The Farmhouse

I think perhaps I will never eat again....

We arrived at the Farmhouse in mid afternoon and checked in to our beautifully appointed room. said we would pass on the turn down service, which included freshly baked cookies. The room was small, perhaps because the bath was quite large with a big Jacuzzi tub and there was also a sauna. Since it was over 90 degrees outside, the sauna did not appeal. There were champagne and chocolates from Jim and Dana and little cupcakes from the Farmhouse owners. We passed on the wine and cheese tasting on the patio in the garden and saved the little cupcakes for Will and Peter.

The four course dinner was perfect in every detail. We chose from a menu printed Happy Anniversary at the top and ranging from Chilled Corn and Lemongrass Soup with Maine lobster and Burrata with Smoked Prosciutto and roasted chanterelle mushroom to Seared Duck Breast with balsamic sour cherry sauce and Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit (loin wrapped in bacon, roasted rack, confit of leg). We finished with Sea Salt Brittle Ice Cream with cocoa nib cookies.

We staggered past the fire pit with homemade S'mores, and walked around the beautiful gardens (12 different habitats) lit by dozens of lanterns with tea lights in a vain attempt to digest our dinner before going to bed. We talked about various highlights (and a few low ones!) in our fifty years of marriage--kids, events, travels, and friends. Hard to imagine that we would change much.

There is a pool, but I'm sure if we had gotten in we would have sunk to the bottom like stones!

Still full from last night's dinner, we managed honeydew gazpacho, scones (practically dripping with butter), quiche, and granola with fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast this morning. The coffee was in mugs that said "farmhouse cats don't sleep on the bed". There was a British couple trying with limited success to restrain three active young children in the hushed dining room filled with mostly older couples. We were reminded of our five week stay in the (then) North British Hotel in Edinburgh with three young children in 1973. Posh accommodation is totally wasted on the young. I heard the mother say to the youngest, a little girl of about three, "tonight we're going camping. You get to sleep in a tent." We saw them loading an enormous amount of gear into (and on top of) their equally enormous Cadillac Escalade as we departed.


We got home in time to meet with our friend Chris (who built our library bookcases), his wife Judy and their two year old daughter Hazel. He will be making a mantle for the fireplace to match the bookcases. They had lunch while we watched. Hazel loved the twirly chairs and the spaghetti....