What a great time to be in Freeport!

What a beautiful time of year to be in Freeport! The leaves have fallen, we've seen a couple of snowfalls (though they've since melted), and the crowds of summer vacationers and shoppers have gone back to school, jobs, etc.

It's time for us to put away the fall decorations and begin decorating the house for Christmas. The carols are playing in the house, and the dining room, entryway and living room, as well as the guest rooms, themselves, take on a festive air.

This is the time when our "old friends" -- the guests who come back frequently, or even annually -- come to Brewster House. They've seen the beauty of the Maine coast in summer many times, so they don't mind if the weather isn't perfect. They've visited most of the lighthouses and lobster shacks, so they don't mind having their lobster at one of the fine Freeport restaurants instead of along the water.

These guests are here to relax, do a bit of Christmas shopping, and remember the good times they've enjoyed here over the years, and maybe take in a bit of the L.L. Bean Northern Lights Celebration (through New Years' Eve).

We always look forward to these return visits - it's a bit like having your extended family visit - whether they're here to visit their own family, do a bit of shopping, or just looking for a bit of relaxation before the holidays.

We hope to see you here!

Recipe: Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Glaze

Every season Ruth seems to find something that represents the season, then uses it in a lot of her baked goods. In the autumn it is pumpkin, and one of the favorites of all our fall guests is our Pumpkin Scones with Cinnamon Glaze.

Without further ado, do try this at home!

Scones

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons half-and-half
• 1 large egg

Spiced Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ginger
• 1 pinch ground cloves 

TO MAKE THE SCONES:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. 
4. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles a coarse meal, and no chunks of butter are obvious. Set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half and half, and egg. 
6. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients with a fork. Don't over mix!  You can incorporate any dry when you form the mixture into a ball.
7. Form the dough into a ball.
8. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1-inch thick circle.  Cut into 8 "pie" pieces.  Place on prepared baking sheet.
9. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Scones should begin to turn light brown. Place on wire rack to cool.

SPICED ICING:

1. Combine the ingredients for the spiced icing together.
2. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.

Add mini chocolate chips for a whole new level of deliciousness!)

Bon Apetit!

Winter: The Perfect Time to Visit Maine Lighthouses?

The guests at our Freeport Maine Bed & Breakfast almost always enjoy visiting lighthouses. Many are looking for an opportunity to take nice photographs of the lighthouses and their spectacular ocean scenery.

We enjoy helping the guests plan their route to the different lighthouses, sometimes making a full day of it (or more), and sometimes just a quick visit to a single lighthouse.

One thing that sometimes stands in the way of the "perfect" lighthouse photo is the other visitors, all trying to get their own lighthouse picture. Is there a way to avoid this? Of course there is!

If a warm-weather picture is what you're after, your best bet is to try to visit in late May through June. While the weather isn't as reliably dry as it will be in mid-summer, most years we have a lot of good weather in these months, and there are far fewer visitors, so it is a perfect time to get those photos of lighthouses, and other popular attractions, without having to work around others who are after the same thing.

If you want a really different kind of picture, try coming when there's snow on the ground. How many people do you know who have taken photos of lighthouses, and other Maine coastal icons, with a blanket of snow on them?

In addition, in December Cape Neddick Lighthouse (the Nubble) is lighted for the holidays, so that makes for even a more unusual photograph. For the less intrepid, however, the lighthouse is also lighted in July, so more people can see it that way.

Whatever your preference, Maine's lighthouses are ready for your photographs, all through the year. We're here, too, ready to help you plan your stay.

White Christmas? How About A White Halloween?

When we were children it seemed people always wondered whether or not we would have a white Christmas. That is, would there be snow on the ground by Christmas Day.

We can't answer that on (though we could hazard a guess...), but this year we had snow before Halloween.

By late morning some of the snow had begun to melt.

By Saturday evening (October 29) the storm that had formed over the southern Atlantic coast had moved north, dropping snow on Washington, D.C., and several other locations from New Jersey to Connecticut. It went up the east coast of the US, then the winds backed up onto northern New England, forming a classic nor'easter.

The storm began to drop big, soft, white, flakes on Freeport about 7:00 p.m.

We awoke in the middle of the night to find the heavy weight of the snow had knocked the power out, and began planning for a breakfast that could be prepared without electricity.

Our stove is gas (propane, actually), so we quickly changed the planned breakfast of a baked egg dish and scones (that needed to be baked in the morning) to Ruth's special scrambled eggs with bacon, roasted potatoes, and muffins - all of which could be prepared on top of the stove.

The next challenge was the coffee. Since we use French presses the only requirements were boiling water and grinding the beans. The water was easy, since we could boil it on the stovetop, but the electric grinder wasn't going to work. We double-bagged some beans, and smashed them with a rubber mallet, to get them as finely "ground" as we could, and served up fresh coffee - just not quite the "usual" strength.

The guests were all delightful about their "adventure" and ate breakfast by candlelight. Two couples decided to sleep in, just appearing for a cup of coffee, while the others enjoyed the sense of camaraderie that comes from shared difficulty.

Just as the last guests were finishing their breakfast, the lights flickered, then stayed on. We all breathed a sigh of relief, as the power was back, hot showers awaited, and a good time was had by all (wasn't it?).