Be Thankful

It's hard to believe in just two short weeks we'll be gathering around the table, celebrating another Thanksgiving.  If you haven't made your plans - or you have made them and they don't include you making dinner - then please give us a call soon as our 1pm seating is already full.  We serve the traditional favorites along with a few twists using the finest ingredients available!

Thanksgiving 2011 Buffet Menu

Main Courses and Vegetables

Roasted Turkey with Pan Gravy

Bone-In Molasses Cured Ham

Butternut Ravioli with Pecans

Home-style Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Candied Sweet Potatoes

Traditional Country Stuffing With Sage

Southern Style Cornbread Stuffing

Green Bean Casserole

Roasted Winter Root Vegetables

 Salad Display

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Sky Farm Mesclun Green Salad

                                                                   Garbanzo Bean Salad                       

                                                                            Caesar Salad

Artisan Breads with Sweet Butter

 Desserts

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Pecan Pie

Caramel-Apple Cake

Chocolate Mousse

Fruit Platter & Homemade Cookies

_____________ 

Seatings:  

1:00 PM

&

3:30 PM.

$29.95 Per Person, Plus Tax & Gratuities

$14.95 for Children Aged 3-12 & Free for children under age 3 

Reservations: (860) 435-9878

QUILTing time is a TREASURE!

This was us last Saturday!

It has been a very long week for everyone living in Connecticut and other parts of New England thanks to last Saturday's snow storm.  Although many parts of Connecticut are up and running, there are still thousands without power.  The Quilting group staying with us this weekend called often this week to check up on our power status - sewing machines are a necessity when it comes to quilting!  By Tuesday evening 80% of our property had power so we had good news to report!  I was fortunate enough to speak to one woman who was traveling from Rochester for the quilting weekend, a weekend that she looks forward to every year.  With the roads clear and the power up she wasn't going to let Mother Nature interfere with her special weekend.  She came early so she could spend some time with her mom, aunt and sister before the quilting time began - it was a pleasure to meet you and your family, Deb! 

If you read my blog then you know I am big into the creative weekends - scrapbooking, quilting, knitting - such wonderful hobbies!  As Deb's sister told me, and of course I had to agree - our property is the perfect place to hold any one of these kind of retreats - we have plenty of rooms, plenty of good food and plenty of work space! 

This Quilts & Treasures group has been coming to the Interlaken for about 8 years now - and what a nice and friendly group of ladies and one man it is - always willing to share what they are working on.  They each made runners, had a show and tell - and how does a jelly roll race sound?  At first Deb said "the race" and I said "I'm out" but then she said the "jelly roll race" and I said "I'm back in!"  But, it wasn't the kind of yummy race I was thinking of - and all of you quilting folks will know exactly what it is! 

This group got to know the knitting group next door to them, as well as some of the guys from the Electric Company.  Yes, we can accommodate just about any kind of group you've got - so give us a call so we can plan your group getaway!

Thank you to Deb and all the ladies who took the time to chat with me about their favorite hobby - we love having your creative spirit stay with us!

R E N O V A T I O N S

Woodside bathrooms.

Peninsula. 

Woodside flooring.

Second floor drapery.

The Newman room.

Second floor bathrooms.

Second floor corridor carpet.

Lobby carpet.

Renovations are happening at Interlaken!  Stay tuned for updates!!

Let there be light!

and power and heat - THANK YOU CL&P!!  The main building is now back up and running as are most of our outer buildings.  The restaurant will be serving a limited menu this evening, but will be ready for the weekend as we receive our food orders in the next couple of days for our regular Morgan's menu.  Many of you have called wondering how we are doing - Quilting groups - we will be ready for you, no worries! 

You heard it here first!

On Sunday, October 30th, the Interlaken's "Dashing through the Snow" package will be featured in the Travel and Leisure section of the New York Times.  Yes, it is hard to believe I am already writing the "s" word - SNOW!  What pretty little particles it can be, coming out of the sky, especially if you are in a sleigh taking a ride through the beautiful Litchfield Hills with your sweetheart.  Even though snow flurries are in the forecast for the next couple of days here in New England, it will hopefully be at least another 6 weeks before it accumulates to form the perfect amount for the perfect sleigh ride!  But you can book the package now for a future date - either on-line or by giving us a call!  For more info about the package, click here.  It is one of our most popular packages over the winter months - I am sure that doesn't surprise you - I mean, a "sleigh ride"?  How unique and wonderful is that?!  Sounds like the perfect holiday gift!

The verdict is in!

So if you have been reading my blog (thank you very much, by the way!) then you will know that we recently finished the two prototype bathrooms up on the second floor in our Main Building.  One was a "plum" theme and the other was a "spice" theme.   Both have mosaic tiles, granite-topped vanities, shower stalls - both are wonderful new looks!  Both themes have been well liked by our Guests, but the one that was chosen for the rest of the second floor bathrooms is.....   (drumroll please....)

The "SPICE" theme!  This renovation will begin this winter.  If you want to get a preview and are staying with us soon, request either Room 139 (spice theme, two queen beds) or Room 140 (plum theme, one king bed) - let me know what you think!

Woodside updates!

So if you take this....

and add it to that....

you will have the new Woodside pet friendly building look set for 2012!  We will begin this renovation project next month - the first being the new bathrooms and then changing the carpet in each room over to this laminate flooring. 

If you have stayed in the Woodside building before then you know the current size of the bathrooms, so the new one will be much larger with a glass enclosed shower unit.  The prototype bathroom from above has been well received by all of our pet friendly travelers!  This bathroom change allows us to also add a back door leading to the back lawn area, where in the Spring we'll have a nice "doggy park" so Guests can relax outdoors and perhaps meet other pets and their owners.    As for the laminate flooring, that doesn't need much explanation as you can't beat the clean and cool look it offers. 

The Woodside building goes under construction in November but no worries pet travelers!  We are making another area on property pet friendly so that we can still accommodate you and your pup! 

3,254

This is the number of bars of soap created from the 66 pounds of soap that we collected from our Guestrooms and sent along to the Clean the World Foundation.  That is 3,254 bars of soap that will be distributed to children and families worldwide.  We have been a part of Clean the World since 2009 and are one of only nine hotels in Connecticut, and the only in the Northwest Corner to be a part of this wonderful program.

If you are not familiar with Clean the World foundation, here is some more information about this organization.

History

Clean the World Foundation, Inc. was founded in February 2009 by two individuals, Shawn Seipler and Paul Till.  Clean the World is a Florida not-for-profit corporation under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

Mission

Clean the World has a two-part mission:

• Collect and recycle soap and shampoo products discarded by the hospitality industry every day.
• Through the distribution of these and other donated hygiene products to impoverished people, prevent the millions of deaths caused by hygiene-related illnesses every day.

Process

Clean the World implements its mission through

• Collecting, sorting and processing discarded soap, shampoo conditioner and lotion product donations from participating hospitality partners
• Collection of donated hygiene products from manufacturers
• Recycling these product donations at its facilities in Orlando, Florida
• Delivering these recycled product donations to domestic homeless shelters and impoverished countries suffering from high death rates due to acute respiratory infection and diarrheal disease. 

Since its inception, Clean the World has been steadily increasing its services and operations to accommodate rapidly expanding community needs, awareness and donations, and has accepted in-kind donations of more than $1,000,000.  In the process, Clean the World has put over 4 million soap bars and 200,000 pounds of shampoo and conditioner back into human use, simultaneously eliminating over 380 tons of waste. 

Support

Clean the World is supported by the generous contributions of individuals and organizations worldwide, through Hospitality Recycling Program fees, in-kind donations, and fundraising events. Over 95% of our cash donations and program fees go directly into program operations.

Team

As of February 2010, Clean the World had 17 total employees.  Clean the World’s volunteers have donated over 4,800 cumulative hours of service to our cause, the majority of them enhancing employment marketability through on-the-job experience and extensive training. 

Recycling operations, how do we do it?

• Clean the World works with our Hospitality Partners to train their staff on the soap and shampoo recycling process. Bins are provided for housekeeping staff to deposit collected soap and shampoo bottles. Bins are picked up weekly by Clean the World Staff. Online training videos, and housekeeping instruction posters are also provided.
• Clean the World staff transports the collected amenities to the Clean the World Recycling Center. Two Recycling Methods are used: Re-batching and Sterilization

Recycling and Safety Mission Statement

Clean the World is committed to maintaining an environmentally and hygienically safe recycling process. As the world’s first, high volume soap recycler, Clean the World ensures that all bars of soap recycled and distributed domestically and abroad are completely safe and will not harm the end user due to disease or pathogens that can be transmitted if proper re-purposing does not exist.

About Re-batching

Re-batching applied to 10% moderately to heavily used bars. Soap is cooked to remove all impurities. Soap is re-formed into 2-ounce bars.

About Soap Sanitization

Our proprietary and patent pending sanitization process is applied to 90% of the slightly used bars. The soap soaks in a sanitizing solution and is then treated with a steam/pressure combination.  Clean the World then tests the soap’s pH level and cools it for packaging.

Is it Effective?

To test the recycling process, Clean the World hired Tri-Tech Laboratories – a Florida State certified testing facility. TriTech provided infected soap that was run through the standard Clean the World recycling process. The treated soap was tested for sterilization levels. The result was the complete elimination of all the pathogens (Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aerogenes, Salmonella typhymurium, Staphylococcus aureus.

The Perfect Getaway

So I had stopped watching the weather forecast several days ago as I just didn't want to know when this absolutely amazing weather we have been having was going to come to a close. It has been a wonderful stretch of sun, and warmth, and blue sky - just perfect to truly enjoy the fall season.  I ventured out late afternoon yesterday to "walk the property" - which actually meant a walk down to the lake to see if colors had popped since I was there just 3 days ago. 

I couldn't help but take a picture of this on my way over!

It was the perfect day for a stroll to the lake...

So I arrive and see this!  WOW - the color did pop in just a couple of days.

I then spot a couple relaxing and just had to wander over to check on them....

So this was the highlight of my walk, meeting this nice couple from Darien, CT.  And this is what you do after you just road the Harlem Valley Rail Trail on your bike for 21.4 miles!  R E L A X !  They said their ride was a scenic one, and they didn't even realize they had gone the whole way down to Wassaic until they were practically there.  What a day to be out on a bike!  I then had to ask them what other fun things they did while here on their three day package and it seems like they did all the things I keep blogging about!  YES, they did go to the local wineries, including the Cascade Mountain Winery in Amenia, NY.  YES, they did visit Ellsworth Farm in Sharon, CT and had some cider and their yummy cider donuts.  YES, they did dine in Morgan's on Sunday - one had the Seared Georgia White Shrimp with parsley pesto, slow roasted tomatoes and thin spaghetti, while the other enjoyed the Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops with parsnip puree and fennel-potato-wild mushroom hash dish.  YES, they did take a canoe ride around this gorgeous lake.  NOT YET, though, was the answer for "did you go hiking?"- but it was a possibility for the morning.  What a relaxing vacation they were having - no specific plans, no time restraints - just doing whatever they felt like doing, and enjoying the great outdoors.  Sounds perfect to me.  Sound perfect to you?  There is still plenty of time to enjoy this wonderful season exploring this part of Northwest Connecticut.  Give us a call or book on-line!

Just wait...

until I am covered in color!

Lake Wononscopomuc in Lakeville, CT. 

Get married next to me.  Take a canoe ride on me.  Sit by me and read a book.  Picnic next to me.  Come visit me!

Take advantage of our Fall Foliage package this coming weekend - you will fall in love with this area!