Only microsculptor in the world

If you saw this past CBS Sunday Morning show, you would have been impressed, as I was, by the microsculptor, Willard Wigan, from Birmingham, England.  He is currently showing his minute sculptures of people through microscopes.  For example, he sculpted Charlie Chaplin on the end of a human eyelash using a microscope to create it.  Wigan, currently, is the only artist in the world who does microscopic sculpting and strives to make even tinier sculptures.  He is now introducing his works in the US market which go for over a $100,000 for each sculpture and is exhibiting in the Atlanta Art Gallery.

New Hampshire also has many artists, including talented photographers, across the state who mainly capture the surrounding natural beauty of the White Mountains, rivers, lakes, and countryside.  It's not an uncommon sight to see them sketching or photographing The Presidentials on the White Mountain Highway in North Conway.  Some of these artistic works can be viewed in the White Mountain Artisans Gallery, The Underground Gallery, or the Mt. Washington Valley Visual Arts Center, to name a few.  

In fact, we are displaying and selling several photographs of the Mt. Washington Valley area taken by a guest from California, Jeffrey Aiello, who stayed during Fall Foliage.  If you visit The Buttonwood Inn, you can view or purchase his work from us or go directly to his website, Jeffrey Aiello Photography, and look in the Portfolio for New England.

Interesting neighbors on Mt. Surprise

Bill and I plan to "escape" from the inn this evening to attend a slideshow and talk, "Lost on Everest:  An Evening with Thom Pollard."  We've had our neighbors and friends, Thom, Kristen, and their boys, Will and Sam, over for dinner and always enjoy hearing about his recent filming adventures all over the world.  Now we'll see Thom "in action" professionally this evening.

The talk at Kennett High School is about Thom's 1999 PBS Nova and BBC expedtion with a filming crew that climbed Mt. Everest in search of two climbers, George Mallory and Sandy Irving, who were trying to reach the summit in June 1929.  Thom and his crew found Mallory's body on May 1, 1999.   In an effort to solve the mystery of whether Mallory and Irving made it to the top of Everest, Thom and his crew plan to go back next year to find Irving's body and Mallory's camera which would produce evidence if either reached the summit.  You can read more about this interesting adventure in today's article on page 14 of the Conway Daily Sun. 

Chocolate Lovers Festival Weekend

If you enjoy chocolate as much as I do and most of our guests who stayed with us for the 21st Annual Chocolate Festival on February 28, 2010, you may want to plan ahead and come for the last Sunday in February 2011.  Aside from the delectable chocolate goodies provided by various inns and retail stores, the Mt. Washington Valley Ski Touring & Snowshoe Foundation added an additional incentive for participants--a chance to win a $200 gift certificate good towars a stay at any one of the participating inns or towards a purchase at any of the participating stores.  When you book this Chocolate Festival package at The Buttonwood, it also includes your event passes.

My chocolate treat was a Triple Chocolate Cookie--recipe follows:

Recipe: TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES Yield: 2 dozen


Ingredients:


¼ cup butter, softened


½ cup dark brown sugar


¼ cup granulated sugar


¼ cup canola oil


1 egg


1 teaspoon vanilla


½ cup all-purpose flour


½ cup whole wheat flour


¼ cup cocoa powder


¼ teaspoon salt


1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate


1/3 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate


2/3 cup chopped pecans


Baking Process:


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy; then mix in the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the dark and milk chocolates and pecans, mixing well. Scoop a tablespoon of the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes.

HAPPY BAKING!--  Paula