New Flowers, Old Lens

One evening recently I decided to take a stroll around the garden.


I had a old Dallmeyer lens on my camera, maybe 80 years old.


The soft, warm tones of the old lens seemed to give the new blooms an etherial glow in the damp evening light.


Sometimes it takes an old lens to show us this precious world in a new light. (Sam)

Rekindling enthusiasm for a disappearing art.......

Recently a certain wedding dress for a certain Royal wedding received a lot of attention. But who knew that the train, all 9 feet of it, was created at the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace? Embroiderers also worked on the skirt, changing their needles every three hours and washing their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace pristine.

Meet Mary Ann Kronk, who is an enthusiast for the fast disappearing art of needlepoint. She has started the Needle Arts Guild of Historic Hudson Valley in Beacon, with the ambitious goal of creating a Guild that will promote, teach, preserve and pass on this unique and creative art form for future generations. Currently she gives workshops in historic settings, such as the Bevier House museum just down the road from us. She is doing a workshop there on July 23rd. Contact us for further information, or check out her site at http://nacientneedle.wordpress.com/

We hope to have needlepoint workshops of our own here soon! Let us know at host@hurleystonehouse.com if you would be interested, and we'll let you know when the workshops will be scheduled.

Spring Flowers In Our Back Yard

Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt

Franklin D Roosevelt's home on the Hudson River, in Hyde Park, NY, is about 30 minutes south of us. There is a whole complex of historic sites and trails here to explore.

Chagall in High Falls

Marc Chagall and Virginia Haggard Mc Neill

The history books tell you that the famous painter Marc Chagall escaped France for New York in 1941, only to return triumphantly to France again in 1949. They tell you that his beloved first wife died here in 1944.
They don't usually tell you he bought a house in High Falls, just a 15 minute drive away from here.
They don't tell you that he lived there from 1946-1948 with Virginia Haggard, or that they had a son. He was very prolific during that time, producing 90 to 100 works, as he rediscovered "the colour of love".
We attended a very interesting lecture by Vivian Jacobson this evening, who worked with Chagall for the last eleven years of his life. It seems that the Dorsky Museum (at SUNY, New Paltz) is putting together a major exhibition to shed light on the significance of his time here, including the importance of his relationship with Virginia. Locals have tales to tell, and much is yet to be discovered. For anyone who loves Chagall's work, this really is quite exciting. We hope to find out more. Watch this space.


Bouquet with Flying Lovers, Marc Chagall 1947

Saugerties Lighthouse

It's a pleasant evening walk to the Saugerties Lighthouse on the Hudson River. This is the only lighthouse on the river that can be reached on foot, as it's connected to the mainland by a spit of land which is a publicly accessible nature trail. The first lighthouse was built here in 1838, the present one in 1869.

"....we laughed and laughed, and told stories for an hour and a half......."

We always like to see what our guests say in their reviews and comments and we've just had a really nice review on bedandbreakfast.com that we'd like to share with you:

"We experienced a one night stay at The Stone House B&B in March of 2011. When we arrived we were greeted by Nadia who welcomed us and escorted us to our room. She had a very friendly and well mannered character. She offered us a brief tour and history of the House. We gladly accepted, and off we were learning about the restoration challenges and actual history of the House. We were intrigued by the details, architecture, and building methods of the time the House was built. Original fireplaces, pots, floor boards (12" wide), ceiling joists, 15"+ thick stone and cement walls, single pane glass windows, and even bathtubs truly made this place feel like you were living in the past. The room we settled in, was "The Lacemaker". We could not stop looking around, wide eyed and mouths open, and whispering..."Babe! Look at this!", "Hun, Check this out!” The place was beautiful, very well maintained, wonderfully restored, and extremely clean. Nine AM breakfast was a very unexpected experience. The food (emphasis on the bread and coffee) was so good, we couldn't stop eating. It tasted and felt so home cooked and right off the land. The company we had at the table (guests) made an unforgettable impression on us. We laughed and laughed, and told stories for an hour and a half. The room we were in contributed greatly to our moods and set the stage for a relaxed and friendly time at the table. Sam, who attended the table was such a well mannered and sophisticated gentleman, who just like Nadia, made the whole place and experience feel personal and one of a kind. We could not stop thinking about our experiences at The Stone House Bed and Breakfast. We felt so grateful for people like Nadia and Sam who take on challenges to preserve the past and provide our generation an unsurpassed place to stay. A place that that outlives and exceeds, service, locale, price, quality, and feel of any mainstream hotel out there. Yes, we’re are going back for more."

Many thanks to all our guests who write reviews. You can see more here:
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com
and here:
http://www.tripadvisor.com

Things found, things unknown

This is the doll, 3 1/2 inches high, that we found behind forties sheetrock, in what is now the Lacemaker room. We often wonder if Olive (see below) hid this keepsake from her childhood there, for future owners to find......
Next to her are various objects found in a cigar box in the attic. This cigar box is intriguing to us because it's the only thing we have found that has ties with her life in Kingston, when she was still living with both her father and mother. (She would later live with her mother's family in this house).
Behind the doll, on the toy bench, is a 1925 membership card for her father Harry H. Clearwater, for the Rondout masonic lodge in Kingston. Also in the box is a 1927 newsletter for a different Kingston Lodge, which lists Alphonso T. Clearwater as the Lodge's "Historiographer".
Alphonso T. Clearwater (1848-1933) was a judge on the New York Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and is also known for being an important collector of early American silver. Was Olive related to him? That we don't yet know.

Olive Clearwater

Here are two photos we have of Olive Clearwater. The bottom one was possibly taken in the 1930s, with the southwestern side of the house in the background, the top one possibly in the 1940s. In the early 20th century, this was her grandparents' house, and she came to live here with her mother when she was a girl, eventually owning it herself and remaining here until she died, in the 1990s. Olive was an avid historian, and she received a 'Pride of Ulster County' award in 1986 for her book "Hurley in the Days of Slavery", which she wrote together with fellow Town Historian John J. Hofler. Through her maternal line, Olive could trace her ancestry back to the Olivers in the mid 19th century, who were in some way related to the original Kool/Cole family who originally built the house.

Lots of Links with Historic Hugenot Street

In the 17th century, before the British came to this part of North America, the Dutch established Wiltwijck (now Kingston) in 1651, and Nieuw Dorp (now Hurley) in 1662. In 1678, a few French-speaking Hugenot families struck out on their own, and left Wiltwijck and our very own Nieuw Dorp(Hurley) to found New Paltz.
Now, the Historic Hugenot Street in New Paltz (just half an hour away) offers 6 acres of a National Historic Landmark that features seven unique houses that date to the early 1700s - a great place to visit.
So why do we mention this? Well, the way the Dutch and the Hugenots built their houses was very similar. And this Saturday, at the Historic Huguenot Street the curator/administrator for the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art will give an insider's glimpse of the way the Dutch room there (pictured above) was acquired and installed.
And why do we mention that?! Well, we're restoring a room on the ground floor of this house (scroll down to see 'Groote Kamer' below and the recent photo in our local Daily Freeman paper) that's now got a huge early fireplace in the same style.....The enormous hood was hand-crafted by William McMillen (top photo, left), who's an acquaintance of ours, and he made the one for the Metropolitan Museum of Art too!

Hudson Valley Thaw

As you can see in the little video above the Hudson Valley is gradually thawing out after a very snowy winter. The first few shots in the video were taken at Awosting Falls in the Minnewaska State Park Preserve, one of the highest waterfalls in the area with a drop of 60'. The last few shots were taken from the Walkway Over The Hudson , the last shot looking downstream towards the Mid-Hudson Bridge.

Video Blogging!

So, in order to show you folks even more of the wonderful house and gardens, what goes on here and the great activities in the area, we have decided to add HD video to our blog. Here is our first test post, the Esopus Creek running through our garden as the snow begins to melt.

Esther and Jared

A wonderful group of people celebrated Valentine's Day weekend with us this morning. It was a chance to relax and enjoy good company, and an excuse to eat pecan waffles with chocolate ganache, and custards with fresh raspberries, and strawberries dipped in (even more) chocolate. Esther is a photographer who works for the NFL. We feel quite blessed by the people who visit this house, and we think you can see by the warmth and joy in Jared's and Esther's smiles just what we mean. Check out some of Esther's vibrant portraits here: www.esthernisanova.com/ .

Dutch Babies

For a delicious breakfast, 'Dutch Babies', or small Baked German Pancakes, never fail to impress. Made from an eggy batter baked in the oven in cast iron skillets, the mixture puffs up to great heights and becomes golden and crisp around the edges. Timing is everything as it has to be served immediately, invariably starting to collapse the instant it is whisked from the oven.

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup all-pupose flour

pinch salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 400-450F.

Butter four small 6 inch skillets.

Beat the eggs thoroughly in a mixing bowl and blend in the milk. Slowly sift the flour and salt into the egg mixture while whisking continuously. Add the melted butter and mix briskly until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the skillets and bake for 15 minutes.

While you're waiting, get the lemon juice and sugar ready - you don't want to lose a second once they're out of the oven!

Take the pancakes out of the skillets and sprinkle with lemon juice (not too much!) and dust with powdered sugar.

Serve immediately.

Pellegrino

We like to have a complimentary bottle of San Pellegrino sparkling natural mineral water in each room when guests arrive. As well as tasting really good it looks great!

Meet the Murrays

Meet the Murrays, from Philadelphia, who stayed with us this weekend. It was the first time the children had been cross country skiing, and they had a great time on the Saturday learning at Mountain Trails cross country ski center in Tannersville in the Catskills. This has all the equipment you'll need ready for hire. With 35 kilometers of patrolled and groomed trails, marked to their degree of difficulty, it's the perfect place to get to know this sport. Lessons are offered too.
On the Sunday, they went to the Mohonk Preserve in the Shawangunk mountains just south of us. The Visitor Center there has daily updated information on which trails have been groomed. For hiring equipment for the Shawangunks and local trails, Rock and Snow in New Paltz is definitely the place to go, but get there early, as they don't take reservations!
For experienced cross country skiers who can lay their own trails, the Hurley Rail Trail adjoins our property and offers 10 miles of a gently sloping gradient all the way to High Falls, with many parking options where roads intersect it, for exploring shorter sections only. High Falls offers great places to eat, and a range of gift and antique shops to reward the intrepid traveller.

Snow

Happy New Year !!

Happy New Year!! It's been a wonderful season and we'd like to wish all our friends and visitors a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011. In only our second full season, so many of you returned, and we're honored. This house certainly wouldn't be the same without you.......there's still a lot of heritage to uncover here and the renovation continues, albeit at a slower rate. There are also facts to gather, artifacts to catalogue, and books to be written. We hope to share more of the house's history with you this season on our blog!

Baked apples with cranberry coulis

This tastes of.......well, this time of year. It tastes of festive lights and frosty mornings and mulled wine. It's baked apples with a filling of raisins and craisins soaked in a little rum, processed briefly with nuts, and topped with streusel. And then you pour cranberry coulis around it, which is nothing more than a cup of fresh cranberries, another of orange juice, just a little sugar and some cinnamon, heated, and pressed through a sieve. Delicious!

The Plenty Of Hurley

Harold Donaldson Eberlein (1875 - 1942) was a prolific writer. This passage appears in Historic Houses of the Hudson Valley, published 1942, but likely published for the first time around 1915.

"Old Hurley is just as Dutch as Dutch can be......Hurley cheeses and Kingston refugees have given Hurley most of its renown in the outside world. So plentiful and so famous at one time were the former, that Hurley was popularly credited with having "cheese-mines." The "pot-cheeses" of Hurley were much esteemed by Kingston folk and there grew up a brisk trade in this toothsome commodity.......The following old Dutch verses, done into English by a local antiquary, tell of plenty at Hurley, not only of pot cheese but of many other kinds of foodstuffs as well;-

What shall we do with the wheat bread do?
Eat it with the cheese from Hurley.
What shall we with the pancakes do?
Dip them in the syrup of Hurley.
What shall we with the cornmeal do?
That comes from round about Hurley?
Johnnycake bake, both sweet and brown,
With green cream cheese from Hurley.

Does this not reflect the reign of peace, plenty and contentment? The old Dutch, indeed, is truly realistic as the question comes "Wat zullen wij met die pannekoeken doen?", and at the answer, "Doop het met die stroop van Horley," one involuntarily licks his chops over the dripping sweetness of "die stroop". "