Archive for June, 2009

Artist in Residence at West Hill House

Thursday, June 25th, 2009
Robert J. OBrien

Robert J. O'Brien

Update:  We have had to cancel this event for 2009.  However we hope to be able to run it in August 2010 during that year’s Arts Festival.  Please let us know if you would be interested.

We are delighted to announce that noted Vermont artist Robert J. O’Brien will be “in residence” at West Hill House from August 9th for a few days, during the Vermont Festival of the Arts.

Robert will be offering a 3-day workshop among the beautiful perennial gardens, ponds and woods around the B&B.

Guests are invited to book in to West Hill House for 3 or 4 nights starting on the 9th and sign up for this workshop by calling us at 800-209-1049. Spaces are limited.

This is a sanctioned event of the Vermont Festival of the Arts.

It’s Birthday Time!

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Smoky and Snowball, our marvelous cats, are celebrating their third birthday! We knew when we moved into our B&B that to add the perfect touch we needed some cats. A local farm was suggested as the best place to get kittens so we went to visit the Turners at Simplicity Farm to see if there were kittens available. Lo and behold, their cats are so sought after that we had to go on a waiting list.

Gee this is a big dish!

What a big dish!

Snowball gets a hand.

Snowball gets a hand!

Well, the day finally came and we got a call to say that there were kittens and we could come have our pick.

They were just 6 weeks old and were they ever tiny! We chose two little balls of fur and brought them to their new home. They are brothers, from the same litter, but like siblings in a human family, they look different and they have very different purrsonalities.

Snowball sometimes needed a steadying hand as he learned to explore. While Smoky was quite adventurous and was off by leaps and bounds.

Now they are both quite adventurous and while Smoky continues to be the real explorer,  Snowball has perfected napping.

An intrepid explorer on the Sun Room rafters.

Smoky up in the rafters

picture-94

The purrrrfect nap.

Smoky and Snowball are off to the vet next week for their annual check-up and shots. If they could speak in “human” I’m sure they would say, “The shots aren’t as uncomfortable as both of us being in the carrying crate in the car on the way to the vet’s. It’s a wee bit more cramped now than when we were little guys. Fortunately it’s just a short trip to Dr. Hadden and to help keep us happy, our human mom sings The Owl and the Pussy Cat song to us as we travel along.”

Both Snowball and Smoky are very sociable and look forward to welcoming you to West Hill House.

Look Who’s Getting Married!

Monday, June 1st, 2009
Mozart 1756-91

Mozart 1756-91

What marriage was created in 1784, perfected in 1786 and is just as good today as it was then?  Give up? Why the Marriage of Figaro! Based on a 1784 play, Mozart created this comic opera which continues to be enjoyed today.

The Marriage of Figaro is coming to the Mad River Valley complete with professional opera singers.  

If you adore opera or if you’re not sure about opera,  here’s a wonderful opportunity to learn more about opera from the experts in a relaxed yet professional setting. Guests in the Mad River Valley are invited to attend open rehearsals, sit in on master opera classes, and participate in numerous other opera related activities between May 28 and June 21, 2009.

The full fledged opera will be staged on June 19 and 21 and tickets range from $10 -yes $10! to $50.

Check out the line-up of events and the West Hill House website for our special.