY THROUGH ORGANIC FARMING AND FORMING A JUST AND PEACEFUL COMMUNITY

Father Peiris is a fine speaker and will share with us the work that ARI is doing today and what they would like to do in the future.

American Friends of Asian Rural Institute are sponsoring a talk by Father Laksiri Peiris and Steve Cutting, a staff member, at Green Mountain College on Monday, the 23rd of January 06 at 3:30 at The Gorge in the Withey Student Center. Come hear how ARI works to train leaders from developing countries to promote “a world in which human life and the food that sustains it have the highest value.”

Come to the Birdhouse Inn afterwards to share your thoughts with them and dine in a simple meal.

Nicholas Auctions in Whitehall, New York is where we spent last evening at a great glass auction, MOSTLY tootpick holders and salt holders...literally hundreds and hundres of them! In boxes and cases, we've never seen so many. And they were going, the sets, for hundreds of dollars per lot, wow! The groups of glass or metal containers, all so delicate, were arranged by color or design or a theme. We missed out on a boxful of covered glass salt holders which were all different types of chickens made of glass and in many colors. I think there were about 20 of them. The box went for over $100.

I'm not there yet as far as a salt holder/Birdhouse Inn innkeeper/collector goes. As you probably know we have too many "collections" already, but they were oh so cute!

We did not go away empty-handed, though. We bid on a salt & pepper set group and got it for $20. It came with a mustrad pot set, yeah! (the mustard pots that we already have need to go on display next.) Towards the end I saw another set of S&P's and this time went over the top and bid $50 and got that, too! Not too much to bring home and since they are small enough, for now, these little gems, salt holds, salt & peppers, and mustard pots, will not clutter up the Birdhouse Inn. And they will add a nice Vermont touch to our B&B.

When there is another auction, I'll let you know.

The Green Mountain women's basketball team was victorious against Leslie College, 62-30. Leslie had only five players who had to not only play the entire game, but be careful not to foul out! This was the first GMC that we have seen and it was a lot of fun.

But...

Thursday's game with the GMC women followed by a men's game will be even more fun! Bob Williams, as part of his family's 60th year in business at Williams Hardware Store in downtown Poultney, will be offering many prizes to the spectators during the game and at halftime. Some special events include a possible $100 collection to the lucky winner. He or she will have 30 seconds to collect and gather as many 100 dollar bills that have been set out on the court. Those who make a shot from half time will be winners of all thedollar bills that are not collected! Plus many, many other specials!

Unfortunately, we will be out of town tomorrow. So be there in our stead and have a chance to win some $$$.

Who said there wasn't a lot of fun in Poultney?

These Easy Riders were guests at the Birdhouse Inn. Who are these folks?

Send us your name and address and win a prize!

The Henry sisters, Autumn , #1, and Tess, Bunny Girl, stayed with us over the weekend. With their friends, Adam and Nick, we saw the magnificent Clydesdale horses who were across from the Grist Mill in Killington. These beautiful horses are 18 hands "tall", 6 feet, and are over 2000 pounds.

For breakfast we had: omelets, hazlenut-flax pancakes (deelishush!), turkey bacon, fruit cups, juice, coffee, and a couple of baked goods made by Karen. Everyone was well pleased.

The weather was balmy and rainy during the day. After going to the Good Cents Store, Dollar Bag sale, Tess, like her mom, Margo, got some great deals, one of them a long retro red dress. Adam got a suit and a bunch of other clothes for a 'buck", too. Since the Good Cents Store is moving back to its original location, they have to unload things soon. Of course, the best deal was the "Free Room'! We found a B&B Guide and some other treasures. Our other purchases consisted of a couple of dishes, glasses, and kitchen ware...they were not in the Dollar Bag sale...we gladly paid "2 dolla".

Of course the girls had to go to TJ's in the center of Rutland...I don't think Nick and Adam were too excited about that. After an hour or so and a couple of gems, we headed back to the Birdhouseinn..Karen and I made a quick dinner of chicken, pasta, cole slaw and the snacks, of course...chips, dips, cheeses and Vermont Sweetwater sodas. The stuffed breads from New Haven that Aut and Adam brought up yesterday were heated up and devoured. After a satisfying dinner, we started up the fireplace before readying for a few rounds of SEQUENCE.

We had a fun time playing this game. Karen's "sounds" were a "tickle" to Autumn. The fun and laughter playing three rounds of Sequence were puntuated by squeals and Hi-fives as the various teams complted their five-in-a-rows. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but I was on the "winning" team in all three rounds...partnered with Karen, first, then Adam, and lastlly with Autumn...luck? Or as Karen so pointedly said, "its the cards, baby"...not skill. Oh, well.

The girls were supposed to get back to Connecticut for work, Autumn, and NYC for Tess as she begins her new ventures at the Parsons-New School. But...during our game playing evening, the balmy, rainy weather turned into a pretty nice snowstorm. So we suggested that they go later, early in the morning. I detailed the NY Route 22 return passage which I thought would be clearer and safer.

As the snow continued to beautify the Vermont countryside we went to bed and hoped for clear passage inthe morning.

The Budweiser Clydesdales will be in the Killington area for Martin Luther King weekend.

Come and see them.

Stay with us at the Birdhouse Inn and enjoy the wonder and beauty of these amazing animals.

Make your reservations at reservations@birdhouseinnvt.com

"Uncle" Walt Soder visited us this past couple of days. We had his inspection of the insulation of our attic and crawl spaces to conserve heat and energy.

For breakfast we went to the Wooden Soldier in Fair Haven and had eggs & sausages for Karen, eggs and hash for Walt, plus a breakfast sandwich for me!

Later we took a trip to Middlebury visiting Frog Hollow's VT Art Center. Of course, we went to Otter Creek Brewery, took a tour of the plant with Becca, and tasted many Otter Creek offerings. We left with some beers, of course. A quick trip to the Vermont Soapworks finished our Middlebury visit before returning to Poultney.

Walt left with a case of Otter Creek beer, a case of Vermont Sweetwater soda, and a promise to return to the Birdhouse Inn in the near future.

Name the people in this picture. Post your message and win a prize! Be sure to leave you mailing address.

Now is a good time to come to the Birdhouse Inn B&B...relax after the holidays in beautiful Poultney. There is wonderful Vermont snow for downhill skiing at Killington, Pico or Okemo, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing.

Make a reservation via : reservations@birdhouseinnvt.com and get a 10% discount.

Hope to see you soon!

Josh and Valerie are off, back to Olympia, Washington.

They got up early to catch a plane in Manchester, NH!

I prepared breakfast burritos, juice, coffee, and scones.

They had a great time here.

What did Trish Duffy leave behind at the Birdhouse Inn?

Answer corectly and win a prize.

Check out Shig Sakai's blog about the Birdhouse Inn B&B at: http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/home_town_2005/17009778.html

It's got great pictures!

New Year's Day Breakfast:

Mimosas, of course,

Maple Oat Scones,

French Toast Casserole,

Tortilla Omelet, Spanis-style with potato, spinach, cheese,

Sasauges, patties and links,

Hazlenuit Cream coffee

We were a bit tired after all tthe Cranium playing, but we made a pretty good breakfast!

After the reception, we headed back ot the Birdhouse Inn. Simone and Company were already at the house playing Cranium, a game which uses all parts of your brain, the left side and the right side! They had a successful day of shopping in Manchester. Especially neat was Lisa's purchase of a penguin pajama set. After watching Dick Clark on TV and the ball falling down on Times Square and the masses, we all celebrated with some champagne toasts. Josh and Valerie joined us a bit later.

Then we played Cranium until about 3 AM! This was our first time playing, Karen and myself, but somehow we managed to win! On one round I had to draw a "salmon" with my eyes closed, while Karen had to guess what I was drawing! Talk about being able to read between the lines, I was trying to draw some sort of stick figure with bones, and Karen guessed "fish...tuna...salmon"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was that good or what? It sure wasn't my Leonardo-style of drawing, that's for sure! The game went on with all kinds of questions, activites, singing, many diffferent ways to experss yourself and to your partner to move ahead to the final goal.

We highly recommend this game for everyone!

Exhausted, we made it to bed and got ready for the next breakfast.

Karen and I worked at Orlando Craig's reception at the Castleton American Legion Hall. The place was a very spacious site to have awedding recepton. We helped in the kitchen with Bonnie and Keith Crossman, Kathie Bosco on New Year's eve. Julie Craig, the mother of the groom, prepared all these foods: 3 types of chicken wings, spring rolls, all types of mini sandwiches, cheeses, many different dips with chips and veggies, summer sausages, veggie and fruit platters, Swedish meatballs, Italian meatballs, and Orlando, Sr's BBQ ribs! A yummy time!

The new bride, Anita, is from the Cook Islands. She is so beautiful and gracious. Her native dance in native costume was a most beautiful sight to behold.

Josh, our guest, was a member of the wedding party and dressed in his military blues as was Orlando, Jr.

We'll add pictures later.

Who are these people?

Answer correctly and win a prize.

Please include your mailing address on your comment.

New Year's Eve Breakfast with Simone and family friends...along with Josh and Valerie Sturgill from Olympia, Washington...they are here for Orlando Craig's wedding.

Menu:

Omelets with cheese, mushroom, broccoli, avacado

Apple Pancakes with maple syrup,

Turkey Bacon,
Karen's Pricsilla's Scones,
Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake,
OJ and Coffee

Who are these folks?

Answer correctly and win a prize.

Be sure to send us your mailing address.

Love,
B&K

You can now make comments to our blog! I finally figured out how to make the correct setting for your comments. What do you think? The Birdhouse Inn B&B is going forward into new horizons!!!

Simone Minichino-Garofolo, husband Mike, and sister-in-law Lisa amd her husband Skip Jaques stayed with us over New Years "vacation". What a fun group! We had a great time with them on New Years Eve playing the game CRANIUM. We give it a "Thumbs Up", ***** Rating. Has anyone out there played it?

Why did Jim Melling have to go to the hardware store?

Answer correctly and win a "prize"!

Breakfast II Trish D and family...

Cheese poached eggs on a potato pancake,
Muffin french toast with maple syrup.
Link sausages.
Cranberry scones,
Fruit cup,
OJ and coffee

They said it was yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

plus they got to get in some of the sights of Vermont later...like Queechee.

Happy New Year, it's 2006!
Love,
B&K

Who are those crazy kids?

Skiers Breakfast, Day Two:

Apple Pancakes,
Spanish Tortilla, with potato, of course, mushrooms and spinach with mozzarella chese
Turkey Bacon,
Fruit Cups,
Karen's Almond Cranberry Scones and
Morning Glory Muffins,
Cinnamon Buns,
OJ,
Coffee

Yummy!

Skiers Breakfast, Day One: MENU

Baked French Toast with Hazlenuts and Green's Maple Syrup, made in Poultney, of course,
Scrambled Eggs and Sausage,
Karen's Morning Glory Muffins,
Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake,
OJ and Autumn Blend Juices,
Lots of deep, dark rich Green Mountain Coffee

Everyone was satisfied and pleased, ready for a day on the mountains of Pico and Killington.

The skiers from Connecticut arrived in East Poultney yesterday...Joe Binkoski and Phyllis Liu with daughter Charlotte and friend Cliff. Plus Trish Duffy and Jim Melling with son Dan and cousin Katherine.

Some interesting 'facts":
Joe is a pal and colleague from my "old" school, High School in the Community, New Haven. His specialty is Asian and World History.
Trish is a Media Specialist in the Branford Public Schools and loves to read.
Phyllis is is an ocular specialist and is a Master Gardener.
Jim's works with lights and trade show presentations.
Dan is a student of Joe's at HSC and loves his iPod.
Cliff dives a truck and goes to Amity HS.
Charlotte is captian of the Amity HS ski team and would like to go to college in the Boston area.
Katherine is 12 years old, on a travelling softball team in Branford and pitches a softball at over 50 mph.

Great guests!

Some holiday cheer from us to you!

MaryJo Teeter's sisters, Chris and Kathy with spouses Brad and Nat, and parents, Grant and JoAnne Peacock, stayed with us over the Christmas holiday. All enjoyed sumptuous breakfasts, rich dark coffee and good consversation!

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas all of yu in blogger land. We are posting from the home of Helen of Fair Haven Vermont, Irish capital of Vermont. We are here trying to teach an old dog new tricks!!!
She's taught us quite a few Ha Ha!

"Lots of things grow better with age, I'm just one of them," says Helen (the old person).

Merry Christmas from Karen and Brian Festa. We wish you the very best, with much peace and love.

Steve and Diane Seebart stayed at the Birdhouse Inn last week. What a coincidence, they were from Sunnyvale, CA, the town that I grew up in!! They even know where we lived, South Pastoria Ave. But the houses, gardens, orchards and trees are all gone...now, all those low-rise, clean, high tech little businesses and factories churning out all likes of tekkie-stuff...that's Silicon Valley!

Here is a samping of what we served during the week for our breakfasts: (not all at once!)

BHI Bakery: Karen's lemon scones, muffins, lemon cakes and other biscuits plus many baked goodies.

Eggs: fried, poached, scrambled
Potatoes: home fries, potato pancakes, diced, shredded
Meats: Turkey bacon, regular bacon, sausage patties, local organic bacon
Specials: portobello/spinach/cheddar omelets, individual breakfast bread puddings, hazleneut pancakes, waffles
Fruit cups, cantalope slices
Orange juice and other juices
Green Mountain Fair Trade Coffee

Anything else we forgot?

They were well pleased, satisfied and happy each morning.
And so were we.

If you have any suggestions, please let us know.
Merry Christmas,
Love,
B&K