http://littleriverbedandbreakfast.com/Blog.html?cq=1 en-us Wed, 07 May 2008 18:25:50 GMT http://littleriverbedandbreakfast.com/Blog.html?cq=1&p=38 National Tourism Week.  Sponsored by the Travel Industry Association (TIA) since 1986, National Tourism Week was established in 1983 when the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution designating the week to be celebrated in May 1984.  This year's 25th anniversary celebration has the theme, Discover Great American Traditions, which is meant to recognize the cultural and social benefits created by travel and tourism.

In their press release, TIA writes: "From baseball games and Broadway shows to 'The Great American Road Trip', our collective memories are filled with places and activities traditionally associated with travel," says Roger J. Dow, President and CEO of TIA. "For our 25th celebration of National Tourism Week, TIA is presenting cities and states with a theme and resources to help them interpret and celebrate the defining assets of their destinations."

We think Peterborough and the Monadnock Region has a lot to offer travelers.  From hiking and kayaking, to museums and historical societies, there is always a lot to do.  Excellent restaurants, friendly people, and beautiful landscapes abound!

Happy travels!
]]> Wed, 07 May 2008 18:25:50 GMT http://littleriverbedandbreakfast.com/Blog.html?cq=1&p=37 15th annual Children of the Arts Festival. The festival is a day long event the local community spends the entire year preparing for.

The streets are closed off to vehicular traffic and become the focal point for a parades, song, dancing, and art. People will travel from all over for this awesome and fun event, if you are between the ages of 1 and 101 you are sure to have a good time (ok we exaggerate a little but it is not hard to have fun at this festival)!

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Last weekend, we had an opportunity to do just that. In the name of travel "research", we set out on two different day trips, each just about an hour and a half's drive away.

Our first destination was northwest to Norwich, Vermont, home of the King Arthur Flour company's flagship store, The Baker's Store, and Baking Education Center. If you've ever spent hours poring over the King Arthur Baker's Catalog, wondered where to get that hard-to-find ingredient or tool, or even just like trying new foods, then this is the place to go! The store boasts over 4,000 square feet of space, but in person it seems a little small when you first walk in... that is, until you start really looking at all of the items on the shelves. They have every kind of flour imaginable, multiple varieties of baking cocoa, vanilla, sugars and sweeteners, nuts, ingredients for special diets, mixes for muffins, scones, and breads, professional baking tools, appliances... and so much more! The people that work there are incredibly helpful. And if all of your shopping makes you hungry and craving a little something, they've got a bakery on-site with a delicious selection of breads, cookies, cakes and pastries. While I checked out every item on every shelf (twice, so I wouldn't miss anything), Rob got caught up in a video demonstration on bread baking. In the end, we left with bags of baking ingredients to work into our breakfast offerings!

Just after leaving The Baker's Store, we crossed the Connecticut River and found ourselves in Hanover, New Hampshire - home of Dartmouth College. It was a beautiful spring day and the campus was buzzing! If we had a little more time, we would have loved to stop and explore the town and campus. But at this point, it was early evening and we were on our way to one of our favorite restaurants in West Lebanon called Lui Lui's, famous for pasta and brick oven pizza baked in their tomato-shaped oven. On the way however, we passed Lui Lui's sister restaurant named Jesse's - Steaks, Seafood & Tavern and decided to give it a try. The tavern was warm and cozy and the food was delicious! A wonderful end to a great day.

Our second day trip took us east to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We had never really been to Portsmouth before, but we had heard wonderful things about it. Still, we were thrilled to discover it's charming downtown with interesting shops and a great variety of restaurants, including several waterfront dining options. We had a late lunch at The Friendly Toast, with a very funky and eclectic style and menu (the food was good, but the service was a little slow), then set off to check out the shops on Congress and Market Streets. It was a Sunday afternoon/evening, so as the stores were beginning to close, we hopped back in our car and made the short drive over to Kittery, Maine to check out a couple of the outlet stores and the Kittery Trading Post before they closed.

Although both of our trips were only really half-day trips, we easily could have spent much more time exploring each of the destinations. In the Norwich-area we want to visit Quechee Gorge Village in Vermont which is home to Cabot Cheese, a winery, Danforth fine pewter and many other shopping attractions. And since Portsmouth sits at the most northern point of 18 miles of New Hampshire coastline, to the south there are sandy beaches and many other attractions worth returning to see. We'll be back!]]> Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:44:03 GMT http://littleriverbedandbreakfast.com/Blog.html?cq=1&p=33 Greenerborough" event happening in Peterborough this weekend, we thought it would be a good time to take inventory of some of the things we do to help reduce our in impact on our planet.

• Compact fluorescent light bulbs in many of our light fixtures
• Programmable thermostats in common areas and owners' quarters (Guest rooms each have their own heat control and are adjusted daily when guests are out.)
• Composting fruit and vegetable scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc.
• Recycling, recycling, recycling! (For guest convenience, we have placed a small recycling container next to the wastebasket in each room.)
• Provide environmentally-friendly amenities for guest use (Liquid products are manufactured with no animal testing, are 100% biodegradable, contain no toxins or dioxins and use minimal preservatives. Bar soaps are made from 100% vegetable base.)
• Liquid hand soap provided in dispensers in guest rooms so guests don't have to open a bar of soap just to wash their hands
• Minimize printed correspondence by using e-mail for confirmations and receipts as much as possible
• Switched from a gas-powered lawnmower to a man-powered reel mower (Bonus: it is much quieter too!)
• Energy Star appliances (refrigerator, dishwasher, high-efficiency washing machine, etc.)
• Low VOC paints used throughout the house
• Active member of our local Freecycle Network finding new homes for still-good items
• Renovations included replacing old windows with energy-efficient ones, improving insulation, and upgrading furnace/boiler to a more efficient model
• Member of Daloz Farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - providing us with freshly harvested, Certified Organic vegetables from May to October... and a real sense of community

And we'd like to do more!  We'll definitely be at the Greenerborough event on Saturday looking for more ways to do our part.







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I walked into Ben's Sugar Shack yesterday (just ten minutes down the road) and took one big breath...mmmmm that smells good   If you missed the open house weekend, don't worry about it, the houses will be making maple products throughout the season and it is a great time to stock up on the sweet stuff directly from the source and it's not just maple syrup, there's maple candy, maple popcorn, maple cream, and and even maple cotton candy.
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For more information, check out the BU Sargent Center website.

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This weekend was one of those weekends when we were able to cross a big project off the list...painting the stairwell.  So adding color meant taking our white stairwell and making it a light golden beige (officially "Navajo White").  The picture doesn't do it justice but the difference is significant...the stairwell feels much "warmer" now.  It doesn't hurt that Paula is a very good painter either.
]]> Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:28:07 GMT http://littleriverbedandbreakfast.com/Blog.html?cq=1&p=25
The exhibit features an installation by Tim Gadreau, photographer Chris Jordan, sculpture by James Mitschmeyer and Naomi Graham, fiber art by Deb Cinamon-Whalen, collage by Kim Cunningham, and pottery by Rachel Garceau.

In addition to this exhibition at the Sharon Arts Center, Peterborough is hosting the first annual "Greenerborough: The Monadnock Region's Green Living Expo & Festival" on Saturday, April 19.
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