http://www.letterfromvermont.com moments in the green mountains Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:01:44 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en That dashing doughboy in the photo with Olya I last posted was our esteemed state representative Joe Acinapura.  Joe has been a wonderful individual to us in so many ways, encouraging Olya as she worked toward citizenship, fostering a supportive relationship with us and the inn, and generally being there for ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/07/08/hello-and-goodbye/ The recipe for the Churchill House pancakes?  Very simple (this serves 2 or 3 people): 1 cup cottage cheese; 4 organic eggs; 4 tablespoons butter; 1/2 cup flour. Melt butter in glass bowl in microwave.  Stir in cottage cheese.  Break eggs into mixture and incorporate.  Add flour and mix; batter will be ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/07/01/something-new-this-season/ More time has passed since my last letter than I intended ... chalk it up to getting the inn ready for the season.  We've had a busy April: having a chimney taken down and a new one built in its place, as well as installing the last section remaining to ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/05/04/the-season-begins/ That appointment we had to keep early last week was Olya's US citizenship test.  We have had a blessedly smooth experience with Immigration, especially since moving to Vermont.  The office in St Albans is small and easy to find, you park at the front door, it is quiet inside, and ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/04/18/she-takes-her-test/ I feel the need to justify our inn being closed for two months.  It isn't that we're unmotivated or lazy, nor that we're poor businesspeople.  No, when we decided to close the inn temporarily, it was because we had a rather momentous event coming up: the birth of our second child. Our ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/04/11/a-siberian-and-a-yankee-have-a-family/ We've had quite a few visitors lately.  Yesterday, the couple who owned our house from 1982 to 1998 stopped by.  Roy and Lois are a wonderful couple who still live in town.  We went around the house with them and shared a lot of their fond memories.  Might be a good ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/04/07/innkeeping-in-the-quiet-season/ A classic small town moment around lunchtime today.  Our friend Dick Kirby dropped by unannounced in that special way of his.  Dick and his wife Debbie live a couple of miles away from us, closer to the village.  Dick is retired from the utility company, and he and Debbie raise ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/04/03/a-visit-from-kirby/ What a blessing to experience the first stirrings of Spring after what has been a Winter of considerable stamina here in the Green Mountains.  We thought Springtime would be a promising moment to begin our new blog.  In choosing a title, we take a page from Alistair Cooke's celebrated "Letter ... http://www.letterfromvermont.com/2008/04/02/springtime-in-vermont/