Frank starts removing the old carpet.

Interesting floor details.

All the old carpet completely removed.

 As was very common in older homes, at least in Maine, rough wood was used in the center of the room knowing that you would always have an area rug.  That’s the Yankee mentality!!

New padding made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles....how green of us!!

New carpet installed.

Humpty Dumpty put all back together again. Just in time for a full house of guests tonight!!

Crabmeat Quiche

3 large eggs

4 ounces Swiss cheese (shredded)

¼ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup mayonnaise

5 ounces lump crab meat

Salt & pepper

 9 inch tart dish

     Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll out your favorite pie crust as thin as possible and lay over tart dish after coating with non-stick baking spray.  Fold edges over into dish and press into the edge to create the outer pie crust.  Evenly distribute chopped onion and shredded Swiss cheese over the pie crust.  In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs, mayonnaise, crab meat, salt & pepper, to taste.  Add egg mixture to pie crust and bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.  Serve warm. (Tip:  After baking and turning off the oven, cover the quiche with aluminum foil in the oven to keep it warm until serving.)

P.J. Walter, left, and Frank Isganitis, center, accept the chamber's Beacon Award on behalf of The LimeRock Inn Saturday night at the Samoset Resort. The resort's General Manager Connie Russell, right, presents the award. (Photo by: Daniel Dunkle)

The presentation is as follows:

     After relocating to the Penobscot Bay region from New Jersey, these partners purchased an existing business that was already successful.  Together, they represent the principle that individuals working together can achieve results greater than the sum of the parts.  This idea is paramount in the way they run their business, interact with their colleagues and reflected in the industry brand that they have helped create.

      One of these individuals is a bit more low key choosing to stay behind and “man the fort” in order to allow the other the opportunity to be more overtly community minded.  However, he works tirelessly using social media and other online outlets like when Rockland was nominated by Captain Brenda Thomas of the schooner, Issac Evans, as one of the Coolest Small Towns In America last year.  Through his efforts, Rockland came in second in the online voting and received the “Editor’s Choice” designation in the October issue of Budget Travel magazine.

     The other individual is likely better known in the community.  Despite being “from away”, Rockland has embraced them with open arms allowing this individual to become a founding member of Rockland Main Street, Chairman of Rockland’s Economic Development Advisory Committee AND Rockland’s Comprehensive Planning Commission.  He is also a member-at-large of Rockland’s Board of Assessment Review and an Executive Committee member of the Chamber.

      Through their efforts, the region has hosted celebrities like Bobby Flay, Samantha Brown, and Rachel Ray.  In addition, the region has received television recognition on the Food Network, HGTV, Wheel of Fortune, CBS Good Morning, The Today Show, and at least four appearances on WCSH6-NBC Portland as well as countless local, regional and national print publications.

     They use all of these opportunities to shine a light on and promote the Penobscot Bay region, and I never get the impression the attention is about them or their business. They always make their efforts about the region and local community and why it’s so great to come here. They are tremendous ambassadors of the Penobscot Bay region.  For all these reasons, we offer the Beacon Award to The LimeRock Inn owners, PJ Walter and Frank Isganitis.

We are so incredibly honored and humbled by receving this award.  The way we operate is reflected in a quote from the Community Person of the Year Winner, “If you see something that needs to get done, do it.  If you don’t know how to do it, learn.”  These are words to live by!

Anyway, the Tandem Tasters are part of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association.  Maralyn and Brenda stopped by one afternoon to watch me make Key LimeRock Pie.  We had a lot of fun, and they seemed to enjoy the tasting part too.

Historic Inns of Rockland are hosting the 6th annual Pies on Parade in January 2010.  If it sounds yummy to you too, think about coming to Rockland next January for a taste.

This morning we had one of the most bizarre and amazing coincidences of peoples paths crossing. There is an Aunt and neice visiting from the UK, one lives in England and the other Scotland. We also had a newlywed couple from NYC. After breakfast, the neice approached me to ask if the NYC couple, whom she’d not met, had just gotten married in Central Park. You see, prior to arriving at the inn, the aunt and neice had spent some time in New York City and toured Central Park. While there, a wedding was taking place in the Shakespeare Garden and they decided to stay around a bit to watch the bride and groom have their photos taken. Well, when this young couple walked into the dining room this morning, the neices jaw nearly fell to the ground as she thought this was the couple that she witnessed getting married in Central Park. A short while later, the couple confirmed that they indeed did get married and it was the same ceremony viewed by the aunt and neice.

Now I ask you, what are the coincidences that both sets of people would end up here are the LimeRock Inn in Rockland on the same date? It is just amazing and is one of the many reasons we love what we do!!!