tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204485052026-04-14T02:28:29.245-04:00This is a blog about living on Cape Cod and running a Wellfleet bed & breakfast, open year long. I'm a Russian-American who spent 25 years in France. My husband Sven is from Sweden. Sweden’s colors are blue & yellow. Mix them, and you get green, a concept we embrace. No toxic chemicals, please, and organic food whenever possible . . .Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.comBlogger1788125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-8855272932827188872012-07-30T17:54:00.000-04:002012-07-30T19:24:11.371-04:00

Chezsven Blog Wellfleet Today has a brand new site, located at www.wellfleettoday.com. Future posts will all be on the new site from now on. Check it out!

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-34108461868252046522012-07-28T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-28T06:00:09.006-04:00

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-15768417486896687142012-07-27T07:52:00.002-04:002012-07-27T10:27:41.909-04:00

Several blog readers have been asking about ebook sales. Today I received a huge 100 in an email from my son, who just lost his bet that we would not reach that number. Hurray! Apparently, 100 is to be considered "good" since most "indie" ebooks do not sell all that well. (Wellfleet, An Insider's Guide to Cape Cod's Trendiest Town has been available for one month and can be purchased at my

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-70182698141992088672012-07-26T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-27T14:01:12.264-04:00

Yesterday seemed like a marvelous day for the beach. The sky was intense blue. The rain had chased away all the dust particles in the air. Sunbeams sparkled off Long Pond as Sven drove up to the ocean. I knew I would be missing the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee hearing, streaming live, but a walk seemed more urgent. Sven turned right on Ocean View Drive and headed for

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-72999899625786818052012-07-25T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-25T12:50:19.536-04:00

One of the skills veteran innkeepers acquire is the ability to pigeonhole people, ie. to take in at a glance, a la Sherlock Holmes, clues as to where a guest is on his life journey. I can also often tell, within the first few minutes, how positive the experience at Chez Sven will be. From a few cursory glances, more often than not, I can guess what profession, what age, sexual orientation,

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-33273774662137338892012-07-24T20:30:00.000-04:002012-07-24T20:33:30.367-04:00

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-83971041463137565022012-07-24T08:03:00.002-04:002012-07-24T15:58:07.641-04:00

There will be a historic vote on chemical reform tomorrow in Congress. Above, organic bananas from Hatch's, along with four boxes of organic cereal, purchased yesterday for our guests. Nature's Path, the brand with no GMOs. I invite you to begin your day with a haiku from Rachel Dickinson. Read the latest conclusions from Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families on how toxic chemicals in the

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-20810210931004862312012-07-23T10:54:00.002-04:002012-07-23T10:56:04.526-04:00

Yesterday, at the Prez. Hall auction, I spoke to Jan Morrissey, wife of one of our current selectmen, and she told me how much she enjoys reading this blog, that she often gets her local news here. Many of you must feel the same way, since this morning Chezsven Wellfleet Today received its 300,000th hit. That’s a call to celebrate. Virtual champagne all round!

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-30367551082322967532012-07-23T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-24T12:54:30.383-04:00

From the photos posted yesterday, you can see the Preservation Hall Fine Art & Travel Auction was an event not to miss. Unfortunately, many of you missed it. Perhaps due to the sterling weather? Maybe unexpected guests dropped in? Or, for some people, a fall renovation project, like house painting, has already laid claim to any free cash and you decided to resist temptation by not showing

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-71018599942705285612012-07-22T17:49:00.000-04:002012-07-22T17:49:06.024-04:00

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-43591296370013053682012-07-18T00:30:00.000-04:002012-07-22T21:13:46.334-04:00

I met Tracey Barry Hunt, owner of Winslow’s Tavern, in the bar of her Main Street restaurant for a chat about my new ebook on the trendy little Cape Cod town where we both choose to live: Wellfleet, Massachusetts. We have something else in common: Vassar College. Tracey is Class of 1994. I graduated in 1969, a whole quarter of a century earlier. Sven and I enjoy dining at Winslow’s where

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-24400925782926254602012-07-17T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-18T12:18:39.968-04:00

Today I have two great reviews to share, as well as a guest post at Smarter Travel and an interview on Huffington Post... Patricia Borns suggests my ebook as "Wellfleet Summer Reading" on Boston.com's Globe-Trotting. Popular blogger Donna Hull, who writes My Itchy Travel Feet, The Baby Boomer's Guide to Travel, recommends "Learning About Wellfleet from a Local." My ebook on Wellfleet is

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-82188142654143689172012-07-16T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-18T08:40:41.999-04:00

Our guests reported lots of folks strolling through the village Saturday night, due to the numerous art openings, including new work by Jim Holland at Left Bank Gallery. Or, was that opening a week ago already??? There is so much going on this July that it's hard to keep track of everything. The second half of the month brings new plays at WHAT and Harbor Stage, rave reviews for Payomet's

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-31275733982944599992012-07-15T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-16T07:37:51.833-04:00

It's hot. It's way too hot. We should not complain, because other parts of the country are suffering under three-digit temps. Check out the line to use the restroom at the back of town hall. Maybe these people wanted to splash water in the face, and that would have been a good idea. The heat is getting to us all. Today someone yelled curse words at me in the parking lot at Stop & Shop. He

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-53037795798324904392012-07-14T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-14T06:00:01.916-04:00

It's a buggy summer, no doubt due to the mild winter we all experienced here in New England. Yesterday our cottage guests called us over to see the baby spiders that had been born overnight. They rimmed the space between the wall and the ceiling. Hundreds of them. The guests were from the city. "I hate spiders," the woman declared with a shudder. Can't say as I'm too fond of spiders either

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-45694811333893511482012-07-13T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-13T06:00:11.886-04:00

We are always happy to have return green guests, like Rosemary and Jeff, at Chez Sven for the fourth time, or Al and Betty who left yesterday morning, and have been coming as many years to kayak. It's nice to have the opportunity to catch up on what's been going on in their lives. Jeff is the manager at Za, a restaurant in Arlington, where I hope to spend some evenings this fall since my

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-74375678757203249362012-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-24T13:36:11.498-04:00

Yesterday Sven and I finally got to see Hedda Gabler at Wellfleet’s Harbor Stage. Going out at night is a big deal for busy innkeepers. It’s rare we do anything in the evening these days. But Wellfleet has a new theater, which I mention in my ebook Wellfleet, An Insider's Guide to Cape Cod's Trendiest Town. I was elated to attend my first Harbor Stage play and celebrated by putting on a long

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-74297560785953622522012-07-11T06:00:00.001-04:002012-07-11T07:44:54.888-04:00

Breasts, A Natural and Unnatural History is an important book. Florence Williams answers all the questions you might have had about breasts and many you could never have imagined. What woman doesn’t have a friend or family member who has gotten breast cancer? One out of eight women in the United States will get the disease during her lifetime. Breast cancer declares itself at a far younger age

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-83514613422183982352012-07-10T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-10T10:19:35.461-04:00

These cute little guys make an appearance in my new ebook. They are swimming off Wellfleet, as well as Chatham and Orleans. Again this year great white sharks are in pursuit. Not many people swim in the ocean in July, since it is so cold. Should you venture into the water, or even be kayaking, as our current Green Room guests are, beware of the great whites. A man in Orleans did not take

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-11812424180279862912012-07-09T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-09T06:00:12.510-04:00

I found this ________ (fill in the blank) during my walk on Lieutenant's Island with Alice last week. Can any of you smart nature-loving, beach-walking veterans of Wellfleet tell me what it is?

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-60923308881144258212012-07-08T06:30:00.000-04:002012-07-08T06:49:49.421-04:00

What? You weren't up at dawn to see Fleet Moves at White Crest? A lot of people were, including your favorite blog reporter. The performance started in the far parking lot and continued, using all props available, until dancers faced the rising sun and even entered the ocean. (See photos below) Yesterday evening Wellfleet learned that the Fleet Moves troop will probably stage a second dance

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-16707040867233327272012-07-07T06:00:00.000-04:002012-07-07T12:51:44.882-04:00

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-61529965955154025162012-07-06T06:11:00.001-04:002012-07-07T06:44:49.564-04:00

It is so exciting to have performance art happening in Wellfleet. Check out what took place next to Farm, at the Left Bank Gallery, or rather, the side wall of the Left Bank Gallery, in the first of a number of the "secret location" dances staged by Fleet Moves. "Slow Falls" was choreographed by Abigail Levine. A lot of pedestrians on Commercial Street yesterday, what with the excellent

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-40327328181309177232012-07-05T06:38:00.001-04:002012-07-05T06:41:32.643-04:00

"This week another banner went up on Wellfleet’s Long Pond Road bridge. The banner reads 'Thanks NStar for not spraying Cape Cod.' At the tourism roundtable in Provincetown, I asked Governor Deval Patrick for his support regarding NStar’s plan to spray herbicides under the power lines. Rep. Sarah Peake, sitting at his side, explained the situation to the Governor. I learned that a pilot

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20448505.post-18860618101964190832012-07-04T07:00:00.000-04:002012-07-12T07:14:05.003-04:00

Happy Fourth of July!! Everyone in town tomorrow will notice the beautiful posters for my eBook that have blossomed on doorways and windows. Above, Hatch's produce stand. And, below, a shot of the window at Hatch's fish store. I plan to march in the Wellfleet parade, so please say hi if you see me. Feel free to shout at the top of your lungs, “Love your blog!” I have had two invitations:

Alexandra Grabbehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16290396567494638238noreply@blogger.com0