Archive for August, 2008
Where does she get the energy?
I stopped into Wire Whisk (the New London location) to see what was new, besides the store that is. I love kitchen stores – I love to look at all the gadgets. I’m a baker, so I have cake pans in every size and type – bundt, bundt with designs (square-ish, round, etc.) giant cupcake and cupcake tins in several sizes, square (8, 9 and 10 inch), round (8 and 9 inch), rectangular, loaf and mini loaf, the list goes on. This store will be one of my favorites. I was psyched to see the cuisinarts and a panini grill. I can’t wait to see what else Zoie will order. Speaking of Zoie, girl, where do you get the energy for not one (MoRae), not two (MoRae and Natalie’s), but THREE retail stores in TWO locations (the Wire Whisk is in New London and Sunapee)?? I have one location, my office, and can barely keep up with that. My hat’s off to a fellow entrepreneur. And I’ll see you next week when my King Arthur supplies run out. 
This is my sandwich
I’m going to ignore the fact that I write so much about food. (Hey, I love to eat!) But I had to take a photo of my sandwich that I picked up at Newbury News today. It is a ham and cheddar on a bulky roll (with Peter Christian’s mustard), and it was awesome. I ate it while hanging out in Newbury Harbor waiting for the antique boat parade.
What I enjoyed almost as much as the sandwich was that the folks at Newbury News were very funny and very friendly. There’s a covered plate of “pork bites” on the counter. I’ve had them before – roast pork, carved like your mom would, on a tiny bun with PC’s mustard. Two guys, waiting for their order, kept eyeballing the last two pork bites. After they heard the cashier and I talking about how good they were, they tried them. I was going to stick around to see how they liked them, but my sandwich was calling my name. Oh, and that lemon breakfast loaf I brought home for breakfast that didn’t last until breakfast…
Center Gallery
There are some beautiful things in the Center Gallery in Sunapee Harbor. Pictured here is pottery by Carr Robertson. I used to work with Carr at DHMC, and I had no idea she was so talented. I drooled over several of her pieces, including a porcelain trivet and crackle glazed mugs. There’s also some wonderful folk art by Barbara McAllister of Canaan. She is a super nice person and her work is whimsical – just plain fun. I have one of her roosters in my office; it was used in a photo shoot for an article in Upper Valley Life and she let me keep it. That rooster makes me smile every time I look at it. Work by June Latti, a portrait artist, is hung throughout the gallery. Her impressionistic work is quite beautiful. I tried to take a few photos but I couldn’t seem to get it right. (And I didn’t want to post it on the Web if it wasn’t right.) It’s a lovely shop, so do stop in if you are in the area.
I ate two breakfasts
I have a 8:30 a.m. meeting at Foot Hills in Warner. I get up at 6 a.m., so the decision is: do I eat breakfast, or do I wait and eat breakfast later? I love breakfast at Foot Hills so I decide to eat my breakfast later. I’m hoping I won’t get hungry halfway there, because when I get hungry I get crabby. It’s also hard for me to think, because I’m thinking about food. It’s also a 25-mile drive from Grantham, and there’s no real easy place to stop for a snack on that stretch of interstate. So it’s a pretty easy decision when my stomach starts to growl at 7:20 a.m. I eat a small bowl of granny’s apple granola (organic from Trader Joe’s), thinking that I won’t make a total pig of myself over a plate of eggs in front of a person I am meeting for the first time. Well, no surprise here, I order the Mexican omelet and still eat the entire thing, without any pauses for air. So much for my theory. At least I didn’t talk with my mouth full!
Grantham goes high tech
News from the Grantham: The Grantham Area Chamber of Commerce is the first chamber in New Hampshire with its own television show. Local sponsors, such as Sugar River Bank, are supporting the venture, which is a 30-minute production created by Marie Pacetta of Wilmot. (Her company is Pacetta TV Productions.) I haven’t seen it yet, but my friends Don Gobin and Lorie McClory are in the media stills that were sent to me, so I’m sure it’s good. I wonder what town will be next?
My inbox is X-rated
Oh my, are the spammers busy these days. I download 151 messages first thing in the morning…and only one is really a message to me. Then I log into my blog and see that there are 13 comments waiting approval…and all 13 are trying to tempt me with online poker or sell me insurance. Pretty G-rated compared to what is showing up in my inbox. I’m not really sure how I got on the Viagra mail list, or why I might be interested in chatting with someone who is single and bored. (If they are bored, they probably don’t have much to say anyway. And if I need Viagra, I probably won’t want to chat with someone who is single and looking for love via e-mail?) As my friend from grad school used to say, it’s an enigma, a mystery wrapped in a riddle. (Or did Batman say that?) Well, if anyone can recommend a good anti-spam software, please let me know!
Go for a hike
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a hiker. So I’m not sure what I was thinking when I suggested to my family that we go for a hike on Sunday. It was the only sunny day last week (don’t even get me started on the weather this “summer”) and we all needed to get out of the house before we molded. I dug my walking sneakers out of the closet – ahem, never been worn – packed a snack bag and away we went to the Esther Currier Wildlife Management Area in Elkins. There’s a relatively easy hike that you can do in a little over an hour. Some of the views were spectacular; some of the views not so spectacular (it looks like there’s some clearing going on in one area). But we all had a good time and might even try another trail sometime soon. (Thank goodness for the skittles in my purse – yes, I hiked with a purse – to get the kids through the last leg of the hike.) 
Always a good meal
Breakfast, lunch or anytime snack – well, I’d have to recommend the Blackwater Junction Restaurant on Route 11 in Andover. I’ve never had a bad meal there. This week I stopped in with a friend around 10:30 a.m. and was able to snag the last table. We ordered breakfast (although some options, like the country fried steak, looked like they could be a lunch) and were not disappointed. Even though we were full halfway through, we cleaned our plates. Pictured here are blueberry pancakes, sausage patties and real maple syrup. Yum!
Crafts & Music & More
If nothing else, the NH League of Craftsman Fair in Newbury inspired me to make my home more…inspiring. I loved being surrounded by all the beautiful things, even if it was just as I wandered through a tent. I was able to say hello to New London’s Laura Chowanski of New London (and buy one of her intricate fabric obsession bags); photographer Judy Lombardi of White River Junction, Vt.; Henniker’s Gigi Laberge (who was setting up her wonderful fused glass jewelry and art); and see newer work from those who’ve been written about in the pages of Kearsarge Magazine: Terry Moore, Ray Lagasse, Steve and Sue Russell, and David Pellerin. I was sorely tempted by Unique Ewe’s mittens and J. Ann Eldridge’s prints (I just bought “Blue Tarp” a few weeks ago), but just grabbed business cards for later purchases. I’m lucky to live so close to so much talent. 
Refuge from the rain
I haven’t been up to Ragged Mountain in Danbury for a while, so I took a trip to see what was new. (I love to look at real estate, and wasn’t sure if the development plans for the ski area were moving along.) I was able to drive through a big rainstorm and make it up the resort before the torrential rain hit. Fortunately, there was a new weekend restaurant waiting for me: Off Piste Pizza. It was quiet when I first arrived, and there was plenty of seating at the bar or near the wood fire pizza oven. I met Steve – the host, chef and waiter – and ordered a cheese pizza. The the rain hit, and all the golfers came in. I wasn’t able to get the scoop from Steve, as he was pretty busy with a family, three groups of golfers, two elderly ladies out for lunch, and me. But he did say that Overlook Bistro, the evening restaurant that shares the same location as the pizza place, hosted 55 people on Saturday night. (I hope he had help!)
