Saving the earth is trendy and fun, proves East Hampton boutique Blue & Cream. The eco-friendly garden and landscape company iGreen has designed a garden adjacent to the shop for the customers to sit and relax in after a long, hard day of purchasing. The installment of this leafy quarter celebrates the recent renewal of the store’s lease, proving not everyone in business is shutting down due to the R-word.

Jeffrey Goldstein, the store’s owner, said, “Blue & Cream tends to be a place where people come and hang around for a while. Our new garden is now just another spot where our customers can hang out and be apart of our Blue & Cream culture."

iGreen has even created part of it into a rain garden that takes rain runoff and allows it to soak into the gravel groundcover. This method cuts way back on pollution in streams and creeks. On the topic of H2O, there is a lovely stone fountain that recycles the water beneath the ground. The calming effect of the fountain is worth a sit-down alone. Inviting benches have been constructed out of driftwood from the beach, establishing a tranquility in the middle of the always-buzzworthy Hamptons.

Why I feel compelled to talk about the weather all the time, I just don't know. Maybe it has to do with the fact that out here on the East End, it is glorious as all get out most all of the time. I mean it: There is nary a "bad day of weather," like people say, all year. We do have rain, and had a lot of it in June, as all of us who are full time out here know TOO well--25 days to be exact. We do have snow, but because of the proximity to the ocean, and the warm temps and constantly changing ones at that, it seems to never get above 55 at best (well, it does but it always just feels so nice!). The landscape is just so darned pretty to look at to boot.

Weather, though, is as much a state of mind as it is a reality. One actually could prefer the "harsher conditions"--wind, rain and snow, for instance. I happen to prefer rain. Don't get me wrong: I was happy as a clam (to invoke a beachy metaphor) this summer when it was 85 degrees and I could sit outside on the front lawn in my lawn chair with beach umbrella overhead and tall glass of Diet Coke by my side to work. How nice is it when your professional attire is a bikini and sundress? But a day of rain does not at all make me depressed. If anything, it means I can stay inside and hole up with my writing, and my books, and enrich my mind. That is my idea of a perfect day, even if it is sunny. A day of rain or sleet also means I don't have to suffer from that "outdoor guilt," the feelings--often invoked by parents during our tender years, through loud commanding protestations--that our days would be infinitely better spent if we were to go outside and run around. I don't want to run around; sometimes I just want to stay put, and live a life of the mind. In the Hamptons, of course.

It’s imperative to our mental health to take time for ourselves. And in the off-season, the East End is the place to do it. It’s one of the most ideal spots to enjoy fall, although not one of the first that comes to mind. The weather is crisp, the sand is ethereal and the ocean feels cool against your legs. Plus, strolling the beach comes at no cost. Make no mistake: Take advantage of the vast backdrop nature has provided us with and catch some waves—soon.

Despite the upbeat economic gains of late, people everywhere remain stressed. The world feels somewhat stuck, all of us cognizant of the gains that have yet to be made to have all of us on the jolly track back. At the beach though, where the toughest job is gazing into the clear blue ocean, all of one’s worries can melt away for even the most jaded, bitter or unemployed among us.

Sound too prosaic? Trust me: Take a walk, gather some shells, see how you feel and then get back to me.

Already one hears buzz of the Hamptons International Film Festival in the air. I was in the grocery store yesterday--the big King Kullen in Bridgehampton (just love that place, such a Mecca of everything American) and there was a notice up on the bulletin board about needing volunteers for the Festival, for everything from ticket taking to line formation to candy sampling--just kidding on the latter, but that probably goes on in droves.

What a fun way to spend some extra time! And think of the fringe benefits: Those volunteers get to see 100+ movies (give or take--I'm never sure about how many films are actually slated, but there are a lot) for free, and by some of the best in the business. The Festival is slated as an international one, meaning they aim to accept and air submissions by filmmakers from all different countries, and there is always phenomenal work. Over the years, I have seen films from Germany, France, Japan, the U.S., Russia and Sweden, to name a few, in English or their native tongues. The festival, which kicks off October 8 and runs through the 12th, has fashioned different categories in which the films are divided--Rising Stars, Films of Conflict and Resolution, Documentaries, the latter being my favorite. It is four days of fun, running from theater to theater--primarily in East Hampton, but also in Sag Harbor and Southampton, and one can buy tickets ahead of time, online, through the mail, or even at the door if there is availability. There are also panel discussions and talks to boot, with famous actors and directors! There are always plenty of Hollywood types running around during it. They don't call the Hamptons Hollywood East for nothing.

One of the great pleasures of living in the Hamptons is listening to the whistle of the train as it passes by at night. I know it's time to go to bed when I hear the familiar 11:15 soft sound in the distance. It blows too during the day, but not with too much frequency, as service is just not that frequent out to the island, not as much as the bus service. Most take the Jitney or Luxury Liner lines out east to escape the city; those who take the train do so during its more opportune times--in the summer, especially when they offer a cannonball service, a straight shot out to the East End with no (or very few) stops in between.

It's great, but...there is no bar car, just so you know, so no refreshments for 2 hours. One must bring one's own cocktail peanuts and flask--or Diet Pepsi, if that's more one's speed--if in need of a break. On the busses, there are snacks: The Ambassador Jitney serves coffee and muffins in the morning and salty snacks with a choice of water, juice, wine or sometimes champagne (!) at night; the regular ambassador serves the same, sans coffee and alcohol (too fancy, I suppose). The Luxury Liner has bins at the back of the bus that hold a choice for the more upscale bus rider: Cheez-Its, Famour Amos Mini Chocolate Chip cookies, animal crackers or pretzels. Yes, I did say upscale.