07/07/24: Relaxing Sunday Dinner
After all the hustle of 4th of July, it was nice to just relax casually over some backgammon out on the porch, and sip some wine with the major event of the day cooking up for dinner an on the fly seared chicken in a fresh basil cream sauce.

07/10/24: Sue's Flowers Reaching For the Sky!
Getting on in July and Sue's front flower gardens are blooming and stretching themselves toward the summer sky!

Sue's day lilies in full bloom.

07/11/24: Dinner Out In Dover
It was such a beautiful Thursday afternoon when Sue got out of her eye doctor's appointment that we decided since we were in the Dover area we'd go to dinner at La Dolce Vita. The food there is just spectacular, and we had a lovely time sitting by the window watching the world go by as we sipped our wine.

07/20/24: Visiting Gail's New Apartment
Gail came for an overnight visit Saturday 07/20/24 so that she and Sue could drive up to Castle In The Clouds in Moultonborough, NH for a class in smart phone photography.

07/23/24: Mid Week Seared Shrimp Dinner Experiment
Sue and I had seen an interesting episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives where host Guy Fieri watched as the chef fixed this amazing looking seared shrimp meal.

I got the basic idea of the ingredients, and wrote out a rough recipe that I thought was pretty close to what I had seen made.

It was only Tuesday, but Sue knew I was itching to try it out. And it came out so good that she said I'd better remember what I did because she wanted me to fix that again.

Yeah, it was really good. But all I have is a partial ingredient list and a faint memory of what I did....

07/25/24: Taking Mia To See Wizard of Oz
Thursday 07/25/24 Sue and I picked Mia up at Summer Camp for a dinner out in Manchester and then to the Plaza Theater for what turned out to be a wonderful production of the classic Wizard of Oz.

Top deck of the parking garage overlooking the Palace Theater

Sue watching Mia checking out the show notes before the performance began.

After the performance, Sue and Mia chased each other around the top deck of the parking garage on the way to the car.

07/27/24: Visit To R.I. To See Jill
Saturday 07/27/24 Sue and I drove down to R.I. to visit Sue's daughter Jill. While there, we spent a wonderful few hours at the 19 acre Mystic Seaport site. While the girls visited the really expansive sea glass exhibition tents, I wandered along the docks looking at everything. Great day!

Great food and lots of fun just hanging out at Andiamo Restaurant!

08/02/24: Decaying, But Gracefully....
Okay, so now it's time to schedule my left hip to be replaced. Terrific....

Cute graphic Sue found and sent to me.

08/03/24: Day With Mia and Dinner Out
Sue had grabbed Mia Saturday 08/03/24 for the day, and after all of that activity she was all for taking the night off and going out to dinner.

When we were chatting with Marissa and Gary after dropping Mia off at the house around 5:30, I had mentioned that we were thinking of grabbing a simple dinner while we were in town, Gary immediately suggested SoDo 45 over at Pointe Place, and that's where we headed as it sounded exactly like what we were looking for.

Sue's custom Woodford bourbon and my Prisoner cab.

Good thing I thought to get a picture of our meals before they were gone!

What a neat place with a wonderful staff. When I saw the menu, I knew that my wine selection was a glass of The Prisoner Cabernet as that would be a great compliment to the description of the Swiss & Mushroom burger that jumped off the page at me.

Sue and the bar tender, Jeremiah, however, huddled over the custom drink menu with him explaining several of the drinks Sue asked about. After listening to her carefully describe her taste preferences, he finally suggested a custom Woodford bourbon with lemon juice, amaro, and aperol. Yeah, I don't know what any of that is, but she loved it!

And we couldn't pass up on one of the appetizers we saw: Crispy Brussels Caesar Salad, which was described as "crispy Brussels sprouts, house made Caesar dressing, Parmesan, croutons."

Well, we just had to have that for sure! But because that would all be too much food, Jeremiah suggested ordering the burger and the salad and he'd split both up for us. Terrific! And man, was that salad more than you could imagine.... Wonderful.

08/04/24: Sunday Dinner For 2
The weather has been so nice that it's a joy to have our dinners, particularly our Sunday Dinners For 2, out in the screen porch. And tonight's was no exception as I fixed seared shrimp in a sauce of black trumpet mushrooms Sue had foraged earlier in the week, and roasted red peppers over a bed of herb seasoned couscous.

08/12/24: Walking The Beau Dog
Sue met up with Swayzie and Rezleigh to take Beau for a walk in the woods.

Exploring Sue's front flower gardens after getting back to the house.

08/23/24: Dinner And Concert In Portsmouth
Friday 08/23/24 Sue and I headed off for Portsmouth to have dinner at Jimmy's Jazz & Blues Club and then watch Walter Trout perform on stage. This was our second time seeing Trout at Jimmy's, and he was terrific.

08/25/24: Family Reunion At Ossipee Lake Cottage
Sunday 08/25/24 Sue and I drove up to Ossipee Lake for a family reunion for her brother Alan. The kids were all out on the dock, or little beach, or in the water as it was a beautiful and warm late Summer day.

The grills were lined up and cooking hot dogs, hamburgers, and 2 different kinds of marinated chicken with loads of other things to eat on the surrounding serving tables.

Sue leaning in to give her brother a big hug!

08/27/24: Sue Takes Mia Mineral Mining
Tuesday 08/27/24, Sue grabbed up Mia for an overnight trip up to dig for minerals at the Moat Mountain Mine in Albany, NH.

They left early Tuesday morning, dug around the whole area all day, and then headed to the hotel for pizza.

I'm sure Marissa loved Mia hauling a bag of rocks and minerals home with her, but Sue said she had such a great time that they went back for more Wednesday morning! That's a whole lotta digging....

Mia Tuesday morning at the head of the mile long trail to the mine.

08/30/24: Labor Day Weekend
Friday of Labor Day weekend we just sat up on the hill out back in chairs with some wine to watch the sun dropping below the tree line.

Then Saturday Sue found a nice bunch of black trumpet mushrooms the other day so for dinner tonight rather than Sunday (because we're going up to visit her brother Alan in Brownfield ME). I'm fixing them with onions and roasted red peppers in a risotto with oven baked pork lion wrapped in basil from the garden and a bottle of New Zealand Sauvigon Blanc.

That's it for our Labor Day party. Oh, and we watched the neat movie The Union with Mark Walburg; it was a gas! Monday was just a nice hang out day — glad that we didn't have to go anywhere in the mess of traffic swirling around everywhere.

Wednesday the 29th I got all the new wood covered over across the tops of the piles with tarps. That will keep the Fall rains from soaking them and then freezing but leaving the sides open so air can circulate and dry the wood out for next year.

Wednesday's dinner I fixed half of the Black Trumpet mushrooms with cheese ravioli.

And then on Sunday, I fixed the other half of the Black Trumpets with onions and roasted red peppers in a risotto with oven baked pork lion wrapped in basil from the garden.

Dinner out in the screen porch with a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

09/03/24:
Tuesday 09/03/24 I had a crew come over to power wash the exterior of the house, and then return for a day and a half of touch up painting.

There were 2 main areas of concern. First, was scraping and touching up all of the windows. And Second, there was a lot of dirt and some mildew all along the eves where the gutters had been removed when we tore off the old shingle roof and replaced it with a new metal roof 05/27/21.

The main staging area. They also found some rot starting in the corners where the clapboards butted against the corner posts.

Last winter had been particularly rough with freezing, then melting, and freezing that caused quite a lot of places where the paint had begun to crack and peel back.

The Beau Dog taking it all in from under one of the bushes where Sue was working in the upper rock wall garden.

09/08/24: Celebration Dinner
Not only did we have a special dinner to celebrate Beau's 10th birthday, but to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the sale closing for my last property on 09/01/20.

With the dinner of seared scallops in a light cream sauce of onions, garlic, and basil from Sue's garden over linguine, I popped open the 2019 bottle of Dyer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon my karate disciple 5th Degree Black Belt Master Carl Parker had brought me when he and Sheina visited us for my surprise 75th Birthday party in June.

09/13/24: Salisbury Beach With Colin's Family
Sue and I met up with Colin, Swayzie, and Rezleigh in Salisbury Beach, MA to take Rezleigh on the Carousel.

Tightly held onto her horse by dad, Rezleigh is off!

We had a great day exploring the area, riding the carousel, and then catching an early dinner just up the road from the beach.

09/18/24: Coffee Meet Up With Friends From Florida
My 40 plus year karate disciple Master Jim Nancarrow and his wife Chris were up in New England visiting from their home in Florida and so we met up at a local coffee shop. It has been several years now since Sue and I had been down to visit them, so it was great to share some coffee with them on their way through, though Sue wasn't able to be there as she had to be with her brother Alan up in Brownfield, ME.

Our meet up at the coffee shop Wednesday morning.

Sue caught this great picture of that evenings full moon rising up from the tree line behind the house.

09/19/24: Fall Walk With Beau
We decided to take a nice Fall walk through the fallen leaves with Beau over at the community park in Alton. It was such a nice day, and Beau was constantly tugging at the leash as he sniffed his way all along the trail.

Sue and Beau investigating the bank along a stream that boarders the park.

09/22/24: Rezleigh Visits For The Day
Sunday 09/22/24 Swayzie dropped Rezleigh off for the day. She had a bunch of things that she needed to get done, and would have been really bogged down with Rezleigh in tow. So, she asked Sue if we could watch her for several hours, which we were excited about.

Sue had her busy out on the screen porch doing crafts and painting.

09/24/24: Early Fall Lunch At Castaways On The River
It was a beautiful Tuesday, and Sue and I decided to run down to Dover and have an early Fall lunch on the outside deck at Castaways overlooking the Cocheco River

09/27/24: Apple Picking at Butternut Farm
Friday 09/27/24 Sue went with Swayzie and Rezleigh to pick apples at Butternut Farm in Farmington, NH.

09/29/24: Maisie's 1st Birthday Party!
The weather Sunday 09/29/24 was just great for an outside Maisie's 1st Birthday Party.

Colin had brought over folding chairs and long tables that Marissa and Gary set up on the side yard grass. What a great day it was for little Maisie!

10/01/24: Early Fall Walk To The SELT Cabin
SELT is the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire. Their mission is: "Saving, sharing, and stewarding the lands you love."

One of their projects is preserving the area known as the Birch Ridge Community Forest, where they constructed a beautiful log cabin with wood stove and tables for use by hikers.

I had hiked up there once with Sue, though she has been several times. So when she asked me if I'd like to go up with her so she could walk Beau around the loop trail, I threw my coat on, and off we went.

It's not a long walk from the parking area up to the cabin.

But what spectacular views you get of Merrymeeting Lake below.

I stayed back at the cabin while Sue walked Beau. Here she comes back up the hill with Beau tagging along beside her.

10/03/24: Sue's Brother Passes

Alan and Kathleen on the 1st of October.

After receiving a call from her brother Alan's hospice nurse on October 1st, Sue drove up to help care for him in Brownfield, ME.

Alan passed in peace October 3rd knowing that he was loved. It was his 74th birthday. Although a long 4 days, Sue felt honored to be able to be there to help care for him. To witness the transition of someone she loved so much, helped bring her peace and acceptance.

If anybody has a chance to do that, it makes such a difference.

10/08/24: Sunapee Lake Area Fall Foliage Trip
Sue and I headed off Tuesday 10/08/24 for a couple of days on a Sunapee Lake Area Fall Foliage Trip

The weather was great, and the Fall colors were spectacular.

10/10/24: Finally! We Get To See The Northern Lights!
We've tried many times in the past to get a view of the Northern Lights, but they just haven't been anywhere near as spectacular as they were 10/10/24!

First Fee Will Baptist Church on the ridge.

From Jen and Butch's deck

10/13/24: Rezleigh's 2nd Birthday Party
What a great gathering Sunday afternoon 10/13/24 for Rezleigh's 2nd Birthday Party! The pictures will pretty much say it all!

10/16/24: First Fire In The Wood Stove Of The Season!
It had been getting colder each day and even colder each night as the week progressed until we just threw a flag on the field and lit up our first fire of the season!

Down in the high 30s that night!

10/18/24: Fall Foliage Drive
The Fall foliage colors were so beautiful that Sue and I decided to take a drive over the back roads to the Barnstead, NH area.

Views along the way.

Sue and Beau exploring the boat ramp.

The area around the bridge over the Suncook River has such variation in the leaf colors that it's a great place to wander around.

10/19/24: Getting Ready For Cooler Fall Nights
Well, it's time to haul some wood in for the wood stove as the nights are getting progressively chillier.

10/20/24: 80,000 Year Comet Tsuchinshan Event
Sue heard that we'd be able to see the 80,000 Year Comet Tsuchinshan Event, and so just as dusk was settling in, we - including The Beau Dog, of course - drove up to the ridge to check it out.

80,000 Year Comet Tsuchinshan

10/21/24: Sue Birthday Fun
Sunday and Monday October 20th and 21st we celebrated Sue's birthday with a special Sunday dinner, and then on Monday: off to walk along the ocean shore at a couple of her favorite beaches.

Sue peaking through the tall grasses just off the shore by the Odiorne Point State Park, Seacoast Science Center.

10/24/24: Dinner Out To Celebrate!
It was on Tuesday October 24, 1972 that I opened the Rose School of Karate in Portsmouth, NH. Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to celebrate the occassion with dinner out on the patio at The 110 Grill in Rochester, NH.

Sue was scrambling to get out of the picture, but I caught her anyway! We had a great meal, and a wonderful late afternoon as the sun began to set over the tree line not long after this picture was taken.

10/25/24: Strawbery Banke Museum Ghost Walk
Sue and I grabbed up grand daughter Mia Friday 10/25/24 and headed off for the Strawbery Banke Museum's annual Ghost Walk in Portsmouth, NH.

Sue getting a picture of Mia (in the purple jacket) getting some candy from one of the Ghost Walks actors.

10/27/24: Pumpkin Carving
Sue bought a nice sized pumpkin the other day, and so we decided it was time to have a pumpkin carving event to celebrate!

10/28/24: Fall Has Just About Felled For The Season
Most of the trees out in back of the house have lost their leaves. It's just a matter of time that the rest will be gone as well. Up next: Stick Season!

Not many leaves left in comparison to just a little while back...

This was taken back on 10/21/24, just 7 days ago. What a difference.

10/31/24: Halloween Dinner In Laconia, NH
Sue wanted to drive over to Laconia, NH on Halloween 10/31/24 to check out their annual pumpkin display.

We wanted to stay off the main roads, and enjoy the fall foliage on the drive over. Always love to do that at this time of year.

Unfortunately, they only run the display through Halloween eve. However, the Innisfree Bookshop was close by. Neither of us had been to this location; only to the one in Meredith, NH which we just love.

Sadly, neither of us really thought much of the Laconia location, and so we just walked around the area.

Sue remembered when she was young her folks bringing her to the Laconia Antique Center, and then later bringing her kids there as well. That sounded exciting, and so we just had to stop in there and look around.

It bills itself as "NH's Largest Antique Store". Yup: had to check that out. It's quite the place for sure.

After waling around most of it's 22,000 square feet of display area, we headed off for dinner at Fratellos Italian Grille. It was such a nice evening that we asked if they were serving on the upstairs outside patio; and they were. A little noisy, but it was fun to just relax with a nice glass of wine as the sun set over the lake in the background.

View toward the lake from the outside patio at Fratellos Italian Grille.

Great hearty meals which we both opted for doggie bags; none of which, by the way, made it into The Beau Dog's dish....

Sue had me stop at this unbelievable Halloween display as we came though Alton, NH on the way home.

11/03/24: Alan Ames Celebration Of Life
Saturday 11/03/24 Sue and I drove up to Tamworth, NH for her brother Alan's Celebration Of Life.

11/05/24: Rafter of Turkeys Crosses Back Yard!
Yeah, I didn't know what a 'rafter' was either, but it's a big group of turkeys.... So, anyway: there was just a big group of turkeys that wandered across our back yard this afternoon.

11/06/24: Kittery Point Forts And Outside Dinner
Sue and I took today's grand weather (actually hit 79!) to head down to Kittery Point and visit both Fort McCleary and Fort Foster and then stopped off at Pepperrill Cove for dinner at Bistro 1828 on their upstairs outside patio.

Fort McClary, Kittery Point, ME

11/09/24: Beautiful Late Fall Day
Though it turned cold quickly toward afternoon, today was a beautiful Fall day.

5 carts of wood hauled in to build a reserve.