Flowers are Blooming Like Crazy!



It's late Spring, the weather is finally getting consistently warm, and the flowers are obviously happy about it!  Annuals and perennials alike are showing their glorious colors and shapes, and the effect they have on everyone's spirit is quite amazing!  After the long winter, and a cold damp early Spring, it's so invigorating to see the splashes of color popping all over our property.  A freshly mowed lawn adds to the serenity, and the frolicking bunnies and squirrels make everything just about perfect.  We hope everyone is enjoying this rejuvenating time of year... and if you'd like to see all of these wondrous colors up close, just come to the Apple Bin Inn for a relaxing getaway in beautiful Lancaster County!  See you soon!!

By the way... if anyone can tell us the name of the unknown variety at the bottom of this post, please add a comment and let us know ~ Thanks!




Pink Geranium

 

Double Knockout Roses



Picasso Ivy Geranium




Purple Lanai

 


Nasturtium - the edible flower

  

White Peony (smells fantastic!)



Rhododendron


 



Who knows what this is???



It's Baseball Season in Lancaster County!

For sports fans like us, summer means one thing... baseball season!  And one of the best ways to enjoy a professional baseball game is to come to a minor league ballpark... with its clean, wholesome, and family-friendly atmosphere, well-behaved smaller crowds, prices that won't empty your wallet, and just plain fun! So while you're visiting Lancaster County, we highly recommend you enjoy an evening of Lancaster Barnstormers baseball at Clipper Magazine Stadium. You'll be amazed that ticket prices range from just $5 to $12, and believe it or not, stadium parking is free... try getting that at a big league ballpark!  There's a wonderful variety of food and drink concessions that are also reasonably priced, and there's even a great kids' play area for the youngsters.  For most games, if your child wears their Little League jersey, you can even sit on the grass beyond the outfield fences for free, and maybe even catch a home run ball!  So come on over to Lancaster County this summer, enjoy a fun getaway at the Apple Bin Inn (just 10 minutes from the stadium), and celebrate our national pastime.  

As the umpire says... "PLAY BALL!" 

Clipper Magazine Stadium ~ Home of the Lancaster Barnstormers

A Special Recipe for Mother's Day!

As Mother's Day arrives this weekend, it's once again time to think about that person we too often take for granted... Mom!  So why not turn the tables this weekend and cook her a special breakfast... ideally served in bed, with a rose bud and an extra hug!  
And we have just the recipe that will warm her heart and bring a loving smile to her face... our scrumptious Apple Cheddar Quiche.  Based on a recipe from Captain Schoonmaker's B&B in High Falls, NY, it has become a favorite of our guests here at the Apple Bin Inn, and we know your Mom will feel pampered when you serve it to her!

 

Apple Cheddar Quiche at the Apple Bin Inn

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust                                                    

2 large apples                                                             
¼ cup sugar                                                                
Cinnamon to taste

6 eggs  

1 cup Half & Half

1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese           

-  Preheat oven to 350^o F. 

-  Peel, core, and slice apples.  Sauté in butter.  Halfway through, add cinnamon and sugar,

and continue cooking until apples are fork tender.

-  Place unbaked pie crust in quiche pan.

-  Place cooked apples on the bottom. Cover with cheese.  Beat eggs and Half & Half together and pour over apples and cheese.  Swirl any syrup left from the apples over the top before baking (you can also save a few apple slices to place on top). 

-  Bake 40 to 50 minutes until filling is set.  Cut like pie, and serve with sausage or bacon.  

Complete her plate with a sprig of mint leaves or grapes.

Accompany with a small bowl of fresh strawberries with french vanilla yogurt and brown sugar,

along with orange juice, and coffee or tea, and Mom will smile for days! 

Warm wishes for a Happy Mother's Day,

from our family to yours!

Have You Stayed in the Cortland Suite Lately?

Here at the Apple Bin Inn, we try to make some nice changes to our guest rooms almost every year.  It's our way of surprising our returning guests with a little something new (besides our graying hair!).  This spring, the Cortland Suite is showing off its cherry Pennsylvania House canopy bed, with a new pillow-top mattress.  After searching Lancaster County antique shops and consignment stores for the perfect thing, we heard about this wonderful old bed for sale... just outside of Hartford, Connecticut!   So after a couple of phone calls to negotiate the price, it was time for a little road trip... of course we made sure to include stops at some interesting antique shops and quaint restaurants along the way!  We returned home a couple of days later, all excited to see how the bed would look in its new home.  After putting it all together, adding a few extra support slats, and draping the new canopy, it was time to take this photo for our website.  And best of all, later this week we have some guests coming who have stayed in the Cortland Suite on past visits.  We look forward to their reactions :-)

 

The Apple Bin Inn is Truly Global !

Perhaps the greatest thing about being innkeepers is meeting people from all over the world and sharing stories about our families, customs, traditions, jobs, hobbies, and yes even politics.  During our 8 years at the Apple Bin Inn, we have hosted guests from 45 U.S. states... and last week we achieved our own milestone of welcoming visitors from 50 foreign countries!  Our 5 most frequent are Australia, Canada, England, Germany, and France, and rounding out our top 10 are Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, and Ireland.  And last year we completed our list of "All 7 Continents" when we had a guest who actually lives much of the year in Antarctica (he told us the only inhabitants who live there longer than him are the penguins)!  Our son, Dylan, also enjoys meeting our international guests, and these experiences certainly enhance his 3-year participation in his high school's "Model United Nations" organization.

Okay... for the curious among you, here's our full list of 50 visiting countries, listed alphabetically... Antarctica, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Virgin Islands, and Wales.

We hope to keep the list of states and countries growing, so if you live anywhere on Earth, we look forward to welcoming you to Lancaster County and the Apple Bin Inn! 

AQS Quilters Party a Huge Success!

Our last blog post talked about the reception party that our B&B association (Authentic B&Bs of Lancaster County) was throwing for visiting quilters attending the American Quilter's Society show here in Lancaster last week, so we wanted to give you a quick update.  We had almost 300 quilters at the party, as well as about 25 of our local tourism partners who provided food, beer, crafts, music, and information about the many activities available throughout Lancaster County, to entice the quilters to return to our wonderful destination.  We also had a best-selling author, Kelly Long (who writes novels based on themes from quilt patterns), signing and giving away 200 copies of her latest book. Plus there were dozens of door prizes to remind visitors of the great time they had in Lancaster. 


The venue for our party was the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, which is a gorgeous place for a reception... and we hope to return for next year's party!  So if you missed the Lancaster AQS Quilt Show this year, we hope you'll plan for next year's event (March 14-17, 2012).  And while you're at it, please add the Authentic B&B party to your agenda, and of course a stay at our Apple Bin Inn... we'd love to have you!

Hey wait a minute!... why wait until next year to visit our beautiful county?!  Just plan a trip for this spring or summer!  There are dozens of Amish quilt shops dotted around our area, plus tons of other things to do, see, taste, and buy!  So give the Apple Bin Inn a call (800-338-4296) and we'll see you soon!

A New Twist for St. Patrick's Day in Lancaster!

Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is such a wonderful tradition across America, and you don't need a drop of Irish blood in your veins to feel Irish on March 17th. We've lived in places like Chicago, where the river flowed green on St. Patrick's Day each year, and Cleveland, where green beer somehow tasted better than your usual brand. And our many years in Nashville included a rousing mix of bluegrass and Irish music each St. Paddy's Day.

But this year, here in Lancaster County, we have special plans for March 17th. You see the American Quilter's Society is holding its 2nd Annual Lancaster Quilt Show next week, and our B&B association (Authentic Bed & Breakfasts of Lancaster County) is hosting a huge party for visiting quilters on March 17th at the renowned Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum. There will, no doubt, be plenty of green mixed in with the rest of the festivities, including green quilts, green beer, and some Irish music performed by local musicians. There'll also be quilting demonstrations, book signings, great door prizes, and lots of food & fun. If you can make it to Lancaster County during the March 16-19 AQS Quilt Show, please make it a point to join our party. And of course we'd love to have you stay with us here at the Apple Bin Inn while you're in town.  We'll save a room for you!