Nantucket Christmas!!!

Greetings from the Innkeeper Gerry!! The Christmas Holiday Season's BIGGEST Weekend on Nantucket is in full swing: "Christmas Stroll"!! Originally created for the Island's tight knit year round community to kick off the Christmas Holidays, to toast to good cheer and enjoy a convivial gift shopping celebration, the STROLL has taken on a life of its own with people traveling from near and far to embrace the festivities and simple elegance on our "far away Island "in the middle of the sea!

Just spoke with the Islanders and learned it was a blistering 36 degrees BUT no forecast of snow. The Island is a'buzz; we miss the excitement, but now find enjoying the 78 degree sunny southern weather a bit more gentle on our bones!!

Happy Holidays one and all, Gerry and JeanE
Century House, http://www.centuryhouse.com

Postcard from the Inn at Little Washington

I was very excited to get a postcard from The Inn at Little Washington, located in Washington, Virginia, a Relais and Chateaux property. The innkeepers of Century House visited and mailed me one. I am now convinced that everyone that visits and stays at a BB should take a minute to send postcards to family and friends. The postcard was a vintage print of a painting of the Inn. How cool is that? One of our postcards at the Century House is by Richard French artist, and one by Caggiano and they make the best little gifts or notecards.

I love artsy anything! And this tops my list. Seriously, when you visit a bed and breakfast, see if they have their own postcards. Vintage? Even better. It wouldn't make sense for a hundred plus year old bed and breakfast to have postcards that are ultra modern. So, the best memory gift you can give yourself is a postcard. Mail yourself one!. Mail them to your friend and families! And one day when you go through that pile of papers stacked up that little 'vintagey' postcard might just make you smile.

A while back, I also discovered that our Nantucket award winning artist Armand Cabrera is also an artist showing his art at The Inn at Little Washington. What a coincidence! See Armand painting at the Inn. Century House Nantucket has had an artist-in-residence program for many years, where artists can grow and expand themselves.  You can find Armand's blog here. http://www.artandinfluence.blogspot.com/  or twitter http://twitter.com/ArtAndInfluence 

Armand says: "Painting from life, when approached with integrity, is the most honest form of painting I know. There is no filter between the artist and his or her experience; no camera or computer to crop the image and freeze the light moving through the sky. It is just you and your ability--or lack thereof. I appreciate artwork that reveals a dedicated artist in command of their craft---paint calligraphy, color harmony, strong design and interesting composition---all under control of the painter’s hand, manipulated to depict a single, clear idea sincerely expressed in an individual style. The painting must be a unified whole with no inappropriate passages to distract from the artists intentions. Its impact must linger, not just grab with superficial handling."

The innkeepers, of Century House Nantucket, a luxury bed and breakfast Zagat Rated 2010, visited this fabulous place for their anniversary and had an unforgetable time. I always heard great things about it. JeanE and Gerry will have to just blog about their experience there.

Cheers everyone,

Otilia

PS In case you decide come to Nantucket in the near future, give us a ring, at 508-228-0530 or visit our super awesome Nantucket BB website http://www.centuryhouse.com/. If you happen to like our Nantucket blog, where I talk about anything related to Nantucket, please leave me a comment or a question.

Nantucket Little Known Treasures: ~the Love of the Land~

"Oh, give me land - lots of land - under starry skies above - and a place to call my own, please don't fence me in...just turn me loose," Cole Porter

Imagine for a moment where you live; Visualize approximate 50 sq. mile of your surrounding neighborhood. Now replace about 40% of this 50 sq. miles area with open space of undisturbed natural habitat, including beaches, wetlands, aquifer recharge areas, moorlands, heathlands, cranberry bogs; rare species habitat; ocean, pond and harbor frontage, and properties for passive and active recreation.

Welcome to Nantucket Island, where an aggressive land conservation program is acquiring, preserving, and protecting these open spaces and endangered landscapes in the name of the love of the land and for the use and enjoyment of the Nantucket community. Hundreds and hundreds of acres are protected by various conservation groups. This is a first of its kind in the nation. These active groups, artists, community citizens who cherish Nantucket's natural beauty raise funds to prevent environmental degradation by purchasing the open space.

Many of these properties are within 1-2 miles of the Century House, including Tupancy Links, Eel Point and Sanford Farm & Ram Pasture --- the glorious turfs upon which to discover the freedoms of Nantucket and the wonders of the land. Explore, enjoy, live...discover! (photos courtesy of Nantucket Land Council)

Historic Century House. The historic Century House dates back to the Cliff Road land purchase in 1833. According to research performed by Edouard A. Stackpole, renowned Nantucket historian and former director of the Peter Foulger Museum, a member of an old Nantucket family of Scottish roots, Captain Robert Calder, built the Century House. Over the years, Capt. Calder took part in several long, successful voyages to hunt whale, and eventually completed the construction of the house in the early 1840’s. It is said that Capt. Calder chose this site because of the privacy, the ocean breezes, the views, and the genuine serenity the location provided in the 1840’s and still exhibits today. According to Mr. Stackpole, the Century House is the oldest continuously operating guesthouse on Nantucket Island to date. Visit www.centuryhouse.com for details. Season begins May 15 and ends October 15.